Billy, Anby, and Arataki Itto were in the middle of battling a Notoriety Ethereal together...
Suddenly, Nicole's voice rang out from nearby.
Billy turned to look—and sure enough, it was Nicole and Soldier 11 rushing toward them.
Immediately, Billy burst out laughing with joy.
"Ahahaha! Nicole and Sam Li are here—we're saved! Hey, brother Thiren, you're about to see how amazing Sam Li is!"
Beside him, Arataki Itto swung his Oni King's Kanabou and drove the Ethereal back with a mighty blow. Then he looked toward the two newcomers.
"They're your teammates too?"
Billy nodded excitedly. "That's right! Wait till you see what Sam Li can do..."
But as he looked down the street, his expression shifted.
He didn't see Sam Li.
"Wait, Nicole—where's Sam Li? What about Nekomata?"
"There were two other high-level Ethereals over there," Nicole said, still catching her breath. "Sam Li and Nekomata stayed behind to handle them. Soldier 11 and I came to back you up."
But with the Ethereal so close, Nicole didn't waste time. She grabbed her briefcase and readied herself for battle.
Then, noticing Billy's expression, she narrowed her eyes.
"What's with that look? Not happy to see me and Soldier 11?"
Billy flinched. "N-no, I just thought Sam Li was coming too. Of course I'm happy you're here! With you helping, we're definitely gonna beat this monster!"
Nicole let out a soft snort. "Hmph. That's more like it."
With that, she lifted her briefcase and blasted the Ethereal, forcing it back again.
Then she glanced at Arataki Itto.
Billy explained, "He's either an agent or a raider, I think. He was fighting the Ethereal before we got here."
Nicole studied him for a moment.
"Horns... looks like some kind of animal. Could he be a cow Thiren?"
Just then, a massive chunk of stone came crashing down. It nearly crushed them—but Soldier 11 leapt in and slashed it to rubble in time.
Noticing Nicole and Billy chatting, Soldier 11 spoke up coldly.
"Cunning Hare. Dual-gun robot. You think this is a battlefield tour?"
Nicole quickly grabbed her case. "You've gotta assess the situation before you fight!"
Billy nodded fast. "Exactly, exactly!"
A moment later, both of them grabbed their weapons and dove back into the fray.
Now, on the battlefield—
There was Arataki Itto wielding the Oni King's Kanabou.
Ushi following closely at his heels.
Nicole, armed with her briefcase.
Billy, darting around with dual pistols.
Soldier 11, blade blazing with flames.
Four people and one small cow, surrounding a massive Notoriety Ethereal.
In the past, Hare's House would've struggled badly against something .
But now, it was different.
They'd earned plenty of Dennies—and with that came upgraded gear.
They had ammo, advanced movement techniques, new sword styles...
Even Nicole had overhauled the Ether bombs in her briefcase, just in case of emergencies—and this was the perfect time to use them.
Then the assault began.
Nicole's cannon fire.
Soldier 11's flaming blade.
Anby's lightning strikes—
All hammered down on the Ethereal.
Watching this, Arataki Itto was stunned.
He hadn't expected to run into four powerful warriors right after arriving in Natlan.
So this was the nation of battle, huh?
There must be even more strong fighters out there.
He regretted not coming to Natlan sooner.
Laughing heartily, Arataki Itto shouted,
"Ahahaha! Nice work! That explosion was beautiful! Charge in with me—let's bring it down in one burst, like wrestling bugs!"
Billy, hyped up by Itto's energy, surged forward with his twin pistols, keeping the Ethereal pinned.
While attacking, Billy glanced at Itto, surprised by his strength.
"You've got skills, man. You don't seem like someone from the city—are you from the outer ring? What gang you with?"
Of course, Itto didn't know what the "city" or "outer ring" were.
But when Billy mentioned "gang," he perked up immediately.
"The Arataki Gang! I'm the boss—Arataki Itto! Ever heard of us?"
Billy shook his head. "Nope, never heard of it."
The outer ring was massive. If there weren't a hundred gangs, there were at least fifty.
Back when Billy was still with the Carrydon Organization, he only operated in a few sectors—there were bound to be some groups he didn't know.
And the Arataki Gang? Probably some new group.
Next time he saw Boss Caesar, he'd ask him about it.
Arataki Itto didn't take offense.
Natlan was far from Inazuma, so it was only natural they hadn't heard of the Arataki Gang that ruled Inazuma's streets.
Besides, he didn't know anything about Natlan's tribes or warriors either.
He was already thinking about challenging him to a wrestling match or a beetle fight.
First, they needed to crush this monster.
With a mighty roar, Arataki Itto raised the Oni King's Kanabou and slammed it down.
He poured everything into that swing.
The sheer force knocked the Ethereal back over ten meters—it crashed into the ground with a heavy thud.
Seeing this, Billy couldn't help but praise him.
"Awesome! I'm going in too!"
Soldier 11 followed up with his flaming sword.
Nicole readied her briefcase.
Anby rushed in behind them.
They attacked together before the Ethereal could rise again.
Billy's bullets tore into its body...
Soldier 11's flaming blade severed its arm...
Anby's lightning blasted its head...
"Clear out! I'm firing the big one!"
Everyone pulled back.
Nicole launched a high-grade Ether bomb—
It landed squarely on the Ethereal.
With a massive explosion, the towering monster shattered into a pile of black crystal shards, its body collapsing under the combined assault.
Nicole dropped her briefcase and sat down on a nearby rock, panting hard.
Soldier 11 glanced at her case, then nodded slightly.
"Not bad. Packs a punch. Not worse than Defense Force gear."
Nicole, however, didn't look pleased.
"There's a reason for that—I spent a fortune on black market upgrades."
She winced, remembering the cost.
No matter how strong it was, she couldn't help but feel the sting of that price tag.
Nearby, Anby sheathed her blade and spoke seriously.
"C41 Hollow was supposed to be stabilized. So why are there Notoriety Ethereals here?"