For a moment, the world seemed to freeze. Everything around her slowed to a crawl.
Through the gaps in Nineveh's body, Hoshimi Miyabi saw it—that familiar figure.
The Fire Picker.
His raised fist was like a divine judgment, flames surging around it, crackling with arcs of lightning—like the echo of a dying world.
"Fiery blaze."
"Bloom."
BOOM!!
In an instant, the explosive firestorm engulfed Hoshimi Miyabi completely. Waves of heat swept over her.
But the attack hadn't been aimed at her, so the damage was minimal.
She retreated quickly, breaking free of the blaze after several seconds.
When she looked up again, all she could see was a sea of crimson.
The shockwave from the attack rippled outward, and from below, it looked like a giant fire lotus blooming in the sky.
The light spilled down, flames shimmering with a thin golden sheen—an eerily beautiful sight.
The Ethereals caught in the blast were utterly annihilated. From what had been a dense swarm, not even a handful remained.
Below, everyone came to a halt.
"Was that the section chief? No... she doesn't use that kind of power!"
Harumasa was the first to notice something was off. His eyes scanned the area and soon spotted Hoshimi Miyabi nearby, quietly observing.
This overwhelming force hadn't come from her—then what was in that fire?
"This is the worst luck... why is everything I run into today such a big deal?"
Nicole was on edge. Nineveh had already left her rattled, and now this?
"Nope, nope—Proxy, this commission is going to need a serious fee increase!"
In the sky, as the fire lotus faded, a massive figure plummeted toward the ground.
It was Nineveh.
Right on cue, a spatial rift opened beneath her, swallowing her whole before vanishing.
Hoshimi Miyabi didn't hesitate—she dove in after her.
With her experience and tools, she could trace Nineveh's new location by analyzing the rift's size.
On a nearby rooftop, Hollow Special Ops Unit 6 and Hare's House stared at each other.
But there was no room to hesitate.
"Keep pursuing!"
...
Somewhere along the edge of Hollow Zero...
Nineveh crashed from the sky, her massive tail dragging limply behind her. Just as she was about to hit the ground, Ether energy pulsed through her body.
Her petal-like tail flared open again, suspending her between two towers. The bud atop her head had opened, tilted in curiosity as she stared at the figure in front of her.
Behind her head, two thick tentacles slithered forward like serpents, wrapping tightly around her target. Their diamond-shaped ends, too bulky to move freely, crossed behind her back.
Zane was caught in her grip. A glance over his shoulder showed him the core nestled at the center of that diamond structure.
He could break free at any time—but he didn't rush. Instead, he stared directly at her head.
"That last hit didn't destroy the core? So she's got serious reflexes and durability..."
The bud on Nineveh's head was now cracked all over, with two petals completely shattered, slowly mending themselves.
She had closed the bud just in time to take Zane's punch head-on.
Even after the energy blast, most of her upper body was visibly damaged.
Yet she seemed unfazed. One hand reached toward Zane, and a strange hum came from her—like a child delighted with a new toy.
"What's she doing? This isn't like any Ethereal I've seen before."
"Could it be... something about Hollow Zero makes her so different?"
Zane was stunned. He was about to break free and try another attack—when he felt a sudden force shove him forward.
It came from Nineveh's tentacles.
She was trying to pull him into her arms.
"Wait! This... this feels seriously wrong!"
Shocked, Zane instinctively summoned Ether and broke out of her grip.
He flew back and landed cleanly on a nearby rooftop. Rising to his feet, he looked at Nineveh again.
The humming returned—louder, sharper. She was clearly angry now.
Zane raised a hand, gathering Ether crystals into a long-handled, heavy double-headed axe. He gripped it one-handed.
Nothing breaks shields better than this kind of weapon!
Still, neither side made a move. They held their ground. One after another, new Ethereals spawned around Nineveh, hovering protectively at her side.
Just as Zane considered probing her defenses again, he heard movement.
He looked off into the distance and saw them—the trio from Hare's House.
He glanced once more at Nineveh. She wasn't retreating. She wasn't attacking.
So he jumped down.
Crash—dust and rubble flew.
When it settled, Nicole spotted Zane and her look of alarm immediately shifted to joy.
Zane approached, keeping a wary eye on Nineveh, and asked Nicole for a quick rundown of the situation.
"You split into two groups? Lucky coincidence you ran into me."
Zane raised a brow, a thought forming.
He could beat Nineveh—but it wouldn't be easy. He'd burn through a lot of energy and be left weak afterward.
Right now, with Nineveh doing nothing, this was a rare opportunity.
Especially with Hoshimi Miyabi lurking nearby—no reason he should take this all on himself.
He asked for a rough idea of Unit 6's arrival time, then looked at the exhausted Nicole and smiled.
"If they're not here yet, maybe we've got time to have a little fun."
"Huh? What kind of fun?"
Nicole blinked, puzzled and curious.
"Didn't you say Hollow Unit 6 would cover all your battle losses?"
"In that case... if Hare's House happens to get caught in the crossfire between the Fire Picker and a giant Ethereal, takes some damage, and stalls for time..."
"Totally reasonable, right?"
As Zane's sly tone settled in, Eous peeked her head out from behind Nicole.
At the HDD terminal, Belle's eyes lit up.
Sure, it wasn't how she originally envisioned things...
But this was another way to squeeze value out of the system!
Trade in old gear for new?
Perfect!
Nicole stared at Zane in a daze as he spread his arms and continued:
"Nicole—an invaluable, irreplaceable briefcase, some expensive one-time-use Ether items that might not actually exist...
Billy's..."
Even Belle froze for a second.
Fabricating equipment? Fudging the value?
Clearly, she'd been too conservative.
Forget trade-ins or cautious resource management...
Compared to Zane's plan to bill them outright, she had to admit—she'd been too by-the-book.
"Zane, you're a genius!"
Nicole—the business mastermind—now fully grasped what Zane was suggesting. She glanced at her smoke bombs stuffed with flour, her distraction tools filled with fake bills...
Hahaha... Hare's House was about to cash in on a golden opportunity!
Earning money off official budgets—guilt-free!
Beside her, Billy was still trying to process it, while Anby silently unstrapped her backpack.
It wasn't even broken—just a little outdated.
The accessories could use an upgrade too.
All the extra reimbursement could go straight into movie tapes and hamburgers...
...