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The autocannon opened fire first, the thunderous sound coupled with the thick flare of ether fuel erupting from the barrel became the signal that battle had finally begun.
A burning rain of iron poured towards the enemy, carrying both kinetic force and scorching heat as it tore apart the bodies of the Ethereal. Shattered remains scattered across the ground, then slowly faded into the surrounding darkness.
The autocannon never paused. Ignis carefully calculated the arc of fire coverage, ensuring none of his ammunition was wasted. His shells were limited, his barrel life nearing its end—every round had to produce the maximum possible lethality.
The HUD tracked enemy density; the counter rose from three hundred to five hundred and continued climbing.
The Salamander, of course, had seen waves of enemies before—Tyranids, the executors of the Great Devourer's will. Ignis had fought beside the Astra Militarum against those xenos, watching Hormagaunts and Termagants surge like mountains and seas toward their defensive line. He remembered the Imperial Guard artillery roaring as one, shaking the earth. After the barrage, only a layer of bloody slurry remained, yet that was merely the tip of the iceberg. More Tyranid xenos charged in the gaps between bombardments, forcing the defenders to unleash every light and heavy weapon on the line.
Though the Ethereal before him now were far fewer than the Tyranid swarms he once faced, the people at his side were not well-equipped soldiers of the Astra Militarum. Victoria Housekeeping Co's members possessed strong physique and melee skill, but only Rina could provide even limited ranged support.
The maid drifting in the air like the Ethereal commanded her Bangboo, Drusilla and Anastella, to ram into the creatures before delivering electric shocks to those they contacted. The efficiency of such attacks was mediocre, and against such overwhelming numbers they were clearly insufficient.
Fortunately, The Salamander's Dragon's Breath shells could provide a degree of fire coverage, and the Ethereal's bizarrely fragile bodies made it possible to suppress them from one direction.
In the darkness, they formed a defensive ring—everyone except Ellen Joe, who alone leapt into the black. The dangerous "shark" carried her massive shears as she sprinted at high speed, the red trail behind her revealing her path. When Corin Wickes sliced several Ethereal apart with her pole-saw and found the blade stuck in the ground, unable to pull it free immediately, another Ethereal lunged toward her. The great shark erupted from the dark depths, metallic jaws snapping once to tear the attacker apart.
Corin hadn't even found time to thank her before Ellen Joe hopped backward, her bright red trail vanishing back into the dark.
Eous remained protected in the center; it was not a Combat Bangboo and carried nothing for self-defense. Its components were designed for communication and Hollow data collection—hardly enough to withstand even a single Ethereal strike. But under everyone's guard, its safety was the least of their concerns.
Belle, watching the group struggle desperately, urgently wanted to help. But there were no detectable lights she could activate, and the number of enemies was visibly increasing. The noise from the battle seemed to draw every Ethereal in the area toward them.
Von Lycaon launched several high side kicks in succession, the jets on his leg armor igniting to boost each strike. The immense force shattered Ethereal bodies with ease. His face remained calm, but the sheer number of enemies was becoming troublesome. Wiping out all the Ethereal alone would not be the issue—protecting the Proxy for an extended time while eliminating these many foes was another matter entirely.
The giant's cannon could block one direction, but Ignis's ammunition was finite. Von Lycaon had already noted him change to his second drum magazine—half his ammunition gone.
["Master, security system interface detected."] Fairy's voice sounded like heavenly relief. ["Please wait. Access at thirty percent. Syncing infrared camera feed."]
Inside the Random Play staff room, the HDD main screen now displayed the security camera feeds. Cameras mounted in all four corners of the elevator lobby showed Ignis and the others surrounded by a sea of Ethereal.
Belle began to ask what good cameras alone would do when Fairy spoke again.
["Access at sixty percent. Forcing camera flash activation."]
The four corners of the ceiling suddenly lit up. The flashes were powerful—like four miniature suns erupting in the darkness. Fortunately, Ignis's visor auto-adjusted brightness; otherwise, he'd have been blinded like the others.
Fairy pulsed the flash repeatedly, flooding the area with bright, almost daylight-like illumination. The light-sensitive Ethereal writhed in distress; most fled into the walls or deeper into the dark.
"Was that your doing, Proxy?" Von Lycaon asked once calm returned.
"Yes. I just gained access to the building's security system. I can control the cameras." Belle rotated one camera to shine its flash at an Ethereal hiding in the shadows.
The creature recoiled immediately, disappearing into the wall.
"This is convenient—we can chase them off at will." Ellen Joe yawned. She pulled a lollipop from her apron, unwrapped it, prepared to toss the wrapper—then, noticing Von Lycaon's stare, quietly tucked it into her pocket instead.
The Wolf Thiren dearly wanted to remind Ellen Joe about maintaining proper decorum—snacking in front of clients was not ideal. But considering how much effort she had put into the battle, he decided not to scold her.
Eous remained still, but Belle's voice came through: "I can control all nearby security cameras now. Let's see… wow, a lot of Ethereal are hiding in the dark."
"Looks like the Hollow's environmental interference only targets us. These cameras aren't affected?" Ignis found this quite interesting.
"Hollow corruption and interference generally target intelligent beings," Belle explained while flashing the Ethereal repeatedly with the cameras. "Humans, intelligent constructs, automatons—those can be corroded into Ethereal. But these old cameras with zero smart components don't get affected."
"Wait, I think I see a door," she reported. "Let me check if there's a mechanism behind it."
"I prefer something direct," The Salamander said, weighing his power fist.
"Ignis, please minimize damage to the client's property," Von Lycaon said with a faintly strained smile.
Belle let out a silent laugh from the other side. HDD's interface showed that nothing was behind the door. But the security system indicated the door was locked and required a certain clearance to open. She was about to ask Fairy to acquire higher access when a shadow appeared at the edge of the feed.
She immediately rotated the camera to observe it, but the shadow seemed to sense her intent. It pulled back into the darkness, leaving only a vague silhouette.
When she disabled infrared mode, the shadow vanished; reactivating it brought its faint form back. It didn't resemble an Ethereal and gave off no dangerous aura. It even seemed to understand that someone behind the camera was watching—and waved a limb.
Whatever it was, Belle immediately streamed the footage to Eous's display. Everyone murmured in amazement.
"Proxy, judging from its body language, this visitor holds no hostility," Von Lycaon said calmly, showing little curiosity despite the strange sight. "It seems to be expressing gratitude for restoring peace to this area—and is willing to help us pass."
Ignis wore the expression of someone who had just seen an entity of the Warp. How in the Emperor's name did this Wolf Thiren read all that from a wriggling shadow? Some kind of strange Thiren kinesiological instinct?
On the feed, the shadow even wobbled in response to Von Lycaon's statement.
"Shall we try it?" Belle switched to the speaker near the camera. "Could we trouble you to open this door?"
The Salamander wondered if this was getting ridiculous. What kind of shadow creature could open a door requiring clearance? He kept his power fists lit, ready for a forced breach.
But reality was stranger: the door opened smoothly. In the silent darkness, the hydraulic hiss was obvious, and Ignis reluctantly powered down his fist.
Past the door were two small lounges. Lights flickered once. Eous quickly found the control panel and switched them on.
Compared to the previous halls, this place was lavish—filled with sculptures, oil paintings, even installation art. Whoever owned this place clearly had refined artistic tastes, placing artworks in every corner. The statue-like Ethereal they had seen earlier might well have been influenced by this environment.
Ignis scanned carefully, detecting faint heat traces but not the being that left them. Strange.If a real ghost existed, would it leave thermal signatures? What exactly had appeared here?
But with the lights on, Ethereal reappeared—though now far fewer in number.
"Everyone, while clearing them, please take care not to damage the building," Von Lycaon said, straightening his jacket before charging into combat.
"Ah." Corin Wickes stared at her pole-saw, voice trembling. "He must be warningme…"
Ignis saw there were only a handful of Ethereal and wisely refrained from moving. He knew full well Von Lycaon was referring to him—his weapons could inflict significant structural damage.
"Heh." Rina chuckled at Corin's timid expression. "Don't worry, little Corin. He only talks tough—he's not deducting your pay."
"I—I wasn't worried about that," Corin said, rushing forward again. Her swings were noticeably more restrained, avoiding harm to anything around her.
Perhaps Ellen Joe's habitual laziness and difficulty maintaining decorum during work had much to do with Von Lycaon's strict tone.
With proper lighting and only a few enemies, Victoria Housekeeping Co. finally displayed its true capability—clearing the Ethereal in just a few minutes.
"Proxy, all nearby Ethereal have been eliminated!" Corin reported gleefully.
"Good work! Belle, take a short break with everyone. I'll calculate the next part of our route." Wise's voice came from within Eous.
A chain of battles had exhausted everyone, so they found a place to sit and rest. Von Lycaon insisted on keeping watch. But the moment they sat down, the lights flickered repeatedly.
"It's not my imagination, right? I'm pretty sure the lights have been flickering a bunch of times along the way." Wise's tone carried fear and confusion.
"Eh—r-really? They have?" Corin Wickes sounded flustered; the little maid clearly feared this kind of thing, especially since she forced an awkward giggle.
"There were indeed several flickers," Ellen Joe said far more calmly. "Seems like the rumors might be real after all."
Hearing the word rumors, Belle perked up immediately—so did Ignis. Before they came, Anby had mentioned recent urban legends surrounding this place, but Nicole cut her off before she could explain.
"Hm? What rumors?" Belle asked at once.
"What, you haven't heard, Proxy?" Ellen Joe looked at Eous, then at the Salamander—who was also visibly curious.
"Ahem!" Corin Wickes coughed deliberately. "M-Miss Ellen…"
"Oh—are we not supposed to mention it?" The Shark Thiren girl finally looked like she realized something. "The mission briefing from the boss was too long, so I didn't read it."
Ignis once again witnessed someone being boldly lazy without shame. Von Lycaon, you're really not going to correct her?
He looked toward the Wolfman not far away—Von Lycaon's ears were already pointed in their direction. He had clearly heard everything and simply chose not to intervene. Perhaps he thought it was fine for the Proxy to hear.
"But it's fine, right? Rina is here. If the Proxy or this big guy learns something they shouldn't, she'll take care of it." Ellen Joe glanced at Rina, who was also resting beside them.
Hm? Take care of it how? Stuff a cookie in Belle's mouth? Or have a Bangboo electrocute her into amnesia?
"'Take care of it'? Which kind?"
The Proxy who had been knocked out in Lumina Square by a cookie seemed to have a guess.
"Ellen. Corin." Rina's maid uniform smile was gentle, but her tone made both freeze. "Speaking like that will make people misunderstand Victoria Housekeeping Co, you know?"
"Guide, Sir—allow me to explain." She turned toward the two who still knew nothing. "I wonder if either of you have heard about the ghost stories surrounding the Ballet Twins Tower recently?"
"I've heard a thing or two." Ignis nodded.
"The story goes like this: when the tower was swallowed by the Hollow years ago, the famous twin dancer sisters perished inside. Since then, rumors claim their vengeful spirits rule the building. Anyone trespassing will be warned through flickering lights. If the intruder lingers, they trigger a blackout—and in the darkness, appear to reap the trespasser's soul. It used to be a forgotten old tale… until recently, when someone claimed to have experienced exactly that inside the tower."
Rina paused, trying to read their expressions—but one was a Bangboo, and the other wore a helmet, so nothing could be seen.
"Master believes letting these rumors spread would harm the tower's property value. That's why she commissioned us—under the pretense of equipment maintenance—to investigate."
Vengeful twins? Warnings? Blackouts?
Ridiculous as it sounded, Ignis—having lived in the Warhammer universe—absolutely believed in ghosts. Or rather, believed that some beings definitely lingered after death.
Isn't that right, Emperor?
But if the rumored spirits warn and kill intruders, why had that shadow earlier opened the door for them? That made no sense. Meaning: that shadow wasn't the twins' ghost.
Then what was it?
"So that's the real reason you came." Belle finally understood Victoria Housekeeping Co's purpose.
"Proxy," Von Lycaon approached. "Originally, I thought the rumors were fabricated. But after what we saw, the blackout may truly be real."
The Wolf Thiren rubbed his chin, recalling Ballet Tower's structural info. "However, once the building loses power, a problem arises. The entrance to Block B's atrium is fitted with an automatic fire-seal barrier that closes immediately during outages."
He glanced at The Salamander. "We want to avoid damaging the building while still prioritizing our search target. To keep the lines from becoming blocked, we must accelerate our pace."
His words signaled the end of rest. Everyone rose to continue the exploration.
The upward elevator was close. According to Wise's calculated route, it would lead directly to the floor with the atrium entrance. When the elevator arrived, the surroundings were dark once more, and another door blocked their path.
To stop Ignis from forcing it open, Belle immediately switched to a nearby security camera. As expected, the small swaying shadow appeared again—and once more, it opened the door for them.
Inside, Eous activated the nearest lights. The area seemed safe.
After fighting nonstop, everyone relaxed a little. But as they passed the first crystal chandelier, its light flickered. A chill crept into the group—whether from the rumor or from fear that a blackout would trigger the fire barrier was hard to say.
The closer they drew to the atrium entrance, the more frequently the lights flickered—almost like a warning.
"The flickering's getting stronger!" Wise's voice trembled faintly.
The moment he finished speaking, the lights died.
A blackout!
Ethereal immediately surged from all directions. Worse, the fire-seal barrier would descend—blocking access to Block B.
"Proxy, Ignis—this is our final sprint!" Von Lycaon shouted and charged forward.
The Wolf Thiren met the enemy first; three or five Ethereal surrounded him, but his empowered leg armor strikes knocked them all aside.
The Salamander tried to grab Eous and carry him while charging ahead—but space rifts here made it too dangerous. The little Bangboo had to lead the way.
Eous kicked its short limbs wildly, sprinting at incredible speed—just like the time it lost control inside the Hollow.
Ignis and Victoria Housekeeping followed, naturally drawing Ethereal attention. Several attackers emerged from the dark, their brass arms sharpening into spikes as they dove toward Eous. Just as the Bangboo failed to dodge, Von Lycaon intercepted with a flying kick, scattering them before engaging again.
"This way, please!" he said with elegant grace, inviting the Proxy to pass.
Beyond the doorway was a staircase. Though Eous moved fast, its short limbs made climbing difficult, so Rina picked it up and floated upward effortlessly.
More Ethereal blocked the path. The Salamander rushed ahead and smashed one with a single punch. A Metro Goblin lunged from the shadows, its ether-fused fist swinging at him—Corin intercepted, her saw roaring as it severed the creature's arm.
"Corin will do her best!" the young maid shouted to motivate herself—though it would help if she weren't doing it with her eyes squeezed shut.
Rina became entangled with Ethereal and set Eous down. The Bangboo sprinted forward again, and The Salamander moved to follow.
But in the damp mist, a Hati leapt down from above—the rabbit-like Bangboo was the perfect prey. Ignis couldn't support in time, but someone reached it first.
The shark appeared behind the beast, her steel jaws far stronger than any Ethereal's. Mid-air, she intercepted and bit the monster in half.
After the kill, Ellen Joe didn't hurry away. She simply strolled lazily behind Eous. The girl looked sluggish most of the time—but whenever she struck, she was fast and precise, like a great white shark.
Though, her daily behavior was much more like a sleeping Greenland shark.
"Up ahead is the atrium!" Belle pointed forward.
Though everyone ran at full speed, the fire-seal barrier was about to fall. Ignis sprinted with all his might, multi-ton weight shaking the floor. He intended to block the gate before it dropped—they had no time to waste.
But, as often happened, things did not go his way.
The barrier fell too quickly; there was no chance for heroics. The light from the atrium vanished as the fire door shut.
"Damn it!" Ignis lit his power fists, preparing to break through.
"Wait!" Belle stopped him at once. "The structure here is unstable due to the Hollow. Any strong impact could cause unpredictable collapse!"
Hearing this, The Salamander reluctantly lowered his fists. Inside a Hollow, brute force wasn't always viable—sometimes they had to listen to the Proxy.
"Then, everyone, do we have any way to open this door?" The Salamander patted the barrier. It wasn't thick—one punch would certainly break it—but the Proxy had already warned him not to act recklessly.