With a single leap, Sol crossed the two-hundred-meter gap.
Relying on his precise magnetic positioning of the group, along with his own superb martial skill, Sol landed easily and without mishap before Von Lycaon and the others.
They looked at Sol, who had suddenly bounded over, and were simply lost for words.
To leap two hundred meters in one jump—was he even human?
Von Lycaon felt his reinforced leg prothesis no longer seemed all that impressive.
Even if he ran it at full power, he knew he couldn't possibly jump two hundred meters.
But compared to the massive commotion Sol had caused killing two Elite Ethereals, this inhuman feat wasn't even worth mentioning.
A hundred-meter radius of land had been turned into magma, and several buildings toppled in the process.
Sol was practically a walking natural disaster—he was too terrifying.
Von Lycaon couldn't shake the feeling that if this man fought inside New Eridu, he'd be even more dangerous than a Hollow Disaster.
With complicated emotions, Von Lycaon addressed him. "Mr. Mercer, your strength is overwhelming—we are utterly convinced."
"Let's keep moving. Before the final target, nothing else should be able to stop us." Sol curled his lip, sounding bored. "Though honestly, I wish more would show up."
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Mr. Mercer." Rina smiled faintly. "For a Hollow of this scale, having two or three Elite Ethereals is already extremely rare."
"On the path ahead, there should only be the last special Ethereal left."
In fact, for a Hollow of this size, having even two Elite Ethereals like Thanatos and Hati was already the limit.
That thirty-meter-tall [Odin] existed only because of the peculiar nature of the Sacrifice.
After all, according to investigations, that Sacrifice had been placed here even before the Hollow's formation.
"Let's keep going—the sooner it's done, the sooner we're finished."
After that little warm-up, Sol had lost much of his interest in a thirty-meter Ethereal.
It was nothing more than a big target. Under the force of Magnetic Field Rotation, it likely couldn't withstand even a single punch.
So why not change it? Change the test subject to the entire Hollow itself.
His goal: part the planet down the middle. And he'd start with splitting X-83 Hollow.
"Mr. Mercer, please!"
Von Lycaon once again led the way at the front.
Skirting around the disaster zone Sol had just created, they advanced toward the Hollow's core.
…
Meanwhile, Hoshimi Miyabi and her team had already entered X-83 Hollow.
Seeing the smoke and dust rising from collapsed buildings in the distance, Asaba Harumasa's face turned grim as he addressed Hoshimi. "Section Chief, it looks like an intense battle took place there. Several buildings collapsed—the enemy's firepower is extremely terrifying."
"It's very likely the work of rebels, or perhaps the Defense Army. Only a heavy artillery battalion could cause such devastation."
With his years of expertise in intelligence work, his analysis leaned heavily toward the rebels.
The Defense Army wouldn't appear in a Hollow beyond the frontlines without reason, and they had received no orders to assist them.
But why would the rebels deploy a heavy artillery battalion into this Hollow?
There had to be a major secret hidden here!
"Let's go take a look." Hoshimi lifted her gaze toward the distant scene, her voice cool and sharp. "That's exactly the direction of our objective."
She tightened her grip on her katana, fully prepared for an encounter.
"Yes, Section Chief!"
The group adjusted their course slightly, heading toward the site of the collapsed buildings.
Before long, they arrived at the ruins where the towers had fallen one after another.
Judging from the collapse marks, Asaba Harumasa became even more convinced of his suspicion. "This was definitely heavy artillery—and not just a single cannon!"
"Though there's no shrapnel, the impact traces show the kind of power only heavy artillery could have. And the calibers are of multiple different sizes, clearly a ragtag collection. It must be the rebels!"
Harumasa felt like he had uncovered a massive secret. This mission might very well be his last.
Damn it, the world is such a beautiful place—I haven't lived enough yet.
With his words, the team grew even more cautious.
They readied their weapons, bracing themselves for the possibility of a rebel artillery battalion.
Soon, they reached the true battlefield.
Other than the devastation, there was no trace of life—nor of the heavy artillery unit Harumasa had guessed.
Instead, within a hundred-meter-radius circle, the ground was still glowing faintly red, solidified magma and metal liquid not long cooled.
"Does heavy artillery shoot out magma now?"
Soukaku looked toward Harumasa curiously, puzzled.
She'd never seen heavy artillery that could blast magma.
"It wasn't heavy artillery." Harumasa tugged awkwardly at the corner of his mouth, even more perplexed. "This feels more like a plasma ion cannon's work… but could something like that even be brought into a Hollow?"
He did know of such high-energy weapons, but due to their power sources and structural limits, they were fixed emplacements.
Bringing one into the depths of a Hollow seemed impossible.
"This must have been caused by a strong individual."
Tsukishiro Yanagi pointed toward the very center of the battlefield, his expression heavy.
It was nothing but a patch of ordinary ground, yet starkly different from the surrounding black-red magma.
More importantly, faint footprints remained upon it.
"I think a rebel artillery battalion would actually be easier to deal with," Harumasa said miserably, clutching his twin blades.
One person had created a hundred-meter-wide magma pit and toppled several high-rises.
That was no less than a humanoid monster, far harder to deal with than any artillery.
Before, they had perhaps a fifty-fifty chance. Now… it was ten deaths out of ten.
This sucks.
"This person's strength surpasses mine."
Miyabi pressed her short blade tighter, feeling a rare pressure.
She hadn't expected a routine Ethereal extermination mission to involve running into such a powerhouse.
Why had he come to this Hollow? What was his purpose?
"The magma's surface has only just formed a crust—he hasn't gone far."
"Follow him. His target should also be that Ethereal."
Miyabi's scarlet eyes gleamed like blades as she leapt toward the core with lithe grace.
The little heels of her boots touched the half-solidified magma like a dragonfly skimming the surface, unhindered by the molten flow.