Such a massive head.
On the fifth floor of the Abandoned Skyscraper, a huge monster's head burst through the wall, revealing part of its body.
A massive Ethereal creature
was forcing its way out of the building.
Seeing this,
Nicole staggered. Her already weakened body couldn't hold, and she collapsed to the ground.
"It's an Ethereal... a Notoriety Ethereal..."
"How is this possible? Didn't we already succeed?"
"Everyone, don't panic. Look at its body—it's only halfway catalyzed..."
Soldier 11 steeled herself.
She drew the weapon from her back once more, preparing for a new battle.
Nearby,
Mr. Mole, who had just been wailing a moment ago, suddenly burst into crazed laughter.
"Hahaha! You're right! Cutting off the Ether supply damaged the catalytic device, forcing an early stop. But even a half-finished Notoriety Ethereal is more than enough to deal with you!"
As he spoke,
Mr. Mole tried to inch away, attempting to slip off unnoticed.
The next second,
a blade pressed against his neck.
It was Anby.
Though she hadn't recovered her strength and could barely stand,
handling a weak mole-like creature was no problem.
At the same time,
the half-finished Notoriety Ethereal broke through completely. The walls of the fifth floor cracked apart, and two massive hands reached out, tearing the building open.
With a thunderous crash,
the Ethereal's enormous body fell from the fifth floor, smashing hard onto the ground.
Only now could they see it clearly.
It looked like a black giant, swinging two enormous fists.
Because the catalysis had been incomplete, its upper body was huge, but its lower body was small and malformed.
At first glance,
it resembled a giant with only half a body.
This inherent flaw made the Notoriety Ethereal's movements extremely slow.
Watching it lumber closer,
Billy lay helplessly on the ground. "Quick, stop it—!"
Nicole cried out, "Soldier 11, it's up to you—defeat it!"
Nekomata whimpered regretfully, "Meow... If only Sam Li were here..."
But reality doesn't work on "ifs."
In this situation, everyone could only pin their hopes on Soldier 11.
Gripping her blade tightly,
Soldier 11 stepped forward toward the Notoriety Ethereal, muttering under her breath:
"One step forward, victory. One step back, betrayal..."
Her pace quickened.
As her blade scraped against the ground, sparks flew from colliding with the broken stones, igniting the weapon in her hands.
"No need to warm up this time. Firepower suppression—activate."
The moment the words left her mouth,
Soldier 11 swung her burning blade hard toward the Ethereal.
With just one strike,
she slashed through its defenses.
This was Soldier 11's signature move—her foundation for survival in the army.
Few knew its name besides her.
The principle was simple:
She poured a special liquid fuel onto her blade, ignited it through friction-generated sparks, and attacked according to a precise rhythm—each swing needed to land before the flame extinguished.
Swing too early, and the fuel would burn out too fast.
Swing too late, and the flame would die.
It sounded easy—
but on a chaotic battlefield, maintaining perfect timing while facing a powerful Ethereal was nearly impossible.
In the entire Defense Force,
only Soldier 11 had mastered it.
Watching her fight so fiercely,
Nicole shouted with joy, "That's what a Defense Force soldier should be like! Swing that flaming blade and cut it down!"
Billy, still unable to move, cheered from the ground, "Go, go, go! Slash its butt, slash its head, slash its belly—yo, yo, yo—beautiful cuts!"
However—
On the sidelines,
Anby watched the battlefield, frowning.
Nekomata asked, confused, "What's wrong, Anby? Aren't you cheering too?"
Anby took a deep breath. "This isn't good. Her rhythm's off..."
Hearing this,
Nekomata quickly looked back at the battlefield.
Sure enough—
even though Soldier 11 was still pressing the attack with her agile movements, even Nekomata could tell her rhythm was slipping.
The flame on her blade was flickering out faster and faster.
If this kept up,
Soldier 11 would eventually lose momentum and fall into danger.
Nekomata panicked. "Anby, what should we do? If Soldier 11 loses, that Ethereal will kill us all, meow!"
Hearing Nekomata's desperate voice,
Anby fell silent for a moment.
Then, using her hands for support, she forced herself to stand.
She removed the headset from her head.
Nekomata looked puzzled. "Anby, what are you doing? Don't tell me you're planning to fight? In your condition, you can't!"
As Nekomata watched her,
she noticed something strange—
Anby, after removing the headset, looked even more like Soldier 11.
Nekomata blinked, confused. "Anby, you look so much like Soldier 11..."
But Anby didn't respond.
She staggered forward a few steps and shouted toward Soldier 11, "Catch—!"
Then,
with all her remaining strength, she threw the headset toward the battlefield.
Because of her weak body and the force she used,
Anby lost her balance and fell to the ground with a crash.
Meanwhile,
on the battlefield, Soldier 11 instinctively turned at Anby's voice.
She saw the flying headset.
She hadn't intended to catch it—
but her body moved on its own, rushing forward and grabbing it.
After a brief hesitation,
she put it on.
Familiar rhythms filled her ears, nostalgic music she hadn't heard in a long time—
or as it was better known: Heart Sutra of the Flaming Fire.
The moment she wore the headset,
Soldier 11's momentum changed completely.
With new vigor,
she charged at the Ethereal.
As her blade scraped along the ground, sparks flew, reigniting her weapon.
One slash, two slashes, three slashes...
By the fifth strike,
Soldier 11 gripped the blade with both hands and unleashed a devastating blow at the Notoriety Ethereal.
With a loud crash,
she severed its arm.
This time,
the flame on her blade didn't extinguish—and her attacks didn't slow down.
A prairie fire!
Fire support!
Free fire!
O flames, obey me!
Under the power of the Heart Sutra of the Flaming Fire,
Soldier 11 unleashed dozens of furious strikes, cutting the half-finished Ethereal down.
With her final blow,
the Ethereal's massive body crashed to the ground and shattered into countless fragments of crystal, quickly fading from the world.
They had finally won.
Exhausted,
Soldier 11 sheathed her sword behind her back and slowly walked off the battlefield.
However—
Just as everyone thought the mission was over,
the ground trembled violently.
...