Lycaon and Corin stepped around each other, swinging boot and saw respectively to slash through two Specters. The two paced back before crossing each other's path to repeat the process with sparks and ice flying from their attacks.

Rina flew around Ellen to support her against the horde of Ahriman, Anastella and Drusilla zipping around and clawing at those she couldn't handle.

Ellen flipped and spun away from their piercing attacks before lunging forward and cleaving through them.

Eous tapped his foot, looking around the strands of Ether crystal that crowded the massive elevator platform they were fighting on.

It was a one way trip up Tower B, and it would seem Ethereals were there to check them in.

Eous glanced upward hearing a sharp screech of metal up above. A Thanatos Ethereal was using its bladed bow arm to grind down the elevator shaft before leaping off and disappearing.

Eous didn't even entertain it.

He turned to the side and grabbed the Thanatos' core in his claw. With a sharp crack, he crushed it and forced its body to burst into pixels.

The others were wrapping up the last of the horde as the elevator began to slide to a halt at the final floor.

As the massive door to the cargo-elevator opened, a small force of mercenaries were posted up outside it, aiming their weapons and riot shields forward in anticipation.

"Don't get in our way." Lycaon lowered his stance as frost began to burst from his greaves.

•

"W-Wait, Captain, didn't the employer ask us to bring her back and find out how much she leaked...?!"

A grunt was shuffling over to the ledge his superior was standing over. In their grasp was a constrained young woman with her mouth bound.

"They're already on to us. We won't get away if we're stuck carrying dead weight." Their comrade replied. "We were paid to do a job. We've completed our primary task. There's no point in putting our lives on the line."

"Should've thought about that when you took the job." Eous whispered.

The man was suddenly swept off his feet and Rain was secured over Eous' shoulder. He kicked the man into the subordinate who questioned him just as Ellen and Lycaon incapacitated two more in the vicinity of the ledge.

"Wh-What the?! They have the hostage!" A grunt exclaimed.

"Who cares?! Leave 'em— everyone, retreat!" A bulky superior waved the remaining forces to follow him as he ran away.

"Should we purse, Sir Lycaon?" Rina asked from the shadows.

"No. Miss Rain and the airship are our priorities." Lycaon directed his gaze to the woman over Eous' shoulder.

She was kicking and screaming as if she was still falling, making Eous use his tail to set her down safely. She stumbled to her rear before spotting Eous.

Everyone was shocked to find she didn't scream. If anything, she looked relieved. He crouched down and gently removed the tape from around her mouth and arms before feeling her slump into his arms with a long sigh.

"Thank god you made it in time." She was trembling, but for a nice change of pace whenever he got a new power, not in fear of him.

"Ah! Quick, we've got to get to the rooftop! We're running out of time and the court's airship is about to—"

An explosion from above shook the floor they were on, as if helping her sense of urgency.

"Calm down, we're on it. These are yours, right?" Eous untied the suitcase device from the backpack and handed the bag to Rain.

"Y-Yeah. Thanks for getting it back." She slipped on as Eous helped her to her feet.

"I'm sure you all don't need my power, so I'll carry her. Let's go."

With a yelp, she was slung onto his back and forced to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Understood, Master Proxy. Leave the mercenary forces to us." Lycaon replied politely.

"We're gonna need to be quick on our feet. That explosion caused a mutation. Fairy, let's work a route."

"The quickest route to the rooftop has been calculated. Estimated time is 5 minutes now that overall Ether levels of the Hollow has dropped with the temporary defeat of the Twin Marionette Ethereals." Fairy announced.

"Wait, temporary...? Those two aren't in the dirt?" Eous mumbled in annoyance as they began to follow him.

"It would seem that they clung to your Ether to regenerate. I am detecting they are in our route."

"That shouldn't be a problem for Eous. He wiped the floor with them!" Belle cheered.

"I-I can break the control over the airship as soon as we get to the rooftop. But I heard them say that to ensure the plan went smoothly, everyone on board is knocked out— is there anyone left to steer it out of the Hollow?" Rain elaborated.

Belle and Wise gave nervous looks, unsure whether Billy would be up to the task.

"Billy's awake, but I'm almost certain he doesn't know how to pilot an airship." Wise answered.

"I believe myself a suitable replacement as a pilot." Lycaon assured.

"Then let's get you there—" Eous suddenly spun the opposite direction and brought up his foot to block a direct slash from the Black Marionette's foot.

The two skid back as Rain screamed in shock before Eous used his other foot to kick it aside. Before he could retaliate, the Grey Marionette circled around in hopes of revenge for their defeat earlier.

Corin slid to his aid and blocked the attack with a grind against its skirt, the two saws bursting with sparks.

Lycaon sprinted forward and kneed the Grey Marionette away just as the Black Marionette dove back towards Eous in a bolt of Ether.

Anastella and Drusilla challenged it in a flurry of lightning, spinning it around and tossing it towards Ellen.

Ellen clamped her scissors around its arm, cracking its flesh as she dragged it across the plaza.

Corin circled around to see if the two could cleave it in two, but the Grey Marionette appeared and kicked both of them away simultaneously.

Linking arms and spinning on their heels to kick up a whirlwind of Ether. Pellets began to fly all around forcing Victoria Housekeeping to retreat until Eous slammed his foot down and erupted a wall of crystals to block the pellets.

The four raced out from their lackluster hiding spots and reconvened with him.

"Enough."

Eous lifted his foot before slamming it into the wall of crystals, sending the massive wave of them crashing into the Twin Marionettes.

They staggered around before feeling massive shocks to their body. Blue and red electricity raced around their bodies before they fell over in a stiff and jittery manner.

Ellen and Corin raced forward to finish them off, but they suddenly dashed away and disappeared into the Hollow.

"Persistent little shits." Eous muttered, dispelling the crystal remnants.

"Up there." Eous pointed at the hall the double set of stairs led to as he adjusted Rain.

•

"Eous, you're cutting it close— the airship is almost here!" Belle warned.

Corin and Ellen were first to emerge from the Hollow exit, sliding to a halt as Lycaon and Rina followed.

The four looked up to see the massive airship nearly covering the moon, but a noticeable red speck was leaning over the external railing.

"Nova! Nova, it's me— over here!" Billy shouted from above.

"Warning: the airship will reach the target location in less than 20 seconds."

Eous set down Rain and slid her the hacking device. He raced forward with Lycaon towards the slanted window ceiling and launched towards the blimp together. The distance was far greater than they imagined horizontally.

Eous quickly used his tail to grab Lycaon and sling him towards Billy to ensure he made it, and sure enough Billy caught the Thiren with a grunt.

Victoria Housekeeping sighed before realizing Eous was plummeting in between the buildings.

He swung his second tail around to Lycaon and Billy as they reoriented themselves, luckily having them catch it in time by reaching over the railing and clasping his claw.

The two sighed in relief along with the others on the rooftop.

•

Eous was hiding behind Rain in his Ethereal form, because one simple problem had come up.

He had no idea how to leave said form.

While the two stood off to the side, Billy and Victoria Housekeeping had finally gotten everyone safely off the airship after landing it on the launch pad of the tower.

"How are they?" Eous asked with a leer as Lycaon passed by.

"Don't worry. It was a strong anesthetic, but they'll wake up in an hour or two." He replied with a smile.

Eous nodded, turning away with his arms crossed. "...I owe you again."

"You're too kind, Master Proxy. It was an honor to work alongside you." Lycaon chuckled and continued tending to the victims.

"Yo, Eous! Word from PubSec is that the rescue squad and Air Force is on the way! You find a way to turn the lights off...?" Billy questioned nervously.

"Nah. I'll take Rain out the Hollow. You remember your story?"

"I didn't inhale the gas, so I piloted the airship here for an emergency landing upon discovering what happened!" He recounted his instructions with a thumbs up.

"Wait, how are we gonna hold the Vision trial after all this?" Billy asked in confusion.

"Public Security will likely take Perlman back and reopen the trial." Lycaon reassured.

"Let's move." Eous waved Victoria Housekeeping towards him as Rain fixed her backpack.

Just before they could enter the Hollow, the sharp howl of thrusters burst from behind them all. They turned around and saw the airship was beginning to take off again, with Perlman in the cockpit.

"What? Perlman?!" Billy shouted.

"Those bastards pretended to agree to my demand, but they wanted me dead from the start..." Perlman muttered to himself as he gained just enough altitude to flee.

But Eous wouldn't allow it.

Eous growled and leapt to the end of the building once again, lashing out his tails as long as they could to grab into the railing of the ship.

"Wh-What the hell?" Perlman looked in what he was shocked to find a rearview mirror and saw arms of Ether preventing him from leaving. "N-No! You can't stop me now!"

The struggle between the airship's thrusters at full force proved a formidable challenge. Eous slipped off of the building, forcing him to call back one of his tails and latch it to the building.

"P-Proxy! You've gotta let go— The Air Force is closing in! You can't be seen by PubSec!" Billy shouted from below.

Eous darted his head to the side and saw six helicopters hovering towards the building. The longer he struggled to stop Perlman the more he put Rain, Victoria Housekeeping, and himself at risk.

"Damnit..."

Eous glared at the airship one last time before releasing his claw and reeling himself back onto the roof with a grunt.

He slid down the glass ceiling in exhaustion before being caught by Rina. She set him down, allowing him to stagger to his feet in frustration. "Can't believe that rat got away."

"We're out of time. We'll leave things to you, Mr. Billy."

"Got it, you guys take care!" Billy watched them rush back into the Hollow just as the helicopters blades began to pound against the air.

~•~

Belle and Wise glanced at Eous, worried about his physique. He was still unable to turn off the Ethereal form, so he'd been hiding home for the last few days.

"Eous, are you sure you want to meet with her? Eliza can do it. The two have met." Wise questioned.

"She can tag along. I'm good to go." Eous stood up from the couch and stretched before shifting back into his human form.

"Wh-What?! How long have you been able to do that?!" Belle asked skeptically.

"Bout an hour or two. But I wanted to understand it. What I am." Eous shifted half his face back to the Etheral form to show he could tap into it with ease. His limit had been broken.

"Well, it should be fine. He was somehow able to eat without a mouth..." Wise thought back to watching the slice of pizza just enter his body and shuddered.

"We did also want him to take a break. Which reminds me, Rain had the Memory Unit for only three days and already cracked it." Belle awed.

Eous agreed, shooting the two finger guns as he walked to the door. "She's the real deal."

Bangboo Six opened the door for Eous and Eliza to meet half way.

"Oh, there you are. See you're back among... the living...?" She wasn't sure how to phrase it.

"Yup. You ready?" He held out his hand and she dapped him up with a smirk.

"Let's go, kid."

The two left the store making Wise and Belle smile.

"They've gotten pretty cool with each other after that stressful mission." Wise commented.

"Yeah, but now I'm worried he's gonna get another woman to fall for him. I was so confident she gave off lesbian vibes..."

Wise shot her an unamused look learning that Belle might've rushed hiring her in a Bisexual panic.