The colossal Ethereal lifted her massive [Core], her vacant gaze fixed on Phaga. Though her body was enormous, she moved with the fluidity of a fish.
As if unhindered by the air itself, she swayed her hips lightly, her skirt rippling as she surged forward at terrifying speed. Her right hand curved into a claw and slashed down, the air itself shrieking from the force.
Phaga dared not meet the attack head-on and immediately flung himself backward. Her delicate hand swept past his face, every joint sharply defined, her fingertips gleaming faintly with violet light. Ether Substance shot past, close enough to graze his cheek.
Though her first strike seemed to have spent its force, her assault was far from over. Even as the right claw had slashed toward Phaga, her left hand was already preparing the next move.
Her untouched left palm slowly closed, generating a powerful suction that violently drew in the dense Ether Substance surrounding them. It gathered, condensing into a single glowing sphere of energy.
Just as Phaga broke free from her initial attack and tried to catch his breath, thinking he had a moment to act, the Ethereal thrust out her left hand.
The massive, silent Ether orb was revealed in an instant, cruelly tearing apart its disguise. A jagged crack split down its center and spread open with a sinister twist.
Whoosh!
The attack had yet to be unleashed, but the pressure came first. The shrill roar of surging Ether activity pierced the air like a banshee's wail.
Concrete split apart. Towers crumbled. Even the heavy clouds overhead were scattered by the force, allowing streaks of sunlight to fall upon her figure.
Magnificent, seductive—impossible to defend against.
Shrieks, wails, destruction without end!
Phaga clenched his teeth, straining to endure. Moments ago, it had felt as though a train had struck him head-on. His skull throbbed with blinding pain, nearly driving him into unconsciousness.
Blood burst from his nose, ears, and eyes, and only then did it seem to aid him—his body instinctively resisting the devastating pressure. He clawed his way back from the edge of death, his vision flickering as a sliver of light pierced the darkness. Through it, he locked his gaze on the Ethereal's left hand.
As he suspected, the deafening noise was only a precursor.
In the next instant, the crack on the Ether orb split wider, exposing raw, concentrated Ether Substance. It compressed, forming into a focused beam.
Boom!
The orb went dark for a brief moment as the banshee's scream cut off—then exploded in radiant light. A laser thicker than any skyscraper erupted forth, blazing with cataclysmic intensity.
The banshee's cry was replaced by the furious roar of a lion. The blast was so powerful that the ruins beneath her disintegrated instantly into dust.
This was Nineveh—the ruler of the Outer Void of Hollow Zero—issuing a decree of death to the ant who dared defy her!
The massive beam thundered toward Phaga. His heart lurched violently. Without hesitation, he slashed his wrist, blood gushing forth like a fountain, spraying into the air.
At the brink of death, he no longer cared about the cost.
"Blazing Sacrifice!"
Phaga roared. The rain of blood obeyed his command, falling like a crimson storm before igniting into dark red flames that wrapped around him, forming a blazing sphere.
Boom!
The laser slammed into the flaming sphere, drilling through it and piercing straight ahead without losing an ounce of power.
Nineveh raised her [Core] high, her petal-like mantle trembling faintly. The petals rippled, and moments later, over a dozen identical [Cores] emerged from within, each faintly gleaming.
This Ethereal had more than one [Core]!
Nineveh showed no surprise. Lowering her own glowing [Core], she seemed to commune silently with the others.
They were one—sharing existence, sharing fate.
The petals quivered as every [Core] spoke in unison:
[Dead!]
[Dead!]
[We sense no trace of the insect. Retrieve our fallen kin. Bring it home.]
Nineveh nodded slightly and dismissed the laser beam from her left hand. Her body glided forward, reaching toward the place where she last sensed Phaga.
But as the beam vanished and the dense Ether dispersed, a blood-red sphere suddenly appeared before her eyes.
It floated there, eerily calm and serene, lifeless and still.
Then—
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The sphere began to pulse. Jagged horns erupted across its surface, only to recede again. The sound of a heartbeat reverberated sharply through the air.
Nineveh froze midair. Every [Core] on her body flashed at once, speaking in a unified, urgent voice:
[He's not dead!]
The [Core] above Nineveh's head flared brilliantly. Two enormous, delicate hands shot forward, striking toward the blood sphere.
But they were too late.
Crack!
Boom!
The sphere exploded with a violent roar. A figure wreathed in flames burst out like a bullet, moving so fast he left only an afterimage—a streak of dark crimson light slicing across the sky.
It looked like a meteor storm crashing down. Phaga led the charge, his face contorted in fury, the blood trailing behind him like chains of fire that scorched the heavens. In a blink, the blazing streaks devoured the distance between them.
Phaga shut his crimson eyes. The heat from his own flames seared even his vampire claws, yet he whispered in his mind:
"[Pyrocataclysm]!"
Boom!
He struck with all his might, his fist igniting the air itself. Scalding blood, burning with Netherfire, surged forth, transforming into a roaring sea of flames before it even made contact.
The Ether around him was consumed, feeding the inferno's growth. In a single breath, the firestorm swelled severalfold—larger even than Nineveh's body.
The blaze engulfed her before she could react.
Sizzle!
Nineveh screamed in agony as fire devoured her form. The searing pain tore through her body, carrying the suffocating stench of burning Ether. To her, it was more than pain—it was her very essence being consumed.
Every [Core] shrieked in warning. If the inferno continued to spread, her existence would soon collapse entirely.
At the same time...
Through the wall of fire, Nineveh glared at the winged figure fleeing into the distance. A crimson light flashed within her [Core].
["We" cannot let that insect escape!]
[Agreed, "I."]
[Agreed.]
[Agree...]
Huff—
After hearing the voices of her kin, Nineveh wrapped her arms around herself.
Suddenly, a red light flared.
Hiss!
She flung out her arms, unleashing a shriek like a vengeful demoness!
...
Waaah!
Phaga flew low, skimming between towering buildings to hide his presence.
But a piercing cry echoed from afar. His head spun, his wings faltering as dizziness nearly sent him crashing to the ground.
"Tsk! That thing's got some fight left in her!"
Clicking his tongue, Phaga didn't dare linger. He followed his memory of the path back, hoping against hope that the spatial distortions of Hollow Zero hadn't shifted.
If the rifts were still in place, he could escape even without a Proxy's guidance.
But then—the sky darkened. A massive shadow loomed over him.
Phaga's eyes widened. He swerved sharply to the side.
BOOM!
A blazing laser grazed past, carving a deep trench into the ground. The beam streaked from where Phaga had just been, across the street, before exploding in a flash of fire that lit up the entire Outer Periphery of Hollow Zero.
Phaga didn't stop. He banked sharply and shot forward again.
Behind him, a fan-like hand swept through the air, crushing a nearby building to rubble.
Barely escaping death, Phaga risked a glance back—and his pupils dilated in shock.
The Ethereal's form was no longer that of the bewitching woman she once was.
She had entered her second phase.