Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 39 - Farewell to the Forest of Menos

"My lord, we cannot leave these two destabilizing elements in the forest." After a brief silence, the aged Hollow beast beside the Great Lord spoke again. "Nine years from now, our war with the Northern Forest begins. If we allow destabilizing elements to remain, and those two Hollows end up tying down our movements at the critical moment, we could suffer a crushing defeat. What's more, fangs like these would consume the resources of an entire region. They cannot be kept!"

"We second this."

Voices rose from within the great tree, one after another. Whatever the Hollows here thought of these two outsiders, none of it was favorable.

"Then kill them." The Great Lord's eyes narrowed beneath his Hollow Mask, and waves of Reiatsu began bleeding outward against his will. "Yilao, your perception is the strongest. Personally select ten — no, fifteen Adjuchas-class Menos and dispatch them to the region where those two outsiders are. Make sure they are slain within the forest."

"Yes, my lord."

"Yinfeng, you as well — actually, never mind. Withdraw and rest for now." The Great Lord glanced at Yinfeng, whose Reiatsu was weak and unstable. He had originally intended to send Yinfeng along to use its ability to trap the two outsiders, but in its current state, sending it would just be handing the enemy a free meal.

"Yes, my lord." Jekain bowed and returned to his own territory to heal. In truth, he wasn't worried about Wayne at all, because long before Jekain had even returned to report, Wayne and Nel had already opened a Garganta and left the Forest of Menos far behind.

In that final battle, Wayne had taken the Hollow Masks of two Adjuchas directly. On top of that, the Reishi within his body had long since exceeded the limit it could hold. His advancement was practically a foregone conclusion. After weighing the possibility that Yinfeng might yet return to the core team, Wayne withdrew from the Forest of Menos to find a quiet region to undergo his evolution.

Once he broke through, he would return to the Forest of Menos and begin building his own faction, laying the groundwork for the revenge he planned to exact six years from now. In that plan, Jekain's role was absolutely critical. With Jekain feeding intelligence from the inside, Wayne could pick off isolated enemies at will while staying ahead of any coordinated purge.

Jekain's ability sealed a target within a confined area: no Reiatsu leaked out, and the Reishi and spiritual energy inside lost all connection to the outside world. Pair that with Nel's unique absorption method and Wayne's own concealment, and this three-person squad was the most terrifying assassination unit below Vasto Lorde level, no bodies, no traces, no loose ends.

The only thing left to wait for was Wayne's evolution. Once he broke through to Adjuchas and secured a foothold in the Forest of Menos, everything after that would have almost nothing standing in its way.

"Great Lord, those two outsiders have vanished." A day later, the Hollows sent to hunt them came back empty-handed and had no choice but to brace their Hierro and report in.

"Yilao." The Great Lord was silent for a moment, then turned to the elder Hollow beside him. The aged beast reached out with its perception, then slowly shook its head. Its range only covered the Forest of Menos. Anything beyond that was darkness.

"So that's how it is." The Great Lord's expression settled. "Lords of each region, strengthen your defenses. The outsiders have left. If they were still somewhere in the inner circle, they wouldn't have been able to slip away to the other two Forests of Menos so easily. For the next year, stay sharp. Do not let yourselves be ambushed. The moment anyone senses a powerful Reiatsu, send a contact signal immediately."

"Yes!"

On the other side, Wayne and Nel had left the Forest of Menos well ahead of that. They walked for three full days inside the Garganta before stopping. At that distance, even a carpet search launched from the Central Forest would take over a month to reach them, and Wayne doubted the Great Lord would stay that fixated on two outsiders. The Forest of Menos saw new arrivals every day: Gillians wandering in from the outer circle, Adjuchas bursting up through the ground after evolving in some forgotten corner of the forest. They showed up with clockwork regularity.

Combat-oriented Adjuchas didn't think much of the Forest of Menos. The resource allocation was too thin, and inside those forests, a hundred non-combat Adjuchas firing a single Cero each could still make life miserable for anyone who pushed their luck. No point in courting that kind of trouble. It was like how the truly strong tended to stand alone while only the weak clustered together for warmth, though really, that just reflected how poorly most of them understood what a proper team could do.

Thousands of kilometers from the Central Forest, Wayne and Nel found a small grove roughly a kilometer in radius. Wayne chose this place to complete his evolution. Nel would spend that same time bringing the local Hollow beasts into line.

An Adjuchas-class Menos was top-tier combat strength anywhere in the outer circle, let alone in a place that bred nothing but lower-ranking Hollow beasts. Nel was the undisputed strongest creature in this grove the moment she arrived. When the two of them descended on the forest, the lower-ranking Hollows were completely dumbfounded, frozen between throwing themselves to the ground in submission and just bolting.

In the end, the local lord, a high-ranking Hollow beast with a fish-face mask, chose to submit. He'd thought it over and concluded he probably couldn't outrun an Adjuchas's Sonído either way. Surrendering at least left a chance at survival.

Nel couldn't be bothered to give the Fish-Face Hollow lord much attention. She waved a hand and told them to clear out of this area and hunt on the outskirts. But the moment they spotted any Hollow of Gillian class or above, they were to report to her immediately.

The Fish-Face Hollow didn't dare ask questions. He hurried his subordinates away from the center of the forest and spread them out along the perimeter. Having an Adjuchas in the forest left the lower-ranking Hollows deeply uneasy, but it wasn't without its perks. At the very least, starting today, no Menos of Gillian class or above would be raiding this place.

"Lord Wayne, things look pretty good here. You should be able to evolve in peace." After scouting the area, Nel gave her report.

"Good. Then I'm starting. Nel, I'm leaving the guard to you." Two days ago, Wayne had swallowed the Hollow Masks of two Adjuchas that had been on the verge of dissolving into Reishi. After devouring them, he had spent every bit of focus he had suppressing the newly absorbed Reishi and keeping it from being refined into his body. By now he was close to losing that hold. If he didn't evolve soon, the immense spiritual energy building inside him was going to tear him apart.

No more words. Wayne fired a Cero and blasted a trench into the ground, then leaped in. His spiritual energy began to churn. A pale-gold light cocoon flickered into existence around him, gradually wrapping around his fifteen-meter frame. He sank slowly toward the bottom of the trench and slipped into hibernation. Nel used her own spiritual energy to fill the trench back in, then worked the surrounding terrain into a layer of camouflage over it. It seemed unnecessary, but that was exactly the point. Nel's care. Wayne's caution.

"Hah... I wonder how long Lord Wayne is going to be under this time." The camouflage work done, Nel finally exhaled. Now it was just waiting, waiting for Wayne to emerge, so they could turn around and charge back into the Forest of Menos. "Hmm... nothing else to do, I guess. Might as well go pick on those lower-ranking Hollows for a bit. Hmph~"

Buried beneath the sand, Wayne had no idea what Nel was getting up to. Consciousness left him almost the moment he sank in, like falling asleep. During that time it came back, then faded, then came back again, cycling through over and over. He felt as though he had crossed into another world. Not the dim grey of Hueco Mundo. Something hazier. More primordial. In that state, sight was gone, perception was gone, control of his own body was gone. The only thing he could feel was wave after wave of soft spiritual energy drifting through the space around his consciousness.

Losing it. Regaining it. Haze. Confusion. The cycle ran on without end.

Then, finally, there came a moment when Wayne sensed something beyond the energy, the return of control over his own body, and the vast spiritual power that had been building inside it.

"You have finally awakened, my child."

Consciousness settled back into place. His body was his again. And Wayne heard that voice once more, ancient, weathered, worn smooth by ages.

"...Forest of Menos?" He remembered it. The same voice that had spoken inside his mind the first time he evolved into a Gillian.

"Yes, my child. I did not expect us to meet again so soon." Ancient as it was, the voice of the Forest of Menos carried warmth, something close to a parent's affection.

"But I already left the Forest of Menos. Why are you..."

"My child, I am everywhere." The words were unhurried, calm. "The Forest of Menos is only one part of how I nurture my children. As long as you continue to grow within Hueco Mundo, you will find me again."

"So you're more than just the Forest of Menos. I'll still call you that, though." Wayne couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but this kind of exchange, soul to soul, consciousness to consciousness, didn't bother him. "What do you want to tell me this time?"

"Heh. My child, your calm mind brings me comfort. And the speed of your growth genuinely surprises me. In just a few short years, you have already come this far. It seems my choice was not wrong."

"Hm?" That word snagged on something. Choice? Had he been selected from among countless Hollow beasts? And if so, did that mean other Menos had also received contact from the Forest of Menos at some point?

"Among all my children, your growth rate places you among the very fastest. Throughout your journey, I have given you knowledge suited to where you were in your development. It is different from what the Soul King creates — less a design, more a form of guidance."

"You've mentioned the Soul King twice now. Can you tell me more?" Wayne had grown to the rank of Adjuchas, a full third of the evolutionary path behind him. There were things he was starting to want answers to.

"My child, you are sharp. But your strength is still not enough to touch that level." The voice was patient, full of quiet warmth. "Perhaps the next time we meet, I can share more with you."

"Which would be when I evolve into a Vasto Lorde." Wayne turned that over for a moment. "So — is there something you need me to do?"

"Heh. As for that, I'll tell you when you reach that stage." The Forest of Menos kept that card close. Then it continued: "My child, of all the children I have known, you are the most unique — and the most outstanding. Your abilities evolve through your own nature, and in that regard, there is nothing more I can do for you. But I have something that may help your growth along. I hope you will accept it."

A point of light appeared before him.

A golden crystal, luminous and translucent, shaped something like a teardrop. Wayne had no way to touch it. The glowing teardrop orbited him twice, then sank into his Hollow Mask.

"What is this?"

"Something that can help you grow, and give you a turning point when the moment demands it. It will also grant you a new trait." The Forest of Menos didn't elaborate further. "Very well, my child. Your growth is complete. Until we meet again. The path ahead is hard, the more power you seek, the more you must give, and the deeper into danger you must go. Even so, I believe in you. We will meet again one day. I hope it is not too long from now."

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