Hollows, a unique feature of New Eridu, were bizarre spatial anomalies that could be found everywhere.
Two of them were particularly famous.
The first was the Barret Building, a colossal Hollow located in the city center. It hadn't been around for long, but it was one of the most dangerous. Urban legends had made it a magnet for paranormal enthusiasts.
The other was Hollow Zero, the largest and most dangerous Hollow to date, located in the old capital. No one knew how many monsters and ultra-dangerous Ethereals lurked within its depths. Only official personnel were allowed to enter.
However, the staff registering personnel at the entrance to Hollow Zero were currently dealing with a strange group.
"Excuse me, are you four certain you want to enter the Hollow?" the registrar asked, eyeing the four women in their flamboyant outfits.
"That's right. We are the Xyz Squad, here to accept the military's commission," the girl in the green armor at the front replied in a monotone voice.
"Hmm, ah. The commission has been confirmed... but are you sure you're not just cosplaying as the Star Knights?" the registrar couldn't help but ask.
He vaguely recalled hearing the name "Xyz Squad" before. Apparently, with the help of a highly skilled Proxy, they had recently completed several high-profile jobs and become the talk of the town. But seeing them in person, something felt... off.
Green Light Layer, White Light Layer, Red Light Layer, and Blue Light Layer... the naming sense was certainly questionable.
"Rest assured, we are a highly capable team. You can leave the commission to us," the girl, Green Light Layer, replied calmly.
With their credentials in order, he had no choice but to let them pass.
This was, of course, none other than Anby, Number 11, Cui Ji, and Nina.
Although the Silver Squad matter had been resolved, their identities still had to be kept secret. Mo Wang had come up with a brilliant solution: if you can't reveal your true identity, then just hide it. And so, he had generously lent his Xyz suits to his sisters-in-law.
"Damn it, why are you two here?" Cui Ji grumbled, glaring at the two women in front of her.
"I'm on leave," Anby said calmly.
"Captain, I thought you had a job? Your boss actually let you take time off?" Cui Ji knew all about Anby's money-grubbing boss, Nicole.
"I told Nicole I'd give her all the money from this mission. She's calling it an 'off-site assignment'," Anby explained.
"That's... that's just working for free, isn't it?" Cui Ji retorted.
"Hmph, I'm just here to make sure you lot don't do anything reckless," Number 11 said, her tone much more confrontational. She couldn't stand the sight of Cui Ji. "And why do you get to wear the white armor when you're the weakest one on the team?!"
The White Light Layer suit was special. Not only was the color white significant to them, but it was also the suit Mo Wang wore most often.
"Because I'm sweeter, of course~ Big Brother-in-law dotes on me the most," Cui Ji said with a smug grin. For some reason, her little devil persona had been evolving into a "green tea bitch" lately.
"And why are you the captain, Anby? Shouldn't the red one be the leader?" Number 11 complained, looking at her own red armor.
"Because I've always been the captain," Anby replied coolly.
"Hmph, I have no problem with Anby being the captain. It's better than a fool like you," Cui Ji added, her new favorite pastime being to tease her foolish little sister.
At the back of the group, Nina, in her blue armor, watched her sisters (aunts?) bicker with a weary expression. They're all grown women, why are they acting like children?
As they entered Hollow Zero, they immediately drew the attention of the other Hollow investigators.
"Are those the new team?"
"They're dressed so gaudily."
"I wonder if they're any good."
"Hmph, to think the HIA would recruit such unknowns. They're getting more and more depraved," a gruff-looking investigator grumbled.
"They didn't even bring a Proxy. Are they here for a picnic? Right, Sank?" another investigator with snake-like eyes said to the gruff man.
"Heh, I'm surprised to see you here, you viper. I thought you were busy with private jobs," Sank said, inching away from the sinister-looking man.
"Hehehe, are you all discussing the Xyz Squad?" a friendly-looking Foxian walked over to them.
"You again. What intel do you have this time?" the two men asked, their expressions hardening.
"Well, I hear they have a deep cooperative relationship with the legendary Proxy, Phaethon."
At the mention of Phaethon's name, the two investigators' faces changed. The legendary Proxy was known to only work with the most powerful organizations.
"Everyone! The Hollow investigation is about to begin! Please prepare yourselves!" an official announced.
The three of them quickly checked their gear and rushed into the rift tunnel with the rest of the investigators.
But the sight that greeted them made everyone gasp.
"This... this is impossible!" Sank's voice trembled.
The tunnel was swarming with Ethereals, including several elite-level ones.
"We're in trouble! There's even a Dead End Butcher! This is insane!" Sank's face turned green.
"Less talk, more fighting! They're coming!"
"Spread out!" Sank yelled, diving behind a concrete pillar. The spot where he had been standing was instantly vaporized by a high-energy particle beam.
"Their physical resistance is too high! "
The Foxian's ears flattened in panic. There were far too many Ethereals for them to handle.
Suddenly, a green blur shot past them.
Anby's form gracefully arced through the air, the vector thrusters of her Green Light Layer armor blazing with azure light. Her beam saber drew a perfect curve, and the optical sensors of the front three Ethereals erupted in a shower of sparks.
"Formation A-3," her voice crackled through the armor's external speakers.
"Roger that~"
Cui Ji's White Light Layer armor materialized from the shadows. Nanowires shot out from her wrists, entangling the joints of two Ethereals. With an elegant spin, she slammed the two two-ton killing machines together like puppets.
Number 11's Red Light Layer armor now revealed its terrifying power—she didn't bother dodging at all, simply plowing headfirst into the Ethereal horde. Each time her red gauntlets made contact, a visible shockwave pulsed outwards, and the Ethereals she hit were torn apart as if struck by an invisible giant hammer.
Then, Nina's Blue Light Layer armor arrived. The plates on her shoulders opened up to reveal honeycomb-like micromissile launchers. Dozens of palm-sized missiles traced bizarre trajectories, homing in on the Ethereals' heat vents and detonating.
Sank watched in a daze. The enhanced Ethereals that had given them so much trouble were being dismantled like toys by these four girls. Most shocking of all, every time their armor struck, a strange ripple of energy, similar to that of the Hollow, flowed across its surface.
"That armor... it's absorbing the Hollow's energy?"
The Foxian's tail was completely bushed out. "That's practically cheating—"
Watching Anby and her team cut through the Ethereals like a hot knife through butter, the other Hollow investigators felt like a bunch of useless mob characters.
"Did a real-life Sentai team just show up to fight monsters?" one of them muttered.
It was as if they had stumbled onto the set of a tokusatsu show.
--------------------------
I'm currently rewriting next Honkai Volume (2 volumes later from this one, the next volume is Guardian Tales).
It's actually one volume, but this one is long, and I thought it was two volumes in one.
So I split it up because I don't have time to rewrite it all.
Volume IX: The Chronicle of Remembrance and the Immortal's Song
Volume X: The Day Heaven Fell
This part 1 of Volume IX preview:
In a sun-drenched dorm room left in ruins by a month-long 'vacation', Mo Wang looks at his diary with the clarity of a sage.
"Ten times a day... is only possible in doijinshi..."
But this chaotic peace was born from war. In a makeshift courtroom, Kiana faced her accusers—Wendy's accusations, Bronya's cold analysis, and Mei's terrifyingly sweet smile.
"I am the Empress, and I call upon my husband and his authority!"
Now, under the cheerful lights of Homu Land, a different queen with long, flowing silver hair takes her place, accepting a prize from her knight.
"A prize befitting your station, Your Majesty."
Within, however, a civil war rages between two personalities.
"That was supposed to be my first official date!"
"Finders keepers, you useless vessel."
High above the glittering city, as the sun sets in a Ferris wheel cabin, a simple story is told.
"It reminds me of a story... about a man who knew his world was going to end."
It triggers a memory, fragmented and cold—a snowy tundra, a small black-haired boy, a splash of red against the white, and a dying whisper.
"...'Never Forget'..."
The peace is shattered by a tide of monsters on a moonlit beach. A powerful figure appears, encasing the horde in ice.
"Trying to touch my Queen? Have you asked for her knight's permission?"
And in the end, all roads lead back to the battlefield of the bedroom, where a terrified queen faces a grinning demon lord.
"Don't worry, whether it's you or Kiana... I'll fight you both the same!"
---
This part 2 of Volume IX preview:
"That bastard! He's already got my daughter, and he's still hitting on other women!" a man wreathed in flames growled. "Today, I'm going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget!"
-
"Silence, you scumbag who messes with girls' hearts! I, Homu-man, am here to deliver justice!" the park mascot roared.
"Scumbag? What are you talking about?!" Mo Wang dodged a flying punch. "Wait, your voice sounds familiar..."
-
"So, Father-in-law..."
"Who are you calling Father-in-law, you bastard! Don't think I'll give you my daughter just because you beat me!"
-
"Such a complicated feeling. Is this what it's like to have your daughter stolen by a scumbag?" Siegfried lamented.
"You mean Mei? She's a great girl. Kind, gentle, caring..."
"It's nothing major. I'm just saying... you should go for her."
"What?!" Mo Wang stared, dumbfounded. His girlfriend's father was telling him to go after another girl?
-
"So, because of this, we have to wear our battlesuits to a beach?"
"I mean, you'll probably have to go into the sea later, right? In this heat, if you don't dry off properly, your whole body will stink. How do you guys usually deal with it?"
Everyone: ???
-
The smoke cleared. A black-haired girl was pinning Fu Hua to the ground, her clothes in disarray.
"What's going on? A yuri moment?" Mo Wang stared, dumbfounded. Was that... Ji Xuanyuan?
Wait, what is this place? Why am I 5,000 years in the past?! Also, My Immortal Can't Be This Cute!
-
"A creature like you, who manipulates memories and lives in a world of lies, deserves to be erased!" a voice echoed. "In the name of Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, I will destroy you!"
"By the gaze of the Aeon, repent!"
-
"The Gap Between Paths? How did I end up here?"
"Wuwuwu~ You're finally here, partner! Mimi has been waiting for you for so long!" a pink, dog-like creature cried.
"What the hell is this? My memories? And... Mimi's memories?"
"Huh? I was actually Kiana's childhood friend?"
"Um, partner... I didn't know you were... so..."
"Pervert!"
-
"So what are we supposed to do? Do I have to kiss her like a prince to wake her up?"
"That's just superstition. But Mimi thinks you should give it a try, partner."
-
"Elysia?"
"Immortal, I present to you... the legendary Doro-type Elysia!" Mo Wang announced.
"...Doro-type Elysia?" Fu Hua repeated, utterly confused.
-
"Class Monitor, why were you with him? And why were you riding that... thing?"
"Hey! Mimi is not a weird creature!" Mimi protested. "I'm partner's best partner! I'm not a pink dog!"
"It... it can talk?" Kiana asked, bewildered.
-
"What... is that..."
"M87 Ray—"
"Wait! Where's Mo Wang?! My boyfriend! Where is he?!" Kiana screamed, her voice cracking with panic.
"Mo... Mo Wang!"
"That idiot! He promised me everything would be fine! And now... now..."
"Hoi! I'm still alive over here!" a voice shouted from the crater.
-------------------------
This part was supposed to be longer, and I had some ideas, but I could only finish the rough outline with limited time.
Part 2 already has an outline.
Volume X already has a rough idea and a coherent outline.
Brief spoilers: Part 1: Mo Wang X Sirin, Part 2: vs. Chiyou.
Volume X: Mo Wang past (Mo wang is Bianca Childhood Friend?), Mo Wang vs. Otto, Mo Wang vs. Schicksal, Mo Wang vs. Everyone, Sister vs Sister, ???,,Mo Wang Social Death, Mo Wang run.
there also Volume X part 2 but this part don't make sense??