The trio from Section 6 made surprisingly smooth progress toward the hollow. Aside from the earlier intelligent machines, they encountered no further trouble.
Soon, the trio and Eous arrived at the Hollow's perimeter. From their vantage point, they could look up and see the spherical Hollow suspended mid-air.
After absorbing and suppressing most Hollow disasters, these unique hollows had shrunk and lowered their altitude, now hovering just above the ground, roughly the size of a house. Consequently, the quarantine zone's perimeter wasn't particularly large.
"So this is the thing... I rarely see a hollow maintained in this state, though."
Harumasa gazed at the hollow hundreds of meters away, murmuring with a hint of wonder.
It wasn't that Harumasa had never seen a hollow of this size before. In the past, hollows always grew from small to large, and those he had seen at this scale had lasted only a fleeting moment. But now, this hollow maintained such a size as its normal state.
"I wonder what peculiar properties this hollow might possess in its current state..."
Tsukishiro Yanagi furrowed his brow slightly, speaking with caution.
"But this hollow belongs to Zane. It was always rather unique. We can't judge it by ordinary standards now."
"Hmm, you're right."
Harumasa nodded in agreement.
"Oh, I'm actually curious—how did you two determine this hollow belongs to Zane?"
Eous darted out from behind Tsukishiro Yanagi, eyeing the hollow ahead with puzzlement and a hint of caution.
"After all, my brother and I heard through some channels that certain factions actually study Hollows extensively. There are even things like artificial Hollows..."
Belle had been feeling an unease since the beginning, and it was growing stronger. That instinct had helped her many times before, and she had reason to suspect that this restricted zone was a trap.
Perhaps this unique Hollow was the bait for the trap?
"Hmm... what you say isn't impossible..."
Tsukishiro Yanagi murmured softly. Just then, Eous tentatively took a step forward.
Due to the Hollow's compression, the surrounding energy concentration was exceptionally high—no less intense than being inside an ordinary hollow. Eous attempted to draw closer to the hollow ahead.
Yet the moment she took another step forward, a leaping blue arc suddenly appeared, followed swiftly by a second, then a third.
"Electric anomaly..."
Belle, controlling Eous, sensed something. Before her words had even finished, dense blue lightning arcs surged forth from the air.
In the blink of an eye, the arcs coalesced mid-air and shot straight toward Eous. The next second, Eous was instantly engulfed in blinding white light.
Two breaths later, the light faded. Eous lay collapsed on the ground, her body trembling slightly, unable to recover for the moment.
Inside the video store, due to the complete sensory synchronization, Belle was also struggling to endure. Seeing her sister's "pitiful state," Wise had no choice but to take her place.
Within the cordoned-off area, Eous struggled to her feet. The lingering aftereffects on her body sent a tingling sensation through Wise.
"Don't approach it carelessly. The area around this hollow is dangerous."
Wise cautioned, and the three others beside him nodded in agreement. They had all witnessed the electric arc and Eous's ordeal.
A sharp crack startled Wise, who had been intently listening to Fairy analyze the hollow's data. He turned to see Belle, now recovered, slapping the table.
"I take back what I said! This hollow definitely belongs to Zane!"
That familiar sensation—no mistake!
Belle gritted her teeth. She almost felt like the hollow possessed its own consciousness. Why else would it discharge electricity the moment it saw her? Especially since she was the one who had guided Eous closer.
That guy loved picking on her, and now his hollow wanted to join in the fun!
Then let's fight!
Once she found Zane, she would challenge him to a fair duel worthy of warriors—to avenge her humiliation!
Wise, seated in his chair, shot Belle a resigned glance, his eyes tinged with sympathy.
Fairy swiftly analyzed the space around the hollow, finding nothing unusual. After relaying this to the three from Section 6, they decided to try again.
Unexpectedly, as they approached the hollow this time, no unexpected incidents occurred. Compared to earlier, the hollow now seemed dormant, utterly still.
"Double standards!"
With a sharp crack, Belle's voice echoed as the video shop's table took another brutal hit.