"Two elite squads from the Hollows Special Operations Division were dispatched—one to 18th Street, the other to 19th Street. The Defense Force and the Public Security Bureau also sent a good number of personnel to support them. Our mission is to stall the high-ranking Ethereals on Federer North Street until reinforcements arrive..."
No one had anticipated a Hollow disaster of this magnitude.
At first, they thought it was just a routine incident. The Public Security Bureau deployed a sizable force, and with the involvement of the Special Operations Unit 6, the threat was quickly suppressed.
But it wasn't long before the Hollows surged again.
The authorities contained it once more—then another outbreak followed...
Each wave brought stronger Ethereals. After several cycles, multiple high-ranking Ethereals had emerged.
Some of them were even beyond the Notoriety level.
Take this mission, for example—Soldier 11 and her team had been assigned to hold back a single Ethereal that had surpassed Notoriety level on Federer North Street.
At least, that's what the commander said.
But Soldier 11 was certain—there were at least three of those terrifying creatures prowling the street.
She knew.
This mission was a death sentence.
Unless a miracle occurred... She wanted to believe in one. But no miracle she could imagine could take down three Ethereals beyond Notoriety level.
Then suddenly—
"Captain, the commander said we'd get half a month off once this mission's over. Got any plans?" a teammate asked.
No one answered.
Or rather—no one had even considered it.
They all knew this was a suicide mission. The upper brass had already written them off—just another throwaway unit.
Only Soldier 11 replied seriously, "I heard the agent profession is trending right now. I thought I might give it a try."
One teammate gaped, "Captain, you want to be an agent?"
"I said try it out," Soldier 11 corrected. "I'm just a squad leader in the Defense Force—what kind of agent would I be? If anything, I'd be running my own agency."
On their way to the target zone, they hadn't encountered any low-level Ethereals.
But just as they neared their destination—
Boom. Thunder rumbled overhead.
Raindrops pierced through the dark veil of the Hollow, splattering the streets and landing coolly on the faces of Soldier 11 and her squad.
The chill helped steady their nerves.
"Eyes open, everyone," Soldier 11 called out. "We're almost there. Watch your surroundings. Ethereals could be hiding in the buildings—or underground..."
She didn't get to finish.
A massive hand suddenly burst from a nearby high-rise, slamming down toward them.
Boom!
The impact shook the ground.
If not for Soldier 11's warning, several squad members would've been flattened.
Before they could recover, the ground trembled again—this time, a building was walking toward them.
That's when they realized—
It wasn't a building.
It was a towering giant, easily twenty or thirty meters tall, with an actual building draped over it like clothing.
Soldier 11's expression darkened. The intel had been accurate—this Ethereal was far beyond the Notoriety level.
And that single blow...
If she hadn't reacted in time, half the squad would already be dead.
"Scatter!" she shouted. "Everyone spread out! Our mission is to stall it—don't let it reach the other districts! Don't engage it head-on!"
Her voice had barely faded before the team split up.
Each of them carried long-range weapons to draw the Ethereal's attention and pin it down.
And it worked.
Hidden between buildings, they coordinated their fire, peppering the monstrous Ethereal with bullets.
Their attacks didn't injure it—but they bought precious time.
Then, just as Soldier 11 began to feel a sliver of hope—
The ground quaked violently.
A thick vine shot up from the earth, instantly wrapping around one of the squad members.
"Help me—!"
"Captain, help! There's more than one high-ranking Ethereal—!"
So Soldier 11 had been right. The Defense Force command had hidden the truth—there was more than one Ethereal beyond Notoriety level here.
She didn't hesitate.
Gripping her fire blade, she leapt into the air.
With a single slash, a torrent of flames erupted from the blade, slicing through the thick vine several meters away.
Battle after battle had honed her control over flame.
As soon as she hit the ground, she yelled, "Watch the ground—there are high-level Ethereals underground!"
No sooner had she spoken than more thick vines burst through the pavement. Thanks to her warning, the squad narrowly dodged the next wave of attacks.
But—
That was only the beginning.
The ground convulsed again.
The street cracked apart as a massive flower erupted skyward, growing to dozens of meters in an instant—towering over the surrounding buildings.
Another Ethereal beyond Notoriety level.
Soldier 11 realized the earlier vines were nothing more than stray tendrils from the giant flower's foliage.
There were hundreds more like them.
As the flower emerged, its branches and leaves shuddered—and countless small thorns launched from its surface, raining down like bullets toward Soldier 11 and her team.
Tens of thousands of tiny, needle-sharp spikes—no amount of swordplay could stop such a barrage.
The team dove for cover behind nearby rubble.
It severely limited their movement.
But the worst part?
That other 20–30-meter Ethereal was still attacking.
It was hard enough dealing with one.
Now there were two of them.
Just as a massive fist came crashing down—
A flash of lightning split the air.
A small figure launched from a building, spinning mid-air to intercept the strike, completing an impossible block right as the giant Ethereal attacked.
The blow was deflected.
The figure fell from the sky, crashing hard into the rubble below, sending up clouds of dust.
Soldier 11 was stunned.
Then she snapped into action, hoisting a slab of concrete as a makeshift shield and charging forward through the onslaught.
She reached the wreckage and pulled Anby from the rubble.
Her brow furrowed. "What are you doing here?"
Anby's eyes darted. "Just passing by..."
...