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"How could this happen…? We were just one step away from getting through."
Corin Wickes looked utterly crushed—her tiny face scrunched into a ball of distress.
"Little Corin, a maid's duty is to ease guests' worries. Frowning won't do."
As the head maid of Victoria Housekeeping Co, Rina patted her shoulder. Then she turned toward the anxious Ignis.
"Master Ignis, there might be a manual control for the fire door. Please wait a moment while I search the area."
But just as Rina was about to leave, Von Lycaon spoke up: "Sir Ignis, I checked earlier. The manual mechanism for the barrier is installed on the opposite side of the long corridor. It seems we currently have no way to pass."
The news enraged the Salamander. He was seconds away from smashing the door open—but then remembered Belle's warning: external force might destabilize the Hollowed structure around them. He lowered his fists again.
Rain was only a hacker he'd met once, but she still held the data disk Jane Doe had given him—containing the Mountain Lion Gang's hideout coordinates. Lately the gang had gone disturbingly silent, as if they had vanished into the Hollow. That made no sense for devotees of Khorne: those blessed by the Blood God always drowned themselves in violence and slaughter. Their absence meant the negative impulses of Khorne's blessing had somehow been suppressed, replaced by the cold, tactical clarity Khorne possessed in His aspect as the God of War.
Worst of all, Jane Doe had gone missing entirely. Even her KnockKnock account was deleted. Ever since they parted by the riverside, the Rat Thiren woman had vanished. Ignis only hoped that next time he found her, she wouldn't be—quite literally—living up to her alias and lying dead somewhere.
With all this weighing on him, The Salamander's temper grew short.
"I propose withdrawing for now. Please rest a bit—Victoria Housekeeping will investigate the cause of the blackout and certainly find a way through."
Von Lycaon's tone was steady and confident.
With no better option, Ignis shot one last hateful glare at the fire barrier and followed the group back.
They returned to the sunken plaza, facing that strange thinker-like statue. Von Lycaon was looking at something on his phone while discussing route information with Rina. Ellen Joe had pulled snacks from her apron pocket and sat on a bench to recharge.
With nothing better to do, The Salamander resumed maintenance on his weapon. The barrel erosion had worsened—he estimated only a handful of shots remained before catastrophic failure. The string of setbacks made Ignis increasingly irritable. Out of everyone present, only Eous the Bangboo was someone he knew well.
Ignis checked his equipment again. Although two drum-loads of autocannon rounds remained, the barrel was critically worn. At most ten more shots, unless the Machine Spirit miraculously rejoiced. But this wasn't the Warhammer universe—who knew whether Machine Spirits even existed here? He only continued using the term because old habits died hard.
His flamethrower still had three-quarters of its fuel. With the autocannon compromised, flame weaponry would have to take the lead again.
"Master Ignis, you look very down."
Corin stepped over, holding a sawblade in one hand and its long handle in the other—apparently also doing her maintenance.
"Rain is important to me." The Salamander sighed and removed his helmet. "Even if I've only met her once, I have reasons I can't ignore."
"You really are a good person. You saved me last time in the Hollow, and now you're here to help a friend—even one you barely know."
Corin glanced toward Block B's rooftop, protruding into the Hollow.
"Don't worry. That part wasn't consumed by the Hollow. I'm sure she's safe."
Fortunately, Von Lycaon soon gathered everyone again. Belle's voice came from Eous: "Lycaon, have you identified the cause of the blackout?"
"We cannot confirm it fully, but we have a strong hypothesis. Sir Ignis, Proxy—after checking the design schematics, I found Ballet Tower's power grid is exceptionally well-built, designed to avoid major outages. Additionally, the tower has an independent underground power station. That's why the building maintained electricity even after falling into the Hollow."
Indeed—previous discussions made clear that Ballet Tower had been swallowed ten years ago.
"So, it is an independent system," Ignis muttered. "Then the blackout might mean the underground station malfunctioned?"
Von Lycaon nodded. "A reasonable assumption. But the schematics alone don't explain the cause. Fortunately, the maintenance archives include contingency procedures for power failures."
Thank the habit of paperwork—useless records always end up being useful at the worst times.
"Both tower blocks are equipped with an independent control room and backup generator room," Von Lycaon continued. "These can identify the fault and, if necessary, switch the entire building to emergency power."
"If we find the cause, your mission is complete—and we can go rescue Rain." Ignis let out a long breath, finally calming.
"Thank you for remembering Victoria Housekeeping's mission. You are absolutely correct."
Von Lycaon looked at Eous. "Proxy, I'll send you the locations of the control room and generator room now."
"Victoria Housekeeping is ready to depart at any moment and awaits your orders."
"Then let's hurry. The sooner this is solved, the better." Ignis grabbed Eous and rushed ahead—he was no longer willing to waste a single second.
Entering the Hollowed section, the group soon reached the first-floor lobby. Though unlit, no Ethereal attacked. After leaving Ellen Joe on guard, Von Lycaon explained the plan.
"To restore power quickly, follow these steps: First, proceed to the control room to identify the blackout cause. If the fault cannot be repaired immediately, switch the building to the backup system. Afterwards, we must split up—one team stays to operate the systems, while the other heads to the generator room to start the backup ether generator."
"Handling the circuitry requires expertise," Rina added. "Only Lord Von Lycaon is suitable for that. As for the generator room, the work there is mostly transporting the generator and ether fuel."
"If it's carrying heavy things, Corin can help!"
The tiny maid practically sparkled with enthusiasm.
"Circuit work or manual labor, huh…?"
Ellen groaned. "One drains the brain, the other drains the body. Hard choice."
She ignored the murderous stare from her boss—this shark girl would slack off anywhere, even right in front of her superior.
"Ah, I'll pick the generator room," she suddenly said. "If I'm paired with Corin, I don't have to worry about posture issues."
"Ahem!" Von Lycaon covered his mouth. "Ellen!"
You really fear no authority, do you? Ignis wondered if she ever had her salary docked. Not his concern, though—he volunteered for the generator team. Complex tech was not his specialty.
Rina laughed a little at Ellen's behavior, then quickly regained composure.
"Well, given everyone's preferences, this arrangement is fine. Lord Lycaon, I'll accompany you."
The elegant wolf Thiren sighed. "Very well, everyone—move out."
He followed Eous toward the control room. Rina waved at the others: "Generator team—please wait here."
"Mhm." Ellen nodded, pulling out her phone and strolling toward the generator room without a worry.
Corin hurried after her. "Ah! Miss Ellen, please wait for me!"
Ignis wondered if he'd picked the wrong team, but Lycaon was already far ahead—so he followed the two girls.
Little Corin clutched her long-handled saw like a frightened rabbit. Ellen walked as if taking a lazy afternoon stroll, phone in hand. Ignis' senses were heavily suppressed—his armor's detection systems also malfunctioned in the Hollow.
"Will Lord Lycaon be all right?" Corin asked nervously. Ellen did not respond, still walking at her unhurried pace.
Something moved in the dark. Inside a Hollow, that could only mean one thing: Ethereal.
Ellen's demeanor changed instantly. She pocketed her phone, eyes sharpening. She gripped her garden-shear-style blades, shark jaws spreading wide for attack.
The first attacker was a Hati—a fast, wolf-leopard-like Ethereal. It climbed the Roman column by the doorway, then pounced at Corin—the smallest and frailest-looking target. The little maid screamed and squeezed her eyes shut, but her hands never stopped moving. She yanked the starter—her chainsaw roared awake, shrill and vicious.
Though her scream was louder.
The Hati thought it was clever, targeting the weak link. Compared to the three-meter giant or the battle-ready Ellen, Corin was definitely the easiest prey.
It had no idea how terrifying Corin's brute strength + long-handled chainsaw combination was.
With her eyes shut, the tiny maid simply swung sideways—and knocked the monster flat. The spinning saw pressed against its neck, sparks bursting in the dark as the Hati wailed. Within moments, Corin's saw had severed its head.
"S-sorry!!"
Corin opened her eyes and immediately apologized to the dissolving corpse.
The attack was only the beginning. More Ethereal surged from the darkness. But from what The Salamander could see, none were floating variants—only commonplace types.
Where did those weird ones go…?
No time to think. They had to handle the wave coming at them.
Ignis unleashed two blazing streams from his flamethrower. Burning ether fuel not only incinerated the charging Ethereal, but lit up the surroundings. He spotted several upper-tier enemies—and worst of all, a Thanatos among them.
That thing could tear open space rifts to strike unpredictably—even good lighting made it hard to track, and now they barely had any.
The Salamander refused to give it a chance.
He blasted the Thanatos directly—compressed air hissed as the flames slammed into the monster, scattering and igniting everything in their path. The Thanatos staggered just as it prepared to teleport.
A giant burst from the flames—Ignis surged forward, power fists crackling. The lightning-wreathed blow smashed into the Thanatos' skull. Not even a Fafnir-class brute could survive such force, let alone a creature that poured everything into mobility.
Its core extinguished instantly. The body collapsed, fading into the air.
"Vulkan Lives!!"
His voice boomed through the vox-system as he swept fire across the battlefield. The giant strode through the blaze, crushing creatures underfoot or with single devastating strikes.
Ellen and Corin realized they could not help—nothing could slow the giant down. Even Metro Goblins or Dullahans fell in one punch. A fully crystallized, armor-plated Hati charged him—Ignis shattered its ether armor with one blow and crushed its core in his hand.
"Well, that makes things easier."
Ellen casually lowered her weapon and strolled forward by firelight.
"This doesn't feel right…"
Corin hugged her saw, but she couldn't contribute—the giant's assault was overwhelming. The ambushers were almost entirely wiped out.
"Then do you think you can help?"
Ellen popped a lollipop into her mouth.
"Uu…"
Corin whimpered. Ellen was right. The best she could do now was stay safe.