"So this is where Geno is? It doesn't look like anything special, does it? More like a place Hollow Raiders would show up."
Eous, possessed by Belle, fiddled with its little arms as it surveyed the factory surroundings.
Ever since humanity entered the era of the Great Hollows, the birth of a Hollow would always devour vast amounts of buildings and supplies. So beyond the high-concentration Ether environment, the supplies and special items left in abandoned buildings were also a frequent draw for Hollow Raiders.
Lycaon, however, caught a different scent in the air.
"Lord Proxy, please proceed with caution from here on. I smell a thick stench of blood."
As a Wolf Thirren, Lycaon's sense of smell naturally far surpassed that of an ordinary person.
And in his perception, a thick, fresh scent of blood permeated the entire factory.
"Could something have happened to Geno?"
Such an absurd thought rose up in Eous's mind, only to be quickly cast aside.
The only things that could beat Geno—short of some boundlessly powerful monster like last time—were Void Hunters on Hoshimi Miyabi's level. If the Ravenlock family could muster combat power of that caliber, would they have nearly been kicked out of TOPS?
After mulling it over for a while without reaching any conclusion, Eous decided to head inside together with Lycaon and take a look.
The pair—one person and one Bangboo—carefully opened the factory's main door. The moment they pried a crack open, a strong stench of blood rushed straight into their nostrils, and then they beheld a jaw-dropping sight.
"Is that... Geno?"
Eous rubbed its eyes. Standing in the middle of the area, surrounded by blood everywhere, its entire body stained with black-red Ethereal—who else could it be but Geno?
But this horrifying scene made it utterly impossible for her to connect any of it with the Geno who was always happy to crack jokes and clown around.
Watching the human fragments strewn all across the floor through Eous's viewpoint, Belle—far away in Sixth Street—clapped a hand over her mouth, suppressing her body's instinctive reaction.
It wasn't as though she'd never seen a corpse before, but this was the first time she'd seen one shredded to such an extent.
"Did Geno do all of this?"
"It appears so."
Lycaon confirmed Eous's guess, his face grave, but the terrifying beast before his eyes left him deeply uneasy.
Forgive Lycaon for describing Geno with such a word.
But as things stood right now, Geno's condition did not look entirely harmless.
As if sensing the intrusion of Lycaon and his companion, Geno's body began to move once more, and then, under Lycaon's wary gaze, it lunged straight at the two of them.
"Ooraa!"
"Ngh!"
The beast-like ferocity of the assault caught Lycaon off guard, and he could only hurriedly raise his hands to guard his front—yet he still took the full brunt of the blow and was sent flying.
But Lycaon was no pushover either. He twisted his body in midair, braced a hand against the ground to steady himself, and then, borrowing that momentum, changed direction and kicked out straight at Geno's face.
After striking Lycaon, Geno had meant to press the attack, but never expected Lycaon to neutralize the offensive so easily and counter in turn.
With its move already spent, Lycaon's prosthetic limb effortlessly kicked Geno right in the face.
And the instant he felt the strike land, the jet device on Lycaon's prosthetic surged with force, blasting Geno back.
"Lycaon! Are you all right?!"
Eous snapped out of it and rushed to Lycaon's side to check on his condition.
Thankfully, it was just some minor injuries—nothing serious.
"Phew~ Thank goodness you're okay."
"Lord Proxy, now is not the time to let our guard down. Mr. Geno's condition is highly abnormal—he seems to have no consciousness, and his strength is also far weaker than in his normal state."
Lycaon rubbed his arm. When he'd blocked the attack just now, he'd been prepared for this arm to be crippled, yet it turned out to be only a slight fracture.
Though Lycaon didn't understand why Geno's combat power had dropped, it was without a doubt a good thing.
The Ravenlock family's people had all been slaughtered by Geno; if something were to happen to Geno too, then it really would be a total loss on both counts.
"Pardon me, Lord Proxy—the scene that follows may be somewhat brutal."
Lycaon loosened the bowtie at his chest and gestured for Eous to hide off to the side. He was about to get serious now.
Meanwhile, the Geno that Lycaon had kicked flying slammed into the wall. Though his body still showed no reaction, things had grown rather lively inside his head.
After the drug had been injected into Geno, he'd felt a wave of faintness wash over him.
When he came to again, he had once more returned to that all-too-familiar space of consciousness.
"Damn, what the hell did those people inject me with? Don't tell me it's some kind of counterfeit drug."
Clutching his still faintly aching head, Geno looked up at that figure he knew better than anything—a Filth creation identical in appearance to himself.
At the moment, the other party wasn't in great shape either, because in the earlier battle against the Sacrifice, Dagalle, inside the Crete Hollow, Geno had exhausted all of his strength.
In order to keep Geno alive and prevent them both from being finished off together, the Filth had driven itself into a half-dead state as well.
Thanks to it, Geno had been remarkably peaceful these past few days.
However, at this moment, apart from the two of them, another figure stood before them.
"What is this thing? It doesn't look too bright."
An Ethereal-form monster, exactly like the Geno outside, stood motionless before Geno and the Filth, looking just like a statue.
Geno tentatively reached out to make contact with it, only to be stopped by the half-dead Sacrifice lying on the ground.
"I'd advise you not to. I'm not ready to go down together with you just yet."
The Sacrifice tilted its head, and seeing the hint of surprise in Geno's eyes, it immediately felt put out.
"What's with that look?"
"You can actually speak like a human!"
(へ—#) Veins bulged on the Filth's head—this bastard, he was really asking for a beating!
"I could always speak like a human. Otherwise, who do you think talks to you all the time? A ghost?"
the Filth said sourly. On ordinary days, in order to break through the restriction of the Night Demon energy, it had done no small amount of nagging inside Geno's head.
"No, I mean this time you didn't immediately start yelling stuff like 'merge with me' and all that—you're surprisingly quiet."
Geno scratched his head, feeling that the Filth was acting somewhat out of character this time.
"Because there's no need for it now. Right now I just want to stay alive."
The Filth couldn't be bothered to deal with Geno any longer; after saying this, it turned around again, presenting its backside to Geno.
A line of black ran down Geno's forehead. Though it was a good thing this guy wasn't pestering him, why did he feel like he was being looked down on?
Hmm—it must be his imagination!
____
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