Zenless Zone Zero: I'am a Dullahan!

Grace still tried to dissuade Hans—she didn't want her child to come back as a pile of scrap metal...

Unexpectedly, her words instantly enraged Hans, who shouted,

"Enough! Stop calling me that! That tacky name doesn't suit my style at all!"

"A real man's name should be self-chosen—loud, powerful, wild, and cool!"

"That's right! From today onward, my name is—"

Suddenly, a loud crash rang out. Over a dozen Ethereals had somehow appeared and came crashing down on Hans from above!

Hans let out a frightened scream, his face full of despair. Facing the end of his mechanical life, he was already beginning to mutter his last words.

"Hmph... and you call yourself a man..."

With a sharp whir of his drill, Anton stepped forward with a stern expression, walking straight toward the pile of Ethereals.

"Is that all the resolve you've got?"

In mere seconds, the Ethereals were blasted away, vanishing into flickering light. Anton had taken them all down in a clean sweep.

"You... why did you help me?"

Hans, just getting back on his feet, looked confused.

Anton tilted his head slightly, flashing a few teeth in a grin.

"You've got a great dream. It'd be a real waste to give up so easily."

Then he turned, gave himself a thumbs up, his coat billowing like a cape.

"And I promised you a proper showdown. That fight's not over yet!"

Hans stared at Anton in silence for a few seconds—then burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! I get it now... I really do!"

"Brother Anton!"

Not far away, Koleda and the others didn't seem surprised. But Eous, standing next to Zane, looked a little lost, his eyes reduced to narrow slits.

"Wait, what's going on here..."

Grace adjusted the glasses on her forehead and muttered,

"It feels a bit off somehow... but it looks like the kid's fine now."

Meanwhile, Anton and Hans weren't done yet.

"Big bro, I've made up my mind! I'm going back with you—to learn how to be a real man! Starting with the basics—everyday work!"

Anton nodded, his tone steady.

"Yeah. Let's do our best, brother!"

As the sun set, he raised his fist and bumped it against Hans's mechanical arm.

"By the way, you haven't told me your new name yet."

"My new name is... Iron Man Never Retreats, Full of Courage, Powerful as Steel, Sparkling Engine—Hans!"

"You still kept 'Hans' in it!"

From a distance, Belle, controlling Eous, couldn't help but comment. Then, with a sigh, she added,

"What an embarrassingly passionate ending..."

Still, for some reason, it felt kind of nice.

She turned to look at Zane, and Eous's eyes slowly widened in surprise.

What's that guy doing?

"Ha... Haven't had hot water in a while. Feels pretty good..."

Zane was holding a cup made of Ether crystals. Inside, water-type energy wrapped in lingering fire-type energy gave off light wisps of steam.

Belle stared at him, a sudden sense of familiarity washing over her.

"Zane! What's with that expression?! You're just like Qingyi right now!"

"Obviously, I'm staying hydrated..."

"You want some too?"

"Bangboo can't drink water!"

"Oh..."

...

Moonlight trickled down.

Nightlife in Janus District was slowly coming alive...

After a long day, Master Eous returned home, walking lightly to the charging station.

High-end ingredients need only simple preparation. Likewise, high-end electrical energy only needs the simplest charging method.

But while Eous rested, the video store didn't quiet down.

Bang!

"Zane! Someone's here to see you!"

The door burst open, and No. 6 was once again caught off guard, momentarily flattened against the wall. Belle stood at the door, eyeing Zane with curiosity.

What did this guy do now? Why were Zhu Yuan and Qingyi showing up in full uniform, with a patrol car, in the middle of the night?

But then she frowned and shouted,

"Brother! Zane! What are you two doing?!"

"Wait, little sis—"

Wise looked serious, tightly gripping his game controller, desperately trying to pull off a combo.

Next to him, Zane sat cross-legged, equally focused, a slight frown forming under the pressure.

The sound of frantic button mashing echoed through the room. Belle's expression darkened by the second as she clenched her fist against the door.

"I'm out there helping No. 18 run the shop, and you two are in here gaming?! Are you kidding me?!"

Eous was running low on power from helping, and these two were having a blast!

"Look at No. 6—even with nothing to do, it's still loyally guarding the door..."

Belle said, then glanced over, intending to lift No. 6 as an example—but what she saw made her panic.

"No. 6! No. 6! What happened to you?!"

In front of the TV, the final button press echoed, and the screen lit up with a bold "KO."

Wise put down his controller and raised both arms in triumph.

Zane let out a long sigh, propping up his face with one hand, frowning at his controller.

It couldn't be that he sucked... the controller must be off...

Wise threw an arm over Zane's shoulder, leaned close, raised an eyebrow, and grinned.

"Four straight losses, Zane. So? You still want to go?"

Did someone just call him? Eh, not important. Crushing Zane was the priority here. After all, even in times like this, he was still technically the older one...

"I'm good for another round, I—"

Zane looked serious. He wasn't ready to accept defeat and was about to answer Wise's challenge when a strange feeling hit him. He frowned.

"Wise... do you feel something off?"

"A bad feeling?"

Wise frowned, paused to sense it, and muttered,

"Yeah, kinda... feels like there's a chill behind me..."

Behind?

Wise turned his head. Seeing him move, Zane instinctively did the same.

A smiling face came into view.

Belle crouched down, one hand on Zane's shoulder, the other on Wise's. She smiled sweetly and said slowly,

"You two... seem to be having a great time, huh?"

"How about we play something even more fun..."

"Brother~ Zane~"

...

"Eh? What happened to you, disciple?"

Qingyi stepped into the video store, looking baffled at Zane. She hadn't found him at the Tanuki House, so she came here.