Ding! Clang! Splash!
Three loud bangs rang out instantly.
The first sound was produced by the attacker striking Geno from behind.
The second sound was Geno slamming into the restroom door panel after taking the hit.
The third sound... was Geno smashing the water tank and getting his head drenched...
"Dammit! That hurts! Feels like my arm is broken."
Attempting to stand up, he saw his attacked right arm had already split open. The enemy's attack was fierce and sudden; Geno could only temporarily avoid the brunt of it, dodging sideways to evade the attacker's follow-up strike.
Seizing the gap, he shoved his severed arm back into place. The sliced wound healed rapidly, restoring itself to its original state in the blink of an eye.
"Having a monster's body sure is nice. Injuries like this can be restored easily as long as there's enough Ether."
Dodging the attacks of the unknown enemy, Geno actually still had the mood to mock himself.
However, he soon couldn't smile anymore. In his pitch-black field of view, he couldn't see anything except for a few shadows. The opponent launched attacks from the dark, so Geno could only cross his arms in front of his chest with all his might, using his hardest claws to block the enemy.
Clang!
The sound of a parried blade rang out. Geno took advantage of the opponent's unstable stance to counterattack, but it was deftly dodged.
The clouds outside the window gradually dispersed. Following the moonlight, Geno finally saw clearly what exactly he had been fighting all this time.
Its entire body was pitch black, as if shrouded in haze, yet its overall silhouette was somewhat familiar.
"No way? I actually ran into one."
Geno had seen that appearance too many times these past few days. It was exactly the same as Twiggy and her sisters, except it wore a cloak and held two military knives in its hands.
It was the image of that Silver forces girl who had run away.
Paired with that black, shadow-like skin tone, it was precisely the Ethereal he had seen in the manual before.
"Plasma Doppelganger"!
The Doppelganger would search for the thing its prey feared most within their memories to mimic. Transforming into this appearance was likely because that girl's merciless blade that day had left a deep impression on Geno.
"This outfit is really familiar, but isn't this combat power a bit too exaggerated? I'm just a tiny [Zinc-grade] Ethereal!"
According to the Ethereal classification in the manual, they were mainly divided into ten grades. Represented by the elements Antimony, Zinc, Tin, Manganese, Cadmium, Nickel, Copper, Bismuth, Lead, and Mercury—from one to ten, the higher the grade, the stronger the power.
Based on his understanding of his own strength over these past few days, he was stronger than a Tyrfing but weaker than a Sotodia—basically a wandering Level 2 Ethereal.
But the guy in front of him was different. The Hollow Investigator Manual clearly stated that the "Plasma Doppelganger" was a genuine Level 3 Ethereal!
In comparison, he was simply the minion of minions. How was he supposed to fight this guy?!
'Should I go wake Twiggy up? Although she's injured, she's part of the defense force after all; she should be able to deal with this guy.'
Thinking of this, Geno suddenly realized something was wrong. Logically speaking, with such a huge commotion, it was impossible for Twiggy not to know. Could it be...
Thinking of a certain possibility, Geno turned and charged out of the restroom door. Seeing this, the Doppelganger was just about to intercept him, but was startled by Geno's action.
"Eat my grenade!"
A stick-shaped object was thrown out by Geno. Combined with the name he shouted, the Doppelganger was startled on the spot and subconsciously dodged away.
It knew what a grenade was; the existence of this object was present in the terrifying memories of many people.
After a few seconds, however, there was no movement from the object. The Doppelganger carefully examined it and instantly flew into a rage.
What grenade was this?! This was just a broken flashlight with no batteries!
Realizing it had been tricked, the Doppelganger viciously stomped the flashlight into two pieces, then chased after Geno to settle the score.
Meanwhile, Geno ran very fast. He slammed open the door to the hospital ward and locked it behind him. Although it might be useless and only serve as psychological comfort, it was better than nothing.
Turning to look at the people in the room, he discovered that including Twiggy, the bodies of the Silver Squad members were all flickering with colorful patterns. This was a sign of severe Ether Corruption.
"Dammit, Twiggy! Wake up, Twiggy!"
As expected, everything he did was futile.
The biggest difference between a high-level Ethereal and a small-fry Ethereal like him was the quality and quantity of Ether.
After reaching the third level, the Tin grade, the Ether concentration released by an Ethereal would change the environment bit by bit, activating the Ether in the air. And it was precisely this insignificant change that aggravated the corruption symptoms of Twiggy and the others.
"Because I'm an Ethereal myself, I didn't notice it?"
The rise in Ether concentration in the air had deceived him, a monster, but it wouldn't ignore these patients.
With their existing injuries plus the Ether Corruption, not only was Twiggy unconscious, but if this continued, their lives would likely be in danger.
"Hey, wake up, Twiggy! The reaper is coming for us, wake up quickly!"
He kept shoving Twiggy's shoulder, but there was still no sign of her waking up.
Wuwuwu~
The strange cry that sounded like weeping rang out again. The Doppelganger had already chased to the door.
"Crap! It came so fast?!"
With no other choice, Geno could only find some things in the room to block the door, attempting to delay the opponent's steps.
If that thing got in, they would all be finished!
"Ugh... head... hurts... it's splitting open."
While Geno was busy blocking the door, movement suddenly came from Twiggy behind him, but it wasn't good news.
The colorful patterns on her body were becoming more numerous and larger. Soon, they spread from her limbs to her entire body, followed by the growth of black crystals.
"Holy crap?! Don't! I'm not ready to have more Ethereal companions yet!"
Seeing that Twiggy's body was about to split open and grow a core unique to Ethereals from within, Geno subconsciously abandoned the door he was defending to the death. He ran to Twiggy's side, attempting to use his hands to press her splitting body back together.
However, the moment his hands touched Twiggy, the colorful patterns on her body actually stopped spreading, and her splitting body slowly began to heal.
Only, those colorful patterns symbolizing Ether Corruption didn't disappear. Instead, they flowed along Geno's arms, melting bit by bit into the core on his face.
"Holy crap! Holy crap! Something entered! It got inside my body! Σ(⊙▽⊙)"
The Ether energy eroding the members of the Silver Squad all surged into Geno's body through the human conduit that was Twiggy.
And at this critical juncture, the Doppelganger cleared the obstacles at the door. Like Wolverine, it carved a large 'X' on the door, then broke in.
But the scene in the room astonished it. That strange Ethereal, who was like a small fry in its eyes, now had his Ether fluctuations constantly rising.
He was already about the same as itself!?
Realizing things were bad, the Doppelganger wanted to stop it, but it was already too late.
Having absorbed the Ether energy, Geno's aura surged like a rainbow; vaguely, he seemed to have suppressed the Doppelganger.
So cold~ When will the heating be turned on~ (Sniff~)
____
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