[Gah!]
The Black Sacrifice let out a shrieking cry as a colossal fireball coalesced between its palms, containing an immense surge of ether active reaction. Aiming directly at Phaga's back, it brought both palms together and slammed them down.
Boom!
Mid-air, above Cinder Lake, the accumulated power erupted in a split second.
The explosive shockwave violently scattered the dust and smoke across the surface. Even the clouds were not spared—like stones plunging into water, the cloud layers were pushed back one after another like rippling waves. The azure sky was cleansed, half the heavens dyed a deep crimson by Cinder Lake.
Is he dead?
The Black Sacrifice flapped its wings, its gaze locked tightly on the Cinder Lake below. It clearly sensed that Phaga had been smashed into the lake by the combined force of its palms, his fate now uncertain.
But looking down at the surging lava, even hovering hundreds of meters in the air, the Black Sacrifice could feel the heat scorching its body. The thought of falling directly into that magma made its scalp prickle.
So… he should be dead, right?
The crimson glow in its eyes faded, replaced by dense streams of precise data. It began calculating Phaga's survival probability after the fall, intending to decide its next move based on the results.
It was calculating too intently to notice the disturbance brewing within Cinder Lake.
Only when a needle-like glint flashed before its eyes did it snap back to reality.
But it was already too late.
Razor-sharp spikes—bundles of filament honed from ether crystals—shot upward at terrifying speed. In mere seconds, they burst forth from the depths of Cinder Lake, exploiting the moment when the Black Sacrifice's guard was down while processing data.
They pierced straight through its abdomen.
[Gah… gah!]
The Black Sacrifice lowered its head. The face nearly identical to Phaga's was frozen in shock. Gritting its teeth, it grabbed the spike embedded in its abdomen, about to tear it free.
In that same instant, several more spikes surged up from the lake's depths, each striking its body with uncanny precision.
Soon, multiple spikes flared with firelight. Dark crimson Nether Flames erupted across the Black Sacrifice's surface, greedy tongues of flame licking at its ether. Every second its power source burned was pure agony.
[Gah, gah—roar!]
The Black Sacrifice roared in fury, shredding its throat as it prepared to mobilize all of its ether to forcibly extinguish the Nether Flames—despite the enormous energy cost.
But that didn't matter.
As a Sacrifice that inherited Black Phaga's combat data, it had plenty of ways to recover.
As long as Phaga gave it the chance—
Boom!
A massive fireball suddenly burst through the rolling magma, rocketing skyward from the depths of Cinder Lake.
It soared hundreds of meters before finally stopping, then exploded like fireworks. Ether fragments splattered with molten lava scattered in all directions, many striking the Black Sacrifice.
It hurriedly raised its arms to block—but in the next instant, it felt its entire body go light.
Its neck was seized in a crushing grip. Its wings refused to respond. It was completely restrained.
What… is going on?
Suppressing its confusion, the Black Sacrifice forced its eyes open despite the searing pain in its neck.
Phaga was right in front of it.
His butler's uniform was riddled with holes burned by molten lava. Even the intact parts were scorched black and crumpled, devoid of any trace of elegance or refinement.
Snap. Snap.
Phaga's grip tightened relentlessly, sharp cracking sounds ringing out in rapid succession.
"You're impressive. If I hadn't reacted fast enough to shield myself with ether crystals, I might not have crawled out of the magma."
"But as a replica of my replica… could you crawl out of magma?"
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Phaga's mouth as a peculiar thought crossed his mind.
"Then let's test it. Let's see if modern technology can withstand magma's heat."
As he spoke, Phaga's wings suddenly extended. With brutal force, he tore off the Black Sacrifice's wings at the roots.
Then Phaga folded his own wings, plummeting downward at breakneck speed while dragging the Sacrifice with him.
[Gah! Gah gah!]
As if sensing its impending death, the Black Sacrifice struggled frantically, trying to break free.
But escape was impossible. The ether crystal spikes Phaga had launched earlier were still embedded in its body, making it nearly impossible to even redistribute its strength.
Phaga closed his eyes, listening to the wind rushing past his ears. He felt the temperature grow ever hotter, his body gradually heating under the boiling air.
At the instant their free-fall speed reached its limit, Phaga suddenly opened his eyes.
The hand locking the Black Sacrifice's arm bulged with veins. Grabbing its neck, he violently hurled it downward.
The Black Sacrifice became a meteor, launched at several times missile speed, slamming into the magma with a deafening crack. Fine fractures spread across its entire body.
High above, Phaga murmured,
"If I remember correctly, magma is a non-Newtonian fluid. Falling into it hurts."
It really did hurt. The Sacrifice's surface defenses had cracked—something that would be difficult to achieve even on concrete.
"If the exterior were intact, magma might not kill you. But with the shell broken, the internal circuits won't survive that heat."
Phaga muttered, convinced it was finished.
After a moment's thought, he still raised his right hand.
In an instant, veins along his arm burst one after another. Blood sprayed out like fountains, gathering precisely in his palm.
It grew larger and larger, until it towered over Phaga himself.
"Just to be safe—dead or not—one more hit."
Phaga's eyes sharpened. He flipped his wrist and slammed the massive blood sphere downward.
[Blazing Sacrifice]!
Boom!
Flames surged skyward. The Cinder Lake, which had only just calmed, was forcibly roused again, spewing a thick, molten blast toward the heavens.
Pfft!
Searing heat waves spread instantly, staining the sky a hellish crimson.
Phaga tilted his head to avoid the sparks erupting from the lake, then looked down to identify the SUV's escape direction.
Suddenly, his eyes flashed.
With a powerful beat of his wings, he shot off into the distance.
...
"Phaga!"
As the shockwave passed, Ellen lowered the arm shielding her eyes. Enduring the steadily rising heat, she strained to look toward the explosion at Cinder Lake.
Good news: the spreading shockwave had swept away the falling fire rain, and the remaining meteors were still suspended in the sky. By the time they fell, the SUV would be long gone.
Bad news: the area around Cinder Lake was completely obscured.
The shockwave that had briefly cleared the smoke quickly stirred up even thicker clouds. Dense black smoke engulfed the entire perimeter of the lake.
Like a writhing mountain, the smoke churned endlessly, rolling outward with crushing force.
Shaken by the earlier explosion, Lucy staggered, climbing over Corin's body. Bracing herself with a hand on Corin's shoulder, she leaned out the window and stared toward the distant lake.
This…
The towering black smoke reaching the sky, the faintly visible molten lava within—
The once-peaceful Cinder Lake was now so horrifying that Lucy instinctively held her breath, her face turning deathly pale in an instant.
Cinder Lake… the Old Oil Field… everyone—
No. That's not it.
Now isn't the time to think about that.
Lucy pulled her head back and glanced down at Corin beneath her.
Corin tilted her head in confusion, her soft voice trailing off.
"Lucy, little… Ah! Miss Lucy, what's wrong?!"
Lucy suddenly lowered her head and embraced Corin, pressing her delicate face against Corin's meager breasts and rubbing against them like a kitten. Her warm breath spread upward against Corin's clothing, brushing against the tender pink skin at her neck.
Instantly, Corin felt a tingling sensation spread throughout her body, her eyes filling with terror.
"Th-that… Miss Lucy, please don't…"
Perhaps overcome by shyness, Corin's eyes glistened. Her usually strong, saw-wielding arms now felt soft and limp as she pushed Lucy away with feeble resistance. Piper, watching through the rearview mirror, mistook her actions for playful coaxing.
Suddenly, Piper seemed to catch Corin's gaze and quickly averted her eyes from the rearview mirror, pretending to focus intently on driving.
After a moment of internal struggle, Piper still urged,
"Lucy, can we talk about this stuff later? It's dangerous right now! And isn't this a bit rude?"
"What's the big deal? We're both girls!"
For a moment, Lucy channeled Caesar, her thoughts spilling out unfiltered.
She pulled her head away from Corin's cleavage, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"But at least my emotions have stabilized. The scene by the Cinder Lake nearly scared the life out of me… Hey, Burnice, how are you and Ellen doing up on the roof?"
Lucy suddenly realized there hadn't been any movement on the roof for a while and couldn't help but feel concerned.
"Ah, Lucy, I'm fine. But Baby Shark's mood is very unstable. I feel like she's hesitating. If she has a moment of recklessness, Ellen might jump off the car into Cinder Lake."
"But I've found a way to temporarily stabilize her. No need to worry for now."
Hearing Lucy's question, Burnice suddenly swung down upside-down, her twin ponytails dangling playfully as her clever little head appeared at the window.
Burnice suddenly darted out from the window, startling Corin.
Lucy, however, was long accustomed to Burnice's impulsiveness. She gently rubbed Corin's head to soothe her while turning to Burnice with a slight frown.
"What do you mean 'Baby Shark'? And how did you stabilize her? Hmph, never mind… Anyway, if you have a way, keep blocking Ellen. The battlefield at Phaga is too dangerous—it's absolutely not somewhere someone who can't fly should get involved!"
"Though I don't think even someone who can fly could really intervene… But I'll try my best to talk her out of it!"
Leaving that faint remark, Burnice flipped back over.
Just as she turned around, she met Ellen's icy stare head-on.
Ellen extended her hand, pushing the two flamethrowers forward.
"Here. Your flamethrowers. Take them back."
"No way, Baby Shark! If you give them back, you'll be free to leave without a care."
Burnice blinked, her expression utterly serious.
"Judging by your uniform, Baby Shark, you must be from some housekeeping service, right? [Reasonable customer requests must be honored]. That's the company policy, isn't it? You don't want me running all the way downtown to complain about you, do you?!"
Burnice's eyes gleamed as a faint smile touched her pretty face. She leaned sideways toward Ellen, getting closer and closer—
SMACK!
Ellen closed her eyes in exasperation, her right hand pushing Burnice's increasingly close cheek away with a sharp smack.
"I said…"
After a moment, Ellen finally opened her eyes. When her gaze landed on Burnice, her face was filled with resignation.
"Aren't you being a bit too forward? We've only just escaped danger—lava could rain down from the sky at any moment—and you show zero sense of urgency?"
"Oh, come on! Where there's a will, there's a way! Besides, my infallible intuition has already measured it—those meteorites won't hit us!"
Burnice stubbornly resisted Ellen's shoving, stretching out her hands and inching them closer to Ellen's tail, her breathing growing heavy.
"Hehehe, compared to that, Baby Shark, how about letting me touch your tail? Just once! I've never touched one before—I really want to know what a Shark-Thiren's tail feels like!"
"What's there to feel? If you like touching tails, go find a Cat-Thiren or a Fox-Thiren… Stay away from me, or I'll beat you up!"
Faced with Burnice's relentless advances, Ellen's patience was nearing its limit.
If this continued, Ellen might really snap.
Hearing this, Burnice realized Ellen was genuinely angry. She immediately looked pitiful, her two delicate index fingers dangling in front of her bread-sized chest as she poked them together miserably.
"But the tail I've been dreaming about is right in front of me… Baby Shark, you keep teasing me with empty promises. I can't even get a taste…"
Seeing her pitiful expression, Ellen felt a headache coming on.
But letting Burnice continue like this wasn't a solution either. There was still a long road ahead, and who knew when Burnice might suddenly pounce and grab her tail when she wasn't looking.
After thinking for a long while, Ellen suddenly leaned down and glanced beneath the SUV—catching sight of a tuft of fur.
Instantly, an idea formed.
Smack!
A light slap landed on Burnice's shoulder. Burnice looked up blankly, her vision a little unfocused as she tried to make out Ellen's face.
Ellen raised a thumb, leaned closer, and spoke with utter seriousness.
"I know a Wolf-Thiren. You can touch his tail. Don't worry—it's not an empty promise. Once we're out of the Hollow, you'll definitely get to touch it."
"Not getting it now and just looking forward to the future—if that's not an empty promise, what is…"
Burnice pouted as she gazed into Ellen's seemingly sincere eyes.
Ellen's mouth twitched as a strange feeling rose in her chest.
This is bad. She looks innocent and carefree, kind of like Ruby… but she's definitely not as easy to fool—no, not as easy to placate.
Tsk. What do I do?
Ellen lowered her head, thinking.
She thought for a long time, but nothing came to mind.
With no other choice, Ellen lifted her head and looked at Burnice's expectant face.
"Baby Shark, stop with the empty promises. Just let me touch it—just once!"
Ellen sighed, her eyes drooping helplessly.
"How do you even manage it? Staying so optimistic at a time like this."
"Oh, that's easy! I'd rather ask you—if you can just keep thinking about happy things, why bother dwelling on unpleasant ones?"
Burnice tapped her lips, smiling brightly.
For a moment, Ellen felt genuinely moved.
Seeing Ellen's expression, Burnice grew even happier.
Until—
Ellen caught Burnice's sneaky little hand red-handed.
"Hm?"
Ellen lifted Burnice's wandering hand, raising an eyebrow.
Burnice's face flushed instantly.
"Oh, I was just thinking about doing something fun too… Ah—wait, Baby Shark, look behind you! There's someone flying over there!"
A flying person?
Phaga!
Ellen's pupils shrank. Even though she'd nearly been tricked by Burnice just moments ago, the mention of Phaga still sent a surge of anticipation through her.
She spun around and looked back.
Tattered clothes. Covered in wounds.
But there was no doubt—it was Phaga.
He beat his wings and flew closer. Even from afar, Ellen could see the exhaustion on his face.
"Phaga!"
Ellen couldn't help herself. She called his name, her voice full of concern, sitting up instinctively as if she could reach out and pull him closer.
Perfect timing!
Burnice's eyes flashed as her mischievous instincts kicked in.
Ellen's guard was completely down as she focused on Phaga—this was the perfect chance!
Burnice didn't hesitate. She lunged forward.
Such a cute shark tail!
"Ellen, swing your tail to the right. Then press down and throw her back into the car."
After considerable effort, Ellen finally pulled Phaga close and hugged him tightly.
At the same time, a faint whisper drifted into her ear.
They'd known each other long enough—Ellen understood Phaga's meaning without even turning around.
Hmph.
That blonde twin-tailed girl still hasn't given up, huh?
Ellen's eyes glinted. Her nostrils flared slightly, as if she'd inhaled not just the sweet scent of blood, but also a trace of a vampire's cunning.
The next instant, Ellen's long tail lashed out.
"Huh? Aaaahhhhh!!!"
Burnice hadn't even touched the tail before sensing something was wrong.
But it was already too late.
The heavy shark tail sent her flying. Following the momentum, Ellen pressed downward, slamming Burnice straight back into the passenger seat.
Piper was startled badly.
She hurriedly steadied the wheel, wiped away imaginary sweat, and asked,
"Burnice, what's going on?"
"Waaah… waaah…"
Burnice slumped against the door, listlessly tugging at her seatbelt. A sudden sense of emotional devastation washed over her, as if her heart had completely shattered.
"Baby Shark… her boyfriend came back, and she… she dumped me. Waaah~~~"
Lucy blinked in shock.
"Huh?"
"Sigh."
Pompey, his body still covered in ether crystals, let out a heavy sigh. His gaze swept around the car before he slowly closed his eyes.