Hollow rescue

"Hehe~ My hypocritical idiot brother really doesn't spare a thought for his adorable little sister.

Still, at least I managed to swipe the car. I have to pick carefully today! What kinds of movies should I choose when I get there...?"

Muttering to herself, unable to suppress her smile, Belle drove the family car toward the supplier as she planned her videotape purchases.

But just as Belle finished a series of turns and was about to leave the neighborhood and enter the main road, a panicked pedestrian suddenly ran out in front of her car.

Startled, Belle immediately slammed on the brakes. The car rocked and stopped. Luckily, there was no accident.

The person didn't linger either. After stopping briefly in fright, they continued along with the people running out behind them... fleeing?

Not knowing what was happening, Belle got out to look. Amid the gradually fading clamor and the belated air-raid siren, she saw a black wall sweeping toward her from the direction the people had come, filling her entire field of vision.

Belle instinctively closed her eyes and raised her arms to shield herself. But after a strange sensation passed over her, nothing happened.

She opened her eyes to the same scene. The buildings were still the same buildings, and the car was still the same car. In short, nothing had changed.

Except, of course, for the few Ethereals charging toward Belle on all fours, baring their fangs and flailing their claws.

"Roar-!!!"

"Ethereals!!!"

Realizing her situation, Belle immediately scrambled back into the car, started the engine, and floored the accelerator.

Just as one of the leading Ethereals was about to slash the car with its arm blade, the car shot forward and dodged it.

Belle had barely made the Ethereal eat her exhaust and hadn't even caught her breath when a spatial rift appeared out of thin air in front of the car.

Before she could react, Belle and her car were teleported away. In the blink of an eye, she found herself on an empty floor of a building under construction.

Reacting at the last possible moment, Belle turned the wheel and hit the brakes, stopping just before she struck a load-bearing pillar. After everything that had just happened, it took her quite a while to get her heart rate under control.

"...Phew~ Talk about rotten luck. I was only going out to buy some videotapes. How did I happen to run into this?"

After seeing that no Ethereals had followed her through the spatial rift, Belle slowly relaxed. Keeping an eye on her surroundings, she began considering how to get herself out of this.

Then she spotted two girls up ahead being chased by Ethereals, and stopped thinking so much about it...

A small group of over a dozen Ethereals roamed one floor of an unfinished building. Among them was a higher Ethereal shaped like a flower bud, an "Alraune: Charged."

They had upgraded during this Hollow outbreak, the green on their bodies turning into a more dangerous pink, and their strength had increased greatly as well.

Even so, they were no match for the uninvited guests who came next.

Within some of the Ethereals' sight, two black figures emerged from a wall with an open spatial rift.

Or rather, two Iron Guards stepped in from outside the Hollow.

Before the Ethereals could react, the two Iron Guards struck first with their higher stats and faster reactions.

Quickly crossing four meters, they shattered two Ethereals' cores with a knife-hand strike and a Superman punch, making them dissipate on the spot.

The Alraune reacted first. Its bud-shaped body abruptly ejected well over a dozen masses of highly concentrated Ether matter toward the two Iron Guards.

The Iron Guards swiftly raised their hands, conjuring translucent protective shields. The Ether matter burst against them like water droplets hitting stone, causing no corruption.

One Iron Guard who had just blocked the attack swung his hand into an Ethereal's blade, sparks flying between his mechanical arm and the weapon.

Exerting his strength, the Iron Guard flung aside the blade pressing against his hand and lowered his body. Turning his other hand into a knife-hand, he drove it straight into the Ethereal's shoulder on the side with the arm.

A twist of his hand inside tore off its blade arm. Then he grabbed its core, swung the entire Ethereal in a circle through the air, and hurled it into two others lunging at him, sending them flying.

The other Iron Guard was in much the same situation. Swinging a limbless Ethereal like a club, he knocked several approaching Ethereals flying with heavy clangs, batting away the Ether matter spat at him along the way.

They were being surrounded by the Ethereals, but the two of them were merely the vanguard scouting the way.

After they transmitted the situation to their teammates outside using special technology, more than a dozen Iron Guards swarmed in and plunged into the Ethereals.

Each machine instantly killed one ordinary Ethereal, then the Iron Guards immediately attacked the Alraune left alone among them.

After a rapid series of little stomps, the Alraune crouched and sprayed pollen-like Ether matter over a two-meter radius around itself, halting the Iron Guards' offensive.

Then it furiously spat dangerous Ether matter at the Iron Guards, but its attacks were immediately blasted apart in midair by dense, arcing electric rays covering all 360 degrees without a blind spot, which then struck the Alraune.

However, the Alraune had high electrical resistance and was immune to most of the paralysis, though it was still hardly in good shape. Its mobility remained restricted.

While it was suppressed, five Iron Guards transformed the hand cannons on both arms back into hands.

They leaped with all their strength, their feet transforming into thrusters in midair to propel them above the Alraune's head, then plunged down at it.

Caught off guard, the Alraune was instantly slammed to the ground by the Iron Guards descending from above, kicking up a thin cloud of smoke. Its limbs were pinned down hard, the floating stones on its body were pressed against its bud, and the bud itself was tightly restrained by the Iron Guards, unable to open.

It was now like a pig pinned to a table in a village, held firmly down by the Iron Guards.

The other Iron Guards, now free, relaxed and turned to take up standby sentry positions at various key concealed spots on the floor.

But one Iron Guard remained behind. He approached the restrained Alraune and took an attacking stance.

With the cooperation of the Iron Guards holding it down, the Alraune's bud was forced to face him.

The instant the bud was pried open, the Iron Guard who had long since taken his stance struck swiftly, piercing its core with his iron palm before it could spray Ether.

After struggling for a few seconds, the Alraune disintegrated and vanished.

Only after confirming that there was no danger nearby did the remaining personnel outside enter the Hollow.

First, two Iron Guards stepped through and stood with their feet apart. Then a Bangboo emerged between them, followed by several Iron Guards carrying search-and-rescue supplies.

Eous (Wise): "Honestly, this is my first time entering a Hollow openly in front of Public Security officers."

"Sir, there's no need for concern. We've already reported our operation to Public Security. It's legal and compliant, and our entry and exit permits are valid throughout today."

The Iron Guard beside Eous spoke.

Eous (Wise): "I'm still not quite used to having this many people along. But Belle's still in danger. We can't delay... Fairy, get to work."

Fairy: "Yes, Master. We have reached the target companion Hollow. Beginning search... Several life signs matched within this area.

Transmitting location information to 'Iron Guard'... Several rescue plans recommended by 'Iron Guard' received. Reviewing and calculating...

Review complete. The optimal rescue plan has been selected for you, Master. Please review it."

Inside the video store, Wise sat at the computer desk, his expression grave as he watched the array of computers before him, their data constantly flickering.

He murmured to himself:

"Please be okay..."