Seeing that Nicole was already getting excited and taking action, Zane waved his hand and reminded her,
"Don't overdo it. If they see through it, you'll end up in jail—with full room and board."
"And Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 will probably verify everything, so be smart about it. If anything goes wrong, don't count on me."
Nicole pouted but replied confidently,
"Relax, I'm Nicole. Something this small is a sure win!"
She didn't want to risk messing things up, especially if it meant getting tangled up with Dennies.
"Zane, hurry up! Punch this for me."
Nicole walked over and tugged at Zane's arm. Compared to his ethereal form, she looked rather petite as she tried to pull him to the side.
"You're really okay with sacrificing your suitcase?"
Seeing the black suitcase Nicole had set up, Zane was surprised.
He thought she'd use a more roundabout method, but she was going straight for destruction.
Nicole hesitated for a second, but it quickly passed, and she returned to her usual carefree expression.
"Of course I am!"
Her tone was casual, but she avoided looking at the suitcase, turned her back to it, and looked up at Zane instead.
There was something much more important than that suitcase.
Seeing this, Zane didn't hesitate anymore and cleanly made the suitcase look like it had been battle-damaged.
"Zane, mine!"
As he pulled his hand back and turned around, he saw a green backpack—Anby's special gear.
Anby held the backpack in both hands and shifted slightly to reveal her face, staring seriously at Zane.
With Anby taken care of, it was Billy's turn. But Billy seemed emotionally attached to his weapon and chose not to damage it.
Nicole didn't object. After all, Billy was a robot—it made sense he'd feel that way about another mechanical object.
"Yes, yes, like that! Let the cold air pass through the exhaust ports and damage the heat and drive systems..."
"And here—this part was already worn out last time. Perfect chance to swap it out now..."
After some fiddling, Billy wrapped up his own version of the operation and started fantasizing about which Starlight Knight premium merch he'd buy next.
Zane stood still, glanced at Nicole tinkering with her props, then looked away.
He turned his gaze to Nineveh floating in the sky. She was still there, methodically splitting Ethereals and gradually restoring the insect swarm he had destroyed.
"Hey, Zane, since we're saying the battle caused heavy damage, shouldn't Anby and I show some signs of it too?"
Nicole tossed aside the broken props and, noticing she still looked spotless, made the suggestion.
"You're right. I didn't expect you to be this sharp," Zane nodded slightly.
"Of course! Who do you think I am? I'm Nicole, the leader of Hare's House!"
With hands on her hips and a proud grin, she then turned to Anby and waved.
"Anby, you go first!"
As Anby got into position, Zane raised a frost-covered fist, his eyes glowing with a faint blue light.
A blur flashed past—his heavy black fist swung down.
Anby was just about to block with her undamaged blade when a force suddenly yanked her from behind.
Bang!
Zane's punch slammed into the wall behind her, spreading cracks across the surface.
"Hey! Zane!"
"You actually hit her?!"
Nicole stared at the wall and called out.
Zane's face darkened. What did she mean by "actually"? He'd clearly held back.
If he'd really gone all out...
Nicole didn't notice the shift in his expression. After all, an Ethereal didn't show facial emotions.
She pulled the dazed Anby in front of her, pinched her cheek, then looked at Zane.
"Zane, look how cute Anby is! How could you even think of hitting her?!"
Seeing that Zane wasn't reacting, Nicole's eyes flickered. She leaned close to Anby's ear and whispered,
"Anby, Nekomata told me Zane loves cats. They even opened a cat café. Come on, try acting like a cat and be cute…"
When Anby looked confused, Nicole gripped her shoulders and continued quietly,
"Trust me, it's for your own good…"
Hearing this, Anby stood in front of Zane, raised her hands slightly, and bent her wrists forward.
"Meow?"
Zane pressed his hand to his forehead with a sigh.
"Nicole, what are you trying to do…"
"Oh, it's simple! Just ice this part, roast that part with fire, rip this part of the clothes a bit…"
Nicole rambled on and on, but the gist was clear:
Gentle. Detailed. Tedious.
"Alright, alright, we'll do it your way. Just stop wasting time—the Hollow Special Ops Unit 6 is on their way!"
Zane waved her off, cutting her short before she could keep going, and got to work.
Nicole stood nearby, arms crossed, looking extremely pleased as Zane used Ether energy to "transform" the obedient Anby. Internally, she was already covering her mouth and laughing, "Oh ho ho…"
She was a genius!
Let Anby do the cute stuff, and she'd avoid getting smacked.
Compared to Anby, she figured a spar with Zane might end worse if something went sideways...
A moment later, the battle-damaged version of Anby was complete.
Just as Nicole was getting ready for her turn, expecting Zane to give her the same Ether treatment, she suddenly saw him conjure a long spear.
She froze, puzzled.
"Eh? Zane, what are you doing?"
"Nicole, time's almost up…"
"Wait! There's still a bit of time! Hold on—why are you setting the spear on fire?!"
"Wait, I can meow too, don't—"
"Flaming Spear!"
Bang!
...
"There! Section Chief!"
Harumasa looked up and immediately spotted Nineveh in the air, and the Fire Picker standing on Ether crystals near the building.
"Look, there's the Fire Picker!"
Soukaku pointed at Zane. Hoshimi Miyabi's eyes turned icy as she gripped her sword and charged forward.
Hoshimi Miyabi, the Fire Picker, and Nineveh were clearly on the same side—it would be hard for anyone else to step in.
So the remaining three members of Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 made their way toward Hare's House, where the situation looked less than ideal.
"Uh... Miss Nicole, what exactly is this..."
Harumasa was about to ask, but when Nicole turned to look at him, he swallowed the rest of his sentence and instead asked how she was doing.