Infinite Anime [304-305]

Chapter 304: Isn't That Cheating?

Driven by forward momentum, the main tank's charge didn't stop. Even though his body had gone rigid, he still maintained his charging posture, hurtling in Gusion's direction.

At the same time, his command finally went out over the team channel: "He's dangerous. Fall back and observe. Healers, heal me!"

In less than a second, his life source value had already dropped by nearly half. To a main tank, this was unthinkable.

By rights, he should've only been grazed by Gusion just now, shouldn't he!?

Facing the main tank who was still crashing toward him from inertia, Gusion's Mazuko had been knocked upward by the rebound from the previous clash. He didn't force his posture to deliver another cut; instead, he sprang lightly, used that upward recoil to flip in midair, and inverted himself, facing down.

At that moment, the main tank passed directly beneath him, and Gusion's left hand pointed at the tank's head.

Hadō 63: Raikōhō!

The originally golden Raikōhō, empowered by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, turned into dark-red lightning that roared downward, spreading into a conical pillar of light.

With a violent thunderclap, the sea of sand surged in all directions under the energy wash, followed by a pressure wave that raised ripples across the dunes.

"Iron!"

Explorers from the Desolation Adventurers cried out in shock. They hadn't expected that in just one exchange, their team's main tank would fall silent.

You had to know, Iron was a powerful main tank with a Constitution of 85, clad in high-grade defensive gear and built like a blood-bag bruiser. Even facing Ulquiorra or Nel head-on, he could hold for a while. That was their confidence in daring to hunt Nel.

Yet the black-clad explorer before them felled their main tank with a single slash and a single spell. How terrifying was that damage output!?

What they couldn't accept even more was that even after he'd killed Iron, the black-clad man's overall stats still looked under 83 to them!

How is that possible? How can an explorer with those stats have such overwhelming offensive power—one exchange to insta-kill our main tank?

But on the battlefield of Hueco Mundo, Hollows don't stop attacking just because an explorer falls. The instant the main tank went down, multiple Adjuchas and the two warrior-type explorers who had charged alongside him launched a simultaneous attack on Gusion.

Cero, skills, blades—various attacks rained down on Gusion. He had just finished his backflip, landed steadily, and patted the dust off his shoulder from the sand spray.

Boom—

With a deafening roar, the Adjuchas and the explorers from the Desolation Adventurers attacking Gusion were all blasted back by a tremendous force.

Hollows and explorers alike stared, stunned, at the massive silhouette in the smoke and dust. As the energy storm pulsed, the gale blew the sand away, revealing the giant beneath.

A colossal dark-red skeleton stood in the sands, with 'flesh' of energy constantly budding across its bones, finally forming a sky-supporting giant.

Just now, that giant had wrapped Gusion like armor, shielding him from the barrage, and then unleashed a tremendous force that knocked back numerous strong foes.

Gusion stood at the giant's center. Lightning pinwheels turned slowly in his Mangekyō Sharingan. "That wasn't your tank just now, was it? So squishy."

The calm tone sent a wave of humiliation through the explorers—deeper still was fear.

They realized they had misread things. Ulquiorra wasn't the "backer" of this black-clad explorer. They were operating as equals—or even with the black-clad man in the lead, likely because he was stronger!

Gusion strode onto a dune as the massive Susanoo rose from the ground, manifesting its lower body and legs, lifting him into the sky to look down on the explorers and the not-so-large Adjuchas.

The Desolation's leader looked up at Gusion's posture, voice dry: "Susanoo…"

What concerned him wasn't the technique itself. Frankly, in the Bleach world, this level of Susanoo wasn't much. The real problem was the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Judging from how casually the opponent Susanoo, he likely had a pair of Eternal Mangekyō.

That meant inexhaustible ocular power, plus free use of unknown eye-techniques.

The Sharingan's high dynamic vision was also a huge pain, effectively deleting their ranged shooters and snipers.

They thought this would be a routine hunt—they'd kicked an iron plate within an iron plate.

But they had no retreat now. The opponent clearly wasn't from Chaos Space—an enemy faction to begin with—so there was no room to negotiate. All they could do was fight to the death for a chance to win.

As long as they killed the black-clad man, then played fisherman to finish Nel and Ulquiorra, this world run would break even!

"What are you all standing around for? He's just a Shinigami! Get him!"

Moslan saw the many Hollows hesitate and snapped, ordering a full assault on Gusion.

He himself used a kidō-like method to contact Las Noches in the rear and report that Shinigami had entered Hueco Mundo.

The moment Moslan's voice fell, dark-red lightning arced out from Susanoo. As Conqueror's Haki cowed the field, thundering bolts surged, too fast for Hollows or men to dodge.

The instant the lightning hit, the Hollows recoiled in pain and fear, and the explorers sprinted toward their healers in panic.

"Don't panic! Floryn, keep me and yourself topped!"

The Skybreakers adventurers' leader was a melee bruiser with a spiked club. Commanding as he ran, he charged Gusion.

The instant he took damage, he understood why their main tank went down so fast. Whatever monster the opponent was, the lightning didn't even seem that powerful, yet touching it made his life source drop steadily.

Worse, it was true damage—unavoidable, unmitigable. Brutal.

As harsh as it was, he judged he had to abandon some teammates now, or face a team wipe.

Their healer's throughput at best could keep herself and him alive. Any more would be difficult. The rest would have to adapt, chug consumables, and survive on their own.

Gusion watched the green-skinned brute rush him with the spiked club, then drove Susanoo to swing its conjured greatsword down.

With a thunderous crash, the enemy actually blocked with the club, though his bones creaked and his whole body shook, clearly at his limit.

Gusion's scouting skill showed that, under healing buffs, this strongest enemy explorer had an overall stat of 86—three points higher than Gusion's current state.

But Susanoo, as an external armor ultimate, had attack and defense far beyond what his base stats suggested. Besides, he'd activated Devourer Ring's active mode to test its upgraded combat performance.

With active mode on, any damage he dealt would trigger Devourer Ring's true damage: each instance taking 37.5% of his max soul source as true damage. Even with a thick health pool, if his lightning ticked repeatedly and triggered often, three seconds was the most they'd live.

The club-wielding brute wasn't dead only because the healer kept topping him, but his body was in constant damage-destruction. The cycle of breaking and repairing was sheer agony.

As the Desolation' leader was being driven back by Susanoo, blood on his lips, he shouted, "Unbroken Interdiction Field!"

With his cry, a black-green radiance erupted around him, blocking Gusion's dark-red lightning and preventing Devourer Ring's sustained damage from proccing via the lightning.

"Oh? Not bad."

Gusion praised him, then poured more power into Susanoo.

He had never assumed pairing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit with Devourer Ring would let him steamroll everyone. In the Bleach world, this trigger method doesn't work on everyone. If someone's spiritual pressure control is strong enough, they can insulate themselves from the lightning's damage and avoid procs.

For example, his lightning wouldn't work on Captain-Commander Yamamoto at all. Even at full output, it would amount to a hot shower.

But Devourer Ring's trigger conditions weren't limited to just that—lightning was actually his weakest attack now, mostly used for control and clearing mobs.

After complimenting his opponent's response, he swept Susanoo's blade sideways at the incoming Hollows.

Susanoo's power cleaved several Adjuchas cleanly. Combined with Devourer Ring's true damage, even those not instantly killed were as good as dead.

As the Skybreakers' leader reset his stance and spun up a sand-whipping strike to try to crack Susanoo's guard, Susanoo suddenly vanished.

In that moment of stupefaction, Gusion ghosted to his side. Mazuko flowed like water, yet its ghostly arc was impossible to evade.

The leader barely managed a side-step, but Mazuko still opened his shoulder, leaving a line of dark green blood that trickled down.

What made his face fall was that, after the black-clad man's blade cut him, the initial blow wasn't all that high, but damn it—his Zanpakutō was like poison, ticking damage every second.

Worse, once that blade's damage-over-time began, an even more domineering force kicked in—true damage was surging through that wound, wrecking his whole body!

He glanced at his space-assist combat panel and was dumbfounded by what he saw.

[You were cut on the shoulder by the enemy's Zanpakutō. Physical damage, life source -3%.]

[Additional effect check… Passed. You are affected by Mazuko's "Demonic Draught." Soul source devoured: 0.5%.]

[You are corroded by Mazuko's "Demonic Blight." Natural regen -90%, healing received -50%, and each second you lose 1.2% of the max damage from this attack as life source. Corrosion lasts 10s.]

[You lost 1.2% life source. On taking damage, the enemy's "Spirit Surge" effect triggered. Life source -31.9%.]

[Notice: Your life source -31.9%.]

[Warning: Your life source -31.9%.]

[Warning! Your life source is still -31.9%.]

[Warning!!! Your life source is below 20%!!!]

All of that happened in a blink. A tiny cut, and his feed filled with a wall of numbers. His life source cratered in a second. If the healer hadn't juiced him in time, he'd already be toast.

Worst of all, the blade applied healing reduction. The healer's output on him was now terribly inefficient—she couldn't push him back to a safe threshold.

"Damn it, that's cheating!"

He cursed, barking on team comms for the healer to focus him while he charged Gusion.

He decided Gusion was some filthy dot-stacker. If he kited, he'd die in the end—his healer's soul source wasn't infinite.

Once the heals ran dry, the steady corrosion and proc'd true damage would finish him.

"Charging straight in? Looks like you can take more cutting than the last guy."

Gusion one-handed Mazuko, parried the club, slid back a half-step, and grinned, baring white teeth.

Just as the Desolation' leader sensed danger, his vision flickered. Despite his dynamic vision, he actually lost track of Gusion's shunpo for a beat.

He defended on instinct and barely caught the side slash, but Gusion pivoted and swept a kick into his waist.

Then Gusion, in Lightning Release mode, blitzed forward. Before the leader could re-center his balance, one clean cut took the head of the man whose overall stats were a few points higher.

Straight-up fighting felt easy—even when the opponent's stats were higher, it was like playing with his food. The credit went to the upgraded Devourer Ring and Mazuko.

His own combat technique, plus Armament Haki and spiritual pressure control, also let him fight above his weight.

With the Desolation' leader down, the rest were even less of a match. Gusion blinked through them, harvesting the explorers half-crippled by Devourer Ring.

To his surprise, the support-type explorer even dropped a Dead Man's Chest. He also realized that killing explorers counted toward side quests, since they were recognized as Adjuchas-level Hollows.

This fight started fast and ended faster. On the other side, however, Ulquiorra and Nel were locked in a seesaw duel—at a glance, it looked like a battle between equals.

"Lady Nel! This is bad, that Shinigami is coming!"

Pesche saw Gusion slaughtering a host of Hollows like a demon god and panicked. "That's Captain-class spiritual pressure! We need to run!"

Chapter 305: Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck

Nel, clashing fiercely with Ulquiorra, tensed when she saw Gusion approaching. She'd just witnessed his work.

Although the spiritual pressure he displayed wasn't higher than hers or the humanoid White Hollow before her, his lethality was tremendous. In moments he wiped out the Las Noches force pursuing her—no ordinary Shinigami.

Even for a Captain-class, killing that many Adjuchas so quickly and efficiently wasn't easy.

Nel was anxious. Protecting Pesche while fighting this humanoid White Hollow was already taxing. If that frightening Shinigami joined in, they might really die here today.

But to Nel's surprise, the black-clad Shinigami didn't attack when he drew near. Instead, he called to her opponent, "Ulquiorra, stop. I have some questions for her."

At his words, Ulquiorra disengaged on the exchange, beat his wings, and landed beside Gusion.

"Mr. Gusion, she's strong," Ulquiorra warned.

"I know. You're stronger than I expected, too," Gusion smiled. Honestly, those explorers were overconfident thinking they could hunt Nel.

He didn't know exactly what tier this Nel was, but even if she wasn't Vasto Lorde yet, she wasn't far off—higher than Ulquiorra's current stage.

If not for Nel's inherent kindness and refusal to kill meaninglessly, and maybe because they held hostages, they wouldn't have been able to chase her this far.

But Nel wasn't without a temper. If those she cared about were threatened, she'd go all out and slaughter the lot of them.

It seemed that, mindful of Pesche, she had held back even in her fight with Ulquiorra, keeping her spiritual pressure from smothering her companions.

In fact, Gusion felt that if Nel and Ulquiorra both went all-out, their overall stats under spiritual pressure externalization would be above 88.

That's power approaching Vasto Lorde—beyond what an average Captain could deal with.

Oh, and by "average Captain," he didn't mean the Captains of the Gotei 13 at the start of the Bleach story—there wasn't really any "average" then.

Across Soul Society's history, most Captains weren't that strong; some were "power-level units," like Love Aikawa—functional Captains: decent reiatsu, has bankai, congrats, you're a Captain.

But the disparity among Captains is massive—from Yamamoto at the peak of pure Shinigami to the "power-level units."

Frankly, if both Ulquiorra and Nel went full burst to surround him, it would be troublesome. Nel aside, Ulquiorra's high-speed regeneration is like having an infinite-heal support—his true-damage DoTs wouldn't scare him.

If he didn't pop forbidden berserk skills, with a stat gap it'd be hard to win.

But right now he and Ulquiorra were on the same side, so no need to compare.

"What do you want to know? I don't intend to be your enemy. If it's something I know, I'll tell you," Nel said.

Because she was close to evolving into Vasto Lorde, her reason far exceeded other Hollows'. She had no strong factional bias against Shinigami and thought it pitiful for rational beings to fight on sight.

"What happened near Las Noches?" Gusion asked, giving Nel a once-over. He had to admit, this knightly lady was… generously endowed.

From a distance, Nel looked a bit like a centaur, but her lower body was antelope-like—not being fully humanoid didn't disqualify one from being Vasto Lorde.

Nel had obvious human traits; her lower half was likely a manifestation of retained Hollow power on her evolutionary path.

If she completed her evolution to Vasto Lorde, that trait might vanish—or she could choose to keep it. In any case, once she became an Arrancar, she'd take human form.

"Lady Nel… this Shinigami looks scary," Pesche whispered from behind her. He'd watched Gusion crush those Adjuchas and had a bit of trauma now.

"It's fine. I'm here," Nel soothed her two companions, then looked at Gusion and answered firmly, "I'm not entirely sure. But the King of Hueco Mundo seems enraged about something—or perhaps swayed by some 'person.' He ordered a purge and expulsion of nearby Hollows. We're just victims."

She spoke with indignation. Though she'd never seen the King of Hueco Mundo, she assumed he was a Vasto Lorde.

At that level, a Hollow regains reason—becoming human from beast. So why such cruelty?
There were many small, wandering Hollows in the area, and small groups like hers, living peacefully. All were butchered by Barragan's army.

Even the small fry that weren't Menos were slaughtered. The troops trampled through while Adjuchas laughed bloodthirstily—it pained her.

"Is that common?" Gusion asked thoughtfully. He knew Barragan wasn't a good sort—a tyrant who'd have his own squads fight for amusement—but mobilizing his army for a mass sweep felt wrong.

"We lived in a hidden cave nearby for over a hundred years and never saw this. I think Barragan's gone mad," Nel said, displeasure flashing in her eyes. She didn't want to acknowledge him as king.

"Ulquiorra, what do you think?" Gusion asked. Barragan's name was too long; he shortened Ulquiorra's instead. Ulquiorra didn't mind and quickly got used to it.

"I've never seen the King of Hueco Mundo, but this is abnormal. From a survival perspective, I don't recommend advancing. But I'll follow your judgment, Mr. Gusion," Ulquiorra replied calmly. He had no reason to approach the center, but he wanted to observe Gusion—to see what the 'heart' drove a person to do.

"Mm. Let's go take a look," Gusion grinned. Things were getting interesting. If the King had been influenced by a Rulebreaker or the Soul Singer, he'd come to the right place.

But though he wasn't a thinker, he wasn't reckless either. If his enemy had indeed made a deal with Barragan, he'd consider retreating to Soul Society for outside help.

Leverage—anyone can use it.

But first, he wanted to sound the depths of Hueco Mundo.

With Ulquiorra there, he could open a Garganta at any time. Retreat was always an option.

"Hey, didn't you hear me just now? It's extremely dangerous within 500 kilometers of Las Noches," Nel warned kindly. Since they'd stopped fighting and he'd indirectly helped her, she didn't want him charging to his death.

"I have something to confirm over there, so I'm going anyway," Gusion said, beckoning Ulquiorra as he set off toward Las Noches. From a pure power perspective, he could team up with Ulquiorra to kill Nel—but there was no reason.

He was a rational being, not a mindless killer for mission rewards. The Adjuchas they'd killed over the last two days were the type that charged him screaming the moment they saw a Shinigami—so he killed them all.

Besides, as a manga reader, he had a soft spot for this chivalrous Nel. She was one of the rare pure-good Espada. He had no intention of harming her.

After Gusion and Ulquiorra walked a bit, they found Nel following—or rather, heading in the same direction.

"Woman, why are you following us?" Before Gusion could ask, Ulquiorra turned and spoke.

Nel seemed pleased to be called "woman," but then her face clouded. "I'm not following you. I'm going to Las Noches."

"Oh? Didn't you just warn us not to head into danger?" Gusion smiled.

"Lady Nel, please be calm. Dondochakka might have escaped somewhere else," Pesche urged. "Going back now is dangerous."

He was Nel's flunky and Dondochakka's friend, so of course he wanted to rescue him—but he lacked the strength and didn't want Nel taking risks.

"Say no more. I won't abandon Dondochakka," Nel said gravely.

"Sounds like your companion was taken?" Gusion rubbed his chin, confirming his guess. Nel's temper wasn't so good that she'd be chased and not hit back—so Dondochakka must be a hostage.

"We were ambushed. Several green Adjuchas took my friend Dondochakka. I feared they'd harm him, so I didn't strike back. Now that the crisis has passed, of course I'm going to save him," Nel explained succinctly. She had a good head on her shoulders—she knew if she fought amid the tension, a panicked foe might kill the hostage.

But if she circled around for a stealth rescue, she might get him back.

At that moment, a prompt sounded in Gusion's ear. He'd triggered a hidden quest.

[Hidden Quest: Bonds of Admiration]

Quest: Help Nel rescue Dondochakka.

Difficulty: Ordinary ~ Certain Death
Reward: Bonds of Admiration
Failure Penalty: None

[]

Judging by the difficulty, this might not be easy. Depending on luck and circumstances, it could be simple—or it could end with a clash against the King of Hueco Mundo and the Chaos Army.

But the reward was attractive. The details showed it was a world-locator—an item that would let him return to the Bleach world.

Gusion didn't think he'd clear Bleach world in a few months. This was worth pursuing.

"Since we're headed the same way, if you're willing to help us deal with enemies along the way, we can help you rescue your companion," Gusion said after thinking it over. Helping Nel wasn't without benefit. Going deeper was dangerous; even without the quest, an extra ally was good.

"Really? You're a good person after all," Nel smiled, surprised he was willing to help.

"Lady Nel… he's a Shinigami…" Pesche whispered.

"Seems your companion's biased against me. Must a Shinigami always hunt Hollows? I get along fine with Ulquiorra," Gusion said, patting Ulquiorra's shoulder. "Right, Ulquiorra?"

"Mr. Gusion, I don't know if we 'get along fine,'" Ulquiorra replied, immediately undercutting him.

Gusion felt a bit awkward. "Judge as you like. I'm going to the center to gather intel either way."

"No, I believe you. I'm not biased against Shinigami. If you're willing to communicate, we can understand each other," Nel said with a touch of guileless sincerity. "Let's move together."

"Sure. We'll travel together, and I'll help rescue your companion—but don't stop us from hunting Hollows we encounter," Gusion said, pointing to Ulquiorra. "I want him to evolve into a Vasto Lorde so he'll never fear regression again."

"You're a strange one. If he wants to evolve, devouring other Hollows is part of the natural cycle. Why would I stop that?" Nel said, then realized what he meant. "Oh, I won't meddle. What kind of Hollow do you take me for?"

"Then we're good," Gusion nodded. He'd overthought it. If Nel could evolve toward Vasto Lorde, she wasn't naive.

Before reaching the peak, she must have hunted plenty of Adjuchas—she likely just stopped actively hunting at her current stage, only killing and devouring attackers.

With their temporary alliance set, Gusion introduced himself. "I'm Gusion. And you?"

"Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. Just call me Nel," she said with a smile, then introduced her friend. "This is my friend, Pesche Guatiche."

Ulquiorra spoke when the others looked at him. "Ulquiorra Cifer."

"Ulquiorra, clean up the battlefield. Then we move," Gusion ordered. So many Hollows shouldn't go to waste.

Especially a few of Barragan's personal guards—their strength was high among Adjuchas, and they'd dropped inheritance crystals. It would be a waste not to let Ulquiorra devour them.