Hexapodus's Hunger

Since Zangetsu is also a hollow-made Zanpakutō, Silas had also gained Hollow powers. They were working in tandem with his Soul Reaper powers, which was not something he wanted. Other characters, like the captains in the Soul Society, would instantly tell the difference between the two if he couldn't balance them accordingly.

Now that Zangetsu wasn't being suppressed, the Hollow powers were gradually seeping out, despite Silas not wearing his Hollow mask. This Hollow mask was a transformation known as "Hollowfication". It can occur after the boundaries between a Soul Reaper and a Hollow are removed, resulting in a Soul that essentially became a hybrid of the two. That same Soul could now use both Hollow powers and Soul Reaper powers, all while wielding a Zanpakutō.

Only a select few were capable of it, such as the Visoreds, a group of Hollowfied Soul Reapers outcasted from the Soul Society. Ichigo's Hollowfication, however, far surpasses theirs when at full power. Of course, Silas can't reach that state without a large amount of Quincy power to fuel Zangetsu. And even if he had it, he no longer had the manifestation's cooperation to help balance those powers.

Nonetheless, there was something that kept him interested: inside of him, he could see that aforementioned Hollow mask!

It was white with red stripes on its left side. If he were to try and summon it, it would undoubtedly appear on his face. Even more, it would multiply his power. Silas, however, was not going to do something like that. Aizen was certain to be watching his every move.

• • •

At school, many of Ichigo's classmates were jovial about seeing Rukia. They were even more surprised to see her sit next to Silas. He had a bad reputation among the other students, so they warned her against it. This hadn't stopped her, though.

When they saw that he allowed her to sit next to him, they were all shocked. Orihime was perhaps the most jealous.

Class ended as usual. Uryū, who had been instructed not to get involved with their affairs unless he was called, hadn't acknowledge them. Rukia had done her best to fit in. Because she was more than fifty years behind today's era, she had a strange time speaking moderately.

Silas would be one of the first to leave the classroom, prompting her to follow. People couldn't be more confused upon seeing how close they were. Even Tatsuki was upset because she was told that he desired space. Yet no one had enough confidence to question him directly.

Outside, Rukia wondered why rumours about him were being spread. The question seemed to have annoyed Silas, so he answered, "I don't have any ties to anyone there. Besides, that's none of your concern since you'll be leaving soon."

"You don't have to be so disconcerting!" Rukia pouted. It was clear that she didn't like Silas's distant attitude toward everything.

When he didn't respond to her yelling, she began detesting his behaviour further. Their walk was suddenly interrupted by a buzzing in Rukia's pockets. Silas already knew that it was her soul pager, a device that alerted her when a Hollow was nearby—something he had personally sensed long ago.

"Wait here. I'll go take care of it."

"But how are you gonna change into a Soul—?"

Before she could finish asking, Silas took out a dispenser and popped a soul candy in his mouth. Rukia stood there, dumfounded that she had forgotten he had one. By the time she knew it, he was already leaping away in his Soul Reaper form. Both the artificial soul and her quickly followed after him.

Silas had been waiting for this moment again. He enjoyed being in his Soul Reaper form. His body was so light that he felt like he could fly. Just the amount of spiritual pressure wishing to be let out overwhelmed his mind. One could say it was like feeling a high sense of euphoria that would never end.

Making it to a nearby park, he spotted a giant Hollow with six legs, like an insect. Known as Hexapodus, its mask was plain white, looking similar to a man's face. And its skin was completely grayish-green. To Silas's uninterest, it was chasing a Soul in the form of a little boy.

"What are you waiting for?" Rukia asked after catching up. Silas, however, was in deep thought to have even noticed her arrival.

'Should I slay it regularly, or will Aizen be diligent if I take it down too swiftly? He had already seen how I defeated one, so...'

As Silas placed his hand on his hilt, he unsheathed his weapon, simultaneously releasing Zangetsu's fake form. Without any emotion, he then threw it. The swords spun violently like a boomerang. Hexapodus was only moments away from striking at the little Soul until Zangetsu's blade sliced its head off!

The sword then returned to Silas's palm. Rukia was beyond impressed at how swiftly he took down the Hollow. But Silas wasn't going to make it seem like he knew everything. "What happens next?" he asked. There was a slight hesitation from Rukia before she answered. Silas was now to perform a "soul burial", the process in which a Soul Reaper sends a Soul to the Soul Society with their Zanpakutō.

The two performed the soul burial. It was fairly simple. Once the hilt of his Zangetsu touched the Soul's forehead, a symbol automatically showed itself. Afterwards, the symbol shined, causing a pool of blue light to appear on the ground. The Soul then gradually sank into the light, leaving behind a black butterfly.

Silas detests this process. Not because this same black butterfly was called a "hell butterfly", but because this soul burial was stripping away the idea of what he knew to be true: that only believing in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour is the only way to enter heaven. The Soul Society was not heaven, nor would it ever be; it was an even more dangerous place than Karakura Town.