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At this moment, Nicole and the others were hiding behind a shipping container, surrounding the little girl they had just found.
"Little one, falling into a Hollow alone must have been very scary, right?" Billy lowered his voice, speaking with a deep magnetic tone. "But it's fine now. Big brother is here, and big brother will take you out of the Hollow safely."
Billy gazed at the ground with a solemn look, like a weathered but dependable rescue hero.
Only, from the corner of his eye, he kept stealing glances at the girl, hoping she would give him a tearful, grateful response.
The little girl's charged uppercut smashed Billy's brooding face sideways.
"Wait—little miss! What are you doing? We're here to save you!"
Billy clutched his cheek, staring at the girl in disbelief and grievance.
He had been expecting innocent gratitude… not a savage, powerful punch. Something wasn't right here.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Clearly it's me who saved you all!" The girl planted her hands on her hips. Though only more than 4 feet tall, her aura was belongs to someone who's more than 6 feet tall. "What were you doing loitering in front of that big guy? If it weren't for me leading you here, you'd have already been dragged out by that monster!"
"If it weren't for saving you, I might have already found an exit to New Eridu!"
Hearing the argument between Billy and the girl, Nicole frowned and glanced suspiciously at Nekomata.
They had been searching for the girl under Nekomata's guidance, but according to the girl's words… she had been the one leading them.
Baal crossed her tiny arms, showing a 'just as I thought' expression. She knew that bad cat needed some serious discipline.
Nekomata slumped weakly against the container.
Originally, she had only wanted to use a nonexistent little girl to lure Nicole and the others straight into the Dead End Butcher's lair.
But somehow, along the way, a real girl had appeared—and this clever little thing had led the Cunning Hares away from the Dead End Butcher.
Was heaven itself refusing to let the Cunning Hares die?
So… should she still go through with targeting them, even though they were now risking their lives to protect a girl?
Caught in her dilemma, Nekomata got distracted and accidentally stepped on a piece of metal.
Nothing happened to her, but the clank made a small but noticeable noise. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel※fire.net
Anby's brows furrowed slightly as she warned, "Nekomata, be careful. We're still in the Dead End Butcher's territory."
Snapped out of her thoughts, Nekomata snapped back impatiently. "I know, poker face."
"You're too cautious, Anby." Nicole shook her head. "We're some distance from the Dead End Butcher. A noise like that won't draw it over."
Billy agreed. "Yeah, if we really want to lure the Dead End Butcher over here, we'd have to set off a cannon."
"The cannon's already here."
Baal tilted her head toward the sky, speaking calmly.
Nicole and Billy quickly followed her gaze.
A streak of orange light blazed past above them, flying unerringly in the Butcher's direction.
Judging by its speed and destructive force, it absolutely qualified as a cannon.
"Surely we're not that unlucky? The Dead End Butcher won't just happen to get hit, right?"
Nicole let out a dry laugh.
Anby analyzed evenly, "Correct. Based on trajectory, the chance of it directly hitting the Dead End Butcher is less than 10%."
Billy patted his chest. "And I just found a limited-edition Starlight Knight medal. Today's my lucky day—so that means it'll be the other 90%."
Anby remained calm. "The other 90% being, the shot lands near the Butcher. The blast attracts it straight toward us."
Billy's face drained. "What?!"
"Nicole, we should retreat."
Anby scooped up the little girl from Zaun, preparing to run.
The railgun shot from outside the Hollow landed, blasting a massive crater right beside the Dead End Butcher.
Dust and wind engulfed its hulking frame, making it rear back with an enraged roar.
The Dead End Butcher turned toward the source of the projectile, crouched low, and leapt forward with its forelimbs bracing.
Muscles bulged under green skin, and its four-meter-tall frame covered several hundred meters in a single bound, landing right before the Cunning Hares.
The small figures before it looked familiar—these were the little ants it had been chasing earlier.
Its limited brainpower decided: deal with these ants first, then go after the one who fired that cannon.
A shockwave blasted out of its maw, toppling nearby containers and whipping Nicole and the others' hair straight back.
Staring at the towering green-muscle monster, both Anby and Nicole wore grave expressions.
Nicole pressed her forehead. "This is bad. I don't know how much ammo this is going to take."
"Thankfully, it doesn't have bad breath." Billy forced a laugh to lighten the mood. "Otherwise we'd die of the stench before it even touched us."
But as if understanding his mockery, the Dead End Butcher spat a beam of Ether energy at him.
Billy leapt aside nimbly, leaving behind a crater four to five meters wide.
If he hadn't dodged, he'd be scrap metal.
"Hsshh!" Billy sucked in a sharp breath, scalp prickling. "That bad-tempered, huh?"
"Nicole, you and Billy take the girl and run. I'll hold it off."
Anby solemnly handed the girl over to Nicole.
Though long gone from the military, she never forgot her duty. Protect the weak. Guard New Eridu.
"Anby, this isn't an enemy you can face alone!" Nicole said urgently. "That's a Notorious Ethereal—the Dead End Butcher! Even a full investigation squad and a defense squad together wouldn't be enough to fight it!"
Anby gave a small nod. "I know. But there's no other way now."
After a moment's hesitation, she added, "Tell Sol Mercer… thanks for the burger."
"Anby, are you leaving last words? I can't just pretend I didn't hear that!" Billy drew his twin pistols, speaking with rare seriousness. "Starlight Knights—never abandon a comrade!"
As they spoke, the Dead End Butcher lunged again.
Its massive claws sliced through the air, casting the group under its looming shadow.
Anby drew her blade, intercepting with all her strength.
Billy's pistols rattled, bullets pouring with perfect accuracy into the Butcher's head—none missing.
"You stupid Ethereal! Come hit me!"
Billy raised his middle finger, shouting with arrogant defiance.
Fury surged through the Butcher. Having its head shot at, it chose Billy as its first target.
So, Billy and Anby drew it away from Nicole and Nekomata.
The two fought fluidly under its relentless assault, dodging and countering when they could.
But both knew the truth—they couldn't afford even a single mistake. One slip meant at best, grievous injury.
"Nekomata, I don't know why you lured us into the Butcher's territory, but now you need to pull your weight." Nicole passed the little girl into her arms. "Take her and Baal out of the Hollow to find Sol Mercer. We'll wait for you here."
With her, Anby, and Billy together, they could stall the Butcher long enough to have a chance of retreat.
"You're staying behind against an Ethereal, and sending me for help?" Nekomata stared blankly at them, overwhelmed with guilt.
If she hadn't lured them here on purpose, they wouldn't even be in the Butcher's sights.
And yet, despite her betrayal, the Cunning Hares were now risking themselves to let her escape with the girl.
Such trust, in a life-or-death moment. Trust, even after betrayal. It left her completely shaken.
The way the Cunning Hares stood together in unity against a common foe had nothing to do with selfishness.
Her conscience burned. The Cunning Hares weren't anything like what the forums had painted them as!
Just then, Baal stepped in front of Nicole, blocking her path to the battlefield. "Keep an eye on that bad cat. Leave that big guy to me."
From her chest, she drew a miniature katana—Musou Isshin. It was a trinket Ei had left behind when she finished crafting the doll.
Because the doll carried Ei's longing for her sister, both the doll and the katana were made from the finest materials.
The doll's body and Scaramouche's frame had even been forged from the same source.
And though Scaramouche's full-sized form looked massive, it had used far less material than Baal's small doll-body might suggest.
So even the matching miniature Musou Isshin could be called a divine weapon.
But with Baal's chibi Bangboo body, barely half a meter tall, holding a toy-sized blade…
She looked more likely to make someone gush from cuteness than feel any threat.
Nicole froze. She really had been struck by a wave of cuteness.
But was this really the time for that?
She could understand Baal keeping an eye on Nekomata, but going against the Dead End Butcher as a tiny Bangboo—wasn't that far too extreme?
Yet before Nicole could object, a terrifying electric aura burst exploded from Baal's body.
Blue-white lightning radiated with solemn majesty, making that Bangboo figure appear like a god!