"Geno!"
Seeing Geno get hit by the rocket, Nicole and the others were so frightened they froze in place.
Seeing this, Geno didn't have the spare energy to say anything. Seizing the moment while the guards opposite them were equally stunned, he swung his arm with force, shoving the group into the Hollow.
Then, facing the barrage of bullets, he dove in after them.
Only then had they truly escaped.
Feeling the familiar sensation of vertigo, Geno opened his eyes to find that his surroundings had already changed.
The abandoned subway lines and ruins of collapsed walls proved that he had successfully entered the Hollow.
"Hiss... that hurts. My bones are probably broken. I wonder how they are doing."
Thinking of this, Geno looked around, but he couldn't find a trace of Nicole or the others anywhere.
"What's the situation? Didn't they come through first?"
Dragging his injured body, Geno moved away from the area step by step.
It would be terrible if those guards chased them in again.
However, it soon proved that Geno's worry was superfluous. Not long after he left, the Hollow Fissure that had transported him there vanished.
The environment of the Hollow distorted once again.
While searching for Nicole and the others, Geno used the Ether energy within the Hollow to repair his injuries.
He soon discovered one thing.
He was lost. Again.
"Tch, is this some kind of curse? A curse where I get lost forever?"
To be fair, getting lost in a Hollow was a very normal occurrence.
After all, without the guidance of a Proxy and without a Carrot of one's own, the shifting paths of a Hollow were threat enough for the average person.
But Geno was an Ethereal; how was this any different from getting lost in his own back garden?
Well, there was a difference. Other people's gardens probably weren't this big, nor would they contain dangerous guys like Ethereals.
Speaking of which, the opportunity to kick a man while he was down presented itself in the form of a pack of Ethereals right in front of Geno.
"Tch, when you're out of luck, you'll get delicious food stuck in your teeth even drinking cold water."
Dragging his exhausted body, he prepared to enter combat mode again.
Just then, a familiar, cute voice came from above his head.
"Meow! Time to sharpen the claws! Take this!"
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
A small figure descended from the sky. Accompanied by a flash of blade light, the small-fry Ethereals in front of Geno were quickly knocked down.
Two short blades slashed precisely through their cores, sending them back to the embrace of the sea of Ether.
"Meow! Your little cutie Nekomata reports for duty!"
Seeing it was Nekomata, Geno finally let out a sigh of relief. His body went limp as he leaned against the wall and slumped to the ground.
"Meow, meow, meow! Are you okay?!"
Nekomata hurriedly came forward to check Geno's injuries; she had seen with her own eyes that Geno had tanked a rocket blast.
"Can't die yet. I just need to rest a while."
Ether repair took time. During this period, he wouldn't move if he didn't have to.
"Just you? Where are Nicole and the others?"
"Meow doesn't know. The moment Meow came through, I was here."
Nekomata shook her head and wrinkled her nose. She had arrived here the moment she passed through the Hollow Fissure and hadn't seen Nicole or the others.
It was truly strange. Hadn't they passed through the Hollow together?
Harboring the same confusion were Nicole and her group.
In another part of the Hollow, Nicole was anxiously asking Eous (Belle) what the situation was.
"Abnormal spatial fluctuations detected. Surmised to be Hollow distortion caused by external force, resulting in a deviation of the fissure's coordinates."
Fairy dutifully explained the current situation to the two.
Simply put, the explosion of that rocket was too close to the fissure. The activated Ether energy affected the coordinates behind the fissure, leading to the separation of the four.
"Fairy, can you determine Geno and Nekomata's location?"
"Answer: Determining specific coordinates requires a certain amount of time."
"How long?"
"According to calculations, at least one hour is required."
The range of this dead-end Hollow was very small. With Fairy's guidance, it would only take them half an hour to leave the Hollow.
And now you're telling me it takes double that time to find Geno and the others?
"There are too many uncertain factors in the Hollow changes. External forces, time differences, coordinate position deviations, and Ether influence will all cause data errors."
"That's too long. We don't have that much time."
Time was tight right now. If they delayed too long inside the Hollow, Anby and the others back in Canvas Alley might not be able to hold out.
"Arghhh~ This is so annoying!"
Nicole scratched her hair in irritation. On one side were her friends, on the other were innocent residents. How was she supposed to choose?! This situation was truly difficult to decide.
"Nicole, let's go."
Belle's voice came through Eous's small body. She had already made her choice.
"We leave the Hollow first."
"But..."
"We have to trust Geno and Nekomata. That guy isn't someone who goes down that easily."
As long as they moved fast enough, they could seize the time to rush back and save people.
Hearing this, Nicole also knew there was no better choice at this moment.
She stomped her foot in anger, cast a worried glance toward the distance, and then hugged Eous, running swiftly toward the direction out of the Hollow.
Right now, time was life.
Outside the Hollow, far away in the offices of Vision Corporation, Sarah learned of the riot in Canvas Alley and the news that someone had left the Hollow at the first opportunity.
A trace of imperceptible viciousness appeared on her heavily made-up face.
Just a little bit more. They were just a little bit away from resolving that empty plot of land, but it ended up being ruined by a bunch of unknown brats.
She had thought Vision Corporation would be a useful pawn.
However, looking at it now, Vision Corporation's future was like a candle in the wind, likely to be extinguished at any moment.
It was time for her to consider the next plan.
Thinking of this, she picked up her phone again and dialed another number.
"Hello, it's me. You can begin the operation over at Crete Hollow. I will be there very soon."
Listening to the fanatical voice coming from the other end of the phone, Sarah frowned.
"Yes, spare no one. We must retrieve everything. May the Originator mold you."
After giving her instructions, Sarah hung up the phone and sighed slightly.
The Eulogy Society used to have a great family and great business; during the Eridu era, they could even cause quite a stir.
Now, only a few scraps remained, and doing anything required relying on this bunch of gullible believers.
The Hierarch in charge was also impious, only thinking about using the Originator's power to achieve their own goals.
Although, the Originator probably didn't care either.
In the end, it still relied on her, a beast of burden, to work diligently up and down.
Sarah tossed the phone aside, stood up, and walked to a floor-to-ceiling mirror. Looking at herself in the mirror, she revealed a meaningful smile.
Of course, she wasn't exactly a devout fellow either.
____
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