LIGHTNOVELONLINE 72 – Good Kitty
It didn't take them too long to find a small abandoned cave in the Hueco Mundo wasteland. They all rushed in as soon as they determined it was empty. It would be more than enough to obscure them from sight.
Given that Mila Rose was already struggling to hold back her evolution Hisashi quickly deployed a [Hachigyō Sōgai] barrier and infused Mila Rose with [Spirit Power Concealment]. The two together should take care of most or possibly all of the commotion and prevent them from being discovered. He wasn't sure how violent other Hollow's Vasto Lorde transformations since he had only ever witnessed his own. Since he was just about the least normal Hollow around he wasn't a very good standard for what to expect.
By the time they got her Mila Rose fell to her knees unable to support her own weight, her spirit pressure was fluctuating wildly barely managing to remain under her control. When she finally stopped trying it burst forth like a waterfall trying to drown out those present.
Hisashi made sure to shield Apacci and Sung-Sun, the only two that could actually get harmed by her spirit pressure during the transformation. Dondochakka had already swallowed BawaBawa into his stomach to protect him. Everyone else was at a level where it was nothing more than a breeze to them.
The surrounding spirit particles started surging towards Mila Rose like a wild torrent as her body devoured it like an endless pit.
Apacci and Sung-Sun were surprised though. Hisashi was the only person they had witnessed becoming a Vasto Lorde and it had been a much more violent affair to the point it had destroyed the environment where he transformed. Though the surge Mila Rose was causing was still wild it was nowhere near that powerful.
Nel Tu crawled up on Hisashi's should and smiled clapping her hands.
"She's doing it!" she yelled happily.
Hisashi smiled back at her.
It was hard to tell with the spirit particle density becoming so dense they were visible and obscuring their sight, but Mila Rose's form was shifting slowly from her lion form towards a humanoid stature.
At the end of the transformation the spirit particle dissipated revealing Mila Rose's new form.
She had a human-like body, but her arms and legs still ended in massive lion paws that seemed to be a mix of a real paw and some kind of gauntlet. Looking up at her face she still had a lion's head surrounded by a wild mane. It had become a little more feminine looking than the one she had in her Adjuchas form though. A tail swung playfully behind her back. The rest of her was similar to the large tan form she had as an Arrancar.
Hisashi gulped. She had also gained her notoriously impressive assets. Tite Kubo really knew his busty girls.
She breathed in a deep breath then exhaled it slowly to calm down before opening her eyes.
She clenched her paws to get a feel for her somewhat more human form. Going from a completely animal-like form to a more humanoid one would probably take a while to get used to, but from the wide grin on her muzzle it was obvious she was excited about her newfound power.
She was now strong enough to face Apacci and Sung-Sun together and beat them like they were children. They were best friends, but for once being the strongest among them definitely stroked her pride.
The only thing that saddened her was that after assessing her spirit power and comparing it to what she experienced from Hisashi during his transformation she already knew she was the weakest Vasto Lorde in their group. Hisashi would come in first, followed by Harribel, and then herself.
She didn't compare herself to Nel's group. For one comparing with Arrancar through direct spiritual power level comparisons was a waste of time since that was only a small part of what made Arrancar stronger than regular Hollow. Their improved control, zanpakuto and new abilities meant the only true way to compare was to engage them in a serious fight.
Nel Tu herself meanwhile wasn't even considered since everyone saw her more as a little sister in need of protection. The only ones aware of Nel Tu's true power being her Fracción members and Hisashi.
Apacci was an entirely different story as she looked very frustrated.
"What's up with this bullshit! I worked so hard! Argh!" Apacci yelled. She couldn't accept Mila Rose was the first of them that succeeded, deep down she knew she could have worked even harder like Mila Rose had and blamed herself for losing.
"Aww, cute little Apacci. Do you need some pets?" Hisashi teased her.
"You shut up! Just watch me!" she retorted immediately, in no mood for his teasing.
Sung-Sun seemed the least bothered out of them, but it was hard to say since she had a tendency to hide her true feelings behind a mask of casual indifference.
Harribel looked positively proud. She did treat the Tres Bestias like friends or even family after all.
"Good job Rose," she told her which caused Mila Rose's tail to flick excitedly.
Pesche and Dondochakka looked rather nervous. They were only Adjuchas class Arrancar and it was quite likely Mila Rose had just surpassed them when she became a Vasto Lorde. They had just been bumped down the hierarchy one more step. They were kind of used to being around the bottom from their time in Las Noches. At least so far their new group didn't seem to treat them badly due to this.
"Sure. Mila Rose did great. Let's get moving," Apacci said impatiently. She seemed fired up. Mila Rose beating her to the punch had really lit a fire under her. She wouldn't accept falling any further behind. She rushed out first with the others needing to chase after her.
Hisashi smiled at the change in her. This would only make it more likely she would succeed.
