Chapter Text
New Eridu is the last surviving city after contemporary civilization was destroyed by the Hollows. The Hollows are black, spherical dimensions that suddenly appear, swallowing everything they come into contact with. Within these Hollows, Ethereals—a species of humanoid creatures made entirely of living ether—are born. These beings are highly aggressive toward all non-ether life, making encounters with them extremely dangerous. Furthermore, prolonged exposure to the hazardous levels of corrupted ether in a hollow can transform people into Ethereals.
Due to the dangerous nature of the hollows, the residents of New Eridu take great care not to venture close to any hollow they may encounter. But due to the unpredictable nature of the hollows, some can spontaneously appear in populated areas, unexpectedly forcing people into them.
People who fall into hollows are typically searched for and rescued by Public Security as a large part of their work revolves around Hollow-related incidents, including rescuing citizens trapped by new Companion Hollows. However, on this day in particular, a mother and her child will find that their day will take an unexpected turn.
It was another normal afternoon in New Eridu as a mother and her daughter made their way home from the movie theater, walking down a street adjacent to Sixth Street.
"That movie was so amazing!" The little girl with dark brown hair exclaimed as she was as giddy as a schoolgirl after watching a movie about her favorite thing in the world—superheroes.
"I'm glad you think so, Hana." The brown-haired mother replied as her daughter giggled happily before smiling up at her mother.
As far as she could remember, Hana had always been fascinated with superheroes, as she looked up to them as role models.
When it comes to heroes, Hana usually mentions public security or TV superheroes like the Starlight Knights.
However, in terms of heroes, there is one individual whom Hana mentions more than anyone— the one people call "The Teleporter".
"Heroes are the coolest thing in the world! When I grow up, I want to be a hero too, just like The Teleporter!" Hana declared with a wide grin on her face
"The Teleporter, huh? You seem to really like him, huh, Hana?" The mother said as she looked down at her daughter with a knowing smile on her face.
"Of course! He's like a real-life superhero who protects the city and saves people. Who wouldn't like him?" Hana questioned enthusiastically as they turned the corner on the street they were walking on.
However, just as her mother was about to reply, everything suddenly went black as reality itself seemed like it was twisting and distorting. It turns out that the two of them had fallen victim to a companion hollow that formed on the street they were walking on.
When the mother came to, she awoke in a place that seemed familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. The nice and peaceful street she had just been on now looked completely different. Clusters of strange and large black crystals were forming around the area, while the buildings around her had cracks in them, as if they were slowly degrading and warping in their appearance.
"What... What is this? What's happening?" The mother asked, confused as she observed her new surroundings before realizing that her daughter was no longer beside her.
"Hana? Hana?! Where are you?!" The mother cried out as her panic began to quickly rise due to the sudden disappearance of her daughter.
However, before she could begin to look for her daughter, the mother heard a strange, unnatural sound behind her. As she turned around, her eyes widened in fear as a horde of Ethereals began to slowly come into view.
"What... What are those things?" The mother questioned as she began to slowly step back in fear.
As she was shrinking back in fear, one of the Ethereals spotted her before it let out a roar, and they all raced toward the woman.
"No, no! Stay away from me!" The woman screamed as she ran for her life, as the Ethereals behind her continued their pursuit of her.
While the Ethereals gave chase, the woman continued to run as she desperately looked around for a place to hide.
After a short while of running, the woman quickly turned the corner and saw an alleyway where she could possibly hide.
As she ran toward her apparent salvation, a hulking Ethereal with two massive hammer-like arms formed in front of her, making her stop dead in her tracks.
Before the woman could get a word out, the hulking Ethereal raised one of its arms before slamming it down in front of her, causing a small shockwave that sent the woman barreling toward a nearby wall.
The hulking Ethereal then slowly made its way toward the woman as the Ethereals from earlier began to close in on her as well.
"Please... anyone... help me..." The woman said weakly as she closed her eyes while the hulking Ethereal raised its left arm up before bringing it crashing down on the helpless woman.
When the hulking Ethereal lifted its arm back up, there was no trace of the woman left, although there was a three-bladed kunai that was about the length of a person's hand with strange black markings on the handle, along with a ring-like pommel at the end of the kunai in the spot where the woman was.
The woman heard the sound of the hulking Ethereal slamming its arm into the ground, creating a loud booming sound that made her jump. However, she realized after a few moments that nothing had happened, which confused her as she opened her eyes.
When she did, the woman saw that she was on her knees, sitting on top of a building that overlooked the alley she had just been in.
"What... What happened? How did I get up here?" The woman asked, confused as she couldn't think of any reason as to how she ended up on top of the building.
"I saved you." A low voice calmly spoke out behind her, prompting the woman to turn her head around to find the source of the voice.
When the woman turned her head, her eyes widened as she soon realized who had just saved her.
The person responsible for saving her was a young man with black hair, wearing an open black jacket with a dark gray shirt underneath, along with gray pants and black fingerless gloves on his hands.
However, the part of him that stuck out the most was the black blindfold that he wore around his head. This was Kaisen Namikaze, The Teleporter.
"I can't believe it. It's you! The Teleporter!" The woman exclaimed as the young man said nothing as he walked over to the edge of the building they were on, looking down at the Ethereals below as they began to leave the area.
"Stay here." He calmly said as he suddenly disappeared from sight, shocking the woman behind him as he reappeared in front of the three-bladed kunai on the ground.
Kaisen then picked up the kunai, sticking one finger inside the ring-like pommel at the end before spinning it around a few times. He then threw the kunai toward the retreating Ethereals as his right hand ignited with black and white flames, creating a sharp-blade of flames on the palm of his hand.
The kunai soared past the Ethereals as it headed toward the Ethereal in the front. Just as it was about to reach it, Kaisen teleported in front of the Ethereal before quickly dispatching it by slicing through the Ethereal with his flame-coated right hand in a horizontal arc.
As the Ethereal was reduced to small cube-like particles, Kaisen kept his back toward the ones behind him as they charged toward him.
In response, Kaisen ignited his right hand in black and white flames once again before spinning around on his feet and blitzing past the Ethereals, easily dispatching three of them.
Right afterwards, Kaisen took out another one of his kunai, casually throwing it up in the air as a few Ethereals tried to attack him. Before they could reach him, Kaisen suddenly disappeared, causing the charging Ethereals to hit nothing but thin air.
A few moments afterwards, Kaisen appeared in the air above the Ethereals before he concentrated his flames into white-hot points on his fingertips. He then emitted thin streams of black and white flames from his fingertips, scorching and piercing through the few Ethereals below him.
After his attack, Kaisen began to fall toward the ground, to which an Ethereal using one of its arm blades prepared to intercept him during his descent. Upon noticing this, Kaisen threw another one of his kunai toward the Ethereal, landing and sticking itself in the ground right behind the Ethereal as he cloaked his right hand in flames.
Kaisen then teleported behind the Ethereal, moments before it was about to attack him, while at the same time cutting through it, ending up in a crouched position. After standing back up, a few more Ethereals ran toward him from behind, to which he responded by pointing his index and middle fingers in a finger gun pose toward them while still facing forward.
Then, Kaisen fired a short barrage of flaming energy bullets from his fingertips toward the approaching Ethereals, directly striking their cores and neutralizing them.
Not even a moment afterwards, the last few Ethereals leapt down toward him from behind, intending to take advantage of his blind spot.
"Too slow." Kaisen calmly said as he focused his ether energy into his left foot before stomping on the ground, causing a barrage of black and white flame spikes to erupt from the ground, piercing through the Ethereals behind them.
As the Ethereals behind him disintegrated into small ether particles, Kaisen turned his attention toward the last Ethereals in front of him. The hulking Ethereal began to charge a noticeable amount of ether energy around its hammer-like arms as Kaisen focused his ether energy into his right hand, igniting it with black and white flames.
Then, using his right hand, Kaisen began to create a ring of flames behind him, resembling the sun, before shifting his body a little and readying himself for the hulking Ethereal to make its move.
A few seconds later, the hulking Ethereal finished charging up as it launched itself up in the air before it came swooping down toward Kaisen. Before the Ethereal could reach him, Kaisen fired the sun wheel that was hovering behind him toward the falling Ethereal, causing a burst of flames to ring out upon impact.
After the dust had settled, Kaisen walked around the area, picking up his kunai before he teleported back up toward the woman on the building.
"That was... amazing! I've never seen anything like that!" The woman exclaimed as Kaisen walked up toward her before stopping a few meters in front of her.
"Are you hurt?" Kaisen asked in a low, calm tone, to which the woman replied by shaking her head.
"I'll be okay, but I am more worried about my daughter. She was with me before this hollow appeared, and we got separated. Please, you have to find her." The woman pleaded as she desperately grasped the sides of Kaisen's wrist.
Kaisen didn't say anything for a few moments, almost as if he was lost in thought, before he looked down toward the woman.
"I've already saved her. She was... odd. I found her first and got her out of the hollow before I came here. She should be safe with public security by now." He reassured in a low, calm demeanor.
"Thank goodness. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had lost her." The woman said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"In a few seconds, you are going to appear in front of a fissure. Go through it. It will take you out of the hollow." Kaisen calmly instructed, still speaking in a low, hushed tone.
Before the woman could ask what he meant, she was suddenly teleported to an unfamiliar area with a kunai stuck in the ground and a strange purple portal in front of her.
"Is this it? The fissure he was referring to? The woman questioned as she heard the strange portal making a weird crackling humming sound.
After a few moments of deliberation, the woman steeled her nerves and walked through the issue, transporting her out of the hollow and back to the outside world. As the woman's sight was adjusting from coming through the fissure, she was greeted by a few public security officers.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" One of the public security officers asked in a concerned tone.
"Y-Yes, I am okay. Have any of you seen my daughter? She's a little girl with dark brown hair and green eyes." The mother asked them.
"I believe that a little girl matching that description is currently with Officer Zhu Yuan and Officer Qingyi. Come with us. We can take you to her." The officer said as he began to lead the mother away from the hollow.
The public security officer brought the mother to a police car, where Hana could be seen talking with a tall young woman with black hair with a few red stripes, along with a shorter woman who had green hair that was tied into twin pigtails. This was Officer Zhu Yuan and Officer Qingyi.
As Hana was talking with the two officers, she noticed her mother walking up toward her, and she smiled happily at her.
"Mommy!" Hana exclaimed as the little girl ran up to and hugged her mother, to which the mother quickly hugged her back.
"Hana, thank goodness you're safe!" The mother said as she tightened her grip on her daughter.
The two female officers smiled at the scene before the Zhu Yuan turned toward one of the public security officers in front of her.
"Has anyone else come out of the hollow? Zhu Yuan questioned as one of the public security officers shook their head.
"Other than these two, there hasn't been anyone else who has come out of the hollow yet." The public security officer responded.
"I see. In that case, inform everyone that we're about to enter the hollow in order to look for anyone who is still inside." Zhu Yuan instructed.
"Bring a squad car over here, so that we can send these two to get checked on." Zhu Yuan told another public security officer.
The public security officers saluted before hastily carrying out her instructions, leaving only Zhu Yuan and Qingyi along with the mother and her child.
"It's about time that we finally get some action. All the calls we've gotten today have been so boring. " Qingqi said casually, as she stretched her arms above her head.
"I can't say that I disagree with you, Qingyi. However, we should focus on the task at hand. People might be in danger right now." Zhu Yuan said firmly as she readied her custom-made firearm.
"Hmm. You're right. I guess it's best not to waste any more time." Qingyi said as she readied her modified riot baton.
As the two of them began to walk toward the hollow, suddenly the entire hollow in front of them dispersed into small ether particles before fizzling out of existence, surprising the two public security officers and causing them to stop in their tracks.
"What the? The hollow was destroyed?" Zhu Yuan asked, surprised at the sudden turn of events.
"Well, there goes our hope for some action. What a shame. I guess it's back to paperwork for us then." Qingyi said with a bit of disappointment in her tone, as one of the public security officers came back.
"Officer Zhu Yuan, we got the squad car ready. But since the hollow suddenly disappeared, what should we do now? The public security officer asked in a dumbfounded tone.
Zhu Yuan was still getting over her shock as she turned her head toward the public security officer.
"I guess we'll just... search the area normally." Zhu Yuan said in a weird tone as she still couldn't believe what happened.
The public security officer slowly nodded as he, along with a few others, began to search the area for anyone who was in the hollow. While they were doing that, Zhu Yuan was still trying to make sense of what had just happened.
"I still can't wrap my head around what happened, Qingyi. I mean, Hollows don't just disappear like that, do they? The only possibilities I can think of are that the hollow was too unstable and collapsed in on itself, or someone or something managed to somehow suppress the hollow." Zhu Yuan mused
"It was him! The Teleporter! He was the one who saved my mommy! I can't believe I got to meet him!" Hana excitedly exclaimed, making Zhu Yuan's eyes widen a bit upon hearing that name.
"The Teleporter? Are you sure?" Zhu Yuan asked as the little girl nodded.
"It's true. The Teleporter was the one responsible for rescuing my daughter and me. I never would have imagined that we would run into someone like him." The mother said, confirming what her daughter had previously said.
Zhu Yuan nodded as she looked down, seemingly lost in thought, which Qingyi noticed as the mother and her daughter were helped into the back of a squad car before they left, leaving the two of them here.
"Are you okay? You seem to be lost in thought. Do you happen to know something about the one they call The Teleporter?" Qingyi questioned.
"Hm? Oh yeah, sorry. It's just that I haven't heard that name since my time in the academy. I also happen to know the person behind that nickname." Zhu Yuan told her.
"His name is Kaisen Namikaze. We were classmates in the Public Security Training Academy before he graduated and enlisted in H.A.N.D." Zhu Yuan said, piquing the interest of Qingyi upon hearing the name Namikaze.
"Namikaze? Like from the renowned Namikaze family? Qingyi asked Zhu Yuan, who replied with a nod.
"Interesting. From what I heard, the Namikaze family was quite close with the Hoshimi family, and still are to this day." Qingyi said as she placed her right hand on her hip.
Zhu Yuan nods as she recalls what Hoshimi Miyabi, another one of her classmates in the academy, had told her about him.
"That's what Miyabi told me. According to her, the two of them were close childhood friends and spent a lot of time together during that time." Zhu Yuan said.
"Miyabi? As in Hoshimi Miyabi? I didn't know that you were close with someone from the Hoshimi family, Zhu Yuan. I'm impressed." Qingyi said, her voice containing a hint of playfulness.
"Well, I don't know if I'd go that far, but I would say that we are good friends. I did go over to her place a few times, and we talk every now and then." Zhu Yuan told her.
"I see. In that case, how often did you interact with Kaisen?" Qingyi asked as Zhu Yuan raised her left hand to her chin as she began to think.
"Not very often. I'm pretty sure that I can count the number of times we've interacted on one hand." Zhu Yuan answered, causing Qingyi to curiously tilt her head to the side.
"Oh? Did the two of you not get along or something? Qingyi asked, to which Zhu Yuan shook her head.
"No, nothing like that. It's just that Kaisen is a little... odd. He's silent most of the time and mostly keeps to himself. When others try to talk with him, he always replies in a low, subdued tone, and with the black blindfold he always wears, it's tough to get a read on him." Zhu Yuan explained as Qingyi continued to listen.
"At first, I thought that he was just shy. But as more time went on, I realized that he was just a distant and absent-minded person. He seems to distance himself from people, and he always seems to be in his own head, seemingly never paying attention to what's going on around him." Zhu Yuan said
"However, he isn't rude or disrespectful to anyone, but you can tell that he doesn't want to get close to others. Outside of that, when it comes to combat, Kaisen is exceptionally gifted. During our time in the academy, there were some days when we sparred against our fellow classmates, and Kaisen was among the people who went undefeated. Zhu Yuan stated, prompting another question from Qingyi.
"Even against you? Qingyi asked as Zhu Yuan looked down, slightly embarrassed as she remembered how her fight with Kaisen went.
"Yeah... he practically wiped the floor with me. I don't think that our fight lasted more than 15 seconds. And to make things more embarrassing, I can tell that he was taking it easy on me." Zhu Yuan admitted in an embarrassed manner, bashfully scratching the back of her head.
Qingyi laughed a little at that, which only made it worse for Zhu Yuan as her embarrassment grew before Qingyi asked another question.
"I am curious about something. Did Kaisen ever spar with Miyabi? I've heard that the two of them were rare prodigies of their respective families." Qingyi asked.
"They did... once. To say that their fight was intense would feel like an understatement. On the outside looking in, you would have thought they were trying to kill each other. After a certain point, their fight had to be called off as it was getting so intense that even the academy instructor was concerned for their well-being." Zhu Yuan told her, shuddering as she remembered how the intensity of their fight left her a little shaken.
"I couldn't keep up with their movements at all. I had no idea that a fight between them would be so intense. But I think that the craziest part was when I asked Miyabi about it afterward, she claimed that it was just a casual spar between the two of them, and that it was a shame that it ended prematurely." Zhu Yuan said in a dumbfounded tone.
"Wow. Now I'm starting to wish that I got to see it for myself. It sounds like it was quite the spectacle." Qingyi said, mostly to herself, as Zhu Yuan let out a small sigh.
"Honestly, I try not to think about it too much." Zhu Yuan said as a few public security officers returned to them.
"No sign of any civilians anywhere. I think it's safe to say that the woman and her daughter were the only ones who fell into the hollow." One of the officers reported to them as Zhu Yuan thought to herself for a few moments before nodding her head.
"Okay. Since everything has been taken care of, we should report back to the station." Zhu Yuan told the officer, who nodded before Zhu Yuan, Qingyi, and the other officers prepared to leave the scene.
A short while later, Zhu Yuan and the other public security officers left the scene, as Kaisen could be seen standing on the top of a building, looking out into the distance as the sun began to set.
As Kaisen's hair and jacket were gently fluttering in the wind, a shadowy, humanoid figure that looked like a young man in his late teens materialized a few meters behind him.
"How nice... You managed to save that woman and her child... But you couldn't do the same for me, huh?" The shadowy figure questioned in a slow, spiteful tone.
"I... wasn't strong enough then. I couldn't do what I can now." Kaisen softly muttered, his head lowering a little, as the shadowy figure scornfully scoffed at his answer, as it slowly got closer to him.
"Is that what you've been telling yourself? You and I both know the truth that you were a child playing hero, and your incompetence got people killed, the same people that you were supposed to protect!" the shadowy figure said as it stopped right behind him.
"I guess your father's dying was actually a good thing. He would be spared watching the failure that his son would grow up to be." The shadowy figure mockingly said in Kaisen's ear.
The moment those words left the shadowy figure's mouth, Kaisen engulfed his right hand in flames before he turned around and swung his hand behind him. A powerful burst of black and white flames quickly followed, setting the air in front of him ablaze before fizzling out a few seconds later.
When the flames died down, Kaisen gritted his teeth in anger as the shadowy figure was no longer present.
After standing here for a few seconds, Kaisen let out a small sigh as he extended his index and middle fingers up before teleporting away.
A few days later, disaster struck as the Argos hollow began to expand at a rapid pace, threatening nearby civilian centers and putting the city in a state of panic.
The cause of the hollow's sudden expansion was due to Lerna, a massive, abnormal symbiotic Ethereal that had the ability to create numerous decoy "cores" around itself, making attacks futile against all but the true core.
While Public Security, the Hollow Investigative Association, and H.A.N.D. launched multiple assaults on the monster in an attempt to slay it, Lerna thwarted each attack using its false cores
On an H.A.N.D. airship, the H.A.N.D. commander and a young man named Asaba Harumasa, an Executive Officer at H.A.N.D., were observing the situation from a screen in front of them.
It wasn't long before the doors opened and two individuals walked in: Hoshimi Miyabi, another Executive Officer of H.A.N.D., along with Tsukishiro Yanagi, a member of the defense force.
"Ah, you're here." The commander said as his eyes moved toward Miyabi, who came to a stop after entering the room with Yanagi right behind her.
"Commander, what's the situation?" Miyabi asked as the commander's eyes shifted from her toward the screen down in front of him.
"The Argos Hollow has suddenly peaked in activity and breached level-two controls in half an hour." The commander explained while a projection of the hollow could be seen on the screen in front of him.
The commander's face grew more serious as he continued to explain the current situation.
"It's expanding at an unprecedented rate. The HIA, Public Security, and H.A.N.D. have organized multiple assaults, but they all failed. Currently, we still don't-" The commander paused as Miyabi spoke up again.
"Alright, understood. Have we arrived?" Miyabi questioned.
Before the commander could answer her, the voice of a woman could be heard coming through a TV screen in front of them.
"Commander, is she your so-called 'ultimate weapon'?" The woman asked as the screen changed to show a white-haired woman drinking from a teacup.
"That's right. However, she isn't the only one. There is another 'ultimate weapon' here with us right now." The commander said, almost in a boastful tone, while keeping his serious demeanor.
The woman on the screen tilted her head a bit in confusion, while Miyabi was also a little confused.
"Commander, what do you mean by that?" Miyabi asked.
The commander's eyes shifted to the far right corner of the room before gesturing with his head toward that direction. As everyone in the room looked in the direction the commander gestured toward, they saw Kaisen facing away from them, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his head slightly lowered toward the ground.
"Kaisen." Miyabi muttered softly as Yanagi and Harumasa let out a small gasp of surprise due to them not being aware that he was in the room with them.
"Ah, well, this is a surprise. I never imagined that I would get to work with the famous Teleporter. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Executive Officer Namikaze." The woman said
Kaisen remained silent as the woman on the screen let out a sigh as she took a sip from her cup.
"Lacking in manners, I see. I guess that's something that both of your "ultimate weapons" have in common, Commander." The woman said, speaking in a tone that hardly masked her annoyance.
Miyabi kept her eyes on Kaisen for a few more moments before turning her head toward the woman on the screen.
"Commander, why is there a civilian on the monitoring ship?" Miyabi asked as Harumasa cleared his throat before answering her.
"This is a consultant from TOPS Alliance. She'll be assisting with the operation." Harumasa explained.
"A pleasure to work with you, Executive Officer." The woman said as she raised her teacup while Miyabi's gaze remained on the woman on the screen.
"Likewise. Can we begin the operation?" Miyabi asked as the woman let out a small chuckle
"Ah, right... "Fly above the hollow, then jump down and fight". A real "brilliant plan." The woman said in a sarcastic tone.
Just then, the screen in front of Miyabi changed to show the massive Ethereal inside the Argos Hollow.
"Perhaps you haven't realized, but there's an abnormal symbiotic Ethereal inside Argos known as "Lerna". Our prior efforts caused it to create multiple false cores for itself. A direct attack will do nothing but make things worse. In other words, it would love to feed on another flimsy "weapon" of ours." The TOPS Consultant explained.
It was then that the hollow breached level-one controls and engulfed 60% of the seventh Shiyu pillar energy transportation net.
"Well, its activity is increasing. How shall we proceed, Miss Consultant?" The commander asked as the woman poured more tea into her cup.
"Considering its current expansion, Argos will completely swallow Shiyu No.7..." The woman said before trailing off for a moment.
"You want to blow up the Shiyu pillar?" Miyabi asked in a tone of shock and disbelief.
Upon hearing this, Kaisen raised his head up before turning toward the screen with the TOPS Consultant. The room went silent for a few moments before the TOPS Consultant spoke again.
"A large enough explosion could annihilate all Ethereal in the hollow at once, including Lerna." The woman said as Miyabi's eyes widened in shock.
"I can't accept that, how could you..." Miyabi said before trailing off
"Call it standard procedure." The woman said.
"147 civilians, 36 Pubsec officers, 17 investigators, 8 executive officers. That's 208 casualties.. far more than "standard". Yanagi said as she took note of the number of people trapped in the hollow.
"But compared to the civilians outside of Argos, it's a worthwhile sacrifice." The Consultant said
"What a ridiculous notion!" Kaisen said in a low, harsh tone that made everyone turn their heads toward him.
Kaisen then pushed himself off the wall as he uncrossed his arms and slowly began to walk toward them. He then came to a stop near the commander before turning his head toward the screen with the TOPS Consultant.
"I can't believe that you are sitting here trying to convince us that sacrificing innocent lives is a 'worthwhile sacrifice'. Just how twisted of an individual do you have to be for one to casually suggest such a ludicrous idea?" Kaisen said spitefully as the consultant clicked her teeth in annoyance.
"And on that note, wouldn't your plan also protect High Ambitions' assets east of Argos? Sounds real worthwhile to me..." Harumasa casually added in a sarcastic tone, which only added to the Consultant's annoyance.
"You can't be serious! We're trying to prevent a disaster, and you're thinking of your company assets?! Are you even remotely aware of how crazy you sound putting your company assets above people's lives?!" Kaisen exclaimed.
"You know, I'm starting to wish that you stayed silent." The TOPS consultant said, as her frustration was at an all-time high.
"I could say the same for you, consultant." Kaisen casually retorted, earning him a small snicker from Harumasa.
"Stop your bickering. New Eridu can't afford another great hollow." The commander said.
Kaisen scoffed at this before he turned around and walked toward the door leading outside
"Kaisen, what are you about to do?" The commander asked as Kaisen
"What I should have done the moment this hollow started expanding and innocent people started getting dragged in. With all due respect, Commander, I can't stand by any longer while people are in danger, and I refuse to follow through with a plan that involves sacrificing innocent lives." Kaisen said.
This earned him a small gasp of surprise from everyone in the room as even the commander was a little taken aback, before a small smile grew on his face.
"Miyabi's plan, the one this woman sarcastically disregarded, is not only actionable, but it is far better than the nonsense that this 'consultant' is spouting." Kaisen said as he stopped in front of the door.
The door then slowly opened up, inviting a strong current of wind into the ship, causing Kaisen's hair and jacket to wildly flutter around as he raised his left hand up with his palm facing upward.
"Come to me, Kagutsuchi." Kaisen calmly uttered as black and white flames spiralled around him, causing those behind him to step back and raise their arm in response.
The flames then began to gather and focus around the area above Kaisen's left palm as it began to take the shape of a scabbard.
After a few more moments, the flames slowly disperse as the scabbard falls into Kaisen's hand before he spins it around once and holds it down at his left side.
The scabbard was white in color with black flame-like ridges going down vertically toward the end.
Within the scabbard was one of the three prized possessions of the Namikaze family: The inferno blade Kagutsuchi.
Kagutsuchi took the form of a sleek, black katana with white flame-like patterns on both sides of the blade, along with a cross guard that has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji. The blade also has a short black length chain with a broken link at the end from the base of Kagutsuchi's hilt.
"I'm going. It doesn't matter how many fake cores Lerna creates, I'll just destroy them all until I find the real one." Kaisen said as Miyabi quickly walked up next to him.
"Kaisen, allow me to fight alongside you. If the two of us go, we can handle this in a flash." Miyabi said as he turned his head toward her.
Kaisen looked down as he fell silent for a few moments before looking back up and nodding toward her.
"I understand that the two of you are skilled. However, a problem like this isn't something that the two of you can handle." The consultant said in a serious tone.
"Are you that eager to be proven wrong?" Kaisen said with his back facing the consultant, who reached her breaking point and broke her teacup.
"I've already told you..." The consultant began, but was cut off by Miyabi, who turned her head to face the consultant.
"And you've already been told that we're the ultimate weapons of this operation." Miyabi said as she turned back around, and the consultant growled in frustration.
"If Argos becomes a great hollow, it will be on the two of you!" The consultant exclaimed.
"That won't happen. But if it does, then... I'll just add it to my list of mistakes. It's not like that list is getting any shorter..." Kaisen said almost to himself, which Miyabi heard before he took a step off the ship.
"Commander, stop them now!" The consultant demanded just as both Kaisen and Miyabi leapt down from the ship before soaring down toward the Hollow.
The consultant clicked her teeth in annoyance as the commander smirked to himself
"I guess I was too slow." The commander said, smirking a little, while Harumasa chuckled a little.
As Kaisen and Miyabi both continued their descent toward the hollow, they could hear Yanagi's voice as she tapped into their communications.
"Executive Officer Hoshimi, Executive Officer Namikaze, do you read me...?" Yanagi asked as she began to explain their situation.
"In five minutes, the Argos's growth activity will reach an all-time peak. Considering the time it will take the two of you to get there, you will have about three minutes to slay Lerna. If you fail, I will detonate the Shiyu Pillar... You only have one chance." Yanagi told them.
"We won't need three minutes. But you have my gratitude nonetheless." Kaisen said as he and Miyabi entered the hollow.
As soon as they entered the area, the area around them turned red as Lerna could be seen under them, creating more fake cores.
Kaisen held his blade in front of him, slowly unsheathing it as a stream of black and white flames began to erupt from the blade.
Upon fully unsheathing his sword, Miyabi began to do the same as a blueish white energy, known as Foxfire, began to pour out of her sword.
As the two of them continued to fall, Kaisen's scabbard dematerialized, seemingly fading out of existence in a small flicker of flames as he used both hands to rest his sword above his right shoulder. Then, Kaisen used his flames to envelop himself, seemingly taking the form of a Japanese dragon made out of black and white flames.
In the blink of an eye, Miyabi blitzed ahead, cutting through a vast amount of fake cores as Kaisen did the same, swooping down with great speed and cutting down any fake core in his way by unleashing a number of consecutive slashes in a fluid motion.
As they did this, Lerna let out a shrill scream as it desperately made more fake cores to defend itself. The false core that it created then began to head toward the two of them from above.
While Miyabi began to attack the main body of Lerna, Kaisen came to a stop on one of Lerna's massive tendrils as the dragon form he took on dispersed.
Kaisen then performed a quick series of four hand signs using his left hand before six star-shaped fireballs formed above Kaisen's head. He then fired them toward the incoming false cores, destroying them in an instant, which was followed by a noticeable explosion along with a shockwave.
Right afterward, Kaisen pulled out three of his kunai before throwing each of them in the air toward a few false cores that were coming down toward him. Unbeknownst to Kaisen, a false core was rapidly closing in behind him.
Just as the core was about to make contact with him, Kaisen disappeared, causing the core to hit nothing before it was swiftly cut down by Miyabi. Kaisen had teleported to each one of his kunais in rapid succession, cutting down any core nearby before he stopped in mid-air.
He looked down and saw Miyabi using her immense speed to cut away at any cores near her, while at the same time slashing at the main body of Lerna as she was searching for its real core.
Deciding that he should also focus on Lerna itself, Kaisen reeled his sword behind him, cloaking it in flames before swinging his blade down, releasing six small fire dragons cloaked in black and white flames.
The fire dragons easily destroyed any core in their way before coming in contact with Lerna itself, severely damaging the main body of the Ethereal and leaving cracks in its body.
As Lerna let out another shrill scream, Kaisen noticed something in one of the cracks that he made in Lerna's body, something that looked awfully close to an Ethereal's core.
"Miyabi! I think I found its core! Stay clear so I can expose it!" Kaisen shouted as he hurled his sword above him, taking out another false core.
"Got it!" She responded as she moved away, as Kaisen concentrated his flames into white-hot points on his fingertips.
A few moments afterward, Kaisen emitted beams of black and white flames through his fingertips to slice through Lerna's body, causing it to let out another shrill scream.
As a result, most of Lerna's body was sliced into chunks while also getting rid of every false core around its body. It was a few moments afterward that Kaisen spotted Lerna's true core, which was previously hidden inside its main body.
"There! Its true core is exposed! Go for it, Miyabi!" Kaisen said as he recalled Kagutsuchi to his right hand with a simple gesture.
"Understood." Miyabi said, nodding her head as she blitzed ahead toward the wounded Lerna, as it desperately made false cores that were fired toward her.
Using her incredible speed along with her swordsmanship, Miyabi easily cut down any false core that came at her. As she jumped on one of the remaining tendrils, she burst forward, flipping over a false core while at the same time cutting it in half with a singular vertical slash in a circular motion.
While still in the air, Miyabi reeled her blade back just before cutting down another false core, when she realized that four false cores had formed behind her and were closing in fast.
However, before they could reach her, Kaisen teleported behind her before releasing a massive ball of black and white flames at the cores from his arm by launching it forward in a punch-like motion. Once the ball of flames reached the cores, it suddenly increased in size, creating a giant fiery explosion.
"You're almost there! I'll watch your back. Just keep going!" Kaisen told her as Miyabi nodded and continued to dash toward the real core.
As Miyabi began to close in on Lerna's core, three false cores formed above her before they were quickly taken out by a powerful burst of flames, courtesy of Kaisen. Foxfire began to exude from Miyabi's blade as she cut down the last few cores in her way before making a beeline toward Lerna's core, which was now right in front of her.
However, as she was about to reach the real core, Lerna formed over 10 false cores before combining them into one massive false core that was then fired toward Miyabi.
As the massive false core was closing in on her, Miyabi's blade became engulfed in foxfire as she swung her sword against it, initiating a clash between her and the massive false core.
A short while after the clash, Lerna infused the main false core with more false cores, resulting in the main false core growing in size and slowly pushing Miyabi back. Before the massive false core could get any bigger, a Japanese dragon made out of black and white flames flew in beside her and helped push the massive false core back.
A few moments later, the dragon dispersed, and it was revealed that Kaisen was helping her push back the massive core with his sword.
"One last push!! Break through it!!" Kaisen exclaimed as an aura of ether energy surrounded the two of them.
With one last cry from both of them, a massive burst of flames and Foxfire rang out before the two of them both cut through the massive false core, while at the same time, sending a wide, powerful slash that was made from a combination of Kaisen's ether flames and Miyabi's Foxfire.
The slash traveled for a short distance before ultimately cutting through Lerna's real core, causing the massive Ethereal to let out one last cry as it was slain.
Immediately afterward, the hollow dispersed, turning into small ether particles before fading from existence.
"Amazing. The two of them actually managed to pull it off... and in a minute and a half at that." Yanagi said in awe at the two of them.
"Those two aren't called 'ultimate weapons' for nothing, you know." The commander boasted, as slow clapping could be heard from the screen in front of them.
"Well, well, they actually managed to do it. Since the disaster has been averted, our business has concluded. I bid you all farewell." The consultant said with a frown on her face before the screen shut off.
"What's her deal? It almost sounds like she wanted them to fail." Harumasa said as the commander shook his head.
"It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that Lerna is no more and the city of New Eridu has one less hollow to worry about." The commander said, to which Harumasa nodded in agreement.
"Excellent work, you two. You definitely live up to your reputation. We'll reconvene at H.A.N.D. headquarters." Yanagi said to them through her communicator.
"Got it." Miyabi replied as she returned her blade to its scabbard and held it on the side of her left hip.
She then looked over toward Kaisen, who also sheathed his blade before the blade and its scabbard disappeared in a small flicker of flames.
Kaisen then raised his head up slightly, looking up toward the sky, all while remaining silent. Miyabi watched him for a few more moments before she decided to walk up behind him.
"Kaisen, we should head back. I'm sure that the commander and the others will be eager to see us." Miyabi said.
Kaisen continued to absent-mindedly look at the sky before letting out a small hum and looking over his left shoulder.
"You can... head on without me. I'm... going to check on a few things." Kaisen said in a low, calm tone.
As Kaisen began to slowly walk away, he was abruptly stopped when a hand gently grabbed his left wrist, causing him to turn his head around.
When he did, he saw that Miyabi was the one holding his wrist in her left hand, with a look of concern in her eyes.
"Is there something you need, Miyabi?" Kaisen asked in a softer tone than usual as a result of seeing her look at him with concern.
"I know the two of us haven't really spoken since the academy, but I can't help but feel worried about you." Miyabi said, which made Kaisen fall silent as she continued.
"In contrast with how you used to be back when we were kids, you seem distant, as if you're carrying a burden of some kind." Miyabi said.
"A lot has happened since then." Kaisen said, almost whispering to himself.
"But despite that, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me." Kaisen said in an attempt to reassure her.
The two of them fell silent for a few moments before Kaisen spoke up again with a question.
"Hey Miyabi, do you still wish to become a hero?" Kaisen asked, surprising Miyabi a little with the question.
"I do. Despite all that's happened, I still wish to be the hero who protects the city." Miyabi said
Miyabi saw a small smile appear on Kaisen's face as he let out a small chuckle.
"It's good to know that hasn't changed. I would have been disappointed if you had said otherwise." Kaisen said.
"What about you? I remember you saying that you wanted to become a hero alongside me and said that the two of us would become the guardians of the city." Miyabi said
Kaisen let out a somber sigh before turning his head and looking back up at the sky as his hair began to gently flutter as a breeze passed by.
"I don't know if I'll ever be worthy of the title of 'hero'" Kaisen said, almost to himself in a low, somber tone, before he turned his head back toward Miyabi.
"However, if you can achieve your goal and become the hero you always wanted to be, then that's good enough for me." Kaisen said as the small smile on his face returned.
Kaisen then turned his head back around before he gently pulled his hand away from Miyabi
"I'll see you back at headquarters. You did an outstanding job today." Kaisen said before he teleported away, abruptly disappearing from Miyabi's sight.
"Likewise." Miyabi said to herself as she stared in the direction where Kaisen was for a few more moments before making her way back to H.A.N.D. headquarters.
A few days later, Yanagi stood in a room, looking over a transfer paper before the door next to her opened, revealing Haurmasa standing there also with the same transfer paper.
"Ah... You're that Executive Officer..." Yanagi said as Haurmasa looked up from the paper in his hand.
"Hm? You're from the Defense Force." Haurmasa said in a slightly confused tone.
"You were also transferred?" She asked as Haurmasa looked back at the paper in his hand for confirmation.
"You're both here. Good." Miyabi said as she suddenly appeared next to Haurmasa before she began to walk ahead of him.
"Wait... Executive Officer Hoshimi Miyabi?! Shouldn't you be receiving the Void Hunter medal along with Kaisen?" Haurmasa asked, confused as to why she would be here now.
"I skipped the ceremony. They can mail the medal to my address." Miyabi said
Haurmasa was flabbergasted, while Yanagi was curious as to why she brought them here.
"Did you need something from us?" Yanangi asked as Miyabi kept her back toward them.
"I do. However, we're still missing one more person." Miyabi said as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a three-bladed kunai with black markings on the handle.
Miyabi then threw the kunai at the wall on the right, causing it to be embedded in the wall.
"What the... Why are you throwing knives around?!" Haurmasa questioned in a startled manner as Yanagi seemingly recognized the kunai in the wall.
"Wait... is that..." Yanagi was about to ask before Kaisen suddenly appeared in front of the kunai with his back facing them, startling both Yanagi and Haurmasa with his sudden appearance.
"Hold on... Executive Officer Kaisen Namikaze?! So neither one of you attended the Void Hunter ceremony?!" Haurmasa asked in a dumbfounded tone as Kaisen retrieved his Kunai from the wall.
"Ceremonies like that... aren't my thing. Besides, it's not like they don't know where I live. They can just mail it." Kaisen said in a low, casual tone as he sheathed his kunai in his jacket.
Haurmasa was taken aback at the fact that neither of the two current Void Hunters of New Eridu attended the Void Hunter ceremony.
"Did I miss anything?" Kaisen asked as Yanagi shook her head.
"I think Miyabi was about to tell us why she brought us here." Yanagi said as Miyabi nodded her head while still keeping her back facing toward them.
"A weapon... isn't just a blade, and not all of New Eridu's issues can be solved with a blade." Miyabi said as she turned around to face the three of them.
"I trust the three of you. With your abilities, we shall expose the roots... And I... shall be the blade that severs the corruption!" Miyabi declared as she used the hilt of her sword to unveil the logo of a new armed force of H.A.N.D.: Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
While Haurmasa and Yanagi were surprised to see the logo, Kaisen had a small smile on his face as he gazed upon the logo.
"Single-handedly establishing your own unit of H.S.O, huh? Can't say that I was anticipating that. Now, I'm curious to see where it goes from here." Kaisen thought to himself
As Kaisen watched Miyabi converse with Yanagi, his smile slowly faded as he let out a small sigh.
"I just hope that I... don't disappoint you as well, Miyabi." Kaisen whispered under his breath as Haurmasa joined in on their conversation.
Shortly afterwards, they all began to work and make plans to build their new section from the ground up.
Deep within Hollow Zero, the Hollow that was primarily responsible for the destruction of the city of Eridu during the fall of the old capital, a host of powerful Ethereal entities lurk within its confines.
While most people are aware of the two classifications of Ethereals (Ether Mutants and Corrupted), Soldiers, Investigators, and those who reside in Scott Outpost are aware of a third classification of Ethereals known as Vastos.
Vastos widely vary in their physical characteristics and in their size. However, one thing that all have in common is the white, skull-like mask they have on their faces, although some can differ greatly in shape and form. There are currently two types of Vastos: Lesser Vastos and Superior Vastos.
Lesser Vastos vary radically in appearance, anywhere from bulky humanoids to animal-like creatures, while all Superior Vastos have a humanoid appearance with a noticeable hole somewhere on their body.
Lesser Vastos have been observed to have a range of ether-related abilities that include: Regeneration, high-speed movement, hardening their body like armour, and firing a powerful blast of concentrated ether from their mouth, hands, fingers, and other parts of their bodies after taking on a specific pose.
Superior Vastos, on the other hand, have been observed to do everything a lesser Vasto can do with greater efficiency and finesse. In addition, Superior Vastos have been observed using ether-infused weapons along with the ability to seemingly manipulate ether in a variety of ways that involve using elements like fire, ice, and electricity.
While Lesser Vastos are more common in the deeper parts of Hollow Zero, Superior Vastos are extremely rare, with less than a handful ever being documented.
However, there is one Vasto that is in a class of its own and stands out more than any other while only being seen a small number of times: The dreaded Vasto Lorde.
From what reports are available, the Vasto Lorde is a tall, humanoid, white-skinned Ethereal with a small hole at the center of its chest, decorated with markings stretching from the hole across its chest and shoulders. It has retractable claws on its fingertips and toes, small, furry black tufts, two starting from its collarbone and stretching around its neck, and one each on its wrists and ankles.
Protruding from its mask, it has two long, forward-pointing horns with black strips extending from their center towards the tips, along with long orange appendages sticking out of the back of its head that resemble hair.
At this time, the Vasto Lorde stands on the same danger level as Nineveh and Geppetto, although it's arguably more of a threat due to its unique behavior.
The Vasto Lorde is the only Ethereal ever known to actively target both humans and Ethereals alike, even its fellow Vastos. The reason for this isn't entirely clear, but it may have something to do with the fact that the Vasto Lorde has the uncanny ability to seemingly absorb the etheric matter from dead Ethereals to grow in power.
The members of the White Star Institute theorize that the Vasto Lorde was the first Vasto to exist and was likely born during the fall of the old capital.
From what little has been observed of the Vasto Lorde, investigators speculate that after reaching a certain point, it might target bigger prey such as Nineveh or Geppetto. This was a cause for concern, as if the Vasto Lorde manages to absorb their Etheric matter, it is possible for the Vasto Lorde to become the most powerful Ethereal to ever live.
Although it hasn't been seen in months, there is currently only one recorded encounter with the Vasto Lorde. It was recovered six months ago from the body cam of a member of the defense force who was on a mission with five other soldiers from the defense force, who did not make it back, except for the one who was recording. There was also a drone hovering above the team of soldiers that also recorded what happened.
This is what the body cam and drone footage managed to get.
"Man, I can't wait to get out of here. Being here gives me the creeps." A member of the defense force said as he adjusted his body cam.
The six soldiers were walking through a warped and twisted city, as buildings were on the brink of collapse, while black ether crystals appeared all around them.
"Don't be such a wuss. We've already finished our mission, so just relax." One of the soldiers said as another soldier laughed.
"Yeah, or at least wait until we get back to the outpost to piss yourself." One of the soldiers said jokingly.
The soldier with the body cam rolled his eyes as the others laughed for a bit before continuing ahead.
After some time, a few Ethereals came into view before they set their sights on the soldiers.
"Look alive, boys! We got a few Ethereals who want to make their maker." One of the soldiers said as they raised their assault rifle.
As the other soldiers raised their rifles as well, they were forced to cover their ears as a loud, terrifying scream that sounded like a twisted and warped human cry.
"What the hell is that sound?!" One of the soldiers asked as the Ethereals quickly retreated after hearing that scream.
After a while, the soldiers lowered their hands before they noticed that the Ethereals had turned tail soon after hearing that sound.
"The Ethereals ran off? To be honest, I'd run too after hearing that." One of the soldiers remarked before a sword suddenly dropped down onto him, impaling the soldier through the stomach and pinning him to the ground.
"John!!" The soldiers said in unison as they saw that the soldier known as John was lying motionless on the ground with a red ether sword that had a distinctive crimson glow and was shaped like a katana.
The other soldiers immediately raised their weapons, looking around for whatever could have attacked John.
As they frantically looked around, the soldier with the body cam caught sight of a tall, humanoid figure looking down on them.
"Up there!" The soldier exclaimed as the other soldiers followed the direction he was looking, only to see nothing.
"Where? I don't see anything!" One of the soldiers said
Before another word could be said, a loud burst from something landing in front of them caused a cloud of dust and debris to fly everywhere.
"What in the hell is happening?" One of the soldiers cried out.
Before he could get an answer, the sword that was stuck inside John suddenly flew out of his body before flying into the cloud of dust.
A few moments later, the dust cloud dissipated, revealing the Vasto Lorde with its crimson ether katana in its right hand.
"What the... What kind of Ethereal is that?!" One of the soldiers fearfully questioned.
"Who cares! Open fire!" The soldier exclaimed as the five soldiers began to fire upon the Ethereal.
The Vasto Lorde deflected every bullet that came its way by swinging its blade around in front of it before blitzing toward the nearest soldier.
In the blink of an eye, the Vasto Lorde ran its blade through the torso of the soldier, causing him to cry out in pain before falling limp soon afterward. The Vasto Lorde lifted the soldier up off the ground with its blade before flinging the soldier off with a quick swipe to the right,
"You damn monster!!" One soldier exclaimed as he began to fire upon the creature once again.
The Vasto Lorde rushed toward him, dodging and deflecting every bullet before reeling its left hand back and completely running it through the chest of the soldier.
Blood quickly poured out of the mouth of the soldier before the Vasto Lorde threw his body toward another soldier. As a result, the soldier was knocked down to the ground as the soldier on top of him was now dead.
As the soldier's eyes widened in fear, he looked up to see that the Vasto Lorde had his left foot raised up before it pulverized his head with a fierce stomp.
"This can't be happening... This cannot be happening!" The soldier with the body cam began to panic as he dropped his rifle and began to shrink back in fear.
The Vasto Lorde turned his head toward him before appearing in front of him and kicking the soldier in the chest, causing him to spit up blood before crashing into a wall, leaving him unconscious.
A few moments afterward, the soldier with the body cam was taken care of, the Vasto Lorde wasted no time blitzing over to the last soldier and dispatching him with a deep upward vertical slash using its crimson ether katana.
After the soldiers were taken out, the Vasto Lorde began to dart its head around, looking for the Ethereals that were in the area before it appeared.
The Vasto Lorde suddenly blitzed ahead before leaping high into the air and quickly cutting through multiple buildings with its blade. After cutting through the last building, it landed on the side of a building. It let out an animalistic growl as it ran up the building in a zig-zag pattern before landing on the top of the building
The Vasto Lorde looked down from the tall building only to see a horde of Ethereals scrambling in the opposite direction. The humanoid Ethereal stood there for a few moments, motionless, before crimson ether energy began to form into a sphere between the tips of its horns.
After a few more moments of charging its attack, the Vasto Lorde fired the sphere, sending it racing toward the fleeing Ethereals before a massive explosion rang out upon impact.
As the shockwave passed by, the Vasto Lorde silently looked down at the massive crater that it had created.
After the dust settled, the crimson ether blade disappeared, seemingly fading away before the white Ethereal extended its hands out to either side of it.
A crimson aura of ether energy began to exude from the creature as the Etheric matter from the now dead Ethereals slowly floated in the air before racing toward the Vasto Lorde as it began to absorb the Etheric matter.
After it finished absorbing the Etheric matter, the Vasto Lorde released a burst of ether energy from its body as a crimson aura began to flare up before disappearing moments afterwards.
The Vasto Lorde stood in its position for a little while before blitzing away, leaving behind death and destruction in its wake in search of greater targets to cultivate greater strength.