Shortly after their report was submitted, another investigative team quickly arrived at the scene.
In terms of both strength and equipment, this second group far surpassed the first. Even the lowest-ranking member of the new team was on par with the highest-ranking officer of the initial team.
After a brief few minutes to synchronize data, the new team's leader turned to the first group and instructed,
"According to Clause Thirteen, you are not required to return to your unit for now. Remain here and assist us with the investigation."
"Yes, sir!"
The members of the first team all nodded in acknowledgment.
With a stern expression, the team leader ordered,
"Take me to where the corpses of the deceased staff are stored. I need to examine them again."
Wearing specialized protective gear, he carefully scanned the internal structures of the bodies.
His brows furrowed slightly.
He could clearly see the internal state of each corpse — a chaotic mass of flesh, with organs, blood vessels, and bones all jumbled together in unnatural configurations. The sight instinctively triggered revulsion, yet strangely, it also had an unsettling sense of "naturalness," as though the bodies were born this way. No trace of artificial interference remained.
But anyone with even basic training in biology would know that no natural lifeform could possibly look like that on the inside.
After a thorough inspection, the team leader felt the limits of his own knowledge.
He promptly opened a communication link and forwarded part of the data to a well-known academic — a biology professor renowned in the field.
"Take a look for me. What do you make of the internal structures of these bodies?"
He sent the message.
---
Ten minutes later.
His communicator lit up. Upon answering, a slightly tense voice came through:
"I've reviewed the material you sent. After analyzing it with the AI and comparing known biological data, I came to a conclusion: all these transformations serve one purpose — to amplify pain and prevent death.This isn't some standardized mutation. Each case is slightly different depending on the subject's physical constitution and species."
"And there's no evidence of external interference — it appears to be a spontaneous response, likely triggered by some unknown stimulus. Even more terrifyingly, these transformations automatically adjust to the subject's unique pain threshold, pushing it to the extreme. That makes the sensation perpetually unbearable and impossible to adapt to. In the field of biological torment, I've never seen anything remotely comparable to this — not even close."
"I don't know who's behind it, nor what their motives are, but anyone capable of deploying such a method is not someone you or I can afford to provoke. For the sake of our old friendship, I strongly advise you to proceed with extreme caution..."
With that, the professor abruptly hung up, clearly unwilling to get further involved.
The team leader, left in silence, rubbed his temples with a grim expression.
The professor's reaction was understandable — even getting help up to this point was already a favor.
But what troubled him most was why this cursed assignment had landed on his desk.
"Fuck, Of all the assignments in the galaxy… it had to be this one."
He cursed under his breath, then composed himself and said calmly to his subordinates,
"Take me to the surviving personnel."
Soon after, he came face to face with the Strategic Intelligence Division's distressed department head and several other survivors.
While scanning their bodies, he asked,
"So everything started after watching that footage, correct?"
"Yes," the group answered, heads lowered.
What followed was a series of standard questioning procedures.
Upon completing the scans, the team leader stroked his chin, frowning.
Physically, there wasn't much wrong — just some abnormal blood vessel patterns that could recover with a few days of rest. However, his instruments detected an unusual residual presence within their souls — something that caught his attention.
After some thought, he retrieved a special artifact.
It resembled a dark blue egg and was actually a crystalized eyeball of a classified dangerous species. After undergoing a special treatment process, it had the ability to reveal hidden phenomena.
This artifact was extremely rare. Though not single-use, its effectiveness diminished with each activation. Even in the steller Empire's elite divisions, its distribution was tightly controlled.
He placed it in front of the survivors and activated it. Waves of faint blue ripples emanated from the crystal, fully exposing the inner structure of their bodies — and their souls.
Alongside that was something unexpected: a mass of intricate markings spread across them.
These marks resembled strange flowers — seven layered structures, each with six petals. The layers stacked together in a complex, mesmerizing pattern. Under the glowing blue waves, they looked stunningly beautiful.
But upon seeing the markings on their own bodies, the survivors weren't captivated — they were filled with dread and panic.
Clearly, these were remnants of the original attack. They had not fully escaped the damage.
'A brand?'
The team leader ignored their expressions. Still holding the artifact, he walked toward the control room and the room where the bodies had been stored. He swept every corner with the blue-light emitter.
Then he discovered something troubling:
"Where did the souls of these corpses go? There's no trace of them at all…"
Troubled, he pulled up the surveillance logs from the control room and began reviewing the footage segment by segment.
When he reached the moment when the employees died, his eyes lit up. After replaying it several times, he had a sudden realization.
Quickly, he retrieved the access logs for the classified data — cross-referencing the timestamps.
His gaze sharpened as he dialed a special number.
Once the line connected, he spoke respectfully:
"My Lord, We may have received a rather unwelcome guest."
The voice on the other end asked,
"Who is it?"
"The entity recorded in that video footage. The one with eight wings. We've discovered markings identical to the patterns on his armor at the scene. It's likely he used some highly advanced method to reach this location via data transmission."
"He then stole a large amount of confidential information by using the souls of those deceased employees as a conduit to access our database. We don't yet know his objective, but based on the method used, he appears to be extremely dangerous and temperamental. If we let him roam unchecked, the consequences could be catastrophic…"
"I see. I'll escalate this matter immediately to the higher-ups and let them decide how to proceed. In the meantime, try to gather as much intel as possible."
With that, the call was terminated decisively — a swift and no-nonsense response.
Then again, in special departments like theirs, everyone operated with that same urgency.
____
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