Chapter 637 The Beautiful Innocence

This bug-like Adjuchas before them was prime evolutionary fodder.

Just then, with a sharp clang of metal, Nelliel swung the double-headed javelin fused with her right arm, precisely blocking all four of Nnoitra's simultaneous downward slashes. With a flick of her wrist, the shaft of the javelin vibrated.

Nnoitra's giant mantis body immediately lost its balance. His feelers stumbled two steps on the sand, then he crashed over, sending a spray of white sand into the air.

"I don't want to fight you anymore, Nnoitra."

Nelliel looked down at him from above.

The mask covered the upper half of her face, but it didn't hide the coldness and a faint hint of disdain in her tone.

She turned around, her four hooves stepping gracefully as she prepared to leave. "Don't come looking for me again."

"Kill me! If you've got the guts, kill me, Nelliel!"

Nnoitra screamed maniacally, pounding the ground with his four scythe-like arms.

"Otherwise, I will kill you! One day! Do you hear me!?"

Looking at his face, which was covered by a mask yet still showed his madness, Nelliel's tone was as calm as ever. "Fine, come if you want. But I have no interest in taking your life. We are no longer the lowest-level Gillians. We have our own consciousness and intelligence. Pointless mutual slaughter is nothing but the behavior of beasts."

"Damn it! Damn it! You're just a woman, just a woman!"

Nnoitra, the number one misogynist in Hueco Mundo, watched Nelliel's retreating back and continued cursing on the sand.

"Hey~ Onii-chan~ I'm a woman too. Want to play with me?"

Just then, a high-pitched, nasal voice came from the side.

Instantly, both Nnoitra, lying on the ground, and Nelliel, who was about to leave, broke out in goosebumps.

They both turned their heads in unison and met the lecherous gazes and strange, effeminate voices of the Four Gay Bros. Their faces bore smiles that made one physically uncomfortable.

Nelliel stumbled in shock, her voice changing pitch. "Wh-who are you people?"

"Hey~ Sheep-chan, you're not going to eat this guy. That's your business. Why not just hand him over to us?"

The Dolphin Devil licked his tongue, his smile meaningful.

Nelliel's heart sank.

'Were they here to steal my prey?'

In Hueco Mundo, this kind of thing was all too common. Two Hollows would fight each other to the point of mutual exhaustion, and a third Hollow lurking in the shadows would seize the opportunity, swooping in to reap the benefits, easily harvesting two crippled bodies.

After a moment of silence, Nelliel hesitated and asked, "...Wouldn't that be a bit much?"

Although Nelliel herself adhered to a no-kill philosophy, she didn't force other Hollows to do the same.

In that regard, Nelliel was quite humanized.

Unlike some vegans who, not eating meat themselves, also demand that others not eat it.

But the problem was, Nnoitra was now half-crippled from her attacks. For this group of Hollows reeking of philosophical energy to take advantage of him at this moment was... well, a bit underhanded.

Although she hated Nnoitra's constant harassment, seeing him being taken advantage of and eaten still didn't sit right with her.

At that moment, Makoto, along with Yu and the others, walked down from the dunes. He pointed at Nnoitra, who was still sprawled on the ground, and said to the Four Gay Bros:

"Wait until he's fully recovered before attacking."

As soon as he said this, both Nelliel and Nnoitra froze.

They turned their heads again. When they saw Makoto, Yu, Beam, and the others, who were only normal human size, their pupils simultaneously contracted.

The iron law of Hueco Mundo — the smaller the body, the greater the power.

It was obvious.

'This size... Vasto Lorde!'

Nnoitra's eyes widened.

'One, two, three, four...'

'Wait a minute, wasn't the entire Hueco Mundo supposed to have only a handful of Vasto Lorde?'

'And weren't all of them renowned overlords?'

'How had so many suddenly appeared out of nowhere?'

"Who are you?"

Nelliel looked at Makoto's group in confusion.

Vasto Lorde-level Hollows were all famous in Hueco Mundo. Although she didn't participate in the fighting and killing, she had at least heard their names.

But now, this many Vasto Lorde had appeared out of thin air, and she didn't recognize a single one.

Makoto smiled and extended his hand to Nelliel. "Nice to meet you. I'm Nishikawa Makoto."

Nelliel blinked, tilting her head, puzzled by the hand extended toward her.

She clearly had no idea what a 'handshake' meant.

Seeing this, Makoto wasn't embarrassed. He took the initiative to take Nelliel's hand.

Feeling the warmth from his palm, Nelliel's large eyes beneath the mask blinked. Her long lashes brushed lightly against the inside of the bone mask.

After a moment's pause, Nelliel clumsily returned the handshake, imitating Makoto's gesture, and gave her name: "Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

Makoto shook his head with a smile. "That name's too long for me. I'll call you Nel from now on. Is that okay?"

Nelliel nodded seriously, her tone earnest: "Mm-hmm. Your name isn't long. Then I'll call you Nishikawa Makoto."

"Where I come from, using someone's full name means you're not that close. Calling them by a shorter name shows more familiarity."

Makoto, like a patient father, was teaching this newly-sentient girl basic social etiquette.

"Ohhh —" Nelliel pouted, the bone mask moving with her expression, looking like she'd just had a revelation. "Alright, I'll call you Makoto then."

Watching the two of them chat as if no one else was there, Nnoitra, who was still lying on the ground and hadn't fully recovered, felt a surge of fury inside.

'Hey, you're both Vasto Lorde! Don't you know the rule: one kingdom can't hold two kings? When strong opponents meet, they should fight to the death!'

"Hey! You've recovered enough, haven't you, cockroach?"

Seeing that Nnoitra's wounds had healed under the effects of High-Speed Regeneration, the Teddy Devil walked up and kicked his hard carapace, producing a dull thud.

"It's a mantis—!" Nnoitra roared back in fury.

Then, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Nnoitra leaped up and swung one of his sickles straight at the Teddy Devil's head. The blade cut through the air with a piercing screech.

But the Teddy Devil didn't dodge. He simply raised his elbow to block.

The sickle struck the back of his hand with a clang, sending up a shower of sparks, but didn't even leave a white mark. It's Hierro defense!

Nnoitra's pupils shrank. Just from the defense shown in that one exchange, he could tell this ugly dog was no ordinary Adjuchas.

He was probably at the top of the Adjuchas level, just like himself.

'Damn it!'

Nnoitra calculated frantically in his mind.

'Five Vasto Lorde, plus four top-tier Adjuchas — what kind of lineup was this?'

'Even that old geezer Baraggan didn't have such a luxurious roster, did he?'

The two top-tier Adjuchas engaged in fierce combat on the sand.

The sounds of sickles and claws clashing wove a barbaric symphony over the desert.

Makoto, completely unconcerned with the battle, walked side by side with Nelliel on the dunes, chatting casually.

"Nel, are you traveling alone now?"

"Traveling?"

Nelliel blinked, thought for a moment, and shook her head. "I don't really have a specific destination. I don't know what to do either. I just wake up and wander around."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Pochi, who was trotting along at Makoto's feet.

This Vasto Lorde, even smaller than her, had his tongue lolling out, six eyes half-closed lazily, four short little legs leaving shallow paw prints in the sand.

Nelliel's heart was instantly struck. Ignoring whether Pochi wanted it or not, she scooped him up into her arms, her hands frantically rubbing his soft fur, a contented hum coming from beneath her mask.

"Woof!"

Pochi struggled desperately, his four legs kicking in the air.

'No treats, and you want to pet me? Get lost!'

Watching Pochi struggle free and jump away, Nelliel looked crestfallen.

Makoto smiled, pulled a few crystal-clear cubes from his item slot, and placed them in Nelliel's open palm.

These were replicas of the Pokémon World's Pokéblocks made by the four little ones of the Kessoku Band, but with real-world fruits substituted for the berries.

Makoto sometimes fed these to Kurama. The fox would always complain but would eat every bite anyway.

Nelliel looked at the little cubes in her palm curiously, picked one up, and put it in her mouth, biting down.

After a crisp crunch, a sweetness she had never experienced before burst on her tongue. Her beautiful eyes beneath the mask lit up. "Delicious!"

Makoto was speechless. "I meant for you to feed Pochi."

"Woof woof woof!"

Pochi barked even louder, his six eyes glaring at Nelliel in angry protest.

"Oh, oh!"

Only then did Nelliel come to her senses. She quickly crouched down, holding the Pokéblock up to Pochi's mouth in a placating manner.

Pochi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before reluctantly sticking out his tongue to take the cube.

After chewing a couple of times, all six of his eyes lit up.

Seeing his attitude soften slightly, Nelliel carefully reached out again to pet his head. This time, Pochi didn't dodge, though he did let out a slightly reluctant growl from his throat.

Nelliel was overjoyed. "So cute—"

Watching her so easily pleased, Makoto suddenly understood why so many middle-aged men liked to pursue eighteen-year-old girls.

Not only were they at their peak beauty, but more importantly — they were so easy to satisfy.

A cup of milk tea, and a woman in her late twenties on a blind date would just say you're a turn-off.

But an eighteen-year-old girl would genuinely thank you with sparkling eyes.

Like Natsuki, who was blown away by a Mercedes — she genuinely didn't see anything wrong with it. (T/N: He's talking about Mogi Natsuki from Initial D.)

In a way, that's a kind of innocence too.