If he were to be eroded and turned into an Ethereal, he wouldn't be able to watch the upcoming Star Emblem Knight prequel!
Suddenly, Anby noticed some movement. After observing for a moment, she realized it was a Hollow Investigation Team.
Once they understood the situation, the three members of the Hare's House saw that following the investigators out of the Hollow wasn't a bad option.
However, as Hollow Raiders, their choices were limited to either ending up in prison or being eroded into Ethereals.
There was another way: if they reported Proxy, who operated in a legal gray area, they could atone for their crimes, avoid prison, and safely leave the Hollow.
But after some thought, Nicole, the leader of Hare's House, dismissed the idea. Without hesitation, she carried the unconscious Eous, and the three of them left this place, which was no place to linger.
Meanwhile, back at the video store, a brother-sister duo had used the bold move of "I report myself" to take down both the Phaethon account and the invading hacker in one go.
With that resolved, Belle quickly reconnected to the system.
...
Inside the Hollow—
"Awoo~ Awoo~ I've been eroded by the Hollow and turned into a monster~ Awoo..."
Anby playfully joked, hoping to lift Nicole's spirits, but the leader of Hare's House, utterly dejected, wasn't in the mood.
"Sigh... The money-obsessed Hare's House is doomed today..."
Nicole's sigh echoed in the silence. Anby was just about to deliver a dramatic line like in a movie when she suddenly sensed something and turned to look into the distance.
A Bangboo with black ears and a white face peeked out, staring at them motionlessly.
A Bangboo? In the Hollow?
Before Anby could react, a sudden scream erupted behind her. She turned around to see that Eous had regained consciousness.
And in that split second, when she looked back to where the Bangboo had been—it was already gone.
"Alright! Plan restart!"
Nicole raised a fist and grinned.
They were out of danger, and they could still complete the commission and claim that hefty reward. Things were finally looking up.
But just as Nicole was about to leave with Eous for the target location, Anby quickly explained what she had seen.
"A Bangboo? Could it have accidentally wandered into the Hollow?"
Nicole glanced in the direction Anby pointed, which happened to be on their path.
"If we run into it again, let's bring it with us when we leave. It won't be any trouble to save one more Bangboo."
"As expected of Boss Nicole, so kind!"
Hearing Billy's compliment, Nicole tilted her chin up slightly, smirking smugly.
Of course, she had no intention of revealing her true thoughts—like recruiting the Bangboo into Hare's House and having it work for them...
...
The three of them made their way toward the target location. After passing through a spatial rift, they arrived at an open area within the abandoned station.
There, the safe they had been hired to retrieve lay quietly on the ground.
"My safe!"
At first sight, Nicole dashed toward it without hesitation. Behind her, Billy slung his pistol over his shoulder and strolled over with a wide grin.
"Talk about luck! That was way too easy, hahaha!"
Anby watched them approach and was just about to follow when she heard a faint rustling behind her. Turning around, she spotted the Bangboo from earlier.
She was about to ask it something when an intense sense of danger suddenly surged through her.
Almost instantly, Anby sprang backward, drawing her knife from her pack—electric arcs crackling along its blade.
"Enemy! Stay alert!"
"What?! Where?!"
Nicole instinctively clutched the safe to her chest, scanning the surroundings warily.
Eous, hiding behind her legs, peeked out, eyes locked on the direction Anby was facing.
"Huh? Anby, are you saying this Bangboo is the enemy?"
Billy, puzzled, walked over to Panta's side, circling it a few times but finding nothing unusual.
He raised a finger, pointing at the Bangboo staring at him, then turned to Nicole and the others.
"Anby, this is the Bangboo you were talking about earlier, right?"
Just then, the sharp sound of approaching footsteps echoed. Nicole's pupils contracted as she instinctively took a step back.
No way… The Ether activity of this Ethereal—
How is it this strong?
"Boss Nicole, we—"
Billy was about to say more when he noticed the strange expressions on Nicole and Anby's faces.
They were both staring intently behind him. A sudden chill crept over him as his voice wavered.
"Behind me… there's something there, isn't there?"
Slowly, he turned his head—only to find himself engulfed by a towering shadow. Black, jagged armor gleamed under the dim light, and piercing pale-blue eyes locked onto him, radiating an oppressive presence so heavy that even his respirator faltered...
It was Zane.
"Billy, move!"
A sharp command rang out. Billy instinctively dodged just as a green figure streaked past him, crackling with electricity, blade flashing straight toward Zane.
The knife struck Zane's shoulder armor, sending sparks flying alongside surging arcs of electricity that coursed through his body.
Yet, seeing that the attack had done no real damage, Anby's expression darkened. Sensing movement behind her, she quickly pulled back.
The moment she dodged, a sphere of chaotic energy followed, colliding with Zane upon impact. A black hole erupted from the clash, expanding to engulf his entire form.
Anby positioned herself in front of Billy and Nicole, gripping her knife tightly. Behind them, Eous hid in the shadows, while Belle, monitoring from her visual system, furrowed her brows.
This kind of Ethereal… She had never seen anything like it before.
Wasn't the enemy supposed to be a Formed Ethereal?
This doesn't make sense—could an Ethereal with this level of Ether activity really have emerged from this newly formed Hollow?
Meanwhile, Wise was working the HDD system, searching for an escape route.
Nicole clutched the black suitcase in both hands, its built-in cannon charging up for another strike.
However, as she watched the scene before her, her expression shifted.
Zane emerged from the black hole—completely unscathed. Their combined attacks had done nothing.
"Manager, we'll hold him off—find a way out!"
Billy knew they were in deep trouble. With nothing around to use as cover, all they could do was buy time.
Anby charged forward again while Billy and Nicole provided covering fire. She closed the distance in an instant.
But just as she was about to swing her blade, Zane's hand shot out and clamped onto her arm.
Her movements stopped cold. Anby instinctively lifted her leg for a kick, but before she could land the strike, Zane blocked it with his other arm—then reached out and tapped her forehead.
In an instant, the strength left her arm, and Zane released her.
Though confused, Anby refused to back down. She prepared to attack again, determined to keep him from reaching the others—
But then, Zane glanced back at her.
"You're already dead. Stay put."