Chapter 16: White (Patreon)

"Mister Proxy, we'll be counting on you to guide the way in a bit."

After entering Hollow Zero, the members of Victoria Housekeeping Co. shed their black cloaks.

After all, keeping the cloaks on in a place like Hollow Zero, where a fight could break out at any moment, would have been needlessly arrogant.

Seeing this, Musachi nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll get the job done."

Musachi nodded with a smile, though he wasn't particularly interested in the details of their mission.

Some kind of power struggle, probably?

Still, given how generous the pay was, Musachi decided to do the job properly.

"So sleepy... I really want to sleep."

Ellen yawned as she moved through Hollow Zero, looking utterly drowsy.

"Hang in there, Ellen. You can't fall asleep here — you'll catch a cold!"

Corin looked at Ellen with concern.

"Falling asleep in Hollow Zero would be a lot worse than catching a cold."

Musachi glanced at the earnest Corin and said with a smile.

Corin gave an embarrassed laugh, realizing the hole in her own logic.

"I'll try my best..."

Ellen yawned again, still looking utterly listless.

"Hang in there, Ellen. Did you bring any candy?"

Beside her, Rina watched Ellen with concern.

Today's mission had come up suddenly — they'd only gotten notice at the last minute, otherwise they wouldn't have needed to reach out to an unlicensed Proxy like Musachi.

"No... I finished my last one just now."

Ellen needed a constant supply of sugar, or she'd get unbearably drowsy, but since the mission had come together in such a rush, she hadn't brought enough candy.

Musachi patted his pants pocket.

Sure enough, he still had a few lollipops in there, bought that afternoon while out shopping with Remielle.

She'd insisted on stuffing a couple into his hands.

At the time, Musachi had thought it unnecessary, but now it seemed they might actually come in handy.

"If you don't mind, have one of my lollipops."

Musachi said, pulling the lollipops out of his pocket.

"I happen to have a few on me."

"Thanks, this really helps."

Ellen's eyes lit up. She took the lollipop from Musachi's hand and, unable to wait, tore off the wrapper and popped it into her mouth.

"Much better."

She sighed in relief, letting out a long breath.

"All right, if there are no more problems, let's get started. Proxy, our mission is to reach this location. Since the spatial layout of Hollow Zero keeps shifting, we'll need your guidance here. Can you manage it?"

Lycaon pointed at a spot on the rough map of Hollow Zero. Musachi nodded with a smile.

"No problem."

Most people felt uneasy the moment they entered a Hollow, but for Musachi, stepping into one felt like coming home.

Especially in a place like Hollow Zero, where Ether activity ran so high.

Except for the very deepest reaches of Hollow Zero, Musachi practically had the whole map revealed — nothing here could hide from him.

The free-floating Ether even carried information about the Ethereals straight into Musachi's mind.

Ten years ago, Musachi had possessed a similar ability, but nothing near this powerful. Today, ten years later, everything was different.

"Reaching this exact spot without a hitch would be tricky. The best I can do is pick the route with the fewest fights."

"No problem. Leave the fighting to us."

Lycaon nodded.

"Don't worry. As a Proxy, this is my job."

Musachi smiled and walked on ahead.

After they'd walked some distance, an Ether Singularity appeared up ahead.

"Go in through here and we'll come out near the destination. There are only a few scattered Ethereals around it — just clear them out."

Musachi said, and beside him, Lycaon looked at him with some surprise.

He hadn't expected the unlicensed Proxy he'd hastily hired to be this good.

Because Mayor Mayflower's job had come down on such short notice, and because the whole affair needed to stay under wraps, Lycaon couldn't tap official resources, and none of the Proxies he usually worked with were free either.

Left with no other choice, Lycaon had simply grabbed whatever Proxy he could find.

What had his expectations been at the start?

Just someone who could walk them through Hollow Zero and get them to the destination before the window given in the intel closed.

But now?

Following Musachi's route, they'd dodged one Ethereal after another the entire way — the path he'd charted was so uncanny that not even the official pathfinder could have matched it.

Was this what it felt like to draw an SSR on a random pull?

It was far beyond anything Lycaon had expected.

It was only because Musachi had no idea what Lycaon was thinking. If he had, the corners of his mouth would have curled up hard.

As if mere official data could compare to my cheat ability?

I've practically got the whole map revealed!

The moment the group passed through the Ether Singularity, the Ethereals nearby all went on alert, turning to look in their direction.

"Let's clear out these Ethereals first."

At Lycaon's command, everyone charged forward.

Facing the five Ethereals ahead, Lycaon cleanly flying-kicked one of them away.

At that moment, a Tyrfing swung its blade at Lycaon, but he quickly blocked the strike with his mechanical prosthetic leg, then kicked it flying!

Beside him, Rina wasn't idle either — the Ethereals around her convulsed on the ground, electrocuted.

But what really stood out was Corin's fighting style.

Normally she looked like a soft, adorable matcha cake of a girl, painfully shy — but in battle, she turned shockingly brutal.

"Such scary Ethereals — stay away from Corin!!!"

Even the way she talked matched her looks — a soft, sweet little cake.

That is, if you ignored the brutal sight of her dismembering the Ethereals around her with a chainsaw.

As for Ellen, she stood off to the side watching, lollipop in her mouth.

Her stamina was precious — not something to waste on small fry like these.

As small as she looked, Ellen was actually the strongest fighter in Victoria Housekeeping Co.

Truly the strongest combat force among them.

"Watch out!"

Just as Lycaon finished clearing the Ethereals and turned to look back—

he saw two cloaked figures wielding blades appear right above and behind Musachi.

The nightmare of rookie Hollow Raiders and Proxies alike — Thanatos.

Though people preferred to call it by another nickname.

Flash Bro.

This Ethereal was known for its blistering speed and devastating slashes.

In the eyes of Hollow Raiders, this thing was nothing short of more dangerous than some Notorious Ethereals.

After all, if you spotted a Notorious Ethereal from a distance, you could at least run.

But faced with an assassin this elusive, most never even got the chance to react before meeting their end on the spot.

And right now, two Flash Bros had set their sights on Musachi.

In a blood-pumping combo attack, they swung in from left and right at once, blades aimed straight at Musachi.

If either strike landed, Musachi's head would be flying the next second.

Musachi frowned, about to act, but Ellen was just as fast.

Her small, black-stocking-clad feet suddenly pushed off, and in a flash she leapt above Musachi's head. The scissor-like blade in her hand swung out, blocking one Flash Bro's attack, shattering its blade with overwhelming force, and cleanly severing its core in a single stroke.

The other one seemed impossible to stop in time, but the next instant, Ellen's tail lashed out like a blade, striking the Flash Bro's waist.

Crack...

Musachi thought he heard the sound of its waist snapping under Ellen's tail.

The next moment, the Ethereal went flying sideways.

Watching it come flying his way, Lycaon kicked its core to pieces.

"Are you all right, Proxy?"

Ellen looked at Musachi with concern.

Thanks to the lollipop earlier, Ellen had taken quite a liking to him.

Sure, he was an illegal Proxy, but he was skilled, handsome, and had even given her candy...

"I'm fine."

Musachi looked at Ellen, who'd landed back in front of him, blinked, and nodded.

Though in his mind, he was replaying what he'd just glimpsed.

Mm, white...

When Ellen had leapt above his head a moment ago, Musachi had instinctively looked up — and caught a flash of white through her black stockings.

Worth noting: because the mission had come up so suddenly, Ellen was still in her school uniform, having had no time to change.

Up top, a crisp, fitted white blouse; below, a black skirt and black stockings.

Young as she looked, her figure was remarkably good.

Catching the look in Musachi's eyes, Ellen froze for a moment, then, blushing faintly, tugged her skirt hem down.

She usually wore a long skirt on missions, but today had been such a rush that she'd come out in a short one...