Ether particles—were substances found only within Ethereals. To be precise, that was their flesh and blood.
So, when Wise saw ether particles inside what appeared to be a human body, his pupils contracted sharply, eyes filled with utter disbelief.
In that moment of stunned shock, the woman—half of her body already blown apart—creepily lifted her head and looked his way, revealing a chilling smile.
"Little brother, how could you leave such dangerous things lying around at home? What if you hurt yourself? Big sis is in so much pain... would you come give me alittle massage?"
As she spoke, the woman actually started moving toward the archive room. But after just a few steps, her gaze froze, and the remaining half of her body began to crystallize into solid ether. In the next instant, she shattered into sparkling fragments that scattered across the floor and vanished.
Seeing this, Wise let out a breath of relief. He still didn't know what that woman really was, but it looked like his counterattack had worked.
But before he could even feel a moment's joy, a clawed hand with razor-sharp nails suddenly landed on the archive room's doorframe. A second later, that woman's head peeked in from outside, staring directly at Wise's pale, horrified face.
"Aww, almost got caught off guard. Good thing I reacted quickly. That just now? That was just one of my clones. You didn't really think big sis would die so easily, did you?"
Upon realizing he'd only destroyed a clone; Wise was plunged into despair. With no combat skills to speak of, he didn't have a second iron sphere to counterattack with.
Now, all their hopes rested on Zhong Yan.
...
Zhong Yan arrived at the video store half an hour later.
To be precise, it was his shadow clone that arrived.
The real Zhong Yan, upon receiving the urgent news, had immediately transformed into Uchiha mode and rushed to the Hollow to rescue Nicole and the others.
With Ellen missing and Anby now captured, Zhong Yan was far from calm.
The moment his shadow clone entered the store, it sensed something was wrong.
Even ignoring the bloodstains on the floor and the obvious traces of an explosion, the sheer emptiness of the video store made his skin crawl.
Wise, Belle, and even No.18 Bangboo, who was usually stationed at the front desk, had all vanished without a trace.
Zhong Yan's clone was immediately on high alert.
Before he could investigate further, the ceiling lights suddenly cut out. In the pitch darkness, a figure burst forth and lunged straight at Zhong Yan's back at incredible speed.
But just as the attack was about to land, a surge of intense electricity exploded around Zhong Yan's body. Bright white arcs lit up the dark store in a blinding flash.
The attacker was sent flying by the shock, slamming hard into the wall.
As Zhong Yan turned around, the fading light revealed his attacker—a woman he didn't recognize. Her looks and figure were strikingly beautiful.
But he had no interest in admiring such things right now.
"Where did you take them?" Zhong Yan's tone was ice-cold as he advanced on her step by step.
Strangely, instead of showing fear, the woman just smiled like she didn't understand the situation.
"Hehe, little brother, your power is much stronger than theirs. Why don't you... come with big sis instead?"
As she finished speaking—and before Zhong Yan could respond—her body rapidly began to swell.
Crystals of ether, which should not exist outside a Hollow, began emerging all over her body. Soon, she was like a ticking time bomb, moments away from detonation.
Zhong Yan knew exactly what that meant. If she exploded, the entire video store would be leveled.
There were things here the siblings absolutely could not lose—not to mention a highly advanced AI.
No matter what, he couldn't let the store be destroyed.
Making a split-second decision, Zhong Yan activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. A dark light burst from his left eye, and a visible spatial vortex opened up in midair. It sucked the woman's entire body inside.
Just before she exploded, the vortex closed—and the store, which should have been obliterated, was spared.
With the immediate danger resolved, Zhong Yan used his Sharingan to scan the surroundings. Once he confirmed there were no more enemies, he headed to the archive room and powered on Fairy, who had been shut off.
He could only hope that when Wise and Belle disappeared, Fairy had still been running—otherwise, he'd have no way of tracking their location.
As the HDD system booted, Fairy lit up with it.
Upon seeing Zhong Yan, it immediately spoke: "Warning. Master and her blood relative were attacked and taken by unknown entities. Playback of in-store surveillance footage commencing."
Following Fairy's lead, Zhong Yan soon watched the entire incident unfold through the store's cameras.
From Nekomata staggering in to ask for help, to the woman tracking them down, to Wise's counterattack being nullified—
The further it played, the darker Zhong Yan's expression became.
Because the woman's abilities—were completely identical to an Ethereal's.
But how did an Ethereal make it out of the Hollow?
"Fairy, can you identify where that woman came from?" Zhong Yan, now at a complete loss, turned to the AI for help.
Fairy's response was immediate: "Negative. No relevant data found in current databases. Recommend initiating immediate rescue mission. Assistance from additional allies is advised."
Allies weren't a problem—Zhong Yan didn't need help with that. The real question was how to locate those people.
And... who exactly were they?
A human possessing Ethereal abilities... That guy in Nin-Village might know something.
Zhong Yan thought of Zhao Anmen. His teleportation ability came from an upper-class Ethereal called Thanatos. But his level of Etherealization was nowhere near that of the woman from earlier.
If necessary, Zhong Yan could pay him a visit to ask questions. But first, he had to find Anby and the others—no one knew what could happen to them in the meantime.
"Fairy, pull up surveillance footage from Sixth Street. Look for any suspicious vehicles. If we can confirm which direction they left in, try to trace their route."
After a moment of silence, Zhong Yan began issuing new instructions.
And even though he wasn't its original master, Fairy didn't hesitate to carry out the order. It quickly accessed all surveillance feeds from Sixth Street, searching for any suspicious individuals or vehicles.