Hm?
Eous looked toward the source of the sound and saw Phaga supporting Ellen as they approached.
Huh! How much had Phaga drained from Ellen? Why was he the one supporting her now? Ellen was in for a rough time after this.
No, that wasn't the priority right now!
Eous shook her head vigorously, trying to chase away every impure thought, then quickly said,
"But Phaga, your umbrella is dangerous now. It might corrupt you—turn you into something neither human nor ghost."
"Who cares…"
Leaning against Phaga's shoulder, Ellen muttered softly, "He's not human anyway."
But everyone present heard it clearly. Indeed, neither Ellen nor Phaga could be considered normal people.
"Seems like that's how it is…" Eous scratched her head, but quickly snapped back, her voice rising sharply, "Ellen, don't interrupt! That's not the point!"
"The point is Phaga might turn into something neither human nor ghost!"
Caw—caw—caw!
The air fell into sudden silence.
"Achoo!"
The quiet was abruptly shattered. Grace, seemingly catching a chill, sneezed suddenly, wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered. "So cold!"
"Hah!"
Koleda, who hadn't laughed yet, burst into laughter upon hearing Grace's sneeze. She crouched down, patted Eous's head, and laughed heartily. "Proxy, I never expected you to have such a knack for telling bad jokes."
Big Ben hurried forward to shield her, gently pulling the embarrassed Grace away and whispering, "The president doesn't know any better, but you're her older sister—don't you know better? Calm down, calm down!"
"But…"
After laughing for a while, Koleda gradually quieted down. She wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, then her expression turned serious.
"Phaga, I must make this clear to you. Your umbrella is dangerous right now. Don't get complacent just because you have high resistance."
"Don't worry, my resistance is truly high."
Phaga said quietly, then picked up his umbrella from the ground and clutched it tightly in his palm.
To everyone's astonishment, flames suddenly flared across the umbrella's surface, racing across the entire canopy. In an instant, it forced the overflowing Ether Substance to retreat back into the W-Engine.
Finally, Phaga looked down at the umbrella in his hand—its surface faintly tinted purple—and said quietly, "Kunmutu has been with me since childhood. I couldn't just abandon it."
Anton was the only one who supported Phaga. Hearing his response, he felt deeply moved and exclaimed with emotion,
"Seriously, guys! Don't you think that's awesome? Not abandoning your old comrade even when it's battered and bruised? I'd never leave my brothers behind."
Mid-sentence, Anton glanced back at the three machines, fixing his gaze especially on Greta. "Greta! Mr. White was crushed under the Ethereals. Would you abandon it?"
"I'll tear that damned thing to pieces!"
Greta's voice suddenly turned fierce. But seeing everyone's startled expressions, she realized she'd lost her composure and hurried to regain her usual ladylike tone.
She shyly stepped back, covering her display screen with her demolition saw, and said in a soft, embarrassed voice, "D-Don't look at me like that! I meant I'll definitely rebuild Mr. White…"
"Very good. Friday, what about you?"
"I… I, I…"
Friday tried to act cool, but when Grace shot him a glance, he immediately straightened up and stammered, "I fully support Mr. Phaga."
"Not good enough, Friday. You still lack manliness. Hans, step forward!"
"Present!"
Hans strode forward and declared boldly, "No matter what hardships we face, I'll never abandon Big Brother Anton! That's what a real man does!"
"Excellent!"
Anton gave a thumbs-up, turned around, and stood with his hands on his hips, beaming. "Counting the kids, that makes six votes for us now!"
SMACK!
Koleda suddenly appeared behind Anton, slapping him hard on the back of the head and shouting, "This is Phaga's personal matter! You think it's an election?"
"But…"
Koleda adjusted her eyepatch with a sigh. "Things have come to this. We have no standing to persuade Phaga. Let's take the prototype and that monster's corpse back."
"Mhm."
Eous nodded. Grace was still holding it tightly. Though Eous didn't understand why her breathing felt so heavy, being held for a while wasn't a big deal—so it let her be.
While being carried, Eous pointed in a certain direction and commanded, "Head this way."
Everyone climbed onto their intelligent machines and departed toward the direction Eous had indicated.
Life moved on in a steady rhythm.
With the former ruler gone, other lifeforms quickly moved in to claim the empty territory. Weak Ethereal beings bent down to examine the footprints on the ground. Climbing to higher ground, they followed the tracks with their gaze, watching from afar as the victors who had defeated the mighty ruler departed.
Their [Cores] flickered faintly—as if in thought?
...
Five hours later, Phaga and his companions finally emerged from the Hollow. The time for parting was nearly upon them.
"Um… Miss Grace. I feel I should mention this now—your current posture is quite unladylike."
Phaga was about to return Eous to Phaethon, but Grace clung to him, her dazed expression making things awkward.
"Just a little longer… just a little. I've held back so long, I really can't resist anymore! Mmm… It's so unfair that something mechanical can feel this soft!"
Knowing they'd part soon, Grace realized this might be her last chance. She clung tightly to Eous, rubbing her face against him.
Even more amusingly, Belle hadn't disconnected from Eous yet. The intimate sensations were being transmitted through Eous directly to her.
The sensations left Belle lightheaded as well. She leaned back, eyes closed, a catlike smile spreading across her face as she murmured, 'Stop it… I think this feels pretty nice, hehe.'"
Phaga couldn't help but shake his head and sigh at the sight.
Behind him, Ellen poked her head out of the pickup truck's cab, puzzled. "What's wrong with Proxy?"
"He's gone mad."
Phaga replied succinctly, then shot a strange look at Big Ben and Koleda. "Grace is like this, and you two aren't doing anything about it?"
Big Ben awkwardly scratched his face, while Koleda blushed bright red. After enduring the awkward scene for a while, she couldn't take it anymore. She quickly grabbed Grace's arm from behind, forcefully trying to pry it open, and shouted,
"Grace, act normal! You're ruining Belobog Heavy Industries' reputation!"
"Mmm-hmm, Sweet Peace. You used to call me big sister. The older you get, the less adorable you become. Big sister is so sad!"
"Who cares about you! I'm the president now. Stop messing up my corporate image! Big Ben, Big Ben, come here!"
"Oh, okay…"
Big Ben responded weakly, then quickly took advantage of the distraction to snatch Eous from Grace's grasp while Koleda held her down. He handed Eous to Phaga and urged, "Hurry up and leave! We'll restrain her!"
"Uh… okay."
Phaga's mouth twitched a few times. He turned back, opened the pickup truck door, and tossed Eous into Ellen's arms under her astonished gaze.
Ellen muttered in complaint, "I'm driving! Why are you dumping it on me?"
"I've already sucked your blood twice today. Even vampires wouldn't dare ride in your car."
Phaga climbed in, resting one hand on Ellen's back and the other around her thigh as he lifted her into the passenger seat. He then grabbed the steering wheel and climbed in after her.
He twisted the key, ignited the engine, and took off.
Throughout the ride, Ellen turned her head sullenly toward the window, not saying a single word to Phaga.
At four in the afternoon, they returned Eous to Sixth Street.
By six in the evening, Phaga and Ellen were back home.
The moment they entered, Ellen collapsed weakly onto the dining table, closing her eyes and murmuring, "Phaga, cook."
"I have something else to do. I'll go later."
"What is it?"
But Ellen didn't get a reply—Phaga had already gone down the stairs to the basement.
Click.
Phaga turned on the light and exhaust fan, then looked down at Kunmutu. Slowly, he drew the blade. The once-pure white edge now glowed faintly with a purple light.
His expression hardened as he drew the blade in a single, swift downward strike.
Thud!
A streak of Ether blade light shot forth, striking the opposite wall dead center.
Phaga stepped forward, reaching out to feel the corrosion on the wall's surface. A faint burning sensation tingled at his fingertips.
"As expected…"
Phaga murmured softly.