Q: How does an archer and a warrior deal with an onslaught of fifteen hundred enemies?

A: The warrior draws aggro at the front, and the archer unleashes hell from the back.

Fifteen hundred Ethereals surged in from all directions like a tidal wave.

Sol drew Raiga and charged into the Ethereal horde, channeling immense power from the hilt into the blade.

A downward slash, an upward sweep—every Ethereal that tried to block was either cleaved in half or sent flying.

In the sea of Ethereals, a small clearing was carved out.

Behind him, Billy fired both guns simultaneously, blinding red flames erupting from the barrels.

The metallic torrent generated by the hail of bullets was no weaker in firepower than Sol's use of Ebony & Ivory.

Amber-colored shell casings clattered to the ground.

Billy reloaded in a flash, and another wave of firepower burst forth.

His revolvers, which clearly required reloading, somehow gave off the illusion of infinite firepower in his hands.

With a steady supply of ammo, Billy fully unleashed the might of a high-caliber firepower suppression combat frame.

Tyrfing, Energized Tyrfing, Alpeca, Metro Goblins… Though all classified by the White Star Institute as low-threat Ethereals, facing thousands of them together would be a nightmare-level scenario for any ordinary Hollow Raider.

Yet, under the coordination of Sol and Billy, Ethereals dropped one after another, leaving behind only scattered Ethereal Core fragments—the rest gradually dissipating into the Hollow.

Forty minutes later, over fifteen hundred Ethereals had been purged.

"Now that's a fight!"

Billy stared at the slightly reddened gun barrels, shouting with excitement.

That feeling of pouring out firepower, watching rows of Ethereals collapse—it was thrilling.

Since joining the Cunning Hares, he hadn't fought such a luxurious battle.

Firing that many bullets at once—his special-material guns were starting to complain.

He even felt his logic core peak with every bullet unleashed.

"Damn right it was," Sol nodded in agreement.

Unrestrained combat, without pause, was indeed a rare kind of satisfaction.

Not like in some games where you're forced to stop halfway, leaving a frustrating sense of incompletion.

"Boss Sol, that was a real killfest. But why the hell did so many Ethereals suddenly show up?" Billy asked, puzzled. "I just bought twenty pounds of ammo, and it's all gone. That's more than I usually spend in a month!"

Normally, there shouldn't be this many Ethereals congregating in one spot.

He had expected to have plenty left over, but now only had a dozen or so rounds—disappointing.

"No idea!" Sol shrugged innocently, speculating, "Maybe the Ether activity in the Hollow's off today, and the Ethereals are in a bad mood."

"Is that a thing?"

Billy couldn't wrap his head around it, but quickly pushed the thought aside.

Whatever. No matter how many Ethereals showed up, all that was left now were fragments of Ethereal Cores—no reason to dwell on it.

Now they needed to figure out how to spend the rest of the day.

Billy turned to Sol, eyes hopeful. "Boss Sol, we've only been out for less than an hour. Wanna hit up Sixth Street and play some arcade before heading back?"

Playing solo always felt boring. It was more fun with friends.

"Sure thing. Let's go together."

Sol agreed without hesitation.

One hour of work a day and the rest free time—that's the life.

Soon, the two collected the scattered Ethereal Cores and left the Cretan Hollow.

Sure enough, the Cretan Hollow had noticeably shrunk compared to when they first entered.

At this rate, it would likely be cleared within a week.

On the way back, Sol once again sponsored Billy with forty pounds of Denny's bullets. No way Billy was doing this for free.

They then drove to Sixth Street and called up Belle to join them on their arcade expedition.

Belle wasn't too thrilled at first, but the moment she saw the pile of videotapes waiting to be sorted in the video store, she decisively went along.

It's only when you have to work that you truly appreciate the joy of gaming.

The three of them spent the entire afternoon battling in the arcade, having the time of their lives.

And Sol, who surpassed human limits tenfold, left behind a new legend at the arcade.

…

Meanwhile, while Sol and the others were gaming, the Cretan Hollow was far from calm.

In Zone T8-AE32—not far from where Sol and Billy had just wiped out the Ethereals.

Deep within a hidden Hollow fissure.

This was a secret base used by criminals, with unconscious Bangboos scattered everywhere—some already in pieces, completely inert.

Their business: kidnap Bangboos, disassemble them, and sell the parts for Denny.

To avoid detection by the New Eridu Public Security, they specifically picked a secluded Hollow fissure.

This was the go-to tactic for most criminal organizations in New Eridu.

"Boss, what the hell was that just now?" Bingbong looked at his boss, trembling. "Those Ethereals went crazy and charged in one direction, and then they all died over there!"

He'd just captured a Bangboo, when a swarm of Ethereals suddenly went berserk.

He thought he was done for—only to see the Ethereals charge past him, ignoring him completely.

"One of the brothers saw it. Two people were wiping out the Ethereals. That frenzy might've been caused by some new tech," the Hollow Raider leader growled, voice low beneath his anti-corrosion helmet. "A pretty boy in black casual wear and a red-jacketed robot."

"Shit, those two took out over a thousand Ethereals on their own."

The thugs couldn't help but curse.

One guy swinging a blade, the other shooting nonstop.

They bulldozed their way through fifteen hundred Ethereals. Terrifying.

"No way they're that strong?" Bingbong said in disbelief. "Boss, you sure it wasn't the defense forces clearing the Hollow?"

"Idiot, you dare doubt the boss?!" another thug snapped, punching Bingbong. "Remember that video on the Inter-Knot a couple days ago? That pretty boy's the same guy they said was gonna wipe out the Hollow!"

"At this rate, he might actually pull it off."

Fifteen hundred Ethereals in under an hour—at this pace, the whole Hollow would be gone in no time.

"Damn it, why this Hollow? Couldn't they have gone somewhere else?" the thug said, frustrated. "If this keeps up, our base will be exposed."

All their gear was here. Relocating to another Hollow would be costly—and riskier.

"Boss, let's run! They're too damn scary!"

Bingbong trembled as he suggested it.

He'd rather mess with Bangboos than face enemies who killed over fifteen hundred Ethereals.

"Run? Hell no!" the thug shouted, furious. "If they come again, we'll ambush them. Wipe out the Hollow? My ass!"

"But boss, they took out over a thousand Ethereals with just the two of them!" Bingbong said, terrified.

He had no obligation to fight an enemy he couldn't win against.

Two people killing fifteen hundred Ethereals—there was no way he could handle that.

"Screw that! No matter how strong they are, they're still flesh and blood—they've gotta fear bullets! We prep well, and we've got a shot at taking them down!"

The thug spat, full of venom.

A dozen submachine guns aimed right—no "expert" could survive that, unless they were packing mechs.

Truth was, running into Hollow Raiders or rebels inside a Hollow was often worse than meeting Ethereals.

"Then… should we lie low for a bit, maybe stop snatching Bangboos?"

Bingbong asked.

"No—we should snatch more. If this base really goes, we're cashing out big before that happens!"

The thug's expression twisted, glaring at Bingbong.

Back in the day, he had his glory. If not for his useless crew, he wouldn't be stuck selling Bangboo parts for a living now.