–+–
“It was supposed to be an elite mob,” Nicole said through gritted teeth.
“At this point, isn’t it basically a boss?!”
“Pulonia!”
Sandrone didn’t waste a word.
She thrust a finger forward.
“Crush it!”
The giant puppet’s engine roared, and it charged in with force nothing could stand against.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The clash of steel and bone shook the air.
Pulonia’s heavy fists came down like a storm.
Each blow carried crushing force, driving the mutated Dullahan back step by step.
The broken walls around them shattered like tofu under the force of their clash.
“That’s way too strong…” Belle watched through Eous’s camera.
“It’s completely one-sided!”
Then, in the next moment, everything changed.
After Pulonia smashed the Dullahan’s shield apart with a knee strike, the monster let out a sharp, piercing shriek.
The “wings” on its back snapped open, and Ether energy poured into its body.
The broken shield grew back at a visible speed, and the dents Pulonia had punched into its body smoothed over in the span of a breath.
“That’s wrong!” Belle cried.
“That Dullahan is healing while it fights! And its recovery speed is insane!”
“What?! How is that even possible?!” Nicole’s eyes went wide.
“Is it using some kind of health-lock cheat?!”
Sandrone crossed her arms and frowned.
“Regeneration on that level shouldn’t appear in a Companion Hollow like this…”
At the center of the battlefield, Pulonia seized its chance.
It drove a heavy punch straight into the core on the mutated Dullahan’s head.
“Crack!”
A fine split appeared across the core.
But the next second, the edges of the crack began to writhe.
Purple light flared, and the split sealed itself at a visible speed.
Sandrone’s heart sank.
Just then, Columbina raised her finger a little.
A faint glow lit at her fingertip, so weak it was almost impossible to see.
Even Sandrone, standing beside her, didn’t notice.
The mutated Dullahan had been about to swing its blade in a counterattack, but its body froze.
A moment later, it started to convulse.
The healing of its core also stalled…
No. It wasn’t stalling.
“Pulonia!”
The moment Sandrone shouted, Pulonia had already caught the opening.
The armor plates on its back opened as one, revealing row after row of launch ports.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—!!!”
A point-blank saturation bombardment slammed into the core on its head.
Fire swallowed the stiffened figure in an instant.
With a crisp shattering sound, the Dullahan’s core broke apart in the blast.
The mutated Dullahan’s huge body swayed, then crashed to the ground and dissolved into a storm of Ether particles.
Dust filled the air.
Within the drifting haze, a flash of silver seemed to flicker past.
“Yes!!!”
Nicole jumped so high she nearly hit the ceiling, hugging the safe as she spun in place.
“That was so cool! So cool!” Billy rushed over and looked ready to hug Pulonia’s leg.
“Pulonia! That move just now was pure Starlight Knight! Teach me! Please teach me!”
Anby put away her blade in silence and let out a soft breath.
“Phew…” Belle’s voice came from Eous as well.
“That scared me. This is the first time I’ve run into an Ethereal this hard to deal with. Its healing was way too strong. I almost thought the commission was going to fail.”
Sandrone paid no attention to everyone’s cheers.
She walked forward at once, stopping beside the fading remains of the Ethereal.
First, she glanced at Pulonia.
The machine had taken light damage, but it was still within control.
Then she crouched and studied the marks on the ground with a frown.
When the dust had started to clear just now, had something flashed?
Sandrone reached out to brush the debris aside—
“Sandrone, what’s wrong?”
Columbina asked in a soft voice.
Sandrone stood up, her brow still faintly furrowed.
“Nothing.” Her eyes rested on the pile of fading particles.
“Maybe I saw it wrong.”
She turned away.
“All right. We’ll talk once we’re out.”
Columbina looked at her but didn’t ask more.
She only took Sandrone’s hand.
“We can finally get out!” Nicole hugged the safe and turned toward Eous.
“Hey, Belle, lead the way!”
“I don’t want to kill the mood…”
Belle’s voice came from Eous’s speaker, full of clear hesitation.
Nicole’s grip on the safe tightened.
“What?”
“It’s all that rotten hacker’s fault.” Belle paused.
“It deleted the escape data I’d set aside for getting out of the Hollow!”
The air froze.
“…What did you say?” Nicole’s voice went hollow.
The smile on her face faded bit by bit.
“You’re saying… we can’t get out—?”
She looked down at the black safe in her arms, then looked up at the ruined platform.
It was as if all the strength had been drained out of her.
She collapsed to the ground.
“Ha…”
She laughed once.
Dry and empty, without a trace of humor.
“After going through hell and finally making it back to where we started… I didn’t think it would turn out to be the finish line.”
“Damn it…” Billy lifted his head, both hands clenched into fists.
“I still haven’t had dinner with Miss Monica. What a regret… But I guess… it was a pretty good life.”
Anby stood to the side, looked at Billy, then Nicole, and finally Eous.
“Calm down,” she said, her voice still steady.
“We can think of another way.”
“Belle, just say it if you’ve got a way out. Stop teasing them.” Sandrone sat on Pulonia’s hand and waved lightly.
“Uh—”
Belle’s voice sounded again, now with a bit of awkwardness.
“Well, we don’t have to be that pessimistic. I do still have one last resort!”
Nicole snapped her head up.
“What is it?”
“It’s just…” Belle paused.
“I need you to agree to it, Nicole.”
“I agree!!!” Nicole came back to life in an instant and leaped up from the ground.
“That was way too fast?!” Even Belle was startled.
“This isn’t the time! Say it already!”
“Ahem.” Belle cleared her throat and patted the safe.
“That rotten hacker said the contents of the safe have value similar to the Rosetta data. With it, someone can move in and out of Hollows as they please. If that’s true, we should be able to use it to get out of the Hollow! As long as you’re willing to let me open it.”
Nicole planted both hands on her hips, with no hesitation at all.
“I agree! I said so already!”
“Huh? You can really agree that easily?” Now Belle was the one hesitating.
“How are you going to explain it to the client?”
“This is life or death!” Nicole crossed her arms, her tone bold and shameless.
“If I can’t get out and turn into an Ethereal, who’s going to bring this thing to him? Open it already! You already know the password, right?”
“That’s right! But…” Belle told the truth.
“I don’t know what’s actually stored inside. If forcing a read has serious consequences…”