"If we slow down any further, even the vampires behind us will catch up!"
Ellen shouted back, squinting at the swarm of pink-and-white hornets ahead. She clenched her shark-like teeth, hesitated for a moment, then called out, "Ruby, take care of yourself!"
"Huh?"
Ruby blinked, confused, not understanding what Ellen meant.
The next second, a powerful force struck her from the side. Ellen grabbed her and threw her high into the air with all her strength.
"Wait—Ellen! Ellen! Ellen!!!"
Ruby screamed, eyes tightly shut.
The buzzing of countless wings filled her ears. The pink-and-white hornets were clearly fascinated by the human suddenly launched skyward and swarmed toward her. Terrified, Ruby curled into a ball, hugging Kunmutu tightly and not daring to move.
"Sharknami! Ha!"
But Ellen didn't let her fear last long. Soon, Ruby heard Ellen's clear, confident cry, followed by bursts of freezing explosions.
Moments later, the buzzing stopped. The sky was clear once more.
It looked like Ellen's group wouldn't be bothered by pink-and-white hornets for a while.
Ellen looked up, reached out, caught Ruby from midair, slung her over her shoulder, and kept running forward.
Ruby's head spun as she mumbled, "Ellen, I think I had a dream. I was bait tossed into a school of sardines by a shark."
"...Oh? Were the sardines tasty?"
Ellen asked casually.
"I was the one being eaten!"
Ruby yelled, glaring at Ellen's profile with teary, indignant eyes.
"When we get out of the Hollow, you're treating me to a feast! I'll eat until you go broke!"
Ellen chuckled. "Then you'd better have a big appetite."
She turned and glanced back at the others, scanning the group until her eyes landed on Anby.
"Hey, you—white-haired little girl in the green armor. Mind taking one more person?"
"Me?"
Anby thought for a second. Aside from her, there weren't any other white-haired girls around. She glanced at Ruby on Ellen's shoulder, then nodded slightly.
"I can carry someone, but... I don't think someone your age should be calling me 'little girl.'"
"Perfect. Take Ruby for me."
Ellen ignored the comment, slowing down so Anby could catch up. She passed Eous into Ruby's arms, then helped Anby hoist Ruby onto her back before letting them run ahead.
Ruby clung to Anby's armor and called back, "Ellen, where are you going?"
"You said you wanted that feast, right? I'm going to find a vampire to pay half the bill."
Ellen waved and dashed toward the back of the group.
"If this were an old movie, that's a classic death flag. You might wanna—ah, forget it."
Anby tried to warn her, but Ellen was already too far to hear.
She sighed softly. "Proxy, there shouldn't be any more Ethereal creatures up ahead, right?"
Ruby's baiting had been remarkably effective—Ellen had wiped out the entire swarm of pink-white hornets. Still, Anby asked out of caution.
At that, Eous blinked. Through the synchronized link, Belle's fingers flew across the keyboard, nearly tangling as she exclaimed, "None left! Even though they were just Nineveh's minions, their Ether concentration was insanely high—it scared off all the others!"
"All the pink-white hornets are dead. The path ahead's completely clear. Unless Nineveh has more minions, there shouldn't be any—"
Before Eous could finish, rows of strange vines burst out of the ground, shooting up two meters high!
"—to block us."
Eous mechanically finished the sentence, froze for a moment, then grabbed her cheeks with both hands and shrieked, "What the hell is that?!"
"Constricting Vines—another type of Nineveh's minion!"
Clover finally caught up from the rear, swiftly drawing her pistol and dagger. She darted to the very front, then turned and shouted, "I'll clear the path!"
Nekomata tensed, calling out in concern, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"The first time I entered Hollow Zero, you probably hadn't even seen one yet, kitty!"
Without turning around, Clover fired a shot that deflected a vine's attack, then leapt forward, plunging her dagger into its body and slicing it clean in half with one fluid motion.
"Run faster, kitty! Don't let the rear catch up!"
She called back before charging at the next vine.
Nekomata shuddered, adjusted Nicole's position on her back, and shouted, "Got it, meow!"
...
Meanwhile, at the rear.
Phaga and Billy had already wiped out all the pink-white hornets—but Nineveh was closing in again.
Worse, countless strange vines had sprung from the ground, each strike cracking the asphalt beneath them.
Phaga listened closely, not daring to look back. His gaze locked onto Nineveh's every movement. When her vast, membrane-like wings swept toward him, he wrapped himself in blood energy and lunged forward.
A sharp clang rang out as Phaga's blood armor repelled the attack head-on.
His chest heaved as his eyes narrowed.
As he suspected, summoning her minions took a toll on Nineveh. Her own power had weakened.
From completely overpowering him earlier, now she could barely keep up.
Then... if he ignored her minions and went straight for her core body—could he force her back?
Phaga hesitated for a brief second, then clenched his jaw. Whatever—he'd try it!
If he lost, he'd just retreat. No harm in trying!
Before Nineveh could regroup, Phaga beat his wings hard. Instead of retreating as planned, he dove straight toward her!
Whoosh!
Seeing Phaga charge rather than flee, Nineveh's expression twisted in rage. The seven [Cores] embedded in her petals flared with violet light.
In an instant, seven laser beams fired at once!
Phaga twisted his body, weaving through the narrow gaps between them. In a heartbeat, he was upon her—his flaming vampire claws slashing down and leaving five crimson streaks across the sky!
Clang!
Nineveh snapped her petal-like appendages shut across her chest, blocking the blow.
Then she swung her massive appendages backward, unleashing a violent gust that caused the flower bud beneath her to bloom. It curved upward, condensing into an Ether cannonball.
Billy, who had just managed to get up after dodging the previous lasers, spotted Nineveh gathering energy. He raised his gun and fired twice.
But the Constricting Vines around them weren't idle. Before he could fire again, he had to dive aside to avoid their attacks.
A few bullets made no difference—Nineveh continued charging her power. The next second—BOOM!
Billy's eyes flashed wide as he yelled, "Mr. Phaga, look out!"
Phaga glanced down at the warning. Having just dodged the hurricane, he had no strength left to evade the Ether cannonball chasing him.
"Tsk, what a pain... Fine. Just block it for a second!"
Phaga clicked his tongue, and a thought flashed through his mind.
The blood-soaked clothing instantly peeled away from his body, swirling around Phaga and coalescing into a sphere.
The Ether cannonball slammed into it head-on, unleashing a deafening roar.
BOOM!
The colossal shockwave engulfed everything, sending Billy flying backward to the ground. Countless Constricting Vines were uprooted by the sheer force of the blast. Posters were blown away, and streetlights were bent double by boulders swept up by the explosion.
Even the late-arriving Ellen had to stab her blade into the ground just to stay upright, raising an arm to shield her face from the hurricane-force winds as she looked skyward. Watching the Ether cannon collide with the blood sphere, she murmured, "Phaga..."
The next instant, Ellen's eyes widened. A crimson figure broke free from the blood sphere, transforming into a blood-red meteor that hurtled straight toward Nineveh.
Nineveh clapped her two massive wings together to block it, yet the meteor's momentum remained unchecked. Its power did not diminish; instead, her flesh wings turned searing red.
A nuclear glow flared above Nineveh's head as she abruptly propelled herself backward.
With her retreat, the living barrier could no longer hold back Phaga's advance. The meteor tore right through, soaring upward and leaving a long, crimson trail in the sky.
Whoosh!
The meteor suddenly stopped midair. A forearm extended from its core, fingers snapping closed.
Whoosh!
The Nether Flames surrounding Phaga instantly extinguished, gathering into droplets of blood that floated in the air. They slowly drifted back into Phaga's palm before seeping into his body through the torn wound.
Huff~
Phaga exhaled. His once deathly pale complexion had regained some color—only to the degree of an ordinary [Level 10 Whitening]—but that hardly mattered now.
He descended, lowering himself until he was level with Nineveh's head.
Nineveh also raised her [Core], meeting Phaga's gaze for the first time.
[Though... you can't compare... to that ice fox, you... aren't... an ant. Roughly... you fall... into the category of a rat.]
[From now on... I shall call you... the Fire Vampire...]
A shrill female voice echoed across the sky, and Phaga's pupils widened in shock.
He knew that some Ethereal possessed intelligence. Lesser Ethereal feared stronger ones, and many of the higher-tiered creatures carried their own pride—beings so dominant they would rather die than flee.
But this was the first time he'd ever learned that an Ethereal could speak.
Though fragmented and halting, Nineveh's words showed clear understanding and logic—it could comprehend human language.
"Phaga, are you okay?"
Ellen's voice rang out from below.
She was too far to hear Nineveh's words; all she saw was Phaga and Nineveh suddenly stop mid-fight. Thinking Nineveh had used some unknown form of control, she shouted in alarm.
The moment her words reached him, Phaga seemed dazed. Just as he lowered his head to respond, Nineveh suddenly swung a massive hand at him.
Wait—weren't they just talking?
Gritting his teeth, Phaga beat his wings hard, plunging toward the ground at full speed!