Ryorno and Mizuno slowly entered through the gate…
With their first step inside, everything changed.
The corridor was wider and more organized than the rest of the facility, but the atmosphere was heavier… as if the very air itself was tainted with danger.
The dim lights revealed long rows of metal cells on either side.
The two froze.
Inside each cell…
were creatures.
Monsters… but they weren't normal.
Half their bodies were muscular and deformed, the other half fused with metal parts, pipes, and wires.
Their eyes glowed unnaturally, some red… some without pupils at all.
Mizuno took a step closer and said in a low voice,
"These aren't just failed experiments… this is evolution."
One of the monsters slowly raised its head, then approached the bars… and emitted a faint sound, a mixture of a roar and a machine's whir.
Riorno clenched his fist, a slight heat rising in his hand.
"They were trying to…control the transformation."
He glanced at one of the monsters, half wolf-like, the other half equipped with a massive mechanical arm.
"They fused the genes…with the machine."
Suddenly—
All the lights flashed on at once.
Then a piercing alarm wailed.
"Warning…Containment system failed."
Mizuno's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me—"
Before he could finish—
One of the cages shattered.
The bars exploded outward, and a monster, half-burned and half-metal, shot out at breakneck speed.
Another crash followed…and another…
One by one, the cells began to open.
"Get ready!" Riorno yelled.
His hand suddenly burst into flames, this time more intensely than before, as Mizuno assumed a fighting stance, his eyes gradually shifting.
The corridor, silent just moments before…
had transformed into a scene of chaos.
Half-machine monsters…
Uncontrolled instinct…
And rage buried for years.
"It seems our luck… was rather bad," Mizuno whispered, a faint smile playing on his lips despite his nervousness.
"Or… a real start," Ryorno replied coolly.
Then the two of them charged toward the monsters.
The first monster charged at them with frantic speed, its sound a mixture of a roar and a metallic rattle.
In an instant—
Ryorno moved.
His hand ignited with fire, and he slammed into the ground in front of him. A wave of flame erupted, sending the monster reeling backward and crashing into it, but…
It didn't fall.
The monster stood up again, half its burned face revealing glowing metallic fragments.
Mizuno smiled coldly.
"Clearly, they don't fall easily."
Then it shot.
It vanished in a flash, reappearing behind one of the monsters. Its hand transformed into cold, black claws, which it used to sever one of the monster's metallic limbs.
Sparks flew.
The monster screamed, but instead of retreating—
it charged harder.
"Mad!" Mizuno said, leaping back.
At that moment, three monsters charged at Ryorno all at once.
He raised his hand, and the flames blazed even more fiercely.
"Get away!"
He slammed his fist forward—
A massive wave of fire erupted, engulfing the three monsters and pinning them against the walls. Their metal parts began to melt.
But from behind the smoke—
One of them emerged… still moving.
Ryorno froze for a second:
"Even fire…?!"
"Weak points! Look for the joints!" Mizuno shouted.
Ryorno understood instantly.
At the same moment, Mizuno leaped high into the air, landed on one of the monsters, and sank his claws into its neck joint—
Smashed!
The monster fell to the ground, motionless.
Ryorno—
He focused his gaze, grabbed one of the monsters that charged at him, seized its metal arm, and fired a pinpoint shot directly into the joint.
The metal part shattered, and the monster fell instantly.
The two of them began to move in unison.
Mizuno attacks swiftly, slashing and disabling… and Ryorno finishes with concentrated fire.
But—
Suddenly…
The ground shook.
Everything stopped for a second.
The monsters themselves… stopped.
Then—
They slowly retreated.
Ryorno and Mizuno exchanged glances.
"This isn't normal…" Mizuno said.
From deep within the passage…
A heavy sound echoed.
Footsteps… slow… but terrifying.
A colossal shadow appeared… larger than all the monsters they had fought.
A massive body… half machine, half monstrous, with only one eye gleaming a dark red.
Huge tubes implanted in its back pumped black energy through its body.
The air froze.
"That's… their leader," Ryorno whispered.
Mizuno smiled faintly through the tension. "Finally… something worth fighting for."
The monster slammed its foot into the ground—
The entire structure shook.
Then it charged toward them with incredible speed for its size.
"Move!" Riorno yelled.
They leaped in opposite directions as the monster slid between them like a tornado, smashing everything in its path.
The two of them stood up again… their breath heavy… but their eyes filled with excitement.
"This isn't just any battle…" Riorno said.
"It's a test," Mizuno replied.
Then they charged forward together.