The moment Little Geno's warning reached him, Geno was already sprinting for the building's exit.
To save time and heedless of the cost, he smashed straight through a wall of the Ballet Twins Building. Facing the unknown Hollow below, he didn't hesitate for a second.
"Little Geno! Help me chart the fastest route."
"Got it. Calculating the optimal path now."
As Little Geno explained the situation, he had Fairy work out a route and feed it straight to his own terminal — after all, everyone had their specialty.
As for how things had gotten to this point, the story was a long one.
"About half an hour ago, large numbers of Exaltist believers began attacking key institutions all across New Eridu. Public Security, City Hall — even HIA's clubhouse didn't escape."
Not a single corner of New Eridu had been spared. There was no doubt this was an organized, premeditated terrorist attack.
Little Geno's voice echoed in Geno's mind, but what he was describing was almost too much to believe.
"You're telling me a bunch of believers stirred up all of New Eridu? How's that even possible?"
"Of course it's more than that. Ordinary Exaltist believers alone wouldn't cause this much trouble — but they brought Sacrifices with them."
Sacrifices. Again. These creatures — similar to Ethereals, yet able to move about outside Hollows — had given Geno and the others no end of trouble lately.
"What about the Defense Force? What are they doing?"
"The Defense Force is under attack from the Rebel Soldiers. They've got their hands full right now."
They say when your luck runs bad, troubles come one right after another — and right now New Eridu was really getting put through the wringer.
"So which side should I go reinforce first?"
Geno felt a headache coming on. Chaos was breaking out all over New Eridu, and he was only one man — a single drop of water was never going to put out that many fires.
"Port Elpis. There's been an Ether energy reaction there, and a rather special character is headed that way too."
"Who?"
"Bringer!"
Hearing the name caught Geno off guard. He remembered the man — the Sheriff whose wanted flyers Zhu Yuan and the others had put out before.
Hadn't Bringer been arrested for colluding with the Exaltists?
What Geno didn't know was that Bringer had already been broken out — and was now being hunted down by Victoria Housekeeping.
Since Little Geno had said so, he didn't dwell on it any further. The moment he cleared the Hollow, he set off for Port Elpis.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Bringer — having fled the Lumina Square precinct — had already reached the entrance to Port Elpis.
"Such an annoying mutt. Chasing me this whole way and you still won't give up?"
Bringer turned back with obvious irritation to look at Lycaon, still hot on his heels, murderous intent plain in his eyes.
"Careful with your words. This one's got an official post, you know — the kind that wears a dog tag~"
Behind Lycaon, Hugo watched his good partner with an amused smirk, not even trying to hide the mockery.
"Hugo, I should remind you that technically you're just a temp. The word 'mutt' probably suits you better."
"Ha? They say a dog that bites doesn't bark. Guess you've gotten weaker."
As he spoke, Hugo shot Lycaon a glare sharp as a blade, but Lycaon simply closed his eyes, unwilling to indulge him further.
Watching the two of them treat him with such disregard, though, made the veins on Bringer's forehead bulge.
This was the first time he'd ever been so thoroughly disrespected.
"Hmph. Enjoy your smugness while it lasts. You'll regret it soon enough."
Extremely blustering, Bringer said his piece and, without another glance at the two behind him, plunged straight into the port.
Lycaon and Hugo followed right after. On the way here they'd already dealt with the cultist who'd been accompanying Bringer — now all that remained was to catch Bringer himself, and this would all be over.
But would it really be that simple?
A question had been nagging at Hugo the whole time.
"Lycaon, don't you think this is strange?"
"What is?"
Hugo kept pace as he spoke. "The Exaltists are causing an unusual amount of ruckus across the whole city right now, sure, but when you really think about it — Public Security and City Hall are organized, disciplined institutions. Even with how troublesome Sacrifices can be, it shouldn't be enough to push things into an actual crisis."
Hugo had a point. Judging by the current situation, New Eridu was struggling under the assault, but that was only a short-term matter — it wouldn't be long before things settled down.
But that was exactly where the strangeness lay.
The Exaltists weren't fools. If they knew this kind of move couldn't seriously derail New Eridu, and did it anyway, then what exactly were they after?
"I have a feeling the guy we're chasing right now knows something."
Otherwise, why would the Exaltists go through so much trouble to break him out?
Those people aren't exactly kind-hearted.
"You've got a point, but we don't have any proof of that right now. For the moment, the priority is catching Bringer as fast as possible and getting information out of him."
Lycaon had already guessed most of what was bothering Hugo, but the heart of the matter was still getting more information.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the fleeing Bringer finally came to a stop.
He stood at the edge of the port, a vast ocean stretching out before him.
"Well then, the game of cat and mouse is over. I'd suggest you surrender quietly."
Hugo brushed the dust off himself, striking a deliberately cool pose in front of Bringer. Von Lycaon, by comparison, managed it with far more elegance.
"Mr. Bringer, I'd rather you not put up any pointless resistance. It would be better for everyone."
Bringer only sneered at that.
"Heh. Just a couple of City Hall lapdogs. You really think you've got me cornered?"
Mockery plastered across his face, Bringer no longer saw any need to keep swallowing his pride.
He spread his arms wide, back to the shoreline, facing Von Lycaon and Hugo head-on.
"You don't actually think you chased me here, do you? I'll be honest — by the time I got here, all my preparations were already complete."
With that, under the startled gazes of Lycaon and Hugo, Bringer tore off his shirt.
On his chest, something huge and tumor-like was pulsing without pause.
"Heh heh heh. Everything has led to this moment. Here, now, at this place — I'll be the one to complete the final ritual!"
Bringer threw his head back and laughed, his voice loud enough that even the crashing tide behind him couldn't drown it out.
It was already midnight, and Lycaon, being Wolf Thirren, sharply noticed that tonight seemed to be a full moon.
And Bringer's words weren't finished yet.
"Let me ask you — what lies on the other side of the sea?"
____
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