Buterching The Prey

Even though this wasn't his first time, the Soul Reaper was still nervous; every time a Hollow appeared there was danger. No matter how many times one had slain the beasts, there was always a chance that one would get you. In the academy they taught them to attack from behind; many Soul Reapers in the current day and age seemed to ignore that, but he didn't.

He'd seen many of his friends and classmates eaten by Hollows because they decided to run head long into the jaws of the masked demons, so sure of their skill with the blade. But he had always done what he was taught; attack from behind, go for the swift kill. No showing off, no bravado; purify the monster and move on to the next.

This strategy had kept him alive for well over a hundred years now, and tonight was no different. The Hollow was a large one, its form irregular; it seemed almost like a blob. The mask seemed to wrap around the whole of its mostly shapeless mass; this one might be a bit difficult. Still, the Reaper clutched the hilt of his blade tightly as he watched it from a rooftop, his Spiritual Pressure pushed down as low as he could possibly force it to.

It was a little trick he'd picked up from years of fighting. But he'd been told he was a true master at it; younger Reapers and even seated officers would ask for some tips now and again.

The Soul Reaper shook his head; such thoughts were a distraction to the mission. The Hollow seemed to have not noticed him; all he needed now was the perfect time to leap down and slay the monster. He could feel a wondering Plus nearby; that would be the time to strike, when the Hollow went to feed. With luck he'd be able to purify the Hollow, then send the Plus off to Soul Society without having to do too much running around.

Sensing its prey nearby, the Hollow began to move with amazing speed; it was almost like a steamroller, crushing everything in its path. As it moved it wailed; that sound never left the Reapers nightmares. It was horrific, and if it was bad for him, a seasoned pro it would be even worse for the Plus that was soon going to be made a meal of if he didn't attack.

Quickly then he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, giving chase as the beast plowed over lamp posts and cars; the Plus was close now. Likely frozen in terror at the sound.

Perching on the edge of a roof, he watched as the Hollow came close to the Plus; he could see it clear as day. A little boy that had a strong spirit, his death was likely caused by a Hollow. Maybe this one; it could be returning to finish the job. But the Soul reaper wouldn't allow that to happen, it was his sworn duty to defend souls from the monsters that sought to eat them.

The little boy, he looked up at the Hollow with wide eyes; the shock was too much. It was as a nightmare, seeing this huge monster come toward him... and the wail...

The Soul Reaper jumped from the roof toward the Hollow, with any luck it would take only one strike. The Hollow, however, launched a tentacle as he grew close; it hit the Reaper dead on in the chest. With a cry, the tentacle gripped his body and slammed the Reaper into the hard concrete below, causing a spray of blood from his mouth to fly as he screamed in immense pain.

Every bone in his body felt like it had broken; such was likely the case. The Hollow, it held the broken Soul Reaper tightly as it quickly launched tentacled at the child, preventing him from running. Like a deer in headlights, though, the boy didn't move; no sound came from his mouth. The Soul Reaper tried to slash at the Hollow's tentacle, but his wounded body coupled with a tight squeeze from the monster put an end to that.

"You thought you were so smart, Soul Reaper."

The Hollow spoke with a raspy voice; the blob like form shifted, and its entire body seemed to rotate... or rather, the mask seemed to spin around so it was facing him.

"Trying to sneak around like that; you thought yourself clever. But even if your suppressed your power, you forgot that wonderful smell of yours. I knew it was only a matter of time before you would make your move... so that's why I went after this little snack."

The Soul Reaper was confused; smell? He'd never heard anything about smell; he assumed Hollows found his kind through their Spiritual Pressure, not scent! Or maybe this one was different...

"Now, Soul reaper; watch as I eat this little appetizer!"

The beast rasped as it lifted the Plus high into the air. The mask shifted again, only this time appearing at the top of the blob like form, mouth wide open. The little Plus didn't make a sound, he didn't cry; it was as though he were broken, dead to the world.

"N-no! Let the kid go! Eat me instead!"

The Reaper spat out finally; the Hollow laughed.

"Such a kind offer... fine then!"

The beast wailed as the tentacle that held the Soul Reaper instantly separated into multiple sections, each becoming a tentacle in its own right. Quickly they moved on his body, wrapping around a limb, his neck and his torso, right above his stomach.

"Just... promise... you'll let the kid go."

The Reaper pleaded. The Hollow, it looked up at him... and then it smiled. It was a horrific sight; a Hollow smile. It was so unnatural, the way the mask contorted to allow for such a thing to happen. It almost turned his stomach.

"No."

The beast spoke with finality as its tentacles released the Plus. The Reaper could only watch as the small soul vanished into the mouth of the monster; the sound of bones crunching sent a shiver down his spine.

"You... you monster! Why?!"

The Reaper screamed, the Hollow only laughed... and then with a pull the Reapers right arm was torn from his body. Screaming in abject horror, the Reaper nearly passed out from the sudden blood loss.

"You idiot! You should have known better than to expect mercy from us!"

The Hollow roared with laughter, mocking the stupidity of the man as he turned pale from blood loss as it tossed the limb into its mouth, then began to chew slowly. The monster moaned in bliss as the bones snapped and were turned to a fine mush along with the rest of his limb.

"My, so delicious. I haven't had your kind in, oh... a decade or so now."

Slowly, the Hollow began to rip a leg from the Reapers body; this one was slower than the arm. He could feel his muscles being torn, the pain was beyond anything he'd ever felt before. Blood ran down the beasts tentacle as the flesh ripped, sinew snapping as the limb came free from the body. It flew into the beasts mouth to be chewed slowly; the monster moaned again at the sweet taste of the Reapers flesh.

"Does it hurt? I bet it does, the way you were screaming!"

The Hollow rasped and laughed again, enjoying the sadistic brutalization of its prey. The Soul Reaper couldn't speak, the pain and trauma had sent him into a deep shock. The Hollow wailed and shook its prey; blood splattered across buildings and road alike.

"What's wrong, Soul Reaper? Nothing to say? Well then... let's just see how many more pieces it takes for you to say something!"

The sadistic monster pulled at the remaining limbs of the Soul Reaper, doing to them what had been done to the leg. The sinew shredded as the blood flowed, the muscles and flesh ripped; the limbs came off, leaving the Reaper with nothing more than a head and torso. But he didn't scream; rather, he couldn't scream. The monster was denied that further pleasure, but it still had the flesh to eat.

Just as the limbs were in the mouth of the Hollow, the tentacle around the torso of the Reaper tightened. Blood poured from his mouth, any rib that wasn't broken before was crushed. From the sheer pressure the Reapers flesh tore, everything under the grip of the tentacle was crushed; blood and organs oozed around it.

Slowly, his body was split in half, the only thing holding him together was his spinal column. Another tentacle grabbed hold of his lower body and ripped it from his torso. The Hollow held it above his mouth and turned it over, a smaller tentacle split and reached into the blood mess. It fished out the intestines of the Reaper, then pulled it to its mouth; like spaghetti it sucked them from the blood stump, his blood the perfect sauce.

Once the intestines were done, the Hollow dropped the lower body into its mouth, savoring the flavor. Knowing the Reaper to be dead, the Hollow wailed once more; with a swift tug the head came off, the upper torso falling into the monsters mouth, only to be chewed and swallowed with a moan.

The head was all that was left of the Reaper now, but instead of eating it, the beast had another plan. A tentacle flew out from the blob like form and grabbed hold of the Reapers sword. Lifting it up to the head, it drown the blade into his neck, impaling it. With a laugh the Hollow threw the gruesome present for his comrades to the ground as it fled the scene of its meal.

It would need time to digest, after all... before the next hunt.