As a modern person transported here from another world, Cael had never experienced a Hollow disaster.
Naturally, his body had never developed the Ether aptitude needed to deal with one.
Which meant…
Cael looked down at his arm.
Faint green specks of light were visible beneath his skin.
Ether.
He was inside a Hollow, and the Ether surrounding him was constantly seeping into his body.
No wonder his skin had been itching from the very beginning.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he started showing symptoms of corruption.
If he couldn’t get out of the Hollow, he might even be corrupted into an Ethereal!
“Are you being corrupted by Ether?”
Miyabi seemed to notice something was wrong with Cael.
She stepped closer, examined him, and gave his condition a quick check.
“…The corruption is progressing very quickly.
You might not last until we make it out of the Hollow.”
Cael’s face immediately went pale.
There were two greatest threats inside a Hollow.
One was Ethereals, and the other was Ether corruption.
Miyabi could deal with the former.
But what about the latter…?
Am I seriously going to die already?
I just got here!
This is basically a fresh account—don’t screw me over now!
“Don’t worry.”
Miyabi reassured him, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a pale blue vial before handing it to Cael.
“A high-grade anti-corruption serum.
Once you take it, it’ll greatly slow the Ether’s corruption of your body.”
Cael accepted the serum and looked uncertainly at the fox-eared girl in front of him.
Miyabi gave a slight nod, indicating that he could drink it.
“Thank you, Miss Hoshimi!”
At this rate, he’d never be able to repay her for all this.
“No need.”
Cael opened the vial and drank the serum in one go.
Almost immediately, the itching that had plagued his skin disappeared.
Once Miyabi saw that he’d finished the serum, she turned and headed toward the entrance of the alley.
Cael hurried after her.
“Miss Hoshimi, what are we doing next?
Leaving the Hollow?”
“Eliminate the Ethereals with high Ether activity and dissipate the Hollow.”
“…”
Right.
That had nothing to do with Cael.
He’d leave the fighting to Miyabi.
“That Tyrfing from earlier…
was it a mutated individual?”
“That was a standard individual.”
“A standard individual?
Aren’t Tyrfings supposed to be only about half a meter tall?
Just basic mobs that can only swing their blades?”
Miyabi paused and glanced sideways at Cael, seemingly a little confused.
“…There are no Tyrfings like that.”
Cael fell silent.
Something definitely wasn’t right.
Miyabi was still the Miyabi he knew.
At least, she didn’t seem particularly different from her game counterpart, aside from looking somewhat younger.
But the Tyrfings…
If every Tyrfing was that size, then the danger posed by Hollows was on an entirely different level from what he’d imagined.
They were monsters ordinary people couldn’t defeat even if they gave it everything they had.
As Miyabi walked, she kept glancing at her wrist while also surveying their surroundings.
There was an electronic watch there, apparently being used to confirm their direction.
That wristwatch was probably what they called a “Carrot.”
The environment inside a Hollow was incredibly complex, with space shifting frequently.
Ordinary electronic devices stopped functioning inside Hollows, and conventional navigation was useless.
Only a Carrot loaded with Rosetta Data could function properly—in other words, time-sensitive spatial route data for navigating a Hollow.
“…Executive Officer Hoshimi, can you hear me?”
A holographic screen unfolded in front of Miyabi.
On the screen was a tall woman with pink hair wearing an investigator’s uniform.
Tsukishiro Yanagi.
Her expression was grave.
“Yanagi, I can hear you.”
Miyabi stopped and answered.
“According to the Hollow observation data, the reason this Hollow expanded is that a high-risk Ethereal, Dullahan, emerged in the central area.
Based on its Ether activity, there’s also a possibility that it has undergone mutation.
It’s extremely dangerous.”
“If I eliminate it, will the Hollow’s activity return to normal?”
“Theoretically, yes.”
“All right.
Send me the coordinates.”
“Be careful, Executive Officer Hoshimi.
Mutated Ethereals often possess unusual abilities.”
The holographic screen disappeared.
Miyabi looked down at her watch and waited for the coordinates to be transmitted.
Then she turned toward Cael.
“Public Security and the rescue teams should reach the Hollow soon.
Find somewhere safe to hide.
When they arrive, you can leave the Hollow with them.
I may be facing a very dangerous battle soon.”
Cael looked left, then right.
There was no one around except him and Miyabi.
Every now and then, the roar of an Ethereal could still be heard in the distance.
Just thinking about those two-meter-tall Tyrfings made Cael uneasy.
“Uh…
Miss Hoshimi, I think I’d be safer staying with you.
Don’t worry, I’ll look after myself and won’t get in your way.
Besides, I don’t have a Carrot.
If I wander around on my own, I’m definitely going to run into trouble…”
Miyabi stared at Cael for a moment.
It was difficult to read anything from her burgundy eyes.
Her expression seemed perpetually calm and undisturbed.
“Don’t stray too far from me.”
“Got it!”
Inside a Hollow, what could possibly be safer than staying beside Miyabi?
At least, that was what Cael believed.
About ten seconds later, Miyabi received the coordinates from Tsukishiro Yanagi.
Cael followed behind her while observing their surroundings.
They encountered another Tyrfing along the way, but Miyabi killed it with a single slash.
Apparently, even these powered-up Tyrfings were still no match for the unbeatable Miyabi.
That was reassuring.
Come to think of it, Yanagi had just called her “Executive Officer Hoshimi.”
Shouldn’t she normally be addressing her as Chief Miyabi?
Cael studied Miyabi’s back.
She wore a blue jacket and black pants, an outfit different from what she wore in the game.
At her waist hung the Ethereal-Slaying Katana, Tailless, and her hand rested on its hilt, ready to draw at any moment.
Could it be that Miyabi hadn’t become a Void Hunter yet?
Did that mean Hollow Special Operations Section 6 hadn’t even been formed?
No wonder she looked a little younger than the Miyabi from the game.
If so, Cael had arrived much earlier in the timeline than he’d thought.
“This way.”
Miyabi’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Okay.”
After rounding a pile of ruins, a spatial rift appeared in front of them.
Miyabi stopped.
“Once we pass through this rift, we’ll be close to the high-risk Ethereal Dullahan’s location.
You can still turn back now.”
…
Theoretically, finding a safe place among the nearby ruins and hiding until rescue arrived was obviously the smartest choice.
But Cael’s instincts told him to follow Miyabi.
“Miss Hoshimi, I want to go with you.”
“This is dangerous.
You’re an ordinary person.
If you’re caught in the aftermath of a battle with an Ethereal, you’ll die.”
Miyabi remained expressionless, but a trace of concern flickered through her burgundy eyes.
She clearly wanted to stop him from following.
It’s only a Dullahan.
With Miyabi’s strength, she should be able to deal with it easily, right?
Unless…
Cael suddenly remembered the bizarre Tyrfing from earlier.
Don’t tell me the Dullahan is also…
“All right.
I understand.”
Cael nodded.
Since Miyabi herself was warning him, it was probably better to listen.
Only then did Miyabi turn toward the spatial rift.
Before entering, she reminded him once more.
“Remember to find somewhere safe to hide.
Once the battle is over, I’ll come back for you.”
“Be careful too, Miss Hoshimi.
Yanagi said this Dullahan might not be an ordinary one.”
After seeing that enormous Tyrfing, Cael had already realized that the Ethereals in this world weren’t quite what he’d imagined.
The Dullahan was probably the same.
“Thank you for the warning.”
Miyabi stepped into the spatial rift and disappeared.
It really helps the fic grow!