Underwater City, Magician's Association, First Institute.
The Military Police had thoroughly searched every inch of the First Institute, but still found nothing. They had not left, either, continuing to guard every passage in the First Institute—even the drainage system below and the ventilation ducts had not been spared.
In the room where Captain Justin and his group had last appeared, staff members were clearing away the wreckage.
At most, they had found a few belongings left behind by the invaders.
The Military Police had formed a theory. After being trapped, Captain Justin and his group had resisted without success, and seemed to have finally resorted to an extremely radical method: creating a gigantic flesh tumor and planning to die together with their enemies.
"What exactly is this thing? It can actually devour people and grow stronger..."
"This is something from the surface. You know... the surface world has already been polluted. It's completely unsuitable for us to live in. The surface-dwellers now probably only retain a human appearance. At their core, they may have already become monsters!"
"Oh, honestly... the Underwater City is still the best. I really want to watch the Flying Disc Competition. Seeing all this blood has gotten me excited."
"If we hurry, we might still make it in time for the final execution!"
They chatted idly as they worked. Then their movements grew faster and faster, and they soon finished cleaning everything ahead of schedule before leaving.
What they failed to notice was that a section of the room's metal wall suddenly fell away. It turned into a pool of viscous liquid, which began moving along the cracks in the room.
Not long afterward, the pool of viscous liquid found a larger crack and slowly seeped inside. After who knew how long, it finally dripped into