After getting off the phone with the pink scourge, Illya received an encrypted text from an anonymous number.
[Your target is the Parasitic Ethereal Swarm- Code name: Geppetto.]
[An escort with more information will arrive in approximately 30 minutes after you have received this message.]
Seeing this, a subtle flicker of realization lit up Illya's light brown eyes.
"Ah, so that's what the bimbo meant..."
It was no stretch to say that in terms of pure, destructive scale, the Eighth Void Hunter of New Eridu was on a different realm compared to his peers, and thus, for super massive ethereals such as Ninevah and Geppetto, he was naturally the most suitable counter.
Illya tossed his phone on the couch and quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor before grabbing a quick shower.
By the time he was done, the chime of his doorbell echoed in his apartment.
"Mm, that's probably the escort."
Tossing on a white T-shirt and a pair of black cargo pants, Illya answered the door and was pleasantly surprised to find a familiar face standing there.
"Lycaon! It's been a while!"
An impeccably dressed Wolf Thiren smiled and brought his hand to his chest, bowing respectfully.
"Indeed, it has, Master Illya. A few years, if I remember correctly."
Opening the door a little wider, Illya motioned for Lycaon to come in.
"Come inside~ I still need a few minutes to get ready, and it'd be rude of me to leave you waiting out here."
"Then I hope you'll forgive my intrusion."
Ushering the Thiren inside, Illya rummaged through his fridge and tossed Lycaon a chilled beer can.
"... Master Illya, I have to drive."
Realizing his mistake, Illya scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Muscle memory, my bad~"
Illya handed a Lycaon a bottle of water and set the beer can on a nearby table with an apologetic look on his face.
"Sorry, I just had someone over a few hours ago, and they raided my fridge of all the soft drinks..."
Lycaon chuckled good-naturedly and took a sip of the water.
"No worries. I'm just happy to hear that Master Illya has company."
Rumaging through a few bins, Illya shoved some stuff into a black duffel bag and responded offhandedly.
"I picked up a few hobbies after I stepped back from active duty and made some friends through those shared interests... Maybe I could introduce you to them sometime in the future~"
"It would be my honor to meet your friends, Master Illya."
Chuckling, Illya put on a pair of cheap sneakers and slung the duffel bag on his shoulders.
"You don't have to be so uptight around me, y'know? It's not like I'm gonna report you to the boss for being a bit more casual."
Lycaon offered him a polite smile.
"You are our client today, and as the representative of Victoria Housekeeping, it is only appropriate that I maintain some semblance of decorum."
Illya shrugged.
"If that's the case, I won't force you."
Slipping on a jacket, Illya gestured towards the door.
"Ready?"
"Of course, Master Illya."
Lycaon strolled over to the door and held it open for the Void Hunter.
The wolf Thiren motioned toward the bag Illya was carrying.
"May I..."
Illya waved him off politely.
"Nah, it's fine. The least I could do is carry my own bag."
A slightly conflicted expression crossed Lycaon's face.
"I must insist, Master Illya. To be frank, the Master has paid us far too much for what amounts to a mere escort mission. It'll ease my mind if you allow us to make the trip as convenient as possible for you."
Illya sighed and offered up the bag without any further protests.
"I think it's a pretty appropriate amount considering you're escorting me to Limbo, but if you really want to..."
Lycaon flashed him another polite smile as he took the bag.
"Then, Master Illya, let us depart. The rest of my companions await us in the car."
"Companions?"
The Wolf Thiren nodded.
"Aside from Rina, whom you've already met, Victoria Housekeeping has welcomed two new members since you last employed our services."
Illya frowned.
"Isn't summoning the entire Housekeeping staff a bit grand for a simple hunt?"
Lycaon shook his head.
"If your identity weren't such a sensitive topic, the Master would've likely assembled an entire extermination squad to accompany you on this subjugation mission."
A sigh escaped Illya's mouth.
"Whatever. Let's just go."
Lycaon chuckled and offered Illya another respectful bow.
"By your will."
-----------
--------
-----
---
--
-
"Uhm, Rina? Don't you think this guy's a bit... underdressed for the occasion?"
Unable to hold back her curiosity, a certain ruby-eyed shark girl in maid attire whispered to an elegant ghost thiren dressed in similar fashion.
Ellen shot another glance at Illya in the back seat, noting how casually he was dressed.
"Ahehe, our employer is quite the capable individual. I wouldn't worry too much about him."
"Tch, if you say so."
Scoffing, Ellen shut her eyes and leaned back in her seat, clearly trying to take a nap.
Ignoring the conversation the two maids were having, Illya gently tapped Lycaon on the shoulder.
"Yes, Master Illya?"
"The text I was sent earlier said that you had some more info about the mission. Would you mind filling me in now?"
Rina, the head maid of Victoria Housekeeping, cleared her throat.
"Ahem, Lord Lycaon is a little preoccupied. Allow me to provide you with the details, Master Illya."
"Thanks, Rina."
The maid took out a tablet from the front compartment and handed it to the Hunter.
On it were a few blurry images of a colossal Ethereal and a list of identifying factors.
"As I'm sure you're aware, the target of your mission is the Parasitic Ethereal Swarm: Geppetto."
"Recently, a few researchers observed an abnormal spike in Ether fluctuations near Zone A17-"
Illya's brow furrowed.
"An Ether spike in the Lost Void? Is that really cause for concern?"
Rina gently shook her head.
"The Ether fluctuations aren't why we called you in. You see, Victoria Housekeeping has been investigating the 'Sacrifices' over the past few months, and we've traced some clues back to Zone A17."
Illya frowned.
"You think Geppetto is one of the 'Sacrifices'?"
Lycaon answered in Rina's stead.
"While we can't rule out that possibility, we don't have enough information to draw a conclusion. The reason why the Mayor needs you to take care of Geppetto is so we can investigate Zone A17 for traces of the Exhaltists without risk of being ambushed."
"The exhaltists again? Seriously? I swear, those Cult Bastards are always up to something..."
Rina chuckled.
"Ahehe~ Cult bastards, indeed."
A sigh escaped Illya's lips.
"Wait, I'm still a little confused... Why the hell am I the one who's going when this investigation is supposed to be secret? My powers aren't exactly subtle."
"..."
Lycaon and Rina fell silent for a moment, thinking of a response.
The Wolf Thiren coughed awkwardly.
"Truthfully, the Master did not divulge the reason why he requested you specifically, but..."
"Hah~ Boss truly is a hard person to understand. Whatever. I'll stop questioning it."
Lycaon could only offer up a forced laugh.
Illya stretched out slightly in the back seat and laxed his posture, awaiting their imminent arrival at Hollow Zero.
----
--
-
"We've arrived."
The group had parked the van a couple of miles away from the Hollow, choosing to run the rest of the way.
Led by Lycaon, Victoria Housekeeping and Illya, managed to successfully enter Hollow Zero undetected.
The Mayor had successfully managed to move most of the Researchers away from Zone A17, but there were still a few stations that lingered in relatively close proximity.
"I'm assuming you already received the carrot data from the boss? How much further is the Lost Void?"
Rina shot a quick look at Butler, the exclusive Bangboo of Victoria Housekeeping, and hummed quietly.
"Mmm~ About 20 kilometers give or take? Why?"
Illya stopped running and plopped down the black duffel bag he had snatched back from Lycaon.
"I can sense Geppetto's Ether Signature from here, so I'll be fine on my own from here."
Turning his attention to Rina and Ellen, he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Sorry, would you girls mind turning around for a bit?"
Ellen frowned, about to ask something, but one quick, menacing look from Rina and Lycaon silenced her protests.
"Tch."
With the maids staring off into the distance, Illya took off his shirt, shoes, and pants, tossing the clothing into the black duffel bag.
Rina and Ellen possessed incredibly sharp senses considering their Thiren lineage, and when they heard the rustling of fabric coming from behind them, they naturally let their thoughts wander.
Thankfully, though, the maids of Victoria Housekeeping were adept at managing their expressions and betrayed none of the thoughts floating around in their heads.
Successfully stripped to his undies, Illya rumaged in the duffel bag, pulling out a black furlined cloak and a pair of combat grieves, both glittering with an obsidian sheen.
Slipping the combat grieves on and covering his upper body with the cloak, Illya turned to Lycoan, who was staring at him with an odd look on his face.
"I never thought I'd see you don the cloak of a Void Hunter once more... Especially not in such a, uh- peculiar manner."
Illya shrugged.
"Sunbringer helped me coat it in some etheric metal a while back, so it's the only thing in my wardrobe that would survive the fight. The only problem with wearing the cloak is that it's too identifiable. Any faction with an inkling of data on us first gen's would realize who I was if I happened to get caught on camera."
The young hunter sighed.
"It's a real shame too... the uniform Sunbringer made all of us was really nice-"
Getting a little impatient, Ellen called out from a few paces away.
"Can we turn back around now?"
"Oh, shoot, my bad! Go ahead."
Rina shot Ellen another warning look, but the Shark Thiren ignored her.
".... Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
Illya instinctively looked down and realized that a tiny bit of his midriff wasn't being covered by the cloak.
Shifting his stance a little, he obscured his exposed skin with the metallic fabric.
"The explosion would've evaporated my shirt if I wore it, and I'm too lazy to go clothes shopping again."
"Explosion?"
Ellen blinked and glanced at Rina, signalling her confusion with her eyes.
Seeing this, Illya turned to Lycaon.
"Did you not tell her who I was?"
The Wolf Thiren shrugged.
"Your exploits are quite hard to explain. We simply didn't feel the need to tell Ellen anything more than a bit of surface-level information."
"Meh, fair enough."
Picking up the black duffel bag, Illya tossed it to Lycaon and pointed towards some ruined building in the distance.
"Inside the duffel bag is a flare gun. When you're about 30 kilometers from A17, I'm going to need you to fire it in the air so I know you guys are clear of the blast zone. Until I see the flare, I won't engage Geppetto."
"Also, just to be clear, the light from the explosion will be bright enough to light up everything in a 300-kilometer radius, so I wouldn't recommend trying to spectate the fight unless you want to get blinded."
Lycaon nodded as he slung the bag over his shoulders.
"If you see any researchers or combatants start to close in on Zone A17 following the blast, I'll need you to prevent them from getting too close so they don't get affected by the fallout. The method you employ doesn't really matter to me."
The Wolf Thiren frowned.
"And if Section 6 makes their move?"
Illya thought for a moment.
"If Section 6 starts to close in, don't bother trying to stop them. If the Newbie is wielding Tailless, you'll probably get fodderized before you can put up a fight. Plus, I don't think Swordmaster's descendant would be affected by the density of etheric energy in the atmosphere following the explosion."
Lycaon nodded again.
"As you wish, Master Illya."
Illya exhaled softly.
"Alrighty then. Now that that's all sorted, I should probably get into position."
The young Hunter's bare feet dug into the ruined concrete of Limbo, his form completely vanishing as he blitzed off into the distance.
Victoria Housekeeping lingered for a few moments, staring at the spot that Illya had just occupied.
Unwrapping a lollipop and plopping it into her mouth, Ellen couldn't help but express her curiosity once more.
"Uhm, Lycaon? Rina? Exactly how big is the explosion gonna be?"
The Wolf and Ghost Thiren exchanged looks.
"Knowing Master Illya, probably 40-50 kilometers… Why?"
Ellen gnawed at the candy in her mouth.
"Isn't Zone A17 only 38 kilometers…?"
_______________________________________________
(A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
Btw, in the first chapter, I realized I made a teeny tiny mistake when writing down my notes.
There is only a single visible hollow currently covering half of the moon, and we currently know of none others on the moon's surface, so I rewrote a part of the chapter to reflect this fact.
I've been trying my best to stay as faithful to the lore as I can, but if anybody spots any discrepancies, feel free to point them out.
Next chapter is coming out tomorrow~)