With Andrew's explanation, Caesar roughly understood why he felt they could enter the Hollow directly without waiting for Belle.
As the Proxy Phaethon, her greatest strength was her exceptionally outstanding, one-could-say unparalleled, speed in creating 'carrots'.
Once inside the Hollow, she could use the equipment within Eous, paired with data piles, to map the Hollow's data with extreme speed.
Combined with the H.D.D. System's ability to detect all life signs within a Hollow, and with the Silver Squad having the 'carrots' to follow, Andrew wasn't worried at all that Belle would fail to find everyone if they coordinated their search efforts.
Perhaps an enormous Hollow might overwhelm the H.D.D. System's processing power, preventing a complete scan, but this fledgling Hollow was nowhere near large enough to pose such a problem.
However, when it came to crises, Andrew believed in tearing out the problem by the roots. His plan had always been to resolve this crisis directly, not just mitigate the damage.
"Caesar, if we can eliminate the boss before the Hollow fully solidifies, we can save everyone—both the people and the Blazewood refinery!"
Andrew's tone was resolute. Hearing for the first time that a Hollow could be eliminated this way, Caesar felt an unconscious surge of excitement, but the step she was about to take instinctively halted.
For her, charging in alone was one thing; charging in with Andrew was another entirely.
It was an indescribable, subconscious worry, a desire not to see Andrew in danger. After all, what he was planning to fight was the Hollow's boss.
However, this subconscious apprehension vanished without a trace the moment she saw the firm and confident look in Andrew's eyes.
Giving a slow nod, Caesar said no more. She turned, got on her bike, and with Andrew on the back, sped off toward the Blazewood refinery.
Although Andrew had all but decided on the Pampera 250 motorcycle, its stock top speed was only 130 km/h. For someone like Caesar, who lived and breathed speed in the Outer Ring, that was absolutely pathetic.
In the pursuit of speed, Caesar once again had Andrew ride on the back of her own motorcycle. Her Ether Alloy Sword, 'I Came,' and her Irregular Ether Alloy Shield, 'I Saw,' were already equipped to her prosthetic arm and holstered at her waist.
This familiar weapon combination reminded Andrew of the Sword and Shield from Hunter. It was the exact same setup: a one-handed sword paired with a round shield.
As someone who knew a thing or two about the Sword and Shield, Andrew couldn't help but feel a flicker of interest in how it was used in this world.
But now was not the time for that.
The refinery where the Hollow had appeared wasn't far from Blazewood, and with Caesar riding at full throttle, they soon arrived before the nascent Hollow.
To be honest, the Hollow hadn't reached an enormous size yet. The deep void shimmered with a faint, colorful light, giving it the quality of an iridescent blackness.
The only saving grace was that the Outer Ring was mostly wasteland. After swallowing the refinery, the Hollow had stopped expanding, having run out of things to corrode.
But this was merely a temporary pause. Like a python that has just swallowed its prey, it was now waiting for the meal in its belly to be digested.
Once the 'food' inside the Hollow was completely corroded, the Ether energy generated would fuel a second wave of expansion, which would continue until there was nothing left to sustain it.
And among the consumed, the more intelligent a being, the more energy it provides upon corrosion, and the Ethereals it transforms into are countless times more powerful than those spawned from ordinary Ether crystals.
Gripping the Dullahan Tachi in his hand, Andrew turned to exchange a look with Caesar, and together, they stepped into the pitch-black barrier.
It was like passing through a flimsy membrane. One step took them into another world. Blackness first veiled everything before their eyes, as if a great beast had eagerly opened its maw.
In this world, the disaster known as the Hollow was never a picky eater. Any substance that could be corroded would be
ravenously devoured by it.
As they broke through the membrane, light once again filled their eyes. The change in scenery made Andrew feel as if he had truly stepped into another dimension.
And in an instant, a sense of weightlessness washed over his entire body.
Opening his eyes, Andrew found himself in a place of absolute nothingness. Truly nothing—there wasn't even any ground.
He had materialized hundreds of meters in the air, his body seized by gravity. Like a solid iron weight appearing in the sky, the only possible outcome was a rapid plummet.
He didn't know if some 'will of the Hollow' was at play, but it felt like an act of malice from the Hollow itself—Andrew had been dropped directly into the sky above the refinery.
"Waaahhhh!"
As they fell, Caesar's slightly panicked voice cried out from nearby. In mid-air, she instinctively splayed her limbs to increase drag and slow her descent.
Just as Caesar was scanning the ground below for any building or wall she could use to break her fall, a grappling hook suddenly snagged her by the waist.
As the cable retracted, the next moment Caesar felt herself pulled into a warm embrace.
Andrew was falling in a normal standing posture, while Caesar, now cradled in his arms, was being held by him in a princess carry.
This sudden and completely unexpected princess carry sent Caesar's mind into a total blank. She had only ever seen someone held like this in romance manga.
In the rugged Outer Ring, even normal hugs were a rare sight.
The last real 'embrace' Caesar had witnessed was when a young biker girl in Blazewood was courting a guy she liked. Her method involved beating him to his knees and then slinging him over her shoulder to carry him home.
As for the princess carry from the manga, until now, it had only ever existed in her imagination.
And now, the princess carry she had fantasized about countless times had become a reality in the most unexpected way possible?!
The two strong arms supporting her back and legs were powerful and steady, firmly securing her body, which had been tossed about by the howling wind of their descent.
The chest pressed against hers was so warm, and it made Caesar's heart begin to pound uncontrollably.
She subconsciously tilted her head up. In the light, Andrew's hair whipped wildly in the wind, revealing the confident, spirited face beneath.
It was as if this perilous situation was as trivial to him as eating or drinking. He even had the leisure to glance down at Caesar, and upon noticing her staring blankly at him, he offered a gentle smile.
In that moment, the howling of the wind became a faint whisper in Caesar's ears. The pounding of her own heart was deafening, drowning out everything else.
In those few short seconds of freefall, Caesar's eyes could see nothing but Andrew's confident face; there was no room for anything else.
_____
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