Zenless Zone Zero: I'am a Dullahan!

"So you brought almost all the records just for cross-analysis... heh..."

It had told him more than he ever wanted to know.

Zane scoffed. Right now, he almost wished he were illiterate—because what he could read...

was exactly what he least wanted to see.

He suddenly felt like cursing.

"So this is what humanity is capable of..."

"But at this point, is it even human anymore...?"

"Savior... yeah, right."

He turned to leave. Behind him, a scarlet flame flickered across the fallen documents. Within seconds, the entire base was engulfed in fire.

It roared behind him as he walked away.

"Over there, huh..."

Zane looked deeper into the Dead End Hollow and was just about to move when a voice rang out from afar.

"Someone stirring up trouble at a time like this? I was just heading toward the central zone and thought I'd check things out. Didn't expect to run into you."

The voice carried a faint electronic tone—otherwise calm—but to Zane, it sounded oddly familiar.

He turned and looked. He already had a guess, but seeing the figure confirmed it—and he was still a little surprised.

That was Yano?

Last time they met, he was half-human, half-machine. Now, he was entirely mechanical—his body all steel and metal.

If not for the single organic eye and patch of flesh on his head, anyone would mistake him for a robot.

"You look surprised."

"Never seen a lifeform like me before? At this point, I'm not much different from the Seon—just with a transition stage in between."

Yano didn't recognize Zane. Their last encounter had been with the Firepicker persona, so rather than attacking, he explained himself—clearly proud of his new form.

"This half-machine, half-monster look... that's a bold choice."

Yano was clearly here to pick a fight, and Zane didn't bother being polite. He chuckled coldly, but Yano just shook his head.

"You're still young. You don't understand the grief of aging and death. I used to scoff at it too—until I was staring death in the face."

"As I extended my life again and again, everyone who once thought like me turned into gravestones... or nameless ashes scattered in the wind."

"Only I remain."

"Now, I possess nearly endless life. Even if I discard this body, it's no real loss."

"I've reached a kind of immortality."

Yano smiled, spreading his arms. Sleek armor plates rippled across his chest, revealing a crimson furnace at the center, glowing faintly.

The armor resealed, hiding it again. It was like he was showing off—trying to prove that his path had been the right one.

Zane's expression didn't change.

He simply looked at Yano and asked quietly,

"What did it cost you?"

Yano's body tensed slightly. As if that question struck somewhere he didn't want to acknowledge.

Yeah... what was the cost?

"You're not truly resolved."

Zane raised a hand, an Ether longsword forming in his grip. He pointed the blade at Yano and said calmly,

"Let's finish this quickly."

Yano lowered his arms, sighed, and gave a small, wry smile.

"I thought we might trade a few answers... but it looks like you're in a hurry."

"There's no trace of you in my data. The way you look, your skills, your power..."

He tried to continue—to cover up his unease—but Zane silenced him with a casual sword slash.

A pale blue arc swept past Yano. The ground behind him shimmered with crystalline frost.

"Fine, fine..."

Yano exhaled slowly. Glowing lines began to pulse across his body. His eyes lit up—crimson and burning.

Buzz!

Two thick laser beams shot out from his forearms, blazing toward Zane. But with a light step, Zane shifted aside, leaving a scorched line in the earth where he'd just been.

Yano, realizing he'd missed, powered down the beams to cool and recharge. But as the red light faded, a figure was already in his face.

Longsword—upward slash!

His internal alerts screamed. Yano didn't hesitate—combat instincts kicking in. He didn't try to block it head-on.

Small boosters on his side ignited, and he launched himself sideways in an instant.

The Ether blade cut through air, narrowly missing. In the second before Zane withdrew it, a tall, narrow glacier erupted beneath them—like jagged blades of ice tearing through the earth.

"Tch... fast reflexes."

Zane lowered his sword and turned to face him, growing more serious. He recognized now—this opponent was no pushover.

He looked like a regular human—no visible tech or enhancements. So why was he this strong?

When had another Void Hunter shown up in New Eridu?

And not just any Void Hunter—one of the stronger ones.

But... something about that fighting style...

It felt familiar.

He had no time to dwell. Zane's next move came without pause. The Ether longsword vanished. His eyes shimmered with a ghostly blue glow, cold mist trailing from the corners.

He raised a hand—and slammed it downward.

Yano's sensors spiked—warning of massive pressure. He looked up—

A massive Ether crystal hand, dozens of meters wide, was plummeting from above!

A pitch-black hand, like a god's casual swipe—threatening to crush everything beneath it.

It was too close. No way to dodge.

Yano crossed his arms overhead. A golden barrier burst to life around him.

BOOM!

The impact rocked the air. Cracks spiderwebbed across the shield's surface—it was barely holding.

Yano didn't stop moving. His shoulder compartments opened, launching a silver Ether-charged projectile.

The ambient energy from the shattered crystals fueled it. The instant it hit—

Another explosion rocked the battlefield.

Fragments flew everywhere.

Yano hadn't even caught his breath before Zane's silhouette emerged from above the debris.

When did he get there?!

He'd just been on the other side!

But there was no time to think—only to act.

He had to dodge!

But sparks danced across Zane's body. His acceleration left Yano outpaced.

The red-and-blue sphere in Zane's hand—

smashed directly into Yano's chest.

In the next instant—

A blinding white light exploded.