Zenless Zone Zero: I'am a Dullahan!

She didn't know how Anby, Billy, and Nekomata would react after her death. They would probably be very sad...

Thinking of Billy's mournful "crying grave," Nicole suddenly felt that even in death, things would remain bleak...

She was also a little curious about how Zane would react when he found out she was gone.

That guy treated everyone well, yet it always felt like he didn't truly care about anyone.

She actually hoped Zane would be heartbroken.

Would he be?

A flood of complicated emotions surged within her, and countless thoughts rose and fell in Nicole's mind, only to eventually fade into emptiness.

Just as she was about to embrace death, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a familiar intersection. She remembered—a small Ether energy processing plant lay to the left.

It was the only industry connected to Lamia Hollow, providing jobs to many families in this impoverished area.

She wondered if anyone was still alive.

At this point, anyone without an Ether-compatible physique still trapped in the Hollow likely had no chance of survival.

The chaotic thoughts flashed through her mind, but Nicole's gaze quickly sharpened. She couldn't just sit and wait to die—not when she had resolved to fight for her life!

She could lose, but she wouldn't give in!

Her eyes scanned around until they caught sight of a raised platform. A spark of determination lit within her. With a burst of strength, she shifted direction and dashed toward it.

As she neared the platform, she leapt and slammed into its hard surface.

From midair, the mech pilot assumed Nicole had given up hope and was trying to take her own life. In the blink of an eye, though, she vanished.

"Where is she?!"

With no target, the shells scattered wildly, bombarding the platform and the surrounding ground.

Before the smoke had cleared, a pink figure reappeared in the mech's sights.

She was swift, like a Cunning Hare. In just a few breaths, she darted into the intersection and changed course, her figure once again flickering in and out of view behind the buildings.

Since the mech pilot had been constantly reporting Nicole's position to his teammates, the armed personnel pursuing her followed her straight toward the small Ether factory.

Before long, they surrounded it, trapping Nicole inside.

"There are too many obstacles here—we can't get a clear view. High-firepower weapons are too dangerous to use, and low-firepower weapons are ineffective. I can't provide support from the air. Requesting permission to land and assist!"

The mech pilot glanced at the twisted pipes below and relayed the situation to his teammates.

Because of the factory's unique environment, aerial combat was severely limited.

After quickly assessing the situation, the mech landed, joining the armed personnel inside the factory.

Watching from the shadows, Nicole smiled.

This was exactly the outcome she wanted.

Even if she was about to face death, she would tear a chunk out of her enemies first. She wasn't some helpless rabbit to be slaughtered!

A sharp pain shot through her shoulder, causing her to frown. Dodging the cannon fire earlier, she had been grazed by shrapnel—she wasn't sure if it would affect the fight ahead.

Thinking back to how she had evaded the bombardment, Nicole couldn't help but sigh.

"Never thought playing hide-and-seek as a kid would come in handy now..."

Shaking her head, she focused and moved deeper into the factory toward a specific location.

...

It was quiet—eerily so.

Only the faint sound of armed personnel's footsteps echoed through the space.

"Captain, where do you think this one's hiding?"

"Who knows? But both exits are sealed. The place isn't that big. A thorough sweep will find her soon enough."

The mech advanced carefully down the narrow corridor, its weapons primed and scanning the surroundings.

Suddenly, a faint sound reached the pilot's ears, making him frown.

"Did you hear that? A hissing sound?"

"What? You're hearing things."

The armed personnel ahead dismissed it, and though the pilot didn't press the matter, a strand of fiery red Ether energy soon appeared in his view.

Boom!

A violent explosion erupted, bright flames lighting the area. The mech was slammed into a nearby wall, and several armed personnel were thrown to the ground, injured to varying degrees.

Hearing the commotion, other armed units began moving to provide backup, but more explosions rang out, engulfing the area in fire.

"She's using..."

One of the rebels started to piece it together, but before he could warn the others, a massive force struck him from behind. A dark figure crashed down on him.

Seeing him fall, Nicole didn't give him a chance to react. In one fluid motion, she disarmed and finished him off.

Then, using her knowledge of the factory's layout, she melted back into the shadows.

As the Ether energy continued to explode, the rebels were picked off one by one—some fell, some managed to avoid it.

Seeing the situation, the leader quickly understood Nicole's intent and ordered everyone to group up and push forward to force her into the open.

With the factory becoming increasingly empty from the blasts, the level of danger was rapidly decreasing.

They couldn't let the factory blow up forever.

It wasn't a bad decision. This way, Nicole could no longer easily target the armed personnel.

However, the rebels hadn't factored in the mech. After all, they believed that even with just one mech, the enemy couldn't pose a real threat.

That was exactly what Nicole had been counting on.

When the regular combat mechs had been recovered, Anby had casually shared some information about them with her.

Now, it was finally coming in handy.

The rebels' equipment differed slightly from the regular army's, but it was similar enough.

So, when the combat mech was searching for Nicole alone, the pilot suddenly felt a jolt.

Thinking there was a malfunction, he was about to investigate when the lights inside the mech flickered and most of them went out.

"What's going on?!"

Panic rising, the pilot quickly activated the backup power and switched to rotating view.

When Nicole's figure appeared on the screen, he finally understood—

She had climbed onto the mech's back, destroyed the external power supply, and was now dismantling the weapon systems!

Realizing his weapons couldn't hit her, the pilot immediately activated the thrusters.

With a burst of flames, the mech shot into the sky—he intended to shake her off.

But Nicole had fought too hard to get to this point. There was no way she would let herself be thrown off so easily. Clinging tightly to the mech's exterior, she finally smashed the control system of the only weapon that could still threaten her.