Later
"Here we are..." Caelus mutters as he walks out of the Canvas Street Metro Station while holding Slyboo. "Let's hope I ain't too late..."
Caelus glances forward, and he can clearly see the Dead End Hollow consuming part of the city. He glances around and notices a crowd of reporters moving around, making sure to record everything nearby.
"No matter in any universe, those vultures are always annoying," Caelus says in annoyance before making sure he didn't look suspicious, blending into the crowd. After a few minutes of avoiding Public Security, Caelus manages to find an alleyway that leads to the Hollow.
"Alright, buddy. I'm counting on you," Caelus says as he puts down Slyboo to the ground.
"Ehn-na! (I'm gonna ask for one more item later!)" Slyboo exclaims.
"Yeah, yeah, you little raccoon. Now, get moving. Lives are at stake." Caelus says as they both enter the Hollow. Unknown to them, another group of people also walks through the same path as them.
Upon walking through the Hollow, Caelus grunts as he feels some sort of force holding them back. It was a surprising moment for him since there had never been such a case before.
As they enter, Caelus notices how loud it is. Glancing around, he saw Ethereals charging at him like a horde of zombies, desperately trying to get a bite on him.
"...if it wasn't for the stakes, I would not like to go back to this blasted place," Caelus says before attempting to summon his weapon from his system. He pauses a bit before glancing at his choice, the baseball bat, and the sealed Architect's Lance.
'...Let's not experiment here,' Caelus decided to go for the baseball bat and charged it with the Destruction Path's Energy.
It was a massacre.
Every Ethereal that manages to get close instantly is obliterated by the power granted by Nanook himself. Caelus blinks when he notices how every swing he does causes more destructive damage than before, and the level he reached previously didn't leave this much destruction.
Out of concern, Caelus decided to check on his status, and upon looking into it, he widened his eyes in surprise.
[Destruction (LVL 10 | Eidolon: 1/6): 12/1100] (+100 PE)
[E1: Grants the user much destructive power and the ability to imbue Destruction Energy, which can be used on organic beings]
[Reach E6 to get the chance to be an Emanator]
'....WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!??!' Caelus thought frantically, unable to process what he just witnessed. When did the Eidolon system exist? How did he even get one!?! And how did his level increase dramatically!!? And the chance to be an Emanator!?!
...he really needs to stop neglecting his System, or else he would miss a lot of things.
[Huhu, my user really is the worst]
'...great, even the System teases me,' Caelus thought before shaking his head. As he kills more Ethereals on the way, his mind wanders about how he even gained a boost in strength. He then recalls one of his dreams during his first night in this world.
'...wait, that's Nanook...and he gazes on me? Welp, I'm screwed...' Caelus deadpans before continuing to kill more Ethereals on the path. '...why are there so many Ethereals here!?!'
"Nah! (There are too many of them!)" Slyboo exclaims fearfully.
"I can see that, buddy," Caelus grimaces before he gets slashed and punched by the Ethereals. But thanks to him getting close to unlocking Preservation, it only leaves a minor wound. It did get Caelus's reaction as he glared at them in annoyance before touching their cores and igniting them.
[Preservation (LVL 0): 730/1000]
"Ow, ow..." Caelus winces as his hands get burned. "One of the reasons I don't like this path. The Destruction includes any kind of destruction, including self-destruction. Phainon himself has proven that..."
Caelus glances at his hands before switching his baseball bat into his lance. He glances at the lance. It resembles the one used by the original Caelus, but unlike his, the lance doesn't glow red and appears to be covered in snow.
'The early cutscene version...' Caelus thought before taking a stance, pointing his lance at the horde of the Ethereals. 'Let's hope this makes things easier....but based on my luck, probably not.'
With that, he charges right through the horde of Ethereals.
"E-Ehn-nu!!! (W-wait for me!!!)" Slyboo exclaims as he chases after Caelus, his stubby legs making things harder for the poor little guy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile
"The Dead End Hollow, it seems more empty than I expected," Anby mutters as she cautiously glances around while Billy does the same, albeit a bit more exaggerated.
"You sure it's inside the Hollow? I heard this place is dangerous thanks to one Ethereal living in it," Nicole frowns as she rubs her chin before looking at the person next to her, a girl Thiren with tanned skin, black hair, a pair of black cat ears, and a tail, wearing an outfit with Japanese-inspired design and a pair of short knives on the back of her waist.
"I'm very much sure, meow." The girl responds.
"...how did your family heirloom get into the Hollow in the first place?" Nicole asks with narrowed eyes.
"I...was being careless," The girl says with a sheepish expression.
"...it'll better be worth the money," Nicole grumbles as she grips her suitcase.
"We'd better hurry up, it seems something has happened that made more Public Security come to this particular Hollow," Anby says seriously as everyone nods.
"But, what exactly is the reason behind the increased security?" Billy asks in confusion.
"I heard that Vision Corporation is moving explosively through the Metro rails in the Hollow," Nicole muses. "Maybe because of that?"
"Vision..." The cat Thiren ponders as Anby looks forward and slightly widens her eyes in surprise before she stops in her tracks. Everyone notices this, and they are confused by her reaction.
"Hey, Anby, what's wrong?" Nicole asks while raising her eyebrow.
"...someone had taken care of the Ethereals," Anby says as she points at the trail filled with piles of disintegrating Ethereals.
"...please tell me it's not Miyabi," Nicole can't help but whimpers.
"Boss, Miyabi uses a katana, but these Ethereals look like someone tosses bombs right at them," Billy says. "Kinda reminds me of a certain someone..."
"..." Anby glances at the trail silently as she ends up remembering the moment they all encountered Caelus. He's the only explosive user Hollow Raider they had encountered, and the explosions leave trails similar to this one. Did he visit the Dead End Hollow like them? Why is he even here?
The coincidence of the cat Thiren commissioning Caelus before them is very low, but it's not 0. But, it can't be since she wouldn't be accompanied by their team. And judging from her expression, she doesn't seem to know.
"Hey, Nekomiya," Nicole calls, getting the cat Thiren's attention. "Did you happen to contact anyone besides us?"
"No," The cat Thiren, Nekomiya, shakes her head, seemingly as confused as they.
"What about posting the commission in an Inter-Knot?" Nicole asks.
"Nope," The girl shakes her head again.
"...you sure?" Nicole says as she side-eyes her. "You could post it by accident..."
"...or maybe whoever's here has nothing to do with me?" Nekomiya suggests.
"...maybe they're targeting the bomb?" Billy suggests as well, causing everyone to pause.
"...let's just find this heirloom and get out of here as fast as we can," Nicole says, which no one objects to as they move deeper into the Hollow. As they walk, more and more Ethereals pile near their path, and they all grow more anxious while reluctantly pushing each corpse to find the heirloom.
As they walk, they are greeted with a sight of Caelus taking a breath while holding a giant lance covered in snow, while Slyboo stands next to him, and they are surrounded by piles of disintegrating Ethereal corpses. The sight alone made them stare in shock and disbelief, wondering how this man could kill all those Ethereals.
"C-Caelus..." Anby mutters, her voice has a hint of shock. This caught Caelus's attention as he turned around and widened his eyes.
"H-huh...what a coincidence," Caelus mutters in surprise before pulling out the lance and walking towards them. Nekomiya widened her eyes and took a step back in fear. "What are you guys doing here? And who's that? Finally, find a new member? Does that mean you'll stop bugging me about joining you guys?"
Hearing Caelus's words made Nekomiya squint in disgust. There's no way she'll join the Cunning Hare out of free will! The reason she's with them is to lure them to their death as her revenge, specifically turning them into a meat shield for the deadly Ethereal living in here, the Dead End Butcher.
"No way! You're the top of my most wanted employees!" Nicole exclaims with determination, earning a sigh of exasperation from Caelus. Both Anby and Billy could only give him an apologetic look.
"Is there a reason you're here, Caelus?" Anby asks as Caelus nods.
"It's involving the Vision Corporation." This made the Cunning Hares and Nekomiya look at Billy in surprise, which slightly flustered the robot and confused Caelus.
"Does it have to do with the explosive?" Anby turns to face Caelus, who is slightly surprised.
"Yes," Once again, they stare at Billy in disbelief. "Okay, why are you staring at Billy?"
"...if I knew, I would have made a bet," Billy mutters. "I could use some extra cash for gun oils."
"Too bad I ain't betting anyone, the thought of the possibility of losing more dennies is horrifying..." Nicole exclaims while shuddering in fear, causing Billy and Nekomiya to sweatdrop.
"Billy somehow accurately predicts that you, who had left a trail of Ethereal corpses, are targeting Vision Corporation's explosive. Which is...impossible since Billy never accurately guessed correctly." Anby says.
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean!?!" Billy exclaims in disbelief.
"I'm...not exactly targeting the explosive," Caelus sweatdrops. "I'm actually here for possible casualties, and trying to prevent it."
"What do you mean?" Anby asks in surprise, and his words seem to catch their attention. Caelus starts to explain regarding the weirdness about the Vision Corporation, its reduced cost in demolition, and the lack of news regarding the evacuations.
"...so, you're here to check if your suspicions are correct?" Nicole asks slowly, looking like she had swallowed a bitter pill. She may be greedy and a complete cheapskate when involving Dennies, but she wasn't evil.
"I hope I'm wrong, but the signs are there," Caelus says with a frown. "It's better to be safe than sorry."
"...then, let me come with you," Nicole says, surprising everyone, as they didn't expect her to say that. "Hey! Why are you all surprised?"
"Can you blame us, boss? You never got involved with anything unless it's about Dennies," Billy calls her out.
"Why you-!" Nicole angrily swings her case right at Billy before continuously stomping on him.
"..." Caelus can't help but smile in amusement as he watches the scene.
"It seems that I will go as well," Anby says, getting Caelus's attention.
"...extra hands would be appreciated," Caelus says before placing the lance on his shoulder.
"...may I ask who made that lance?" Anby asks curiously.
"Trade secrets."
"...may I borrow it?"
"...why? You already have your sword,"
"..."
To be Continued