There were no Hollows eroding the area, no Ethereals threatening it. It was like an unguarded land, rich with buried treasures, just waiting for the right person to dig them up.
To be honest, Nicole herself was a little tempted.
But right now, she was more worried about Zane—not the same way she worried about Billy, of course.
After all, Zane had chosen to stay behind alone to avoid exposing them. She couldn't help but feel moved.
There were so many enemies chasing them, and yet Zane could have easily abandoned them and escaped on his own.
Still, the Hare's House crew had searched all over the Janus District without finding any sign of him.
They did, however, find the place where Zane had fought.
And they witnessed the scene of the Defense Force being carried away.
"Aha, looks like it's a blessing from the Star Emblem. Zane should be fine,"
Billy withdrew his gaze and said cheerfully to the others.
After they left the battlefield, he had prayed hard for Zane several times, using that limited-edition collectible badge he had picked up.
"I agree with Billy,"
Nicole nodded. The scene in front of them said it all—the Defense Force had been utterly crushed. It clearly wasn't a fair fight.
"Not necessarily."
While Billy and Nicole remained optimistic, Anby shook her head slightly and added,
"Don't forget, Zane is an Ethereal."
"And now, the Hollow is gone."
Anby's reminder quickly brought the others back to reality—Ethereals couldn't survive for long outside the Hollow!
No matter how powerful they were, eventually they would die.
Otherwise, if the Ethereals from the Hollow Zero had all rushed out, even New Eridu wouldn't have been able to stop them.
Nicole's expression darkened. She had been eyeing the seemingly scrapped mechs that Zane had taken down, planning to salvage them, but now she had no mood for it.
Nicole lowered her eyes. She had a good impression of Zane. If he were just gone like this...
"Hmm... (Boss...)"
Even Panta, affected by the somber mood, lowered his head sadly.
"Let's keep looking."
"Zane is a special existence, after all."
After a moment of silence, Belle, controlling Proxy, spoke up. Her words lifted the heavy atmosphere a little.
Encouraged, the Hare's House trio, along with their two Bangboo, continued searching for Zane throughout the Janus District.
Along the way, they were nearly caught twice by constables who had come to maintain order.
But despite scouring the entire district, they found nothing.
"Sigh..."
With a sharp clang, Nicole rubbed her reddened hand, glared at the pitiful-looking Billy, and said,
"Don't get all down in the dumps. Stay positive."
"That's right, be positive. All we can do now is trust Zane. I don't think something like a mere Hollow disappearing would affect him."
Proxy's face showed a wise and thoughtful expression as Belle's voice followed.
A mere Hollow disappearing...
Something like that had never happened in New Eridu before.
Nicole didn't know what to say to that. But she could only agree with Belle.
Meanwhile, security around the Janus District was getting tighter and tighter, with constables and Defense Forces everywhere. Hare's House could no longer stay there.
Carrying their own heavy thoughts, the group returned to the video store with their two Bangboo.
After a discussion with the Belle and Wise siblings, the trio of Hare's House left again.
Panta was, of course, left behind at the video store—it was a much safer place for Bangboo compared to Hare's House.
Inside a room of the video store...
"Sis, you tired?"
Wise brought over a cup of hot drink, placing it on the table in front of Belle. Looking at his sister lying on the sofa, he knew exactly what she was worried about.
"You're the one who said we should trust Zane. So why are you like this now? Relax. With how special he is, nothing's going to happen that easily."
"The commission's lasted since yesterday noon until this afternoon. That's a long time. You should really get some rest."
"Billy nearly fell asleep outside the video store earlier. He's a robot—and you're pushing yourself harder than him."
"No matter what, you have to rest and recharge if you want to keep going..."
Wise's voice trailed off when he saw Belle already fast asleep on the couch. He let out a helpless smile.
Why did it feel like Belle had been falling asleep on the couch more and more often lately?
But this time, she was clearly just exhausted...
He picked up the still-warm drink. She wouldn't be drinking it anymore.
At the HDD system console, Wise, still full of energy, planned to take on some commissions for Belle, earning some rewards and upgrading their Inter-Knot account.
Phaethon was never just one person.
Poor Proxy—barely recharged, and already about to be dragged back into work.
...
"Boss, boss, are we really not leaving yet?"
"Isn't this haul enough? Sell it all off and we'll be set for life—live it up for once!"
Under the setting sun, a dozen gang members were hard at work, swinging their tools through the ruins, scavenging anything of value.
"Idiots! The bold get rich, the timid starve! And you're satisfied with just this? Listen to me—we're going to hit the jackpot!"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Remember, this used to be the Twelfth Street rich district!"
"Trust me—just one big score, and we'll never have to worry about money again!"
"One and done!"
The gang boss barked at his underlings, getting more and more fired up.
"Boss has such great vision! I'm with you, boss!"
"Shut up, idiot! You want the constables and Defense Force to hear you?"
After scolding his men again, the boss continued directing them to dig for "treasure."
"Boss, that Ether crystal over there looks kinda weird. It's not dispersing like the others. Feels like there's something inside... should we..."
One of the shifty-looking underlings edged closer and pointed toward a massive black "eggshell" nearby.
"Hmm... you're right, it's strange. When something's unusual, there's always something behind it. Good eye!"
"Hehe, it's all thanks to your teaching, boss! Otherwise I wouldn't have noticed!"
"Not bad, not bad."
The boss grinned and gathered his men around, staring at the black shell.
"Alright, boys—get that thing open! I want to see what's inside!"
"Yes, boss!"
With their orders, the gang members grabbed their tools and advanced on the giant black shell.
Just as the lead thug approached, lifting his reinforced pickaxe high above his head—
A sharp cracking sound suddenly echoed out.
"Huh? I haven't even swung yet?"
Crack. Crack...