"Meow, you want me to carry Billy? He's like a giant piece of iron! He's way too heavy—I can't lift him at all!"
"I'm not asking you to carry him alone. You'll take turns with Anby and Sam Li. I'm not exactly free either, I have to carry Eous... As for Soldier 11, she's our client. We can't make the client do the dirty work, can we?"
"Don't worry about it. I can help too."
Hearing Nicole and Nekomata's conversation,
Soldier 11 stepped forward and took over carrying Billy from Nekomata.
As soon as she lifted him,
Soldier 11 frowned and said, "Double-Gun Mecha Knight, you really need to lose some weight."
Billy said helplessly, "I'd love to lose weight, but... I'm a robot. Also, my name's Billy, not Double-Gun Mecha Knight."
Anby: "..."
Nicole laughed. "Let's move out!"
Right after she spoke,
Nicole carried Eous at the front, followed closely by Sam Li, Nekomata, Anby, Soldier 11, and Billy.
With Eous guiding them,
they began their retreat from the Hollow.
...
As Nicole, Sam Li, Soldier 11, and the others slowly made their way toward the edge of the Hollow,
on the other side of New Eridu...
Inside the Hollows Special Operations Department, a new message arrived from the Defense Force.
According to their report, Hollow C97 had suddenly reactivated, with a sharp surge in Ether activity. It was suspected that a new high-level Ethereal had been born.
Coincidentally,
a Defense Force unit was currently inside the Hollow testing weapons.
Unfortunately, they had been affected by the Ether surge and had lost contact with headquarters.
Due to various complications, the Defense Force couldn't send reinforcements in time.
Thus, they requested the Hollows Special Operations Department to step in—
deal with the disaster, eliminate any high-level Ethereals, and rescue the missing soldiers.
Handling Hollow disasters like this was exactly the Special Operations Department's job.
And they often worked closely with the Defense Force anyway.
There was no reason to refuse.
Orders came down swiftly.
Hollow Special Operations Section 6 was dispatched to Hollow C97 to locate and defeat the potential high-level Ethereal and recover the missing Defense Force troops.
After receiving the mission,
Hoshimi Miyabi took it very seriously.
She immediately summoned Tsukishiro Yanagi, Asaba Harumasa, and Soukaku—the core members of Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
The team set out for Hollow C97.
However,
right after they departed,
the observation station near Hollow C97 reported new data:
the Ether concentration inside the Hollow was dropping, and the Ether activity was also gradually weakening...
...
Over half an hour later,
outside Hollow C97—
Hoshimi Miyabi, Soukaku, Tsukishiro Yanagi, and Asaba Harumasa arrived.
Before entering,
they pulled out portable instruments and quickly scanned the Hollow. It took less than a minute to gather the data.
"Section Chief, the readings are in. The Ether activity and concentration aren't nearly as high as we expected. This event doesn't seem as severe as the minister suggested."
"Data can be deceiving. Time's short. We're going in."
Under Hoshimi Miyabi's leadership,
they officially entered the Hollow.
Following the information provided by the Defense Force,
they first headed to the weapon testing grounds.
There, they found that the Defense Force soldiers hadn't been attacked by Ethereals.
Next,
Hoshimi Miyabi led Hollow Special Operations Section 6 deeper into the Dead End Hollow, using the Defense Force's intel as a guide.
As they moved,
they kept monitoring the Ether concentration and activity levels.
The numbers suggested a high-level Ethereal might exist.
But the way the values were decreasing didn't match what normally happened after a high-level Ethereal was born.
Asaba Harumasa asked seriously, "Section Chief, what should we do next?"
Hoshimi Miyabi said calmly, "The sudden resurgence of the Hollow means something must have happened inside. We need to investigate."
With that,
they continued forward, passing through an abandoned town.
In a narrow street,
Hoshimi Miyabi suddenly heard faint, shuffling footsteps.
She immediately stopped and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
Soukaku asked, puzzled, "What is it, Chief?"
Hoshimi Miyabi frowned. "Something's coming. Keep up."
The moment she finished speaking,
she maintained her grip on the sword and sprinted toward the source of the sound at top speed.
Seeing this,
Tsukishiro Yanagi smiled helplessly. "The Chief is as fast as ever. Let's catch up quickly."
Soukaku, carrying his Oni Blade Banner, grumbled, "If I had eaten a bit more, I could probably run faster too..."
Before Tsukishiro Yanagi and Soukaku could catch up,
suddenly, voices rang out from ahead:
"Meow! Scared the fur off me! Who's this crazy person? Charging at us with a sword? We don't have any mackerel or Dennies to rob!"
"Calm down, Nekomata. Look at her clothes... it's the Hollows Special Operations Department uniform."
Having spent years working in New Eridu,
Nicole immediately recognized their identity.
She knew they weren't people you wanted to pick a fight with.
The best course of action now was to explain things clearly—
to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Before Nicole could speak,
Billy blurted out with a laugh, "Yo yo yo, doesn't matter who you are! There's only one of you and a whole bunch of us! Don't even think about catching us!"
But right after Billy said that—
a group of heavily armed figures walked out from behind the street.
It was the rest of Hollow Special Operations Section 6—
Soukaku, Tsukishiro Yanagi, and Asaba Harumasa.
At first, Billy wasn't worried, thinking it was just one person.
But seeing more of them appear,
he immediately panicked.
Under these circumstances,
if a fight broke out, it would definitely be bad for the Hare's House crew.
Hoshimi Miyabi looked at Billy coldly. "You said we wouldn't be able to catch you?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi glanced at Nicole and the others. "Section Chief, looks like this trip wasn't a waste. At least we caught some arrogant Hollow thieves."
Soukaku raised his Oni Blade Banner. "Are we starting a fight?"
Facing the heavily armed and numerically superior group,
Billy was completely frozen.
Lying on the stretcher,
he tried to cover his face—
but he couldn't even lift his hands.
Seeing this,
Nicole hurriedly said, "Cough, cough, let's not be hasty. We're not Hollow thieves. We're a legit agent office. We're here to assist the military against the rebels!"
Hoshimi Miyabi frowned. "Against the rebels?"
Seeing that Miyabi didn't believe her,
Nicole quickly dragged Soldier 11 forward.
"This is Soldier 11—the famous elite from the Obol Squad! She's amazing with fire and flames. Now do you believe us?"
...