The rain gradually stopped, and the bright moon slowly peeked out from behind the clouds.
This should have been a good thing, but for Geno and Nekomata, who were currently dodging the pursuit of the Dead End Butcher, it was anything but.
"The rain has stopped. That guy will find our trail very soon."
Geno looked uneasily at the moon, which was gradually sinking to the west. Without the cover of the rain, the risk of the two of them being discovered would only increase.
"We have to think of a way."
Watching Geno freeze in place, Nekomata tilted her head in confusion.
"Hey, why are you dazing out there instead of hurrying up and running?"
Nekomata didn't know when the Dead End Butcher would return, but thanks to Geno's explanation, she knew the opponent had means to track the two of them.
"Hmm, I was thinking, if this goes on, it's only a matter of time before that big guy finds us. Since that's the case, can we come up with a once-and-for-all solution to get rid of it, or rather, trap it?"
Suddenly, Geno's eyes lit up; he seemed to have thought of something.
Trap it. Yes, trap it.
"Nekomata, do you remember that subway station we hid in earlier?"
"The subway station?"
Nekomata thought for a moment, and the place where Geno had tackled her to temporarily hide surfaced in her barren little brain.
"What do you want to do?"
Nekomata's eyes were filled with doubt. Were they going to hide back in there? Wasn't that a dead end?
"Just making a little plan for our safe escape later. Follow me!"
After Geno finished speaking, he ran off in a certain direction, but Nekomata remained on the spot without reacting.
"You're running the wrong way."
"Oh."
After wandering around for so long, Nekomata had more or less memorized some of the routes, yet Geno surprisingly hadn't remembered a thing!
On the other side, as the sound of the rain dissipated, the Dead End Butcher was also searching for the whereabouts of the pair.
It was like a seasoned hunter, carefully looking for traces of its prey.
Soon, it found it—that Ether trail emitting a fragrance unique to Geno.
Colorful Ether energy flashed twice on the Dead End Butcher's face, seemingly expressing its excitement, and then it followed the trail, walking toward the direction of Geno and his companion.
It was already getting a bit impatient.
A moment later, the Dead End Butcher went round and round, circling back once again to the place where it had fought Geno and Nekomata earlier.
Recalling some unpleasant memories, the Dead End Butcher's Ether fluctuations became restless.
Soon, it found the location of the target.
It was just...
A little strange.
"ROAR?"
"Hey! Big dummy~ Come and catch me!"
Geno was acting uncharacteristically; he didn't choose to run away. Instead, he kept clamoring in front of the Dead End Butcher, clearly giving off the vibe of 'I have a scheme'.
If it were a normal human, they absolutely wouldn't fall for this kind of trap.
But was our Dead End Butcher a normal person?
It wasn't even a person!
Although an Overlord-class Ethereal possessed intelligence, it absolutely did not reach the level of a normal human.
So, seeing Geno jumping around like that, the Dead End Butcher naturally felt provoked. waving its four limbs as it charged toward Geno.
'It took the bait! Time to bail!'
Seeing the Dead End Butcher fall for it so easily, Geno turned around and ran toward the subway station behind him.
Of course, a subway station structure designed for humans was naturally impossible for a massive Ethereal like the Dead End Butcher to squeeze into.
Inevitably, the Dead End Butcher destroyed the walls of the subway station as it entered, and in the blink of an eye, it saw Geno heading underground.
Geno drilled into the underground, arrived at the pre-prepared location, and found Nekomata.
"Are you ready?"
"I was ready ages ago. I didn't expect that after being abandoned for so long, this place would still have this."
Nekomata was holding something that looked like a large capsule in her arms. Flowing inside it was something Geno was all too familiar with: Active Ether energy.
These capsules were used to charge the parked trains, only they had been abandoned here after the subway fell into the Hollow.
"It's a pity. If there were a train here, we wouldn't have to go to such great lengths."
"You know how to drive one?"
"Pretend I didn't say anything, meow."
She had been mixing with street gangs since she was little; how would she know how to drive a train?
While they were talking, the movements of their hands didn't stop. This was a grand gift prepared for the 'hospitable host'.
Thump! Crash!
Judging by the vibration coming from overhead, the opponent surely couldn't wait any longer. In that case, prepare to open the doors and welcome the guest.
"Nekomata."
"I know."
The two threw the items in their hands onto the ground at the same time, then assumed combat stances once more, ready to welcome the arrival of the Dead End Butcher.
Following a loud bang, the Dead End Butcher's figure appeared in front of the two. Its four arms swung wide; nothing could obstruct its offense.
"Do it!"
The target had taken the bait. With Geno's command, the two charged toward the Dead End Butcher.
Seeing the two charging instead of fleeing, the Dead End Butcher almost laughed itself silly. It raised its arms high, wanting to grab them both.
But it forgot—this was underground. Where was there room for it to fully extend itself?
Its two newly grown arms were obstructed by the ceiling of the underground tunnel, causing its movement to pause. Geno and Nekomata seized this opportunity to slide-tackle right under its crotch.
Just as he was about to leave through the opening, Geno turned and swiped his hand across the Dead End Butcher's body, leaving behind an Ether crystal sphere he had crafted beforehand on its person.
"Nekomata!"
"Don't worry, meow!"
Nekomata understood instantly. She threw the short blade in her hand, accurately hitting that sphere under the Dead End Butcher's crotch.
Then, that sphere became covered in cracks, emitting a dazzling light from within.
"ROAR!?"
When the Dead End Butcher subconsciously wanted to keep the two from leaving, it was already too late. The Ether crystal underneath it had completely peeled away, revealing the Active Ether Geno had stored inside.
"ROAR!"
The Active Ether expanded rapidly like a raging fire, blasting the Dead End Butcher to the ground. At the same time, the pile of Ether batteries Geno and Nekomata had prepared beforehand was also activated by this wave of Active Ether, reacting violently.
An Ether explosion of this dosage, even if it couldn't kill the Dead End Butcher, would be enough to bury it in this dark, sunless underground station.
When that happened, it wouldn't have another chance to chase down the Geno duo.
Seeing that the time was about right, Geno hurriedly shielded Nekomata in his arms, then condensed a massive amount of Inert Ether crystals on his back to protect himself.
Then, with a loud boom, the two were pushed out by the violent explosion like cannonballs from a cannon.
A burning sensation came from his back; the skin pressed tightly against the Ether crystals had been severely burned.
Geno gritted his teeth, forcibly enduring this heart-piercing pain, but his subconsciously tightening arms made Nekomata in his embrace clearly feel his agony.
"Meow~"
A trace of guilt rose in the bottom of Nekomata's heart. This guy... she had clearly treated him like that before, yet Geno didn't care at all. Now, he was even willing to endure such pain to protect her.
The softest chord in the bottom of Nekomata's heart was faintly touched.
A while later, accompanied by the detonation of all the Active Ether energy batteries piled up by the two underground, the soaring flames shone exceptionally bright in the Hollow, like fireworks.
At the same time, it also attracted the attention of some people who were searching within the Hollow.
____
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