"It's fine, just be careful next time."
If it were a stranger, Belle would have long since delivered a flying Bangboo kick.
However, Geno counted as one of their own, so her tolerance limit was significantly higher.
For a moment, the atmosphere between the two was somewhat awkward, but soon, the arrival of the train made them forget these trivial matters.
"Here it comes. Belle, are you ready?"
"I'm ready! Bring it on!"
Geno picked up Eous and ran in the direction the train was coming from. Then, with a swing of his arm, he tossed Eous onto the roof of the train.
Watching Eous bounce twice on the carriage, Geno revealed a satisfied smile.
"Yup, a three-point shot! As expected of me!"
Next, he just needed to leisurely follow behind and wait for Belle to stop the train.
However, not long after, a voice suddenly sounded in Geno's mind.
[Warning: Multiple life signs detected near partner.]
"Who?! Who is speaking?!"
He subconsciously turned his head to look around, but didn't see a single person.
[Repeat: Multiple life signs detected at the location of partner—Eous (Belle). Confirmed targets are human.]
Humans?! On that train!?
Geno was instantly alarmed. Disregarding the source of the voice, he hurriedly moved his legs and chased after the train.
When he saw the train again, through the carriage window, he saw a group of strangely dressed people surrounding a Bangboo.
Who else could it be but Eous?
"Oh, crap! Wasn't it supposed to be an unmanned train?!"
Seeing Eous in danger, Geno couldn't care about anything else. He dove forward, his hands instantly transforming into sharp claws that tore the carriage apart.
Clang!
The moving train suffered a violent impact and let out a loud clanging sound, nearly derailing from the tracks.
The people inside didn't fare well either; they were all thrown off balance, unable to stand steady. Thanks to this, Eous managed to catch a breath from within the heavy encirclement.
"What is the situation?"
Eous (Belle) stared with wide eyes, looking at the sudden intruder, completely unable to understand what was happening.
Through the large hole torn in the carriage appeared a humanoid creature never seen before—horns growing from its head, face completely covered, and its entire body encased in armor made of Ether crystals! It was none other than Geno!
"It... It's an Ethereal!!"
"Open fire!"
Bang bang bang bang!
The 'Public Security officers' on the train were terrified by Geno's grand entrance and frantically pulled their triggers.
They weren't professional Public Security officers, just thugs for Vision Corporation. Where would they have ever seen a scene like this?
Yet, facing the hail of bullets, Geno showed no reaction, standing there motionless like a statue.
After the pinging and ponging sounds of gunfire faded, seeing Geno still standing there unharmed, the thugs of Vision Corporation were completely scared out of their wits.
"M-Monster?! It's completely useless!"
"Hah~ Hey, what's the situation on the train? Hey? Please respond if you copy!"
Noisy sounds came from the walkie-talkie on the squad leader, and the person on the other end seemed to be his superior.
Bringing his mind back to reality due to the voice, the squad leader hurriedly grabbed the walkie-talkie.
"Hey! This is the train team. We... we ran into an Ethereal... no, a monster! Requesting backu— Uwaaaah!!"
Zzzzt~ Beep~
Before he could finish, Geno knocked him unconscious with a single blow. Seeing their captain 'killed,' the remaining members completely lost the will to resist and fled in panic one by one.
A few, choosing their path blindly in their panic, even jumped directly off the train, falling into meat paste on the spot.
Geno said nothing. He picked up Eous and rushed down from the other end of the train, leaving only a mess and the irrational Vision thugs in disarray on board.
After the two left, the train continued for a while longer before finally stopping on the tracks, overwhelmed by the damage.
The delaying mission for Geno and the others could be considered complete.
"Whoa, whoa, Geno, this look is so cool! How did you do it?!"
Having found a safe place, Geno put Eous down, then waved his hand to dismiss the armor over his body, reverting to his human appearance.
That suit of armor was actually created using the power of Ethereals like Dullahan to condense Ether crystals. It could greatly increase his defense and conveniently disguise his identity as an Ethereal.
After all, as long as the core wasn't seen, there was no concrete evidence to prove he was an Ethereal.
Actually, he hadn't wanted to save them in that form, but the situation was urgent, so he had to go all out. Fortunately, when those guys shot at him, it proved they didn't have much combat ability, so Geno didn't need to engage in senseless slaughter.
As for the matter of Etherealization, he had already thought of an excuse.
"How is it? Handsome, right? This is the Starlight Knight collaboration suit I begged Twiggy to make for me for a long time!"
Explaining his Ethereal transformation as special equipment would perfectly avoid any suspicion regarding his identity.
"Twiggy made it? True, Twiggy is indeed very smart. Is that sword the same?"
Eous (Belle) quickly accepted this explanation. After all, as a good best friend, she certainly knew what kind of incredible things Twiggy was working on.
If she could make anti-Corruption equipment, then this kind of combat-enhancing gear was also reasonable, right?
"That's right. Of course, Twiggy told me to try not to tell others, saying it's easy for people to copy it. Remember to keep it a secret for me."
Seeing that Eous (Belle) was so good at filling in the blanks herself was simply wonderful. He would definitely have to gift her another game later to properly seal her lips.
"By the way, Belle, did you hear any strange voices when you were on the train?"
Once safe, Geno recalled the mysterious voice he had heard earlier telling him that Eous (Belle) was in trouble. Who exactly was it?
"Voice? What kind of voice? I was too nervous on the train, I didn't hear anything."
"Hmm, it was a very mechanical voice, without any emotion. Oh, right, it was somewhat similar to Fairy."
"Fairy?"
[Reply: I am here, Master. Analyzing Master's recent dialogue, the mysterious voice is very likely due to the individual Geno being active in the Hollow for a long time and suffering from Corruption. The credibility of this situation is as high as 80%.]
"Is it really like that? But I always feel it isn't that simple."
Geno rested his chin on his hand, not quite approving of Fairy's speculation.
After all, although that voice appeared suddenly, it was extremely real. He was very certain it wasn't an illusion.
"Let's ignore this for now. The train won't be coming for a while. Let's return to Canvas Alley first."
The fact that there were people on Vision Corporation's blasting train—there must be something fishy behind this.
"You're right, this indeed isn't the time to talk about this."
Geno shook his head. Compared to his own issues, the matter with Vision Corporation was far more concerning.
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(～￣▽￣)～ Today is Extrovert Mode! So happy~ Darlings, could you give me a few tickets to keep me happy for a bit~
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