"Proxy, turn on the speaker! We want to talk to Caesar... That idiot, she's trying to scare us again with another one of her jokes..."
"Waaah, please just tell us you're joking..."
"Proxy, answer me!"
...
The group kept calling out, demanding Caesar show herself.
But Belle could hear the tremble in their voices—despite their hope that this was all just a joke, they were truly worried.
She stayed silent.
She couldn't bring herself to shatter the illusion Lucy, Piper, and the others were clinging to. She couldn't say the words again—couldn't confirm that Caesar was really gone.
But on Wise's end, Lucy, Piper, and Burnice had already broken down in tears.
And then came her brother's voice.
"Belle, answer us, what the hell is happening over there? If you don't say something soon, Lucy and Piper are going to strangle me... Cough cough... Sis, save me..."
Belle finally replied in a choked voice, "Caesar... really is dead."
Lucy's sobbing came through again. "No... No way. It's not true. Caesar can't die. You can't fool me..."
Belle let out a sigh. "..."
She had nothing more to say.
As cruel and heartbreaking as it was—that was the truth.
Just as everyone was drowning in their grief...
Suddenly—
Belle heard the voice of fairy in her earpiece. "Master, spatial fluctuation detected. Warning: spatial fluctuation detected. Immediate evacuation advised. Immediate evacuation advised..."
The sharp alarms echoed in her ears, snapping her out of the sorrow.
She quickly warned Billy and Clorinde. "Be careful—there's spatial disturbance in the area. A new high-tier Ethereal might be appearing..."
Caesar had only just fallen.
Billy and Clorinde were both still recovering from battle.
If another high-tier Ethereal showed up—or worse, multiple—they wouldn't stand a chance.
Clorinde drew her sword, scanning their surroundings. "Is it that same monster again? Where is it?"
Billy also looked around, panic and grief mixing. "Damn it... Damn it all... Boss, why did it have to be you and not me...?"
If he'd gotten to the flint first—if he'd been the one to make that sacrifice—Boss Caesar wouldn't have had to die.
Frustrated and overwhelmed, Billy pulled out his twin pistols. "Where are those Ethereals? I'll take them all down..."
Just as he was about to vent his fury—
Belle shouted, "Above us—!"
The moment she spoke, Billy and Clorinde looked up.
High above them, dozens of meters in the sky, a spatial rift had silently opened.
At once, everyone tensed, ready for battle.
But the next thing that emerged wasn't a high-tier Ethereal—or any Ethereal at all.
It was a massive, oval-shaped stone, like a giant egg.
Billy blinked in confusion. "What the... Did the Hollow just lay an egg?"
Belle's eyes lit up with realization. "That's not an egg, Billy—look at the patterns on it! They're the same as the ones on Sam Li's birdcage!"
Once the markings became clear—
Billy's face lit up too. "It's Sam Li! He's finally here!"
Before Billy could even shout his name—
The huge stone burst out of the rift. And then—BOOM—it exploded midair.
At the same time, a familiar voice rang out.
"AAAAAHHH—What the hell is going on?! Billy! Clorinde! Proxy! Get out of the way—!"
It was Caesar.
As the stone shell shattered, Caesar burst free—finally seeing daylight again, and seeing Billy, Clorinde, and the others.
The moment Billy saw her—
"Boss! I thought you were dead! You scared the hell out of me...!"
Clorinde also exhaled in relief. "Caesar's alive... That's a miracle."
Belle immediately relayed the news to her brother. "Caesar's alive! She's alive—she made it back!"
A second later—
With a loud thud, Caesar and her motorcycle crashed to the ground nearly in unison.
Panting heavily, Caesar pushed herself up from the ground, hurriedly brushing off sparks from her shoulders. She looked over at Clorinde and Belle.
A grin broke across her face.
"Yo. Clorinde, Proxy—long time no see."
Clorinde finally relaxed. "Caesar... you actually pulled off a miracle."
Belle let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "You really scared us this time. But thank the stars you're back..."
Caesar scratched her head sheepishly. "Yeah... it's good to see you all again."
But then—
She glanced around.
"Where's Billy? I saw him just a second ago."
From somewhere beneath her, a hand weakly lifted.
"Boss... I'm right here..."
Startled, Caesar scrambled to her feet—only to realize she'd been sitting on Billy the entire time.
Apparently, when she fell from the sky, she'd landed right on top of him.
No wonder the landing didn't hurt.
Though nearly flattened, Billy grinned ear to ear as he climbed up, ignoring the dust on him.
"Boss, you're finally back! We thought the lake of fire took you for good..."
Caesar chuckled. "Well, it did take me. But just before I hit the fire, a bunch of rocks appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around me and the bike. Everything went pitch black—I thought I was done for. But the moment those rocks shattered, I came falling out of the sky."
As she recalled what had just happened, something clicked in her mind.
She quickly looked around, clearly searching for someone.
Clorinde noticed. "Caesar? What are you looking for?"
Caesar frowned thoughtfully. "Strange... He saved me. He should be nearby."
"Who?" Clorinde asked.
Caesar smiled. "Sam Li, of course. No one else can control those rocks like that. He had to be the one who saved me."
Billy nodded. "Yeah, those patterns were just like the ones on Sam Li's birdcage."
He also turned, scanning the area for any sign of Sam Li.
But before they could spot him—
Lucy and Piper's voices came through Belle's earpiece again:
"Proxy, what's going on over there? I swear I just heard Caesar's voice. Didn't you say she was dead?"
"Ugh! I knew it! Another prank!"