"…This Vial contains several corrupted elemental particles of Distortion, carefully combined with the small radioactive elements gathered straight from the "Treacherous Gorge" Excavation Site."
"Since this was given directly to me by Lord "Second Wind" of the [128 High Overseers], I will not fail him with a lack of results this time."
"And maybe, if the test is successful enough, perhaps it can also collect the "blood" I was almost enticed towards for my daily quota…"
Upon saying that, the winged figure dispersed into countless feathers. They vacated a place further away and watched the test subjects' anguished shrieks echo into the skies.
And, around this time, Harlock, Redrich, and Hara finally emerged from the cavern. By now, Hara noticed that it was midday right now, and the sight of the remarkable mountains right by them made all of them, even Redrich, breathe a sigh of relief.
However, this sigh was short-lived, as he noticed the foul beast lurking around immediately.
"…What the… a Corrupted Beast? Is the Annihilation Army approaching this place?" Harlock asked.
Redrich shook his head, amidst the powerful shrieks of the strange, bird-resembling creature, which seemed to have multiple beings fused into its body.
"…No. From the traces around it that seemed to have been generated just now, that creature seems to be merely an evolved monster. We do need to get rid of it though, because of its potential danger."
"…Hm. This seems like a job more fit for Haintas City's Grand Defense Force instead, or rather the [Special Hunting Units] under the Special Investigation Division. But, if there's a chance to get a big reward from this, I don't mind the extra work."
Harlock stepped forward first, leading the three of them to the creature, which still hadn't noticed them due to the aberrations covering its body that made it shriek uncontrollably. And, it looked like the creature was still mutating.
Its body pulsated erratically, and moments later, two arms sprouted from its body, furthering the transformation.
Hara winched. He decided he couldn't stand another moment looking at the scene in front of his eyes, so he summoned all the strength he could muster to put it out of its misery. However…
"…Hm…"
As Hara struck the creature, Harlock noticed that although its flesh was torn to bits by the mystic energy surrounding his fist, its body slowly hardened in response, and large, black wings covered with many staring eyes immediately budded from its mutated body.
"This isn't normal… even a Corrupted Beast shouldn't have such a high [Corruption-Value] to be mutating to such a degree…"
Redrich nodded.
"I was sceptical at first, but it does seem strange. As if, someone planted this beast here in front of us."
Hara's heart pounded, as he looked at the Corrupted Beast's changing form. It was slowly but surely becoming a complete being, which even the combined efforts of all three of them wouldn't be able to take care of.
"We need to get out of here…"
Redrich and Harlock agreed and they were about to make a swift escape before something strange happened.
From the skies above, Hara noticed a large spinning metal sword coming from above like a meteor, and it was aimed directly at the Corrupted Beast that was still in the process of its incomplete transformation.
Moments later, the force of the spinning sword collided with the creature, causing a small shockwave. And then, as Hara opened his eyes again, he saw a mechanical humanoid appear before him, tearing the metal sword from the body of the Corrupted Beast.
"…As I thought. This Corrupted Beast isn't truly a Corrupted Beast, but one of the [Experiments]. I need to tell Kans and Grace to put more effort into their investigations…"
"Hey… Who are you?" Redrich asked.
The mechanical humanoid stared at him, before placing one leg on the dead "Experiment", and lifting his metal sword before pointing it at the three of them.
"That's what I should be asking you three, as a special unit member of Haintas City's Grand Defense Force. Because this Experiment didn't exactly appear out of nowhere, right?"
"…Correct. But, we have absolutely no idea where that thing came from." Harlock replied.
"…Hm…"
The humanoid robot inspected their facial expressions and he slowly determined that these three were not lying.
"…Well, I can't be too cautious, right? You three are coming with me."
"…To Haintas City?"
"Of course! We need to inspect you, and, more importantly, find out the origins of this creature, which I already suspect is from that cult…"
Hara noticed something about the mechanical humanoid. Something familiar.
"…Hey, wait… I think I recognise you."
"…Recognise me? What are you on about, kid?"
Hara stared at him more closely and confirmed it.
"Yeah… you talk differently, but you're the same mechanical humanoid I saw long before when I was around seven or eight years old… not to mention, you still look the same."
"Hey! That's an insult!" The mechanical humanoid replied.
"But, I think I recognise you as well. Who would have thought? That little kid looks so much more different today. But, what are you doing around here? What are any of you doing around here?"
"…It's complicated," Redrich replied.
"…Well then. I guess I have no choice but to take you all with me. Don't try and run away either, or this little ole' blade of mine will tear through your chest, got that?"
The trio nodded.
"Alright then." The mechanical humanoid said, picking the corpse up.
"And, by the way, you three can call me, "Blue."
This jump-started the journey from the Sauti Mountains to Haintas City, which Blue explained was much more advanced than the ordinary towns and villages due to near-unlimited access to [Purified Technology]. Without that, humans would likely never have ever been able to survive against the onslaught of attacks from the Army of Annihilation.
After being purified, Corrupted Machinery and Technology from the Ancient World could become effective in negating some of the effects of Distortion, as well as even being able to channel some sort of [Purified Energy], which is measured in [Purification Levels]. This special energy is how mechanical humanoids came to be, and it is also theorized to be the reason why Ancient World Magic still exists.
However, despite all this advancement in the last hundred years, pushing the Corrupted Lands further and further away, more and more enemies begin to resurface, like the [Lotus Garden], an organization that worshipped the ideas of "eternity" and "rebirth", led by the still uncaptured and highly-dangerous [Mother of Eternity], who seemed to have gone insane from the corrupted toxins in the air of the Corrupted Lands.
'The Mother of Eternity… I'm sure that's one of the important figures that [she] mentioned as well.' Redrich thought.
'It seems that the Lotus Garden cult is important to his fate, and he will have to face their leader eventually. I may need to make some preparations early…'
Meanwhile, Hara listened to the words of Blue with Harlock, unknowing of what his future awaits.
From there, they took a 30-minute walk to finally arrive at Haintas City. But, as they did, a mysterious figure watched them from close behind, undetected through the use of spells.
"Unfortunately, I can't do anything to them in the city, not without gathering unwanted attention… Horn, Saturn and Deceiver are around, so perhaps I can ask them for help. Or, maybe I can do something a bit more interesting and call for the aid of the Lotus Garden that was mentioned…"
The winged figure stared at the group of four that walked further and further away. But, their eyes were only focused on one person. Hara.
"…His scent makes me nauseous. I can tell that he will be a great flaw to us. Taking care of him here will do us all some good. So, let me follow them for a while longer…" The winged figure said.
They took off their mask and undressed themselves, revealing purple, snake eyes, long, dark hair, a sly smile and a long dark coat underneath, imbued with feathery bird motifs.
She was planning on obtaining the attention of the cult's higher-ups, one way or another!