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At least for now, the power supply in the generator room seemed to have been restored; it was just unclear how the rest of the building was doing.
Belle contacted Von Lycaon, and the central control room switched the system over to the backup power grid.
"Proxy, the building's power is gradually stabilizing." Von Lycaon's voice came from within Eous's body; the little creature apparently also functioned as a communications relay inside the Hollow.
Hearing Von Lycaon's voice, Corin visibly brightened. The girl had been tense the entire way. It wasn't that Ignis was unreliable—she just had known Lycaon much longer, and he gave her a stronger sense of security.
"To prevent the B-Tower control hub from interfering with the restored power, I've isolated A-Tower's grid independently." Von Lycaon reported his work while preparing the next step. "Next, let us meet at the central atrium and proceed to B-Tower together. Hopefully, we will find more information about your friend once we arrive."
"Proxy, the building lights are coming back online, but it will take more time. Near the generator room is a locked mechanical gate—I have opened it for you." The Victoria Housekeeping Co. chief continued, "Rina and I are heading there now to rendezvous with you."
After the communication ended, Eous happily led the way. Just as Von Lycaon had said, at the far end of the generator room a lifted gate awaited them. Passing through it, the group found an elevator that reached close to the central atrium, and now that the power was fully restored, it was operational.
As the elevator ascended, Ignis maintained strict vigilance. After all, the last elevator inside the generator sector had been repeatedly attacked by Ethereal. But A-Tower was brightly lit now, and those wall-phasing Ethereal feared the glare. They were probably scurrying into some dark corners like roaches, waiting to leap out at the unprepared.
The elevator halted midway, tensing everyone at once; weapons were gripped tight. But when the doors opened, it wasn't Ethereal—only Von Lycaon and Rina. The butler and head maid of Victoria Housekeeping Co. bowed to Eous and Ignis before entering.
"It seems the two of you ran into complications," Von Lycaon noted with a slight nod.
"Not too bad—we were attacked in another elevator earlier. But Corin and Ellen handled things really well," Belle praised the maids.
"Boss, you hear that? Proxy said I'm reliable. Make sure you give me some bonus," Ellen immediately jumped on the opportunity. "This job's been exhausting."
Watching the girl stretch lazily, Von Lycaon's brow tightened enough to strangle a fly. Perhaps he really had been too lenient. Maybe he should deduct her bonus.
Ignis, on the other hand, remained utterly silent. The giant stood still—if not for the sound of breathing he could have been a statue. Von Lycaon assumed he was worried for his friend's safety and was about to offer reassurance.
But just as he opened his mouth, the elevator arrived near the atrium. The giant was the first out, fists raised in a defensive stance.
"No hostiles. Area secure. Move." Ignis scanned the surroundings; aside from the Ether crystals jutting from the walls, there was nothing.
The elevator exit was some distance away from the atrium fire-shutter—perhaps only a few dozen meters. After a few turns, they saw from afar that the shutter had already lifted. All the work in the generator room hadn't been in vain.
Crossing the atrium corridor, the fire-shutter of B-Tower rose slowly as it detected their approach. B-Tower's system was clearly more advanced and secure. With a low mechanical hum, the shutter lifted, revealing the second half of the twin complex. Its décor was notably more luxurious than A-Tower; right in front was a stage-like platform. Power had not yet been restored here—damp mist and oppressive darkness poured back in. Fire-Sight had only recently recovered the Salamander's heightened senses, and now they were being suppressed again. It left him deeply uncomfortable.
"Thanks to our guide and to Ignis, we managed to restore power so quickly." Rina clasped her hands at her waist and bowed slightly to Eous and the giant; her two Bangboo imitated the gesture. "Our master will surely thank you as well."
She reached out to rub Eous's raised ears. Even Von Lycaon's lips quirked slightly—though the Wolf Thiren quickly controlled his expression.
Ascending the stairs, Eous led the way. The moment it poked its head forward, it spotted something lying on the floor. Climbing stairs was troublesome for a Bangboo, so it planted its hands on the final step and flipped over with a roll. Ignis was momentarily stunned—the elastic little machine could actually move like that.
The Bangboo waddled forward and picked up the item: a small backpack, yellow fading into red. Ignis recognized it instantly—that was Rain's backpack. She'd worn it when they met earlier on Sixth Street.
"Ah, this is…" Eous picked up the pack and shook it. Something was inside.
"Proxy, you recognize that backpack?" Von Lycaon approached from the rear.
"Yes. No mistake." Eous opened the bag and rummaged. "This belongs to Rain! She definitely came through here! There might be clues inside."
Even the Proxy knew the backpack—Rain must be quite fond of it. In Nicole's photo she wore it, and likely she had it in the video store as well.
Eous's hands froze. It pulled out a small white cube-shaped box, its display blinking a countdown.
No one knew exactly what it was, but it looked wrong. The Salamander was about to snatch and throw it when Eous tossed it ahead before the countdown hit zero. He stepped forward to activate the Iron Halo and brace for the blast. Glancing aside, he saw Von Lycaon tackle Eous to the ground, shielding it.
A shrill tone echoed through the empty building—but the expected explosion never came. Instead, once the beeping ended, music began to play. On the side of the display were buttons—pause, next track, and so on.
It was a violin solo, mournful and weeping. In a building with ghost-story rumors like Ballet Twins Hollow, such sudden music was deeply unsettling.
"Music?" Von Lycaon stared, bewildered, at the fallen device. Eous wriggled free, jogged over, picked it up and shook it. "Just a music player. Probably set on a timer. Nothing dang—"
Before Belle could finish, a black shadow dropped from above, landing atop the railing over Eous's head.
It was an unusually shaped Ethereal, and for the first time Ignis understood the phrase "a pair of spindly compass legs." It resembled a tall, slender female form with a graceful posture. A veil-like structure covered its head, though no beauty remained beneath—only a face of silver-white Ether crystal. Its body wore a dress of the same material, with layered, wavy skirts; beneath the hem were jagged blade-like protrusions that quivered upon landing. The only Ethereal Ignis had seen with such soft-like material was Thanatos's cloak. Most striking were its legs—two needle-sharp compass points so hard and keen they sparked upon touching the floor.
It bent down, reaching toward Eous, as if to seize it.
"Watch out!" Rina shouted, but Ignis was already charging.
The green giant surged forward like a tank, unleashing a ruthless collision. The three-meter, multi-ton warrior moved with impossible speed, startling even Ellen and Corin. In a blink, the Son of Vulkan's left hand seized Eous, while his right swung open-palm in a sweeping strike at the ballerina-like Ethereal.
With a sharp crack, the Ethereal flew back, its body warped—the immense force clearly punishing. Yet it landed with uncanny elegance. Like a little swan tossed on stage, it spun midair, bleeding off the Salamander's power. Upon landing, it executed a single-leg spin, extending one leg for balance—a classic ballet fouetté.
Its movements were so graceful and practiced that it appeared completely unbothered by the blow, as though Ignis were merely the male lead in a ballet tossing her skyward as part of the choreography. Yet the Flame Salamander had noticed it clearly—the creature's outer shell had deformed when struck, only to restore itself completely during that spinning fouetté.
The last time he had seen an Ethereal regenerate like that was inside Dead End Hollow, during the fight with its namesake, the Dead End Butcher.
Though this Ethereal looked like a tiptoeing dancer, its essence was anything but simple. Considering the legends surrounding Ballet Twins Hollow, Ignis suspected she was one of the twin ballerina sisters who had become Ethereal.
Ignis set Eous down and surged toward the uncanny creature. He didn't know her exact abilities, but judging from her form and the agility she had already displayed, this opponent was extraordinarily fast. Against such an enemy, the best approach was either overwhelming firepower or restricting her movement so she could not fully exploit her speed.
He wanted badly to detach the autocannon and rake her with fire, but she was too fast—and the autocannon's barrel was already at its lifespan limit. A misfire would be disastrous.
The iron-clad giant thundered forward, but from the flank someone even faster streaked past him.
Ellen lunged in trailing a red afterimage, her shears snapping open. The shark wanted to ambush the foe again—but this time her opponent wasn't some lumbering brute, but a sailfish built for speed.
With a metallic clang, the shark's iron jaws met the sailfish's steel blade. Ellen tried to use her gardener's shears to cut through the Ethereal's pinpoint legs, but the material was unbelievably hard; even coated with a layer of frost it refused to sever. The ambush had failed—but Ellen did not panic. She hopped back, disengaging the shears, which were now rimed with white frost.
The Shark-Thiren twisted at the waist, turning the gardener's shears into a chopping arc aimed at the Ethereal's shoulder. Her combat experience was considerable; she always struck for joints—weak points. If her jaws clamped down there, she could quickly seize the advantage.
But this Ethereal's speed was terrifying. Ellen's attacks were lightning-fast, yet the creature still reacted, shifting back and letting the blow slice through empty air. Now Ellen's old move had ended and her new one had not yet begun—she was fully exposed.
The Ethereal spun again, the saw-like blades along its skirt whipping around like the saw disks Corin used. It emitted a shrill, unnatural laugh and hurled itself toward Ellen.
The shark girl barely had time to raise her shears defensively.
But someone had already stepped in.
The Son of Vulkan slammed forward again, his fists coated in a thin film of golden energy. Ignis knew nothing of this foe's limits, but its body structure screamed sharp. He didn't know how sharp the skirt-blades or needle-legs might be, or whether they could damage his power armor—and so, to be safe, Ignis wrapped his gauntlets in the psychic glow granted by the Emperor.
Truly, using the Emperor's might on a small Ethereal like this was overkill. The spinning teeth were sharp, but they could not cut the golden psychic field at all. Ignis simply grabbed her out of the air. Unable to activate his disintegration field at the same time, he opted for raw force—slamming the Ethereal into the floor. The huge impact from his electro-muscle bundles and muscle coils punched a crater into the reinforced floor, and the Ethereal's body structure cracked heavily.
Its proud blade-legs snapped, the flowing skirt shredded, and the veiled head cracked all over. The blow had done real damage.
But the Salamander did not lower his guard. The Dead End Butcher had been as tough as a cockroach, and it had taken a train packed with explosives to bring it down. This creature surely wouldn't die so easily.
Ignis raised his foot, ready to crush her head and locate the core. Only by destroying the core did an Ethereal truly die.
But his foot stopped—blocked. The Ethereal had raised an arm, catching the descending stomp, and with shocking strength shoved him back a step.
Covered in fractures, the Ethereal stood, spinning again in the crater. Ether particles rushed toward her, and the cracks vanished. The broken blade-legs reformed.
Tch… what a troublesome opponent.