Hollow 0, the first ever Hollow, suddenly appeared and swallowed the old civilizations. The benefits come with the risk. Realizing the potential of this newly found energy, the old Eridu built several Shiyu Defense Towers and bases surrounding Hollow 0.
Yet, after finishing Hugo's procedures and appointing him as her representative in Perlman's case. The H.A.N.D. headquarters issues the request to the H.I.A. headquarters to assist their Section 6.
"Ray-nee"
"Hmm?"
"Did Nineveh attack again? I thought Miyachan's ssh has caused trauma to it"
"Indeed, Ninevah, but its servants behave strangely. Unlike any normal Etheral, I can say they have IQ..."
"The suppressing formations are continuously broken, and the injured soldiers increase in number"
Ray pushes her gss and patiently expins.
"Is this a hint for a new updated boss?"
Yuri is amused. After all, her memories had stopped at version 1.5. Therefore, her future is something unknown.
"If it's a game to you, it'll be"
Ray nods her head seriously. To be honest, she strongly agrees with Yuri. Nineveh has already been a headache for their Scout base. Then, another boss pops up with IQ instead of brute strength like Nineveh.
"That's why you're here with the section 6"
"The promising section of the H.A.N.D and the light of New Eridu..."
"It sounds cringy by the way"
Ray shrugs her shoulders.
"Hehe, I agree. It got me goosebumps over my back"
Yuri shivers when hearing that fttery compliment.
"Here you go, your Miyachan and her squads have arrived"
Ray signals Yuri, telling her to turn around. Hehe, of course, Yuri has thought 'since I am like a main character of a fanfiction world, let's take advantage of this world like many fanfiction writing out there. As a result, Yuri approaches Miyachan at high speed.
"Nyahaloo, Miyachan, it's been a while"
"Yuri-chan, I can't breathe"
An emotionless voice stutters under Yuri's huge 'pressures'.
"Sorry, sorry...Many things happened in New Eridu after all. Meeting you is a rare chance when you constantly cultivate without rest"
On the other side...
"They're too close, aren't they?"
A tall man with a yellow headband comments.
"Because Yuri-san and the Captain were once cssmates, their retionship is quite good"
An office dy adjusting her css adds her voice.
"Perhaps, we can invite her to dine after all of work inside the Hollow 0"
A childish voice ponders.
Back to the idiot dou.
"I heard that you'd been hospitalized because of an Unknown Ethereal. You don't know how worried I am..."
Miyabi softly whispers.
"Yeah, rewards come with risks. That Ethereal is an artificial experiment, and its core didn't explode or dissipate outside the Hollow"
"It even forced me to synchronize the Hollow"
Yuri is now like a little Yellow duck in the Tom & Jerry series, telling all of her opinions and grievances to Miyabi like a child report to her mom.
"Hey, Yuri-chan, why didn't you tell me this information before?"
At this time, Ray heard their conversation as her brain is almost shut down.
"Because Miyachan is strong. When passing this information, I won't be targeted by the behind-the-scenes boss anymore"
"You..."
Ray is speechless at this girl. However, Yuri made sense. This information hasn't been publicized in order not to cause panic among the citizens.
"Yuri-chan, thanks for your trust in me"
Miyabi's cheeks redden. Being trusted brings her more motivation to hold the sword. Moreover, this person is Yuri, who has brought her many new things besides holding a sword.
"I don't know what to say about you, Yuri-chan"
"Let's call the trio of your squad in, Captain Miyabi"
"I know"
Miyabi nods her head and cutely waves her hand to call her team in.
---
"Since both the Section 6 and the Light Proxy are here, let me expin the situation"
Ray opened the data folders and several recordings from battles against Nineveh.
"Those Ethereals have brain?"
"I believe Harumasa is right. They've lost themself as an Ethereal. Their attack had a pn, thinking, and improved the next version of the offense. It's like they're adapting"
Hearing the analysis of the Vice-Captain of Section 6, Yuri is in her deep thought. Is it a successful sacrifice that those exaltists are chasing after? Yuri ponders.
"I know what you're thinking, Yuri. Ethereals inside the Hollow 0 aren't supposed to be underestimated...And about the criminals trying to turn Human into Ethereal while maintaining consciousness is impossible, maybe"
Even a mad scientist like Ray can be sure about this possibility.
"It's not about 'maybe', but that Ethereal has DNA of a human"
Yuri adds. After all, Bringer is the only successful sacrifice.
At this time, except for the blue Oni, everyone gasps at Yuri's information.
"Hey, hey, Yuri-san. *cough, cough*, you want to drag us to die, don't you? Such a piece of information, didn't the higher-up beings sign you a confidential contract? You just casually told us all of the things"
Harumasa coughs strangely.
"Yanagi-nee, what's Harumasa talking about? Is it bad?"
The blue Oni tucks the hem of Yanagi's clothes and asks in a worried tone.
"Don't worry, Soukaku-chan. At least, we won't be hidden in the dark. It's even less scary than the unknown"
Yanagi pats Soukaku's and turns to Yuri's side.
"Thanks for your information, Yuri-sama. We'll keep that in mind"
Yanagi adjusts her gsses and feels grateful for Yuri's information. Now, she knows that there is such a menacing organization, and her workload is going to be increased in the future. She doesn't know whether this is good or bad.
"Be focused, guys. Back to the Hollow 0 topic, the possibility of this phenomenon reting to Yuri's investigating object is below 10%"
"Obviously, like Vice Captain Yanagi's speech, they're adapting to our strategies and pns"
Ray drags everyone back to the main topic.
"If it were the original Ethereal that the criminals were chasing helplessly, we would've been wiped out a long time ago"
Ray immediately removes that possibility because she knows that human consciousness in an ethereal creature is out of her mind now.
"Seems like we need more information instead of guessing without a single clue"
Harumasa compins.
"Right. Get ready!"
"Roger!"
"Captain, you seem to be distracted..."
Yanagi asks her captain out of concern. Miyabi's gaze has always been on Yuri as she falls into a deep thought.
"Yanagi, what's your impression of Yuri-chan?"
Miyabi asks.
"Um...Cheerful, positive, and energetic. Her smartness and casual jokes ease the tense atmosphere, just like her nickname, the Light Proxy"
Yanagi holds her chin and speaks.
"Oh..."
Miyabi softly excims.
"Is there something wrong with her, Captain?"
Yanagi feels puzzled by her Captain's reaction.
"The broken mirror can't be mended. Even if they're pieced together, the reflection can't mimic the original 100%"
"She has some simir traits to me, but different decisions"
"But she doesn't know that she's hurting those who really care about her"
Miyabi's eyelids drop down, her hand patting her chest to express her emotion, 'Hurtful'. Seeing Yuri like this, Miyabi can't stand it anymore. Especially, Yuri was almost dead, putting herself in danger to escape, to run away from it. Now, Yuri is facing a huge threat that she doesn't even know about. What's about the oath she made to protect her with her bde?
Yanagi, for the first time, has ever seen her Captain like this. However, it isn't weird. Putting herself in Miyabi's shoes, Yanagi will act the same way. Due to Yuri's casual jokes, the serious problems are reduced to trivial matters. Perhaps Miyabi has ignored the 'pink' filter and pinpointed the potential danger. Yuri doesn't have any monstrous fighting ability like her captain, nor is her body modified to battle like hers.
"So...You're trying to change her from that self-destructive path?"
Without wasting more time, Miyabi nods her head. Although Miyabi's speech sometime is difficult to understand, Yanagi understands the hidden meaning of her Captain.
"Oii, you two, let's have a dine. Yuri-kun has brought melon to eat"
Harumasa yells to call his boss.
Yanagi turns back and forth, just seeing Miyabi's conflict feelings.
