Some time later, near the old subway hub...
"For some reason, that high-threat Ethereal has gone quiet. Only a few regular ones are still chasing us. Even so, I still think we should get out of the Hollow as soon as possible."
Anby had already sheathed her blade into the charging slot on her back-mounted battery pack. After running quite a distance under Proxy's guidance, they'd finally reached a relatively safe area.
Her face was slightly flushed from the exertion, and her breathing was a bit uneven. Worry lingered in her expression.
Based on past experience, something about this situation felt off.
"Oh—right! Ever since we fought it, we haven't seen any sign of it."
Billy clapped his hands, his delayed realization making him sound a bit slow to catch on.
"In that case, let's leave the Hollow for now. We can figure out our next move once we regroup with Nicole."
The voice came from Eous, bright and upbeat as ever. Belle didn't fully understand what was going on with the high-threat Ethereal, but even she could tell something wasn't right.
Normally, Ethereal hostility doesn't just disappear like that.
Anby nodded in agreement with Belle's suggestion. Suddenly, a black-and-white flicker in her peripheral vision made her instinctively reach for the hilt of her blade.
"What is it, Anby?"
Both Billy and Belle noticed her reaction. Billy glanced around, puzzled.
"There's something else here."
Billy's expression turned serious. Anby's sixth sense—her knack for detecting anomalies—was almost always on point.
The two of them began carefully scanning the area.
Seeing this, Belle used Eous to analyze the Ether concentration nearby—but found nothing out of the ordinary.
Anby and Billy came up empty as well, even after circling the area. There were no signs of anything unusual.
With no further leads, the three of them let it go. Anby tucked the thought away but didn't dwell on it.
After a brief discussion, Belle led them toward the Hollow's exit. It wasn't a difficult route—she was a legendary Rope Master, after all, and her professionalism showed.
Once they left the Cretan Hollow, they regrouped with Eous and Nicole. Along the way, they passed several green lights with an R-value of 255 and headed toward Sixth Street.
...
Inside the Cretan Hollow—
"Where'd you sneak off to this time? Sure, this Hollow isn't the most dangerous one out there, but you still need to be careful."
Zane sat atop a collapsed Ethereal—a canine-like creature clad in crystalline armor—and looked over at the just-returned Panta with mild concern.
Panta was his only companion right now, and despite everything, Zane valued him. Especially with how ridiculously adorable he looked.
"Mm-hmm! (Boss, they've left the Hollow.)"
Zane understood what Panta had gone off to check. He didn't scold him—just knocked him lightly on the head and said softly,
"Next time, don't run off alone."
"Mm-hmm! (Got it, Boss!)"
...
"Back already? Tch, always rushing around, never taking a break."
Zane looked down from his perch. Not far below, Eous was leading the two members of the Hare's House through the Hollow, searching for a missing audio cargo crate from a toy store. They moved fast, pushing through obstacles without hesitation.
"As expected… when an exclamation mark pops up over your head, someone 'genuinely dedicated' will always cross mountains and rivers to come help you. Guess that logic works here too."
Zane's tone was light. If he remembered correctly, the Hare's House' leader, Nicole, should be tracking down leads on the safe by now.
He glanced at the safe next to him—yeah, he was definitely looking forward to what would happen next.
...
Some time later
Sixth Street
"Is Nicole on her way?"
Belle stood in a toy store on Sixth Street. Her eyes lit up as she read the message on her phone—it looked like they'd finally found a lead on the safe.
"Bye, Susie!"
She waved to the girl in the yellow hat behind the counter.
"Hope that modified sound module works out! Good luck with the game!"
Susie pressed her hands together against her cheek and smiled brightly.
"Thanks! I'll take all the good luck I can get!"
...
Inside the Cretan Hollow
"Proxy, why are you just standing there? I went through a lot to pinpoint the general location of the safe. You'd better not drop the ball now."
"We still need you to lead the way if we want to get there."
Nicole had one arm resting across her two white rabbits, the other hand raised as she looked down at Eous in front of her.
Belle, piloting Eous, gave a nod—but couldn't help frowning in confusion. Nicole had just said the same thing twice... Did she mishear something?
Still, the priority now was finding the safe. Belle pushed the thought aside and guided the Hare's House team forward along the detected path.
"Sis, something's off. The Ether activity around the target picked up by HDD is behaving strangely."
Wise frowned at the rapidly fluctuating numbers on his screen. It almost looked like a system malfunction.
But the HDD system was the tech that made the legendary Rope Master "Phaethon" famous—it shouldn't be this easily thrown off.
...
Elsewhere, inside the old subway hub, Zane sat quietly, guarding the safe as he experimented with manipulating his own Ether.
After all the battles and energy absorption over the past few days, his control had grown much more refined.
If he wanted, he could now easily disguise himself as a low-threat, ordinary Ethereal.
...
A short while later, inside a video store on Sixth Street
"HDD's connection to the Hollow has been completely severed!"
Belle's brows furrowed as she stared at the flickering monitor, concern growing for the Hare's House team inside.
"Sis, initiate emergency diagnostics—fast."
At Wise's prompt, Belle immediately got to work. But after several minutes of intense troubleshooting... nothing.
Wise rubbed his chin in thought, clearly puzzled. "How could HDD tech be this easily disrupted by Hollow activity?"
Belle's worry deepened. The team inside the Hollow didn't have a real-time guidance map like "Radish," the mapping Bangboo, nor a humanoid navigation Proxy.. Even with adapted physical resistance, prolonged exposure would still lead to Ether erosion.
Suddenly, a strange idea popped into her head.
With a bit of desperation—and superstition—Belle slammed her palm down on the system power switch.
Rebooting solves 99% of all problems!
But to her surprise, even after she powered it off, the display didn't go dark.
Then, a hoarse voice crackled out from the screen.
...
Inside the Hollow
"Boss Nicole! There are way too many Ethereals! What the hell was the store manager thinking?!"
Billy's twin pistols blazed, spraying bullets in every direction as he held off the charging Ethereals, mentally calculating how much ammo he was burning through.
At this rate, just the ammo costs alone were going to put the Hare's House in the red this month!
...
Moments later, the three of them—now free from the swarm—huddled with Eous in hiding. Billy checked the time and let out a long sigh.
They'd already been inside for four full rounds of recommended time. If this kept up, the whole Hare's House team might be buried in this Hollow.