{1}
The rays were shining through the gaps of the dense forestry. The moisture released by the trees turned into mist, and lingered around the gradually brightening sea of trees.
"Mmm— the forest during the night time has some mysterious aura about it, but the forest in the morning is pretty awesome too. The smell of the trees are much heavier."
"Eyri-nee, I saw a butterfly that was this big!"
The girl in overalls took a refreshing deep breath as she stretched her arms out wide. The black-haired little girl by her side was jumping around with a smile on her face.
"You two, don't get too far away."
Leon quickened his pace as well, so as not to lose sight of the two who may disappear from their wandering at any moment.
...... They're really energetic.
They had fooled around the whole time last night, so he had no idea where their energy came from.
"Ah, I can see the aircraft!"
Eyriey pointed to the silver object which they could see amid the trees.
"So we shall just wait here?"
"Yeah, I sent a mail to Sheltis' badge last night. Seems like we got here first."
After circling the aircraft once, there was still no sight of those two around.
"...... The damage to the aircraft is much lighter than what I had anticipated."
The silver aircraft was lying horizontally on the ground after it had knocked down a tree.
Despite being attacked by the electric faeries, they could not see many noticeable traces of damage on the outside. The worst was just the scratches to the outer coat of paint when it crashed onto the ground.
"But of course. It crashed only because the currents to the engines were not stable."
"It'll crash just from that?"
"Machines are actually very sensitive. However, I'll have to check through it once. It may be able to move now after a night, and even if it can't, we can still release a distress signal."
With that, the girl squeezed into the aircraft excitedly.
...... So I'll be looking after the kid while I leave the aircraft in her care?
"Can Yuto go there? There's a big tree over there!"
As he looked downwards at the little girl who was tugging onto his trousers, Leon gave a sigh,
"I'll come along as well. Don't stray off too far from the aircraft though."
The current in the engines had been tuned back to normal, and its output had been restored back to eighty percent.
"So everything's fine. What a good girl."
As she caressed the dials on the cockpit, Eyriey tossed the green gloves in her hands at the windows. She was originally worried that there might be a short-circuit when she conducted the check on the engine, but it seemed like she had worried too much about it. In fact, she was surprised by how normal everything was.
"Eyriey."
She turned around. The silver-haired young man was standing there.
"Ah, good timing. It seems like the aircraft is operational."
"That's perfect...... We've encountered something over here too. Yuto's waiting outside. You come along too."
With that, Leon walked out of the cockpit.
What's wrong?
Despite her being all confused about the situation, Eyriey still followed behind him.
"Ah, Eyri-nee! It's great! I've found something!"
"What's up, Yuto?"
After descending from the steps of the aircraft, Yuto and Leon both walked up to her.
"So, what's happening around here?"
"Just as you were checking the aircraft, I took a walk around to check up on our surroundings. Did you notice something strange about this primeval forest?"
"I don't really know how to answer that sudden question of yours, since I'm not too well versed about biology."
"Especially the trees in that area."
Leon pointed towards an area of the primeval forest where there was a group of large trees clustered together. There were over tens of them, and they were protruding out of the forest like a small hill.
They had lined up in a circle, as though they were shielding something.
"Oh?"
"That's right, that's the only place with a cluster of tall trees grouped together. I walked there to take a closer look, and...... I think it's better if you see it with your own eyes."
Leon turned around, with his coat swaying in the air.
"Ah, wait. We don't have to wait for Sheltis at the aircraft?"
"I've just contacted him. It seems like it will be a while before they reach here, so I asked them to head straight to that area to join in the search."
What exactly is that?
With a half curious and half confused mindset, Eyriey followed behind Leon and Yuto.
"Actually, the person who discovered that is Yuto."
The young man who was paving the road by prying open the branches suddenly stopped in his tracks.
...... This is?
"A research facility?"
It's a dark grayish rectangular building. There were no decorations nor windows on the walls, just green moss all over it. It's as though the building had camouflaged itself into the surrounding forest.
"Strange? Wait, this is definitely a research facility. But if so, isn't it really strange for it not to be registered on the map released by the Government Sector?"
"That's the most suspicious thing about this place."
Leon stared at the building before him.
"A research facility built on a desolated island; a totally enclosed structure without any windows. The green moss on the walls acts as a camouflage beneath the leaves of the trees, thus totally hiding itself from aerial view...... Well then, what exactly is the Government Sector planning?"
*Za* — The silver-haired swordsman walked to the front of the building with firm steps.
"So there's no main door at its front huh? Whatever. Let's find a place where we can enter. I'll head right. Eyriey and Yuto, you two head left."
"Understood. We'll just have to circle it once, right? Let's go, Yuto."
With her back facing Leon, Eyriey began to head towards the left side of the building with Yuto.
"...... Then again, it's really surprising that you can find something like this, Yuto."
"Ehehe, I'm good?"
"Well, it's no wonder we never noticed it. There's no way we'd realize it unless we got closer to it."
Alright, where exactly is the door located?
The two of them fixed their gaze on the walls as they walked on. However, they found nothing that looked remotely like an entrance despite them scanning through the walls of the building. The deep-gray paints on the building had already faded slightly due to the constant weathering...... from that alone, one can deduce that the building is not something that was built in recent years.
As they turned the first corner, they encountered the second wall.
It's almost the same as the first slab of wall that they saw - there are no windows nor decorations on it. The most they could see aside from the moss were the vines scaling the walls.
"Well— we can't get in at all. I wonder if Leon found anything over there."
Suddenly, she realized that her surroundings were deadly quiet.
............ Yuto?
The black-haired little girl was standing motionlessly at the first corner - it was as if she had stopped blinking and moving as well.
Those amber-colored eyes of hers were giving off a glow, as though she had detected something.
"Yu—"
{2}
A dim, narrow passageway.
Each step they took brought up a cloud of dust into the turbid air.
"I've already prepared myself psychologically for this, but I still never expect this research facility to be that ghastly."
Monica cringed her face slightly as she touched the walls that had a poor finishing on their surface.
"It's dark and cramp, and there's a musty smell too...... I really don't feel like staying around here."
"I feel the same too. Even if we're here to find something, I hope we can get things over and done with quickly, and leave this place."
As they stood before a door at the ends of the passageway, Sheltis shot a glance at Monica.
— I'm gonna open it.
After receiving a nod of approval from her, he increased the strength exerted from his arms. Unexpectedly, the door opened up really easily.
Before them was a huge dark space. It felt like the place was rather spacious, but since there was no lighting inside, they could not grasp the full interiors of the room.
"What to do? Ilis, why don't you release some light like a machine? Just release light at about thirty times brighter compared to normal, and we should be able to see the interiors of the room clearly."
"I can if you want me to. However, due to the overload, I'll become hotter than a heated frying pan."
"...... Let's just look for a switch to the lights."
"Found it."
Monica's voice came from far away.
A *kacha* sound rang, and the room was flooded with a blinding flash of light for a brief moment.
"...... A library?"
Sheltis murmured as he took a look at the room under the shine of the lights.
It's a huge space that extended inwards for over ten meters long, and the sides of the walls were filled with giant bookshelves lined up together. Each of them was approximately three meters high, and it was designed such that the top shelves can only be reached via ladders.
There were four round desks in the middle of the room, and each desk had three chairs assigned to it. There were stand-alone computers and screens placed on the desk.
"Illustrations of plants, distribution of the vegetation, makeups of the soil, the climate of the floating island...... They are probably things left by the explorers of this island. Each and every report is rather detailed."
Monica tapped on the keyboards of the computers at a rapid speed. The details shown on the screens before them were undoubtedly information left by the researchers.
"The books on the shelves consists of similar information as well."
"...... Which means, this is just an ordinary research facility?"
At the instant she keyed in the final button.
Came the sound of a certain giant object moving.
***
"Something really interesting has appeared."
The machine crystal <Ilis> broke the silence by saying that casually.
"That's quite sudden...... We did nothing here, so perhaps Captain Leon and the girls did something on their side. Or it may be someone luring us to a trap. What should we do, Sheltis?"
Monica stood at the side with the crossed rods <Rosario> in her hands.
That line of hers showed the tense atmosphere in which both of them were in. She stared straight at the target beneath her, without blinking her eyes.
A flight of stairs that went downwards.
The floor shifted along with the rumbling which they felt earlier, and the entrance to what seemed to be a basement was revealed.
The stairs were shrouded in darkness, and they could not see the ends of the path no matter how hard they looked.
"If that is the destination of our trip here, then I think it will be better for us to head down by ourselves first."
Shelits said that to Monica as he fixed his gaze on the stairs.
"We are not waiting for the instructions of Captain Leon?"
"Eyriey and Yuto are still with Leon. If we are to ask him to meet up with us before heading off, then the girls will have to follow along as well. Eyriey's not a guard, while Yuto's still young, so I absolutely cannot allow them to face any sort of danger."
"Smart choice. It is much easier for a pair to act should the two of you encounter anything. We shall be the scouts."
Mmm— Just as he was nodding his head in agreement with the suggestion of the machine crystal <Ilis>.
He noticed that Monica, who was beside him, was strangely quiet.
"......"
The young girl was gripping onto the pair of crossed rods <Rosario> in her hands, but her face was pale white.
"Monica?"
"............. Ah...... Ahhhh."
His eyes came into direct contact with the eyes of the girl's in the screen.
...... Shel...... tis.
...... Are you the person...... who is looking at me?
...... Looking at the frozen dream of the Garden of Corrupted Song <Eden>...... Looking at the Forbidden Crystal......
At that instant, a scene suddenly flashed past his mind.
A world filled with black waters.
A young man with tea-red colored hair was slowly sinking down with his eyes closed.
Deeper and deeper.
He was sinking downwards in a world filled with darkness, a world that was incredibly quiet and slow.
The deep purple lights encased his body, as though they were blessing him—
...... Sheltis......
...... At the Floating Continent where everything is still in their dreams, at the Garden of Corrupted Song <Eden>where all time are frozen......
...... You...... and your mateki...... awakens......
"Sheltis!"
"Oi, Shel-Sheltis!"
"!"
Sheltis finally returned back to his senses when Monica shook his shoulders.
"What has happened to you?"
"Ah, no....."
Just then, the young girl in the screen turned her head to look towards his direction...... no, she was looking at him.
A screen appeared before his eyes the moment they exchanged gazes with each other.
Is that...... me? Could it be back when I fell into the Garden of Corrupted Song <Eden>—
"Sheltis, are you alright?"
"...... Mmm. Monica and Ilis, please take another careful look at the center of the screen. I am certain there's a girl there."
*—Kra—*
There was the sound of something cracking, as if it was laughing at what he had just said.
They originally thought it came from the screen, but the screen was still filled with the monochrome image and the static.
It's not the screen. What's that then?
{3}
"Warning."
"Abnormalities detected to the hypnosis wavelength of Experimental Body #2, code-named 'Slumbering Child'."
An automated voice suddenly rang from the ceilings. At the same time, the warning red lights began to flash throughout the floor.
"Eyri-nee, I'm scared......"
"W-What's with this alarm! Did I press something wrong at the terminal just now?"
Yuto pressed herself against Eyriey, who hugged her tightly in return.
"No."
Leon shook his head to disagree, as he looked at the floor being dyed red by the crimson lights.
Just like what she had said earlier, the possibility of a trap set on the terminal is very low. If so, then there must be another reason for the alarm to went off.
— Experimental Body #2.
There was a strange term mentioned in the automated warning. They did not find anything that looked like it in the floor where they were on. If so, the only possibility was that Eyriey had triggered a path at the other stories after she had operated the terminal.
"Eyriey, take Yuto and run back to the aircraft right now! I'll go and meet up with Sheltis and Monica. Seems like the place where they are at is the real crux to the matter."
"Yeah, I think so too. In any case, let's get moving, Yuto!"
Eyriey planned to make a dash for it after she grabbed onto Yuto's hand. Just then—
Along with the tremors of the ground as well as a strange metallic sound, the innermost wall of the building collapsed.
"Warning."
"It is confirmed that the hypnosis for 'Slumbering Child' has failed. It is speculated that there is an infiltration of a malicious third party, which in turn awakened it."
"To prevent the second wave of damage, begin the automatic destruction of 'Slumbering Child' as well as the malicious third party."
*Zu...... Zuzuuu............*
The floor was rumbling.
A shiny black gigantic object was slowly approaching them from within the dark floors.
"Combat robot?"
Eyriey could immediately recognize what it was from a brief look at it.
A thick armor which gave off a dull metallic shine. Its both arms were equipped with shiny black heavy weapons, and it was carrying armored-vehicle-class shells on its back. That's not all. There were bluish-white patterns all over its body. The straight-lined patterns were flashing repeatedly, and the glow had covered the whole body of the combat robot.
"Heavy-armed combat robot, with the marks of shinryoku engraved on it...... To think they have actually shipped this thing specially onto this island."
The robot inched closer to them with loud steps.
"............"
Faced with such an overwhelming presence, Leon silently swung the hilt of his great sword.
"W-What are you doing? Shouldn't you be running away in a situation like this?"
"The so called malicious third party is probably referring to Sheltis and Monica. Something may have happened there, so I have to destroy this fella."
"No, that's not what I mean—"
"It's fine,"
After saying that, Leon began to dash towards the combat robot.
"In any case, if you do not wish to be hit by the stray shells of the heavy weapons system, then hide yourself at the corner of the room right now."
***
*—Piki...... ki...... ki......—*
Cracks began appearing on the reinforced glass of the water tank. The blue fluid flowed all over the ground.
Each time the beast which was shrouded with the dark purple mist pulsates, the cracks on the water tank would widen.
"How can this be...... who will actually do such a thing like...... breeding a Yuugenshu?"
"We'll investigate on that later. The important thing is to deal with this thing here and ensure we come out alive."
Sheltis walked to the front of Monica, and stared at the enemy before them.
...... The Yuugenshu has responded to our infiltration?
His hunch told him that he was not too far off from the truth. The Queen's order was not really targeted at the facility itself. Rather, the real target were probably the image in the giant screen, as well as the bred Yuugenshu.
That's right. There was not just a single objective behind their mission. Taking that into consideration, one can then understand the reason for the lack of focus behind the Queen's order.
"Ilis."
"Begin the construction of the anti-Yuugenshu blades. Fixing a silver monad as the core, and encasing its surrounding with a layer of azure crystals of Hyouketsu Kyoukai. Limit to destruction is set to be at sevenfold."
A thin silver line extended outwards from the blade-less hilts. The brilliant azure crystals began to encase it, and they gradually formed the blades.
The glass of the water tank had shattered.
*Slosh*...... With its body covered with fluids, the four limbs of the Yuugenshu came into contact with the floor.
A wild beast shrouded with an eerie mist all over its body, sending chills down the spines of whoever that sees it. Amid the dark purple mist, was a pair of red eyes filled with animosity, and looking towards their direction.
"...... So we've no choice but to strike?"
"Seems like it— here it comes!"
The howl of the beast.
What followed next was the shocking 'transformation' that came immediately after.
Sponsored Content