"What's going on? Have these people gone mad?" Zhu Yuan wondered, looking at the Peacekeepers who had fled the station, all looking as if they'd seen a ghost.
"They seem to have been frightened," Lycaon said, examining them. "But what could have scared them this badly?" It was absurd. These were highly trained combat personnel.
"Brother is still in there! Do you think something happened to him?" Belle fretted.
"Ouch~!"
Just as she was about to rush in, Anby appeared and gave her a light chop on the head. "Calm down, Belle. A little thing like this won't hurt Mo Wang."
"But..."
"It's fine," she said, her voice filled with an unshakable confidence. "Knowing him, he's probably the one who caused all this."
"Yeah, Big Brother-in-law is super strong. I remember that time at the base..." Cui Ji chimed in, but Number 11 quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Wait! I was just about to ask, who is this girl who looks just like Anby-chan? And did she just say 'Big Brother-in-law'?" Astra, the number one contender for the position of main heroine, was not about to let this slide.
"Anby, I think you owe us an explanation." Even Nicole was giving her former star employee a suspicious look.
"Hmph! A bunch of delusional old women! Our captain has already—"
"Oof~!" This time, it was Anby who delivered the knockout blow, and Cui Ji slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"Sorry, I think Cui Ji ate something bad yesterday. She's been talking nonsense," she said, retracting her fist.
But this did little to quell the curiosity of the other girls. They surrounded Anby and Belle, demanding answers.
"Ahem, ladies, I know you're anxious, but aren't we supposed to be rescuing the Proxy?" Lycaon, ever the voice of reason, interjected.
"Right, right, let's all calm down," Ben, the second most reliable man in New Eridu, added.
The girls exchanged glances, a silent promise of a future, epic showdown passing between them. Then, with trepidation in their hearts, they entered the station.
The sight that greeted them was a bizarre, desolate wasteland straight out of a horror movie.
"Wh-what is this place?" Zhu Yuan stepped out of the station and then back in, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
"Is this a Hollow? No, the Ether readings aren't elevated. So, is it an illusion?" Lycaon wondered, but the stench in the air was so strong that he... passed out.
"Lycaon! Lycaon, what's wrong?! Wake up!" Belle cried, shaking him.
"He... he fainted from the smell," Rina said, as her puppet lifted the poor dog-man.
Of course. With his enhanced sense of smell, this place was pure torture.
"No! Lycaon!"
And so, before the mission had even truly begun, their most reliable member was out of commission.
"Alright, let's do this... for Lycaon," Ellen said with a heavy heart.
"But... how are we supposed to find the Proxy in a place this big?" Koleda asked.
"Well, even if this is a special space, it can't be much bigger than the station itself. He must be nearby," Grace suggested.
"Poke~ poke~"
"Who is it? Don't touch me, I'm thinking," Belle said, annoyed.
Poke~ poke~
The finger poked her again, this time with the sound of rattling bones. She spun around, only to see her friends staring at something behind her, their faces pale.
Slowly, she turned her head. A skeleton in a tattered uniform was tilting its head at her, blue flames dancing in its empty eye sockets.
"EEEEEEKKK!!!"
"Don't hide behind me! My legs are jelly!" Nicole shrieked.
The skeleton raised a bony hand in a "stop" gesture, and then pointed deeper into the fog.
"Is it... telling us to follow it?" Grace stammered.
The skeleton nodded, and then pulled out Mo Wang's phone and typed a message.
"You mean... Brother sent you?"
It nodded again.
"And you're... his subordinate?"
Another nod.
They all looked at each other, bewildered. Since when did Mo Wang become a necromancer?
They followed the skeleton through the fog, past bubbling swamps and grotesque demons, until they heard the sounds of battle.
"It must be Mo Wang!" Anby said.
They rushed forward, only to see Bringer, now transformed into a grotesque Ethereal, radiating a terrifying amount of Ether energy.
"Wh-what is that monster?!"
But before they could react, Mo Wang appeared out of nowhere and slammed his fist into Bringer's face, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Dodge! Why don't you dodge now?!" he roared, and then proceeded to stomp on Bringer's face.
"Huh? Belle, what are you guys doing here?" he asked, suddenly noticing them.
"Brother? What are you doing?" Belle said, covering her face. They had come to rescue him, but it seemed the one who needed rescuing was someone else entirely.