"Have Phaga and Ellen not arrived yet?"
Standing before the central courtyard corridor, Lycaon watched as the automatic partition reopened with the restoration of power. He glanced down at his pocket watch, frowning slightly. Phaga was rarely this slow.
Beside him, Rina cast a sidelong glance toward Corin and Eous. The two stood a little apart, tiptoeing to catch a glimpse of the scenery inside the courtyard corridor. Seeing that their attention was elsewhere, Rina drifted a bit closer to Lycaon.
She lowered her voice with a teasing smile. "The children finally have some time alone. Let's give them a bit of leniency, shall we?"
"Besides," she added, her tone light, "I heard the last Doll could control water. For all we know, those two might still be struggling to dry their clothes. Heh heh~"
Lycaon sighed quietly at her mischievous grin. Just as he was about to respond, his ears twitched—he'd caught a faint vibration in the air.
Rina noticed it too. In perfect sync, they both turned to look in the same direction.
Two familiar figures were approaching—still holding each other rather closely. Rina's expression brightened with delight.
She folded her hands neatly at her skirt hem and smiled. "Lord Lycaon, look. There they are."
Lycaon raised his gaze briefly, saw them, and promptly looked away again, his attention shifting back toward the courtyard corridor.
Whoosh—whoosh—
Phaga descended from the air, carrying Ellen in his arms. He released the bend of her leg with his right hand and gave a light tap to her back with his left.
Only then did Ellen seem to snap out of her daze. Reluctantly, she withdrew her hands from around Phaga's neck. Seeing Rina's knowing look, she felt her face warm and mumbled, "Rina, we're here."
Phaga landed softly, retracting his wings. He let Ellen help him back into his coat, then offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry, drying the clothes took a little longer than expected."
He was considerate enough not to mention how flustered she'd been earlier while clinging to the clothes.
"It's fine. As long as you're both safe."
Before Rina could speak, Lycaon's deep, measured voice sounded from nearby.
He had been the one complaining about their lateness, but now he was also the first to show concern.
Rina's subtle smile didn't go unnoticed. Lycaon cleared his throat twice, straightened his back, and spoke in his usual stern tone.
"Did you encounter any Ethereal along the way? If necessary, we can take a short rest before proceeding."
"No need."
Ellen peeked out from behind Phaga, and whatever had happened between them, the two seemed noticeably closer now. She spoke firmly, "Phaga flew really fast. The Ethereal couldn't catch up—we didn't have to fight."
"That's good."
Lycaon's eye twitched, but he took a deep breath and quietly buried the strange mix of emotions stirring inside him.
His expression hardened again. His metal prosthetic foot struck the floor with a sharp, metallic clang—each step radiating determination.
He adjusted his gauntlets and knuckled gloves out of habit, then declared solemnly, "Move out!"
The remaining members of Victoria Housekeeping responded immediately, stepping through the reopened partition and entering the corridor one by one.
The central atrium corridor was both wide and long.
Though its sole function was to connect the A and B wings of the Ballet Tower, the Bale brothers had spared no expense in decorating it—it was extravagantly opulent.
Their life's work demanded perfection. Even the bathrooms in the Ballet Tower were built to five-star standards. The toilets were so spotless you could supposedly drink from them!
Naturally, such luxury had driven the brothers to the brink of bankruptcy. They'd become as delusional as their golden toilets, their heads filled with water as they swayed through life.
At a banquet meant to attract new investors, despite knowing a Hollow Crisis might break out at any moment, the brothers behaved like desperate gamblers clinging to false hope. They insisted on continuing the event, forcing the contracted dancer sisters to fulfill their performance.
The result was catastrophic. The Ballet Tower was swallowed by a Hollow, the dancer sisters trapped below along with five others who had failed to escape.
But the last elevator couldn't handle the weight.
Blinded by greed, the five survivors refused to abandon two hundred pounds of treasure to save the sisters.
A hundred kilos of treasure—seven lives.
...
After walking for a while, the group reached the center of the atrium corridor.
Eous, whose eyesight was the sharpest, immediately spotted a pink backpack lying on the ground.
Having seen Rain's full-body photo before, its ears perked up instantly. It dashed forward, picked up the backpack, and exclaimed, "This is Rain's!"
The Victoria Housekeeping members tensed instantly, entering combat readiness.
Lycaon, in particular, had already stepped protectively beside Eous, his tone deep and commanding. "Why is Rain's belonging here? Phaga!"
"Straight ahead, behind the chairs at twelve o'clock—five people. Behind the pillar at one o'clock—three. And many more behind the far wall."
Phaga's blood-red eyes opened. Just standing there, he was a living heat sensor—no one hiding in the corridor could escape his gaze.
Judging by their positioning, he was almost certain—they were rebels.
"And the backpack?"
Lycaon pressed a hand over Eous's to stop him from moving. The bag's sudden appearance was far too convenient—an obvious trap, perhaps.
Phaga lowered his gaze, studying the backpack for a moment before looking up again. "I don't sense any immediate danger, but I suggest we deal with the hidden rebels first."
Lycaon's eyes flickered briefly. Then, pressing Eous's hand gently down, he nodded. "Agreed."
...
Ballet Tower Building B, in front of the central atrium corridor.
A rebel hiding behind a wall had grown restless after hearing nothing from the corridor for a while. He whispered toward another rebel crouched behind a flowerbed nearby.
"Hey, hey, bro over by the flowerbed!"
The rebel behind the flowerbed flinched at the sudden call. Realizing it was his comrade, his anger flared—but remembering the importance of their mission, he swallowed it down.
"What the hell are you shouting for? You trying to get us killed?" he hissed.
The rebel behind the wall ignored the irritation, replying thickly, "Just asking, why's it so quiet out there?"
"How should I know? It's too far—I can't see a damn thing!"
"Don't get so touchy! Hey, why didn't we just set the player on a timer?"
"Are you stupid? How would we know when they'd show up? If it went off too early, the Twins would notice and kill us for screwing up!"
"Ohhh, that makes sense," the wall rebel muttered. No wonder the player was on a trigger system—so the Twins would appear at just the right time.
"Sigh... I still can't believe that bitch Rain managed to call in backup strong enough to handle all five Dolls. We lost a lot of brothers just figuring out their mechanisms."
The rebel leaned against the wall, muttering complaints. The one behind the flowerbed had calmed down somewhat and listened, bored but mildly entertained.
"But you should've seen them on the monitors, bro—so many hot girls in that rescue team! And besides that fur-covered WolfThiren guy, that boy with the monocle? Damn, he's something."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, come on, bro, don't act dumb. When have we rebels ever seen women? The second a pretty one shows up in a squad, you know how it goes. Heh heh, you get me."
"No, not really. I thought you'd be into those girls."
"Hey, people stick to what they know—it's habit! And that boy with the monocle? Real looker, no doubt."
"You've got good taste."
"Heh, you think so too, huh?"
But as soon as the rebel finished speaking, he froze. The voice that had just answered him... sounded like a woman's.
Instinctively, he turned his head—and nearly screamed. A woman with long, flaxen hair floated right beside him. He hadn't sensed her at all!
"Ah!!!"
Both rebels stumbled to their feet, weapons raised, shouting nervously, "Who are you?! When did you get here?!"
"Victoria Housekeeping's Head Maid, at your service."
Rina smiled politely, offering a graceful bow before her entire body began to crackle with electricity.
"As for when I arrived..." Her tone turned sweetly dangerous. "Probably right around the time you complimented my child's looks. Thank you for the praise."
The moment she finished, lightning flared across her palm, arcing wildly through the air.
Boom!
"Run! We've been discovered!"
"The intel was wrong—how are they this strong?!"
"What's going on?! Why is that little girl with the chainsaw so terrifying?!"
Explosions erupted along the wall, and the rebels on the other side panicked, breaking cover and rushing out—only to be met by a storm of lightning.
"Hmm?"
Rina raised a sphere of condensed plasma, its blue glare reflecting in her eyes as she smiled faintly.
"Oh my, more guests already?"