"Ionized..."
Phaga quietly repeated the word, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. Of course, he knew what Ionized meant.
It was a type of Ethereal—usually disguised as another kind, like [Ionized·Dullahan]. On the outside, it appeared as a Dullahan with dark purple skin, slightly stronger than the normal kind. But there were always exceptions—[Ionized·Doppelganger].
They were pioneers among Ionized entities. Instead of seeking presence within their original kind, they expanded their scope—observing humans. Any powerful fighter who stood out in the Hollows could become their target of imitation.
Then they would copy him, become him, identical in every way!
"Remember that Hollow you and that girl escaped from not long ago?"
Hoshimi Miyabi searched through her pockets, pulled out a photo, and handed it to Phaga.
He took it and looked closely—just as he suspected. The photographer was clearly running for their life; the photo was shaky and blurred. Even so, it was faintly recognizable—the school's front gate. A figure shrouded in black smoke stood on a corpse, hunched forward, wiping blood from its mouth with its right hand. Behind it, a pair of wings stretched wide, as if ready to take off at any moment!
Aside from the swirling smoke and the ionized layer covering its body, it looked exactly like Phaga.
"We've named it after you—[Ionized·Doppelganger·Phaga]. Black Phaga, for short."
Hoshimi Miyabi turned slightly, glancing back at him. "Let's walk while we talk."
As her words fell, she started back the way they came.
Ellen quickly came up beside Phaga to look at the photo, worry flickering in her eyes. Section 6's unclear attitude—and this photo so closely tied to Phaga—made the situation even harder to read.
Billy, sensing the tense atmosphere, leaned toward Phaga and whispered, "Mr. Phaga, maybe we should..."
Phaga and Ellen both turned to see Billy holding up two fingers on one hand, making a tiny running-man gesture on his other palm.
"It hasn't come to that yet."
Phaga exhaled softly. "Besides, with Ruby and Phaethon both absent, if we don't follow Section 6, we might not make it out of Hollow Zero."
"Stay close. If things go wrong, help me restrain that white-haired one—she looks the weakest."
With that, Billy and Ellen followed without further protest, quickening their steps to match Section 6's pace.
Hearing the footsteps behind her, Hoshimi Miyabi glanced back. Seeing Phaga had caught up, she said coolly,
"Don't be nervous. It's true Section 6 was tasked with eliminating Black Phaga, but we're not here to experiment on you."
"We only came because we received a distress call from Investigator Ruby while searching for Nineveh. We didn't know you were the one she was asking us to save until we arrived."
"Heh, I thought the Section Chief was sprinting to play the hero saving a damsel in distress! Turns out he's just like us—doing odd jobs!"
Somehow, Soukaku had appeared again, hands behind her head, grinning back at them. But before she could say more, Tsukishiro Yanagi grabbed her by the ear and yanked her forward.
"Ow, ow, ow! Yanagi, easy!"
Soukaku winced and pleaded for mercy.
But Yanagi didn't ease up. Adjusting his glasses, he said sternly, "Focus on navigation. If we end up working late again, dinner's going to be delayed."
"Ah, fine, fine! For the sake of burgers, I'll focus!"
At that, Soukaku immediately straightened up, pulling out her datapad and tapping quickly on the screen with her small blue fingers.
Once the chatter died down, Hoshimi Miyabi sighed lightly, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, our team can get a bit noisy."
"It's fine. I'm used to it."
Phaga shook his head.
Ever since entering Hollow Zero, Ruby had been like a curious child—peeking here and there without fear. Bold as ever, she wasn't even afraid of the Ethereals; during battles, she'd even tried to get closer for a better look.
Watching Soukaku's back, Phaga thought, That one would definitely get along with Ruby.
"That's good."
Hoshimi Miyabi nodded slightly, then continued, "Someone higher up did say they wanted to contact you."
"The aggressive ones want to forcibly recruit you—knock you out, strap you to a lab table, and analyze every ability you have. Know your enemy, know yourself, and win every battle."
"The moderate side wants to invite you as a consultant—have you demonstrate your abilities, maybe even spar with us."
"The two sides can't agree on anything. In the end, they dumped the problem on us in Section 6."
"So my situation depends entirely on your attitude?"
Phaga's steps faltered, then he quickened his pace again.
Seeing this, Hoshimi Miyabi frowned slightly—his distrust clearly bothered her. She stopped abruptly, turned to face him, and said coldly,
"The higher-ups have their own agendas—but trust in the military's will!"
"Until every soldier falls and we have no other choice, we won't send civilians who've never served to the front lines."
With that, she turned back and said flatly,
"I met you today. I believe you've refused us. Therefore, the [Doppelganger Hollow] mission belongs solely to Section 6—it has nothing to do with citizen [Phaga]."
"So..."
Hoshimi Miyabi stepped over the final spatial fissure, and Scott Outpost suddenly appeared ahead. Sunlight bathed them for the first time in what felt like ages. Even Phaga, who hated the sun, felt a trace of relief in its warmth.
Ahead stood many familiar figures. Eous and Ruby waved enthusiastically from afar—Ruby even broke into a run.
"Go be with your friends. Live happily behind us."
A calm, distant voice drifted into Phaga's ears.
When he came to, Hoshimi Miyabi had already walked off, followed by Harumasa, Tsukishiro Yanagi, and Soukaku. As they neared the corner, Soukaku turned and waved at him, laughing brightly.
"See you around, vampire!"
Then she hurried after her team—if she lagged, they really wouldn't wait for her.
Ruby, meanwhile, came charging like a rocket, slamming into Phaga's chest. He stumbled back several steps before Ellen caught him from behind.
"So excited for what—"
"Phaga! Ellen!!!"
Ellen stepped forward, ready to scold Ruby, but was instantly pulled into her hug instead. Ruby sobbed loudly, "I was so scared! You suddenly disappeared while we were running—I thought something had happened to you..."
"Hey, hey... it's okay. We're fine, see? Calm down."
Seeing Ruby cry so hard, Ellen could only sigh helplessly and gently pat her head to comfort her.
Earlier, the situation had shifted, and Phaga suddenly thought he could defeat Nineveh—so he charged in head-on. Just like back during the school Hollow incident, without a Proxy, Phaga still chose to wait for rescue. And when things calmed down, he'd scold Ellen for being too cautious.
Seriously, this guy...
Ellen pouted slightly as she glanced at him. That attitude—it was equal parts infuriating and endearing.
After a moment, Ellen seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right, Ruby—how did you end up finding Section 6?"
She still remembered Hoshimi Miyabi saying Ruby had sought them out for help.
"Oh, that's because I suddenly couldn't see you guys anymore..."
Ruby sniffled, pulling herself from their arms and rubbing her eyes. Her voice still wavered with tears. "I panicked, and Anby couldn't grab me in time—I slipped and rolled down."
"Next thing I knew, I'd fallen into a nearby spatial fissure. When I looked up, Section 6 was right there."