After Geno left, Nicole and the others, who had entered Crete Hollow right after him, followed Eous (Fairy)'s guidance and arrived at the perimeter of the Silver Base.
"This is...?!"
While on the way, Anby had already felt it looked familiar. Upon arriving and taking a look, it was indeed this place.
All members of the Silver Squad held complex emotions regarding the Silver Base, and Anby was no exception.
"What's wrong? Anby, do you know this place?"
"Yeah."
Anby simply informed everyone of the intelligence regarding this location. However, looking at the Silver Base now surrounded by Ethereals, the expressions on Nicole and the others' faces grew increasingly grim.
"With this scale of Ethereals, Twiggy and the others wouldn't have already..."
Eous (Belle) thought of a bad scenario.
"Don't be pessimistic yet. Geno arrived a step ahead of us; maybe they've already escaped."
Nekomata nodded frequently as well. Both of them had witnessed just how outrageous Geno's combat power was—a guy who could survive taking a rocket directly. Even if he couldn't win, running away would definitely not be a problem.
"Look quick?! What is that? It seems to be rushing towards us!"
Billy suddenly cried out. Sharp-eyed, he saw an unidentified object appear among the Ethereals, speeding towards their position.
"Raise guard!"
The members of the Cunning Hares waited in full battle array. Eous also honestly hid behind Billy; it had no combat power.
That bizarre object was wrapped in a dense aura of filth, making its full appearance unclear. However, as the distance closed, the mysterious veil was finally lifted—it was actually a peculiarly looking Dullahan!
"A Dullahan?!"
"Nicole!"
Amidst the exclamations, Anby leaped up, the straight blade in her hand carrying electric light as she blocked in front of Nicole. The Dullahan, which was originally some distance away, had now arrived in front of everyone.
The sudden attack made Nicole's small face turn pale instantly. Immediately following, she fired a shot relying on instinctive reaction.
Anby understood in a second. She immediately moved aside, allowing the cannon shell to accurately hit the Dullahan and push it back.
The tacitly understanding Billy also opened fire at the same time. In less than three seconds, he emptied four or five magazines, every shot aimed precisely at the Dullahan's core.
However, the instant the Dullahan was about to be hit by the bullets, a burst of intense turbid red gas suddenly exploded from its body. Immediately after, only the sounds of ding-ding-dang-dang could be heard; Billy's bullets were all intercepted.
"What is this?! I've never heard of this kind of power?!"
Eous (Belle) turned pale with fright. She had been a Proxy for so many years but had never heard of a Dullahan possessing such power.
Anby's expression was grave. If the Ethereals inside the base were all at this level, then Geno and the others...
While the group hesitated, the Dullahan launched an attack once again. But this time, with everyone fully prepared, its attack was not ideal.
Hum~
While the Dullahan was entangled with Nicole and the others, a glint of cold light suddenly lit up behind it.
"Meow! Eat my blade!"
Relying on her agile movements and petite body, Nekomata had circled behind the Dullahan at some unknown time. She waved the short blades in her hands, hacking left and right at the Dullahan, yet it had no effect.
The Dullahan immediately turned around, knocking Nekomata back. Then, it decisively abandoned its entanglement with Nicole and the others, prioritizing dealing with this prey that had delivered itself to the door.
"Ugh!"
"Nekomata!"
The Dullahan stabbed its blade into Nekomata's shoulder, lifting her up. It then prepared to use force to tear her apart, but at this very moment, the Dullahan's movements suddenly paused, seeming to be attracted by something.
Looking closely, a pendant hung around Nekomata's neck. It was the very one she had lost earlier; Corin had picked it up when leaving the Hollow and returned it to her.
At this moment, as the Dullahan looked at the pendant, a wave of strange memories flooded into its nonexistent brain, causing a momentary crash.
"Good chance! Save her quickly!"
Although they didn't know why the Dullahan's movements had stopped, Nicole and the others wouldn't let this opportunity slip. Anby leaped up and carried Nekomata away, while Billy and Nicole opened full fire, ammunition bombarding the Dullahan's body as if it cost nothing.
The turbid red filthy shield clattered loudly, drawing the Dullahan's attention back. However, this time it no longer chose to continue tangling with Nicole and the others. Instead, acting out of character, it chose to flee, just as it had when facing Geno earlier.
"It's running?! Boss, do we chase?!"
Hearing Billy's inquiry, Nicole began to hesitate. Judging by the situation just now, they definitely couldn't beat this strange Dullahan. If they really chased after it, they would certainly fall into danger.
"Nekomata?! Where are you going?"
While Nicole hesitated, Nekomata abruptly struggled out of Anby's embrace. Clutching the stabbed wound, she chased in the direction the Dullahan had fled.
Hearing Anby's call, Nekomata did not answer. The Dullahan's anomaly just now and the words Geno had said earlier surfaced in her mind.
'Miguel has already turned into a Dullahan. We brought it back for observation. It seems different from normal Ethereals and even reacts to this pendant.'
"Could it be that that guy is Miguel?"
This conjecture instantly filled Nekomata's brain, and then she thought of another possibility.
At this moment, she harbored a bold idea in her heart: Miguel might still retain his memories from when he was human.
The Dullahan stopping just now might have been because it recognized her.
Otherwise, how to explain why it suddenly stopped when it had the overwhelming advantage and even turned to leave?
Carrying this shred of hope, Nekomata suppressed the pain and chased in the direction Miguel had left.
Seeing this, Nicole and the others behind naturally wouldn't let Nekomata leave alone. Even knowing there would be danger, they still followed.
Soon, the group entered the interior of the Silver Base.
As expected, this place was everywhere filled with powerful Ethereals comparable to the Dullahan, and their bodies possessed the same bizarre filthy aura as the Dullahan.
Several aggressive Ethereals had already pounced toward their position.
However, their path was blocked by automated mechs that hadn't been completely scrapped yet.
"It's the Sentinels from the base, and Terrorbirds. This should be the reason why this base hasn't completely fallen yet."
Anby recognized the model of the automated mechs at a glance, and from there deduced that the people inside the base were still safe.
"But we can't break through the encirclement of these guys right now, can we?"
Nicole frowned. They struggled just dealing with one Dullahan. With at least a hundred Ethereals before them, how could they find Geno and the others' location?
At this moment, Eous suddenly noticed something.
"Look up there!"
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