Chapter 95: Crisis Resolved

With the Victoria Housekeeping

As the Ethereal charges toward them, Rina’s Bangboos start slamming towards them from above, staggering the Ethereals before Lycaon follows suit by summoning several ice spikes to impale the Ethereals.

Ellen joins the assault by slapping the Ethereal with her tail and tossing her scissor as it spins and cuts through the frozen Ethereal. Unfortunately, the attack shatters the ice surrounding them, which leads the other Ethereal to escape Corrin’s attack, jumping around the area while sending small blades flying towards them.

The group manages to dodge all of them, but that leaves the sliced Ethereal alone. The other Ethereal notices this and rushes towards its other half, summoning energy and sending it to the supposed corpse.

To everyone’s disbelief, the Ethereal that was sliced in half reattaches and gets up. But everyone also notices that it didn’t revive fully, as frost slowly covers the sliced area. The Ethereal notices the wound and tries to heal it like before, but judging from their body language, they are in shock, as it doesn’t seem to work.

The Victoria Housekeeping didn’t hesitate to attack again as Rina’s Bangboos start charging at them like torpedoes. The Ethereals have no choice but to avoid the attack before they attempt to do a double spinning charge towards them. The group manages to dodge, and they hope the Ethereals will crash into each other.

But the reality is disappointing, as the Ethereals manage to catch each other by hand, and one of them tosses the other, acting like it’s a spinning blade toss. Ellen looks annoyed before she charges at them and strikes the Ethereal right at the frozen part with a powerful thrust, once again slicing it in half.

Before the other Ethereal could rush towards it, Lycaon froze them in place by impaling them with ice spikes again, and Corrin finished them off by grinding her buzzsaw into them, slicing them in half.

“W-whoa…” Rain mutters in surprise as both Ethereals slowly disintegrate. The Victoria Housekeeping watches as the Ethereals slowly crawl away, trying to reach each other. Both were tense, but upon witnessing them simply touch each other’s foreheads with gentleness, one could only see them as sentient beings; they stopped as both of them slowly faded away.

“Thank you…” They all hear a small whisper of two girls from all over the room. Neither of them needs to figure out who said that, simply watching the disintegrated Ethereal with a pitying look.

“…Let us make haste; we do not have much time left,” Lycaon says before he looks at the others. “Our mission continues. Onwards.”

Both Ellen and Corrin nod before they charge towards the door. Ellen uses her scissors to launch Corrin up, and she uses her buzzsaw to slice through the door before crashing into the other side. As she lands, Ellen manages to reach through the door alone while Rina flies towards them carrying Eous, and Lycaon merely jumps through it while carrying Rain.

Without any more seconds wasted, they all rush towards the rooftop. Upon reaching the roof, they manage to spot the airship in the distance, flying in a loop. It was hard to tell, but Lycaon could see it was slowly reaching the tower, and it would give more than enough time for Rain to disable the jamming equipment.

“Done.” The entire Victoria Housekeeping blinked before looking at Rain, who was holding the jamming devices. “This should let the pilot regain control.”

“I’ll contact them immediately,” Wise says before Eous’ face displays the phone icon. “Guys, can you hear me?”

“Manager, it’s so good to hear your voice! But enough about that, how’s-!?” Before Billy could finish his sentence, Wise cut him off.

“The jamming device is off; you guys can control the ship properly now,” Wise explained.

“Oh, good to know,” Billy said with a sigh of relief. Before they could relax, they all noticed the airship was still approaching the tower.

“Hey, guys? Why is the airship still approaching the tower?” Wise asks in confusion.

“Emergency landing. The passengers are all passed out due to the smoke bomb,” Qingyi’s voice can be heard from the other side. “I would love to talk to the tower’s owner regarding this sudden emergency, but so far, I have had no luck contacting them.”

“Master Proxy, please connect me with them,” Lycaon suggests as Eous nods. “Hello, this is Victoria Housekeeping, and we are the representative of the tower’s owner. If you require an emergency landing, then by all means, go for it. The safety of passengers is important, and I can assure you, our master will understand the situation. Make sure to land the ship safely; I’ll guide you from here.”

“Understood, thank you very much,” Qingyi responds before the call hangs up. Rain, Wise, Ellen, and Corrin all let out a sigh of relief.

“God, that was nerve-wracking…” Wise comments.

“Yeah…sorry for all the trouble…” Rain apologizes before Rina gently pats her head.

“No need to apologize. We know you’re the victim of the circumstances,” Rina says gently, earning a nod from Rain.

“Thanks…” Rain mutters as Ellen leans on a nearby wall and starts sleeping, while Corrin once again stands guard beside her. As the airship slowly approaches the tower, Lycaon can be seen guiding the ship to a proper landing area while everyone watches from a safe distance.

Upon landing, the Cunning Hares can be seen gently carrying the passengers alongside the PubSec officers, including one Perlman who is still handcuffed.

“Easy there, put them down gently,” Rina says as she guides Anby, who is carrying the passenger.

“I know,” Anby says blankly as she gently places the unconscious passengers on the ground. Meanwhile, Lycaon can be seen talking to Qingyi.

“So, you’re the one on the phone. Once again, thank you for allowing us to land the airship,” Qingyi says as Lycaon nods.

“Of course,” Lycaon says. “And you say you’re the one controlling the ship? I say you have quite a particular set of skills.”

“Nah, I just learn this under pressure,” Qingyi says dismissively.

“I remember you learning it while sipping a hot cup of tea with a relaxed expression,” Zhu Yuan deadpans as she gently places Perlman down roughly.

“Junior, treat the victim carefully,” Qingyi scolds Zhu Yuan lightly.

“Say, what happened to the Exaltist?” Lycaon asks curiously. “I apologize, but I heard from the call that they were attacking the ship.”

“… Unfortunately, it’s a top secret,” Qingyi says apologetically. Lycaon looks at them before his expression turns grim.

“I see. Is there no other choice? You all could extract information from them,” Lycaon says, and before the officers could say another word, Nekomiya chimes in.

“Nope. Those creepy folks turn themselves into Ethereal, and they all disintegrated when we finished dealing with them,” Nekomiya says, causing everyone to look at her in disbelief.

“…turning into Ethereal? In the ship?” Lycaon asks in shock.

“…Nekomata, aren’t you supposed to be a former gang member? Do they not teach you how to keep sensitive information?!” Nicole exclaims incredulously before dropping the passenger gently and approaching Rain. “Oh, Rain, thank the Aeons you’re okay!”

“Um…yeah, I’m okay…” Rain says nervously while trying to process what she just heard. Turning into Ethereal? Outside of Hollow? How is that possible? At the same time, Wise and Belle are trying to process everything they have heard.

“Sorry, are you Nicole’s friend?” Qingyi asks as she approaches the girl. “I hope you can come with us for questioning.”

“Wait-!” Before Wise could say anything, Qingyi raised her hand.

“I simply need to know if you might have good information regarding the kidnappers,” Qingyi says. “Then, we’ll let you go.”

“…I’ll go.” Rain decides to be cooperative, not wanting to risk any trouble.

“I hope you don’t mind, but may we join the questioning?” They all turn to see Soldier 11, Orphie, and Magus walking out of the door while carrying unconscious rebel soldiers.

“Apologies for barging into private property and eavesdropping. I am Soldier 11 of the Obol Squad, and we’re here to capture these traitors and retrieve our stolen tools,” Soldier 11 explains while glancing at the jamming device.

“It seems that a lot of people are more involved than we expected…” Lycaon says with a sigh.

“Wait, how did you guys know where the rebels and the stolen items are?” Billy asks in confusion.

“Merely from our reliable informant,” Soldier 11 responds, refusing to provide a proper answer.

“Very well. My junior and I will do the questioning, and you guys shall not intervene,” Qingyi says as Soldier 11 nods before looking at Anby and freezing. Both girls stare at each other in silence before Soldier 11 breaks eye contact, gripping her hand as her entire body trembles.

Anby stares at Soldier 11 in silence; her face remains blank, but her close friends could notice that she is trying her best not to show her emotions, and anyone observant enough could tell she’s hiding her guilt.

“…is it just me or do they look alike?” Nekomiya whispers to Nicole, who slaps her head in annoyance.

“Did you know curiosity could kill the cat!? Shut your trap!” Nicole exclaims in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Sarah can be seen watching them from a distance with her telescope before clicking her tongue slightly. There was no sign of that dangerous young man, but somehow the entire operation was a complete mess. If it were just the PubSec, it would be an easy fix given that Bringer is slowly recovering, but now the Defense Force is involved. That means the Overseer will be busier trying to cover everything up.

The Exaltist is revealed earlier than they planned, and she didn’t like it at all. Before she could walk away, a loud bang could be heard, and she felt a bullet pass through her side. Sarah turned towards the source of the gunshot and saw a random bunny Thiren pointing the gun at her.

“Sarah of the Exaltist, I presume? A member of a cult dedicated to letting all humanity be consumed by the Hollow, all in the name of human evolution?” Phil asks rhetorically.

“Ah, the sole member of the Legwork family. I see you do your homework,” Sarah says with a smile. Despite she’s currently at the gunpoint, she retains her calm smile. “Have you come here to finish the job? Exacting your revenge?”

“Not really; I never really care much about them,” Phil says in a blank tone.

“I suppose you don’t,” Sarah says with a smirk. “After all, your family did nothing but try to win us over, hoping they could be accepted back into the Exaltist. Unfortunately, neither of us is willing to accept a bunch of failures.”

“Good to know my parents’ downfall is caused by their stupidity,” Phil says blankly. “So, is there a reason besides crashing down that airship? I would like to say hiding evidence, but from your smile, it doesn’t seem to be the only case.”

“Hmm, why don’t you find out yourself?” Sarah asks slyly before she tries to take a step, but Phil keeps pointing the gun at her. “Tell me, why does a child of fallen TOPS members seek me out besides revenge?”

“As I said, I don’t want anything involving them,” Phil says, a small smile forming on his lips. “But your existence did get my ‘family’ forcing me back to their home, something I hate so much. You should know that, like my friend, I’m a petty bitch.”

Without letting her process his words, Caelus swoops in and swings his baseball bat with a loud crack, knocking the woman to the ground as blood starts leaking out of her skull. Sarah tries to get herself together, looking at the culprit and widening her eyes when she sees Caelus, of all people, grinning at her.

“What? Didn’t see that coming, did you?” Sarah grits her teeth in anger as she holds her bleeding head.

“I don’t even know how you got yourself accurate information regarding the Exaltist.” Sarah froze as she tried to process what she heard.

“Well, it’s easy when you have a good mole hiding in the cult.” Sarah’s blood ran cold as she heard his words. Mole? A heretic hiding amongst the cult!? Who? Who is the one responsible for betraying their cause!?! Before she could process everything, she fell unconscious.

“…do you really have to hit her that hard?” Phil sweatdrops.

“I have to,” Caelus shrugs. “Besides, have you seen her hands? I remember correctly that I knocked one of them off her joints, and now she miraculously has it back. I swear, it’s like she’s the abomination of Abundance.”

“I don’t know what that is, but I don’t wanna know,” Phil deadpans as Caelus grabs his phone.

“Hey, Trigger, still in your position?” Caelus asks curiously.

“Yeah, Seed Sr. and Seed, I mean Flora, are all in position as well,” Trigger says before she pauses. “Should we move? I mean, you did take care of her.”

“Yeah, sure. Come on guys, let’s-!” Suddenly, a wave of red fog covers the area. Caelus activates Preservation to create a barrier around him and Phil as the fog starts to surround them.

“I commend you for beating her and outsmarting her, Anomaly,” A distorted voice surrounds the fog as Caelus looks at Sarah, slowly covered in smoke. Without any hesitation, he charges at the unconscious woman. “We shall meet again, but for now, I won’t let you take my followers away.”

Caelus hears a loud gunshot followed by a loud clang, but he ignores it and tries to grab Sarah, only for him to reach nothing but air. Caelus looks annoyed as he looks around, but there is no sign of her, before the fog slowly clears away.

“Caelus, what’s going on?!” Trigger asks in confusion.

“Sorry, but an Exaltist managed to rescue her, and I lost them…” Caelus says grimly.

To be Continued