Belle put away her phone and sat down in front of the HDD system.
Before heading into the Cretan Hollow again to investigate Zane, it was best to take on a few other commissions first—to test Fairy's capabilities.
If Fairy malfunctioned at a critical moment, that would be very bad.
...
Inside the Cretan Hollow
Several days had passed since Zane arrived in this Hollow. During that time, he had been hunting Ethereals, absorbing their Ether energy to strengthen himself.
After all, as an Ethereal, he didn't need food or water. His body never felt fatigue, and even his mental exhaustion was minimal—a brief rest was all it took to recover.
"Tsk... Relying on myself alone is still too inefficient."
Perched atop a towering Ether Crystal, Zane surveyed his surroundings. Panta sat lazily on his shoulder, swaying its head.
The issue wasn't that fighting Ethereals was difficult—finding them was. Especially the strong ones.
As his control over himself improved, so did his ability to sense Ether energy. But in a Hollow this vast, it still wasn't enough.
Defeating powerful Ethereals yielded far greater benefits than weaker ones. The Formed Ethereal he had taken down before had been worth at least two or three hundred regular ones.
Unfortunately, because the Cretan Hollow was newly formed, it wasn't particularly strong—neither were the Ethereals inside.
And with how frustratingly hard it was to find Ethereals, he hadn't encountered anything notable since that Superior one.
The only upside—if it could even be called that—was that the Hollow produced new Ethereals faster than he could eliminate them.
At this rate, there were more than enough to keep him occupied.
But this slow, incremental progress was far from ideal.
"I'll just have to wait until I can leave the Hollow freely… Then I can use Phaethon's network to track down stronger Ethereals."
"For now… unless Phaethon comes looking for me, there's not much else I can do."
"Tsk… if only our first meeting hadn't been so brief..."
Belle and Wise, as protagonists, were bound to get caught up in countless major incidents—drawn to chaos like magnets.
Their chances of running into powerful Ethereals were significantly higher than most.
And with Fairy, an AI equipped with an absurdly powerful data-gathering ability, things would be much easier compared to doing it alone.
...
"Ughhh... Ughhhhhh... (Boss... I'm so bored...)"
Panta lay slumped on his shoulder, completely lifeless—an amusing contrast to its usual enthusiasm.
Zane ignored it.
Instead, his gaze sharpened as he spotted movement in the distance.
"Hm? Security officers? No… that equipment, those movements… they look more like military personnel."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
A squad of about ten soldiers was cautiously making their way through the Hollow, accompanied by two Hollow investigators.
"What's the military doing here?"
He had seen security officers enter Hollows before—some to chase fugitives, some for escort missions, and some for investigative supervision.
But military forces?
This was a first.
His curiosity piqued, Zane patted Panta's head, signaling it to hold on tight.
Then, with a powerful push, he leaped forward.
...
With a thud, he landed atop an abandoned building. The impact sank his feet slightly into the structure, but he straightened up and moved forward.
Instead of approaching directly, he sent Panta ahead to scout.
Unlike other personnel, the military was more likely to have high-grade detection equipment specialized for tracking Ethereals.
A short while later, Panta came scurrying back, looking pleased with itself.
It had spent enough time around Hollow Raiders to get a good grasp of stealth—not enough to fool Anby's sharp senses, but more than enough to avoid detection by a standard military squad.
...
"They're looking for a talking Ethereal?"
Zane was genuinely surprised.
He hadn't done anything… So why had he already drawn the military's attention?
"Well then... Let's see what they're up to."
Avoiding them wasn't an option. If he didn't deal with this now, they'd just keep coming back.
So as the military squad ventured deeper into the Cretan Hollow…
A towering, jet-black Ethereal stepped into their path.
...
Zane walked toward them at a leisurely pace, his voice breaking the silence.
"Guests from afar… This isn't exactly the most courteous way to make an entrance, is it?"
"My apologies for not greeting you sooner—such an oversight on my part as the host."
His tone was light, almost playful.
"But I do hope you enjoy your stay in the Cretan Hollow."
And beneath it all, a faint hint of contempt.
Zane's words carried an air of ownership, as if he truly saw himself as the master of the Cretan Hollow.
And to be fair… was that really wrong?
...
"A talking Ethereal? That's straight out of a movie plot!"
One of the accompanying Hollow investigators recoiled, quickly taking cover behind the soldiers. His eyes widened in shock as he processed what he had just heard.
"They say movies are inspired by reality. If that's true… then I guess this situation makes sense."
The second investigator clutched both his detector and a half-eaten support device tightly, staring at Zane with a mixture of unease and fascination.
After all, this wasn't something he had ever encountered before.
Neither of them noticed the rapid spike on the detector's display—Ether energy levels were skyrocketing.
...
The squad leader, standing at the front of the group, had also heard their exchange.
His expression remained unreadable beneath his protective helmet, but without hesitation, he silently drew the electrified blade at his waist.
Among all the military's recorded cases, not once had there been an Ethereal capable of speech, self-awareness, and logical thought.
This was the first.
...
"The target is confirmed. Execute Plan One—capture."
His voice rang out through the team's comms, and the soldiers reacted instantly, drawing their weapons without pause.
...
"No intention of talking things out first, huh…"
Zane came to a slow stop, his tone indifferent.
"None of you ever considered why I'd reveal myself so openly… or why I came here alone, did you?"
He raised his arm, palm facing upward.
A sphere of Ether energy began to coalesce in his hand, its surface shimmering with an iridescent glow, refracting light into dreamlike colors.
"A small gift for my esteemed guests."
"I do hope you'll accept it."
...
"Target is resisting—open fire!"
A storm of bullets and energy beams tore through the air, converging on Zane's position.
Even if a slab of reinforced steel had been standing there, it would've been shredded into scrap in seconds.
But Zane didn't move.
He let the attacks rain down on him—harmless, insignificant.
Then, the Ether sphere in his palm shot forward.
...
In the next instant, chaotic energy erupted outward—followed by a deafening explosion.
...
The two investigators, having already taken cover, peered cautiously at the unfolding chaos.
One of them glanced down at his detector, doubt creeping into his mind.
Was this thing broken?
The device wasn't a top-tier model capable of pinpointing Ethereals with extreme precision, but it was still official military-grade equipment.
It wasn't supposed to fail.
Yet the readings were unreal.
The numbers on the display were absurd—completely off the charts.
Just then, the blast wave reached them, the sheer force of it making his stomach sink. His grip on the detector tightened as a cold realization settled in.
The device wasn't malfunctioning.
They had vastly underestimated this Ethereal.
It wasn't just unusual—its strength might even surpass some of the most powerful Ethereals recorded in Zero Zone Hollows.
He opened his mouth, about to warn the others—
But before he could utter a word, something black and white suddenly popped into his field of vision.
A Bangboo with dark circles under its eyes.
And a split second later—
A headbutt, rapidly closing in.