"What's that sound?"
Nicole felt a chill of unease as music drifted in from every direction.
There was no music player anywhere in sight, after all, and the open, spacious ground let the sound echo back and forth, giving it an eerie, hollow quality.
Compared to Geno's side, the Ethereal Soldiers reacted to the sound with far more gravity.
Clearly, this wasn't the first time they'd heard it.
"Everyone, stay alert!"
The order came from the Ethereal Soldiers' captain — the first time Geno's group had heard any of these brutes speak at all.
"I figured these guys were just a bunch of robots. Didn't expect them to talk."
"Uh, robots can talk too, actually, Boss Nicole."
Billy felt like he'd just been stripped of his robot citizenship. Then again, thinking back over the earlier fighting, aside from that first exchange when the Sacrifices found them, he really hadn't heard them communicate at all.
"Something's off. They seem to be bracing for something — it's coming!"
Anby hadn't taken her hand off her weapon this whole time. A soldier's instinct told her something dangerous was closing in.
As the music kept echoing, a thick sense of crisis welled up in everyone all at once.
"Wooooo~~~"
Like something out of a horror movie, a ghostly shape shot out of nowhere. It spun, vanished before anyone could track it, and the next thing they knew, several Rebel Soldiers' heads went flying.
"They're dead!" "So fast!"
Geno's pupils contracted at the sight — the figure moved so fast it was almost impossible to follow, and then those heads were already in the air.
The Rebel Soldiers, on the other hand, seemed used to this sort of thing already. A moment later, their captain was calling for the men to stay on guard.
"Stay alert! Everyone stay alert!"
The Rebel Soldiers stopped paying Geno's group any mind at all, bracing instead against this unknown opponent as if facing a mortal enemy.
For a moment, the battlefield that had been pure chaos went dead quiet. Aside from the music still echoing through the air, everyone silently held their positions, watching.
Geno's side was the same. Faced with a third party suddenly breaking the standoff, they were scrambling not to lose their cool.
"What do we do? This looks pretty bad."
Nicole and the others stood back-to-back, watching every direction, with no idea where the attack might come from. All they could do was murmur quietly among themselves.
'It's her. She's come for me.'
As Geno kept scanning their surroundings, a light, airy voice suddenly sounded by his ear.
If Little Geno hadn't stayed silent in his mind, Geno would have thought his brain was being hijacked again.
"Was that you talking?"
Geno turned to look at the female ghost floating beside him, her face full of worry.
Hearing him, the ghost gave a light nod.
"Geno, you've been acting strange this whole time. Something wrong with you?"
"Is someone next to you?"
Nicole and the others looked utterly baffled — confused not just by the situation, but by Geno's strange behavior on top of it.
Geno himself was just as lost, unable to figure out why Nicole and the others couldn't see the ghost right beside him.
But why could he and Twiggy see her? Twiggy could even touch her.
He set the question aside for now — what mattered most was figuring out what was actually happening.
"You said it's here for you. You know what that thing is, don't you?"
At Geno's question, the ghost nodded, then pointed toward the Rebel Soldiers not far off, as if trying to convey something more.
"I still can't follow you like this. Isn't there some way we can actually talk? Like just now."
Watching the ghost fumble helplessly, Geno felt just as stuck. If he hadn't heard her voice out of nowhere a moment ago, he wouldn't even have been sure she could communicate at all.
The ghost froze for a second at that, thought it over for a few moments, then made a troubled face.
Seeing this, Geno started to say something — only to watch the ghost bolt straight for Twiggy's fallen body.
"Wait—?!"
It happened so fast that Geno hadn't seen it coming and couldn't stop her — not that he could have, anyway.
The ghost sank straight into Twiggy's body, sending faint ripples across it before vanishing entirely, leaving Geno staring in blank astonishment.
But all of Geno's odd behavior only convinced Nicole and the others that something was definitely wrong with his head.
"Please don't lose your mind at a time like this! Geno, snap out of it!"
Nicole was losing it beside him, while Billy and Anby wore equally complicated expressions.
Given the situation, it wasn't exactly surprising that Geno and Nicole were both losing their grip.
But before anyone could react, Twiggy on the ground suddenly stirred, staggering as she pulled herself up.
At the sight, Anby and the others lit up with relief — finally, someone reliable was back.
"Twiggy! Come look at Geno! Something's really wrong with him!"
Nicole called her over with delight, hoping Twiggy could figure out just what had snapped in Geno's head.
Twiggy rubbed her head first, then glanced down at the ring on her hand, and finally turned to shoot Geno a look before acting without hesitation.
Twiggy stood up.
Twiggy walked toward Geno.
Twiggy ran.
???
Wait, what?! Twiggy ran?!
Nicole froze on the spot, staring slack-jawed as Twiggy pumped her legs and sprinted desperately toward the stairs down.
Anby's face twisted with worry and helpless resignation.
Another one's lost it.
Crazy as it looked, though, she couldn't just stand by and watch Twiggy go, so Anby moved to chase after her.
Knowing Twiggy the way she did, there was no way she'd abandon her teammates and flee alone — something must have happened.
But the current situation didn't exactly allow for it.
"Geno, go after her and see what's going on."
Anby moved close to Geno. For now, the standoff held in an uneasy triangle — nobody dared make the first move, just as the Rebel Soldiers hadn't moved when Twiggy bolted a moment ago.
"But what about you guys?"
"Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen for now."
Anby said this because it had just clicked for her — Geno's strange behavior might well be tied to Twiggy. If so, the two of them might be the ones to find a way to break the standoff.
"Don't worry. This time, I'll protect everyone."
Anby's eyes burned with resolve, and the sheer determination on her face made her feel unbelievably cool.
____
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