This place is actually the core area of the Old Capital?!
The thought struck Tsukishiro Yanagi hard, and she couldn't suppress her shock. If this structure was what she thought it was, then this used to be the very city center of the Old Capital!
Which meant...
This was the place where the Hollow Zero disaster first erupted.
The core area of Hollow Zero!
You've got to be kidding me. We ran straight from the outskirts into the core zone???
Under normal circumstances, Section 6 rarely ventured into even the mid-level zones. When they did, it was only with extreme caution.
The deep levels? They had never gone there at all.
And the core zone... that was a place even the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe couldn't normally access. Completely sealed off.
At that realization, Yanagi's heart sank.
Wait a second—how were they supposed to fight inside the core zone of Hollow Zero?
This matchmaking system is broken!
The others quickly came to the same conclusion. Hoshimi Miyabi's expression hardened. Compared to what they were about to face, their current crisis seemed almost light.
The real danger—the threat of Hollow Zero's core zone—hadn't even revealed itself yet.
That was good, but at the same time, an oppressive weight settled over Miyabi's chest. No one knew when the danger would come.
Maybe never. Maybe in the very next second.
"Hurry!"
Miyabi's sharp command rang out.
She leapt forward, legs coiling with power, and landed firmly atop a flying Ethereal ahead.
They had to move faster.
The others reacted instantly, abandoning caution for speed. Their rapid maneuvers bordered on reckless, each close call only avoided through sheer instinct and teamwork.
Through seamless coordination, they finally drew near to Nineveh and the monstrous Ethereal above.
"Chief, grab me!"
From one of the monster's twisted limbs, Soukaku reached out her hand to Miyabi, who was the last to arrive. The other two steadied the great banner, fending off attacks from nearby Ethereal.
Miyabi cleaved through an incoming ethereal crystal, then used the rotational force of the rotating Ethereal beneath her to vault upward. She caught Soukaku's hand and drove her blade into the crystal, anchoring herself.
With one swift movement, she hauled herself onto the monster's limb. Pulling her blade free, she fixed her gaze on the nearby struggle between Nineveh and the creature.
Even standing on its body, they were still some distance from the true battle.
"This doesn't look like a fight at all..."
Harumasa muttered grimly. Now that they were close enough to see, it became obvious. The monster wasn't trying to kill Nineveh outright—it seemed to have another purpose for her.
That was why the battle resembled nothing so much as a cat toying with a mouse.
"Nineveh's recent Anomaly was already a sign. If we get out of here, we need to report this to the Falkenhayn Mercenary Troupe."
Yanagi nodded firmly. She understood Harumasa's unspoken thoughts—not just from their shared understanding, but because she agreed.
"Mm."
"Let's move."
Miyabi's eyes flashed. She shot forward in an explosive burst, her afterimage fading even as her voice carried.
Soukaku lowered the pitch-black mask over her face. Raising the massive banner, she charged upward. Yanagi and Harumasa moved in perfect sync beside her.
Within moments, the four members of Section 6 had reached the battlefield where Nineveh and the monster clashed.
BOOM!
A blinding beam erupted above Nineveh's head, its piercing force overwhelming. Miyabi was caught in its path but reacted instantly, dodging aside.
The monster beneath her wasn't so fortunate. The beam tore into its body, shards of ethereal crystal scattering like shrapnel.
"Everyone, it doesn't seem to have noticed us yet. Don't do anything reckless. Check the fissure first. If that fails, then look for weak points and attack!"
Yanagi's eyes narrowed. She'd noticed on the way here that the monster hadn't attacked them once. They were too insignificant—ants crawling on an elephant's back.
That was why she proposed it.
"Yanagi's right. Nineveh can hold out. This thing won't bother with us for now. Let's head for the rift!"
Miyabi leveled her blade toward the spatial fissure—the monster's likely core. At first, they'd thought reaching its vicinity would be impossible.
But now, they had a chance.
Section 6 acted swiftly, reaching the fissure in moments. But just as they drew near, the Ethereal monster shuddered violently.
The four steadied themselves—and then, the monster moved.
Countless ether-crystal-coated limbs surged outward from the fissure, almost blocking it entirely. The monster drifted away, abandoning Nineveh without hesitation.
Freed from its grip, Nineveh broke free and fled immediately. As for the members of Section 6, they remained clinging to the monster's Ethereal to avoid falling.
At this altitude, a fall meant certain death.
Soon, the monster had completely torn itself free of the fissure. It writhed in the air like a massive, jet-black octopus, its body streaked with crystalline fissures.
"Chief, what the hell is happening?!"
Soukaku clung desperately to the monster with one hand, grasping its ethereal crystals, while still holding her weapon in the other. Her body dangled precariously.
From a short distance away, Yanagi gawked.
"Soukaku! Why are you still holding onto your weapon?!"
To still have the strength to cling on and hold her weapon under these circumstances... even Yanagi had to admit, her opinion of Soukaku's strength had just gone up.
...
While Section 6 fought desperately to stabilize themselves, Zane was facing trouble of his own.
"So... it's trying to trap me here?"
Zane arched an eyebrow as he surveyed the half-illusory space around him. Five black spheres hovered quietly at his side.
Here, in this void between spaces, the spheres had no way to conceal themselves.
"Getting out won't be simple."
He looked around. The void stretched endlessly in every direction. At first, he'd thought the fissure's "welcome" meant it was preparing for a fight.
Instead, the owner of those blood-red eyes had simply trapped him.
It had severed the monster's body from this void, then withdrawn it quickly, leaving Zane without landmarks or direction.
Still, the enemy had to know this place couldn't hold him forever.
The question was only—how long?
Zane smirked faintly. They'd underestimated him.
He stretched lazily, raising one hand, his expression calm.