Without a second thought, Ellen's body reacted instinctively to Phaga's warning. She lowered her stance slightly, legs bent, and her massive scissors tilted downward, ready to spring into action at any moment.
Belobog Heavy Industries, however, hesitated for a second after hearing the warning. It took them a brief pause before they snapped into combat stance.
Grace drew her pistol and opened her data pad at the same time, only to be startled by what she saw—the Ether activity readings were skyrocketing.
"Roar!"
A thunderous roar erupted.
The ruins that had just been silent shattered in an instant. Five fingers burst through the debris, clawing out and pressing hard against the rubble. With a violent push, the creature tore itself free from the ruins.
Everyone turned toward it. It was a humanoid monster—roughly human-sized, with all four limbs intact. At first glance, it looked like a person dressed in strange clothes.
But it had a metallic head.
Clearly, this was no human.
"The Ether concentration's still rising, Grace. What kind of Ethereal Remnant is that?"
Big Ben turned his gaze toward Grace, who was holding her data pad. In theory, she should've been able to identify the creature quickly.
But the answer she gave left him stunned.
"This doesn't seem to be an Ethereal Remnant!"
Grace aimed her pistol at the monster while frantically searching her data pad. After scrolling through page after page with no results, she finally gave up and said urgently, "I can't find any data on it."
"Roar!"
The monster bellowed again before anyone could say more, charging forward on all fours, its hands and feet slamming against the ground as it crawled swiftly.
Its powerful core muscles propelled it with astonishing speed—it covered over ten meters in a single breath.
Bang! Bang!
There was no time to keep searching. Grace fired two quick shots.
But the creature showed no fear. It tilted its head to dodge one bullet, then swatted another aside with its claw, lunging at Grace with terrifying force. Beneath its metal helmet, a pair of crimson lights glowed fiercely.
"Grace!"
Big Ben was too far away to help. His eyes widened in panic as he roared her name.
Clang!
At the last second, a dark figure swept past Grace, blocking the monster's claw with a single slash. With a quick flick of the wrist, the creature was sent flying backward.
It was Phaga.
Big Ben finally exhaled in relief. But before the monster even landed, its feet hit the ground and coiled like springs, launching it back toward Phaga with explosive force.
"Watch out!"
Big Ben shouted the warning.
But Phaga had already noticed.
His eyes narrowed. Retracting his long blade, he swung it upward sharply, using its reach advantage to strike first, stabbing toward the monster's chest.
Yet instead of being pierced through, the monster was lifted into the air by the impact.
Phaga froze for an instant, then refocused. Stepping forward, he pivoted on one leg, spun a full circle, and unleashed a powerful kick. His heel slammed into the monster's chest, sending it flying.
"Ellen!"
Phaga shouted right after the strike.
"Got it."
A clear, calm voice answered from his flank. A blur of motion streaked past him—Ellen had already moved, chasing the airborne monster before it could crash into the ruins. Frost spread rapidly across the ground beneath her.
"[Sharknami]!"
Ellen was preparing for a series of strikes. She whipped her tail, spinning with the motion as her massive scissors rotated at blinding speed. The air filled with sharp, whirling frost as jagged ice spikes erupted from the ground and exploded in unison.
Boom!
The monster was blown into the air, shards of ice clinging to its body.
But Ellen didn't stop there. She hooked her leg around the scissors' handle, pulled them back, then kicked them forward with all her strength.
The spinning blades tore through the concrete floor, leaving deep icy scars in their wake as they hurtled toward the monster.
"Gahhh!!!"
The monster screamed in agony as the spinning scissors sliced through it, the sound so chilling it made one's heart ache.
Ellen, however, felt nothing. As a member of Victoria Housekeeping, she only cared that the monster had almost harmed Grace.
One more hit, and she and Phaga would've been hit with a bad performance review.
"What a nuisance."
Ellen dashed forward, biting her silver teeth lightly as she caught the returning scissors in one hand.
Then she leaped high into the air. She fixed her gaze on the blades and stomped down with all her might.
"Wash it away!"
The scissors slammed into the monster's body. Hundreds of ice spikes burst from the ground—but instead of piercing through it, they shattered under the pressure between Ellen and the earth, crushing the creature within.
Boom!
The monster was blasted sideways, its body twisting grotesquely as it crashed into the ground, rolling over and over before finally lying still.
Anton swallowed hard.
He'd always known Victoria Housekeeping was strong—but seeing it firsthand made him realize just how absurdly powerful they were.
Overcome with excitement, Anton shouted, "Is that Ethereal dead?"
He assumed it was an Ethereal; if that brutal assault hadn't killed it, the battle ahead was bound to be even more intense.
"Regrettably, no. Its Ether activity has only dropped slightly."
Phaga shook his head, his pupil beneath the monocle now glowing crimson. "And it's not an Ethereal. I can't find its [Core]."
The Ethereal Core—known simply as the [Core]—was something every Ethereal possessed. To them, it was equivalent to a human heart.
It could appear anywhere—on the head, beneath a skirt, even encased within their body or chest.
But it couldn't not exist.
Yet under Phaga's Vampiric Sight, there was no trace of a [Core] in the monster before them. It wasn't hidden—it simply didn't exist.
Phaga narrowed his eyes and said quietly, "Rather than calling this thing an Ethereal, it's more accurate to say it's some kind of high-tech creation—a monster designed to imitate the Ethereal."
Not an Ethereal, but an Ethereal-like construct—just as human radar was inspired by bats.
"But how could that be..."
Hearing Phaga's explanation, Koleda—still inside the prototype—was dumbfounded. She couldn't imagine her father had once fought against such a creature.
The downfall of Belobog Heavy Industries wasn't caused by disaster or embezzlement—it was part of a plan.
What on earth had happened back then to make a company president take up arms?
"Phaga might be right, Koleda."
A calm, steady voice echoed from within Eous.
Fairy's transmitted data flashed across the H.D.D before Wise, listing all known Ethereal records—none of which mentioned a creature like this.
Even when Fairy searched beyond the Ethereal database, it still couldn't find a single trace of information about this monster.
Wise finally concluded, "This isn't an Ethereal. It's some kind of advanced technological creation."
"For now, there's good news: while it's durable, its combat strength doesn't seem overwhelming. It's still within our ability to handle."
"But there's also bad news: aside from that, we know absolutely nothing about it."
"Je..."
As they spoke, the monster suddenly twisted its neck and rose again.
It patted its metallic skull, shaking loose a cascade of ice fragments that scattered across the ground.
Then it rolled its shoulders and settled on all fours as if nothing had happened. Its flexible torso arched slightly—ready to pounce at any moment.
Phaga exhaled softly and slid his long blade back into the umbrella handle.
Then he curled his fingers into clawed shapes and advanced slowly, eyes locked on the monster.
The second battle had begun.