Inside the Dead End Hollow, Chiya's group was getting ready to move out with Perlman in tow.
"Wait, nya!"
"Hm? Catgirl—something you want to say?" Belle asked through Eous, scratching her head.
The usually quiet Nekomata suddenly spread her arms, blocking the group.
"Not that! I mean—this train was super hard to take, right? Why aren't we using it? It's loaded with a whole bunch of high-purity Ether explosives, nya."
"Even if the passage to New Eridu is blown up so we can't take everyone out by train, we could still—"
Everyone stared at her with collective deadpan.
Nekomata's ears drooped. She felt wronged—so wronged she was about to start tearing up—
When Belle stepped in to save her.
"Nekomata… did you forget?"
"Forget what, nya?"
"This train has autopilot. If the citizens hadn't been suspicious of unmanned driving tech, Perlman wouldn't even be here for us to capture."
"And after we finalized the plan, I already went into the car and set the autopilot and the destination. Nekomata… were you taking a nap just now?"
"…!"
Nekomata froze. Only now did it click—yeah, autopilot existed.
Because earlier everyone had been crammed into the cab, then the whole situation devolved into nonstop fighting… she'd shoved that unfamiliar word into some dusty corner of her brain.
To everyone else, Nekomata's brown skin looked like volcanic rock right before eruption—darkening, then flushing with a red-black glow.
The next instant, with a yowling "NYAA—!" she sprang up, legs blurring as she shot down the tunnel.
"Nekomata! You went the wrong way!"
A moment later…
A red-faced "roasted sweet potato" shuffled back.
With the team regrouped, Chiya pumped his fist.
"Let's end this battle! In the name of salvation—let's carve a living path out of the Dead End!"
"Victoria Housekeeping will always be someone you can trust completely," Lycaon said, composed as ever.
"As for me and my brother," Ellen said lazily, "no need for words. Chiya—just stick with us like always."
Billy blinked, then waved his pistols around awkwardly.
"Uh… Nicole, Anby, you two aren't gonna say anything? Uh—Anby, what's this note? Don't tell me you copied it from a movie… whatever!"
He unfolded it.
"Let me see… Waghhhhh!"
New Eridu worked tirelessly to sell the horror of Hollows to the public.
But in truth, in many people's hearts, the difference between inside and outside wasn't all that clear.
Aside from the ever-present Ether corrosion and the Ethereals crawling everywhere… things didn't feel fundamentally different.
There was still trade. Still conflict. Still grudges. Walls still witnessed lovers swearing eternal devotion—then witnessed those vows shatter into betrayal and curses. Wealth lay buried here by the ton. So did bones. This was where Investigators, Hollow raiders, and Proxies gathered.
And here…
…it still rained.
Silent, cold rain dotted their skin, the chill sinking toward the marrow. Even the occasional Ethereal noises seemed to hush, leaving only the echo of boots stepping across ruins—each sound reminding the three of Cunning Hares:
They'd entered a hunting ground.
"Sigh… I thought the gentlemen and ladies of Victoria Housekeeping would take the front with us," Billy complained, spinning his twin pistols. But there wasn't much real bitterness in his voice.
He glanced at Nicole, leading, and Anby, guarding the left flank.
"Nicole-boss, Anby—can you still sense them? I feel like my body just isn't strong enough. Might need an upgrade."
"..."
"Earlier I could still sense Miss Corin's presence," Billy continued, "but the moment that dangerous woman showed up with that little laugh—poof, it was gone. As for the wolf and the shark…"
He exhaled.
"…Guess that's what it means to be predators. They can blend their presence into nature perfectly."
"If we could go back to before…" Anby murmured.
"Before?" Billy echoed.
"No. Nothing." Anby's tone stayed flat, but her words carried a strange weight. "Just remembered a line from a movie."
"If we could go back to before…
I'd throw away every last trace of luck.
I wouldn't look at you like a pathetic puppy anymore, teary-eyed, waiting for you to turn around.
I would…"
Before Anby could finish, Nicole quietly picked up the rest—voice no longer bright, no longer playful.
"…I'd become the shape of a demon.
I'd bind an angel's wings with iron chains,
until the wings became my color,
until he could only fly… in my hands."
Anby went still.
Billy blinked.
Nicole—who could sweet-talk a certain "170 (debatable) martial-obsessed fox" out of a family heirloom—knew exactly what kind of words pierced straight into the heart.
Normally, her honeyed nonsense could move almost anyone, barring the truly stubborn.
But now… that warmth was gone.
In its place was a detached resolve—so close it almost clung, so intimate it bordered on suffocating—yet underneath it burned something bone-deep, scorching hot.
"Nicole-boss… what's wrong with you?" Billy asked softly.
"Hm? Nothing," Nicole said, then smiled like she always did. "Just felt like saying something."
"Come on. If we're taking point, we can't let those rich-people-service pros look down on Cunning Hares."
She turned back to Billy and Anby, gave them that familiar grin—
Then faced forward again, fell silent, and walked straight toward the massive cratered wreckage ahead.
Billy and Anby hesitated for a moment… then crept after her.
Billy's eyes were full of confusion.
But Anby's had gone cold.
She stared at Nicole's back, tightening her grip on the blade in her hand. Inside her mind, she ground her own words into powder—then slowly laid them out, piece by piece.
Nicole… only now you realize the danger. Only now you start chasing. Only now you understand you aren't the only one who wants Chiya.
Isn't it too late?
Every time someone contacted Chiya… every time someone met him… every time someone was alone with him…
That was me.
(Okay—Billy's a machine. Billy doesn't count.)
Compared to you—always borrowing money, always getting derailed by accidents, never getting a proper two-person moment—
Reliable me. Quiet me. Faithful me. The me who keeps giving without a word.
I'm the one who stands closer to Chiya.
Nicole…
This time, I'll be the first to reach the finish line.
"Anby," Nicole called without turning her head, "keep up. Don't fall behind!"
"Don't worry, Nicole." Anby's voice stayed calm.
"I won't fall behind… because I know."
"Once you fall behind…"
"…it gets hard to catch up again."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin