"According to her, it should be just ahead."
Hoshimi Miyabi looked up into the distance, toward the very center of the sandstorm—the "heart" of this peculiar tempest. She could even faintly discern, with her own eyes, the faint glimmers of elemental energy flickering within the storm's eye.
According to Shin, the primary elemental energy within that core was wind energy…
This was something beyond the scope of human understanding. Something the world itself had chosen to reveal.
Hoshimi Miyabi's thoughts settled. Beside her, the sand was piling up fast—within moments, it had already swallowed her ankles. She lifted her leg, pulled her shoe free, and stepped forward again.
The gale battered her relentlessly, her black cloak whipping violently in the wind. The barrier formed by the Hollow's energy merely lessened the external pressure; it couldn't block it completely.
This Hollow was none other than the one Shin had obtained earlier from the sealed zone—a relic left behind by Zane.
The eye of the storm and Hoshimi Miyabi advanced toward one another, the distance between them shrinking rapidly. Before long, she could barely move forward, the crushing wind pressure pressing down on her like a thousand-pound weight.
Her long hair flew wildly, her tall ears bent slightly in the gale. Yet her expression remained steady as she lifted her gaze toward the heart of the storm.
Then, raising her hand, she reached toward the Hollow hovering above. The Hollow drifted downward slightly, floating gently into her palm.
Holding it close, Hoshimi Miyabi drew her blade with her other hand. Ever since Shin had entrusted this Hollow to her, she had been able to exert considerable influence over it—as if it were her own spirit.
She could no longer see it as a lifeless, inert object.
The Hollow lifted from her hand and hovered before the blade.
Clang—
The instant the blade left its sheath, Hoshimi Miyabi's eyes sharpened. Radiant light burst from the blade's surface, and as it slid free, the Hollow released torrents of energy that surged into the steel.
By the time the blade was fully drawn, the air around her had shifted dramatically. The pressure of overflowing energy collided with the raging wind outside, locked in a fierce struggle.
The Hollow's barrier had already vanished, replaced by a clear, violent boundary where energy and storm clashed head-on.
Amid the roaring tempest, Hoshimi Miyabi's figure seemed impossibly small. The Hollow's chaotic energy churned before her, blurring even her outline.
Slowly, she raised her arm.
The blade lifted—then came crashing down.
In the next moment, a blinding arc of light erupted. A massive blade aura shot skyward, its overwhelming power surging forth in an instant, striking directly toward the storm's eye.
The strike was spectacular. Had it been unleashed within a Hollow, it could have forcibly suppressed even a large one—nothing could withstand its razor-edged brilliance.
But before the raw might of nature, even such power was insignificant.
Still, her strike landed true, cutting directly into the storm's eye—the nexus where countless strands of elemental energy had converged to form the tempest.
The instant it struck, the eye shattered. Energy scattered into chaos, and the storm began collapsing from within.
Of course, stopping the storm wouldn't be so easy. The energy hadn't vanished—it was only a matter of time before the eye reformed. For the tempest itself, this was nothing more than a brief disruption.
But that disruption was all Hoshimi Miyabi needed.
"Go. This belongs to you."
She lifted the Hollow once more. It hesitated only for an instant before shooting toward the storm's core, rapidly expanding as it devoured the boundless natural energy swirling around it.
"So this is the final step, huh? Let's see the next coordinates… I wonder when the second Hollow will make its way to me."
The winds around the eye had nearly died down. Standing upon the sand, Hoshimi Miyabi activated the device on her wrist.
Moments later, she lowered her arm. The Hollow had completely subdued the storm's core, and the tempest itself was dissolving little by little.
She turned toward another direction, recalling that there had been quite a few people in that area on her way here.
"At this timing—and with that particular presence—it must be something planned by Zane's enemies."
"I'll check it out later on my way back. I'll ask Shin what's going on."
...
While turmoil brewed outside New Eridu, Wise and Belle were equally busy within the city.
With Fairy and Shin's assistance, the two had already begun dual operations. Even No. 6, who had been slacking off at the video store, had been pulled onto the front lines.
The first Hollow target was handled by Koleda and her team, while Wise led No. 6 in action. The second Hollow target was assigned to Victoria Housekeeping, with Belle and Eous taking charge.
The remaining two had yet to begin—delegated to the Cunning Hares and the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team.
Team Soldier 11 stood ready to provide support wherever it was needed.