Five minutes earlier — the moment Geno had hurled his weapon away, two figures had closed in from either side.
One came with a dagger, a tail-like handgun at her back spitting fire at him. The other wore goggles and came slashing with a long blade aimed straight for Geno.
He summoned his cross-blade again on pure instinct, catching the oncoming sword on the flat of his own. A quick pivot wrenched his attacker to one side — then he leapt clear of the jets of flame.
"Hold on! Who are you people?! Why are you attacking us?!"
Geno landed on both feet and shouted before they could press the attack again.
He had already noticed it — their movements, the way they executed their tactics. Military training. Written all over them. Which made them very likely Defense Force.
And if that was the case, there was no reason for either side to be fighting.
"Stand down!"
"Yes, Captain!" — two voices, in unison.
Captain?
Geno had barely registered the oddity — there were only two people in front of him, yet he'd heard three distinct voices — when the answer revealed itself. The handgun that had been firing at him moments ago opened its mouth and spoke.
"Citizen. We are members of the Orpheus Squad, Obsidian Camp, New Eridu Defense Force. Please identify yourselves and explain what has occurred here."
"Defense Force?"
Geno stared, caught off guard, as Orpheus and Number 11 snapped into crisp, precise military salutes. He blinked himself back to the present — and that was when he got a proper look at the soldier with the high ponytail.
Something flickered in his eyes.
That face. That name...
Without question, it was her — the last surviving member of the Silver Squad. Number 11.
But that wasn't the point right now.
After getting the three girls to stand down, Geno and the others gave the Orpheus Squad a brief rundown of the situation on the ground — which brought things to the moment when Trigger and Sid had arrived on the scene.
"But Captain, this person isn't..."
Trigger didn't know how to put into words what her eyes were showing her.
Trigger had lost her sight during the fall of the Old Capital ten years ago. In its place, she had gained something else entirely — the ability to perceive Ether fluctuations. She called this ability [Ether Vision].
Through Trigger's eyes, the man calling himself Geno was anything but human. The Ether energy radiating off his entire body wasn't the faint trace of an ordinary person — it was the blazing signature of a living, breathing Ethereal. The three girls beside him read as normal. He did not.
To everyone else, Geno looked like a perfectly ordinary human being — not even a Thirren.
"Trigger. We trust your judgment — but the Defense Force cannot lay a hand on innocent civilians without evidence. That is non-negotiable."
Captain Hellfire said it firmly, her tone heavy with meaning. She believed her comrade. Of course she did. But rules were rules. If Trigger violated military discipline, even Hellfire wouldn't be able to shield her from the consequences.
If anything, the fact that Hellfire hadn't brought up that earlier shot yet was already a considerable act of grace. Trigger hadn't filed for clearance before pulling the trigger. If that bullet had connected — if Geno had died — Trigger would have been facing a court-martial. No question.
"Understood, Captain Hellfire."
Trigger knew full well what Hellfire was doing for her. But knowing that didn't make it any easier to stand there and watch — to let this Ethereal keep wearing a human face and walk freely among people, as if she were simply supposed to look the other way.
She didn't reach for her weapon again. But her hands locked around the grip of her gun so tightly that the blood had drained from her fingertips, leaving them white.
"Alright. We have a clear picture of the situation. The Congregation members here will be taken into our custody. We'll also escort your group safely out of the Hollow."
Hellfire issued her final order and directed Number 11 to secure the box — that had been the squad's objective from the start, after all.
During the handoff, Number 11 couldn't help but notice that the Octopus Thirren seemed... reluctant to let it go.
Understandable, really. She had accepted what looked like a loaded commission, only to walk away with nothing — no pay, no cargo, the goods confiscated on the spot. A complete shutout.
Though it wasn't all bad news. She had gained three new friends out of the whole ordeal.
Nearby, Geno quietly exhaled. Now that the other side had let the matter drop, the tension in his chest eased — and the world felt a little steadier again.
Sid commandeered [Old Sid] to hog-tie all the Congregation members that Geno's group had taken down, dragging them along behind in a bundle. Then the whole squad fell into formation, escorting the four of them toward the Hollow's exit.
Throughout the entire march, Trigger's gaze never once left Geno. She still believed what her eyes had told her. Every second of it.
And while Trigger watched Geno, Geno was watching Trigger right back.
This unusual sniper had a means of perception that defied explanation — and that alone made him unwilling to take any risks. He kept his Ether presence reined in as tightly as he could, dimming his own existence to the barest possible trace.
"Right then — the exit is just ahead. After you."
Hellfire's gaze landed on Geno as she said it, and there was a weight to those words that went beyond the surface.
But as Geno moved to step through first, Hellfire stopped him.
"Ladies first, kid. A little chivalry goes a long way."
It wasn't distrust of Trigger's judgment that drove her — Hellfire knew perfectly well that an Ethereal could not leave a Hollow. If Geno truly was one, he would never make it through. And the moment he failed, the girls beside him would become the perfect leverage.
So Hellfire made her call: Alice and the others would go first. She would watch Geno walk through the portal with her own eyes.
"Geno..."
"It's fine. Go ahead — I'll be right behind you. Just wait a moment."
He answered the worry in Alice's eyes with a calm smile. He already understood exactly what Hellfire and her team were thinking — and it didn't trouble him. Not really.
He ran a thumb over the bracelet Twiggy had made him and felt, for the hundredth time, just how fortunate it was to have someone so dependable watching his back.
Together, Geno and the Orpheus Squad watched as Alice and the other two stepped through the Hollow Fissure ahead of them. The moment the last of Idehali's tentacles vanished beyond the threshold, Geno felt five sets of eyes converge on him like a vise.
"Your turn, kid. What are you waiting for?"
Hellfire's tone had shed any trace of warmth. As far as she was concerned, he was a person of interest — and the one responsible for nearly getting one of her soldiers hurt. She wasn't in the business of being patient.
The title of [Hellfire] hadn't been earned through restraint and quiet smiles.
"No need to rush, officer. I'm not going to do anything. I just have one thing I'd like to ask before I walk out of this Hollow — something I'd like to ask one of you, specifically."
The Orpheus Squad did not buy the delay tactic for a single second. Every member raised their weapon and fixed Geno with a hard, unfriendly stare.
"Easy. I'm not stalling. I genuinely have something to ask — or rather, something to say. To this one."
His gaze moved — away from Trigger, past her — to Number 11, standing not far away with her military blade still raised.
"Do you still remember your sisters — the ones you once fought beside?"
"My dear Miss Harin."
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