"Miyabi?!"
Hoshimi Aya turned back and looked at Hoshimi Miyabi, who had fallen to the ground, in shock.
Hoshimi Miyabi was surrounded by pale red flames as she slowly stood up.
Seeing Hoshimi Aya distracted by Hoshimi Miyabi, Bringer took off and ran towards The Hollow.
"Ryu!"
Hoshimi Aya noticed the fleeing Bringer but didn't give chase; instead, she called out to Tsukishiro Yanagi, who was evacuating the crowd.
Upon hearing her, Tsukishiro Yanagi looked at Hoshimi Miyabi, then at Bringer, instantly understanding the situation. She led Soukakku and Harumasa to pursue Bringer.
"...Something seems different."
Hoshimi Aya looked at Hoshimi Miyabi's appearance with some confusion.
Hoshimi Miyabi was emitting pale red flames from all over her body.
Her crimson eyes were staring fixedly at Hoshimi Aya.
This is a bit different from the original plot.
"Miyabi, can you hear me?"
"Hold onto your mind."
"Don't let it control you."
Hoshimi Aya looked at Hoshimi Miyabi and spoke seriously.
In this situation, it wasn't hard to guess.
It must be that the dosage Sarah gave last time didn't meet her expectations.
So she increased the dose this time.
Suddenly, Hoshimi Aya felt a car driving towards them.
Seeing this, Hoshimi Aya looked over.
Nicole was driving a van towards them, with Anby in the passenger seat holding Eous.
Under Hoshimi Aya's bewildered gaze, Nicole drove the car straight into Hoshimi Miyabi, who was on the verge of losing control, knocking both the person and the car into The Hollow.
Hoshimi Aya:...
"Uh..."
"They couldn't have mistaken the one out of control for me, could they?"
"That's not right either; when I lose control, I emit black flames."
Suddenly, Hoshimi Aya noticed the hiding gazes around her and the cameras secretly filming.
"Oh, I see."
Hoshimi Aya realized.
This matter really shouldn't be discussed in the open.
Thinking this, Hoshimi Aya followed them into The Hollow.
As soon as Hoshimi Aya entered The Hollow, she saw a car cut in half—the very one Nicole had been driving.
"Eh?!"
"Where are the people?!"
Hoshimi Aya touched the cut on the car, feeling confused.
The cut still had residual warmth. They had entered The Hollow less than a minute apart, so why couldn't she see anyone?
And since the car was here, the people should be nearby.
There were no bloodstains in the vicinity, which meant no battle or anything of the sort had occurred.
"Rin! Nicole! Miyabi! Anby!"
Hoshimi Aya shouted towards the surroundings; right now, this was the only way.
Suddenly, Hoshimi Aya noticed something and looked behind her.
A head popped out from behind a stone wall.
"Aya?!"
"Thank goodness, I was scared to death just now."
Nekomata poked her head out from behind the stone wall. Seeing it was Hoshimi Aya, she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out.
Since the one out of control earlier was Hoshimi Miyabi, then this one must be her acquaintance, Aya.
"Nekomata?!"
"Why are you alone?"
"Where are the others?"
Hoshimi Aya asked Nekomata.
After all, when she was outside earlier, she saw that everyone from Cunning Hares was in the car.
It was impossible for Nekomata to be the only one.
Nekomata sighed upon hearing this.
"It's all because of that sister of yours."
"She separated me from Nicole and the others."
"They entered a Space Rift. I didn't have a Carrot on me, so I originally thought I'd wait for Nicole and the others to come back for me after things were settled."
"But since you're here, Aya, there's no need to worry."
Saying this, Nekomata straightened her back, as if she had regained her confidence.
"...In that case, why didn't you follow them?"
Hoshimi Aya asked her question.
Since she saw them enter the Space Rift, why didn't she just follow?
"Uh... how should I put it."
"I'll just show you."
Saying this, Nekomata went directly to the spot where Nicole and the others had left, not far to the left of where the car was.
As soon as Nekomata approached, three Space Rifts immediately opened up, and they were very close to each other.
"At the time, for some reason, I didn't see clearly which rift they entered."
"But I didn't dare to enter one randomly, fearing I'd run into that sister of yours and be chopped into mincemeat."
Nekomata made a fearful expression, as if recalling something terrifying.
"..."
"It's fine, I'm here now."
"Let's try the middle one first."
"There's a high probability they entered this one."
Hoshimi Aya considered which Space Rift Nicole and the others were most likely to have entered.
But with Rin there, she wasn't entirely sure.
Still, it was better than doing nothing.
"Alright, better than doing nothing."
"With you here, Aya, I feel much more at ease."
Nekomata smiled.
If she were alone, she would never take such a risk.
After all, running around aimlessly was worse than staying put.
"Okay, then the middle one it is."
After saying that, Hoshimi Aya walked straight towards the middle Space Rift.
Nekomata followed behind Hoshimi Aya.
Then, both felt a sense of dizziness as they arrived on the roof of an abandoned building.
"This place... Ah!!"
"Boss Nicole and the others are over there!"
Looking at the surroundings, Nekomata suddenly spotted Nicole's group fighting something.
"Beast Ghost?!"
Hoshimi Aya looked over and saw Nicole and the others fighting Bringer, who had already turned into a Beast Ghost.
Not only Nicole's group, but also people from Victoria Housekeeping, Belobog Heavy Industries, H.S.O.S 6, and the Sons of Calydon.
"Wait, something's wrong."
"With this lineup... why has it taken so long?"
"Wait, where are Ryu, Caesar, and the others?"
Hoshimi Aya suddenly noticed something off.
Although people from every faction were here, the stronger ones were missing.
Anby from Cunning Hares was not there.
Wolf Uncle and Ellen from Victoria Housekeeping were not there.
Caesar and Lighter from the Sons of Calydon were not there.
Only the people from Belobog Heavy Industries were mostly all present.
Suddenly, the two were drawn by another explosion.
Caesar was seen being sent flying into the sky by something.
In that direction, Hoshimi Aya also saw Tsukishiro Yanagi, Anby, Ellen, and Lycaon.
However, the battle situation seemed a bit poor, and their opponent was... Huh?! Hoshimi Miyabi?!!!
Holy crap!!!
This is different from the original plot.
Was there even this in the original plot?
But since they've been fighting for so long, Hoshimi Miyabi must be struggling against it internally; otherwise, the fight wouldn't have lasted this long.
After all, thinking from another perspective, only Ryu and Anby on the field can barely keep up with her speed, so the fact that it's lasted this long means Hoshimi Miyabi must be hindered.
...
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