"Can you hear me?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sarah."
Sarah said in a playful tone.
"Phaethon is in my hands now. You should know what to do, right?"
"I want you to come to Wildfire Town alone, right now."
"Remember, just you alone, and you only have one hour to get here."
"When the time is up, if I don't see you, I'll kill the hostages."
"You'd better not test my patience."
As soon as Sarah finished speaking, Belle immediately retorted.
"They are in The Hollow right now. How are they supposed to get out without a Proxy?"
"One hour is simply impossible!"
Sarah nodded at Belle's words. "Fine, then you lead her out first. Remember, don't try any tricks."
Belle nodded at this and controlled Eous to lead the way; as for the matter of the Hellfire Ride, it had to be put aside for now.
They had to deal with their own situation first.
...
On Hoshimi Aya's side.
After leading the others out, Belle immediately disconnected her link with Eous.
"Belle, can you hear me?"
Hoshimi Aya patted Eous's little head, but there was no response.
"Aya, this matter isn't simple."
"Don't be impulsive. Their target is you."
Lucy comforted her; the more it was like this, the more they needed to remain calm.
"I know. They said I shouldn't bring anyone, but they didn't say I couldn't call anyone."
After saying that, Hoshimi Aya took out her phone and found Hoshimi Miyabi's number.
She tapped to dial.
[I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is out of the service area. Please redial later.]
Hoshimi Aya:...
"She should be in The Hollow. It's fine."
"There's still someone else."
Saying that, Hoshimi Aya pulled up Soichiro's phone number.
[I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is currently busy. Please redial later.]
For a moment, the atmosphere on the scene was silent.
"Um, Aya, do you have any other backup plans?"
Lucy asked quietly.
"Forget it, I'll go see what's happening first."
"We'll talk about this later."
"It's not a big deal."
"They want me to go there, which means they won't threaten my life."
"There shouldn't be much to worry about."
Hoshimi Aya thought to herself. At the critical moment, not a single one was reliable; she could only rely on herself now.
"...Alright."
"But the other side only allows you to go alone."
"We can't help you much, so you'll have to rely on yourself."
Lucy mused.
She wasn't sure what the other side's main objective was.
But it was definitely something on Hoshimi Aya...
Wait, the demon blade!!
"Aya, they are likely coming for the demon blade in your hand."
Lucy reminded her.
Hoshimi Aya was stunned for a moment. The Praise Society did indeed seem to be eyeing the power of the demon blade.
"It's fine. So far, I'm probably the only one who can use this blade. It's useless to them even if they take it."
"However, to be safe, I still need a weapon—preferably a short blade that can be hidden on my person."
Hoshimi Aya thought. If she had to hand over the blade then, this small knife could come in handy.
When the time came, she could perform a scene of soloing a hundred people with a small knife.
Hearing this, Lighter took out the folding knife he carried with him.
"Do you think this knife will do?"
"This is the only thing I have on me."
Saying that, Lighter handed his knife to Hoshimi Aya.
"It'll do. I'm heading out then."
Hoshimi Aya nodded and took the knife.
Then Hoshimi Aya set off, running towards Wildfire Town. It wasn't that she didn't want to go by car.
It was just that a car might not be as fast as her running at full speed.
"Caesar, let's head back and gather our people now."
"No matter what, we have to do our part."
Lucy thought.
Caesar nodded, and the three of them rode their bikes toward the Hellfire Ride Ceremony.
...
Outside Wildfire Town.
After running for over half an hour, Hoshimi Aya finally arrived near Wildfire Town.
"So many?!"
Hoshimi Aya frowned as she looked at the rebels patrolling around Wildfire Town.
Although these people were nothing to her, it was different for others.
It seemed that, just as Fairy had said, everyone still in Wildfire Town had been captured.
Suddenly, a rebel spotted Hoshimi Aya walking toward them and pointed his gun at her, questioning, "Halt! Who are you?!"
"I am Hoshimi Aya. Didn't you tell me to come alone?"
Hoshimi Aya frowned.
Hearing Hoshimi Aya's name, the rebel lowered his gun.
"Miss Hoshimi, this way please."
Saying that, the rebel led the way for Hoshimi Aya, while several other rebels surrounded her in a formation.
And those behind her were intentionally or unintentionally pointing their muzzles at Hoshimi Aya.
Soon, Hoshimi Aya was brought to where Sarah and the others were.
"You're finally here."
"I almost fell asleep waiting."
Sarah said while stroking Belle's cheek.
"I shouldn't be late, right?"
"You said to arrive within an hour, and I shouldn't have exceeded that limit, right?"
Hoshimi Aya frowned.
Belle didn't look like she had suffered any injuries, but why did Wise look like he had been mistreated?
"Of course. Since you're here,"
"Then let's start talking about the bargaining chips directly."
"As long as you do exactly as I say, I'll release them, including the people in this Wildfire Town."
Sarah looked at Hoshimi Aya, or more accurately, at the demon blade kyuubi in Hoshimi Aya's hand.
Then Sarah gave a look to a rebel next to Hoshimi Aya, and the rebel immediately understood Sarah's meaning.
He reached out to take the demon blade, but after several tugs, he couldn't take it from Hoshimi Aya's hand. Seeing this, the rebel got angry and wanted to use force, but just before he could, he was kicked flying by Hoshimi Aya.
This kick triggered a reaction; the surrounding rebels immediately pointed their guns at Hoshimi Aya, and Hoshimi Aya placed her hand on the hilt of her blade.
"I can give you the blade, but you must release them first."
Hoshimi Aya assumed a drawing stance and looked at Sarah.
"Do you think you're in any position to negotiate with me now?"
"My bargaining chips are here. Do you have any chips that can threaten me?"
Saying that, Sarah raised her hand, and the muzzles immediately turned, pointing at Belle and Wise.
"Aya, don't listen to her!"
"She still needs us as bargaining chips; she won't do anything to us."
"Don't give her the blade."
Belle reminded her, fearing that Hoshimi Aya would hand over the weapon in a moment of heat.
After all, handing over the weapon would only lead to one result: being at the mercy of others!
Slap!
As soon as Belle finished speaking, she received a slap.
"Did I tell you to speak?!"
Sarah, who had slapped Belle, glared at her with a threatening tone.
"Was I wrong?"
"If Aya gives the weapon to you, then will Aya still have the right to negotiate?"
Belle retorted defiantly.
"It seems you still don't understand the current situation."
"Since there are two of you siblings, it shouldn't matter if one dies, right?"
Having said that, Sarah pulled out a handgun and pressed it directly against Belle's forehead.
...
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