A few minutes later, Phaga and Black arrived at Scott Outpost—the closest location to Hollow Zero.
The moment they touched down, Black folded his wings and cast a playful glance at Phaga, grinning as he teased:
[Creator, aren't you going to send word to the Big Shark that you're safe? Once we go into Hollow Zero, the signal's going to cut out, you know!]
Of course… ever since Misha used [Eternal Night] to block out the sun, phones had already lost signal.
But Phaga didn't know that.
He turned his head slightly, catching the mischievous curve of Black's mouth from the corner of his eye, and rolled his eyes.
"No need. She won't have time to check messages on the battlefield. And even if she did see it… it'd probably just mess with her mood."
With that, Phaga ignored Black and headed straight toward Hollow Zero, completely missing the muttering that followed behind him:
[My god… that means I'm the only one who knows where the Creator is going.]
[Which also means if I cripple the Creator's legs and lock him inside Hollow Zero, no one will ever find us for the rest of our lives!]
[This is amazing!]
"Hey. Are you coming or not? If not, turn back."
Standing before Hollow Zero, Phaga's palm brushed lightly against the Hollow's surface, where eerie Ether matter churned and writhed. Just as he was about to step inside, he realized someone was missing beside him.
Black hadn't followed.
Phaga turned around, frowning.
[Huh? Oh! Don't leave me behind, Creator—I'm coming!]
Seeing this, Black stretched out his arm exaggeratedly, afraid Phaga wouldn't see him, and hurried over in a few quick steps.
When Black reached him, Phaga deliberately angled his head away and looked past him. On the ground of Scott Outpost, several fresh craters had appeared out of nowhere.
They looked exactly like the aftermath of grenades.
[Creator, I'm here. Let's go in together!]
Black bent slightly at the waist, tilting his head up to look at Phaga with open anticipation.
For a moment, Phaga felt deeply unsettled.
The scene felt disturbingly like a celebrity being cornered by an obsessed fan—while the fan remained blissfully unaware of how uncomfortable the situation was.
"…Fine. Let's go in together. That way, we won't get separated."
Phaga hesitated briefly before agreeing.
Hollows weren't like ordinary places. The positions of spatial rifts shifted periodically, and if their luck was bad, even two people entering from the same spot one after the other could end up in entirely different areas. Reuniting afterward would be a nightmare.
However, as they stepped inside together, Phaga deliberately slowed by half a step, circling behind Black. His hand reached straight for Black's lower back.
[Ah~ Creator, what are you doing? This kind of thing could obviously be—]
"Could what, exactly? Shut up and stop using my face to say weird crap. I'm just taking off your shark tail."
Black had been wearing that shark tail from the very beginning. Phaga had found it irritating for ages and finally seized the chance to rip it off and toss it out of the Hollow.
Once they were inside, there was no turning back. If Black tried to leave the Hollow to retrieve it, there was a very real chance he'd get lost.
Left with no choice, Black clutched his lower back and stared at Phaga pitifully, as if something essential were missing, leaving him strangely hollow inside.
But then—
A dark shadow suddenly dropped from above, completely blotting out his vision.
When Black grabbed it and looked, his eyes went wide.
This was… the Creator's suit jacket?!
"Take off that crop top underneath. It's annoying to look at."
Phaga didn't even turn around as he strode forward.
[The Creator acts cold, then casually tosses over his own suit jacket… Could this be tsundere behavior?!]
[The Creator cares about me!]
Leaving aside how "personal" and "jacket" were somehow being mentally fused together, Black was ecstatic. He nearly bounced on the spot, cheeks flushing red as the sudden happiness threatened to overwhelm him.
Meanwhile, Phaga clenched his fists.
His irritation rose in perfect proportion to Black's joy. His teeth ground audibly as his patience edged closer and closer to snapping.
Thankfully, Black wasn't completely oblivious. He quickly wrapped himself in Phaga's jacket and jogged to his side. Catching the faint anger on Phaga's face, he immediately forced an awkward laugh.
[Hahaha… Creator, the weather's pretty nice today, huh? Oh—right. What do we do next?]
Phaga shot him a glance, then looked away again.
"Wait."
[Wait? Wait for what?]
Black tilted his head, clearly confused.
"Wait for Nineveh to come."
Phaga lifted his head, his gaze seemingly fixed on the distant sky.
Dark clouds churned endlessly on the horizon, lightning flashing through them from time to time. Whatever was happening within was impossible to make out.
Black grew even more baffled.
[You can just wait and Nineveh will—ahhh! That Ether reaction is huge!]
He was about to question Phaga further when a massive spatial rift tore open in front of them. Calm purple light shimmered within it, and before either of them could clearly see what was emerging, an overwhelming pressure slammed down first.
A violent gale erupted. Phaga's hair whipped back, and Black's borrowed suit jacket snapped violently in the wind, forcing him to squint.
Phaga braced himself sideways against the storm, pressing his wrist to his forehead. Peering through the gap beneath his arm toward the rift, he raised his voice so it wouldn't be torn away by the wind.
"When I swallowed Kunmutu after it fused with a Sacrificie, I became half-Ethereal!"
"Nineveh is a symbiotic Ethereal entity. She's constantly searching for a powerful 'family' to fuse with—there's no way she wouldn't come after sensing my aura!"
[But this is way too fast!]
Black gritted his teeth as faint light gathered around his right hand.
He thrust it forward hard.
The glow surged outward, rapidly forming a wind shield that anchored itself to the ground like an ancient tree—roots dug deep, body unyielding.
Time hadn't weakened it. If anything, it had grown tougher with age, stubbornly resisting the howling gale.
With the shield in place, the roar in their ears gradually faded.
Phaga's hair settled back down, and he lowered his arm, remarking casually:
"Nice work."
[Hehehe… the Creator praised me!]
Shockingly, that single, offhand comment made Black cover his face with both hands, twisting shyly in place.
…Unbelievable.
Phaga closed his eyes.
Out of sight, out of mind.
He didn't know how much time passed before a subtle shift in the air made him open them again.
A familiar face—and a body shaped like an enormous flower bud—loomed right in front of him.
Nineveh lowered her head, arms spread. A flurry of strange flashes erupted around her, leaving both Phaga and Black staring blankly, completely unable to understand what she was doing.
After a moment, Nineveh seemed to realize something. Her [core] flashed yellow, and human language resonated through the air.
[Hello… I'm very sorry… I didn't realize you don't understand Ethereal language.]
[But it's alright… I can speak human… May I ask… would you like to join us—no!]
[Your aura… familiar… I… remember you!]
[I remember now—you're the Fire Vampire!]
Her mood flipped instantly.
Nineveh flew into a rage, throwing her head back and roaring. Even her speech became markedly clearer.
[Bad thing! Bad thing! Bad thing!]
[Die!]
The next instant, she swung her arm down without the slightest hesitation.