"Thank goodness you're awake. I was about to call an ambulance. You fainted and didn't come to until just now. Luckily, I'd only stepped out for a bit..."
Belle let out a breath of relief as she spoke, her gaze naturally shifting toward the monitor in front of her.
Moments ago, the screen had been nothing but a mess of flickering static, but it had returned to normal the instant Wise woke up. When she saw the scene displayed on it, Belle's expression suddenly darkened.
Something's not right! Section 6 is in combat with the Defense Force in the lockdown zone! They need our support now more than ever!
Beside her, Wise was still dazed, his mind foggy after just waking up. He pressed a hand to his head, trying to recall what had happened.
What... exactly went on?
"I think... I only remember that not long after you left, Belle, I saw something inside the hollow through Eous. It was like..."
Seeing his confusion, Belle took over Wise's position, sat down in the chair, and began coordinating Section 6's retreat while speaking to him.
"Brother, if that's the case, you've been unconscious for quite some time."
"When I got here, the screen was already pitch-black, and your connection with Eous was barely holding on."
"But by the time you started to wake up, I hadn't even done anything yet—you just came to on your own."
Belle's expression turned sharp. Through her shared vision with Eous, she could see clearly that Section 6's situation was critical.
"Yanagi, move left! The defenses are thinner that way—and there's an exit nearby!"
Inside the lockdown zone, Tsukishiro Yanagi led the group at a sprint, her face tense. Soukaku clutched Eous—who had just come back online—in her arms.
"Ah! Bangboo's awake!!!"
Soukaku, still running on her short legs, froze when Belle's voice came through Eous. Surprise flickered across her face, quickly giving way to excitement.
"Proxy? Are things stable on your end again?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi caught her words and glanced back at Eous. Following Belle's directions, she adjusted their route while calling out.
They had been on edge before—so much that they'd withdrawn in a rush, accidentally exposing their trail in the process. When Eous first entered the hollow, they had been keeping watch outside. But ten minutes later, Eous had been spat out violently, landing not far from them.
No one knew what had happened inside. With Eous powered down and communication with the Proxy severed, they had no choice but to retreat.
Now that the link with the Proxy was restored, Tsukishiro Yanagi immediately asked about what Eous had gone through in the hollow.
But Belle, who had just reestablished the connection, knew nothing either.
After explaining that Wise had only just regained consciousness and couldn't recall anything, Belle refocused on guiding the three to shake off their pursuers and escape the lockdown zone through a breach.
In this situation, Phaethon's AI asset was proving far more reliable than Section 6's own systems—at least for now.
Even outside the hollow, Belle remained the commander.