Chapter 367: Anomaly Within the Hollow
A sharp, azure stream of light shot out in response. With a crisp shing, the wind blade cleaved the remnant cleanly in half.
However, the instant the Anemo energy left her fingertips, Lumine felt a jarring sensation. The elemental power that usually surged through her veins like a roaring river suddenly hitched, experiencing a momentary flow interruption.
It wasn't the heavy, aching fatigue of elemental exhaustion. Instead, it felt as though an invisible floodgate had slammed shut inside her core. She had to wait one or two agonizing seconds for that gate to reopen before she could smoothly mobilize her power to its full potential once more.
This sensation was entirely distinct from the weakness of draining her stamina. It felt artificial—a mandatory cooldown imposed by the very laws of this strange dimension.
"Just as I suspected," Lumine murmured, her golden eyes narrowing as she analyzed the lingering Anemo particles. "The suppression here is complete. It isn't just dampening our physical functions; the frequency at which we can continuously use our elemental abilities is being forcefully restricted."
This Hollow was no longer a simple playground where they could freely unleash their overwhelming power. It had morphed into a genuine survival challenge—one that would demand careful planning, tactical strategy, and flawless cooperation.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Hollow, the members of Hollow Special Operations Section 6 were dealing with their own crisis. Yanagi, Soukaku, and Harumasa wore expressions of unconcealed confusion and mounting worry.
As elite operatives, they were far from Hollow novices. They knew the fundamental rules of traversing these chaotic dimensions: teams entering simultaneously through the exact same fissure had an incredibly high probability of being deposited into the same starting zone.
Yet, their reality defied logic. A massive, boisterous group of over a dozen people had stepped through the threshold together. Now, only three of them—plus the Bangboo, Eous, currently piloted by Wise—were left staring at each other in the gloom. The rest of their interdimensional companions had vanished, seemingly swallowed whole by the distorted spatial currents.
"Proxy," Yanagi was the first to break the heavy silence, her tone laced with professional gravity. She adjusted her glasses, her pink hair catching the dim, ambient light. "This isn't right. Even factoring in spatial deviations upon entering a Hollow, it absolutely shouldn't have separated our group this completely. Where have the others been teleported to? Can you confirm their safety?"
As the deputy captain of Section 6, ensuring the safety of every single operative and ally was a responsibility carved into her very bones.
No sooner had Yanagi spoken than Soukaku eagerly leaned forward, her small, oni-like face scrunched up in pure anxiety. What the gluttonous girl cared about most wasn't the tactical disadvantage, but rather the tiny, floating companion who had just conquered her taste buds with a table full of magical, otherworldly delicacies.
"Yeah, yeah! Where's Paimon?" Soukaku practically bounced in place, gripping her massive weapon tight. "She's so small and squishy! She must be super weak, and she doesn't have much strength at all! What if she fell into some super dangerous pit and got surrounded by ugly Ethereals?! We have to go find her right now!"
In Soukaku's innocent, food-driven heart, Paimon had already been rapidly promoted to the status of a precious best friend who required top-tier protection—all thanks to that incredibly generous feast.
Even Harumasa, who usually maintained a lazy, nonchalant demeanor, now stood with his arms crossed over his chest. A slight, uncharacteristic frown creased his brow as he awaited Wise's explanation, his sharp eyes scanning the shadowy perimeter.
The abnormal dispersion of their forces meant that potential risks had multiplied exponentially.
Facing the barrage of questions and the unconcealed worry radiating from the Section 6 operatives, Wise's voice crackled through Eous's built-in speakers, calm and steadying. "Everyone, don't panic just yet. I just received confirmation pings from all of them through our encrypted network. The Astral Express Crew and everyone from Teyvat have safely arrived at their designated rallying areas. Currently, none of them are encountering any immediate danger."
Although Wise didn't elaborate on the exact reason for the spatial anomaly, Yanagi had her own suspicions. She silently deduced that this might be a limitation of their unique interdimensional technology. While their allies possessed overwhelming strength, their foreign energy signatures likely had poor compatibility with the Hollow's localized Aether environment, making it impossible to accurately predict their landing coordinates.
'Perhaps this cross-world transit technology still has a few bugs to iron out before it can be considered truly mature,' Yanagi analyzed calmly in her mind, her keen eyes vigilantly tracking the shifting shadows ahead.
Despite her quick mental assessment of the anomaly, Yanagi did not let her focus waver from their current mission. As a seasoned Hollow investigator, she knew a fundamental truth: no matter how advanced the Proxy's equipment or how powerful their allies were, survival ultimately relied on the individual combat qualities and seamless cooperation of the squad members present.
She quickly gathered her thoughts, snapping her attention back to the grim reality of the Hollow. "Everyone," she ordered, her voice dropping to a crisp, authoritative whisper. "Final equipment check. Look alive."
Once their readiness was confirmed, this makeshift four-person squad—or strictly speaking, three elite operatives and one mechanical Bangboo—began to cautiously advance through the distorted ruins, heading straight toward the coordinates provided by Wise.
Less than ten minutes into their trek, Yanagi's brow gradually furrowed. The ambient hum of the Hollow felt entirely wrong.
The Hollows surrounding Epis Port, due to their dangerous proximity to densely populated urban sectors, had always been high-priority targets. They were constantly monitored and routinely cleared out by both the Public Security Bureau and veteran civilian Proxy teams.
Under normal circumstances, the ambient Aether activity within these gateway-type Hollows should be suppressed to a manageable, low-risk level. The overall population and strength of the roaming Ethereals were strictly culled to prevent any sudden outbreaks from spilling over into the port.
According to past operational records, while the interior of such Hollows was never exactly a walk in the park, an operative certainly wouldn't encounter hostile targets every few steps.
But their current situation completely defied all established patterns.
Harumasa's calm, clinical voice suddenly broke the silence. "Left side. Three low-tier Ethereals, twenty-five meters out. Wandering aimlessly."
They were among the most common fodder found within the Hollows—twisted, corrupted humanoids covered entirely in hardened, jagged Aether cuticles that resembled crude armor. Wicked, sharp bone blades extended grotesquely from their elongated fingers.
"Clear them quickly," Yanagi ordered without missing a beat, her hand resting lightly on the hilt of her weapon. "Don't cause a bigger stir."
Almost as soon as the command left her lips, Harumasa already had his high-tech bow drawn. The vibration of the taut bowstring was practically inaudible as he released his grip. Three arrows shot out in a rapid, fan-shaped spread, whistling through the stagnant air. They precisely pierced the faint, glowing cores embedded in the center of the three Ethereals' heads.
The corrupted creatures stiffened violently for a fraction of a second before their physical forms collapsed, dissolving into a harmless scatter of glowing Aether dust.
But they had barely advanced another forty meters before Harumasa issued a second, more urgent warning. "Around the corner ahead. A mixed formation—two agile types and one heavy armored unit. They're moving quickly. Entering our line of sight in three seconds."
This time, Yanagi personally took the vanguard. Her slender figure darted forward, blurring into a phantom-like dash. At the exact moment of impending contact with the charging enemies, she sharply drew the blade from her waist.
A breathtakingly beautiful Iaijutsu slash tore through the gloom, immediately followed by a continuous, blinding flurry of rapid cuts. She wove an inescapable, deadly net of crackling blade light.
The two agile Ethereals didn't even have the time to launch their signature leaping charges before they were completely shredded, disintegrating into nothingness beneath her relentless assault.
Without pausing for breath, Yanagi used the momentum of her final swing to pivot gracefully. With a sharp mechanical clack, she activated her weapon's extension mechanism. The blade instantly elongated, transforming into a lethal naginata. Gripping the extended shaft, she lunged forward, delivering a fierce, concentrated thrust straight toward the heavy armored Ethereal.
The hulking monster didn't even have the reaction speed to raise its heavy shield. Yanagi's naginata pierced cleanly through its thick armor, shattering its core with pinpoint precision and forcing its massive body to dissipate back into raw Aether energy.
The entire lethal exchange had taken less than two seconds.
"This is already the sixth wave..." Harumasa muttered in a low, tight voice. He lowered his bow, but his usually relaxed expression was nowhere to be found. "The frequency of Ethereal spawns is way too high, and higher-level mutations are starting to bleed into the mix. This isn't right." He lightly kicked a fragment of corrupted armor left behind on the cracked asphalt.
Yanagi didn't respond immediately. Instead, she raised her left arm, her pink eyes narrowing behind her glasses as she inspected the delicate, portable Aether concentration detector strapped to her wrist.
On the small, dial-sized screen, a jagged curve representing the local Aether activity intensity was continuously and steadily climbing. Since their initial entry, the reading had already spiked from the standard yellow alert zone straight into the orange danger zone—and it showed absolutely no signs of slowing its aggressive upward trend.
Even more unsettling was the small indicator light at the edge of the detector's bezel. It had begun to pulse with a faint, rhythmic red glow—a grim warning signifying the presence of a massive, anomalous Aether release source somewhere in their immediate environment.
"The ambient Aether activity is continuously strengthening, and the readings indicate a highly concentrated release point nearby," Yanagi stated, her voice carrying a heavy, obvious gravity. "This is highly abnormal. Hollow activity should naturally stabilize after our regular clearing operations, unless..."
"Unless someone is deliberately triggering it," Harumasa finished her thought, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the dark horizon. "Like pouring high-energy fuel straight onto a dying fire."
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