Zenless Zone Zero: I'am a Dullahan!

She then opened the cannon in her briefcase, aimed it at the core of the mech, and began charging!

This was Nicole's last remaining energy!

"One down, two down, and a huge payoff with a single fighter mech!"

Nicole gritted her teeth, letting the blade-like air slash past her, her long hair whipping as she twisted and dodged through the air along with the mech.

The mech pilot spotted the gathering Ether energy cannon and panicked, attempting all sorts of complex maneuvers. But no matter how he accelerated or slowed down, he couldn't shake Nicole off.

Meanwhile, Nicole had already finished her preparations.

One hand clung to the mech's outer shell, the other held her briefcase. Her front leg bent, back leg braced against the mech, her gaze sharp and fierce, long hair streaming behind her.

She curled her lips into a grin, flashing her white teeth—a fearless, heroic sight, as if she had already won.

"Take this—BOOM!!"

BOOM!!

The Ether energy cannon exploded mid-air, instantly destroying the mech's core. The resulting blast triggered another explosion, the overlapping detonations amplifying the force.

In the sky above, a brilliant firework of destruction burst forth.

The ground rebels, having received word before Nicole attacked, barely had time to react and rushed toward the explosion.

Through the grim skies, a figure shot out of the blast. Flames lit Nicole's face, making her appear radiant.

With her briefcase in one hand, she fell, long pink hair streaming past her face. Though she had escaped in time, the explosion's shockwave had left her unable to move.

The wind howled in her ears. Despite her success, Nicole still felt unsatisfied.

Come on—the exit of Hare's House's leader should have been more earth-shattering!

Too bad she no longer had the chance...

Rebels were on the ground. If she didn't die from the fall, bullets would surely finish her off. And she had no strength left to resist.

Nicole relaxed her body and slowly closed her eyes.

Maybe ending it like this wasn't so bad...

Except...

She wasn't quite ready to give in.

Nicole suddenly felt like swearing.

Ah, forget it—if you're about to die, who cares anymore!

"He..."

Before she could finish the thought, Nicole felt her fall suddenly stop—then she was lifted. Her eyes snapped open in surprise.

Her savior had arrived!

Zane arced through the sky, a shimmering trail behind him. The space beneath his feet distorted, holding him aloft.

Seeing Nicole's stunned expression, Zane chuckled.

"Haha, what? Am I too handsome?"

"But you're a little heavy, Nicole. Time to lose some weight..."

Zane still wasn't entirely proficient at manipulating spatial energy. Every extra bit of weight made it harder to maintain control.

For example, floating with Panta would've been much easier than carrying Nicole.

"Zane, you're finally here! I thought I was going to die—boo hoo hoo..."

Nicole, thoroughly wronged, didn't even bother arguing about the weight comment. Her expression practically screamed, I'm going to tell on you.

Now that she was safe in Zane's arms, she felt alive again. Having someone to catch you made all the difference.

Death? No way—that didn't compare to Zane's power!

"Tsk. Quite the mood shift, Nicole. If you'd kept that dashing, heroic energy from earlier,

I might've looked at you a little differently."

Zane glanced down at the rebels below in the factory, sighing.

"Oh, about earlier..."

Nicole trailed off, suddenly realizing something. She stared.

"Zane—you mean you were here the whole time, just watching?!"

"Ah, yeah. I just wanted to see how far you could go on your own..."

Nicole frowned and bit her lip. She climbed out of Zane's arms, but as soon as she landed, she misstepped and started falling.

Zane immediately grabbed her waist, pulling her back up.

"Don't move. I'm barely keeping myself steady in the air. If you fall again, I'm not saving you..."

"And if you turn into a pancake, I bet Anby would be thrilled. After all, a Nicole-pancake burger would be very unique..."

Nicole clung to Zane's arm nervously, feeling the shifting space under her feet. Her face darkened at his words.

What kind of sick joke is that?!

"So, what do you want to do about these guys?"

Zane asked.

Since she was the one being hunted, he didn't mind letting her make the call.

"Heh heh heh..."

Nicole finally remembered her troublesome pursuers. A dangerous grin spread across her face.

"Zane, take them out!"

...

"I won't do it again, I swear..."

"Stop hitting me, or I'll really get brain damage!"

Nicole clutched her reddened forehead with both hands, following Zane with a pitiful look—feeling terribly bullied.

"Sorry, I forgot I'm still in Ethereal form. I just meant to teach you a little lesson... reflex."

Zane spread his hands helplessly. He'd tried to go easy, but even a light tap from an Ethereal body still packed a punch.

"Fine... I'll never speak to you in that tone again..."

Nicole nodded softly.

After hearing from Zane that the children had safely left Lamia Hollow, she felt much more at ease.

"What tone?"

Zane asked, puzzled.

"It's just... it's just when I told you to take them out at the end..."

"Ugh!"

Nicole got another flick to the forehead.

"Hey! Why are you hitting me again?!"

"You don't even know what you did wrong. Who else am I supposed to correct?"

Nicole looked confused.

"Then tell me—what did I do wrong?"

Zane turned toward her, his voice calm.

"Nicole—life is precious. Don't treat it like a bargaining chip."

"You told me what happened. I don't believe there weren't other options—you just instinctively chose that one."

"Remember this: death is heavy, Nicole. If I hadn't saved you this time, can you imagine how the people who care about you would feel?"

Seeing how serious Zane was, Nicole silently lowered her head.

"Anby and Billy wouldn't take it well. Your accident would haunt them for a very long time..."

"The damage would be immense."

Hearing this, Nicole's emotions were mixed. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke softly.

"It's not that I don't care about my life..."

"It's just... at that moment, there were more important things."

After a pause, Nicole suddenly asked,

"Zane—if something happened to me, how would you react?"

She looked up at him, curiosity filling her eyes—a hint of anticipation flickering beneath.

"Me?"

"What else could I do?"

Zane answered matter-of-factly.

"Of course I'd happily attend the funeral."

"ZANE!!!!"

...