Whoosh!
A flame-wreathed blade plunged deep into Nineveh's slender neck!
Hiss!
Nineveh let out a pained shriek, throwing her head back with a howl that tore through the sky. Her entire body convulsed as a surge of immense Ether erupted from her, forming a violent hurricane that ripped across the ruins below. Rubble flew skyward, and clouds of dust billowed in every direction.
Phaga was swept away by the furious winds.
A wingless vampire is a forsaken creature of the skies. No matter how desperately Phaga reached, he couldn't grasp Kunmutu, hovering less than half a meter away.
He could only fall—helplessly, endlessly. The wind roared in his ears as he plummeted from several hundred meters above the ground.
He would never fly again. From this height, death felt as close as a penstroke of fateh.
The ink drew closer, stroke by stroke, waiting for the page of Phaga's life to be completely filled—its end sealed in black.
At last, Phaga gave up his struggle.
His blood-soaked hands slipped from view, leaving behind only a single blade—and a parasol, fluttering weakly, its canopy unopened.
Behind him, the massive Ethereal roared in agony. The two fleshy appendages that served as her arms clutched her throat, desperately smothering the Nether Flames devouring her flesh.
In mere moments, the fire had consumed her entire neck. The Ether within her body—once her greatest strength—now betrayed her. Drawn to the flames' power, it abandoned its master, kneeling in submission to the very blaze that was burning her alive.
Sizzle—!
Suddenly, Phaga chuckled darkly, a laugh full of cruel satisfaction.
He knew this wasn't enough to kill Nineveh.
But watching her suffer, seeing the Ether she ruled turn on her—it was worth it. The sight of monsters devouring monsters... that was payment enough for his sacrifice.
"Tsk. Not enough! Give me a few dozen more teammates, and I'd have killed you for sure!"
Phaga took one last look at Nineveh, her screams echoing in his ears, and seared the image deep into his mind.
So familiar... too familiar.
The brush of death drew near once more, ink bleeding into old, sealed memories. The ones he'd buried long ago began to resurface, unbidden.
A night beneath the full moon. He was eleven years old. The moon hung heavy in the sky, a vast hollow visible at its heart.
The children had gathered around the Headmaster, laughing and pointing at the hole in the moon.
That night was the same as all the others. The moon's hollow still glowed faintly, the children lay sprawled across the floor in careless sleep, and the Headmaster stood beside them, his voice hoarse as he told tales no human could understand.
Then, suddenly, the Headmaster turned—and saw Phaga. He ran toward him at once.
But he wasn't the same. His once-kind face was twisted, his body towering and monstrous.
Still, he rushed to the child with the same open warmth. And then, he stumbled—straight into Phaga's blade.
Phaga froze in disbelief as the Headmaster staggered back, his eyes wide, his screams twisting into a grotesque song—crying out that though his body had changed, his heart still burned with the same warmth!
But after the burning came the cold.
Blood painted the floor. The feast was over. And the young vampire who survived felt no joy at all.
Phaga knew, from that night onward, he would walk alone.
...
With his eyes closed, Phaga suddenly felt a violent impact jolt through his body. The free fall broke, and he was yanked forcefully into someone's arms.
He didn't open his eyes—he recognized that heartbeat.
"Ellen?" he whispered weakly.
Ellen didn't answer. Instead, she bit his collarbone sharply, her tone annoyed as she muttered beside his ear,
"Don't talk. If I miss the rift by a hair, we're both dead."
Using a Hollow Rift for rescue was dangerous enough; one mistake meant instant annihilation.
So even though Ellen had plenty she wanted to say, now wasn't the time. She had to focus completely.
"Help me grab Kunmutu."
"Already did… wrapped it up with my tail from the start."
As she spoke, Ellen glanced back. The parasol and blade were both securely coiled in her tail.
Phaga opened his eyes then. His face was deathly pale from blood loss, but he managed a faint, tender smile.
Lowering his head, he buried his face in Ellen's hair and breathed out softly. "Ellen… thank you."
Ellen's entire body stiffened at the warmth of his breath. Instinctively, she reached to brush the spot he'd exhaled on—but remembering their situation, she stopped herself.
She lowered her head, her brows hidden beneath her scarlet hair, and muttered under her breath,
"Tsk... sometimes I really don't get you. What's with all the thank-yous... Hey! Hold on tight!"
Her voice rose sharply at the end. The air around her fluttering maid outfit grew icy, frost crackling in the air as a shard of ice formed beside them.
A second later, it exploded. The shockwave blasted them forward, hurling them toward one of the few intact buildings in sight.
But just as they were about to crash into it, the space before the building rippled—turning violet.
A gaping maw of the Void tore open, and in an instant, swallowed them whole.
...
Elsewhere, in a nearby building, a group of people gathered before a blank wall, staring at it like anxious family members waiting outside a delivery room.
A red-jacketed robot fidgeted impatiently, tapping the wall several times before leaning down to speak to a small Bangboo at his feet.
"Manager, you sure you didn't miscalculate? What if there's no spatial rift here?"
"Miscalculate your ass! You dare question the Legendary Proxy!?"
Eous shot Billy a glare, hands on her hips, eyes sharp enough to cut metal.
"The Legendary Proxy... the one the investigators found...? Haha—Manager, that's not what I meant!"
Billy had been ready to quip back, but under Eous's glare, he quickly folded. "I mean, obviously the Manager can't be wrong!"
[Fairy: So you are doubting New Eridu's most advanced AI—me. Master, I recommend cutting off the oil supply to the construct designated Billy. If the individual Nicole protests, use debt collection as leverage.]
[Fairy: As compensation, I shall claim a portion of the recovered debt as power credit.]
"Wait, cutting my oil's a little extreme—"
Smack!
Before he could finish, something slammed into the back of his head.
Nicole popped her head over, scratching awkwardly at her hair as she gave a sheepish grin.
"Oops, sorry about that, Proxy. You know how robots get—one or two system errors every now and then... Hey, Billy! Apologize for your little malfunction!"
She had been daydreaming moments ago, but once she realized the heat was on her, she quickly cut him off with a whack from her briefcase.
Billy looked utterly miserable, but when Nicole turned that threatening stare his way, he straightened up in an instant.
The robot snapped to attention, bowed deeply, and shouted, "I'm truly sorry! It's absolutely not the Manager's or AI's fault! Please forgive me, Manager! We at Cunning Hares are barely staying afloat as it is!"
"Then if it's not your fault, it's Ellen and Phaga's fault, right!?"
Great.
Eous and Fairy had just managed to calm things down—only for Ruby to explode again.
She was furious. If Clover hadn't been holding her back, she'd already be pounding Billy with her little pink fists.
Even restrained, Ruby's voice carried. "Ellen would never fail! They'll definitely come back!"
"I—I didn't mean it like that, Miss Investigator! Miss Ellen and Mr. Phaga will definitely return safely! I'll even offer myself as a blood bag if I'm wrong!"
Having already apologized once, Billy went for a second, bowing so low he was practically kneeling.
"Shut it, you tin can! You want Phaga to drink engine oil, huh!?"
Ruby lunged forward, dragging Clover a few steps with her.
Luckily, a small black Nekomata darted between them, raising its paws in a nervous smile.
"Um, our big robot's a bit dense sometimes—we'll give him a proper tune-up later. How about you take a deep breath first, Investigator? ...Whoa! Look! The wall's moving!"
As it spoke, its ears perked up, and it turned toward the side, eyes widening.
Ruby immediately followed its gaze. The others turned too.
Sure enough, the wall began to glow with a faint purple light.
Space twisted open—and two figures were violently thrown out, tumbling onto the floor.
Ellen and Phaga!
"She gave birth! The Wall Lady gave birth!"
"It's twins!"