Zenless Zone Zero: I'am a Dullahan!

Shin curled her lips. She was going to indulge herself—just this once!

But after a moment's thought, her expression slowly calmed, a faint smile rising.

Of course, she wasn't someone who acted on impulse without understanding the consequences.

Zane...

A citizen who had suddenly appeared in official records.

The owner of a small cat café.

Someone with a few ties to the sheriff.

On the surface, he seemed that simple.

If it weren't for accurate intelligence, it would've been impossible to connect him to something as serious as the attack on Nineveh.

He'd hidden himself well.

So Shin dug deeper.

She'd spent nearly all her time these past few days on this.

The coincidental timing, his elusive movements—everything pointed to a single possibility. The tangled events in the Hollows only confirmed it.

And that unexpected call from Inter-Knot...

She had been surprised then.

After all, she'd been following that account from the start, and she had a reason for wanting to meet him!

Everything overlapped, turning the impossible into possible.

Turning possibility into certainty.

The corner of Shin's lips lifted. Her eyes sparkled like stars.

She hadn't even done much—and yet, he had already come willingly to her...

And now, she had given him her support...

Don't disappoint her... Fire Picker.

Stir up chaos!

Make New Eridu burn!

...

In the Hollows, the sky looked as if it had been split in two. A lingering band of prismatic light divided it cleanly, refusing to fade.

On the ground, Yano's body was in ruins.

Most of his thrusters had gone dark, and a deep gash nearly cleaved him in half.

But he didn't panic. Instead, he burst out laughing.

"Haha! I'm immortal. You've only destroyed a shell—I'll just be reborn."

Then, his expression froze briefly before curling into a smirk.

"Tsk, looks like they've already figured out a few things about you. According to what I received, those people from Belobog Heavy Industries—aren't they your companions...?"

"They might be in danger now."

"Tsk, not the noblest tactic, sure, but I don't mind. How about getting on your knees and admitting you were wrong? Maybe then..."

Yano straightened up, speaking loudly to Zane. Just a moment ago, he'd almost cracked.

Now, he was venting all that pent-up frustration.

But the next second—boom!

Yano was sent flying. A five- or six-story building crumbled under the impact, burying him completely.

A few seconds later, Zane swept away the rubble with Ether crystals, yanked Yano out, and slammed him hard onto the ground.

He stepped on him with one foot, then slowly crouched down, his voice soft.

"Whatever you're planning, bring it to me directly. Don't bother with underhanded tricks. If you can beat me head-on, maybe I'll even commend you."

His calm voice was like the surface of the ocean—still, but beneath it, a storm raged.

"Let me guess—how are you preserving your consciousness? There must be several backups, but since the inside and outside of the Hollows can't connect, to retain your memory of this time... that means there's a backup here in the Hollows."

"If that's all gone, then even if you're reborn, you won't remember any of this."

At that, Yano's human eye twitched slightly. Seeing it, Zane smiled faintly and said,

"Slipped up, huh?"

"So what if I did? You gonna erase the entire Hollow? And those things you've made over there... heh."

"If you try something like that, it's suicide."

Yano didn't seem fazed. Even with Zane's foot on him, he looked up in contempt.

Just then, a mechanical voice rang in his ears:

"Body has been repaired to 67%."

Upon hearing this, Zane stood up. His icy gaze shimmered with a chilling calm.

"Suicide?"

"Heh..."

He let out a cold laugh and spoke softly.

"There's one thing you people should understand."

Zane stepped back, slowly lifting into the air, one hand outstretched. His palm opened, emitting a faint black glow, like a reaper from the underworld.

He rose higher, his voice echoing:

"No matter who my enemies are, how many, how strong..."

"They're all just..."

"In the palm of my hand."

His fingers closed slowly—as if grasping everything.

How strong was Zane?

Even he didn't know.

Since the very beginning, he'd never encountered an enemy worth taking seriously. So he'd never shown his full strength.

No enemy had ever deserved to witness him going all out.

No enemy had ever been worth it.

Maybe the current Yano could have stood a chance against him when he first "awakened."

But Zane's growth was monstrous.

Each time his power increased, it surged like an explosion.

No one could keep up...

He flew quickly toward the sky behind him. Seeing this, Yano thought Zane had decided to let him go. A mechanical voice echoed his thoughts.

"What, giving up because I'm immortal? Or worried about your friends? Heh, letting the tiger back into the mountain..."

"Ha. You arrogant idiot."

Zane cut him off, speaking loud and clear from the air.

"I know this body of yours is worthless. Once your consciousness uploads, you're nothing but weeds..."

"I could try to find your original self—but New Eridu's not small. That'd take too much effort. You're not worth it."

"No matter. I'm not in the mood to dig that deep anyway."

Zane hovered high above, bathed in sunlight, gazing down as light enveloped him, his figure almost blurred by its brilliance.

"So..."

"I'll kill you once. Twice. Ten times. A hundred. A thousand. Ten thousand..."

"Until you're terrified. Until you fear death. Until you never dare appear before me again. Until you never dare stand against me."

Not uprooting the weed, but grinding it down until it never dares grow again. This was Zane's response to Yano—killing until even the soul trembles.

As his words rang out, Yano felt a deep unease. He had never imagined his enemy would have this attitude.

It was... too arrogant!

Suddenly, Zane chuckled softly from above.

"I've got a question. Tell me... when you're reborn, are you still you?"

"Data... consciousness... heh."

Yano's eyes narrowed. He'd considered that question before. But if he died now—this would be the first time...

A flicker of doubt rose in him. He quickly shook his head.

No—this was just the enemy trying to get into his head!

He couldn't fall for it!

"Whatever. That's a question for you to figure out."

Zane said casually. It was just a passing thought—he hadn't meant anything more.