Grace really wasn't much good at comforting people. Even when she tried to distract someone, all she could do was turn their attention to revenge...
But clearly, that method of distraction was remarkably effective.
A fire seemed to ignite in Koleda's eye. "I'll find out the truth about what happened back then!"
"Koleda, we'll be with you every step of the way. I checked the prototype just now. The external storage unit on its logic core is completely intact."
"There must still be driving records from the vehicle in there!
Once we get the prototype back, I'll start analyzing the evidence right away. We'll find out the truth behind Uncle Khors's disappearance!"
Picking up where Grace left off, Anton said, "That's right, President. We'll find a way!"
"Koleda, whenever you need us, Phaethon will be ready to help too."
A glint flashed in Belle's eyes. Since TOPS was involved, they could be considered allies in a sense...
"Mm, you're right. As president, I can't go around looking miserable all the time. Let's tow the prototype back first."
That was what she said, but Belle noticed that the fire in Koleda's eye hadn't diminished in the slightest.
A fire like that would either burn her enemies to death or burn her to death.
[Revenge! Belobog Heavy Industries has officially joined the ranks of those seeking revenge against TOPS! The Dragon Emperor and his people are getting help!]
[Sinners are often the real heroes. That line set off all of Koleda's guilt. After all, she misunderstood her father for so long...]
Xia Linxi looked at the screen.
"If the plot keeps going this way, I think more and more forces will come together to root out the cancer in New Eridu."
"I don't know if there'll be other villainous forces later, but I think there probably will be. After all, hubby is openly powerful. If there's only one evil conglomerate, it probably won't be able to stand up to him."
"Careful! Slow down, all of you!"
Ben directed Friday and Hans as they pulled the prototype out.
Once the prototype was out, the blue pointed structure instantly broke off. Even though Maiden in Love cushioned it, it still crashed to the ground, raising a thick cloud of dust.
"Let's go. Things here are finished."
Grace patted Koleda on the shoulder. "We'll find the truth, and then we'll get revenge."
"Wait, I seem to have forgotten something of great importance! That's right! The seal! Mentor Khors sent me word, commanding me to come here and reinforce the seal!"
Friday suddenly spoke up, then grew puzzled.
"But... what exactly is the seal?"
A stone fell, catching Koleda's attention, and she instinctively looked back.
Where the pointed structure had been, the one the prototype had been dragging, its fall had exposed a large opening.
A strange humanoid creature instantly crawled out, turning its head to look around.
"There's something moving inside the monument!" Grace went on alert at once, drawing her electric gun and aiming it at the monster.
It was a humanoid Hollow monster, its body predominantly blue-black and covered in golden geometric patterns and angular armor. Its head was sharply angled and strangely shaped.
The monster quickly crawled out and charged at Koleda.
Koleda instinctively slammed it with her hammer, sending it flying toward Friday.
The monster tried to flee, darting toward Anton, but its outstretched hand collided with his drill...
The monster was knocked straight to the other side, where Friday promptly pinned it underfoot. "Where do you think you're going?"
"That really gave me a fright. Proxy, do you know what this thing is?"
Anton wiped away a cold sweat. "It's really fast."
The monster suddenly raised its head, and a glimmer of light appeared, instantly reaching Belle's eyes through Eous.
Belle suddenly felt a splitting headache and quickly covered her eyes, not noticing the golden light flashing from them.
"Belle! What's wrong? What is that monster? I'll contact Yingheng right now and have him come over!"
[Whoa! Golden eyes, just like the Dragon Emperor! I knew the protagonist couldn't be useless!]
[Actually, even without golden eyes, he wasn't useless, was he? Couldn't he still be a tour guide in the Hollow?]
[Phaethon: Don't I deserve some respect?]
[Calling him a tour guide is inspired, really.]
The monster suddenly erupted in purple light, creating a huge mountain of Ether matter that enveloped Friday and the other two machines.
"Wait! All the kids' data has disappeared! The Ether readings are rising at an unprecedented rate!"
Grace put away her tablet and instinctively raised her gun.
"BOOM!"
The dust cleared, revealing the monster's true form.
It was an enormous piece of multipurpose construction machinery... no... to be precise, it was an Ethereal fused with machinery!
Several thick mechanical legs supported the monster's heavy body, keeping it stable.
Giant mechanical arms extended from its body in all directions. One was fitted with a wide bucket, another with a mechanical claw!
The head at the center of the monster was the same strange humanoid Ethereal from before!
"Did that big monster swallow all three machines?"
Belle had finally recovered and spoke up instinctively.
Koleda instinctively stepped forward. As president, she had to charge out in front and never back down from danger.
But she had misjudged the monster's strength. She had barely raised her trusty mechanical hammer when its chainsaw arm slammed into her, sending her flying.
"Little one!"
"President!"
Grace and Anton cried out instinctively, but in the next second, a huge bolt of electricity shot toward them...
"Dodge!"
Ben shouted urgently, instantly raising his pillar and moving away from the blue lightning.
Grace sidestepped to the right, narrowly dodging the bolt the monster fired. "How dare you lay a hand on my children!"
Anton darted around with Eous in his arms.
"Hurry and think of something! Otherwise, we're all going to die here! Proxy! Do you know what this thing is?"
Belle's voice came through.
"This isn't an Ethereal at all! It's very likely a mutated creature! And it wasn't a natural mutation, either! Most likely someone did this!"
Belle seethed inwardly.
TOPS, have you really gone this far? How dare you conduct human experiments!
The monster's mechanical claw instantly reached for them, and Ben hurriedly blocked it with his pillar.
"We can't hold out much longer! Find a chance to rescue Koleda, then get out of here!"
Elsewhere, Grace had just dodged the drill, but she hadn't expected the monster to also have a tail mutated into a pair of pincers...
Belle spotted it just in time and hurriedly shouted, "Grace!"
Grace instinctively glanced back. The huge pincers were already swinging toward her...
The next second, a great cloud of dust billowed into the air.