"Phaga, are you okay?"
Seeing Phaga slowly drifting downward, Ellen hurried forward to check on him. She reached out to touch the back of his hand and instantly felt its icy chill.
Her heart skipped a beat. She stepped forward, subtly positioning herself in front of Phaga while keeping a wary eye on Nineveh high above. In a low voice, she asked, "Need to feed?"
Phaga shook his head slightly. He placed a hand on Ellen's shoulder and gently pulled her back, smiling softly. "Not yet. I haven't reached my limit."
"Besides, I can tell Nineveh has weakened a lot. Those hornets and vines took a heavy toll on her. We can win this."
"What?!"
Ellen was still dazed by Phaga's confident smile when Billy—having just finished wiping out the remaining Constricting Vines—returned in time to hear the good news. His eyes lit up.
"That's fantastic! I fought so hard my parts are coming loose... Ahem! I mean, even though Nineveh claims to be the outer dominator of Hollow Zero, under the might of the great Mr. Phaga and my heroic presence, she's doomed to lose!"
At the first half of his speech, both Ellen and Phaga exchanged strange looks. Even with skin thicker than city walls, Billy could feel the heat rising in his face. He quickly tried to change the subject, even striking a dramatically cool pose to save face.
Ellen took one look at his back and turned away, utterly unable to watch. She couldn't shake the feeling that his intelligence level matched the pig stitched on his leather jacket.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Tell me, Mr. Robot, what exactly did you contribute to this battle?"
"Hmph!"
Billy proudly raised his twin pistols. "I, Billy—the high-intelligence combat unit firepower-type suppression—was responsible for eliminating the unruly vines and ensuring a safe combat zone for Mr. Phaga!"
Uh-huh... Considering Phaga's flight altitude, even if those vines summoned every ancestor they had and stacked themselves sky-high, they still wouldn't reach the soles of his boots.
And as for 'firepower suppression'... Ellen glanced him up and down. She didn't see much firepower, but the body part was definitely on display.
Still, at least the Constricting Vines hadn't annoyed Phaga, which was something. And Billy's own joke about himself managed to land.
Ellen glanced sideways at Phaga. His lips were curved slightly, and she found herself smiling too.
He was in good spirits. After all their running and struggling, he could finally see a glimmer of hope for victory.
Still, Ellen cleared her throat, squeezed his arm lightly, and said with mock annoyance, "Don't go popping champagne halfway through the fight. It's not over yet!"
"That's true," Phaga replied. "But come to think of it, we've been talking for a while now, and Nineveh still hasn't attacked. Is she being polite or something?"
Billy caught Ellen's words and instantly raised his pistols, shifting into a combat stance as he eyed Nineveh carefully.
She was indeed hovering motionless in place.
"Who said she isn't preparing?" Phaga turned his gaze backward. "She's clearly gearing up to kill us."
Over a hundred Constricting Vines had erupted from the ground, stretching out like a dense, low forest. A loud buzzing filled the air—there were still plenty of pink-white hornets hiding among them.
"Hmph... Guess we really did pop the champagne too early."
Despite his words, Phaga still smiled as he spread his wings and lifted into the air.
At the same time, Ellen kicked her massive scissors onto her shoulder and turned around. "Leave these things to me. The robot and the vampire can handle Nineveh."
"Hey, are you sure you can handle that?"
Helping Phaga fight Nineveh was one thing, but Billy worried Ellen couldn't deal with so many Constricting Vines at once.
"Relax. I'm only a bit weaker than that vampire next to you."
Ellen waved him off, crouched low, and launched forward with a powerful kick.
Whoosh!
The Constricting Vines rippled as the shark charged into the forest.
Boom!
Frozen limbs burst from the ground, shattered into icy shards that rained down from above. The shark brought winter to the forest!
Billy stood frozen in awe, eyes wide, until Phaga called his name. Only then did he slowly snap out of it—though he still kept glancing back, astonished.
That Shark Girl... was she always this strong?
Terrifying!
Billy shook himself, regaining focus. He raised his gaze toward Nineveh and called out, "I'll just handle support for you, right?"
"Mm. Just disrupt her movements."
Phaga flew higher and higher. Blades extended from his hands with a metallic hiss.
A spark flared, and Nether Flames ignited across the blades.
Not far away, Nineveh drifted slowly closer. Counting the seven [Cores] on her petals, there were eight [Cores] in total, all glowing at once. Eight laser beams pierced through the air—reigniting the battle!
Phaga's lips curled upward. In his vampiric vision, Nineveh's Ether accumulation was as clear as day. He sidestepped just before she fired.
He beat his wings hard, accelerating forward. A black streak cut through the air, the raging Nether Flames trailing behind him like a blaze suspended in the sky.
When he reached Nineveh's massive organic barrier, the black streak took form—Phaga, arms wreathed in Nether Flames, grinning as he slashed down with his claws.
Slash!
One strike, five gashes. Sparks scattered from the wounds.
From the first ambush until now, their battle had raged for four hours.
Ordinary Ethereal bodies would have long since been burned dry of Ether by Phaga's Nether Flames. Only Nineveh's immense reserves had kept her standing this long.
But even the richest mine is exhausted one day.
Nineveh's defenses no longer held the power they once had. Under Phaga's relentless assault, even she was forced to resort to combat techniques.
She swung her right wing to block his strike, then whipped her left to counter. The fierce gale of her attack forced Phaga to drift backward.
She spun once, flinging her right again. Then another spin, and another—
Left, right, left, right...
Her speed increased rapidly until she became a living tornado, hurling herself at Phaga. Buildings were swept into the vortex, ripped apart with ease.
But...
"Using the same trick twice? Don't you think that's a bit insulting?"
Phaga grinned. He didn't even try to fly away or dive straight into the whirlwind like before.
Once burned, twice wise.
This time, Phaga had a better plan—fly with the tornado's spin.
With that, he spread his wings and dove straight into it!
Like a spark plunging into a forest, he vanished inside.
From grass and trees to shattered stone and debris, everything trembled and burned in the fire. Tiny sparks spread outward, and within moments, scorching heat filled the entire whirlwind.
Terror and screams erupted from within.
Waaah!!!
Nineveh let out a piercing shriek, her entire body consumed by flames—punishment of her own making. She abruptly stopped spinning and launched a frenzied assault on Phaga, who swiftly pulled back to dodge.
Her palm struck down, and even without direct contact, the ground caved in several meters deep. The surrounding buildings crumbled instantly.
Whoosh!
Another palm swept toward him. Phaga folded his wings and dropped freely, only spreading them again when he reached the level of Nineveh's lower flower bud. With a powerful flap, he shot forward and slashed down—ffive glowing claw marks tore across her body.
Whoosh!
Nineveh's lower body recoiled while her upper body leaned forward, eight [Cores] glowing simultaneously as seven beams of light blasted out at once.
Phaga twisted sharply, evading them all.
No—there's one more!
Only after dodging the barrage did Phaga realize Nineveh hadn't unleashed all her attacks at once—one final laser was still charging!
Whoosh, whoosh!
For the first time, Nineveh let out a delighted sound. The Ether Substance before her gathered into a glowing sphere, ready to fire at any moment.
So what if you're clever?
So what if you wield flames hot enough to burn Ether itself?
You're just a rat—barely above an ant! You have no right to fail!
Ssssh!
The [Core] above Nineveh's head flared with blinding light. The Ether mass before her swelled outward, the laser on the brink of firing.
"Starlight—Shine Bright!"
Gunfire erupted in a deafening volley. In an instant, hundreds of bullets rained down like a storm, hammering into Nineveh's weakened form.
What once would have been nothing but an itch now tore through her already ravaged body—there was no way she could endure it. Her frame lurched sideways, and even the laser she was about to fire stalled halfway, frozen mid-charge.
Not far away, Billy stood proudly atop the last intact rooftop, hands on his hips. "I'm a high-intelligence combat cyborg built for firepower-based area suppression—crafted with lost technology!"
"A mere Nineveh? Not even a challenge!"
"Nice work, Billy!"
Phaga, having regained his composure, gave him a thumbs-up before accelerating again, soaring forward to strike at Nineveh once more.
But Nineveh no longer had any intention of fighting. She made no effort to block Phaga's attacks, instead flying higher and higher into the sky.
Her entire body blazed with seething Nether Flames—she needed to extinguish them fast, or risk being consumed by them herself.
And amidst the burning agony, she sensed something—an aura she absolutely loathed.
"She's running away. Guess that was a wasted effort, huh?"
In the distance, a blue-horned oni girl holding an iron banner raised her hand to her forehead, peering up at Nineveh with a mischievous grin.
"Hehe, what's wrong? Did she sense the Section Chief's aura and bolt again?"
"Don't say such things, Soukaku."
Standing beside her, an intellectual woman with pink hair and glasses tapped the oni lightly on the head. Seeing Soukaku stick her tongue out playfully, she let it go, then turned her gaze toward Ellen, who stood nearby with her giant scissors, eyeing them cautiously.
The pink-haired woman approached gracefully, extending her right hand. "Hello. I'm Tsukishiro Yanagi from Section 6. The playful one over there is Soukaku—I apologize for her behavior."
"Mhm~ Soukaku's always like that," came another voice. "Childish, but harmless. I hope you don't mind, Miss."
Behind Yanagi stood a boy who looked only slightly older than Phaga, arms crossed and voice lazy, as though nothing around him concerned him.
"What's yours is yours. Section 6 won't take credit for others' work. On the contrary..."
His eyes suddenly lit up, a spark of excitement flashing across his face. "Hey, is that guy up there interested in joining Section 6? You two seem close—if you joined, would he come too? Would he? Would he?"
Smack!
A hand landed firmly on his shoulder.
The boy turned, startled. "Section Chief?"
The fox-eared Thiren girl addressed as [Section Chief] shook her head slightly, her tone cool. "Harumasa, don't make things difficult for others."
Then, she stepped forward, her sharp gaze fixed on the sky above.
A short distance behind her, Soukaku leaned toward Harumasa and whispered, "Hey, what do you think the Section Chief's looking at?"
"Probably Phaga," Harumasa replied, folding his arms. "He's connected to our mission target."
Knowing he couldn't invite others to join, his earlier enthusiasm quickly faded.
Ellen, overhearing their exchange, stiffened. She snapped her head toward them, eyes wide.
They... knew Phaga?
Beside her, Tsukishiro Yanagi seemed to notice Ellen's surprise and quickly added, "Please don't misunderstand, Miss. We're on an important mission—one that involves Phaga."
"Miyabi just wants to talk to him, that's all. No bad intentions!"
Miyabi?
Ellen's pupils contracted. Miyabi... Could it be the one from the Hoshimi family?
Yanagi seemed to recognize her realization and nodded slightly.
Ellen gritted her teeth.
Damn it. What does the Void Hunter want with Phaga?
...
Meanwhile, from the horizon, Hoshimi Miyabi finally spotted Phaga returning, carrying Billy with him.
She lifted her head, gave Billy a passing glance, and dismissed him entirely. Her tone was cold and precise. "Hello. I'm Hoshimi Miyabi, one of the current Void Hunters. You're Phaga?"
Phaga frowned, hesitating. "You know me?"
"Halfway."
Hoshimi Miyabi gave a small nod. "I've seen a photo. The person in it looked a lot like you."