After all, taking down a core Etherial could significantly shrink the Hollow's boundary—but even so, the New Eridu authorities would rather spend manpower and resources to keep it under control than try to eliminate it.
That alone showed just how difficult core Etherials were to deal with.
Zane... let's see how far you can go!
In front of the HDD system, Belle stared intently at the screen. Her expression was calm, but the subtle flicker in her eyes betrayed her inner tension.
...
On the battlefield—
"Haha... now that felt good."
Zane was struck by several of the core Etherial's elongated legs. He was flung backward, crashing into the ground and carving a shallow trench, but his body remained unscathed.
His tone was relaxed, but there was no hiding the excitement beneath it—
The battle instinct buried in an Etherial's body was surfacing.
Zane reached out, Ether energy condensing in his hand and forming a massive halberd. Its broad, razor-sharp blade gave off a dangerous aura, and each swing sliced through the air with fierce momentum.
"Come on, again!"
He shot forward once more, clashing with the now mangled core Etherial. Its body was riddled with cracks and broken crystals.
As time went on, more of its limbs were severed, and deep wounds tore through its defenses. For the first time, the core Etherial felt the threat of death looming over it.
Unfortunately for it, the part of its body devastated by the Flame Spear was nearly useless now. Escape was no longer an option—it could only fight to the bitter end.
Eventually, drained of energy, the Etherial made a critical mistake. Zane didn't hesitate. His halberd slashed clean through its head, splitting it in two.
At last, its "core"—glimmering with swirling, iridescent light—was fully exposed.
The creature collapsed, almost entirely immobilized. Only a few dozen of its sharp limbs twitched weakly in place.
But just as Zane raised his hand to destroy the core, something unexpected happened.
A surge of Ether crystals suddenly condensed, rising from his legs to his arms and extending to the ground, locking him in place.
In the next second, the core Etherial's remaining limbs extended rapidly, clustering together—their pointed tips merging into a massive "drill," thick as a barrel.
The moment it finished forming, the drill shot straight at Zane's chest!
All of it happened in the blink of an eye.
From afar, Nicole and the others only saw a white "drill" stab straight into Zane—and embed itself in his chest.
"Support him, now!"
Nicole's voice rang out, laced with urgency and worry.
Anby reacted instantly. Just a second after the ambush, she was already sprinting forward, lightning dancing across her blade.
Her thoughts were different from Nicole's.
If Zane went down—in the heart of the Hollow, in the core Etherial's domain—their survival rate would drop below seven percent!
"Starlight! Grant me power! Cue the boss battle BGM!"
Billy didn't hesitate. Like a red whirlwind, he charged in, not caring whether his bullets would even do anything at this point.
First, he had to get there.
Nicole moved a little slower. She only grasped the gravity of the situation after Billy rushed ahead and quickly followed, with both Bangboo right behind her.
All three of them were thinking the same thing—get to Zane and back him up.
But none of them had truly seen what was happening on the battlefield.
...
"Feign weakness to lure the enemy into a final strike, huh?"
"Not a bad plan."
Zane's glowing eyes calmly watched the drill embedded in his chest, its trembling tip unable to push forward.
He'd returned to the same composed state he had before the battle began.
The limbs connected to the drill were now restrained by Ether crystals—just like the ones still binding Zane.
"Heh... shame for you—I'm an Etherial too."
He tensed his right arm. A sharp crack rang out, followed by the sound of shattering crystals hitting the ground.
Then his left arm. Right leg. Left leg...
Standing on solid ground, Zane casually lifted his hand and pushed the drill to the side.
It had injured him.
His chest armor had been pierced, leaving a palm-sized hole. Inside, a faintly glowing "core" pulsed gently.
That was his heart.
He walked up to the motionless core Etherial and shook his head slightly.
"Poor thing... didn't even get the chance to have a name."
Then, without wasting any time, he destroyed the creature's core.
As it shattered, the Etherial dissolved into pure energy—just like the others before it.
Its large body disintegrated, releasing a dreamy cascade of colors into the air. The energy shimmered like a radiant, miniature lake.
Zane stood in the center of it all, forming a surreal and beautiful image.
...
"Boss Nicole... did we just...?"
Billy still had both pistols raised. He looked at Zane in front of him.
Was it... already over?
"Call off the support."
Anby slid her blade back into its sheath, her gaze toward Zane growing even more serious.
"No wonder you pulled that off."
"Even I'm starting to admire you a little."
With the core Etherial down, Nicole finally relaxed. She strolled toward Zane, speaking casually.
"Not gonna lie, I really am jealous. If I had that kind of power, we could take on all the high-paying commissions."
Making Hare's House famous in New Eridu? Just a matter of time.
Getting rich? Practically guaranteed.
"Oh? Gaining the admiration of Hare's House's boss? I'm honored."
Zane smiled faintly—and that only lifted Nicole's mood more.
"Still, thanks for jumping in. Even though I didn't end up needing it."
As he absorbed the massive energy the Etherial left behind, Zane gave the three a sincere nod of thanks.
"Aw, come on—you're the star of the mission. We were just doing our job. If anything happened to you, the mission would fail, and there'd be no commission fee."
Though Nicole played it off like it was all business, Zane knew better.
She wasn't being honest—Denny's life wasn't worth more than his.
Her instinctive response had been to help, without hesitation.
Her own safety, her teammates, Denny—Nicole had her own set of priorities and values.
That thought made Zane pause.
Wait... does that mean I'm part of Hare's House now?
He chuckled softly.
Actually... it didn't sound so bad.
...
"Hey, Proxy! After this is all over, you better give us a glowing review for how hard we worked!"
Nicole turned to Eous, putting on a serious face.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
With things settled, Belle was in a great mood too.
"Mission accomplished. Let's wrap it up!"
Billy spun his twin pistols a few times before holstering them.
"Hey, Zane, when Proxy does your special interview later, mind if I ask a few questions too?"
"Exclusive scoop on a talking Etherial? We could sell it to the papers—or use it to promote Hare's House."
Nicole had already come up with another way to make money. She turned toward Zane, almost slipping into the same tactics she used on Belle.
"Of course."
Zane nodded at her.
Maybe... he was one of them after all.