Systematic Soul - Chapter 1.2 (Patreon)

Nope.

Nope, nope, nope.

Not just nope, but hell FUCKING NO!

The little soul munching lizard was actually kind of cute, but a soul devouring spider half the size of himself? And he was pretty damn tall for his age….

…He had trouble sometimes with common house spiders not even as large as his palm, never mind this thing!

'Run!' he told himself.

Yet despite that and despite the terror he felt upon witnessing the leathery black eight legged beast from hell, Daiki stayed rooted in his spot, staring down over the sand dune.

His eyes were locked on the small little lizard hollow.

Despite the hit it took, and despite it literally trembling from pain, the tiny little guy rolled over just as the huge spider hollow launched itself through the air at it, piercing two of its razor sharp tipped legs straight down, just barely missing it.

Daiki expected the little lizard hollow to use the chance to scurry away and try and escape, however futile that might have been.

Instead, his eyes widened in shock and he gaped as the smaller hollow lunged, mask splitting open at the mouth to show small, but sharp fangs and the small beast of death sank its teeth into one of the larger hollows legs.

Despite the rather large difference in size, it didn't stop the larger spider hollow from shrieking in pain.

It jerked its leg up and wildly swung it through the air, jerking the lizard hollow back and forth erratically in pain.

It resorted after a moment to trying to slam its leg into the tree and crush the hollow lizard against it.

But just before it impacted, the smaller hollow let go, dropped to the sandy ground and sunk its fangs into another leg.

The huge spider hollow tried to stab one of its legs into the lizards back from above, only for it to let go and jerk back quickly, and aiming for another leg with its teeth.

Daiki stared at the…battle for survival.

It was crude and desperate, brutal and animalistic to the core.

Above all else though, he couldn't understand one thing.

The lizard could barely move in the beginning after that first hit it took when it got slammed into the tree.

…So how was it moving so quickly and agilely?

He watched the desperate fight between the two hollows, transfixed, eyes drawn more to the lizard hollow than the spider.

…Despite how much smaller and weaker it was, it was putting up such a fight without backing down.

It was a battle of pure survival and pure instinct.

The instinctual desire of a hollow to win, devour and grow stronger and evolve to fill that hole in their hearts.

When he thought about it like that, Daiki thought it almost romanticised hollows. They took the literal basic program of all living beings, and took it into overdrive.

Yet, they were dead.

And so, despite his situation, Daiki couldn't pull his eyes away, something deep inside him was making him watch this fight play out before his eyes.

Yet as he watched, eyes locked on to the two figures battling it out to the death with the soul desire to devour the other…

Something changed.

Or clicked.

He didn't know how to describe it, just a warmth suffused his body for a moment as he focused on the two hollows.

And he saw.

Name:
Race: Hollow(Base)
Reiryoku: 81

A small status screen like box appeared hovering over the small lizard hollow. Displaying its name, or lack of one, its race as a…base hollow?

And how much spiritual power it had.

And not just it.

But the huge spider hollow as well.

Name:
Race: Hollow(Base)
Reiryoku: 144

Just like the lizard hollow, it had no name, and was listed as a base hollow. Though it's reiryoku was much higher than the lizards, almost double in fact.

…And even higher than Daiki's own.

Yet, even with this new information, it left him completely lost still.

Was that a large amount, or not? How did that stack up against the typical hollow he saw Ichigo kill early on?

And what did it mean by base hollow? Did that mean it was one that had yet to evolve? Like, if it was a menos like a Gillian or an Adjuchas, would it be listed there instead of base?

'This fucking thing is useless!' Daiki ground his teeth together in annoyance. It didn't provide him any benefits at all and even with this new 'power', if it could even be called that…he would need to seek out other targets just for context.

Targets like that hollow that squeezed a little too hard and killed him earlier!

He was drawn from his angry, raging thoughts by a wet splatting sound and his eyes locked on the fight for survival below him, to see the huge spider hollow had spat out another slimy black web, right beneath it.

Underneath the huge hollow and tearing at its legs with its teeth, the little lizard hollow wasn't able to escape in time and got stuck, captured once again by the web.

This time it wasn't just the back of its body leaving it still mobile though, this time it was its legs and underbelly.

Trapping it fully.

Leaving it a sitting duck.

The spider lifted one of its long bladed leathery black legs into the air as the small lizard hollow began to frantically struggle against the dark webbing.

A sharp squeal of pain split the air and pierced Daiki's ear drums as the leg came down and pierced straight through the little hollows back and came out the bottom pinning it to the ground, green blood erupting out.

'It's over.' Daiki grimaced, looking away.

It wasn't like he was squeamish or anything, but his stomach turned and he just couldn't bare to watch.

Somewhere along the way over the past minute, admiration had blossomed in him as he watched the small lizard struggle against its much larger and much stronger opponent.

It was far braver than he.

He didn't want to watch it die in agony and be devoured.

A moment later he heard another shriek of pain.

…Yet not from the lizard.

Involuntarily, his head whipped around and he stared gobsmacked at what he saw.

Despite being mortally wounded, despite being pinned to the ground and helpless.

The lizard hadn't stopped fighting.

Instead, it twisted its head around as far as it could and sunk its sharp little fangs into the razor sharp leg piercing through its back and pinning it to the ground.

It tore into the bladed spider leg with all its might, jerking its head back and forth as much as it was able in the position it was in, trying to inflict as much damage as possible on the spider.

The spider shrieked in pain all the way, but this time, it did not jerk away even in the face of the small lizard hollow trying to inflict as much damage as possible.

It lifted one of its other black bladed legs into the air, preparing to bring it down on the smaller hollows head and end it once and for all.

Daiki was moving before he even realised, pulling himself up over the sand dune and stumbling over it, his clunky steps transitioning into a clumsy run down the small hill.

A split few seconds later, he was down the hill, just before the spider could bring its lead down and jumped into a rising knee, clumsy and full of terror…yet-

His knee slammed into the mask of the spider hollow, and caught unprepared, the spider was lifted from the force of the blow and lifting up a few inches into the air.

Green blood splashed into the air as its leg came free from the lizards back and the hollow spider landed on its back.

There was a bead of silence.

Daiki didn't know who was more shocked. The lizard he just saved, the spider he just kneed in the face with all his strength….or himself for actually outright attacking the huge soul devouring monster to save another soul devouring monster.

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!' Daiki cursed in his head repeatedly in a panic.

What the fuck was he doing!?

This was utterly stupid!

…So why was he doing it?

His body moved without any central thought and he took advantage of the spider being stunned and belly facing up.

"Die!" he roared, lifting his leg into the air and bringing his foot down with all his strength on its belly.

A shriek erupted from the spider and a groan hissed through his gritted teeth. It felt like slamming his foot into a brick wall.

How tough were that little lizards teeth that it could sink them into its legs with no problem?

The spiders legs, riddled with bite marks and leaking green blood spasmed and thrashed wildly at him as it tried to turn itself back around onto its front.

But Daiki wasn't having it.

Fuck letting this thing get back on its feet!

He grabbed its two closest legs, hard, feeling the skin split as he did from how sharp they were and held them in place with all his might.

As he repeatedly stomped as hard as he could on its unprotected belly.

It was a desperate, terror ridden few moments of life and death. And Daiki, despite his best efforts and being very strong for his age.

Was not a supernaturally powered soul devouring beast.

He could only dodge its trashing legs for so long, despite the beast being unable to see him with his position.

One of its legs aimed straight and true, shooting straight for his face, razor sharp bladed point poised to pierce straight through his skull and end him once and for all.

He didn't even have time to lock up in fear of his life ending.

He could only keep attacking the spider hollow, it was the only option available to him.

'Even one more hit to hurt it a little bit more!' he snarled mentally.

He felt like, right now, he understood the little hollow lizard better than anyone else he had ever met in his life.

A brown flash darted into his vision just before the bladed leg pierced straight through his face.

The leg was driven off course as the little lizard hollow slammed into it with all its might.

Teeth gouged into the leg and he heard a snapping sound as the leg outright snapped when the lizard hollow bodily slammed it into the ground.

'What the!?' Daiki gaped even as he kept kicking and stomping on the hollow spiders belly as the lizard jumped off of the ruined leg and landed on the spiders abdomen.

The hole on its back…was gone?

Not the hollow hole, but the actual wound the spider had made from piercing straight through it…wasn't there anymore?

It had healed?

'Instant Regeneration?!' Daiki's eyes widened in realisation.

Like Ulquiorra had? When he healed instantly from that slash Ichigo gave him across the chest?

But to be able to heal a wound like that in only the thirty seconds at best he was keeping the spider hollow pre-occupied?

Something else clicked in that moment.

'That's how it recovered from being slammed into the tree!' Daiki realised.

The lizard hollow was not at all pre-occupied by its thoughts like him though and didn't waste its chances.

With the spider stuck on its back, belly unprotected and stuck due to Daiki's intervention, it sunk its teeth straight into its stomach and began tearing into its organs.

The spider shrieked in agony and thrashed even harder, but, its struggle only lasted a few moments.

With its organs eaten through by the hollow lizards teeth, its legs went limp in Daiki's grip a few moments later.

And just like that, it was over.

He stood there for a second, just staring, hands holding onto the bladed legs of the beast, before weakness numbed his legs and he collapsed on his backside, panting deeply, wide eyed.

'…What the fuck did I just do?' he couldn't help but think numbly.

The hollow lizard pulled itself away from the spider innards and looked at him then, crimson red eyes locking with his own and just stared at him.

He tensed for a moment instinctually, almost expecting it to lunge for him next.

But no, instead, it held his gaze, almost calmly, unnervingly so, before looking away a second later and moving.

It moved to the front of the spider hollow.

And sunk its teeth into the mask of the spider beast, and began devouring it.

As he watched in a sick sort of fascination, unable to tear his gaze away, Daiki noticed it.

That stat-like screen box appearing again above the lizard.

And the numbers listed as its reiryoku began to rise, while the huge spider corpse turned into what looked like particles of black dust and faded away.

Name:
Race: Hollow(Base)
Reiryoku: 111

'Wait…what?' Daiki blinked, confused at the number it stopped on.

One hundred and eleven?

That was it?

It jumped up thirty points from devouring the spider that had nearly twice as much spiritual power as it?

…Why was there always more questions!?