Bleach: Hollow Reaper

3: Big Minus

With its attacker dealt with by the mysterious ball of explosive, crimson reiatsu, the little swordsman turns to see what could be considered a vision of death itself. A pack, or rather, a full herd of enormous Hollows. Their bodies clad in long black cloaks complete with white spikes, hiding everything but their masks. A simple, white design with an elongated chin and nose, two relatively small eye holes and rectangular mouths. These creatures are known as Menos Grande, Gillian class. The culmination of hollows devouring one another until only an unending hunger remains.

Almost simultaneously, the enormous creatures turn to look at the small creature that escaped their first attack. The air around the little swordsman begins to pulsate, becoming thick with the reiatsu of these creatures, suffocating the smaller Hollow. As the little swordsman contemplates it's options, the Menos at the front of the herd begin charging a collection of the crimson blasts. "Run." The familiar, female voice echoes within the small Hollow's head.

A black and white aura of reiatsu gushes out of the small creature's body, seemingly freeing the little swordsman from the massive monsters' binding power. The Menos open their mouths wider, the crimson balls growing in size until a storm of blasts are sent its way. With one final push, the little swordsman pushes off the ground, leaping back and barely escaping contact with the balls. The blasts land where he once stood, combining into one incredible explosion that rocks the underground forest and sends the smaller Hollow soaring back.

The Hollow continues to fly uncontrollably through the air, finally slamming into a large cliff face. The rock wall caves under the force of the body hitting it, crumbling around it. Nearby, a group of Hollows witness its arrival, seeing a free meal and completely missing the blade fused to its hand as the sword hand tenses. When one of the Hollows gets near enough, the little swordsman send the blade up through the Hollow's chin, impaling it and killing it instantly. The little swordsman grunts, slowly getting to its feet, holding itself up with its blade.

It turns its eyes towards the nearby Hollows who once saw him as an easy meal who quickly scamper off, realising that even in its injured state, this was not an enemy they could defeat without suffering losses. Seeing the poor excuses for scavengers, the little swordsman loses interest, choosing to focus on more pressing matters. The herd of Menos Grande have already arrived, spread out in such a way that they've trapped the small Hollow between them and the cliff behind it. A quiet growl escapes from beneath the Hollow's simple mask as its gaze shifts from Hollow to Hollow, searching for a way out, a blind spot, anything.

It holds its blade in front of itself, growing more desperate by the second as the Menos' gather their reiatsu, each forming a large ball of crimson energy. The little swordsman lets out a scream of defiance as an explosion rocks the area. The Gillian directly in front of the little hollow disappears, revealing its killer only a short distance behind. Another Gillian, different to the rest. Its mask lacking the elongated nose, its eye holes replaced by four vertical gaps.

Beneath the little swordsman's mask, its eyes widen, seeing what could only be described as death incarnate. A large amount of pressure builds up around the Hollows and the little swordsman is forced to make a choice. Fight and die or take a leap of faith and hope for the best. It leaps. Dashing towards the edge of the cliff and leaping out through the newly made gap between the Menos. The Menos' turn to follow their prey, holding back from firing their shots until the small creature was back within their sights. The Gillian ahead lets out a roar as it begins charging its own attack. The pack of Menos fire, letting loose a storm of crimson blasts towards the smaller Hollow. The little swordsman reacts, thrusting his bladed hand to the side, piercing into a crystalline tree. With the force and speed of his current movement, it flings itself around the towering trunk, narrowly avoiding the blasts as they continue to rocket towards their next target.

The recipient of the blasts was not as lucky. The blasts coalesce, slamming into the more evolved Gillian and completely obliterating its right arm and part of its torso. The monster staggers back, reeling back in pain and rage. It lifts its head to scream, unintentionally launching the ball of crimson reiatsu it had been charging skyward. The blast meets its mark in the ceiling, causing a small collapse of rock and sand to come down upon it like an avalanche. The little swordsman watches on as the pack of Menos shift their attention towards the battered Gillian in front of them. Bent over and its pure white skin showing beneath its now tattered cloak, the creature's eyes focus on the creatures that caused it such pain, while its thoughts drift to the tiny nuisance that directed their blasts towards it.

The sheer ire in its eyes is visible beneath its mask as the other Menos begin to shuffle towards the almost downed behemoth. It opens its mouth, launching a beam of crimson energy at the pack. The pure power expelled from the monster's mouth shakes the forest for miles as the blast successfully cuts down half of the Menos pack. The little swordsman, realises that if it stayed to watch any longer, it would no doubt be the next one to be eradicated. It turns, keeping its eyes on the Gillian and dashes away as fast as its legs will carry it.

Meanwhile, the remaining Menos let out an ungodly roar. The pressure exerted from both them and the Gillian rendering nearby Hollows unconscious or at the very least, causing them great difficulty moving. As the Menos charge their blasts once again, the Gillian reaches out to the side, grabbing something from one of the nearby branches, snapping said branch in the process. A muffled scream can be heard from within the creature's white hand before it throws an average sized Hollow towards the pack with great strength. The Menos fire, hitting the smaller Hollow as it reaches close proximity to their faces. An explosion bursts forth, covering their masks with smoke and dust.

The Menos closest to the blast falls to its knees, revealing the burnt, charred face beneath the destroyed mask. The Hollow collapses, dead, while its compatriots charge yet another volley of blasts. The Gillian let's loose a blast of its own, hitting one of the remaining Menos and setting off a chain reaction. The Menos fall, one by one, as they're heads are systematically removed by thunderous explosions of their own reiatsu.

As the Gillian is about to turn away, a giant, pale hand reaches around a crystalline tree, indenting into it as it pushes its massive body towards the injured Gillian. It opens its mouth wide, charging at the Gillian. The Gillian shifts its body. Sacrificing a portion of its remaining right side to the Menos' jaws as it uses its left arm to wrap around the body of its would-be devoured. It tightens its grasp on the monster's body, squeezing tighter by the second. The Menos lets out a roar of pain as a slow cracking noise begins to echo throughout the underground forest. The Gillian lets out a battlecry as it plunges its own teeth into the masked face of its victim. The mask cracks and crumbles beneath the force of the Gillian's jaws as a red light emanates from within the Gillian's mouth. Moments later, a massive blast erupts from its mouth, completely disintegrating the Menos' head, leaving its body dangling in its arm for a moment before it drops the mangled corpse. It turns to face the shadowy forest, eyes filled with rage as it begins its unending hunt for the little swordsman.

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A/N: I apologise that updates have been slow. I have an exam coming up soon so my time is being used studying for that whilst wishing for the sweet release of story writing.