[Mousa POV]
"Ughhh… my back."
I leaned more of my weight against the Chocobo walking beside me, resting one arm across the side of its neck while we followed Billy and Anby through the Hollow. My legs were still moving, but at this point the Chocobo was doing a good amount of the work keeping me upright.
"Kweh?"
"I'm fine," I muttered, giving the side of its neck a small pat. "Just tired."
That was probably an understatement. My back hurt, my legs felt heavy, and I was pretty sure my body had already reached its limit a while ago and was only continuing because stopping inside the Hollow sounded like an even worse idea.
The Chocobo slowed its pace a little, letting me lean against it more comfortably.
"Thanks."
I reached up and scratched around the side of its beak. I remembered seeing some videos where parrots liked getting scratched around there, so I figured I might as well try it.
Apparently, Chocobos liked it too.
"Kweh…"
It leaned closer into my hand.
I smiled a little. "Yeah, I figured."
The second Chocobo noticed almost immediately and moved closer from my other side, looking between my hand and the one getting scratched.
I raised an eyebrow.
"You want one too?"
"Kweh."
I wasn't a heartless monster, so I gave that one a scratch as well.
For the next few seconds, I somehow ended up walking through a monster-filled Hollow while leaning against one giant yellow bird and scratching another.
My life had gotten weird very quickly.
Billy glanced over at me while we walked.
"So, you were saying?"
"Right."
I gave the Chocobo one last scratch before continuing.
"And that's basically how I got here," I told Billy while we continued walking through the Hollow, with Anby a little ahead of us as the two of them searched for whatever objective they were supposed to find.
"I see," Billy said casually.
He scratched at his grey, spiky hair for a moment before pointing one finger at me.
"So, you fell through a fissure."
"A fissure?" I repeated, looking at him in confusion for a second.
Then it clicked.
"Ah!"
The realization hit me almost immediately.
"You mean that thing I fell through when you and Anby were fighting?"
"Yep, that's the one," Billy said, sounding like this was the most normal thing in the world. "Fissures can appear inside Hollows. Happens pretty often."
I stared at him for a moment.
Pretty often?
The thing that had dropped me into the middle of a monster-filled nightmare apparently just happened regularly around here.
Before I could ask him anything else, Anby's voice suddenly came from ahead of us.
"On your left."
My body reacted before I really had time to think about it.
I turned just as one of those smaller spider-like Ethereals jumped toward me from the side. My reflexes kicked in and I quickly shifted my weight before kicking it away.
My foot connected hard enough to send the creature tumbling across the cracked ground.
I looked at it for a second, slightly surprised that I had actually reacted in time.
Okay.
That was definitely better than almost getting hit before I even noticed something was there.
Anby glanced back at me, saw that I was fine, and continued moving.
Billy, meanwhile, seemed barely bothered by the interruption.
"But still," he said, looking past me before pointing toward the two large yellow fluffs following us, "where exactly did you find these Chocobos?"
"Ah…"
Right.
The Chocobos.
I hadn't told them about that part.
I looked at the two of them for a moment as they walked beside us, completely unaware that Billy had just asked one of the questions I had been hoping he wouldn't ask yet.
I mean, come on.
Billy and Anby seemed nice.
Kind of.
They had helped me, they hadn't tried to leave me behind, and so far they had given me no real reason to think they wanted to hurt me.
But I had also only met them recently.
For all I knew, they could still betray me later.
Maybe that was paranoid, but considering everything that had happened since I woke up inside this place, I felt like I had earned the right to be a little paranoid.
There was also the problem that I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to explain the Gacha System.
Yeah, Billy, I have some weird invisible system only I can see that gives me random abilities and apparently giant yellow birds.
That would go over great.
So for now, maybe keeping that part to myself was the smarter option.
Then I remembered something else.
The Bronze Ticket.
I still had the Bronze Ticket I had gotten from Anby.
I had almost forgotten about it with everything that had been happening.
My attention immediately shifted away from Billy's question as I thought about the ticket again.
If it worked like the other rolls I had gotten before, then there was a chance I could get something useful from it.
Something that might actually help me survive this place.
And considering how easily that spider Ethereal had almost caught me off guard just now, getting another useful ability suddenly sounded like a very good idea.
I still had to answer Billy's question, though.
"Where were we again? Right, the Chocobos." I rested a hand against one of their necks. "I found them wandering around the Hollow. They were completely lost when I came across them."
I gave both of them a small stroke, hoping they would just stay quiet and let me sell the story.
Somehow, they understood exactly what I was trying to do.
Both Chocobos lowered their heads almost at the same time and gave Billy the most pitiful looks they could manage.
"Kweeeh…"
"Kweeeh…"
I had to stop myself from staring at them.
Damn. They were good.
"See?" I added, trying to sound convincing. "Poor things were all alone."
Billy looked between me and the Chocobos while Anby studied them from a little further ahead.
Hopefully neither of them noticed that my new friends had suddenly developed acting skills.
I had never really had a pet before. I always thought they would be annoying to take care of, especially when you had school, work and everything else going on at the same time.
But if this kept going the way it was going, I had a feeling I would actually try to take these two back home with me.
I looked over at the Chocobos walking beside us and tried to imagine how my family would react if I somehow showed up at home with two giant yellow birds following behind me.
Mom and Dad would probably be shocked.
My little brother too, I guess.
The bigger problem would be figuring out where the hell we were supposed to put them. They definitely weren't fitting inside our apartment, unless we somehow removed half the furniture first.
We'd make it work somehow.
Probably.
I was so caught up thinking about it that I didn't immediately notice Billy and Anby looking at me.
When I finally stopped zoning out, both of them had these strangely touched expressions on their faces.
I blinked.
Wait.
Did it actually work?
Billy suddenly placed a hand against his chest and looked at me like he was about to start crying. I had no idea how that was even possible with his face, but apparently it was.
"Mousa... you're a great guy."
I stared at him.
Anby gave me a small approving nod.
"You are a Samaritan. Good job."
For a second, I didn't know what to say.
Apparently, whatever excuse I had given them about the Chocobos had actually worked.
"Thaaanks?" I said, still not really sure how I was supposed to respond to that.
"You're welcome," Anby answered calmly.
Before I could say anything else, a faint sound came from somewhere nearby.
"Augh…"
All three of us stopped.
The voice was quiet, almost too quiet to hear at first. I turned my head and tried to figure out where it had come from, but the ruined buildings around us made it hard to tell.
Anby immediately started looking around.
"Did you hear that?" I asked.
"Yes."
Another weak groan came through the silence.
"Auurgh…"
This time it was a little louder.
Anby turned toward one of the warehouses further down the street and stared at it for a few seconds.
"It came from there."
Billy and I followed her gaze.
The warehouse looked half-abandoned like everything else around here. Part of the entrance had been damaged, and there was debris scattered around the ground, but there was enough space for us to get inside.
The closer we got, the clearer the sound became.
"Augh…"
Okay.
That was definitely a person.
We entered carefully, with Anby going first and Billy following close behind her. I stayed a little further back with the Chocobos while looking around the dark warehouse.
Then I finally saw him.
There was a man further inside, hunched over near some broken crates.
He was bent forward like he was struggling just to stay upright, one hand pressed against his body while the other supported him against the floor. Even from where I was standing, I could tell something was wrong.
Very wrong.
also a box
"Anby, is that…?"
"Yep. The strongbox," Anby said as she started walking toward it.
Billy immediately stepped in front of her and stopped her.
"Anby, what are you doing?"
"Retrieving our strongbox."
Billy pointed toward the man hunched over near it. "Don't you see him? Just wait a second."
Anby looked from Billy to the strongbox.
"Are you sure? Wouldn't it be better to take it now?"
Before Billy could answer, another painful groan came from the man.
"Auurgh… help… destroy…"
His voice echoed weakly through the warehouse as his head slowly turned toward us.
That was when I got a better look at his arms.
His hands had already started changing from the Ether corruption. The fingers looked longer and sharper than they should have, with strange spikes beginning to grow from them. His whole body was trembling, and the green glow around him seemed to get stronger with every breath he took.
"Help…" he groaned again, but the next word came out with much more anger behind it. "Destroy…"
The man slowly lifted his head and looked at all of us, but his eyes didn't stay on me for long. The moment they landed on Billy and Anby, his expression changed completely.
Whatever pain had been on his face was pushed aside by pure hatred.
His breathing became heavier as he stared at the two of them, his whole body beginning to shake while his corrupted fingers dug into the ground.
"C-Cunning… Hares…"
"Raaagh!"
The scream that came out of him was filled with so much anger that I instinctively tightened my grip on the Chocobo's saddle.
"C-Cunning… Hares…"
Billy's posture changed almost immediately.
The joking attitude he had only a few moments ago disappeared.
Silver pushed himself up slightly, still hunched over as if standing normally was already too much for him.
"Destroy…"
A strange green aura started leaking from around his body.
And, yeah, there were like flies swarming around .
I'm sorry, but there was no nicer way to describe it.
They buzzed around him while the green glow became stronger, making the whole scene look even worse than it already did.
I stared at him for a moment.
Whatever was happening to this guy, it definitely wasn't just because he was injured.
And judging by the way he was looking at Billy and Anby, I had a feeling they knew exactly who he was.
My Chocobos looked rattled too.
Both of them had stopped moving and were staring at Silver, their feathers slightly raised while they stayed close to me. Whatever they were sensing from him, they clearly didn't like it.
I looked between Silver and the other two.
"Do you guys know him?"
Billy kept his eyes on the man.
"Miguel Silver," he said. "He belongs to a gang called the Red Fang Gang."
"Red Fang Gang?"
Anby continued before Billy could explain more.
"We were after the same thing."
I looked back at Silver.
That explained the hatred, at least.
"So you were competing against each other?"
"Yes."
Anby pointed toward Silver's hunched, increasingly grotesque form.
"He must have fallen deeper into the Hollow after what happened. It seems his Ether aptitude wasn't high enough."
I followed where she was pointing.
The strange green aura around him had gotten stronger, and those flies were still circling his body. His breathing sounded rough, almost like every breath hurt, while his arms trembled underneath his weight.
I frowned.
"Ether aptitude?"
Anby glanced at me.
"Resistance to Ether corruption."
"Destroy…" Silver forced out again.
The green Ether around his body suddenly grew brighter.
I took a step back.
"Anby?"
She didn't answer immediately. Her attention stayed completely on Silver while Billy slowly raised his pistols.
Something underneath Silver's skin moved.
At first I thought it was another muscle spasm, but then his arm bent at an angle that made my stomach turn. His fingers dug into the floor as the corrupted growths around them spread further up his hands, covering more of his skin in dark, jagged material.
"Auurgh!"
Silver screamed and grabbed at his arm with his other hand.
"Help…"
"We have to do something."
Anby immediately put an arm in front of me.
"Don't."
"He's still talking."
"That doesn't mean we can stop it."
I looked at her. "How do you know?"
Another crack came from Silver's body before she could answer.
I froze.
His back arched violently as more Ether spread across him. Whatever medical knowledge I had didn't help much here. Human bones weren't supposed to change shape like that, and muscles definitely weren't supposed to grow and restructure themselves within seconds.
But that was exactly what I was watching.
Silver's body became larger as the corruption spread across his torso. Dark armor-like growths covered more of him while a long, jagged tail forced its way out behind him.
"Stop…" he groaned.
Billy's pistols lowered slightly.
"Silver…"
His head snapped toward Billy.
For just a moment, the movement stopped.
I couldn't tell whether he actually recognized the name or if I was only hoping he did.
Then another surge of Ether ran through his body.
"HELP!"
His scream changed halfway through.
What started as a human voice came out distorted by the end, deeper and harsher until it barely sounded like a person anymore.
One of the Chocobos backed into me.
"Kweh…"
"Yeah," I muttered, unable to take my eyes off Silver. "I don't like this either."
The last pieces of his human shape disappeared underneath the corruption. His body had grown several times larger than before, with a heavy shield forming around one arm and a massive blade extending from the other. The long spiked tail behind him dragged across the warehouse floor as the transformation finally stopped.
What stood in front of us now barely resembled the injured man we had found.
The Ethereal slowly raised its head.
"...Help…"
The word came out so distorted that I almost convinced myself I had imagined it.
I looked toward Anby.
"Is he still in there?"
She tightened her grip on her sword.
"I don't know."
That wasn't the answer I wanted.
"This guy's a tough one," Billy warned as he raised both of his pistols. "Anby Mo, get ready!"
"Roger that!" Anby answered, already bringing her sword into position.
So this was really happening.
I took a breath and faced the massive Ethereal in front of us. It carried a huge shield in one hand and a sword in the other, while a long, spiky tail moved slowly behind it.
Compared to the smaller Ethereals we had fought before, or even that Donkey Kong-looking one with the massive fists, this thing seemed to be on another level entirely. One look at the sword was enough to convince me that testing how much damage Invisible Air could block was probably a terrible idea.
Still, I couldn't stand around while Billy and Anby did everything.
I raised my arms and focused. The familiar pressure formed around my hands and forearms as Invisible Air wrapped itself around them like a pair of gauntlets.
My Chocobos stayed close behind me, both of them watching the Ethereal carefully. I gave them a quick look.
"Try not to get yourselves killed either, okay?"
"Kweh."
"I'm going to assume that means yes."
I tightened my fists and faced forward again.
"Alright. Let's do this."
For a moment, everything became strangely quiet.
The Ethereal just stood there in front of us, its sword hanging at its side while the three of us waited for it to make the first move. Even the Chocobos behind me had gone quiet.
Then it suddenly moved.
It swung its massive sword straight toward us.
No.
Toward me.
"Shit !"
Before I could properly react, Anby slammed into my side and pushed me out of the way.
CLANG!
Her katana met the Ethereal's sword just before it could reach me. The impact was loud enough to echo through the warehouse, and even Anby was forced back slightly from the strength behind the attack.
Billy immediately took over.
The Ethereal's head immediately turned after him.
And so did its sword.
It swung at Billy much faster than I expected something that size to move.
"Whoa!"
Billy threw himself backward just before the blade passed across his chest. He landed on one foot, slid across the warehouse floor and immediately brought both pistols back up as if nearly getting cut in half had only mildly inconvenienced him.
"My turn!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Ethereal brought its shield around again, but that was exactly what Anby had been waiting for. While its attention stayed on Billy, she rushed in from behind and drove her katana across its back.
The Ethereal twisted toward her, caught between defending against Billy's bullets and stopping Anby from getting any closer.
I watched from a few steps away with my gauntlets still formed around my arms.
This thing was intimidating as hell.
It wasn't anything like the smaller Ethereals we had been dealing with earlier, or even that Donkey Kong-looking one with the massive fists. This one was on another level entirely. Billy and Anby were attacking it from both sides and it was still keeping up with them.
For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that I could just leave.
I had the Chocobos with me. I could grab them and try to find a way out while Billy and Anby kept the thing busy.
Then I looked at the Bronze Ticket I still had.
Right.
I still had this.
Maybe I didn't have to run yet.
"Please give me something good."
I tore the ticket and waited for the familiar Gacha screen to appear in front of me.
R—
R—
Rolling...
"Come on."
The result finally appeared.
[Lactation]
|Common Trait|
You are capable of lactating. The quality of milk you produce scales with your physical stats and may gain unique qualities depending on your other traits.
This trait may be rerolled once for free.
I stared at the screen.
"Huh?"
I read it again.
My eyes slowly widened.
"Huuuuuh?"
Of all the things this stupid system could have given me in the middle of a life-or-death fight, it gave me that.
"Please. Not this."
Behind the screen, Billy and Anby were still fighting the Ethereal. Another heavy CLANG echoed through the warehouse as its sword met Anby's katana.
I quickly looked back at the description.
This trait may be rerolled once for free.
Oh, thank God.
"Yes. Reroll. Immediately."
The result disappeared and the Gacha started spinning again.
R—
R—
Rolling...
"Come on, come on. Give me something useful this time."
Ding!
[Musk]
|Uncommon Trait|
Your natural scent is extremely pleasant and may even have an arousing effect on others.
My shoulders dropped.
I stared at the screen for a few seconds, hoping another line would appear.
Nothing.
"Is this a joke?!"
I yelled loud enough that both Chocobos jumped beside me.
"Kweh?!"
"Sorry!"
I looked back at the screen, then at the Ethereal, then back at the useless trait I had just received.
All that excitement over the Bronze Ticket, and this was what I got?
First milk.
Then apparently I smelled really good.
Great.
Exactly what I needed against a giant sword-wielding monster.
Something inside me snapped.
"RAAAAGH!"
I dismissed the screen and ran straight toward the Ethereal, pouring all of the frustration from that damn Gacha into my legs.
Invisible Air tightened around my fists as I approached from the side. The Ethereal was still focused on Billy and Anby and didn't seem to notice me coming until I was already close.
Good.
I pulled my arm back and swung as hard as I could.
My invisible gauntlet connected directly with its arm.
BOOM!
The impact knocked the limb sideways and tore open part of the corrupted armor around it.
I stumbled back after the hit and stared at the damage.
"Okay."
Maybe the Gacha had screwed me over, but at least that felt good.
"Great!" I heard Billy shout from behind me. "I thought you were ditching us!"
I thought about it, I admitted to myself.
I was about to answer him when the Ethereal suddenly swung its sword toward me again. My reflexes kicked in just in time, and instead of trying to block something that huge, I pointed one of my gauntleted palms to the side and released a burst of Invisible Air. The recoil pushed me away from the blade, letting it cut through the empty space where I had been standing a second earlier.
"Holy shit…"
I barely had time to recover before Anby moved in.
She immediately went for the arm I had damaged earlier, driving the tip of her katana directly into the weakened spot. The Ethereal jerked from the impact, and its grip around the sword finally loosened.
THUMP!
The massive weapon dropped onto the warehouse floor.
"It worked!"
That was all the invitation we needed.
The three of us jumped it.
Straight-up JJK style.
I rushed in first, driving my gauntlets into whatever opening I could find. Whenever the Ethereal tried to hit me back, I either dodged out of the way or got dragged to safety by one of the Chocobos before the attack could connect.
Anby stayed much closer than Billy and me, constantly moving around the Ethereal while striking whenever its shield or arms left something exposed. She blocked the attacks she could handle and immediately moved away from the ones she couldn't.
Billy supported us from a distance, firing whenever either of us created an opening.
Bang! Bang!
Every time the Ethereal turned toward Anby, Billy shot it from the other side. Whenever it tried going after Billy, Anby and I moved in again.
For the first time, it actually felt like we were overwhelming it.
I wasn't thinking about technique anymore. I wasn't thinking about how tired I was, how much my body hurt, or even about the fact that a few minutes ago I had seriously considered grabbing the Chocobos and leaving these two behind.
I was fighting almost entirely on adrenaline.
Punch.
Move.
Don't get hit.
That was basically the whole strategy running through my head.
The Ethereal stumbled backward after another strike from my gauntlet, and I started thinking that maybe we could actually pull this off.
Then something changed.
The green Ether surrounding the Ethereal suddenly became much brighter.
Billy noticed it too.
"Guys…" He lowered his pistols slightly. "Its Ether is increasing."
That didn't sound good.
The aura around the Ethereal intensified until the entire warehouse seemed to be filled with the same heavy pressure I had felt when it first transformed.
I raised my gauntlets again while Anby tightened her grip on her katana. Billy brought both pistols up as well, and for a second I thought we were about to get dragged into another round.
But the Ethereal didn't attack.
Instead, it turned toward the strongbox.
"Wait, what?"
It walked straight toward the box, picked it up with one arm and pulled it against its body.
Billy stared at it.
"Hey! That's ours!"
The Ethereal answered with one low, distorted growl before turning away.
I expected Billy or Anby to stop it, but after everything we had just thrown at the thing, nobody seemed eager to restart the fight just to argue about ownership.
The Ethereal moved toward the far end of the warehouse and disappeared through the ruined opening with the strongbox still in its grip.
I watched it leave.
"Is it seriously just… leaving?"
"It appears so," Anby answered.
And just like that, after all that fighting, the Ethereal took the strongbox and dipped.
I honestly didn't know whether I should feel relieved or offended.
Our relief lasted maybe five seconds.
A strange glow appeared outside the warehouse.
Then another.
And another.
I slowly turned toward the entrance.
"Guys…"
Several Ethereals were moving through the street toward us, and judging by the shapes appearing behind them, the first group wasn't going to be the last.
Billy followed my gaze and raised both pistols.
"Another fight?!"
He sounded more offended than scared.
"If this keeps up, I'm actually going to run out of bullets," he complained. "And if that happens, I can say goodbye to my efficiency bonus!"
"That really shouldn't be your focus, man," I barked back.
I was getting sick and tired of this. Every time it looked like we finally had a chance to breathe, something else showed up trying to kill us.
At this point I didn't care about the strongbox, Billy's bonus or anything else connected to their commission.
I wanted out.
"Incoming," Anby warned.
She stepped in front of us just as the first Ethereal rushed through the warehouse entrance. Her katana flashed across its body, but two more immediately pushed past it.
Billy opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I brought Invisible Air around my fists again and caught one of the smaller Ethereals as it jumped toward me. My punch sent it sideways into a broken crate, but another one was already moving behind it.
"There's more outside!" Billy shouted.
"I noticed!"
One of the Chocobos rushed past me and drove both feet into an Ethereal hard enough to send it tumbling backward.
"KWEH!"
"Good one!"
The second Chocobo joined it, but Anby immediately looked toward us.
"We shouldn't stay here."
Billy fired another shot. "You don't have to tell me twice!"
We started backing toward the other side of the warehouse while the Ethereals kept coming through the entrance. There weren't enough to completely surround us yet, but every time Billy or Anby brought one down, another shape appeared outside.
I slammed my gauntlet into the side of another Ethereal and followed Billy through a damaged exit at the back of the warehouse.
The street outside wasn't any better.
I could see Ether glows moving between the buildings in several directions.
"How many are there?" I asked.
Anby looked around.
"Seventeen."
Billy shot one coming from the left.
"Please don't count them."
"Twenty-one."
"Anby!"
I would've laughed if I wasn't busy trying not to die.
"Run!" Billy shouted.
That was a plan I could get behind.
We took off down the street with the Chocobos running beside us. My legs immediately reminded me that I had already been exhausted before fighting a Superior Ethereal.
Behind us, the distorted screams kept getting louder.
I looked over my shoulder.
Bad idea.
"They're catching up!"
"Keep moving," Anby replied.
"I am moving!"
Billy fired backward without slowing down, knocking one Ethereal away from the group before looking at his pistols.
"I really am running low."
The Chocobo beside me let out a loud kweh and moved closer.
I put one hand against its side to steady myself.
"Thanks, but unless you can—"
I stopped.
The Chocobo was huge.
I looked at its back.
Then at the other Chocobo.
Then at Billy and Anby.
"Wait."
Billy looked over. "What?"
I pointed at them.
"Why the hell are we running next to the giant birds?"
Billy stared at me for a second.
Then he looked at the Chocobos.
"Oh."
Anby understood immediately.
"They may be faster than us."
"Exactly!"
Billy's entire mood changed.
"YES! Noble steed, your time has come!"
"Kweh!"
The Chocobo moved away from him.
"Not now!" I yelled.
Anby grabbed the side of one Chocobo and pulled herself onto its back with surprisingly little difficulty.
I looked between her and the second one.
"Wait, there are three of us."
"Get on," Anby said.
"Behind you?"
"Yes."
There really wasn't time to make that weird.
I pulled myself up behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist while trying not to fall off.
"Please tell me you've done this before."
"No."
"You could've lied."
Billy finally managed to get onto the second Chocobo.
"HA! Forward, my magnificent—"
"Kweh!"
"Okay, okay! Chocobo. Forward!"
The two of them took off.
I nearly fell backward immediately.
"HOLY SHIT!"
Anby barely reacted. "Hold tighter."
"Working on it!"
The difference in speed was obvious almost immediately. The Ethereals that had been closing in on us started falling behind as the Chocobos raced through the ruined streets.
Billy was yelling something from beside us, apparently having the time of his life despite everything.
I couldn't hear most of it over the wind.
For the first time since the swarm appeared, I thought we might actually get away.
Then the street ahead ended.
"Anby!"
"I see it."
A strange distortion floated between two damaged buildings ahead of us.
Billy pointed at it.
"Fissure!"
I recognized it immediately.
It looked almost exactly like the thing I had fallen through earlier.
"Where does it go?"
"Unknown," Anby answered.
"Of course it's unknown."
Behind us, the Ethereal screams grew louder again as several of them turned the corner.
Billy looked from them to the fissure.
"Well, mystery portal or angry mob?"
"Portal!" I answered immediately.
"Agreed."
Anby leaned forward slightly.
"Straight through."
Both Chocobos accelerated.
The fissure grew larger in front of us, its distorted surface twisting like the air itself had been torn open.
I tightened my grip around Anby.
"I really hope this doesn't drop us off a cliff."
"We'll find out."
"You are terrible at reassurance!"
"KWEH!"
The Chocobos jumped straight into the fissure.
My stomach dropped as the entire world twisted around us.
[Proxy (Belle) POV]
Before Wise and I could properly start looking for Billy and Anby, I needed to calibrate the Hollow data first.
The Hollow had already shifted enough since our last scan that relying on the old map would be a really bad idea, especially when two members of the Cunning Hares were somewhere inside waiting for us to find them.
Thankfully, I spotted a Bangboo Workbench not too far away.
"There you are."
I guided Eous toward it and connected to the terminal. Workbenches like these were scattered around the city for situations exactly like this. During Hollow disasters, the authorities uploaded basic observation data—Carrot data—that Bangboo could retrieve and use during evacuation and rescue missions.
Usually, the information wasn't anything special.
Right now, though, I needed every bit of it.
"Come on, Eous. Let's see what we've got."
The connection pulled me into the visualized space almost immediately. The familiar artificial environment formed around me while the system loaded the available Hollow observation data.
I moved Eous through the maze, following the markers and collecting everything the workbench had stored. It wasn't particularly difficult, but even those few minutes felt longer than usual when I knew Billy and Anby were still somewhere out there.
Hopefully Billy hadn't done anything stupid.
Actually, considering it was Billy, that might have been asking for too much.
"Just a little more…"
I pushed Eous through the last section and jumped across the final gap.
The observation data was right there.
"Got it!"
A moment later, I was back inside the Hollow.
The new information immediately started loading into our local database, replacing sections of the outdated map as the nearby spatial structure became clearer.
"Okay, let's see…"
I studied the updated information carefully.
There.
A spatial fissure wasn't far from my current position.
That alone wasn't unusual inside a Hollow, but the information coming from the other side caught my attention. There were small fluctuations in the data, enough to suggest that something was moving nearby.
Possibly people.
"Could that be them?"
There was no way to know for sure, but Billy and Anby were the best explanation I had. Standing around wasn't going to get me any closer to finding out either.
I guided Eous toward the fissure.
"The Cunning Hares might be on the other side. Its time to check it out."
The distorted space rippled in front of me as Eous approached it. If Billy and Anby had passed through here, there was a good chance I could pick up their trail on the other side.
"Alright. Here we go."
I guided Eous closer and was just about to enter the fissure when the distortion suddenly became much stronger.
"Huh?"
Something was coming through from the other side.
"KWEH!"
My eyes widened.
"What the—?!"
Two enormous yellow creatures came bursting straight out of the fissure, moving far faster than I expected. I barely had enough time to move Eous before one of them clipped him and sent my entire view jerking to the side.
"Whoa! Stop!"
The Chocobo finally slowed down, only to turn around and grab Eous by the scarf with its beak.
"Hey! Let go!"
"Kweh?"
I stared at the creature through Eous.
A giant bird?
No, that didn't seem right.
Whatever it was, it was huge, yellow, and apparently had absolutely no respect for personal space.
Then I noticed the people behind the birds heads it.
Two of them were immediately familiar.
My surprise disappeared.
"Billy! Anby!"
Both of them froze.
The yellow creature stopped pulling on Eous's scarf as Billy slowly turned toward me.
"Wait…"
Anby stared at Eous.
"A scarf-wearing, talking Bangboo…"
Billy suddenly pointed straight at him.
"Ohhh! You're—"
"Phaethon!" Billy and Anby shouted at the same time.
Finally.
"There you are!" I said. "Do you have any idea how long I've been searching for you two?"
Billy scratched the back of his head.
"Well…"
"That answer already worries me."
Then I noticed the third person standing with them.
A young man I had never seen before was staring directly at Eous with complete confusion on his face.
His eyes moved from Eous to Billy, then to Anby, and finally back to Eous again.
"Where did that voice come from?"
I paused.
Who was he?
My attention shifted toward Billy and Anby again.
There had definitely only been two members of the Cunning Hares I was supposed to be searching for.
Nicole had never mentioned some random guy travelling with them.
And she definitely hadn't mentioned the two enormous yellow creatures either.
Did Nicole hide this from us?
I narrowed my eyes.
If she had, she could forget about that discount I was thinking of giving her.
Completely.
The stranger was still staring at Eous.
I raised one of Eous's little arms.
"Hello?"
His expression somehow became even more confused.
Great.
I had a feeling there was going to be a very long explanation behind this.
[Mousa POV]
"Eeeeh…"
I scooted a little closer to Anby and leaned toward her ear.
"What is that?" I whispered, pointing toward the small rabbit-looking thing.
"That's a Bangboo," Anby answered quietly.
"A what?"
Before she could explain any further, the Bangboo straightened itself and seemed to compose itself after nearly being dragged around by one of my Chocobos.
"Anyway, good work, guys," the voice coming from it said.
I stared at it again.
Okay.
So the weird rabbit could definitely talk.
"I thought Nicole would make us save ourselves so she could save some money," Anby said as casually as if that was a completely normal thing to expect from your boss.
I slowly turned toward her.
"Girl, what kind of boss do you guys have?"
Anby ignored my concern.
"Still, hiring the legendary Proxy Phaethon is quite a surprise."
The Bangboo placed its little hands against its sides.
"Hahaha. A few more compliments like that and I might even give you a discount."
Billy immediately raised a finger.
"Okay, Phaethon is the greatest, smartest, most amazing—"
"Billy," Anby interrupted.
"What? I'm helping Nicole save money."
I looked between the three of them.
Apparently this tiny thing was Phaethon.
Or maybe the person talking through it was Phaethon.
I had several questions.
Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to ask any of them.
A distorted roar echoed somewhere behind us.
The Chocobos immediately stiffened.
Anby turned around.
"That sounds like an Ethereal."
Billy's shoulders dropped.
"So soon? I only just got a chance to relax!"
"We need to leave," Anby said.
Billy groaned.
Anby glanced at him with the same blank expression she always had.
"Unless you would prefer to stay here forever. I suppose I could leave the new Starlight Knight belt you wanted at your grave."
Billy stared at her.
"When you say things like that with that face, I genuinely can't tell if you're joking."
I snorted.
The Bangboo or Phaethon, apparently turned toward the path ahead.
"Follow me. I'll find us a way out."
That immediately got my attention.
"You know where the exit is?"
"I can find it."
That was probably the best thing anyone had said to me all day.
Anby pulled her sword back into position.
"You focus on navigation. We'll handle anything that gets in the way."
Billy spun one pistol in his hand.
"And if things get really bad, feel free to help."
Phaethon looked between the two of them.
"Working with you two is like watching a never-ending comedy show."
Anby tilted her head.
"Is that why you keep letting Nicole hire you without paying everything upfront?"
There was a short silence.
Billy slowly looked toward Phaethon.
"Ouch."
I had only known these people for a few hours, and even I could tell this Nicole person was apparently a menace to everyone's finances.
Another roar came from behind us.
Billy immediately stopped joking.
"Right. We can talk about Nicole's debt later. Let's move."
Nobody argued with that.
We followed Phaethon deeper through the Hollow.
For the first time since I had gotten here, it actually felt like somebody knew where the hell we were going.
Phaethon would stop at intersections for only a few seconds before choosing a direction, occasionally changing course when the surrounding streets shifted. Phaethon stopped at intersections for only a few seconds before choosing a direction, sometimes changing course when the streets shifted around us. Paths that looked completely useless to me apparently made perfect sense to whoever was controlling Eous.
I still had no idea who Phaethon actually was or how any of this worked.
That could wait.
After what felt like forever, Phaethon suddenly pointed ahead.
"The exit is close!"
Billy practically came back to life the moment Phaethon said the exit was close.
"Finally!"
Anby, somehow, remained completely calm. "There are still Ethereals nearby. Don't lower your guard."
Almost immediately after she said it, another distorted scream echoed from somewhere behind us.
Billy turned toward Phaethon. "Which way?"
"Straight ahead."
Billy looked forward and stopped. I followed his gaze and immediately understood why.
There was a wall in front of us.
A very solid-looking wall.
Billy slowly pointed toward it. "You mean… that way?"
"Yes."
I stared at Phaethon, then at the wall, and then back at Phaethon again. "That is a wall."
"Keep going."
Billy somehow sounded even less convinced than I was. "You want us to smash through it? Because I'm running pretty low on firepower here!"
Before Phaethon could answer, another voice suddenly came through the Bangboo.
"Don't worry. Trust the route."
I flinched and stared at Eous. "Okay, now there are two voices coming out of it."
Billy's eyes widened in recognition. "Oh! The other Phaethon!"
Other Phaethon?
At this point, I was getting further away from understanding what was happening rather than closer.
The new voice explained that space inside the Hollow was heavily distorted, which meant an exit didn't necessarily have to look like one from inside.
Anby nodded like that made perfect sense. "So a wall may be an exit."
"Exactly."
She looked at it for another second. "Or it may simply be a wall."
Billy slowly turned toward her. "Thank you, Anby. Very reassuring."
I pointed toward the wall as well. "So just to make sure I understand this, you want us to run straight into that?"
"Yes."
"And if you're wrong?"
Anby answered before anyone else could. "Then we hit the wall."
I stared at her for a moment. "Again. Very reassuring."
The second voice confirmed the route one more time before telling Phaethon that the connection could be cut.
"Wait, what do you mean cut"
Before I could finish, the Bangboo suddenly went still. A second later, it raised its little arms and made a completely different sound.
"Ehn-na!"
I blinked. "What happened to its voice?"
"It became a normal Bangboo again," Anby explained.
I looked down at Eous.
"Ehn-na!"
"So the person who just told us to run into a wall disconnected?"
Billy pointed ahead. "Apparently!"
The Ethereal screams behind us were getting louder, which meant we were quickly running out of time to argue about whether trusting the talking rabbit had been a good idea.
Anby climbed onto one of the Chocobos without hesitation. "Straight ahead. Brace for impact."
Billy looked down at Eous before scooping the little Bangboo up under one arm.
"You're coming with me, little guy."
"Ehn-na!"
Billy climbed onto the second Chocobo with Eous secured in front of him while I got onto the first one behind Anby.
"We're going to crash!" Billy yelled.
I grabbed hold of Anby before the Chocobo started moving. "Yeah, I'm with Billy on this one!"
"KWEH!"
Both Chocobos charged.
The wall got closer with every second, and the closer we got, the more I started regretting every decision that had brought me to this exact moment. It still looked completely solid. There was no shimmer, no opening, nothing that suggested we weren't about to slam straight into concrete at full speed.
"Anby!"
"Keep going."
"That's easy for you to say!"
Billy was yelling something from the other Chocobo, but the wind rushing past me made it difficult to understand half of it.
The wall was only a few meters away now.
I tightened my grip around Anby and shut my eyes just before impact.
But the impact never came.
There was no crash, no broken bones and no horrible realization that Phaethon had sent us directly into concrete. Instead, the heavy pressure that had been hanging over me ever since I entered the Hollow disappeared almost instantly.
I slowly opened my eyes and spent a few seconds trying to understand what had changed.
Then I noticed it.
The pressure was gone.
The horrible weight I had been carrying since waking up inside the Hollow had completely disappeared. I had gotten so used to it that I hadn't even realized how oppressive it was until I could finally breathe without feeling it anymore.
The air felt different too.
Normal.
I looked around carefully, half expecting the world to twist again if I stared too long. There were no distorted buildings bending into places they shouldn't be, no strange green Ether glowing through the streets, and most importantly, no Ethereals waiting around to kill us.
It was just a normal road beneath a normal sky.
Anby climbed down from the Chocobo and looked around us before giving a small nod. "The Ether pressure is gone. We're outside."
Billy didn't need any more confirmation than that. He jumped down from the other Chocobo and threw his arms into the air.
"We made it!"
I stayed where I was for another moment, staring at him.
Made it.
We actually made it.
I looked back toward where the wall should have been, but from this side I couldn't even properly tell where we had come through. My brain tried to understand how we had charged straight through something that had looked completely solid, but after everything else that had happened today, I didn't have enough energy left to care.
I slowly slid down from the Chocobo. The second my feet touched the ground, my legs nearly gave out underneath me, forcing me to grab onto its side.
"Kweh?"
"I'm good," I said automatically, giving it a quick pat.
The Chocobo stared at me.
I sighed. "Okay, maybe not completely good."
My hands were shaking slightly, and now that we weren't running anymore, I could finally feel just how tired I actually was. My back hurt, my legs felt like they were barely holding me up, and every part of my body seemed to be complaining at once.
None of that mattered right now.
I looked up at the sky again before turning toward Billy and Anby.
"We're really out?"
Billy looked at me. "Yep."
"Like actually out?"
"Actually actually out."
I don't know why I needed him to say it twice, but hearing it made something in my chest finally loosen.
For the first time since waking up inside that place, I wasn't wondering what was going to attack me next. I wasn't constantly checking behind me or trying to figure out which ruined street was going to shift somewhere else.
I could just stand there outside, alive, without needing to survive the next five minutes.
"I'm free," I said quietly.
Billy tilted his head like he hadn't heard me properly.
That was when everything finally hit me at once.
"I'M FREE!"
Billy immediately threw both arms into the air. "YEAH!"
Both Chocobos reacted too, jumping around beside me with excited cries.
"KWEH!"
I couldn't stop myself from laughing.
"I'M FUCKING FREE!"
"KWEH! KWEH!"
I pointed at them. "THEY GET IT!"
Billy started laughing as well while Anby stood beside us, watching the whole thing with the same calm expression she always had .
I didn't care how stupid I probably looked.
I grabbed the nearest Chocobo around the neck and hugged it while the second one pushed its head against my shoulder, apparently deciding it wanted to be included too.
"Kweh?"
"Don't complain. You helped."
The first Chocobo made another sound but didn't pull away, and I reached over to pat the second one as well.
"You too. I'm not forgetting you."
If somebody had shown me this scene a day ago and told me I would be standing in another world hugging two giant yellow birds after surviving a monster-filled nightmare, I probably would've assumed they were insane.
At this point, though, I was done questioning things.
A loud horn suddenly came from further down the road.
We all turned toward the sound as a car approached and slowed near us. Billy recognized it immediately and waved both arms.
"Boss!"
The car stopped nearby, and a woman leaned toward the open window. Her eyes moved from Billy to Anby before eventually landing on me.
Then she noticed the Chocobos.
She stared at them for a few seconds.
I stared back at her.
Billy raised one hand before she could ask anything.
"Long story."
"Very long," Anby added.
The woman closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I leave you two alone for one commission…"
So that was Nicole.
I didn't really know anything about her yet, but somehow she already looked exactly like the kind of boss Anby and Billy had described.
I almost laughed again, but before I could, my vision blurred slightly.
I blinked a few times until everything came back into focus.
That was weird.
Billy had already started talking to Nicole about what happened, probably trying to explain why they had returned without the strongbox and somehow picked up a random guy and two Chocobos along the way.
I tried listening, but their voices suddenly sounded further away than they should have.
One of the Chocobos nudged my shoulder.
"Kweh?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
The words came out automatically again, but this time even I didn't believe them.
The exhaustion that had been sitting underneath all that adrenaline finally seemed to catch up with me. My legs became heavier by the second, and even keeping my eyes open started feeling like more effort than it should have.
I took a slow breath and tried stepping toward the car.
My leg almost gave out.
The Chocobo immediately moved closer and let me lean against its side again.
"Mousa?"
I heard Anby's voice nearby and looked toward her.
"I'm fine," I repeated before stopping myself. "Actually, I really need to stop saying that."
Billy turned toward me as well.
"You alright, buddy?"
"Yeah, I just think everything is starting to catch up with me."
That was probably the understatement of the day.
My vision blurred again, only this time it didn't clear as quickly. I could hear the Chocobos making worried noises beside me while someone said my name again.
I reached toward the closest Chocobo, managing to get my hand into its feathers before my knees finally gave up.
Oh.
That probably wasn't good.
The last thing I remembered was the ground getting closer before everything went black.
Caused Dullahan (Silver) to retreat.
Reward: 1x Random Silver Ticket
Met Eous for the first time.
Reward: 1x Random Bronze Ticket
Defeated 30 Ethereals.
Reward: 1x Random Bronze Ticket
Escaped the Hollow with the help of a Proxy.
Reward: 1x Random Silver Ticket
Chapter 5 End
Finally, I finished the chapter.
I realized something while writing this one: I don't have to show every single thing. I can just skip over some parts if they aren't important, and honestly, that helped a lot.
I'm still kinda proud of this chapter, though. I never thought I'd actually reach around 9k words. At one point I was just in a complete flow state and kept writing without even noticing the word count.
Then my brain eventually went completely empty.
I like this chapter the most at the time maybe it will change
Haaah…
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.