ZZZ: Trailblazing in New Eridu

Later

"So, that's the Ballet Twin..." Nekomiya mutters as she watches the giant Hollow with a tower sticking out of it.

"I heard that the companion Hollow has just shrunk recently," Wise, using Eous as a means of communication, comments as Eous walks beside Billy.

"So, she must've sent that weird message to Nicole through that tower, huh?" Nekomiya asks as she points at the tower.

"It's the only possible explanation. No one could send any message to anyone through the Hollow," Wise replies. "Still, what was Rain doing in a place like that?"

"...could she be kidnapped?" Billy asks in concern, catching everyone's attention as they look at the Intelligent Construct in surprise. "Why are you guys making that face!?!"

"Sorry, Billy. We're not used to you making a reasonable assumption," Nekomiya says bluntly.

"You only get to know me for less than a month; you don't get to judge!" Billy exclaims indignantly before looking at Eous, who nervously glances away. "Y-you too, manager!?!"

"I-it's not me! Eous is the one who turned his own head, not me!" Wise says before Eous yells a betrayed 'En-nah!?!' while Billy slumps down.

"I feel betrayed..." Billy mutters dejectedly. "At least Manager's twin wouldn't do that?"

"... do Caelus, and I look very much alike?" Wise asks Nekomiya in confusion.

"Don't be silly, you look more handsome than that Cat-napper," Nekomiya says with a laugh.

"I have a feeling you insult him because of the 'catnapping', not because it's the truth..." Wise deadpans.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, manager," Nekomiya replies, acting oblivious.

"...anyways, we should try to find a way to get up there," Wise sighs before the trio rush towards the Hollow. As they enter the Hollow, Billy and Nekomiya freeze when blue light emits from their body like those aura animations in anime. Billy's chest also emits the same light, albeit a bit brighter.

"What is that?" Wise asks in surprise. He had never seen something like this in his life.

"It's the upgrade provided by your twin, Manager!" Billy exclaims excitedly. "I feel my body is somehow less restrictive inside the Hollow, compared to usual!"

"When we enter the Hollow, it feels like our bodies are restricted, and the soundwaves emitted by our W-Engines were able to repel the effect, albeit not fully," Nekomiya explains how she currently feels. "The upgrade, however, manages to completely nullify it. I have a feeling anyone with low Ether Aptitude can stay inside Hollow far longer using the upgraded Engine compared to the standard Ether armor resistance."

"If that's true, then my sister and I could use it to explore the Hollow ourselves!" Wise says, his eyes widening as Eous copies his expression.

"Damn it, if only we still had some funds, I could've commissioned him a W-Engine!" Belle says through the comm.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Belle," Wise sweatdrops at hearing his sister's words. "Even if we had those, we still don't have a proper way to fend off Ethereals."

"Speaking of Ethereals, some of them approached us," Billy says as he looks at some Ethereals emerging out of nowhere, slowly walking towards them as they sharpen their blade arms. "Now, let's test our new baby! Hah!"

What they witnessed next was something so bizarre that no one could properly explain. As Billy pulled out his upgraded pistols and shot a bullet into one of the Ethereals, it suddenly inflated in a distorted manner before it exploded in a blue light. The poor Ethereal exploded into pieces, and they flew straight into other Ethereals, causing them to explode, albeit on a smaller scale.

Nekomiya has her jaw comically dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks, while Wise stares at the HDD screen in utter disbelief before his face turns blue and he covers his mouth to stop himself from vomiting. Belle looks a bit confused by his reaction before she uses her own implant to view what's going on.

It's safe to say that she lost her lunch.

"...if I remember correctly, aren't Billy's guns simply a pair of special-costumed high-caliber revolvers? How does that turn into weapons capable of causing gruesome death?" Fairy asks in a confused tone.

"...if you don't have the answer, Fairy, how should I know?" Wise asks fearfully.

"AH! Damn it, I accidentally set it to high output!" Billy exclaims before he adjusts the guns' settings. "Sorry, ladies. Didn't mean to strain you two that bad..."

"...why is Billy referring to his guns as ladies?" Fairy asks in confusion.

"Some people feel attached to certain objects and decide, 'yeah, she's my baby girl/lady'," Belle explains in a dry tone.

"..." Fairy stays silent, trying to process that information.

"Well, we could try it again when I encounter more of them," Billy says as he twirls his guns.

"..." Nekomiya snaps herself out of shock before she glances at the dual knives on her knee armor. "Please tell me he didn't put any weird stuff into my knives."

"Didn't you hear the explanation he gave you when he gave you your weapons?" Billy asks in confusion.

"...he did?" Nekomiya asks in surprise.

"...I'm just gonna explain this briefly," Billy sweatdrops. "TL; DR: Anby's backpack can now store more excess electricity for her blade, and her W-Engine elemental effect could be applied to her limbs. Boss's suitcase requires less time to charge, spams easier, reduces energy costs, and upgrades bullets with a higher quantity. Mine can blast energy bullets based on settings and tougher shells for my ladies. Your knives can vibrate at a high frequency to increase cutting power. All of our W-Engines increased Ether Aptitude with the Quantum Energy core, and convert Ether energy around us into fuel."

"...how long did he make that modification?" Wise asks in surprise.

"He did it since yesterday, while fixing a logic core to bring an intelligent construct's previous 'consciousness' back," Billy shrugs.

"He did what!?" Belle asks in disbelief.

"...damn," Nekomiya mutters in shock. "Okay, maybe that Cat-napper isn't...what am I thinking!?! He's still a cat-napper!"

"Hey, don't ignore us! What do you mean by that!?!" Belle yells in disbelief.

"You will never let that moment go, do you?" Billy sweatdrops.

"How could I!?! My baby, the one I raised since they were kittens, got charmed the moment they met him! My babies casually disowned me in the blink of an eye and started being more affectionate towards a stranger instead of their own caretaker!" Nekomiya complains. "Do you know how that feels!?"

"Uh, sorry, but no..." Billy sweatdrops.

"..." Without another word, Nekomiya huffs and walks past him. Billy awkwardly scratches his head before he follows her. Meanwhile, Eous stands there in silence as Belle freezes before she shakes in anger at being ignored.

"CAN THE TWO OF YOU STOP IGNORING ME!!!" Wise feels a headache coming and simply follows them; neither one of them notices two pairs of eyes staring at them in the shadow.

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Later

"Damn, I never felt so easy beating a horde of Ethereals," Billy exclaims in excitement as he looks at the last disintegrating Ethereal with a missing head and right arm.

"Even my knives can cut an intangible Ethereal...so scary..." Nekomiya shivers as she looks at her new knives.

"It must be that the frequency of your blade's vibration is similar to how W-Engines emit sound frequency to amplify weapons to fight Hollows!" Billy exclaims.

"When did you get smart?" Nekomiya asks in surprise.

"Hey, I can be smart too!" Billy says in an offended tone.

"Still, it's scary how he manages to modify our weapons drastically without changing their appearance," Nekomiya mutters. "And all he used were leftovers from the military weapons he got from the Defense Force."

"I guess we can no longer deny his engineering skills," Wise comments.

"So, nobody's gonna explain the logic core?!" Belle asks in disbelief.

"Sorry, manager. But military secret," Billy says apologetically.

"Oh..." Belle mutters. "You could at least tell us that..."

"Still, to think he could pull something people considered to be impossible, even with current technology," Wise muses.

"From my calculations, humanity's chance to fix a damaged logic core with current technological advancement is 0%." Fairy comments. "And Caelus had casually said 'fuck that' and pulled the impossible."

"...I still can't get used to Fairy talking like a normal AI before she switches her way of talking to be similar to a human midway..." Belle mutters.

"Too bad, third assistant. Get used to it," Fairy says in a mocking tone.

"You mother-!" Wise decided it would be a good idea to shut off the comm as Eous stands there in silence. Both Cunning Hares watch in silence before Billy detects an object flying towards them.

In a quick movement, he pulls Nekomiya and Eous out of the way as the object, which turns out to be a giant pair of scissors, embeds into the ground as frost spreads from the tip of the blade into the floor. Billy pulls out his gun, then suddenly detects someone behind him and points it at the person. Upon looking at the person, Billy had to blink in surprise.

In front of the gun's muzzle is a mature woman with grey hair and red eyes, wearing a long maid dress, floating on the ground with electricity crackling around her body. Next to her are Bangboos dressed like ghosts, floating around her.

"Oh, my. You detected me so quickly," The woman says in surprise. "You must have a good component implanted inside you."

"Geez, no fun. He found us before we started the game," One of the Bangboo complains.

"No fun! No fun!" Another one whines.

"You two are quite skilled. It's no wonder you could walk around the Hollow unhindered, but please stop that," A masculine voice can be heard from the shadow as Nekomiya pulls her knives out and points at the shadow. The figure slowly walks out of the shadow and is revealed to be a white wolf Thiren in a butler outfit, belts wrapping around his tail, an eyepatch covering his right eye, and the most noticeable part of him is a pair of prosthetic legs.

"A wolf Thiren?" Nekomiya mutters in surprise.

"The Ballet Twin is private property and is currently closed to visitors," The wolf Thiren says as he narrows his eyes. "I will allow you thirty seconds to explain your presence before I decide whether or not-!"

"Wah!" Both Billy and Nekomiya blink upon hearing a familiar voice as a huge buzzsaw falls from the stairs, rolling down before it falls flat in front of the duo. Billy and Nekomiya both raise their eyebrow questioningly while the woman sighs with a smile and shakes her head fondly.

The wolf Thiren seems to be caught off guard by this, but he quickly regains composure.

"In short, this place is not currently open to the public, and-!" The wolf Thiren closes his eyes and grits his teeth upon hearing the voice wailing. "I'm sure I have stressed - both the floors and one's weapon should be kept in pristine condition, have I not?!"

"Wah, I-I'm sorry, Mr. Lycaon!" Both Billy and Nekomiya widen their eyes in surprise as they saw Corrin approach Lycaon and bow to him apologetically, earning a sigh from the wolf Thiren.

"Uh, so tired..." Another girl's voice can be heard from the back as Lycaon looks mentally tired.

"Ellen, stay on task. Professionalism!" Lycaon says sternly.

"Tch...coming," The voice replies before walking out of the shadow. Billy and Nekomiya look at the girl with a shark tail wearing a maid dress similar to Corrin's, standing next to Lycaon.

"Corrin, is that you?" Nekomiya asks in surprise.

"Oh, Mr. Billy, Ms. Nekomata, Mr. Phaethon, you guys are here!" Corrin says in surprise before she waves at them with a big smile. Upon hearing the last name, the maids and butler recoil in shock. Did Corrin just call one of them Phaethon!?! "What are you guys doing here? And where are Ms. Nicole, Ms. Anby, and Mr. Caelus?"

"Corrin, do you know them?" Lycaon asks curiously, once again regaining his composure quickly.

"Mhm! They are the allies I joined forces with to take down the Dead-End Butcher to save the Canvas Street's citizens," Corrin says with a smile.

"Still shocking to hear that sentence," Ellen comments under her breath.

"I see..." Lycaon mutters before looking at the trio. "Very well, apologies for our rudeness. May you put the weapon away from Rina?"

"Uh, sure. Since you guys are Corrin's friends, I guess you guys are good guys..." Billy pulls the gun away from the woman, Rina, who gives them a grateful smile and floats towards Lycaon.

"Since you are no mere trespassers and Corrin's allies, then that makes things easier," Lycaon says as he adjusts his tie while the maids gather around Lycaon. "Allow me to introduce ourselves - we are the Victoria Housekeeping."

To be Continued