The Notoriety Ethereal—Locomotive missed Sam Li.
The next second,
the rock-forged beasts under Sam Li's control immediately surrounded the Ethereal and launched a fierce attack,
their sharp, stone-formed teeth and claws relentlessly tearing into it.
The Ethereal, desperate to avoid being overwhelmed, suddenly burrowed underground,
its massive body vanishing beneath the earth with a rumble that shook the ground.
Cass cried out,
"Mr. Sam Li, it's trying to escape!"
Piper rushed over, trying to stop it.
But by the time she reached the spot, the Ethereal had already disappeared, leaving behind only a giant pit.
Piper stared in shock.
"Seriously? Did it fuse with a tunnel boring machine or something?"
Immediately after,
the Notoriety Ethereal began moving underground, causing another round of violent tremors.
Piper lost her balance, nearly falling straight into the pit.
At that moment,
Sam Li, standing on the back of the rock eagle, slowly descended to the ground.
Piper quickly said,
"What do we do? If it stays underground, we can't do anything!"
Sam Li smiled faintly.
"Wait a bit. It will come out."
Against other agents—or even experts from the Hollows Special Operations Department—
this burrowing tactic might have been effective.
Unfortunately for it,
it was facing Sam Li, who wielded Geo abilities.
The next moment,
Sam Li lightly tapped the ground with his foot.
Instantly, countless Geo elements converged underground.
In just moments,
a low rumbling came from deep within the pit.
Suddenly,
the ground around them shook violently, as if something massive was trying to break through.
Piper stared wide-eyed.
"It really looks like it's coming out!"
Sam Li chuckled calmly.
"Not so easy."
He gently stomped the ground again.
The rising earth was immediately suppressed, reinforced by solidified Geo—
even the Locomotive, known for smashing through everything, couldn't break through it.
Piper frowned in confusion.
"Why not let it out?"
Sam Li answered quietly.
"I'm forcing the snake out of its hole. An old hunter's method."
Then, with a thought,
he commanded the rock-formed beasts to leap into the pit one after another.
Soon,
sounds of chaos echoed from underground.
Sam Li said slowly,
"It'll be forced out soon."
Hearing that,
Piper leaned forward curiously, then quickly backed up, staring cautiously at the gaping hole.
Even Cass, overcoming his lingering fear, inched closer, wanting to see just how Sam Li planned to hunt down such a massive Ethereal.
As Piper and Cass kept their eyes fixed on the pit,
they didn't notice that Sam Li had quietly raised his hand.
Centering himself,
he began gathering all the Geo elements around him, condensing them together.
In an instant,
above Sam Li's head, a massive gathering of Geo coalesced,
forming a gigantic rock sword over ten meters long.
As more and more Geo flowed into it,
the sword solidified further,
faint golden light radiating from its surface.
Golden patterns covered it like veins of light,
and the soft golden glow reflected on Piper and Cass's faces.
Under normal circumstances, they would have noticed something was happening.
But right now,
their full attention was locked onto the pit.
...
Boom—
the ground shook violently.
Piper reflexively stepped back.
"It's coming! Sam Li, what are you going to do?"
Sam Li said simply,
"Step back."
By then,
the massive rock sword had completely formed.
The next instant—
the Locomotive's huge head burst out of the pit,
charging upward at terrifying speed, causing the surrounding ground to quake wildly.
Right then—
Sam Li dropped his raised hand.
In an instant,
the giant golden sword hovering in the sky plummeted downward,
slicing toward the pit with an unimaginable speed, striking squarely onto the Locomotive.
Boom!
The colossal golden rock sword crashed down,
cutting through the Locomotive's body with unstoppable force,
then plunging deep into the ground—
half its massive blade embedded in the earth.
The tremor was so violent
that Piper barely managed to stay on her feet, clinging tightly to the handle of her axe.
Cass wasn't so lucky—
he was thrown off balance and slammed to the ground.
When he scrambled back up—
he was met with a sight he would never forget.
A golden sword, over ten meters long,
stood embedded in the ground,
having cleaved the Notoriety Ethereal—Locomotive cleanly in half.
The monstrous Ethereal twisted and writhed for a moment,
but it didn't last long—
soon, its massive body crumbled into black crystal fragments.
Before Cass's eyes,
those fragments shattered,
dissolving into wisps of smoke that drifted away into the Hollows.
Dead.
The Ethereal that had haunted New Eridu's officials,
the nightmare Cass had spent his entire life trying to destroy—
was finally dead.
...
Cass stared blankly at the empty pit,
the broken crystals,
the fading smoke.
Only three things remained before him:
A giant pit.
A golden rock sword.
And Sam Li and Piper standing calmly nearby.
The scene was so overwhelming
that he couldn't find any words.
...
Beside the pit,
Piper's expression mirrored Cass's—
shock, bewilderment, disbelief...
She stared at the massive golden sword made of stone,
then looked at Sam Li's calm, almost casual expression,
utterly stunned.
A sword over ten meters long.
Forged from rock.
Emitting golden light.
Had anyone ever seen anything like this?
Piper certainly hadn't.
In her whole life, she had never seen or even heard of anything so massive.
Even if it somehow existed,
no one could possibly wield it.
And yet,
there it was—
real, right before her eyes.
Piper felt completely lost.
Recalling everything that had happened in the past couple of hours—
Catching a rocket with bare hands.
Summoning rock creatures.
Flying through the air on a giant stone eagle.
Now... summoning a golden sword larger than a house.
The absurdity was almost too much to process.
For the first time,
Piper began to seriously doubt whether she was dreaming.
Maybe she'd fallen asleep driving the truck,
and all of this—
was just a wild dream.
Unable to help herself,
Piper reached out and pinched her arm.
It hurt.
Very real.
Not a dream.
...
Cautiously,
Piper tiptoed closer to the massive golden sword.
She looked at Sam Li.
Then looked up at the sword again.
"Um... Mr. Sam Li, I can ... touch your sword?"