Boom!!
In this deathly silent Silver Base, a violent explosion rose out of thin air, like a magnificent firework—beautiful yet fleeting.
As the master of ceremonies for this firework show, the autonomous machine soldier [Terrorbird] fixed its cold electronic eye tightly on the location of the explosion, motionless, as if admiring its own masterpiece.
If it possessed its own consciousness, it would probably add a line like this:
"Insta-kill~"
As a meritorious model that had participated in many campaigns, the [Terrorbird] had unsurprisingly become the primary defense unit of the Silver Base.
Originally, it should have departed along with the evacuating military personnel. However, to prevent the remnants of the Silver Base from becoming the spoils of war for 'certain people,' they left behind some [Terrorbirds] as a defensive force.
They even set up a program that would only activate when that specific laboratory was opened, displaying the true flair of a camper.
Everything was designed to catch anyone seeking secrets in one fell swoop.
In the rising smoke, the Terrorbird's visual system no longer detected signs of life. There was no doubt; the enemy had been defeated.
That was how it should have been.
"Get lost!"
Thud!
A massive impact force sent the Terrorbird flying, and a figure walked slowly out of the smoke.
Appearing with him was the Thirren girl held in his arms. Who else could it be but Geno?
"Ge... Geno..."
"Don't worry, it's fine."
"Your... leg."
Lucia discovered with horror that one of Geno's legs was twisted at a strange angle; it was clearly broken.
But Geno acted as if nothing had happened; the physique of an Ethereal was just that willful.
"This isn't the place to talk. Let's find somewhere to hide first."
With no time to explain, Geno put Lucia down, and then, supported by her, he limped away to hide.
Not long after the two left, the Terrorbird that had been knocked flying slowly stood up. Clearly, that hit just now wasn't enough to finish it off completely.
And behind it, walking in neat formation, were nearly a hundred identical [Terrorbirds].
Not a lot, but enough to be useful.
-----------------
"Be careful."
Lucia supported Geno as they hid back inside the building. She nervously checked behind them to ensure there were no pursuers before closing the main door.
"How is your injury?"
"It's fine. I'm used to it. If I rest a bit and absorb some Ether energy, I'll recover."
Geno sighed with some exhaustion. Although his injuries could heal on their own, the pain was still painful.
"That was too risky! What were you thinking, actually jumping straight down from such a high building! One slip up and you would have been smashed into an Ethereal pancake! Do you know that!"
(Upstairs, a Thanatos leading a group of Ethereal lackeys stared at the huge hole in the glass, falling into deep thought.)
Seeing Geno like this, Lucia finally put her heart back in her chest.
Thinking back to what had just happened, it felt simply like a dream.
Rewinding time to one second before the missile hit her: Geno suddenly descended from the sky, shielded her, and used a wall panel to block the missile.
Although the shockwave of the explosion knocked them both to the ground and Geno suffered heavy injuries, fortunately, it wasn't fatal.
"Don't the superheroes in movies all do this? Injury is temporary, but being handsome... that lasts a lifetime... Ow, ow, ow~ I was wrong, I was wrong!"
Seeing Geno still talking tough, Lucia poked his injured leg with her finger, puffing out her cheeks to express her dissatisfaction.
"Never do such a stupid thing next time."
"Don't worry, there won't be a next time."
I won't let you fall into danger again.
At this moment, Geno and Lucia placed each other in a very important position in their hearts.
The surrounding atmosphere also began to become ambiguous.
"Ahem, anyway, what should we do now?"
Geno realized something was off beforehand and hurriedly changed the topic.
"Mmn, there's a group of autonomous machine soldiers outside; if we go out, we'll be shot into sieves. And upstairs, there's a group of Ethereals waiting for an opportunity. No matter how you look at it, it's a dead end..."
Having managed to survive with great difficulty, only to face a checkmate scenario—anyone would feel a bit discouraged.
"Sigh, what to do? Say, wouldn't it be great if we could make them fight each other?"
"Fighting won't help. Even if they really fight, it'll be a chaotic mess, and we won't be able to slip away in the confusion."
This wasn't a street brawl. If the two sides really fought, it would be a small-scale war.
A hundred or so Terrorbirds against an uncountable army of Ethereals—if they were accidentally hit by stray bullets, the two of them would soon return to the embrace of the Hollow.
"And the most critical thing is, we have absolutely no way to make the two sides meet."
Once these words were spoken, the two fell into silence once again.
The Ethereals wouldn't go downstairs to pursue, and the Terrorbirds wouldn't rashly rush into the building.
After all, the environment here wasn't suitable for their movement, so waiting for the rabbit to hit the tree stump was the best method.
But this made it difficult for Geno and his companion. With wolves in front and tigers behind, they were the cheese in a double-bread sandwich; it would be hard to escape even with wings.
"Cough, cough, cough cough cough!!"
A violent coughing sound rang out, but it wasn't Geno, the heavily injured Ethereal; it was Lucia.
Geno was puzzled at first, then, as if realizing something, he looked at the moon outside the window, which was already sinking lower and lower.
Immediately after, he anxiously grabbed Lucia's arm. There were faint glowing streaks—this was the sign that Corruption was beginning.
"Lucia! How long have you been in the Hollow!"
Every person's Ether Aptitude determined how long they could move in the Hollow without being corrupted. Once that time was exceeded, they would begin to suffer from Ether Corruption, and in the end, they would turn into an Ethereal.
These were all things written in that manual.
"I'm not too sure. From the time I woke up until now, it's been three or four hours, I guess."
Three or four hours?! That time was too long!
Although those with better Ether Aptitude could stay active longer, the body would inevitably produce Corruption effects.
Three or four hours and only showing this degree of Corruption—Lucia's Ether Aptitude was already far better than the vast majority of people.
But even so, they couldn't delay any longer.
"Right! The thing from before."
Geno remembered the scene when Twiggy was about to turn into an Ethereal and he had absorbed that Ether energy.
So, he pressed down on Lucia's shoulders, attempting to absorb the Ether energy inside her body, but there was no effect whatsoever.
"How can this be?"
"Cough cough, it's fine, Geno. I can still hold on. I'm just a little dizzy, that's all. Don't forget, I am an Envoy of the Night Demon; how could I be defeated in a tiny Hollow?"
Lucia spoke these joking words lightly, but her appearance still carried a trace of strain.
"It's okay~ it's okay~ I just need to rest a bit. Very soon, the lively Lucia will be able to stand up again and fight by your side. Really, just a tiny little while..."
Lucia's voice became softer and softer, and soon she closed her eyes, quietly falling asleep.
Family, I'm busy watching the World Championship, so I'm handing in the content first~ Remember to cast your votes and support AL (laughs).
____
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