With a few clicks, the three cylinders retracted in a matter of seconds, and Panta returned to his original form, his eyes regaining their natural color.
Then, with a soft thud, he collapsed onto the ground, completely motionless.
"Eh?!"
"Eh, eh, eh?!"
Nicole hurriedly pulled back her hand and cautiously looked at Panta, a sudden wave of dread rising in her heart.
"It's over, it's over! Did I just break Panta with one poke? How much would it even cost to repair such a special Bangboo?!"
Nicole looked increasingly anxious. Remembering Zane's relationship with Panta made her heart sink even more.
"What if... what if it can't be repaired? Even if I mortgaged the entire Hare's House, it wouldn't be enough!"
"And if Zane gets mad..."
Thinking back to the scene where they secretly watched Zane dismantle a core back at Hare's House, Nicole felt her entire future darken before her eyes.
"Don't worry, Nicole. Panta just looks like it shut down because it ran out of energy,"
Anby said, walking over and picking Panta up from the ground, glancing helplessly at Nicole's defeated expression.
"Really?"
The moment Nicole heard that, she instantly revived. Of course! How could something happen just from poking it once...
"Speaking of which, if the Dead End Butcher has been taken down, does the store manager still need to detonate the explosives?"
Billy scratched his head with his gun as he walked over to Anby and Nicole, asking curiously.
"We should be... wait, Billy, it's not dead yet."
"No way, with a wound that big—"
Billy turned around and saw two strange spheres of light sprouting from the Dead End Butcher's back, while the gaping wound in its chest was rapidly healing.
In just a few seconds, the Dead End Butcher had completely recovered, and two thick, massive gray-white arms had grown from its back!
Second phase!
"Crap, Billy, how much time do we have left until the meeting with Proxy?!"
Nicole immediately realized something was wrong. Panta defeating the Dead End Butcher early hadn't helped—it had actually made things worse!
Looking at the now far more oppressive Notoriety Ethereal, even from a considerable distance, Nicole felt suffocated by the pressure.
"We have no choice. We have to hold on, or else..."
If Hare's House collapsed here, everything would be over!
Anby stayed calm, and even Billy's usual carefree demeanor disappeared. They both knew exactly what was at stake.
Facing an enemy this powerful, Hare's House had no choice but to fight with everything they had.
No way out!
...
The rain fell harder, the battlefield growing ever more suffocating.
Anby knelt on one knee, supporting herself with her long sword, her body drenched and trembling from the cold.
Blue arcs of electricity crackled across trenches carved into the ground.
She panted heavily, her eyes lowered. The prolonged, high-intensity battle had pushed her to the brink of exhaustion.
Still, Anby struggled back to her feet. She couldn't collapse now.
Ahead, Billy was dodging the Dead End Butcher's relentless attacks, like a nimble antelope facing a ferocious tiger—desperately clinging on.
The Dead End Butcher could afford to miss a thousand times.
Billy couldn't afford a single mistake!
Even a slight scratch would be fatal.
One gun had already jammed from overuse. The other still worked, but Billy's ammo was nearly gone.
There was a visible crack on his left arm, faint electric currents sparking from the damage.
A crystal shard thrown earlier by the Dead End Butcher had caused it.
"Nicole, boss, take Anby and get out of here. I'll hold him off. Don't worry, this big guy can't touch me. I'll last until the store manager shows up!"
"The indomitable will of the Star Knights will fight alongside me!"
Billy understood: Anby barely had any combat ability left, and forcing her to fight would be suicide.
As for Nicole, she was out of shells and barely able to defend herself.
Against thugs and small Ethereals, she might manage—but against this monster? No chance.
Analyzing the situation, Billy staying behind was the best option.
A full retreat wasn't even possible at this point.
If they abandoned the mission, the people of Canvas Lane would face only the cruelest fate.
As Star Knights, they couldn't just sit back and watch!
"Stupid Billy, what nonsense are you spouting?! How can a boss abandon her own people?!"
Nicole gritted her teeth, her arms trembling from exhaustion, glaring at Billy in frustration.
She glanced at Anby, who was slowly getting back up, and realized time was running out.
Nicole racked her brain for a solution—
But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't come up with one.
Was the clever rabbit really going to fall here?
Just then, Anby, who had turned off her earpiece, caught a sound.
Her expression, normally so calm, lit up with joy.
"Nicole, backup's here!"
The rumbling sound of a train approached from the distance.
Hearing it, Nicole and Billy both straightened up, hope rekindled.
Nicole looked toward the sound—and there, riding atop a speeding train, arms crossed confidently, stood Eous.
Controlled by Belle, Eous breathed a sigh of relief seeing the state of the battlefield.
Now things would be a lot easier!
After all, she had brought a real trump card with her.
Not the Ether explosives hidden in the train cars—
But something else entirely...
The train kicked up gusts of wind and swirling rain as, behind Eous, a figure sitting cross-legged slowly opened his eyes.
Zane.
His hair whipped wildly in the wind, a faint smile playing on his lips.
From his brilliant blue eyes, eerie strands of blue light began to swirl.
Across the battlefield, Ether energy began to surge wildly—
As if welcoming the arrival of its king.
"It's Proxy and Zane!"
Nicole cried out.
Though she hadn't seen Zane's human form before—time had been too tight—Belle had shown her a photo out of curiosity during their meeting in Canvas Alley.
Those striking blue eyes, that distinct hair color, that dazzlingly handsome face, and that calm, easy-going attitude.
Nicole recognized him immediately.
A wave of joy washed over her.
Zane's combat prowess was something she trusted.
But just as she thought they were saved, a shadow fell over her.
Startled, Nicole turned to look—
and saw the Dead End Butcher towering above her, its enormous axe raised high overhead.
Taking advantage of Billy's momentary lapse due to the excitement, the Butcher had broken through—heading straight for Nicole!
And of all three at Hare's House, Nicole was the one least able to defend herself.
Her expression froze, her heart skipped a beat.
Was she really going to fall here, right before dawn?
In her mind flashed the images of Eous and Zane.
They were so close to success...
Almost instinctively, Nicole closed her eyes—
and called out the name of the only person she trusted most at that moment.
"Zane!!!"
In that instant, time, space, everything around her seemed to slow to a crawl.
In her ears, a voice spoke softly:
"I'm here."
Boom—!