Watching the scene unfolding before his eyes, Rei instinctively caught his breath.
Elena felt the same, as did Seto, who instinctively understood the danger of an Anomaly Species.
The men, naturally unaware they were being watched, focused all their attention on the Anomaly Species. While they had been wary of their surroundings just a moment ago, their vigilance was now entirely directed toward the creature.
Despite the Cactus-modoki transforming into an Anomaly Species right in front of them, they made no move to flee. Instead, they remained rooted to the spot, staring intently at the shifting form.
(What's going on? House Rebisole was the one creating Anomaly Species. There’s no mistake about that, since evidence and even their laboratory were discovered. House Rebisole has already been suppressed by House Silwa, and the new head is said to lack the spine to defy Bosk... Was that all a bluff? A mere facade?)
The Cactus-modoki Anomaly Species had stopped hopping across the desert, but it was still twitching and convulsing, not yet in a state to move. No doubt that was why the men felt safe enough to stay and observe. They whispered among themselves, their eyes fixed on the immobilized monster as if confirming some data point.
(A survivor from House Rebisole? It’s true I heard the researchers were killed by a third party, and since the guild couldn't get information on exactly how many were involved, it wouldn't be strange if some survived... But even so, why go out of their way to conduct a new experiment to create an Anomaly Species in this situation?)
Rei felt doubtful, but the reality remained unchanged. Beside him, however, Elena wore an expression of grim realization.
(As I thought... If Shaffner had been managing every detail of the Anomaly Species Incident alone, the trail would have been uncovered much sooner. There had to be a third party. Someone was conveniently left at the attack site in a state where they could be identified; that person conveniently had ties to House Rebisole; and they had conveniently been fired just before the attack. One or two might be a coincidence, but when three happen in a row...)
While they watched from the shadows, the two men and one beast saw the Cactus-modoki thrashing on the sand suddenly leap higher than ever before. It soared nearly five meters into the air before crashing back down and falling still. It was as if that final leap had been the creature's death throes.
(What happened?)
Rei tilted his head inwardly while keeping his eyes on the motionless Cactus-modoki. The creature's sudden stillness seemed to surprise the men as well. One of them clicked his tongue and kicked the corpse lying on the ground.
"Damn it, it couldn't endure it?"
"Among the Chaos Seeds, System 3 isn't supposed to have such a bad affinity with plant-type monsters. Is the affinity with the Cactus-modoki itself poor, or was there an issue with the subject?"
"I think it’s the latter. Cactus-modoki are troublesome, but only because of their mimicry and numbers. Individually, their physical ability isn't that high."
"That’s true, but... even a Sword Bee, which is a lower rank than this, became an Anomaly Species, right? Given that, I don't think it's a problem with the target monster..."
"Tch, either way. Regardless, this experiment was a failure. Let's clean up the corpse and get back. If we take too long, the higher-ups will complain."
"Right. It'll be a hassle if House Silwa finds this."
One of the men nodded and glanced toward a seemingly ordinary patch of desert a short distance away. They reached out for the Cactus-modoki's legs...
Having confirmed their intentions, Rei and Elena exchanged a small, silent nod and sprang from their hiding spot.
They moved while suppressing their presence, but in a desert with clear visibility and no cover, the trio naturally noticed them and quickly turned their gaze. They saw two figures rushing toward them. When they spotted the two-meter-long Great Scythe, their faces twitched in recognition.
It was the very reason they had discarded House Rebisole—the Alias Holder man.
"Crimson!? Impossible, why is he here!?"
One of the men shouted in shock. Snapping back to his senses, another man quickly looked toward the Cactus-modoki corpse—the failed Anomaly Species. Whatever else happened, they could not allow this specimen to fall into Rei's hands.
Rei and Elena rushed toward them at a speed that made it seem as though they were running on solid ground rather than sand. Before they could reach the men, the leader reached out toward the spot he had looked at earlier.
"Hey! We can't let them secure this! Finish it quickly!"
"Y-Yeah! I've got it!"
At his command, one man reached for the Cactus-modoki, while the last one stepped forward with a look of desperate determination, positioning himself to block Rei.
"Hurry! I'm confident in my blade, but even I can't face him head-on!"
"Right!"
To buy even a single second, the man drew a sword from his waist and dashed toward Rei and Elena. As he had admitted, he knew he was no match for Rei; the power gap was simply too vast. However, he believed he could at least stall them for a moment.
His thinking was tragically naive. Perhaps if he had faced Rei alone, he might have bought a few seconds at the cost of his life. But unfortunately for him, the Princess General, Elena, was at Rei's side.
The men's superiors knew about Elena, but they had withheld that information from their subordinates to keep the operation's profile low. In this moment, that omission was fatal.
"Uoooooooh!"
The man let out a roar to drown out his fear. His speed was nothing compared to the two approaching him, but the distance closed nonetheless. In the next instant, he suddenly lost his balance and collapsed, rolling several meters across the sand.
Elena had used her magic power to shift her weapon into its whip-like form. The Whip-sword had lashed out, slicing through his leather armor and deep into his thigh. With Elena's skill, she could have cleaved the man in two, but she had only disabled his legs to ensure they would have more sources for interrogation.
The man tumbled across the desert floor. He tried to stab his sword into the ground to pull himself up, but Rei and Elena had already blurred past him.
"Damn it, Crimson is past me! Hurry!"
He managed a scream, and the remaining two men worked together to lift the Cactus-modoki, intending to hurl it toward their target point. Just then—
"Guruuuuululuuu!"
Seto fell in a straight line from the sky like a bolt of lightning, landing directly in front of the men.
Despite dropping like a thunderbolt, Seto flapped its wings just before impact, landing with a grace befitting an A-Rank Monster—without a sound or a tremor. To forbid any further movement, it fixed its gaze on the two men and let out an intimidating cry.
"Guruuuuulululululululuuuu!"
This was no ordinary roar. It was the skill King's Intimidation. It was a cry that made any who heard it tremble and freeze in place.
"...Eh?"
"W-What... why can't I..."
The two men took the roar at point-blank range. Unable to resist the primordial terror rising within them, they froze. Naturally, they lost their grip on the Cactus-modoki. The creature that had failed to mutate into an Anomaly Species hit the ground with a dull thud.
"Good job, Seto!"
Rei shouted as he circled around to stand beside the gryphon. The Death Scythe was in his hands, its massive blade leveled at their throats as if ready to claim their heads at the slightest provocation. Beside him, Elena held her Whip-sword in its Longsword form.
For the men, it was a total checkmate.
"Now then, I have plenty of questions for you. I assume you'll be cooperative?"
"..."
Rei spoke while slowly swaying the Death Scythe's blade, but the two remained silent. It wasn't just that their bodies were frozen by King's Intimidation; they didn't even try to move their mouths.
"What's wrong? Your bodies might be stuck, but you can still talk. Are you going to answer me quietly? Surely you don't want this to get painful."
"..."
Rei questioned them again, but the men remained mute.
(Is this... loyalty? If so, I'll have to break their spirits... though that's a hassle. Handing them over to House Silwa is the best move, but getting three captives out of the dungeon is a lot of work.)
While Rei pondered his options, his gaze fell upon the Cactus-modoki corpse. To an amateur, it looked like a Rare Species.
"It really doesn't look like its original self anymore. You mentioned a 'Chaos Seed'—I assume that’s the cause? Creating Anomaly Species was the work of House Rebisole, but the researchers at that laboratory were supposed to be dead. Are you the survivors?"
One of the men's cheeks twitched.
"I see. So you aren't unrelated. That means I definitely can't let you go. Now, how do I make you talk? Do I really have to hurt you first?"
As Rei spoke, he swung the Death Scythe. The blade hissed, showing a sharpness that seemed to slice through the air itself. It was a blatant threat, but coming from the man known as Crimson—the one rumored to have incinerated the entire Lead Unit of the Bestia Empire during the Spring War—the pressure was overwhelming.
At this rate, they would be broken. They would be forced to spit out every secret they held.
The two men exchanged a look, their eyes communicating a dark resolve. In the next moment, they executed their final option.
"Rei, stop them!"
"Got it!"
Elena saw the look in their eyes and shouted, and Rei reflexively blurred forward to close the distance. However, no matter how superhuman their physical ability, they could not stop what happened next.
The men bit down hard on their molars, breaking the glass vials hidden there and swallowing the poison. It was a suicide tool designed to end a life swiftly and without pain.
By the time Rei and Elena reached them, the men were already convulsing. Rei struck one in the solar plexus to force him to vomit, but it was too late. The men, their bodies already numbing to the world, collapsed. The Flame of Life within them was extinguished instantly. The man Elena had wounded in the leg had likewise swallowed his poison; he, too, was already dead.