"Phew... this level of exertion really isn't for me!"
Belle was running, gasping for breath.
And that large Etherals was following not far behind.
"Aya, over here!"
"Come and help!"
Billy shouted as he spotted Hoshimi Aya's figure.
Just as Billy finished shouting, the two of them were sent flying by a strike.
At the same time, Hoshimi Aya heard the commotion and looked over.
But as soon as she looked, she saw two figures flying toward her.
Hoshimi Aya:!!!
"Belle!"
"Don't worry, I'll definitely catch you."
With that, Hoshimi Aya hurriedly opened her arms and adjusted her position to catch her.
At this height, it would be disastrous if Belle took a fall.
As for Billy?
He was a hunk of metal; a couple of tumbles wouldn't hurt him.
Soon, with Hoshimi Aya's careful aim, she successfully caught Belle.
Billy crashed to the ground, rolled three or four times, landed safely, and stood firm.
"Ow, that hurts like hell!"
"Aya, quick, get in there and chop it into eight pieces for me!"
Belle got down from Hoshimi Aya's arms and pointed at the Etherals charging toward them.
"Leave it to me."
Saying this, Hoshimi Aya walked toward the charging large Etherals.
Suddenly, Hoshimi Aya stopped and looked up, only to see a motorcycle drifting down, about to land.
Seeing this, Hoshimi Aya took a few steps back to clear the area, and the motorcycle smashed into the Etherals before drifting to a stop in front of everyone.
"Hey! Little brother Billy."
Caesar, on the motorcycle, greeted him.
Just then, the Ferocious Heart Maniac, who had been struck, regained its senses and prepared to charge again.
Seeing this, Hoshimi Aya bent slightly, placing her hand on her hilt to begin charging her strength.
At that moment, another figure rushed out from behind them and sent the Etherals flying with a single punch.
"Tsk, meddlesome!"
Hoshimi Aya looked at the figure with some exasperation, but she still rushed out; the moment the Etherals stopped, countless red blade flashes surrounded it.
To the side, Hoshimi Aya was performing the motion of sheathing her sword.
The Etherals fell to the ground in pieces, dissolving into ether energy.
"Billy, are these people acquaintances?"
"Aren't you going to introduce us?"
Saying this, Hoshimi Aya walked toward Belle.
"This is the current leader of the Sons of Calydon, Caesar."
"And this is Lighter."
"Big Boss, this is Phaethon, Belle."
"That Fox-Haired Person is her friend and bodyguard, Aya."
Billy introduced both sides.
"I see."
Hoshimi Aya nodded, acknowledging them.
Although she already knew them, they didn't know her.
"Thank you for your help."
"But how did you know about our situation?"
Belle asked the two of them.
"Oh, that."
"We just received a very strange call; a young-sounding guy told us using a very terrifying tone."
"And the route he gave was extremely precise, otherwise we wouldn't have arrived so quickly."
Caesar said, looking thoughtful.
"Right, but now isn't the time for catching up."
"We should get out of here quickly."
"Belle can't stay in The Hollow for long; I'm afraid her body won't be able to handle it."
Hoshimi Aya reminded them; although she really wanted to get to know them, this clearly wasn't the right setting.
And just as Hoshimi Aya said, Belle clutched her forehead and collapsed without warning.
Everyone:!!!!
"Billy, we need to leave quickly."
"Caesar, you lead the way. Billy, get the car moving."
After saying this, Hoshimi Aya picked Belle up and ran toward the truck.
Billy hurriedly followed suit.
...
Outside The Hollow.
Wildfire Town.
Belle was placed on a sofa by the group.
However, unlike the original plot, Hoshimi Aya was giving Belle emergency artificial respiration.
"Uh... I remember that's only used for drowning or oxygen deprivation."
Caesar said, somewhat confused.
"Huh?"
"Is it not like that?"
"Right, this is ether energy erosion."
"...Uh... then what should be done in this case?"
Hoshimi Aya was a bit dazed; she didn't have a way to deal with this situation either!
She hadn't learned it.
And this was different from the plot; she hadn't woken up for so long, who knows if there were other problems?
Not long after Hoshimi Aya finished speaking, Belle woke up in front of her.
"Ugh... where am I?"
Belle asked, confused.
"Thank goodness, Belle, you're finally awake."
"It's been several hours since we left The Hollow."
Hoshimi Aya replied.
It turned out Caesar was also planning to hold a funeral like in the original plot.
But she was stopped by Hoshimi Aya.
"Is that so?"
"That's wonderful."
"But was the mastermind behind this found?"
Belle inquired.
After all, they had previously speculated that they were being set up.
"Mastermind?!"
"Proxy, do you mean this incident wasn't an accident?"
"But someone deliberately plotted against you?!"
Caesar said, quite surprised.
"It's just a possibility."
"When we were driving, a tanker truck suddenly crashed right into us."
"Aya speculates that someone intentionally found someone to crash into us."
Belle explained.
"I see."
"No wonder little brother Billy took Lighter to investigate something earlier; so that was it."
"But don't worry, Proxy, since this happened on my turf, we will take full responsibility."
Caesar said, patting her chest.
"No need, you won't find them anyway."
"I will find them myself, and then I'll cut them to pieces."
Hoshimi Aya said seriously.
Her preparations were still too few; she had originally thought it would be a normal truck or something similar, in which case she could just cut it to pieces.
She hadn't expected it to be a tanker truck; fortunately, she hadn't cut it directly, because if it had exploded with one strike...
Wouldn't the car have been destroyed and everyone killed?!"
"No, since you had an accident on our turf, we have to be responsible after all."
Caesar said seriously; no matter how you looked at it, they should take responsibility for this matter.
"Exactly, exactly."
"We'll investigate thoroughly and get revenge for you."
Burnice said with a giggle.
Suddenly, Wise's voice came through.
"Belle, are you guys hurt?"
Wise asked with concern.
Not far behind Wise was Billy, who had parked his motorcycle.
"Belle fainted earlier from ether energy erosion."
"I don't know if there's an issue; she only just woke up."
Hoshimi Aya replied.
"Brother, don't listen to Aya's nonsense."
"I'm just a little bit dizzy."
"But I'm much better now."
Belle smiled, indicating that nothing was wrong.
"Belle, if there's anything uncomfortable, you must say it."
"Matters like ether energy erosion cannot be delayed."
Wise cautioned.
...
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