"Just as I thought…" Koleda's voice was so faint it nearly vanished into the Hollow's mournful wind.
She stood where she was, her small frame looking even more fragile beneath the hulking, ruined skeletons of steel that loomed overhead. Tears slid silently down her dust-smeared cheeks, catching what little light there was.
Her gaze—like it was being yanked by an invisible thread—locked onto the figure in Grace's arms.
Qianye was breathing a little hard. A suspicious flush spread across his pale cheeks, and his eyes held a dazed, startled haze—as if he'd been shaken awake from something he hadn't been ready to let go of.
But that glimmer of wetness in Koleda's eyes lasted only a heartbeat.
She snapped an arm up and scrubbed her sleeve across her face, hard—almost rough with stubbornness. Drawing in a deep breath, she forced everything soft and unsteady back down into her chest. She straightened her back, and her young-looking face tightened into the calm, iron-set composure of a "President," leaving no room for doubt.
She didn't say another word.
She just started forward—one step at a time—dragging her heavy power hammer behind her. The metal head scraped across the concrete with a harsh shhk—shhk— that cut clean through the dead silence of the ruins.
"Oh?" Grace tilted her head slightly. The lenses of her goggles reflected a sickly green glimmer from moss clinging to a broken pipe in the distance, hiding her eyes completely. But the curve of her mouth lifted, amused.
She let out a low chuckle—lazy, magnetic, and somehow cold—then set Qianye down gently on the surface of a pile driver, like she was placing a delicate instrument onto a workbench.
When she rose, the way she looked at Koleda softened for the briefest instant—too fast to catch properly—before it disappeared under a chill, distant refusal.
"After seeing that," she said evenly, pressure woven into every syllable, "you still dare to come closer? You didn't run off crying like a little kid?"
Her chin lifted, as if appraising something that needed to be stopped before it became a costly mistake.
"But, little one—don't come any closer. It won't do either of us any good."
Koleda's pace didn't slow. If anything, it grew steadier.
Her small boots crunched over gravel and twisted rebar. Each step landed with weight.
"If I don't get closer," she said, voice quiet but cutting clean through the dust in the air, "how am I supposed to beat you half to death… sis?"
That last word was low and heavy—packed with anger and something bruised and old.
"Heh. Is that so?" Grace laughed, meaning unclear, and instead of backing away, she stepped forward too.
Her long legs moved with elegant efficiency—high heels clicking tap, tap against the ruin—sharp and clean, an engineer's precision in every stride, a stark contrast to Koleda's gritty scrape.
The distance between them closed fast.
The air—rust, damp, and dust—tightened like a drawn bowstring.
"ORA (MUDA)!!!" Koleda's tiny body erupted with explosive force as she swung her power hammer up with a howl of wind—
"Xugeya! Stop them!" Qianye's voice snapped out—urgent, commanding.
"Mmnh!!! (Eat my double-elbow strike!!!)"
A silver-gray blur flashed from behind a slanted, massive pipe.
Xugeya's metal joints screamed with a high-speed hum as its small frame cut a lethal line through the air. It shot perfectly between the two about to collide—then slammed both reinforced alloy elbows into their sides like twin battering rams.
"Gah!"
"Ugh!"
Two pained grunts, almost perfectly in sync.
Koleda stumbled, face scrunched tight; Grace doubled slightly with a muffled sound—Xugeya's hit seemed to land especially heavy on her, even knocking her goggles askew.
With both of them forcibly "calmed down" by blunt physics, Qianye let out a long, helpless sigh that echoed through the hollowed-out ruins.
"Seriously," he muttered, rubbing his brow as his gaze flicked between them. "Koleda, you're still growing, fine—but Grace, you're acting like a kid too."
"But—" Koleda jerked her head up, ruby eyes fixed on him, full of grievance. "Your face just now—"
She cut off, because Qianye's cheeks flushed again, the red deepening with alarming speed.
Koleda went quiet. Her lashes lowered, shadowing her eyes. A moment passed, and something like sorrow mixed with realization crept over her expression.
"So that's it… You think I'm still too small to carry your life with you, so that's why Grace—"
"Ow!"
Xugeya didn't hesitate even half a second. It struck again—another lightning-fast elbow, hitting Koleda in the exact same spot.
The impact folded her instantly, watery tears springing up from pure pain. Whatever heavy, melodramatic fixation had been building in her gaze shattered on the spot, leaving only a stunned, painfully clear blankness.
"Koleda," Qianye said, torn between exasperation and laughter, "don't blurt out weird stuff like that. Where is this inexplicable competitive streak even coming from?"
He shook his head, stopped paying attention to the two stubborn "sisters," and turned toward Eous, who was standing by.
"Forget those two idiots," he said, his tone returning to its usual warmth—though there was a tight edge of urgency under it. "Belle—at this point, Wise should be able to confirm the prototype's location, right?"
"Yep," Belle replied over comms, relaxed in that mission accomplished way. "Kiddo, this really is the best spot for signal amplification. Now you just wait—Fairy and I will have the prototype's coordinates any moment."
Silence settled over the ruins—wind moaning through steel gaps, distant metallic creaks like something shifting deep in the wreckage.
A beat later, Wise's voice came through, precise with the confidence of a finished calculation.
"Got it. Coordinates locked. I'm pushing the location data now. Also—Qianye—based on the feedback signal and an Ether-flow simulation, Fairy generated an environmental reference image. I've sent it over. Pull it up through Eous and take a look."
Everyone's attention snapped to it.
They crowded in, forming a tight ring around Eous. A second later, a crude image loaded onto the tiny screen.
A towering, twisted, spire-like structure stood at the center of the frame. Its base bristled with jagged ridges, like the fangs of a beast. Around it lay a forest of collapsed concrete and leaning steel—like a graveyard for giants.
"Hm." Grace frowned, eyes sharp behind her crooked goggles as she scanned the messy lines. Her fingers tapped absently against the cold shell of the pile driver. "The resolution is terrible. Barely enough to tell the main body is… a very non-mainstream-looking tower…"
"Grace, let me see…" Ben carefully took Eous with his huge paw, leaning his single eye close to the screen.
His breathing stopped for a fraction of a second.
"Uh…" he let out, hesitant, then scratched the back of his head with a thick, furry hand.
"What is it, Ben?" Koleda caught the change immediately. Her small face tightened with urgency, gaze burning. "Is the prototype's location a problem? Bad terrain?"
"President…" Ben drew in a dusty breath, like he'd forced open a sealed door in his mind. His voice came low and fast, the words spilling like a flood.
"Back then—right before the former President… disappeared—Belobog Heavy Industries won a major contract in the heart of the New Development Zone. The 'Pioneer Memorial Plaza.'"
His finger pointed at the "tower" on the image.
"That isn't a tower. That's the monument at the center of the plaza—the 'Pioneer' memorial!"
"What?!" Koleda's voice shot up, sharp with disbelief. Her whole body jolted, and she nearly dropped her hammer. "The prototype is at the plaza? At the place that guy never finished building?! What the hell is going on?"
Ben lowered his head, and his voice sank further, thick with confusion and a cold edge he didn't seem to understand himself.
"I don't know… Construction stopped when the Old Capital fell. The plaza was never completed. The monument should've only had its foundation done. But…"
He lifted his head again, eye glittering with unease.
"When I saw this picture, I got this… hair-raising feeling. The prototype showing up in a place tied so closely to President Kohrs… it's like—like something is trying to tell us something."
His words dropped into the air like a stone into deep water.
The ruins seemed to listen.
A chill crawled up everyone's spine.
"Yeah!" Anton's booming voice shattered the silence. He thumped his chest hard—whump—and spoke fast, loud, and earnest. "Friday said it too! It said it got 'called' by President Kohrs! Now that Ben says this… it really is kind of creepy!"
The crew's reactions pressed in like cold vines.
As Belobog Heavy Industries' leader, Koleda could feel her heart pounding. The doubts she kept buried—deep, deep down—were being stirred again.
But she also knew she couldn't show even a crack of hesitation.
She squeezed her eyes shut, hard. When she opened them, her ruby gaze held only bedrock certainty.
She stood tall and spoke with clean authority—sharp enough to slice through the invisible gloom.
"Ben. Anton. You're overthinking it."
She paused, eyes flicking between them.
"Just because the pile driver said that guy's name, and spat out nonsense like 'Dawn's Executioner' and 'Reinforce the Seal' doesn't mean any of it actually makes sense. But…"
Her expression tightened with a heavy, curious gravity.
"I do want to know why the prototype is there. So stop guessing and go see it with your own eyes. Move out!"
Once Koleda made the call, nobody argued. They began checking gear and preparing to mobilize.
But Qianye was a few beats slower than everyone else.
He stayed where he was, brow slightly furrowed, eyes unfocused as he stared into some unknown point deeper in the ruins. His right hand lifted unconsciously to his head, gently touching the cowlick that now drooped limply, as if it had lost the will to stand.
"Qianye?" Koleda noticed at once. She hurried to his side, tugging lightly at his sleeve and tipping her face up, worry pooling in her red eyes. "Are you feeling unwell? You look pale… Should we stop and have Anton escort you out first?"
She kept her voice soft.
Qianye shook his head slowly.
He lowered his hand, fingertips lingering as if they still felt something off—an odd softness… and a faint sting, like static.
"It's not my body," he murmured, troubled. "It's your cowlick… Uh—no, mine. It's drooping like crazy. Like a plant leaf that's wilted after getting scorched."
Koleda looked even more worried.
"Yeah." Qianye nodded, a trace of unease sliding through the green in his eyes. "And it kind of… hurts. Every time I get this feeling, it's like… nothing good ever follows."
He hesitated, then looked at Koleda with something close to a plea.
"Koleda… would you mind if I called in some more people? I can promise they're absolutely trustworthy. But the prototype is Belobog Heavy Industries' core secret, so… I wanted your permission first."
His fingers twisted the edge of his clothing without realizing it.
Koleda studied him in silence.
That silence had weight. The wind moaned through steel somewhere far away, but between them, the air felt pinned down.
After a few seconds, she spoke at last—calm enough to be unreadable.
"Qianye. Do you not trust Belobog? Not me… or Anton, Ben, Grace—do you think we can't protect you and handle what comes next?"
"No—no!" Qianye denied it immediately, too fast, too earnest. "It's not that. Not at all. I just think… more strength means more insurance. Especially with my cowlick—"
"Then why call outsiders?" Koleda cut in, still calm, but with a sharpness that proved she saw straight through him. "You know I don't trust easily."
Her gaze swept the ruins around them—this place full of scars.
"I've already been betrayed—by someone I loved—cruelly. That kind of pain…"
She paused, then locked her eyes back onto Qianye.
"People like Phaethon—if it weren't because Belle and Wise are close to you, and because you proved with your actions that they're reliable, I wouldn't have trusted them this quickly. Trust… is expensive for me."
Qianye lowered his head.
A heavy powerlessness rose in his chest, and a faint, fleeting shimmer—like disappointed water—passed through his eyes.
"I kno—" he started, voice rough—
"So," Koleda suddenly said, her tone flipping in a way that felt like sunlight breaking through clouds.
She took one small step forward.
The heaviness and distance vanished from her face as if someone had wiped it clean. In its place was a sly, foxlike grin—sharp with triumph—her mouth lifting high enough to show her signature jagged little teeth that seemed to gleam in the dim light.
"You owe me."
"Huh?" Qianye froze, lifting his head with a blank, confused stare.
Koleda's grin widened, and she let out a few muffled, delighted little giggles—like a small beast that had finally cornered its favorite prey.
"I'll let you call people," she said, raising a small index finger and wagging it in front of him, teeth flashing. "But—"
She drew the word out on purpose, enunciating every syllable.
"Every person you call in to help… you'll owe me one personal favor in return. Understood… my doctor?"
"I… I…" Qianye's face exploded red all the way to his ears. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally—like a defeated little animal—his shoulders sagged.
"O… okay," he mumbled, barely audible, accepting the absurdly unfair "contract."
In the end, Qianye agreed, then immediately called Eous over. He crouched, lowered his voice, and started discussing something with Belle through the little Bangboo—gesturing quietly against its smooth casing like he was plotting a heist.
"Ohhh, I get it," Belle said, sounding pleased and a little excited. "Great idea! Nicole and her bunch would love to help—free labor is free labor! And I still have the emergency contact channel for Victoria Housekeeping too. Their professionalism is solid."
Then her tone tipped into teasing concern.
"But Koleda… that 'favor' she wants… You're sure you can handle the cost? Sounds expensive."
"…I have my ways," Qianye said, trying to sound steady.
His eyes drifted off—straight into another pair.
Koleda stood there with her arms folded, small body rigidly upright.
And in those ruby eyes, blazing as she stared him down from afar—
Was an almost uncontrollable, feverish excitement, like she could already see countless "favors" marching toward her in a line.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
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