Just then, Billy, their ranged support, lunged forward. In the split second before the monster's longsword could fall on Nicole, he threw himself in front of her.
A sickening metallic sound rang out.
"Agh! Pain, pain, pain!"
Billy hopped around, reeling from the force of the monster's blow.
Nicole scrambled to her feet, eyes blazing with fury, and raised her suitcase, slamming it directly into the monster.
The impact was enough to send the Ethereal stumbling back several steps.
Pressing her advantage, Nicole's suitcase ejected a series of micro-bombs that peppered the monster's body.
A rapid series of explosions—Bang! Bang! Bang!—rang out, and the monster was quickly enveloped in a cloud of smoke.
Billy, watching this, was deeply moved. "Aww, Boss Nicole went berserk," he sniffled. "She really does care about me."
Anby replied in her usual deadpan tone, "More likely, she's just angry because your repair fees are so high."
"Er... Anby, you really don't have to crush my spirit like that."
Billy's shoulders slumped. He had a feeling Anby had a point.
"You two, get over here and help!" Nicole yelled. "And Billy, don't get damaged again! Your parts are practically antiques; they're impossible to find and expensive as hell to repair!"
"Roger that, Boss Nicole!"
Forrest let out a sigh of relief, but it was clear their situation was still far from optimistic.
After the prolonged battle, they were all panting and exhausted. The monster, however, seemed to have no stamina bar. It was still as ferocious and powerful as ever, looking completely unfazed.
The fight dragged on. Soon, the monster had gained the complete upper hand. It wouldn't be long before the three of them were defeated.
"Who are you? A Hollow Raider?"
"Holy shit! What was that noise?"
The sudden voice made Forrest jump, and he scrambled out from his hiding spot.
He quickly scanned his surroundings but found no one.
"Am I hallucinating?"
"You're not hallucinating. I'm over here."
Forrest turned toward the source of the voice.
It was the Bangboo that had arrived with them. It was standing nearby, staring right at him.
"Are you a Hollow Raider? I'm curious," the Bangboo continued, "you're not carrying a weapon. How did you manage to hide here without any of the Ethereals detecting you?"
"Are your skills just that good?"
It's not that the monsters didn't find me, Forrest thought. It's that I didn't want you to find me.
"Hey, Hollow Raider friend over there!" Nicole shouted, having heard the commotion. "If you don't come and help, once this thing finishes us off, you're next!"
Originally, by her calculations, this Dullahan was tough but not unbeatable. But now Billy's mobility was impaired, drastically reducing their combat effectiveness.
On top of that, there were banana peels and watermelon rinds randomly littering the area. The monster stepped on them without issue, but whenever they did, it was a total disaster.
Now, not only did they have to fight the Ethereal, but they also had to dodge garbage on the ground. With Billy injured, if this kept up, they were really going to be stuck here for good.
"Ahem!"
Now that he'd been discovered, Forrest knew he couldn't hide any longer.
Besides, he was at least partly responsible for them being unable to beat this Ethereal.
So, Forrest lifted his chin slightly, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and walked toward them with an expression that said he'd never even heard of the concept of an "opponent."
"Everyone, just listen to me for a second. Let's not get emotional. We can sit down and talk this through."
"The world isn't about brawling and bloodshed. It's about tact, about human connections. As long as we're all civil, there's nothing that can't be resolved."
Forrest had decided to play the peacemaker. It's not like he could just charge in and start punching the Ethereal.
Putting aside whether it would even attack him, he wouldn't be able to do any damage even if it just stood there and let him hit it.
Besides, he was biased toward the Ethereals. He wasn't about to help these guys attack one. The fact that he wasn't helping the monster attack them was already generous enough.
"Are you an idiot?" Nicole snapped, her patience worn thin. "That thing is an Ethereal, and a high-level one at that—a Dullahan! How could it possibly be reasoned with?"
Seeing Forrest just standing there with his hands in his pockets, spouting nonsense instead of helping, made her blood boil. She was tempted to feed him a few bullets.
But then, to her utter shock, the Ethereal, which had been dominating the fight, actually stopped its attack at Forrest's words. It sat down on the ground, adopting a posture as if it were ready to negotiate.
Seeing a golden opportunity, Anby lunged forward, aiming to slash at the core on its head.
"The Dullahan has already stood down!" Forrest shouted hastily. "If you guys refuse to back off, then I'm done playing mediator!"
He was ready to order the Dullahan to counterattack at a moment's notice.
"Wait, Anby!"
Nicole quickly stopped Anby's advance, her eyes fixed on Forrest with a puzzled expression.
Forrest simply smiled, walked over to the Dullahan, and sat down beside it.
"This isn't about fighting and killing," he repeated. "It's about tact. Violence can't solve the problem. Sitting down and talking is the key."
Anby frowned. "Nicole, what do we do now?" she asked.
"Boss Nicole, this guy's... not normal. He's not afraid of the Ethereal at all," Billy said, watching Forrest with a wary look.
Nicole turned to the Bangboo. "Phaethon, what's the call?"
"Well, let's hear them out, I guess!" the Bangboo, Belle, replied. "I'll go talk to them. If things go south, grab my Eos and get out of here!"
Belle sat down opposite Forrest. "I'm very curious," she said. "Why is this Dullahan listening to you?"
Forrest chuckled, looking at the talking Bangboo. "He's not listening to me. The problem is you guys lack friendly communication. You start fighting the moment you see them, so they have no choice but to retaliate. If you were more like me and just talked to the Ethereals, they'd treat you like a friend."
He then added, "I'm also curious. Why can a Bangboo talk?"
Belle ignored his question. "Oh, is that so? Then may I ask how long you've been trapped in this Hollow?"
She treated his words like complete bullshit.
Ethereals attacked on sight. They couldn't understand language, and communication was impossible.
Forrest thought for a moment. "I guess it's been seven or eight hours? A pretty long time, anyway. But that's not the real issue here, is it?"
Watching his Obedience Points tick down, Forrest didn't want to waste any more time. Once they ran out, he'd lose control of the monster.
And then, a fight between the two sides would be inevitable.
"You're right," Belle conceded. "Our objective in this Hollow is that safe. If the Dullahan is willing to hand it over, we'll leave immediately."
Forrest turned to the Dullahan. "Is this safe important to you?"
The Dullahan nodded.
Forrest put on a troubled expression. "How about this? Do me a favor. Just for today, how about you let them have the safe?"
The Dullahan didn't respond, as if deep in thought.
Nicole, Anby, Billy, and even Belle all stared at the Ethereal. They knew that if it refused, another huge battle was unavoidable.
And now, with this mysterious human who seemed to be on the Ethereals' side, their chances of winning were slim to none.
Finally, the Dullahan stood up. The movement startled Nicole's group, and they immediately aimed their weapons at it.
But it didn't attack. Instead, it turned and began walking toward the exit.
Forrest sighed helplessly. "It's okay, that's just how he is. Don't mind him. He's agreed to let you take the safe."
Nicole and the others were speechless.
The way he said it, it was as if they were old friends. This was an Ethereal they were talking about, and a high-level Dullahan at that!
The Dullahan's departure was, of course, Forrest's doing. His Obedience Points were nearly gone, so he had no choice but to make it leave first.
After the Dullahan was gone, Forrest was about to stand up and ask them for a ride out, but in the next second, he felt the cold steel of a blade against his neck. He froze, not daring to move a muscle.
"Hey, hey, hey! No need for that, right? I'm the negotiator here! You don't kill the envoy, even in war. Besides," he stammered, "I'm the one who helped you!"