Dance of the Dead

Maneuvering around the golems wasn't difficult at first. They were massive, slow, and moved as if they were encumbered by an external force, which was what I'd theorized to be Ashido's lack of reiatsu controlling so many of them.

That said, after firing cero non stop at them for the past 30 minutes, nothing had happened. The sand would seep back into the destroyed golem after a couple seconds, entirely reforming it.

Not to mention the intervention of Ashido himself, who'd jump in and attack me with Kidō if I managed to get the upper hand, leaving for a frustrating battle.

My lack of ingenuity and experience also made it far harder than necessary, my naivety leaving me susceptible to attacks for more often than I'd have liked, expending far too much reiatsu in the process.

Fortunately, as much as I'd already spent, my reiatsu was still in abundance, seemingly never ending.

"Ashido! I just want to talk!" I shouted, hoping along the heads of the golems towards the back line, where he stood.

Rather than reply, he pointed a finger at me, uttering a word before launching a white-flash at me. It wasn't fast, but since I hadn't learnt to walk along the air yet, I couldn't use sonido, leaving me falling

The flash hit my left shoulder, narrowly missing my hollow-hole. There wasn't much pain behind the blast, only a considerable amount of force, propelling me backwards into the mosh pit of sand-golem.

'This guy… Is he seriously not willing to talk?!'

I was beginning to lose my patience. We'd only spoken briefly, but within that time frame he'd given me little time to express my thoughts on the current situation here in Hueco Mundo.

'I need to get him to trust me… But how? '

With his Shikai harassing me, it was proving to be difficult actually getting him, especially if he planned on forcing me away if I got any closer with kidō.

"Ashido Kanō! We need to talk!" I shouted again.

But, despite all my attempts, he had no intention of speaking with me. His attempts at killing me clearly outweighed any thought of conversing with a mere hollow.

"Third movement, Dōka kōgeki!"

Suddenly, his voice blasted across the sand, his blue-reiatsu flickering off him like a pulsing light, a blue pillar rising into the sky like a beacon.

The sand golems then froze, their bodies convulsing. Their seemingly hollow-like skin began shedding, the sand that once formed it dispersing back into the ground.

Soon, each of the golems had shrunken down to varying sizes, though they each now resembled a human—or Soul-Reaper based on their attire. Their usual robes were there, only replaced by a marble-like texture, their colors bland, devoid of life.

"Despite what you may think, hollow. I have the upper hand in Hueco Mundo!" Ashido shouted, his voice carried by a degree of confidence.

"Cero!" I shouted, firing a quick blast towards Ashido in hopes of distracting him.

He spun on his heel swiftly, now tucked behind what appeared to be a hollow mask. My cero collided with the mask, destroying it shortly after. However, the deflection was enough time for Ashido to dash away, his reiatsu trailing away after his shunpō.

"This is starting to piss me off…."

The newly formed golems soon pounced on me, each now wielding a sand-replica Zanpakutō.

Despite thinking they'd likely lost their strength from their huge form, I was wrong. A single slash from one of the golem was enough to kick a layer of sand up from the ground, blocking my vision.

Another delivered a swift kick to my chest, launching me back along the sand with enough force for me to lose my footing, now tumbling across uncontrollably.

'This… This is the power of his shikai?!'

"Final movement, Dōka hakai!"

Looking back up, the golems had formed a long line, each now preparing what looked like another golden-arc attack, though now they had Zanpakutō, amplifying the attack.

'Let's give that a try…'

With sonido I took a step forward, appearing behind the line of golem faster than they could react.

"Cero Metralleta," I sighed, a flurry of lilac cero soon blasting from in front of me. The blasts fired continuously without an interval, assaulting the sand golems in an attack faster than they could recover.

Using sonido again, I dashed towards Ashido, appearing in front of him before he could cast another kidō spell.

"Bakudō 39—"

Ashido began the spell, but was quickly cut short by me, my hand wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Deactivate your shikai," I tried saying calmly, layers of anger seeping out. He'd driven me to a point of impatience, something I was apparently quite susceptible to.

Glancing behind me, the cero had ceased firing, as had the golems, now reduced to a mound of sand, reiatsu still lingering.

"Please… I seriously just want to talk…" I sighed, releasing my grip.

"What is it you want…" He replied hesitantly, scurrying backwards along the sand.

"Since you're…. I just want information, alright? I'll leave after…"

It was disappointing, but considering his inability to trust me, it wasn't likely I'd form a friendship with his man, much less earn his trust.

'I'll have to seek a partnership somewhere else…'

Ashido gave no response, just lightly nodding his head in agreement.

"We just saw Tier Harribel get shut out of the sky by the Quincy King… Where are the other Arrancar?" I asked.

"A large number of them reside in Las Noches… I am unsure as to the Espada… Grimmjow Jaergerjaquez and Nelliel Tu Odelshwanck's location…"

'Were they not at Las Noches when Yhwach attacked?'

Finding one of those two was the best case scenario. They'd lead me straight to Kisuke Urahara, a man that could greatly increase the odds of me surviving. He'd likely be able to help me train and help me progress into an Arrancar, a step I was uncertain as to obtain myself.

Becoming an Arrancar was likely the most important thing to me right now. Possessing pesquisa and a resurrección would be vital if I was to proceed with my plan.

'Still… Even with those, there's no way they'd willingly let me down into the 8th level…'