Realizing that his words had come out wrong, the middle-aged man who called himself Ollie gave a strange, awkward laugh while trying to explain himself.
"Heh-heh… what I meant is, I'm the one responsible for… the commission, yes, the guide for this commission, hahaha…"
Then he turned his gaze toward the giant, Ignis. "And this is your companion? You never mentioned there'd be anyone else."
Ignis patted his chest, the few homemade grenades hanging there clinking together with a metallic clatter. Nekomata's eyes went wide in alarm, afraid that any wrong move might set them off.
"Ignis. Companion of Miss Nekomata. We'll be providing protection for your expedition."
The moment he heard the word expedition, Ollie visibly twitched. Scratching his neck, he forced another uneasy smile. "Commission, yes, commission…"
As he spoke, his eyes darted around. "By the way, the Proxy we're cooperating with hasn't arrived yet?"
"We're all here already. Can't you see?" Nekomata tilted her head.
The words made Ollie tense up immediately. He looked around, but apart from the towering giant, the cat-eared woman, and the bored Bangboo fidgeting nearby, there wasn't another living thing in sight.
Don't tell me… this Hollow is…
He recalled the horror movie he'd watched recently and couldn't stop a shiver from crawling down his spine.
"Miss Nekomata, please don't joke like that…" Ollie's voice trembled as he glanced from side to side. "There… there's no one else here."
Although Ignis guessed that Nekomata was teasing him on purpose, he also understood that Ollie had no idea the Proxy was actually that restless little Bangboo.
"Hey, hello there." A disguised voice came from inside Eous. "Mr. Ollie, I'm the Proxy."
"AAAAAAH!" Ollie jumped so high he nearly took off. "W-who's there!?"
"Nyaow! My ears!"
The sudden, piercing shriek from the middle-aged man made Nekomata clutch her ears in pain—one of the downsides of having such sharp hearing.
Well, this is one entertaining commission.
Ignis silently gave a thumbs-up in his heart.
"Mr. Ollie, it was our oversight not to inform you about the team's full composition beforehand." Ignis placed a firm hand on the client's shoulder, steadying him. "But please understand the Thiren physiology—Nekomata's hearing is extremely sensitive. Loud noises cause her discomfort."
"That's right!" Nekomata stomped her foot angrily. "Anyway, as you can see, this 'talking Bangboo' is our Proxy."
"O-oh, I see." Ollie exhaled in relief. "Shows how ignorant I was, hahaha…"
He laughed weakly and stepped back, leaning against a chunk of Ether crystal jutting from the corner of a ruined building.
"Sorry about earlier—you had to see me lose my composure." Ollie tried to redeem himself, but his shifty eyes scanning every corner didn't exactly make him look reliable.
"But overall, I'm very dependable!" he insisted repeatedly, clearly afraid they'd leave him behind.
"Please, rely on me—just as I'm relying on this Ether crystal here…" He patted the thick crystal behind him. "See? Standing this close and still chatting calmly—proof of my exceptional Ether Aptitude!"
If his legs hadn't been trembling like a leaf, that might've sounded convincing.
"Yes, Mr. Ollie…"
Ignis tried to give him a little dignity, a way to save face—but before he could finish, a deep growl rumbled through the air, and the Ether crystal Ollie leaned on moved.
"Huh? The crystal's moving? Don't tell me it's…" Ollie froze like a badly lubricated automaton.
"Exactly. A dormant Ethereal with low activity level…" Nekomata drew a short blade from her leg guard.
"AAAAAAH! It's an Ethereal!"
The shriek from the self-proclaimed tenor was so loud that Nekomata crouched down, clutching her head in pain. "Hey! Calm down!"
Ignis grabbed Ollie with his left hand and pulled him behind him, while his right gauntlet charged up with crackling energy. With one thunderous punch, the half-awakened Ethereal shattered into countless pieces.
"So Ethereals can hibernate like that now?" Ignis scanned the area cautiously. "It's been neutralized. No need to panic."
But Ollie, traumatized by the fact that he'd just been leaning against an Ethereal, let out another terrified scream.
Ignis couldn't help thinking he might have a bright future as an opera tenor—the vocal range was impressive.
"Ah, make him stop! My head's going to explode!" Nekomata groaned, wishing she could just knock him out.
"No use—he's completely lost it," said Phaethon through Eous's visual sensors, confirming that Ollie was indeed in full panic mode.
The amateur tenor's dreadful singing soon attracted a group of unfriendly listeners. Ignis heard movement approaching—from both above and below.
He saw debris—rebar, concrete, even tiles fused with Ether crystal—sliding along the ceiling and floor like shells on the move.
Ignis ignited his flamethrower, unleashing twin streams of fire up and down. Within seconds, several bizarre Ethereals leapt out.
They looked vaguely fish-like, with massive forelimbs and possibly vestigial or missing hind limbs. Their bodies were armored with scavenged building materials, the sharp edges forming ramming horns and teeth-like crystal spikes.
Their true bodies were gelatinous, blue masses threaded with glowing green-yellow energy lines extending from their crystal-core heads.
"Careful—Cyrtoidea," the Proxy warned. "They can burst from the ground or walls like sharks, and they're extremely sensitive to sound."
Ignis glanced at the burnt remains—rubble and crystal shells—and thought the name Cyrtoidea suited them perfectly.
As a half-baked paleontology enthusiast, he recalled that Cyrtoidea was a suborder of Nassellaria—marine plankton with siliceous shells of varying forms. These Ethereals' mix of crystal and concrete shells encasing soft, organic bodies did, indeed, resemble radiolarians.
But taxonomy could wait. Phaethon was right—these things were sound-sensitive. From the shadows of the ruined building, a swarm of them poured out.
"I'll draw their attention. Nekomata, guard the client." Ignis stomped heavily on the ground, the echo pulling a mass of Ethereals toward him.
The creatures circled him from the walls, ceiling, and floor. The Salamander was surrounded like a whale by a pack of sharks.
But this whale wasn't some docile baleen feeder—it was a raging Leviathan.
With several roars, Cyrtoidea lunged from every direction, their rebar-and-crystal horns and jagged jaws bared.
An ordinary Hollow Raider would've frozen in terror—maybe even wet themselves.
But Ignis was no ordinary man. He was a Space Marine—the Emperor's Angel of Death—freshly blessed by His mighty hand.
Lightning flashed across both fists as he unleashed a storm of blows. After a flurry of bang-bang-bang, the attacking "sharks" were nothing but shattered fragments on the floor.
"Nothing but goldfish."
Ignis glanced at the remaining Ethereals circling him.
He reignited his flamethrower, punching in tandem with bursts of fire. Any Cyrtoidea foolish enough to swarm him were engulfed in flames; any that dared charge were rewarded with fists like boiling cauldrons.
Though most were drawn to Ignis, a few slipped past toward Nekomata. Ollie panicked and instinctively tried to run.
His footsteps immediately caught their attention. Three Ethereals sprang from the floor, maws wide open.
"Don't ignore me, nyaow!"
Nekomata moved fast—a blur cutting through the middle of the group. With twin blades she struck both left and right, piercing the cores of two Cyrtoidea mid-air.
The shark-shaped Ethereals disintegrated before hitting the ground. The third was about to bite Ollie's coat when Nekomata spun in place, using the torque of her waist and legs to kick it aside.
She leapt after it, catching it mid-air—her short blade found a gap in its shell, stabbing through to the core. With a sharp twist, the creature went limp.
"Any fish around here belongs to the cat."
Nekomata flicked her ears and hauled the fallen Ollie up by the arm. "Stay still. These things hunt by sound."
Ollie almost screamed again but managed to clamp his hands over his mouth. Remembering the Proxy's warning, he stayed crouched and motionless.
Ignis had already finished his side of the battle. There had been many Cyrtoidea, but none fast enough to keep up with a genetically enhanced warrior—it was a one-sided slaughter.
He had even considered testing one of his handmade grenades, but given the massive explosive charge, it would've likely hit Nekomata and the others—so he restrained himself.
"All clear," Ignis said, walking over as Eous waddled proudly to his feet, hands on hips as if taking credit for the victory.
"Huff… huff…" Ollie finally dared to breathe. "It's… it's over?"
"Miss Nekomata's heroic rescue just now… I'm truly moved!" Ollie's voice quavered, eyes watery.
This guy… with nerves like that, how'd he end up inside a Hollow? He wasn't exploring—he was trouble waiting to happen.
"I'm glad you're moved," Nekomata said, sliding her knife back into her leg armor. "But could you please try to stay calm? The screaming isn't good for my ears."
"When I read about you on the Inter-Knot, Mr. Ollie, I thought you'd be the composed type. Turns out your company's hiring standards for Hollow expeditions are… quite unique."
Seeing her shake her head, Ollie could only let out an awkward laugh. "W-well, you know, our corporation values diversity, hahaha…"
Diversity? Ignis eyed the man. Physiologically male, dressed like one too—probably not the kind of "diversity" Ollie meant.
"I admit I'm not great with Ethereals, but when it comes to Ether resource recovery, I do have some expertise," Ollie said, trying to sound useful.
"Is that so? Then I'll believe you—this time." Nekomata's tail swayed lightly. Ignis knew that meant she didn't trust him one bit.
"And since you mentioned Ether recovery, let's be upfront." Nekomata's tone turned sly. "Our real goal is to join your company's future Ether resource retrieval commissions."
"If today's job goes smoothly, maybe you can put in a good word with your supervisor—get us a spot in the next round." Her ears twitched with anticipation.
"Oh, that's no problem at all. Leave it to me!" Ollie thumped his chest confidently.
"To tell the truth, my companions and I have been considering a career change." The street-born stray cat began spinning her lies. "Working for a corporation like yours must be far better than scraping by on the Inter-Knot, right?"
"Y-yeah, probably…" Ollie laughed weakly, dodging the question.
"So, tell me, how much do you usually earn from Ether recovery? What's your cut?" Nekomata rubbed her hands together, eyes gleaming like Nicole's when scheming.
"Ah… my cut? It's… um… about… maybe…" The middle-aged man scratched his head, unable to give a straight answer.
"Oh!" Nekomata clapped her hands, making Ollie flinch. "I forgot! As a corporate employee, you probably get a salary and bonuses, right? Confidential stuff?"
"Miss Nekomata, you're so understanding." Ollie gratefully seized the excuse. "Yes, I'd better not disclose specifics."
"Then let's drop the income talk and finish today's expedition." Nekomata waved at Ignis, then pointed toward Eous.
"R-right, right. I'll check the survey details now…" Ollie fumbled a tablet out of his coat and started fiddling with it.
"Hey, big guy—Phaethon." Nekomata lowered her voice. "What do you think of this Ollie?"