Inside the Dead End Hollow, Geno and Nekomata, having mostly recovered, were walking together, looking for a way out.
"Meow~ Are you sure it's this way?"
Nekomata looked at Geno with suspicious eyes; this was already the third time they had walked past this spot.
Facing Nekomata's questioning, Geno looked away guiltily.
"Why are you looking away! Looking in my eyes!"
Nekomata was on the verge of a breakdown. Geno had been so confident leading her dashing around the Hollow, making her think he knew the way, but it turned out he was hopelessly directionally challenged!
Her Carrot had long since stopped working, and now the two were trapped in the Hollow, completely unsure of what to do.
"Don't worry, the Proxies will come to save us."
Geno comforted Nekomata; he was very sure of Belle's professionalism.
But they definitely needed some time. After all, the urgent matter was to expose the situation in Canvas Alley.
"Until then, we are just trying. Trying won't hurt."
Halfway through his sentence, a group of Ethereals appeared in front of Geno and Nekomata again.
Looking at these small fry, Geno sighed slightly, feeling quite helpless.
"Which wave is this? Is the number of Ethereals in this Hollow really this high?"
As a Companion Hollow, the number of Ethereals here had already exceeded Geno's understanding.
"Meow doesn't know either. Anyway, just kill them all!"
Nekomata, worrying about having nowhere to vent her anger, immediately pulled out her twin blades and charged. Seeing this, Geno shook his head and followed close behind.
A bunch of trash mob Ethereals posed no threat and were wiped out by the two in moments.
After disposing of the last Tyrfing, Nekomata performed a blade flourish and sheathed her weapons into the scabbards on her boots.
Geno, on the other hand, was dusting off his clothes; his movements had been too large, getting him dirty all over.
At this moment, the sharp-eyed Nekomata suddenly noticed something, staring dead at Geno—or more accurately, at his pocket, where a small corner of something was slightly protruding.
With a shift of her body, Nekomata swiftly yanked that object out of Geno's pocket, giving him a fright.
"What? What are you doing?"
Geno didn't understand what nerve Nekomata had struck, suddenly darting over like that. Could it be that Cat Thirrens all had this jumpy personality?
Hmm? Why did that sound familiar?
However, Nekomata paid no attention to Geno's complaints at this moment; her attention was entirely on the object in her hand.
It was a pendant. Geno had brought it back from the base earlier and had forgotten to take it out.
"This pendant... where did you get it?"
Nekomata's eyes held very complicated emotions. This thing was the 'family heirloom' she had asked Nicole and the others to keep looking for.
"This? This is..."
Geno was momentarily tongue-tied. He had obtained this pendant from Old Man White, who had already turned into an Ethereal, and he had naturally seen the photo inside that pendant.
It was obvious that the relationship between Nekomata and Old Man White was unusual. How should he explain this?
Just as Geno was thinking about how to explain this matter to make it easier for Nekomata to understand, Nekomata had already reached a conclusion herself.
"This isn't my pendant. It's that person's. Where is he!? Is he still alive?"
After feeling it carefully, Nekomata quickly realized that this wasn't her own pendant. The only other person with the same pendant was the Old Man White in the photo.
Nekomata looked toward Geno, her tone becoming somewhat icy. She seemed to have thought of something.
Old Man White fell into the Hollow. With his Ether Aptitude, he would have turned into an Ethereal very quickly.
And after turning into an Ethereal, he would soon release Ether to corrupt the surrounding objects. This pendant absolutely could not have been preserved.
Unless...
"Unless, someone killed him before he turned into an Ethereal."
As she spoke, Nekomata suddenly vanished from before Geno's eyes. A biting sense of crisis attacked from above his head, and Geno subconsciously raised his weapon to block.
Only a ding was heard as two sparks burst out between Nekomata's short dagger and Geno's cross-sword. Immediately after, Nekomata pulled back to confront Geno again.
"It was you. You killed Old Man White! It was you who killed him!"
Nekomata's expression was filled with rage.
She truly couldn't believe that Geno, this honest-looking nice guy, was actually the murderer of Old Man White!
Not even killing Old Man White after he turned into an Ethereal, but killing him as a human!
"No, you misunderstood. Actually, I..."
Before he could finish, Nekomata's attack struck again. Afraid of hurting her, Geno could only passively parry continuously.
Nekomata could no longer listen to what Geno was saying. Her heart was only thinking of avenging her adoptive father.
Although she had long since left the Red Fang Gang and left Old Man White, and did not approve of Old Man White's actions...
But, it was Old Man White who had given the displaced Nekomata a place that could be called home. This was something Nekomata would never forget.
Even knowing he deserved it, Nekomata still couldn't control the anger in her heart.
She waved her knife at Geno like a madwoman.
One slash, one slash, and another slash.
Clang!
Finally, the two alloy short blades snapped into four pieces during the final collision with the cross-sword.
Losing her weapons, Nekomata did not stop her movements; instead, she waved her claws and pounced on Geno.
Geno hurriedly threw his weapon away and seized the opportunity to grab her wrists, pinning her beneath him, trying to use this method to calm Nekomata down.
But soon, a stinging pain came from his hand, as if a sharp weapon had pierced his palm, causing him to subconsciously let go of Nekomata.
"Hiss, that hurts. You used so much strength."
Looking at the teeth marks on his hand, the corner of Geno's mouth twitched. This little cat's temper was too violent, wasn't it? Where was her usual cute act?
"Pah! You deserve it!"
Compared to Geno, Nekomata was the one who should be surprised.
She hadn't held back any strength at all. Her powerful jaw muscles exerted their full force, yet she hadn't even broken the other party's skin.
It must be known that as a Cat Thirren, Nekomata's teeth were very sharp.
"So, I've been saying, I didn't kill Old Man White. That pendant is just..."
Rubbing his palm, Geno was still trying to explain to Nekomata, but the little cat, whose head was already overwhelmed by anger, didn't want to pay attention to his 'sophistry' at all.
Nekomata turned around and ran in a direction. She knew she wasn't Geno's match, so she planned to consider her options at length.
Seeing Nekomata run away, Geno subconsciously wanted to chase after her, but just then, that strange voice rang out in his mind again.
[High active Ether reaction detected nearby. Preliminary judgment: High-risk Ethereal.]
"What? What exactly are you?!"
[...]
Just like it was foreshadowing something, it played dead right after speaking. This feeling was truly annoying!
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Hi hi hi~ Today is Friday! Getting off work early! Updating for all you reader lords!
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