His fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, each tap accompanied by a barely perceptible ripple of purple energy. At the center of the round table, an ancient device slowly rotated, projecting virtual images of seven keys, three of which had already been marked "Activated."
"Soon," the old man murmured. "Soon, this world will return to its true master..."
Piercing alarms echoed through the underground laboratory of the Germa Kingdom. Red warning lights flashed incessantly, casting their glow over the chaos. Bartholomew Kuma stood in the center of the laboratory, his figure especially imposing amid the smoke and dust. The earlier Shockwave had destroyed most of the surrounding defenses, leaving control console fragments and shattered glass scattered across the floor.
"Target acquired," Kuma calmly said into the communicator, gripping the Stability Key he had just removed. The ancient key emitted a faint golden glow in his hand, standing in stark contrast to the chaos around him.
Meanwhile, Revolutionary Army soldiers were busy freeing the test subjects imprisoned in transparent containers. One unconscious resident after another was carefully transferred onto stretchers, ready for evacuation. But the situation was far from optimistic—many had already developed irreversible mutations. Purple-black patterns crawled across their skin, and some had even begun growing inhuman organs and limbs.
"The situation is worse than we imagined," a Revolutionary Army medical specialist reported to Kuma grimly. "Around one-third of the test subjects can no longer return to normal. Their DNA has been completely rewritten."
Kuma's gaze swept over the test subjects struggling in agony, and an uncontrollable fury rose within him. However, he had no time to dwell on his emotions. The entire laboratory began to shake, and the metal supports let out ominous groans.
"We must evacuate immediately," Kuma ordered. "Take everyone who can move. The lightly equipped men each