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"Ha! Bull's-eye."
Billy shot an Ethereal dead, then dodged aside and took down another that had tried to ambush him.
"Phew, that was close. Too close."
Then he stood over the Ethereal lying helpless on the ground, pointing his gun at it and rambling about all sorts of things, lost in his own world.
Billy: "Sorry, this isn't personal. We're ordinary people, and you're monsters... We're destined to be enemies.
I'll aim for your weak point. It won't hurt."
With that, Billy, acting like a twitchy chuunibyou, pulled the trigger. Nothing happened, because he had forgotten his pistol was out of bullets.
Billy: "Shit, oh no. Forgot to reload."
As Billy panicked, the Ethereal seized the chance to stand up. It raised its blade-arm and thrust at Billy, who panicked even more at the sight.
Billy: "Buddy, stop! Just pause for a second!
Waaah!"
Anby arrived to help just then. A horizontal slash of her lightning blade cut the Ethereal in half at the waist, followed by a kick that sent it flying. Thus, she successfully saved the Denny in Nicole's wallet.
Anby: "...Focus."
Billy: "Ahaha, just a little slipup. Wait, is someone over there?"
Still sprawled on the ground, Billy happened to spot a cloud of smoke appearing on the platform, with a human silhouette inside it.
When the view cleared, he saw someone covered in blood, wearing nothing but a pair of pants riddled with holes. A closer look revealed horrific wounds all over his body. His left hand still carried a stone-like shield, and a spike grew from the palm of his right hand.
He was attacking every Ethereal that approached him. Beside his feet was a safe embedded in the floor, which was precisely the target of Nicole and the others' commission.
Anby: "The safe is at his feet."
Billy: "It really is! Great, now we don't have to go out of our way to find it."
Anby was about to snatch the safe, but she had only taken a few steps when Billy caught her wrist and stopped her.
Billy: "Hold on, Anby. What are you doing?"
Anby: "Grab him and retrieve the safe."
Billy: "Wait a moment."
Billy, who had started getting his act together, noticed something wrong with the man and continued to hold Anby back. Just then, the blood-soaked man noticed the two of them as well. He slowly turned around, looking as though he had already lost his senses.
Bailao: "I... cough... eliminate... urghhh...!"
Billy: "Th-this looks like... that old guy!! He actually survived an explosion like that?!"
Anby: "The energy barrier back then might have blocked a lot of the damage for him too, allowing him to survive.
But I didn't expect him to fall into the Hollow with us. Judging by his injuries, though, he doesn't have long to live."
Although he barely looked human anymore, his hideous face was enough for Anby and Billy to remember him within three seconds: Bailao, the boss of the Red Fang Gang.
Just then, Bailao's body began to change. Black armor-like material began covering him, and a black hole-like core grew from his left eye and began consuming his head. Clearly, Bailao had begun undergoing Ethereal Transformation.
Bailao: "...Aaargh-eliminate... can't take it away... urghhh!"
Billy: "Just as I thought. Ether has already corrupted him, and the mutation is getting worse. Looks like this old guy didn't have an Ether-adapted constitution."
Anby: "He's still conscious and struggling!"
Billy: "It's too late. Ether crystals are almost covering his entire body. He's already-"
Bailao: "...Aaargh-help... eliminate... urghhh!"
Bailao struggled in agony as the changes in his body accelerated. The core on his head had already covered half his brain, and his face grew increasingly hideous.
Billy: "A 'core' has appeared! Damn it, he's about to undergo complete Ethereal Transformation!"
Bailao: "...No... help... eli-eliminate... it's mine... urgh! Aaah!!"
Amid his final screams, the core completely covered his head, and his body was covered completely as well.
"POW!!!"
Billy: "Ugh!"
Anby: "...!"
With a boom, a flash of white light, and a gust of wind, his form began to change and grow taller, until he finally became an Ethereal resembling a knight.
"Urgh..."
His right hand was a blade, and his left held a greatshield. Over two meters tall, lean and powerfully built, he resembled an elegant knight. He was now a high-ranking Ethereal, a Dullahan.
Billy: "Tch, this thing won't be easy to deal with. Anby! Get ready!"
Anby: "Understood!"
With that, Billy charged at the Dullahan. Not to be outdone, the Dullahan rushed forward and swung its blade fiercely at him.
But Billy dodged it with a sliding tackle, sliding behind the Dullahan's flank before deftly turning and taking aim. Two high-powered bullets blasted out and struck its knee joint, throwing it off balance and forcing it to its knees.
Anby's lightning blade came cleaving down as well, but it adjusted its greatshield in time to block her. Weathering Billy's gunfire from behind, it stood up and continued swinging the long blade of its right hand.
Their blades crossed. The sounds of blades, bullets, and shield colliding mingled with electrical crackles, and for a time, neither side gained the upper hand.
Billy kept supporting Anby and distracting the enemy, trying to create an opening for her. But the Dullahan always overcame those attempts with its brute physique, and they could not maintain their current condition for much longer.
For one thing, spending too long in the Hollow would expose them to Ether corruption, weakening their bodies or even turning them into Ethereals.
And from their escape from the building to their current battle against a high-ranking Ethereal, the two had barely rested. More importantly, they had no supplies.
Before long, their ammunition and stamina would both run out, and worse things kept coming one after another.
After repeated clashes with the Dullahan, Anby and Billy finally caught a major opening. Anby raised her blade, charged it with lightning, and slashed down fiercely, carving a huge gash across the Dullahan's chest and shoulder and sending it staggering backward.
The damage from that slash was considerable, leaving the Dullahan unsteady on its feet. But the next instant, it swung its blade and roared, and the scattered Ether around it began surging toward it.
For a moment, rather than weakening, the Dullahan grew stronger. Its wounds healed rapidly, and its green portions turned multicolored. This made Anby and Billy furrow their brows, putting them under far greater pressure.
Billy: "It recovered? This thing's Ether activity is still rising!"
Anby: "Do we keep attacking?"
The Dullahan's injuries had completely healed, but its imposing presence continued to grow. Billy thought that if they kept fighting in their current condition, they would most likely be done for, so he offered the best solution available.
Billy: "No, our current firepower isn't suited to a battle of attrition with it. Let's get out of here first!"
With that, Billy fired two shots at the fire extinguishers scattered on the ground. In an instant, they were all shrouded in smoke. Anby and Billy took the opportunity to leap away, and along the way, Billy seemed to pick something up from a corner.
By the time the Dullahan dispersed the smoke, Anby and Billy were long gone. But it had no intention of pursuing them. Instead, it quietly returned to the safe and silently stood guard...