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A short while later, Belle also arrived, driving the small sedan from the store to do some maintenance on Eous.
The Bangboo, still enjoying the lingering comfort of Rina's massage, cooperated very well, humming and mumbling "Eh-ne, eh-ne" as it reported its status to its owner while receiving the inspection. Belle responded as she worked, chatting with the staff from Victoria Housekeeping Co. She was clearly in a good mood.
The maintenance only lasted a short time; it seemed Eous had no major issues. The damp mist inside the Ballet Twins Hollow appeared to be some kind of mysterious Hollow power, but fortunately, this Bangboo hadn't been affected. This Bangboo seemed to have some unique significance to Phaethon, and Belle had been visibly nervous when the check first started, worried something might go wrong.
After finishing the inspection, Belle scooped Eous into her arms and gave it a thorough rub. The Bangboo was soft and springy, surely very comfortable to hold. Ignis also wanted to try, but for a three-meter-tall Adeptus Astartes, Eous was simply too small to hold properly.
Before returning to the car, Belle showed the Salamander the Knock-Knock chat window on her phone. It was a message from Nicole, and the tone of the Cunning Hares' leader today was unusually respectful—she had even brought up payment for old debts. Not at all her usual familiar manner; she seemed strangely distant.
"Nicole is so ridiculous. Just because I enjoyed Victoria Housekeeping Co's services, she thinks I'd suddenly become annoyed with the Cunning Hares." Belle pretended to be angry. "Does she really think I'm that petty?"
"So how was Victoria Housekeeping Co's service?" Ignis asked straightforwardly.
"It was really great," Belle admitted, scratching her head shyly. "But their pricing is so high. Normally I could never afford it. They only offered service because they needed my help as well. Otherwise, with my usual pay, I doubt I'd ever get access to something like that."
Apparently, she had completely forgotten the moment she fainted after eating the cookie Rina had given her. Ignis had wanted to stop her, but before he could speak, she had already eaten it. The girl's expression had gone through a whirlwind of emotions—astonishment, shock, trembling fear, regret—before her face turned pale and she lost consciousness.
Thankfully, it had only been about the overwhelming flavor, not poison. She recovered after a brief daze, but it seemed she had entirely forgotten eating Rina's cookie.
The brain must have deleted the memory in self-defense.
No wonder Rina said very few people had ever given feedback on her cooking—apparently it was powerful enough to trigger the brain's defensive mechanisms.
Ignis knew too little about food; to combine top-tier ingredients into a cookie with the effect of a neural suppressant… cooking truly wasmysterious.
Once the manager of RandomPlay drove back, they quickly reestablished connection with Eous, and their exploration of the Ballet Twins Hollow resumed.
"Alright. This time, we're definitely saving Rain." Standing before the Hollow entrance of the Ballet Twins Tower, the small Bangboo clenched its tiny fists, full of fighting spirit.
"Oh!" everyone responded supportively.
With experience from last time, and with part of the first-floor lighting now restored, their advance was much faster. The light-averse Ethereals didn't come to disrupt them again, and they soon reached the stairwell they had used before.
"Lady Proxy, since your friend likely stayed on the rooftop of Tower B, shall we make that our primary destination?" Von Lycaon maintained his elegant posture as he ascended the stairs and spoke to Belle.
"If we head straight there, would it delay your work?" Belle asked politely. After all, Victoria Housekeeping Co. had entrusted her with updating the Hollow data here.
"Your consideration is appreciated. You and Mr. Ignis are our guests; your needs should come first." The Thiren Wolf smiled warmly.
To be honest, it wasn't easy to see "warmth" on a face mostly obscured by fur.
"Besides, with your friend's safety uncertain, search and rescue is clearly the higher priority. And from a practical standpoint, our maintenance tasks can be done along the way." Von Lycaon extended a hand to help the short-limbed Bangboo climb a step.
Indeed, if they were pushing through the Ballet Twins interior anyway, activating lights along the way was necessary—otherwise the strange Ethereals would surely appear again. This also allowed them to pinpoint which parts of the electrical and lighting systems were malfunctioning, making later repairs far easier.
"Guide-sir, could I trouble you to look at this diagram of the Ballet Twins?" Rina drifted upward as she climbed, holding a sheet of paper.
It showed a schematic of the twin towers, with two adjacent skyscrapers connected by a long corridor. The artwork was surprisingly good; The Salamander had seen Von Lycaon drawing it earlier—he truly was multitalented.
"As you can see, we are currently at the entrance of Tower A. Based on the Carrot we obtained, we must pass through the atrium corridor between the two towers to reach Tower B." Rina explained.
["Confirmed. The agent's intel is accurate. I recommend the master proceed with this route."] Fairy jumped out to remind them.
"Why can't we just enter from Tower B's side? Is it that far?" Ignis asked, curious. The distance between twin towers shouldn't be great.
"We tried, but the rifts there are too numerous. No safe route. And circling around from the outside would be slower than moving through the interior." Von Lycaon replied.
"Fairy, do your best! Even though we don't have much Hollow data yet, we've got to show Victoria Housekeeping Co. our professionalism!" Belle encouraged, and Eous immediately took the lead.
Thanks to the lighting-system coordinates they had obtained last time from the building's smart management terminal, Eous sprinted toward the nearest area with large-scale lighting fixtures. The little one moved surprisingly fast—Ignis suspected Belle herself probably couldn't run as fast as Eous.
Barely two steps in, the Ethereals emerged from the darkness again. They crawled upside-down from the ceiling, brass-colored arms scraping the panels with grating shrieks.
Ignis raised his autocannon, ready to give them a greeting, but Von Lycaon held him back.
"Lord Ignis, your weapon causes excessive structural damage inside the building. Unless absolutely necessary, please refrain from using it. We have another way to handle these enemies."
Considering both the erosion of his barrel and the truth in Lycaon's words, the Salamander lowered the autocannon. Best to save ammunition for more critical threats—if the barrel failed later, he'd be in trouble. He was curious to see what method Victoria Housekeeping Co. would use to counter the Ethereals.
He holstered the autocannon and prepared to charge the disintegration field of his power fist, observing Victoria Housekeeping Co's combat strategy so they could coordinate later.
The Wolf Thiren, however, simply turned and ran.
Yes—Von Lycaon's solution was exactly two words: don't fight.
"Since they fear light, we'll move quickly to the light source and drive them off that way." Von Lycaon ran behind the Bangboo. "Avoid unnecessary combat; reaching the rooftop is the top priority."
Ignis could only start running as well. But the Mark X Gravis Power Armor made sprinting difficult, and its immense weight created thunderous tremors and booming noise with each step. More Ethereals were drawn to the commotion, forming a swelling tide behind them.
Those closest lunged at the team, but Victoria Housekeeping Co.'s members intercepted them.
Von Lycaon, just like the equipment on his body, was a warrior highly skilled in close-quarters combat. His well-proportioned, solid limbs carried explosive power. When an Ethereal suddenly lunged at him, he usually needed only a precise punch or kick to drop the fragile creature instantly. His movements were unbelievably practiced—clearly the result of extensive training and considerable battle experience. Every strike and every defense was delivered with perfect control, wasting not even a shred of energy.
Rina's fighting style caught Ignis's attention immediately. Her two Bangboo, Drusilla and Anastella, were not simple dolls—they were her weapons. Under her command, they flew out together and electrocuted the Ethereals. Although Anby also used electricity, her discharges were mostly for paralysis. Rina, however, used the current from her Bangboo to outright burn the Ethereals to ash. This ever-smiling woman employed an almost psychic technique, electrocuting approaching Ethereals from afar until they collapsed charred.
As for Ellen Joe, the moment battle began, her former laziness vanished completely. She moved around the team at extremely high speed, the red ribbons on her gardener's shears trailing behind her in a graceful streak. Her tail stretched straight as she sprinted, helping her maintain balance. Her attack method was also distinct—she would slip behind or to the flank of an Ethereal, open the blades of her shears, and clamp down with brutal force. The move resembled a great white shark torpedoing upward to ambush a seal from underwater; and like those seals, anything Ellen set her eyes on ended up torn cleanly in half by the shark-jaw shears.
The most interesting part was that after every strike, a layer of frost formed on Ellen's blades, and the severed wounds of the Ethereals were also glazed with ice. The Salamander guessed this was an ability granted by her W-Engine—using low temperatures to make the enemy's body surface more brittle, making cutting them apart far easier.
W-Engines in New Eridu truly were remarkable devices. Combined with the ether-based weapon systems used here, they could produce many impressive effects—like Jaxcalibur-01's infrasonic shockwave, Anby's electrical discharge, and Boss Nicole's gravity-enhanced ammunition.
As for Corin Wickes, her combat style was the simplest—and the most familiar to the Salamander. The long-handled buzzsaw in the girl's hands seemed weightless, its blade screeching sharply as she sliced Ethereals cleanly into fragments. Though Corin always looked flustered, she was never sloppy in actual combat. Her raw strength let her clash head-on with many Ethereals without being overwhelmed. the Salamander even saw her topple foes much larger than herself, apologizing repeatedly while cutting them neatly into proportional pieces with her saw.
Honestly, her way of wielding the long-handled buzzsaw reminded Ignis of the Space Sharks—some Adeptus Astartes from that Chapter specialized in using a weapon known as the chain-glaive. But Space Sharks certainly didn't apologize mid-battle, saying sorry for not slicing enemies into aesthetically pleasing shapes while sparks and lightning flew everywhere.
Ignis's massive frame and heavy steps drew the attention of countless Ethereals. They attacked from every direction, only to be smashed into piles of fragments by the Salamander's power fist. In the darkness, the fist crackled with snapping arcs, blue electricity flashing brilliantly. When enemies clustered too tightly, the flamethrower sent out twin gouts of blazing fire, setting them all alight.
But this was exactly what made Von Lycaon anxious. The flamethrower was effective, but the damage it caused to interior decor was severe. Still, with so many foes, he could only accept it—after all, human safety came first. At least compared to Ignis's dragon's breath shells, the flamethrower's range was far more limited.
Eous, as their guide, was tightly guarded by the group. Even when it ran too fast and nearly tripped, Rina would immediately float over and catch it.
The team advanced at high speed and soon reached the first lit area. Eous hurriedly pulled the data cable from its chest and connected to the building's smart management terminal. After a brief override, the lights around them flicked on.
Aside from the Ethereals still entangled with the group, the others vanished instantly into the thick darkness and fog of the Ballet Twins Hollow the moment the lights hit them.
One Ethereal dove at Ignis from midair, brass-colored arms deploying blades that even cut through the light. The creature aimed straight for the Salamander's head as it descended with deadly speed. Ignis's right hand struck faster than the attack—he caught the thing midair, and with a surge from the disintegration field, it shattered into fragments.
"How far?" Ignis shook off the remains.
"The distance is not short, but please do not be impatient." Von Lycaon performed a rapid chain of kicks, sending another Ethereal flying. Like Ellen, frost instantly spread across the creature's surface before it shattered.