The enemy had more than a dozen massive Ethereal monsters. They looked terrifying, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.
But the battle turned out to be far easier than expected—almost effortless. With Venti's help, everyone quickly shook off the oppressive effects of the Hollows and immediately pressed the high-level Ethereals back.
Piper and Caesar teamed up, driving one Ethereal back step by step...
Arataki Itto and Kuki Shinobu fought in perfect sync—one clashing head-on, the other darting in to strike at openings—quickly blasting off one of the monster's arms...
Keqing, the Traveler, and Hu Tao took on two Ethereals together...
Xiao donned his mask, spear in hand, striking left and right as he fought multiple Ethereals alone, cutting them down one after another...
Before long, with the fall of the final Ethereal, the battle was over.
To their surprise, everyone felt stronger than before.
Caesar and Piper in particular were shocked—what had once been a struggle just to hold their ground against high-level Ethereals was now a clean, decisive victory with just the two of them.
Part of it was thanks to the power of the Geo Anomaly...
But another part came from Venti's harp.
Caesar had clearly felt it—when the music began, the suffocating pressure vanished in an instant, replaced by a surge of courage that even made her strength swell.
Just as she was about to ask Venti about it, Venti suddenly stopped playing and looked toward a nearby pile of ruins.
"Eheh, since you're already here, no need to keep hiding. We're not bad people."
Hearing this, Xiao instantly reacted, raising his spear toward the ruins.
"Who's there? Come out—!"
Paimon blinked in confusion. "Huh? Are there other people in there?"
The Traveler's expression turned serious. "Let's go check."
Moments later, they reached the ruins—but there was no sign of the "people" Venti and Xiao had sensed. Instead, they found a strange device.
Paimon tilted her head. "What's this?"
Caesar's eyes narrowed. "A camera. And it has the rebels' emblem on it. There's probably a rebel stronghold nearby."
She had been here twice before without ever noticing it—only now, thanks to Venti and Xiao, did they realize.
Nearby, Piper yanked a wire up from the ground. "Follow this wire and we'll find them."
Paimon's eyes lit up. "Sounds like a treasure hunt! Let's start right now."
They had come here to find building materials, but instead stumbled upon rebels.
As someone from the Outer Ring, Caesar had no intention of getting mixed up with them—but the Ethereals they'd just fought were almost certainly connected.
So she decided to help.
Following the wire from the camera, they eventually found an underground passage hidden among distant ruins.
Paimon spread her hands. "Now what? Should we have Xiao spear the door?"
Piper shook her head. "Hold on, let me try."
Instead of forcing it open, she called out toward the door. "We've planted bombs. If you don't come out, we'll blow them and bury you down there."
Piper sighed. "Fine, if they won't cooperate, it's your turn."
Paimon's eyes sparkled. "Xiao, go ahead—one spear through that iron door!"
After a pause, he calmly raised his spear and thrust forward. The iron door was pierced instantly.
From behind it came panicked voices. "Wait, wait! We'll come out, just don't do anything—"
Soon, the door opened, and several figures in protective suits stepped out. Not a single rebel guard—just researchers.
The moment they saw Xiao and the spear in his hands, they froze in disbelief.
A mere human had just pierced reinforced Ether alloy with a weapon that looked completely ordinary?
They had planned to wait for rebel reinforcements, but seeing Xiao's terrifying strength, they surrendered immediately.
Caesar frowned. "So they really are rebels..."
But at the word "rebels," the researchers actually laughed.
"Rebels? Hah. That rabble isn't worthy."
Piper raised a brow. "Oh? Then who are you?"
One of them snorted. "Best not to meddle. Otherwise, the Exaltist Order won't let you go."
The name drew puzzled looks all around.
Was it some powerful organization?
Paimon asked, baffled, "What's the Exaltist Order?"
The researcher sneered. "You wouldn't understand now. When the moment of Great Evolution arrives, you'll know..."
They'd never heard of the Exaltist Order before—but given the cameras and this base clearly belonged to the rebels, it was obvious the so-called Exaltist Order was connected to them.
Paimon scowled. "We don't care what your Exaltist Order is. Those Ethereals just now—you brought them here, didn't you?"
The researchers exchanged uneasy glances.
Where were those Ethereals?
They'd seen the battle on the monitors before the feed was destroyed. It hadn't even been that long—how had these people found them? And what happened to the high-level Ethereals?
Paimon huffed. "Don't bother looking. We beat every last one of them."
One researcher stared in disbelief. "Who are you people?"
Impossible. They had spent huge resources to open a spatial rift to Hollow Zero, bringing in over a dozen high-level Ethereals. How could they all be gone already?
Paimon crossed her arms proudly. "We're not someone you can mess with. Now, spill the Exaltist Order's secrets and your plan—or you'll regret it."
The researcher just snorted. "Don't even think about sabotaging us..."
Everyone fell silent, considering their options.
It was clear this Exaltist Order was plotting something.
But with so little knowledge of this world, Keqing and the others couldn't even guess at its nature, let alone drag the details out of these people.
After a moment's thought, Keqing made her decision.
"We'll hand them over to the New Eridu authorities."