Shinigami: Medicine Can't Save The Soul Reaper Society

Before Aizen began experimenting with the Hollowfication using the Hōgyoku, every Hollow bore two distinct characteristics: a mask and a Hollow hole.

Of course, the shape and size of these features varied depending on the individual Hollow.

However, on this humanoid Adjuchas named Sparx, Makoto found neither a mask nor a Hollow hole on its surface.

Even though Sparx claimed after losing its head that it possessed the ability of "false appendages" and was adept at feigning death, to Makoto, this sounded more like deliberate misinformation.

The intent… was to make listeners believe Sparx had the ability to regenerate its head or similar capabilities.

"Crack... crackle..."

As the weight of the massive wooden structure, woven from hundreds of enormous trees, gradually increased, visible cracks began forming layer upon layer on Sparx supposedly indestructible surface, as if it were about to shatter entirely.

"Stop! Shinigami…"

"Mercy… please, Shinigami-sama, don't press harder with your middle finger. I was wrong, I was wrong!"

"Spare me! Spare me!"

Sparx tone shifted rapidly from anger to terror and finally to desperate pleading, abandoning all semblance of dignity in its groveling.

For an Adjuchas like Sparx, radiating an aura of survival at all costs, dignity held no value when faced with death.

The wooden puppet imbued with a fragment of Makoto's will remained expressionless as it gazed at Sparx and spoke slowly.

"Say something worthwhile."

Faced with the genuine threat of death, Sparx hesitated only briefly before spilling everything in a flurry of words, like beans pouring from a split bamboo tube.

"Sparx did indeed live in the upper desert region of Hueco Mundo. However, my feigned death ability has been used for decades, and while I could occasionally fool newly ascended Adjuchas, it's become increasingly hard to find prey…"

"Most other Adjuchas have evolved towards combat specialization. My direct combat abilities fall far behind my contemporaries and even some newly ascended Adjuchas."

"So, to survive and avoid my individual consciousness dissipating and regressing into a Gillian, I had no choice but to open a Garganta and venture into the human world for food."

Sparx tone became increasingly pitiful, almost sobbing, as if it were pleading its case before a merciful judge: "Honorable Shinigami, life is harsh, and I'm just trying to survive. What crime have I committed?"

However, with a brief moment of thought, Makoto spotted the flaw in Sparx explanation.

For Adjuchas, consuming countless ordinary human souls was no more than a meager snack, insufficient to sustain their evolution in any meaningful way.

Because of this, Adjuchas rarely wandered the human world.

After all, Adjuchas were busy creatures, dedicated to their primary goal of devouring others of their kind to progress in Hueco Mundo. Why waste time wandering the human realm?

Even if starvation struck, hunting a few Gillians in the Forest of Menos would be far more "nutritious" than consuming human souls.

Thus…

The wooden puppet's voice resonated again. "Your real goal from the start was to lure Shinigami, wasn't it? And then find a way to devour their souls?"

Sparx froze, its voice grinding to a halt like a jammed clockwork mechanism. The words it seemed about to utter were forcibly swallowed.

The next moment, Makoto's middle finger pressed down harder on Sparx.

Snap!

A crisp sound echoed as if something within Sparks had shattered under the pressure.

"Mercy, mercy! Please, Shinigami-sama, grant me one last chance! I'll confess everything—I swear!" Sparx voice turned frantic as it babbled.

The pressure eased slightly, and Makoto's voice followed, calm yet commanding.

"This is your final chance. Whether truth or lies, if I find any flaw in your words, it's over."

"Y-yes, yes…" Sparx stammered, its tone panicked as it hurriedly continued.

"S-Sparx target was indeed Shinigami because I heard from another Hollow that when captain-level Shinigami appear in the human world, their spiritual pressure is restricted. It's the best opportunity to hunt them."

"What's the name of that Hollow?" Makoto immediately pressed upon hearing this key piece of information.

"Szayelaporro Granz," Sparx answered.

Makoto's mind involuntarily conjured the image of a pink-haired, mad scientist from the original version—the Espada known as Szayelaporro Granz, whose mastery of life manipulation made him a terrifying foe.

"Szayelaporro? Is he an Adjuchas right now?" Makoto asked.

"I-I'm not sure," Sparx replied hesitantly. "I can't sense his level. It's possible he's progressed far beyond me on the Adjuchas evolution path… or maybe he's already a Vasto Lorde."

Makoto's lowered gaze sharpened at the mention of that term.

Vasto Lorde.

The apex of Hollows, a tier free from the curse of regression, their presence was akin to that of a king ruling Hueco Mundo's hierarchy.

According to the curriculum of the Shin'ō Academy, a Vasto Lorde was a theoretical existence above captain-class, capable of decimating tens of thousands of humans with the sheer release of spiritual pressure.

Of course, that was merely a theory.

Even among captains, strength varied. A group of Hollowfied captains were mere toys before Unohana, who easily dispatched Love Aikawa.

Still, it underscored the immense power held by a Vasto Lorde.

And for someone like Szayelaporro, his danger lay less in raw power and more in his unfathomable ingenuity.

After a brief pause, the wooden puppet's voice sounded again.

"So, is your current state also Szayelaporro's handiwork?"

Sparx sensed the undertone of danger in the puppet's voice and hastily replied, "N-no, no! Sparx is natural—completely unmodified! If I had been altered by Szayelaporro, I wouldn't dare speak his name!"

"I see…" The wooden puppet's tone shifted slightly as it concluded.

"I don't believe you. Unless you peel back your shell and let me examine your core to confirm you're free of artificial tampering."

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