A faint smile curved at the corner of his lips as Zane lowered his arm, murmuring to himself,
"Good thing I left a mark of my Ether on that special Ethereal being..."
It was the same trick he'd once used on Augilia. Not powerful—just a locator—but right now, it was proving invaluable.
"It should be... that way."
After gauging the direction, Zane quickly moved toward the node. Every point in the void had a corresponding node in normal space. As long as he found one, he could leave. And it wouldn't take much time.
...
"Whew—that was terrifying. I almost got squashed flat like a pancake..."
On the ground, Soukaku patted her small chest in relief. If Chief Miyabi hadn't caught her in time, she'd probably have ended up as a blue pancake.
Even with training, a safe landing was no easy feat...
"Don't relax. Things are even more chaotic now."
Hoshimi Miyabi warned, frowning as her gaze locked on the oppressive Ethereal drifting in the sky.
She didn't believe something that had been overpowering Nineveh could be defeated by just a few of them. And even if it could, certainly not now, when less than half their combat strength remained.
"Sigh... I don't know what just happened..."
Harumasa let out a heavy breath. If the spatial fissure hadn't vanished and the monster Ethereal hadn't moved, their plan might have actually worked.
"Nothing we can do. Accidents happen."
Tsukishiro Yanagi consoled him, then continued,
"What matters now is deciding what to do next."
Even setting safety aside, staying here too long would only lead to corruption. An Ether Affinity constitution might grant higher resistance than normal, but it wasn't immunity to Ether corrosion.
"Hmm... How about we just keep moving in one direction? Before it felt like we were going in circles, but now..."
Soukaku tilted her head in thought, then lifted her cute face to share her idea.
Just as Miyabi was about to respond, a strange fluctuation rippled into existence before her. At that distance, there was no way she could miss it.
Instantly, alarm bells rang in her mind. She swallowed her words and leapt back.
"On guard!"
The Section 6 members swiftly surrounded the point of disturbance, their eyes fixed on it, bracing themselves.
Moments later, a flash of light appeared. A palm-sized crack split open in the air, and a hand reached out, gripping its edge.
Then a second hand followed. The two pulled apart, tearing space open like fabric. Through the gap, Zane's face emerged.
At once, his gaze met Hoshimi Miyabi's—hers frozen in shock, his filled with surprise.
"You? Here?"
"You? Here?"
Their voices overlapped almost perfectly. Zane stepped out of the rift completely, while Miyabi, watching it shrink, hurriedly shouted,
"Wait! Don't let it close!"
But the rift sealed before she finished. Forced open by Zane, it was never going to last long.
Her hand froze midair. Miyabi's expression wavered as she looked at him, unable to find words.
"You all... got trapped here?"
Zane scanned their surroundings, asking curiously. He had come here of his own will. Miyabi wouldn't be so reckless. And even if she were, she wouldn't drag Section 6 with her.
So chances were, they'd been pulled in against their will—and couldn't get out. Which explained her fixation on the rift.
"Yes."
Miyabi gave a small nod. Strictly speaking, this was only her third time meeting Zane, but together, their encounters didn't even add up to an hour. She had no idea how to face him.
The other three, however, had no such reservations. They eyed Zane curiously, Soukaku even bouncing closer.
"Are you the Chief's friend?"
Her eyes lit up. Anyone close to the Chief was someone she trusted without question.
"Not exactly.
I'm your colleague."
Zane chuckled lightly, his tone carrying a teasing edge. Soukaku tilted her head in confusion, but the other two quickly pieced it together—he must be the member Miyabi had secretly recruited.
Soukaku didn't care about the details. Resting her hands against her cheeks, she looked up at him.
"So, are you here to save us?"
At that, Zane glanced toward Miyabi, amusement flickering in his eyes.
Miyabi felt awkward under his gaze and quickly looked away.
"Of course. The Chief is my dearest..."
He recalled that playful conversation with Shin. He'd meant to say "dearest friend," but he'd just denied being friends, so that didn't fit. "Brother" crossed his mind, but that felt even stranger.
"Hmm... A worthy rival. That'll do."
After a long pause, he finally settled on the phrase, sighing at his own lack of eloquence. He used to be so quick-witted.
Belle understood the feeling all too well.
Beside them, Yanagi and Harumasa reacted differently—one startled by the word "dearest," the other immediately picturing a "love-hate" dynamic from the word "rival."
But both, in their own ways, were ready to sit back and watch the drama unfold.
Since Zane had appeared out of nowhere and claimed he was here to rescue them, their immediate danger was gone. Naturally, they relaxed.
Miyabi's face darkened, her gaze turning cold. If this guy couldn't speak properly, he should just keep quiet. Beloved enemy? What nonsense was that?
Soukaku, though, was unfazed—already acting like an old friend as she started complaining.
"Zane, when are we leaving?"
"I'm starving. I don't want to stay here anymore..."
After everything, her stomach had been growling in protest for a while now.
Zane gestured for patience.
"Once I deal with that big guy up there."
He lifted his head to the massive Ethereal looming above. There was no way he'd come all this way for nothing. But he also couldn't waste time.
He still had an appointment with Qingyi that evening. Not agreeing would've been one thing, but agreeing and then breaking it...
"You..."
Miyabi glanced at the monster in the sky, about to warn him. After all, whether they could leave or not depended on Zane now, and she didn't want him risking his life.
But then she remembered who he was—and swallowed her words.
Forget it. The Hollow was the Fire Pickers' territory.
As for whether to fight, Miyabi knew her limits. She hadn't revealed that identity to him yet.
Zane might call himself a Section 6 member, but a "superior" he'd listen to... that was just lip service. Getting him to actually follow orders? Impossible.