So about the criticism with Kazuya's race-switching ability. He wont be staying Hollow only. The whole idea of the story was for a chaotic protagonist to mess around with every faction. He will also invade Wandenreich at some point.
But rest assured he will stay Hollow a majority of the time since it will be his most powerful form.
***
How would anyone imagine the ability of oppression? The power to overwhelm someone to the point they had no chance of fighting back? The power to crush someone under sheer pressure like a bug?
The manifestation of Kazuya's Aspect of Death worked similarly, yet worlds apart from those concepts.
It was truly a breathtaking ability.
He went out in search of an animalistic Hollow to test its effectiveness. Lo-and-behold, he found four massive Hollows hibernating in an underground cave. They were Menos Grande.
Unlike Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde, a Menos Grande surpassed the height of an average house in Japan. Each cloaked in black from top to bottom, they each had a Hollow mask with an extending nose bearing three holes. Despite their giant size, they were considered foot soldiers in Las Noches, as they were below Adjuchas in strength and raw power, and were more commonly known as Gillian.
All the Gillians screeched as they sensed the intruders.
Apacci nudged him with her horn. "Let's leave. There is no point in fighting them."
She could take on three or four Gillians on her own but their combined Cero would absolutely wreck her. She was also afraid of attracting some stronger Hollows' attention. Although she trusted in Kazuya's ability, she didn't know if he would be able to handle multiple Adjuchas.
Kazuya merely smiled and stretched his hand towards the Gillians. "Oppress atmospheric air."
A blue Reiatsu surrounded the intimidating giant Hollows, and the wind howled like a wolf.
Atmospheric air was everywhere, just like Reishi in Hueco Mundo. In a wide open world, the air alone weighed over hundred of thousands of pounds. Typically, the internal body pressure canceled the atmospheric air while body tissues absorbed the rest of the net force. The Oppression ability overturned that perfect balance in favor of pure destruction. A Gillian's body structure was incomparably more resilient than human, but could it survive tons of pressure from all sides?
The answer revealed itself in the form of cracking bones. Flesh ruptured and blood spurted. In an expected turn of events, the four Gillians, towering over four stories, crumbled in balls of grotesque flesh.
"Amazing…"
The sheer force of his innate ability left him astonished.
[Aspect of Death (Oppression): Oppression crushes all by infallible authority. With the power of oppression, you can heighten any aspect of a physical body, be it your surroundings or a part of your enemy's body.
Reiryoku's consumption will be increased depending on the resistance faced and your comprehension of the aspect.]
A fitting ability for the man who always lived under constant oppression. He could amplify one aspect of his surroundings as long as it existed physically.
He could technically raise anyone's heartbeat and destroy their heart. An instant death that would require immense Reiryoku varying from individual to individual.
The ability, however, wasn't perfect: its energy consumption was its biggest drawback, followed by its conditions. Just one use against Gillians drained his Reiryoku by nearly a quarter. The efficiency would be even worse if he tried to control stronger Hollows. The ability wouldn't work if his opponent repelled his Reiatsu with a greater concentration of Reiryoku.
He had to expand his knowledge if he wanted to harness the full potential of this ability.
He somewhat regretted skipping physics classes and having some juicy time with his Mathematics professor, who happened to be his girlfriend.
Apacci stared at Gillians with wide eyes. The incomprehensible power left her in awe and terror. The random Hollow she had stumbled upon was a terrifying slaughter machine.
"What did you do…?" Apacci whispered, shock refusing to leave her face. "Is this the true ability of a Vasto Lorde?
"Hmm?" He tilted his head and smiled innocently. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. And no, not every Vasto Lorde would have this terrifying ability… they might have something stronger."
"You little rascal." Apacci never wanted to skewer someone with her horns until now. His innocent ridicule truly pissed her off. "I will—" She paused, her eyes darting toward the distant hills. Her expression was suddenly overcome with a deep fear.
Kazuya revealed a smile. "You sensed it too?"
Apacci slowly nodded at his question. "Of course. My senses are superior to other Adjuchas."
Her senses may have developed from her cowardly way of life, but she took pride in her achievement. Survival in Hueco Mundo depended on several things. Faster, stronger, and smarter—she surpassed other Aduchas in two departments.
"Commendable." The youth, who only thought about his self interests, grinned ear to ear. "They came at the right time. Apacci, why don't you hide in some corner and let me deal with them?"
The newcomers didn't bother hiding their Reiatsu. Every one of their Reiatsu surpassed Apacci's by a small margin.
Apacci didn't obey his order, standing rooted to her position. "The hell do you think you're talking to? I'm not some weenie coward. Watch my Cero rip them to shreds!"
Her Reiryoku had fully recovered after eating the Hollow and resting so much. Now, she could destroy weaker Hollows with her Cero rays, even if she was no match for a male Adjuchas.
"You're finally showing some backbone," Kazuya whispered and gently rubbed her Hollow mask. "I love it when you show this side of yours."
"Grrrrr. Don't treat me like a pet."
The enemies showed up soon. A humanoid lizard-like Hollow standing over two meters, a gargantuan monkey-like Hollow with a white mask, and another one in the form of a giant crow towering over his companions.
Three Adjuchas with hostile intentions appeared before them. It was only natural for him to treat them like dolls in a dollhouse. In other words, they would serve as his guinea pigs.
"A white puny goat and a deer," the monkey Hollow said in a sharp voice. "Just the pair I was searching for. You will pay the price of killing my subordinates around this place."
"Let's crush them and return to Lord Baraggan. This place is so boring."
The crow nodded at the words of his fellow indirect subordinates serving Hueco Mundo's undisputed king. These three had let out their Hollows subordinates to devour new Hollows and evolve in the wild, but they had been killed by these two newcomers.
Appaci's response was a crispy beam of Cero Ray that scorched the monkey's fur around his chest, leaving a bloody mess. "You pathetic monkey, I'm not a deer. Kazuya also has wings. He isn't a goat. Open your damn eyes before spitting bullshit!"
"Goddamn." Kazuya beamed a smile at the furious Hollows while patting Apacci's head. "That's not a friendly way to approach our guests, now is that? Hey you three, why don't we sit down in my cave and chat about your life troubles? I'm an A-grade listener, the closest thing you'll find to a professional therapist in Hueco Mundo."
"The heck are you saying?" Apacci retorted. "They're mad now!"
"You dare to mock me, a retainer of Lord Barragan's court?"
"You will pay for this."
"Death to the sinner!!!"
The Hollows roared with rage and charged at him. He vanished in a blink of an eye, leaving a sonic boom. He reappeared moments later several meters away with his Sonído technique. He left the Hollows in the dust with his speed.
"No need to be so mad. Geez." He raised his hand from Apacci's head and released the full pressure of his Vasto Lorde-Class Reiatsu. "If anything, you should be happy that your pathetic lives contributed to my great cause~."
The three Adjuchas weren't offended in the slightest. How could they be when they felt as if the sky collapsed as their very souls shivered in terror. Kazuya's Reiatsu was ripping their souls apart.
"A V-Vasto Lorde?!"
"Curse our luck. Why is a Vasto Lorde here?"
"DAMN IT!!!"
The realization came far too late. Their deaths were written in stone the moment they approached him with malicious intent.
Apacci, who was behind Kazuya, merely felt a fraction of his oppressive Reiatsu. Even that left her shaken to her core.
'Vasto Lorde are something else.'
How great would it be to have such power? She could say goodbye to her run and hide life and live the way Kazuya mentioned without fearing the inevitable "end." Unfortunately, she was one of those Adjuchas-Class who barely received any strength increase even after consuming another Adjuchas. To put it simply, her ceiling stopped at Adjuchas-Class as she lacked the potential to evolve into a Vasto Lorde.
A desire not so different from envy flooded her chest.
Kazuya patted her neck. "What got you so irritated, huh?"
Apacci ignored him, gritting her teeth. Backing down on a promise would be humiliating. And she had no desire to stay as a leech, relying on Kazuya's protection all the time. That wasn't who Apacci was.
'Screw Vasto Lorde. I'm becoming the strongest Arrancar.'
Her quest to break through her limits and reach new heights had just begun.