The investigation went smoothly afterward while he pretended to be just an ordinary little Bangboo. Because of that, all combat responsibilities naturally fell to the female investigator accompanying him.
"Phew, it should be almost over. All that's left is to wait..."
They were supposed to return right after the mission ended, but the device in her hand suddenly lit up.
Her body tensed instantly, and as the signals grew stronger, fear began to show on her face.
"One beep means an active reaction, two beeps mean a significant reaction, three beeps mean a strong reaction, four beeps..."
Before she could finish explaining, the device sparked violently and broke apart.
She and Wise both stiffened in shock when they saw it. They glanced around, trying to figure out what was causing it, and the answer came soon enough.
A loud Ethereal roar boomed through the air, and they both ducked down without thinking. Wise peeked out carefully to see what was happening.
Between two tall buildings, a massive Ethereal was slowly rising into view.
As he watched it, the creature seemed to pick up on something and turned its head toward them. Wise instantly pulled back into hiding.
They stayed as low as they could while the huge Ethereal drifted overhead.
Luckily, they went unnoticed. If not, they would probably be picking up the investigator's remains before preparing a new Eous.
But it didn't end there. Just as the female investigator finally began to feel relieved for having escaped the giant Ethereal, a lone bee-like Ethereal spotted them. It was about to strike when a Thiren girl wielding a katana and sporting fluffy fox ears suddenly appeared.
The girl was accompanied by a small, floating black eyeball glowing a light blue-green, but that was not the main focus. She made a motion as if drawing a sword, and before the blade could even be revealed, the Ethereal had already dissolved into etheric energy.
After taking care of the Ethereal, she didn't say a word or give the two of them a chance to thank her. She simply rushed off after the giant Ethereal in the direction it had gone.
Moments after her figure vanished into the distance, several people wearing similar uniforms arrived from the direction she had come from.
"Chief, try to maintain a safe distance from the target."
The pink-haired woman talked into her earpiece, most likely referring to the fox Thiren girl they'd all been chasing.
"Oh man, there's no way I can keep up once the Chief starts running like that," a boy following the pink-haired woman muttered, letting out a tired sigh.
The female investigator's eyes widened the moment she noticed their uniforms.
"This uniform... you're from HAND? Executives from Special Operations Section 6!?"
Hearing her words, the pink-haired woman finally looked their way and replied in a calm, businesslike tone.
"The Hollow Special Operations Section Sixth is now carrying out an emergency suppression mission. A highly dangerous Ethereal with unknown intelligence has appeared in the area. No matter what mission you're currently on..."
"I am formally mobilizing you as a mobile squad to assist. This is an official order from the deputy head of Section Sixth."
'Critically endangered Ethereal individuals?' Wise immediately thought of the giant Ethereal, and that earlier disturbance must have been caused by the same one.
Something that massive, moving with that kind of strength, was unreal.
'Should we start evacuating right now?'
Wise considered it, but the investigator and the Section 6 team clearly weren't planning to back off yet.
"Given the situation, the original mission is now canceled. Our objective is shifting to full support of the Hollow Special Operations."
Yanagi, the pink haired woman and Deputy Chief of Section 6, immediately took custody of Wise once she heard what the investigator had reported.
- Yanagi[1] -
"This Bangboo... I need him to stay on as a guide for the next phase. Is that acceptable?"
Since the target had deviated from its planned route, they needed a Bangboo equipped with Carrot data for navigation. It was an emergency requisition under special conditions.
"We will, of course, cover any damage to the unit."
After Yanagi spoke, a man called Harumasa stepped in to reinforce her explanation.
- Harumasa[2] -
With things already heading this direction, the investigator couldn't refuse anymore.
"Yes, no problem!"
From start to finish, nobody asked Wise for his opinion. To everyone else, he was nothing more than a regular Bangboo.
'If this really comes down to taking damage, then doesn't that make it dangerous for me?'
While Wise was worrying over that, the Oni Thiren girl with blue skin and black-tipped horns noticed his mood and spoke up with a cheerful grin.
"Hey, little Bangboo, it's okay. I'll protect you."
She scooped Wise up and nuzzled him, her expression identical to someone cuddling a favorite cat.
"Soukaku, put him down. That's inappropriate."
- Soukaku[3] -
Yanagi's voice cut in, and Soukaku lowered Wise with a disappointed look.
"Sorry... I don't know why, he just looked so cute I couldn't stop myself..."
"Right, right? I feel the same way! It's so cute, I wonder who came up with the design!"
Once the female investigator realized Soukaku shared her opinion, she immediately launched into a lively conversation.
Seeing this, Yanagi stepped in again.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but the situation is urgent. We need to move now."
As she said it, she shot a brief glance at Wise. She felt that same strange urge to scoop him up and rub her face against him, but with her willpower and the eyes of the group on her, she managed to hold it back.
Though this arrangement wasn't part of Wise's plans, there wasn't anything he could do about it.
After a short chat with Belle, they agreed to go with it and take the lead.
Guided by Wise, the group moved quickly and soon caught up with Hoshimi Miyabi.
- Miyabi[4] -
At the same time, they happened to witness her tearing through the Ethereals. With just a few clean slashes, she cleared the ones around her and delivered a single draw slash that struck the giant Ethereal.
Even so, the giant one still got away, which meant Hoshimi Miyabi's strike hadn't done much.
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