The blast wave left Ignis disoriented, his face burning as if scorched. He wondered if shrapnel had shattered his helmet and cut into his cheek.
When his senses finally steadied, the Salamander loosened his grip and called out to the others. "You all, right? Anyone hurt?"
"I'm fine. The Proxy seems okay too, but our client doesn't look so good." Anby checked the other two before frowning. "We need to evacuate fast—Mr. Kevin can't hold out much longer."
Ignis pushed himself up, hand against his helm. The visor was intact, and the burning sensation had vanished. Strange.
"All right then, we're leaving now." Ignis glanced at the weary man. "Can you walk? If not, I'll carry you."
Kevin's face was pale as paper, sweat pouring down his temples, his eyes unfocused. He struggled to speak, gasping between words. "Let me… let me see the seal. Did you really recover it?"
Anby reached into her tactical suit pocket and pulled out the metallic insignia, completely unscathed. "Perfectly intact. The Cunning Hares deliver results you can trust."
Suddenly, the frail man surged forward with unnatural strength, snatching the seal from her hand like a beast and staring at it greedily.
"Yes… yes, this is it," he muttered, his voice trembling with manic joy. "Finally. Finally, it's in my hands. With this, Victor and I will be recognized by everyone. No one will ever call us a small-time company again."
Ignis blinked, momentarily at a loss. The man's demeanor had shifted completely, like he'd become someone else. Anyu noticed as well and muttered, "Looks like etheric corrosion has already taken hold. He's showing mental instability."
"Then we get out of here—now. And once we're topside, he gets medical treatment." Ignis turned his visor toward Anyu. "You lead the way. I'll carry him. Damn it, I'm not feeling great either."
"I can knock him out. Easier to carry that way." Anby flipped her blood-smeared chainsaw sword in reverse. "Shouldn't hurt too much."
Ignis looked at their client, clutching the seal while laughing and crying all at once, then at the chainsaw he himself had forged. "Better not. He's barely holding together—one scratch might finish him." He turned back to Anyu. "Got the extraction point locked in? We're leaving."
Anyu stopped typing and slowly turned toward Ignis. "Evacuate? Oh, I didn't think I'd be taking you with me."
He tossed the tablet aside and sighed. "You two are impressive—so impressive it's becoming a real problem."
At those words, Ignis and Anby immediately took combat stance. The Salamander's gauntlets crackled with fire and static, and the chainsaw sword growled to life.
"Hey now, no need for those," Anyu said, feigning fear, though his voice carried no trace of it. "I'm fragile, you know. You hit me once and I'm done. Besides—if I die, who's going to get you out of here?"
"So, what is it you want?" Ignis's tone hardened. He knew the man held their only way out. "Extra commission? We can negotiate."
Anyu chuckled—a quiet snicker that quickly broke into full-blown manic laughter. He clutched his stomach, nearly doubling over.
"You find that funny?" Ignis didn't relax an inch, his gauntlets humming with restrained fury.
"Of course…" Anyu wheezed, forcing the words out between fits of laughter. "It's just too damn funny."
Before he could continue, the half-crazed Kevin lunged at him, gripping his coat. "Take us out! Get us out now! I have the seal! I have it! Just take us out!"
Anyu looked down, disgust twisting his face as Kevin's tears and drool stained his dark-blue coat. Even through his helm, Ignis could feel the man's disdain.
"Leave? You're not going anywhere." Anyu kicked Kevin aside, his voice cracking with triumph. "Everything is going exactly as planned!"
Ignis roared, his power fist slamming forward—but halfway to the target, a glowing blue barrier shimmered into being, halting the electrified strike inches from Anyu's chest.
"That weapon of yours is terrifying," Anyu said calmly. "It can crush an Ethereal in an instant, turn men into blood mist, and shatter armored exosuits like paper. My master warned me—never meet you head-on."
He smiled coldly, eyes shifting to Anby, who was already carving into the barrier with her roaring chainsaw blade. "And you… your sword tears through flesh without hesitation, and yet you never flinch. Tell me—what kind of past forged something like you?"
"Ahahahahaha!" he laughed wildly. "And you, Kevin—my dear friend. I never thought you'd have the guts to enter a Hollow yourself. Luckily for me, I came prepared. None of you are leaving this place alive."
"Who are you!? What do you want from us!?" Kevin stammered, clutching the seal protectively against his chest. "I don't even remember wronging anyone!"
Anyu extended a hand. The seal crackled with violet lightning, shocking Kevin until he cried out in pain—but even then, he refused to let go. "You can't take it! It's ours!"
With a mocking smirk, Anyu clenched his fist. The energy intensified, and the current finally overwhelmed Kevin, forcing his hand open. Wrapped in blue energy, the seal floated gently toward Anyu's waiting palm.
"Of course, it's yours—and Victor's," he said, unbuckling the strap beneath his helmet. "Hello, dear Kevin. I'm glad you still remember the days I used to bring lunch to you and Victor."
"You… you…" Kevin's voice trembled as he pointed a shaking finger at her. "Sophie? You threw the seal into the Hollow yourself! What are you trying to do? Victor said he went to find you—and then he vanished! What happened to your face? Is that Hollow radiation?"
The woman—Sophie—smiled faintly, pressing a clawed finger to her lips. "Oh my, still as full of questions as ever. How should I answer first?"
Sophie was a feline Thiren, but far more bestial than Nekomata—her head entirely that of a cat. Now, however, new mutations had overtaken her. Beneath her left feline eye, a third one had sprouted, all three glowing with an eerie azure light. Her fur had transformed into feathers of gold and blue, and her lips had begun hardening into the curve of a beak.
With a motion, she shed her heavy coat—her long arms now covered in sleek plumage. Her boots fell away, revealing taloned, avian feet where soft cat paws once were.
"What do I want?" She smirked. "Oh, Kevin, you didn't really think I loved Victor, did you?" Her tone dripped with mockery. "That man had no sense of fun. Always code, code, code. And when the company started thriving, it was meetings, clients, numbers—so utterly dull."
Her voice was beautiful—dangerously so, the kind that could melt hearts with sweet lies.
"My goal was simple," Sophie purred. "Money. I got close to him—and to you—for money. He just happened to propose first. It didn't matter which one of you it was. I'm grateful, though. You both trusted me enough to give me control over the company's finances. How else could I have transferred all that wealth?"
"You never loved him at all?" Kevin whispered, disbelief in his eyes. "Victor adored you! You had high ether aptitude—did the Hollow twist your mind?"
"Oh, I know he adored me." Sophie chuckled, clearly pleased with herself. "That's what made it so easy to convert the company's profits into my own assets. As for the Hollow's influence—don't worry about me. My master says I have potential… perhaps even to become a Herald."
"No wonder you opposed Marcel's acquisition," Kevin said bitterly. "They would've discovered your embezzlement. We trusted you."
"Indeed," she said with mock sympathy. "I panicked back then—I thought everything would be exposed. But then one night, He spoke to me, told me that wit and cunning could solve anything." Her expression turned almost reverent. "So, I stole the seal, left a trail of evidence, tossed it into the Hollow, and disappeared for a few days. Let you panic."
"Then I contacted Victor, told him I wanted to talk." Sophie's grin widened. "That fool came running—hugged me the moment he saw me, worried sick. Oh, what a good husband he was. Never doubting me, always making time for anniversaries…"
"What did you do to Victor?" Kevin's voice cracked. He already knew the answer. "Where is he?"
"What did I do?" The half-cat, half-bird monstrosity laughed softly and pulled a skull from her feathers. "Such a good man—how could I ever let him leave me? Of course I kept him close."
She raised the skull for Kevin to see. He screamed, crawling backward in terror.
"My dear Kevin," Sophie hissed with a wicked grin, "you'll be joining us soon. Then it'll be just like old times."
Ignis had heard enough. His gauntlet flared as he slammed a punch into her psychic barrier. "Tzeentch-spawned filth! I'll pluck every feather off you and roast you alive!"
"My, such a rude gentleman," the corrupted creature crooned. "But I'm afraid you don't have the strength for that."