Griseo's New Move!

"Chibaku Tensei!!"

Belle shouted the cringe-worthy move name, and Griseo behind Eous gently raised her hand.

A faint breeze swept through the Hollows, while a mass of Ether Energy gathered in the air.

At first, it spread slowly, then grew increasingly frenzied and violent... surging like a hundred rivers rushing into the sea.

Grace looked up at the sphere of light, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart. The more she looked at it, the more it resembled a Violent Ether core.

"Um... Proxy? What is this supposed to mean?"

Belle said nothing, still manipulating Eous into striking poses with all the air of a mysterious master.

This was a new move she and Griseo had learned, inspired by their previous battle with Dead End Butcher.

As the glowing mass in the air compressed to its limit, it began generating suction. Rubble started rolling across the ground, steel rebar was pulled from the ruins, and finally, the Ethereals themselves.

Belle burst out laughing. "Griseo, put more force into it! Let them feel pain! How many floors can a bag of rice carry?!"

"Okay, Sister Belle!"

Griseo waved her brush, and [The Stars] appeared. The attraction of the sphere in the air intensified once more.

Broken chunks of concrete, rusted sheets of metal, low-level Ethereals... all began defying gravity and flying toward that sphere of light.

One, two, ten, dozens... They piled together, compressed, twisted, and crushed by the sphere's power.

"Hollows disasters rage across this world. Though I have no wish to contend for dominion, I know the suffering of the common people, with Ethereals running rampant!"

"Griseo, go! Use Planet Befall!"

Griseo answered at once. Then Mr. Knight hurled the greatsword in his hand. It plunged straight into the heavenly sphere, its fierce momentum carrying it far away.

Once its momentum was spent, the flying star began to fall freely, like a massive meteor.

The instant it struck the ground, it exploded with a thunderous boom... like a Violent Ether core detonating, blooming with dazzling light.

More than a hundred Ethereals finally turned into fine motes of light that scattered into the distance... Rubble and fragments clattered back to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Alright, it's over!!" Grace opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. She looked at Griseo, then at Eous.

"Proxy."

"Hm? What is it?"

"Wasn't that... a bit too exaggerated just now?"

Belle fell silent for a second, then smiled. "Grace, don't worry about those little details. Come on, we still need to find [Grater]."

"Are you assassins from our homeland, or enemies plotting to tear me apart from my beloved--?!"

"Please stop invading the private space between Mashiro and me--!!"

A sweet, girlishly affected voice came from overhead, its trembling ending tinged with tears, as though some bully was about to tear apart a pair of lovers.

Griseo, Eous, and Grace looked up at the same time.

A four-legged tunneling machine clung to the rooftop like a lizard. Pink hearts flashed across its display, and it radiated the aura of a maiden deeply in love.

When it saw that the newcomer was Grace, the hearts on its screen transformed into a pair of burning rage symbols.

"So it's you, you villain who wants to tear Mashiro and me apart--!"

"??..." Eous turned toward Grace as Belle asked, "Grace, is this the 'child' you mentioned?"

But Belle soon began doubting her entire life, because she saw Grace actually syncing with the tunneling machine's wavelength.

Grace clasped her hands over her heart and said in a voice full of affection and gratification, "I never expected that after only a few days apart, [Grater] would already become a child who 'fights for love.'"

Who am I?

Where am I?

What am I supposed to do?

Three questions flashed through Belle's mind before her brain completely crashed. In a daze, she felt as though she had just watched a melodramatic romance drama tangled in love and hate.

Belle stayed silent for a long while, then finally wore an expression that said, I know I shouldn't ask, but I really can't help it.

"Um, [Grater]? Who exactly is this Mashiro you keep talking about? Don't tell me it's that unfinished building?"

However, Belle's words struck directly into a minefield, and [Grater] instantly shifted from angry to utterly furious.

It dove off the rooftop in one leap, its "Gaia-style landing" blasting up countless stones. Its chainsaw buzzed as it declared its burning fury.

"You people who don't understand the preciousness of 'love' naturally won't understand the terror of 'love' either!"

"Then let yourselves experience--the feeling of being 'deprived'!!"

[Grater]'s chainsaw suddenly spun up with a piercing shriek. "You are not allowed to slander Mashiro! You are not allowed to tear us apart!!"

Nearby, Grace held her hands to her heart, her eyes as tender as though she were watching her daughter marry off.

"What a girl in love..." she murmured, completely failing to notice that [Grater] had already raised its chainsaw.

"Watch out, Grace--!!" Belle controlled Eous into lunging forward, barely managing to knock the "mother-in-law" out of the way.

The chainsaw slashed past Grace's hair and gouged a deep trench into the ground, sending rubble flying and sparks scattering.

Clang--!!

On the other side, Mr. Knight had already drawn his sword.

The greatsword slammed into the chainsaw, and the deafening crash of metal exploding against metal echoed through the ruins. The enormous impact sent Mr. Knight skidding back more than ten meters.

"What a girl in love. For the sake of love, she can even effortlessly operate a 1,400-kilogram demolition saw valve."

Rather than feeling any lingering fear, Grace looked even more gratified, her tone full of the pride of, My daughter is so impressive.

Belle's face darkened even further--relying on Grace?

She might as well dig a hole and bury herself. That would be easier.

"Griseo! Think of something!" In her panic, Belle suddenly remembered something. "Can you summon someone suitable--?!"

As the saying went, desperate people would try anything, but sometimes luck was simply impossible to stop.

The moment Belle's words fell, Griseo felt something responding to the call, and the brush in her hand began to move.

The brush fell, and a new Signet was slowly painted.

At that instant, a faint breeze passed through the ruins, sweeping up dust from the ground and gently stirring the Ether flow within the Hollows.

Then--bang bang bang bang!

Several clusters of Ether Energy exploded without warning at [Grater]'s mechanical joints.

Sparks immediately flickered across several critical circuits, and the entire tunneling machine collapsed to the ground with a crash.

The chainsaw buzzed twice before hanging limply downward as well.

Several huge question marks flashed onto [Grater]'s display. "Damn it! What did you do?! What happened to me--?!"

"What an incredible invention!!"

Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out. Eous and Grace looked up.

A woman wearing a magician's top hat appeared on the rooftop.

"Oh my!! The gazes of my two audience members are truly passionate, aren't they?"

The woman leaped down, landing lightly. Then she walked over to Griseo and reached out to rub the little girl's head.

"Little one, should I say it's been a long time?"

Griseo looked up, the corners of her lips curving slightly. "Long time no see, Sister Vill-V."

Vill-V smiled, then looked toward Eous and Grace. She removed her top hat, held it before her chest, and gave a slight bow in the manner of a curtain call.

"You two... I am the greatest magician and mechanic of the Twilight Era... Vill-V, bearer of [Spiral], answering the summons."

To the side, several more question marks appeared on [Grater]'s display. Who was this? Where had she come from?

"As expected, whenever Griseo summons someone, the original Mr. Knight disappears. One Signet corresponds to one."

Belle stared at the screen in the video store and muttered, "[Spiral], [The Stars], [Daybreak]... That makes five already."

Validation recommendations are expected to begin next week. Hehe, let's have one last round of likes, comments, and follows...

I'm already prepared to release extra chapters.