Check out my new translation!
=====
The lights here were far dimmer than those on the first floor, more like emergency lighting. But even the faint glow was enough to push the Ethereals back; they vanished quickly beyond the illuminated boundary.
The Salamander checked everyone's condition. No one appeared injured. As expected from a company catering to high-end clientele, Victoria Housekeeping Co. maintained immaculate attire even in chaotic combat. Ellen Joe looked a bit lazy as always, even yawning.
"Lady Proxy, please proceed." Von Lycaon stepped to the side of a corridor, bowed, and gestured politely.
"Ah—alright." Belle's voice trembled slightly. It was probably her first time receiving service this professional; most of her previous collaborators had never been so attentive to etiquette.
The small Bangboo stepped into the darkness first, followed by the Salamander, with the Victoria Housekeeping Co. staff close behind.
The dim light vanished abruptly, and the darkness and damp fog reclaimed the space. The group advanced carefully. Fortunately, Eous had already recorded the location of the next building management terminal, so all they needed to do was follow it.
But the Ethereals quickly caught up. In the darkness, they approached from the rear and sides, forcing the Victoria Housekeeping staff to halt occasionally to intercept them.
"Do not concern yourselves with us," Von Lycaon said, dodging an attack with a swift sidestep, then dropping an Ethereal with a rapid flurry of punches. "The two of you must keep advancing. We will stay close behind."
"This way, Guide-sir." Rina drifted forward and scooped up Eous, darting up the stairs with speed.
But at the top of the stairs, Ethereals were waiting. Two Tyrfings swung their blades at Rina the moment she appeared. With the distance far too close, the Salamander's long-range weapons were useless—neither the flamethrower nor the dragon-breath shells could strike precisely enough without risking Belle and Rina.
The Victoria Housekeeping staff responded flawlessly. Ellen burst forward from behind. Like a true shark from the deep, she lunged out of the darkness; her gardener's shears were her jaws. Before the two Tyrfings could move, they were already torn in half by the shark that emerged from the shadows.
But once they reached the upper floor, more Ethereals crawled out from the moist fog—numerous and varied. Ellen charged first, preventing them from rushing the Proxy, and Rina followed by unleashing her Bangboo to electrify the creatures.
Seeing that a safe distance had been established, the Salamander drew his autocannon. In the darkness, the busts of flames of the dragon's breath shells blazed like a beacon. Burning ether fuel and steel shot sprayed out, ripping the Ethereals apart entirely.
"For the Emperor!" Ignis shouted his battle-cry, and the autocannon answered with its roar.
He unleashed torrents of burning iron rain. The ether fuel ignited the crystallized ether on the Ethereals' bodies, turning many into living torches. In the firelight, Corin also joined the fray from behind.
She had been guarding the rear with Von Lycaon, and after completing her task, she now dashed forward as part of the vanguard. Her long-handled buzzsaw released a deep mechanical roar, and with her astonishing strength, she cleaved a Hati cleanly in half.
"Sorry, Mister Ethereal," Corin apologized with her eyes closed, though her hands didn't stop. The Hati split neatly down the middle. "I couldn't make the two pieces perfectly even."
With more allies moving in front of him, Ignis had no choice but to stow the autocannon. As he prepared to ignite his power fist and charge into the swarm, Von Lycaon came up the stairs. The Wolf Thiren had been fighting a large number of Ethereals at the rear, yet he bore not a single scratch—not even his clothing was ruffled. Maintaining elegant posture, he gave Ignis a polite nod.
"Lord Ignis, please focus on protecting Lady Proxy. As for these Ethereals, we will handle them. Your weapons are too powerful and may damage the client's property—please use them only when necessary."
"Lycaon, multiple smart-building control terminals are nearby. We need to move quickly," Belle reported.
"Then it appears we have reached the core of Tower A." Von Lycaon pulled a pocket watch from his vest. "There should be a door nearby. To reach the atrium, we must pass through it. Beyond this point was formerly restricted to VIPs only. Look for an identity authenticator."
Eous nodded, and outside the Hollow, Phaethon immediately began searching for the authenticator he described.
"That device should be held by three individuals. Only by gathering all three at once can the door be opened," Von Lycaon recalled from his employer's briefing.
"That sounds exhausting," Belle muttered at the strange design.
"Feels like being complicated for its own sake," Wise added.
"Maybe it's simply… ritual," Ignis said, activating his power fist. "I don't think we need those devices. Do we really have time to look for them?"
The power fist glowed ghostly blue in the darkness. Belle immediately understood what the Salamander meant.
"Lycaon, we have a faster method—but it will cause some damage." Belle explained quickly. "Ignis can destroy the door with his fist. We can make an opening large enough to pass through without needing any authenticators."
Von Lycaon glanced at the crackling fist, thinking. "I must warn you—the door is custom-made, composed of multi-layer composite ether-alloy. According to the design specs, it can withstand direct fire from a Guardian mech's main cannon. Are you certain your fists can break it?"
Ignis answered plainly, "Yes. The fist has a disintegration field. It reduces whatever it strikes to basic atoms. Phaethon's already seen me tear apart several security doors and similar obstacles. And with Rain missing, we have no time to spare. Trading structural damage for time is acceptable."
Von Lycaon wished to avoid further damage to the building, but the Salamander was right. Based on the intel they received, Rain had been missing for a long time. They could not afford further delays. And with the Hollow swarming with Ethereals, the Victoria Housekeeping staff had already done everything possible to minimize damage, though it was inevitable during combat.
One more destroyed reinforced door… hardly made a difference now.
Seeing the Wolf Thiren accept Ignis's proposal, Eous bounced happily. But despite its excitement, it quickly located the nearby management terminal and connected via data cable. Moments later, the lights here flickered on.
These lights were much brighter than the previous ones. The unusual Ethereals shrieked and vanished instantly, not lingering even a moment. Those that remained—such as the Tyrfings and Alpecas—were swiftly eliminated by the other three female staff members of Victoria Housekeeping Co.
Ellen immediately lost all the fierce spirit she showed in combat, reverting to her lazy demeanor. She yawned, tears in her eyes as she walked over. Corin, seeing Von Lycaon's gaze land on Ellen, panicked and tugged at her apron. But the suddenly sluggish shark-girl paid no attention and kept walking lazily on her own.
In the earlier battle, Ellen had been the absolute main force. In the darkness she darted left and right, each strike aimed at upper-tier Ethereals. Her gardener's shears had bisected several advanced foes in seconds. With results like that, Von Lycaon simply couldn't bring himself to reprimand her.
Von Lycaon relayed Ignis's proposal to his three subordinates, and everyone agreed to try. In this environment, searching for three different authenticators was anything but simple. Even if the Salamander's method failed, they could still search afterward—and if it worked, they would save tremendous time.
"I found an elevator in this terminal—it leads directly to the door of the VIP sector," Belle reported.
"Well done, Proxy." Ellen perked up immediately. At least she wouldn't have to run the whole way on foot and could take a break.
The small Bangboo led everyone to the elevator doors. Though many years had passed, the lift was somehow still operational. Its massive carriage was large enough for even the Salamander to fit inside. Who knew what it had originally been designed to carry—perhaps it had been a freight elevator.
The sound of steel cables in the shaft was the only noise besides the hum of the Salamander's power pack. The Victoria Housekeeping staff remained silent; unlike the members of the Cunning Hares, they never wasted scarce time with idle chatter. Ellen leaned against the wall with her eyes closed, resting. Von Lycaon found himself troubled by this. Though they now cooperated with Phaethon, the other party was still a guest. Acting so improperly before a guest was… distressing. But considering how much effort Ellen had contributed in battle, he could only accept it for now—and save the lecturing for later.
When the elevator arrived, the lights above flickered once. They quickly stabilized, but the moment was unmistakably a bad sign.
Everyone understood: the skyscraper had been abandoned for ten years. Much of it had long been eroded by the Hollow; it could fail at any moment. They only realized after entering the car that the elevator had no internal lighting at all.
In the darkness, the only light came from the igniter on the Salamander's flamethrower. Outside the carriage, the Ethereals' screeching rose once more. Luckily, the elevator moved quickly enough that the creatures struggled to keep pace. Ellen's eyes sharpened again; everyone present knew that once they stepped out, another desperate fight awaited them.
When the lift finally stopped, even before the doors opened, Ethereals were already crawling in from the walls around them—straight out of a horror movie. Belle couldn't help letting out a small shriek. Fortunately, in this initial state, they seemed unable to fully materialize and couldn't reach the people inside.
The instant the doors parted, everyone bolted outward, eager to escape the horror-movie scene.
The door they sought was directly outside the elevator. The control panel's dim glow was the only illumination, and it clearly displayed that authorization was required to open it. Ignis charged the power fist, and blue disintegration-field light flared immediately.
Meanwhile, the Victoria Housekeeping staff were already engaging the pursuing Ethereals.
Among the weapons available to a standard Astartes, few surpassed the power fist. Forget a door—Ignis could tear apart the armor of a Predator tank with it. The massive, crackling fist struck the multi-layered ether-alloy security door, and with a gentle touch, metal supposedly capable of resisting a Guardian mech's main cannon disintegrated into powder.
"It actually worked!" Belle gasped. Apparently, she hadn't been entirely certain it would.
Once the first breach was open, the rest was easy. Like slicing butter with a hot knife, the Salamander carved out an opening large enough for himself to pass through. Not knowing the door's weight, he didn't sever it fully, leaving a small connecting segment so the heavy panel wouldn't collapse onto him.
When only thirty centimeters of metal remained attached, the Salamander stepped back, then drove a front kick into the panel. The thick metal slab fell with a shrieking crash, the screech sharp enough to hurt their ears.
"Hurry! The door's open!" The Salamander called, rushing through first. Beyond was the same oppressive blackness. Even with Ignis's Fire-Sight, he could only see a few steps ahead. The others followed the glow of his flamethrower.
In the dark, rustling sounds rose. A terrible intuition hit Ignis. He immediately ignited the flamethrower and blasted a broad wave upward. Ether-fuel roared out, burning several Ethereals clinging to the ceiling. Their shrieks filled the room as they fell. In the sudden firelight, Ignis realized they were completely surrounded—so many Ethereals that even he felt his scalp tighten. The HUD counter shot past three hundred, and more emerged from the dark.
Ignis unshouldered the autocannon. Even Von Lycaon didn't attempt to stop him this time.
"You've got to be kidding. This many?" Ellen clicked her tongue.
"Ellen, we are on duty. Maintain your decorum." Von Lycaon narrowed his eyes, preparing for battle.