MiRnOuCh

Chapter 191: Neliel Tu Odelschwanck

Chapter 191: Chapter 191: Neliel Tu Odelschwanck


(T/N: Hello everyone, sorry for the late update! Something was wrong with Webnovel, I don’t know if anyone else had the same problem! here is the first Chapter: Thanks for your support and hope you enjoy it!)


Neliel felt the pressure on her body lift as the terrifying spiritual pressure that had been weighing her down vanished.


But she didn’t dare to let her guard down. That Shinigami’s strength was far beyond hers—her chances of escape were slim to none.


"Dear Shinigami sirs, I have no intention of fighting you. Could you let me go?" Neliel said in a steady voice.


"I can sense a peaceful flow in your spiritual pressure. That means you didn’t grow through slaughter like most Adjuchas," Nanatsuki said with a smile. "Sosuke, she seems to have good potential. Try testing her combat ability."


"Understood, Teacher." Aizen Sosuke stepped forward and slowly drew his Zanpakutō. "Miss Hollow, please show me what you’ve got."


"Looks like there’s no avoiding a fight... Even though you’re strong..." Neliel narrowed her eyes, brandishing the bony spear in her hands. "I can’t afford to fall here!"


Her front hooves leapt high into the air as she thrust her bone spear forcefully toward Aizen Sosuke.


Clang! Aizen blocked it with the tip of his sword and commented calmly, "Good strength—but no technique whatsoever."


Annoyed, Neliel leaned forward to press down with more force, trying to overpower this arrogant Shinigami.


But suddenly, Sosuke let go of his Zanpakutō with his right hand—and with lightning precision, caught it midair with his left.


The bone spear, now lacking support, left Neliel’s upper body unbalanced as her hind hooves failed to keep her stable.


She lost her balance instantly.


However, being quadrupedal had its advantages. Even with her body thrown off, her front hooves hit the ground and, after a few staggering steps, she managed to stabilize without smashing her humanoid torso into the dirt.


But before she could fully adjust, Aizen Sosuke had already launched his counterattack.


He gripped his Zanpakutō in a reverse left-hand grip and unleashed an upward slash.


Neliel hurriedly raised her spear to block it.


A flash of steel rang out—Zanpakutō clashing against bone spear—and echoed sharply.


Clang! The spear was knocked flying, spinning several times before embedding itself into a sand dune several meters away.


"Damn it!" Neliel gasped.


She was completely outmatched!


Neliel had an exceptional talent. She hadn’t reached her current strength by devouring other Hollows—she merely absorbed Reishi from the atmosphere to grow her Reiatsu. However, this also meant her combat experience was sorely lacking.


"Your Reiatsu rivals that of a lieutenant-level Shinigami," Aizen said with a smirk. "But your technique? Even a Shin’o Spiritual Arts Academy freshman would embarrass you. What a waste of talent."


"Don’t look down on me! Try this!" A glow lit up Neliel’s mouth as her Reiatsu compressed into a glowing orb.


"A Cero... This will be my first time seeing one in person. Perfect chance to try a Kidō my teacher taught me," Aizen said, raising his right hand. "Pride of the heavens, walls of iron, dragon’s stride, lion’s roar, tiger’s cry, wolf’s charge—cut off the sky and earth before they collapse! Bakudō #81: Dankū!"


Aizen had considerable talent in Kidō, even mastering high-level spells.


However, he wasn’t confident he could block a Cero without chanting.


A reddish Cero fired from Neliel’s mouth—but rather than targeting Aizen, she aimed it at a small sand dune to the right.


Boom! The dune exploded, blasting a cloud of dust into the air.


The swirling sand instantly obscured the vision of both Katori Nanatsuki and Aizen Sosuke. The intense spiritual turbulence from the Cero further disrupted their spiritual senses, preventing them from detecting anything inside the cloud.


Time to bolt!


As soon as she released the Cero, Neliel turned and ran.


She wasn’t stupid—she had already mapped out her escape route before the fight even began.


These two Shinigami were not enemies she could defeat. Staying here would be suicide.


But just as she took her first step, she realized something had bound her.


Looking down, she found that it was her own shadow!


"What the hell?!" Neliel panicked. The sand and Reiatsu would clear in seconds—her escape window was closing fast. But now she was tangled in her own shadow and completely immobilized.


She struggled to break free, but the shadow held her tightly.


Aizen stepped calmly out of the swirling dust with a smile. "Miss Hollow, there’s no need to be so afraid. My teacher doesn’t intend to kill you."


He had long understood his teacher’s intentions—Nanatsuki found this Adjuchas interesting and clearly had no desire to kill her.


"You’re not going to kill me? Then what do you want?"


As the sand cleared, Neliel saw the black line of shadow binding her. It stretched across the ground to a Zanpakutō stabbed into the earth.


Nanatsuki’s Shikai activation was now fast enough that he didn’t even need a release chant.


At the exact moment the Cero exploded, he had already connected his shadow with Neliel’s.


To bind someone using his Zanpakutō’s Shikai, the blade had to be stabbed into the target’s shadow.


Nanatsuki withdrew his sword, and the shadows binding Neliel quickly faded.


"You don’t seem to fight often. Growing this much just by absorbing atmospheric Reishi shows exceptional talent," Nanatsuki said gently. "You saw Sosuke’s power—he used Reiatsu similar to yours, yet you couldn’t defend against him. That’s the difference in technique."


"Would you like to be my student? I can teach you what you’re missing."


Aizen was surprised. He’d assumed his teacher wanted to capture this Hollow for research—but to take her as a disciple?


Neliel was just as stunned. She hesitated. "Aren’t Shinigami supposed to hunt Hollows? I heard there are Shinigami armies in the Forest of Menos!"


"Shinigami come to Hueco Mundo only to maintain balance among the three realms—to send souls to the World of the Living for reincarnation," said Nanatsuki. "Your talent is excellent. I’m curious how far you could go under my guidance."


"If I become your student, can I stay in Hueco Mundo?" Neliel asked.


"Your current strength is decent, but there are powerful beings in Hueco Mundo. If you run into one, you won’t survive. So first, you’ll need to train with me in Soul Society. Once you can protect yourself, you can return whenever you like," Nanatsuki said.


Classes at the Shin’o Academy were starting next week, and he would be too busy to come to Hueco Mundo often. It would be much easier to teach her in Seireitei.


"To become a disciple of someone as strong as you... it’s my honor."


[Neliel Tu Odelschwanck requests to become your personal disciple. Accept?]


Nanatsuki looked at the message that popped up in front of him and accepted without hesitation.


[Successfully accepted Neliel Tu Odelschwanck as a personal disciple.]


[Neliel Tu Odelschwanck’s Reputation Level increased: Friendly]


[First Hollow disciple obtained! Bonus reward: Shinigami Reishi Vaccine]


[System optimization: Added Hollow disciple training feedback. Interface improved.]


Nanatsuki was surprised. Accepting Neliel as a disciple triggered an update to the teaching system, separating feedback for Hollow and Shinigami disciples. It seemed rewards might differ between them.


He opened his Status Interface to check:


[Base Abilities – Shinigami]


Reiatsu: Lv90


Swordsmanship: Lv90


Kidō: Lv80


Hakuda: Lv70


Shunpo: Lv75


[Base Abilities – Hollow]


Reiatsu: Lv0


High-Speed Regeneration: Lv0


Hierro: Lv0


Sonído: Lv0


(Currently Locked – Requires Hollow Power to activate)


He now had a Hollow abilities panel!


However, it was grayed out. A note appeared:


[Will activate upon acquiring Hollow Power]


He then checked the bonus reward:


Shinigami Reishi Vaccine


Allows a Hollow to temporarily use Shinigami powers to undergo a transformation into an Arrancar. Valid for 7 days.


He had obtained an item that could turn a Hollow into an Arrancar!


Unfortunately, the vaccine only lasted 7 days—not enough time to research and reverse-engineer the formula. Still, using it on Neliel would give him a reference point for Arrancar development, which would help his lab’s research.


Nanatsuki decided to wait until returning to Soul Society to use it.


"Neliel, I need to find some shells before taking you back to Soul Society," Nanatsuki said.


"What kind of shells, Teacher?" she asked.


"Spiral ones. Big ones are fine. That Cero scared off all the small Hollows, so we’ll need to search carefully."


"Spiral shells... I know a place. Two of my friends are nearby. It’s not far. I’ll take you there. I’d like to say goodbye."


A while later, Neliel led Nanatsuki and Aizen to a rocky mountain terrain.


The rocks were full of scattered holes—some as small as fists, some larger than basketballs.


"Hermit Crab Hollows?" Nanatsuki said, seeing one crawl out of a hole.


"These Hollows make shells out of sand and bone, forming spiral patterns. Their shells are very durable—even after death, the shells don’t vanish," Neliel explained while poking around the holes with her spear.


Most of them were alive. Small creatures like these weren’t aggressive toward larger beings and simply curled up inside their shells.


Neliel returned the live ones and kept searching.


Eventually, she found a few empty shells.


"Teacher, I found undamaged empty shells! Will these work?" she asked, holding up one slightly larger than a palm.


Nanatsuki inspected the shell—it had a spiral structure. To be safe, he decided to take all the empty shells she found.


"Teacher, I have two Hollow friends nearby. Before leaving Hueco Mundo, can I say goodbye to them?"


"Of course," Nanatsuki nodded.


"Hollows can have friendships too?" Aizen asked curiously. Looking at Neliel walking ahead, he turned to his teacher. "But Teacher, aren’t Hollows’ hearts hollow? I read somewhere that they devour souls to fill the emptiness in their hearts—a form of psychological comfort. So how can they have emotions?"


"Emotions and emptiness are related, but not synonymous. Based on what I’ve seen, it varies by individual. Still, emotionally rich Hollows are rare," Nanatsuki replied, drawing from his experiences and his past-life memories.


"Books are limited, after all. This trip to Hueco Mundo really broadened my horizons," Aizen said with a smile.


They followed Neliel to the mouth of a cave.


"Pesche! Dondochakka!" Neliel called into the cave.


She called a few times but got no response. Frowning, she muttered, "Did they go out?"


"Neliel, are your friends Menos-class Hollows?" Nanatsuki asked. "I don’t sense any strong Reiatsu nearby."


He hadn’t sensed any Menos besides Neliel.


Neliel shook her head. "Pesche and Dondochakka aren’t Menos yet."


"Then they may be in trouble," Nanatsuki said, narrowing his eyes. He crouched and spotted fresh blood near the cave entrance. "Very recent."


Neliel panicked and examined the blood’s Reiatsu.


"It’s Dondochakka’s Reiatsu!"


Nanatsuki analyzed the lingering energy and confirmed: both Pesche and Dondochakka were no longer within sensing range.


He walked over to a nearby sand dune, reached in, and pulled out a pangolin-like Hollow.


It was about half the size of a person and snarled as it tried to bite his hand.


Crack! Its teeth shattered under his Reiatsu, and it began trembling.


"Can you speak?"


"A... little..." the Hollow stammered.


"What happened here just now?"


"Big Hollows... from Las Noches... came to recruit!"