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"Speaking of which, you two are really worlds apart. If it weren't for the armor design showing some similarities, it'd be hard to believe you're…" Billy recalled the Salamander's words, "…battle brothers."
Ignis connected the power lines of his backpack. With the hum and vibration, Cerakos' helmet systems automatically came online.
"We come from different chapters, with different gene-seeds." Cerakos moved his shoulders. "I'm from the Lamenters, a successor of the Blood Angels. My gene-father is Sanguinius."
"You could think of it like different manufacturers. The same model robot will have slight variations depending on the factory and production materials." Ignis turned and pulled his Thunder Hammer and newly forged shield from the truck's cargo bed.
"But the gap looks a bit… excessive." Billy's gaze flicked between the three-meter giant and the two-meter Son of Sanguinius.
"I'm a new product, remodeled on his foundation." Ignis shrugged. "Without him or Gotthardt as the 'firstborn,' I wouldn't exist."
Cecilia, listening quietly nearby, couldn't help but frown. How come these two act less human than that robot?
"Can't you use more human expressions?" she muttered. "Feels like I'm stuck among a bunch of silicon-based lifeforms."
Her complaint didn't escape the notice of three superhumanly perceptive individuals—they exchanged smiles.
"In the past, we never imagined days like this," Cerakos crouched, taking the girl's hand. "I fought for a distant, unreachable goal. Now… I fight for my own life."
"And for others," The Salamander added, slamming his shield to the ground to plant it upright. "I'm already quite human. If you'd seen a real Space Marine, you'd think they're cold and heartless."
"Really? At least you three still seem human enough." Billy flicked his hair. "Alright, I'm off. Nicole took a job, need to meet the client—see you."
The red-jacketed robot waved, climbed into the truck cabin. With the awakening of its machine-spirit, the small steel beast roared and charged.
"Then it's our turn to find the missing Bangboo." Cecilia gestured toward the two power-armored Space Marines. "Let's go."
Though several days had passed, the thermal traces were nearly gone. But the Salamander's power armor auto-sensor enhanced this ability, and with special optics, Ignis managed to pick up the faint trail.
The old-model Bangboo used a dated power core and had a hard-metal shell, so it lost heat quickly.
"It stopped here, staring toward the Hollow for a while," Ignis reconstructed the scene from the traces. "Maybe a minute or two… then took a few steps forward."
Cecilia blinked. Though she'd heard Cerakos mention his tracking ability, this was ridiculous. Four days later, they could still see the specific movements? The spot he indicated…
That was where the torn ribbon was found.
"Then it was picked up. The little one struggled violently, almost escaping several times. The person holding it was about 1.8 meters, very strong. They didn't expect such resistance from this small thing."
"Then they turned and entered the Hollow." Ignis watched the strange glowing veil. "Interesting. Criminals really like using Hollows to cover their tracks."
"Most people can't enter here. If they do, they'll get lost for various reasons." Cerakos activated his Lightning Claw, the weapon responding instantly.
"Let's move." The Salamander lifted his shield. "Miss Proxy, we'll need your navigation and calculations inside the Hollow."
Cecilia swallowed an anti-corrosion pill from her backpack.
"No problem." She pulled out her phone, resolute.
Passing through the light membrane always gave a suffocating sense of oppression. But the scene beyond—the abandoned construction site—made the Salamander uneasy.
They appeared inside an unfinished building. Walls were close together; for someone like Ignis, it was cramped.
"I don't like this place," the Son of Vulkan muttered. "The guy didn't like it either, judging by where he headed."
"This was a Faunus Quarter housing project, with residential and commercial buildings. The Hollow disaster swallowed it. Otherwise, it would have been an important commercial center." Cecilia checked her phone. "According to Carrot data, we're on the fourth floor of the residential section."
"This door? Not getting through." Ignis raised his Thunder Hammer.
With a tremor and burst of dust, the Salamander smashed the wall apart. Still, he needed to widen the gap to slip through.
"Being tall isn't always a blessing." The Son of Vulkan sighed, crawling out, only to meet several Ethereals face-to-face.
The fodder Ethereals were clearing rubble. Seeing the Salamander emerge, they froze. Ignis looked down; an unlucky one was trapped under his foot—crushed the next second.
He swung the shield edge at nearby Ethereals.
The first one hit exploded instantly. Others tried to pick up makeshift weapons, but a crackling Thunder Hammer descended upon them.
The hammer released accumulated power on impact, blue lightning flashing and fading with a thunderous roar.
"Enemies?" Cerakos followed, fully charging his armor and Lightning Claw.
"Handled."
From the Salamander's side, only a molten crater remained; concrete shattered, steel rebars melting.
In such tight space, the heavy Mark X Gravis Power Armor nearly blocked the whole passage. Fortunately, the distance wasn't far—they exited the building in under two minutes.
The noise, however, attracted more Ethereals.
"Cecilia!" Cerakos called.
"Got it!" she ducked into a corner. "I'll come out when it's clear."
Ethereals in a Hollow were as inevitable as fish in water or rats in a granary. But the numbers here… were high.
Ignis counted dozens of higher-tier Ethereals, hundreds of lower-tier ones. He hadn't seen this scale since Hollow Zero.
"For the Emperor!" The Salamander roared, charging first.
The three-meter giant's run sounded like a dump truck. Cerakos activated his jetpack, energy pouring into turbines, flames streaking behind him.
The Salamander's shield slammed a Metro Goblin in half; the Ethereal's heavy body flew, crushing several others. Ignis swung his shield, smashing a Hati, then stomped its skull while his Thunder Hammer crushed a Dullahan.
He retrieved a custom grenade mid-air—two kilos of ether explosives. The blast cleared a large area among the Ethereals.
Cerakos descended on the rear of the group, sword in hand.
Ignis' Thunder Hammer glowed as he blocked a Thanatos' curved blade—leaving a bright line on his shield. The blow was useless, only making noise, but a push from Ignis sent the Ethereal staggering before smashing it to pieces.
Amid the swarm, a Farbauti—a gorilla-sized Ethereal—appeared to lead. Ether crystals were silver-gray, energy lines purple-red.
Ignis' hatred surged; he wanted to crush it immediately.
Cerakos dropped from above, throwing a Krak Grenade on the Farbauti's shoulder, slamming it down. It struggled to rise, but Cerakos struck with his sword and Lightning Claw, severing a limb and smashing its core.
The Ether giant collapsed, body decomposing into free ether. Cerakos' weapons shredded surrounding Ethereals into fragments.
The two Space Marines flanked the center, their green and yellow forms sweeping through enemies. Weapons roared; Ethereal shells shattered. Resistance or escape was futile—they couldn't outrun Cerakos' jet-assisted mobility.
The last Thanatos disappeared from the Salamander's sight, slicing through space to escape Ignis. When it reappeared, a Sky Grenade thundered down, crushing it, followed by a swift sword strike decapitating it.
"That's the last one." Ignis returned his Thunder Hammer to its magnetic mount.
"Cecilia?" Cerakos checked on his old friend's granddaughter.
"I'm fine." She emerged, eyes on her phone.
Ignis' visor displayed a sea of ether traces—the recent fight and explosions disrupted the trail. Auto-sensor scanned frantically, clearing interference would take time.
"Damn, so many traces to sort through… wait, seems like something's detected."
The Salamander's HUD marked a bright line—the trace they needed. The machine-spirit had done well, filtering interference quickly.
"Let's move." Ignis urged them to follow.
"Something's off." Cecilia checked her phone. "I think I got a distress signal… but it's intermittent, not sure."
"Distress signal?" Cerakos froze. "Someone in danger?"
"No, a Bangboo distress signal. Not civilian, it's a public model signal every Bangboo has." Cecilia watched the screen. "Intermittent… looks like it's in bad condition. Location isn't far."
"The missing Bangboo?" Ignis asked. "Which direction?"
"Not certain. The signal activates in danger or emergencies. But… direction matches your lead." Cecilia pointed forward.
"Then we need to check it out." Cerakos scooped her into his arms.
"Hey! Put me down!" She blushed furiously.
"Hold my helmet tight." Cerakos ignored her. "You're too slow. Speed is crucial now."
Ignis looked at the girl clinging to the Lamenter, wondering if Cerakos truly didn't know—or pretended not to.
Cecilia, your dream's about to get a serious reality check.
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