Deep within Hueco Mundo’s endless Sea of Sand, three overwhelming spiritual pressures confronted one another.
Standing at the center was an upright Hollow roughly seven meters tall.
Its body was dark blue-green, while its head closely resembled that of a chameleon.
Its Hollow Hole was located between its waist and abdomen.
Blocking its path from the front was a humanoid Hollow standing over ten meters tall.
Its upper body was blue-gray, several curved spikes protruded from beneath its neck, its Hollow Hole rested in the center of its chest, and numerous jagged protrusions covered its head.
The lower half of its body had completely merged with the Sea of Sand, making it appear both bizarre and unsettling.
Behind the chameleon stood a white crab-shaped Hollow barely two meters long.
Although its body was relatively small, its right claw alone accounted for nearly half its size.
The terrifying spiritual pressure radiating from it was enough to make even seasoned Hollows instinctively wary.
None of these three Hollows possessed enormous bodies like a Gillian.
Yet the quality of the spiritual pressure surrounding each of them unmistakably identified them as Adjuchas.
“Liotta Ekk.” “Stop running.” “Return to Las Noches with us and swear your loyalty to Lord Baraggan.” The crab Adjuchas, Fidorb, spoke coldly.
Its tone carried unquestionable authority as it stared at the Chameleon Hollow trapped between the two of them.
Liotta Ekk merely snorted.
“I’ve already said it countless times.” “I will never kneel before that old skeleton, Baraggan.” “So stop wasting your breath.” Standing directly before him, the blue-gray Adjuchas known as Baticaroa let out a deep growl.
“Since he refuses to submit…” “I’ll simply return him to Hueco Mundo as reishi.” Before his final words had even faded…
Baticaroa suddenly opened his enormous mouth.
A deafening roar shook the surrounding Sea of Sand.
Immediately afterward…
His jaws stretched unnaturally wide.
A massive black and crimson Cero rapidly condensed inside.
Sizzle!
The destructive beam tore through the air straight toward Liotta Ekk.
Liotta Ekk’s figure instantly blurred.
Using Sonído, the high-speed movement technique mastered by Adjuchas and higher-class Menos, he disappeared from his original position.
The Cero narrowly missed him.
Boom!
The blast struck a distant sand dune.
A gigantic sandstorm erupted hundreds of meters into the air.
The instant Liotta Ekk avoided the attack…
Fidorb also activated Sonído and immediately pursued him.
At the same time…
Baticaroa completely submerged beneath the Sea of Sand before rapidly chasing from underground.
“Stop being so stubborn!” Fidorb shouted while maintaining pursuit.
“You’ve remained a lower Adjuchas for centuries.” “You’ve already reached your limit.” “Rather than wandering Hueco Mundo alone…” “Why not submit to the strongest ruler of Hueco Mundo?” “Lord Baraggan will grant you protection.” Liotta Ekk sneered.
“You tame little pets can happily wear your collars inside Las Noches.” “Don’t drag me into your cage.” Fidorb’s expression immediately darkened beneath his Hollow mask.
“In that case…” “You can die.” He suddenly raised his enormous claw.
Dozens of deep blue Bala shot through the air simultaneously.
Unlike the devastating power of Cero…
Bala sacrificed destructive force in exchange for incredible speed, lower reishi consumption, and rapid continuous fire.
Faced with the barrage…
Liotta Ekk had no room to evade.
He immediately retaliated with dozens of black and crimson Bala of his own.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The opposing projectiles collided.
Violent explosions filled the battlefield with flying sand.
At precisely that moment…
The desert beneath Liotta Ekk suddenly burst apart.
Baticaroa erupted from below.
Opening his gigantic jaws…
He attempted to swallow Liotta Ekk whole.
Liotta Ekk instantly vanished again through Sonído.
However…
The instant he escaped Baticaroa’s surprise attack…
Fidorb descended from above.
His gigantic claw came crashing downward.
“Hide.” Liotta Ekk whispered.
His figure vanished completely.
Not only had his body disappeared…
Even his spiritual pressure became impossible to detect.
Fidorb’s attack struck nothing.
Landing atop a nearby dune…
He carefully expanded his Pesquisa to search the surrounding area.
Nothing.
No trace whatsoever.
Suddenly…
Whoosh!
The sound of tearing air echoed behind him.
Liotta Ekk appeared without warning.
His dark blue-green claws were wrapped in black and crimson spiritual pressure as they tore directly toward Fidorb’s Hollow mask.
“Die!” At the final instant…
A gigantic wall of sand suddenly rose between them.
Liotta Ekk’s claws ripped through it effortlessly.
Yet…
His attack abruptly stopped.
Standing behind the shattered sand wall…
Baticaroa had deliberately placed his own body between Liotta Ekk and Fidorb.
The claws buried themselves deeply into Baticaroa’s body.
Fidorb coldly smiled.
“We came prepared.” “We already investigated your abilities.” “Your ability allows you to completely erase your presence and spiritual pressure.” “It also grants explosive speed…” “And triples the power of your first strike after reappearing.” “Am I wrong, Liotta Ekk?” He mockingly looked toward the Chameleon Hollow whose claws remained trapped inside Baticaroa’s body.
There was a reason Baraggan had specifically sent Baticaroa alongside him.
Among Adjuchas…
Baticaroa possessed extraordinarily powerful defensive capabilities.
Not only could he merge directly into the Sea of Sand…
He also possessed exceptional regenerative abilities.
Although his regeneration couldn’t compare to true High-Speed Regeneration possessed by certain Menos…
His body lacked vulnerable internal organs.
As long as his Hollow mask remained intact…
He was incredibly difficult to kill.
Of course…
That advantage only existed when facing opponents with comparable spiritual pressure.
Bang!
Without the slightest hesitation…
Liotta Ekk fired a point-blank Cero directly into Baticaroa’s body.
The massive explosion blasted apart nearly half his torso.
Only then did Liotta Ekk successfully free his trapped claws.
Immediately afterward…
He attempted to retreat.
But Fidorb had already acted.
His enormous claw swung through the air.
A compressed blade of high-pressure water shot toward Liotta Ekk with terrifying speed.
Forced into a corner…
Liotta Ekk activated his concealment ability once again.
Relying upon the sudden burst of speed, he narrowly avoided the water blade capable of slicing through stone and steel alike.
Watching Liotta Ekk disappear once more…
Fidorb showed no panic.
Instead…
He smiled.
Swinging his gigantic claw repeatedly…
He fired countless high-pressure water blades directly across the surrounding desert.
At the same time…
He shouted, “Baticaroa.” “Move.” The moment he heard the command…
Baticaroa completed the regeneration of his body before roaring loudly.
Huge quantities of sand rose from beneath the ground.
When mixed together with the countless streams of water…
The white desert instantly transformed into sticky mud.
Although Liotta Ekk moved silently while concealed…
His footsteps still disturbed the muddy ground ever so slightly.
“I found you.” Fidorb grinned.
Another razor-sharp water blade instantly shot toward the disturbance.
At the exact same moment…
Baticaroa unleashed another fully charged Cero at the very same location.
Boom!!!
The violent explosion completely engulfed the hidden Liotta Ekk.
His concealment was forcibly broken.
Smoke cleared.
Liotta Ekk staggered backward.
His body was scorched black.
Even worse…
A horrifying crack had appeared across his Hollow mask.
“You…” “You actually damaged my mask…” Ignoring the agonizing pain…
He slowly reached up with trembling claws before touching the cracked portion of his mask.
A shrill scream escaped his throat.
Fidorb answered indifferently.
“This is the price for refusing Lord Baraggan.” “Die.” He and Baticaroa charged together.
Water blades cut through the air.
The Sea of Sand erupted beneath their feet.
At the very instant death seemed unavoidable…
Liotta Ekk suddenly tore off his own tail.
No blood flowed.
Instead…
Violent crimson spiritual pressure burst from the severed wound.
The explosive force propelled him forward with unbelievable speed.
Within an instant…
He had disappeared into the endless Sea of Sand.
Baticaroa immediately prepared to continue the pursuit.
However…
Fidorb stopped him.
“No need.” “He doesn’t possess High-Speed Regeneration.” “His Hollow mask has already been damaged.” “He’ll eventually lose his rank…” “And regress into a mindless Gillian.” “We don’t need to finish him ourselves.” “His countless enemies eventually will.” As he finished speaking…
Fidorb glanced toward the distant horizon.
The Sea of Sand was trembling unusually.
“Besides…” “Lord Baraggan has already warned us.” “A sand tide storm that occurs only once every century is approaching.” “If we’re caught within its center…” “Even Adjuchas like us could perish.” “There’s no point continuing the chase.” With that…
The two Adjuchas abandoned the pursuit.
Activating Sonído once more…
They rapidly departed toward Las Noches.