"What?!"
Hearing this, Typhon, Izayoi, and the others' expressions changed drastically.
They too believed the victim's testimony, which meant—
"So we haven't found all the research bases? There are still some that slipped through the cracks?!"
Typhon clenched his fist, his eyes filled with regret.
Damn it, if only I'd woken up sooner, if only I'd agreed to talk earlier, we could have discovered this problem much sooner.
For every base they missed, thousands of victims were still living in hell.
"No! Impossible!"
Izayoi shook his head decisively.
"We've checked the data. All research bases related to the Bull of Heaven have been investigated and shut down. Every base on the list has been accounted for. There's absolutely no way we missed any!"
"The Bull of Heaven research facilities can't hide from satellite monitoring of Third Stellar Particle radiation. I also ran a secondary check with my own device, and I can confirm that no other bases were missed," Saigo Homura added. It was precisely because they had conducted two independent checks that they were certain all of the Bull of Heaven project's research bases had been uncovered.
"I believe you, but..."
Typhon nodded, expressing his trust.
But as the three of them looked at each other, their faces were grim.
They all believed the others' checks were thorough. This didn't mean the girl was lying, however. It meant there was another, far more sinister possibility.
"They have another set of research bases, conducting a project completely different from the Bull of Heaven!" Izayoi said, his tone heavy.
"Those bastards!"
Saigo Homura clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury.
They had found over a hundred research bases and saved more than a hundred thousand victims. They had thought that was the end of it, but it turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Even by the most conservative estimate, if the enemy had just one other project besides "Bull of Heaven" that hadn't been discovered, it was highly likely to be on the same scale, affecting at least another hundred thousand victims.
In other words, a hundred thousand more people were still trapped in a fiery hell.
"Homura! Didn't you scan the global Third Stellar Particle concentrations before? Did anything turn up?" Izayoi asked calmly.
The Bull of Heaven bases had been located by tracing a specific energy frequency, making it impossible for any to be missed, but that method could only detect that one project.
Scanning for Third Stellar Particle concentrations, on the other hand, could survey the entire globe, but the results were less clear, making it difficult to distinguish between natural concentrations and those caused by artificial experiments.
However, a drastic change in the concentration gradient was a likely indicator of a problem, so this method could be used for a rough screening.
"Nothing!"
Saigo Homura shook his head.
"Logically, even if they were deep within the Earth's crust, we should have detected traces of radiation, but there was nothing... Could it be they've found a way to block our detection methods?"
Even he couldn't figure out how the enemy had managed it.
"Maybe, but that's not what we should be focused on right now."
Izayoi took a deep breath.
"Our number one priority is to find the other research bases... That's it!"
As he said this, a realization dawned on him, and he looked at the little girl on the live feed.
"You said you have a very good memory, that you can perfectly recall what the other research bases looked like and will never forget?"
"Mhm!"
The little girl nodded with certainty.
"Then can you draw what they looked like... No, that's too much trouble. Can you draw the starry sky you saw at a specific time, or the angle of the sun?" Izayoi pressed on, a hint of excitement in his voice.
With the advancement of modern astronomy and standardized construction, it was easy to pinpoint a specific latitude and longitude from the angle of the sun or the configuration of the stars.
Deducing a location from information in the sky of a photograph was a trick even a novice could pull off.
As long as they had a sufficiently precise visual description, they could roughly lock down the locations of the research bases.
The finer details of the search could be left to the Group's ground personnel.
"I can!"
The girl, whose name was Lapko, nodded again.
Everyone was overjoyed. With this breakthrough, they only needed to find one more base, and they were confident they could uncover all the projects.
But just as everyone was celebrating, Kudou Asuka, who had been standing to the side, suddenly thought of something.
"Yō! Get to her base, now!" she shouted urgently.
"What?"
Typhon and Izayoi looked at the suddenly frantic Kudou Asuka in confusion. A moment later, realization struck.
"They wouldn't... But Kasukabe, I'll have to ask you—"
BOOM!!!
Before he could finish, a deafening explosion erupted, stunning everyone.
The sound came from the speakers. The victims instinctively looked toward them, while Izayoi and the others immediately focused on the center of the screen, on the feed showing the little girl.
Crimson hellfire descended from the sky, incinerating the research base she was in.
Karmic flames shot up from the earth's core, burning hundreds of victims to ash, leaving behind a field of mangled limbs and scattered remains.
The sudden catastrophe caught everyone completely off guard.
The culprit was only fully revealed after the live camera feed was obscured for a dozen seconds by a strange object with a black background and red patterns.
It was a colossal dragon—a great red dragon with seven horns and ten heads.
Seeing this terrifying creature from mythology, the ruler of Hell, everyone in the Holy Cross Group stared with wide eyes. Regardless of whether they were Christians, they all recognized the identity of this great red dragon.
"Satan! The Enemy of God!"
"Damn it, they came right to our doorstep!"
Izayoi clenched his fists.
He knew what Asuka had been worried about, but he never imagined the enemy would be so arrogant as to issue such a challenge in front of everyone.
"Run! They're trying to silence you so we can't find their other bases!" Saigo Homura yelled at Lapko on the screen.
The enemy's swift reaction meant they were also watching the live broadcast. Clearly, Lapko's words had threatened their deepest interests.
To prevent the information from leaking, they had chosen to completely annihilate the entire base where Lapko was located.
"Oh!"
Lapko seemed to be in a state of shock, but the other test subjects were not.
The intelligent ones realized that Lapko's words had drawn the enemy here. If not for her ability to expose the enemy's bases, they never would have come.
Therefore, it was clear what they, the victims, needed to do in the face of this invincible foe.
"Protect Lapko!"
One of the victims roared, leaping onto the stage and pushing Lapko away.
"If we protect Lapko, those bastards might just die for this!"
He had instantly grasped the situation and charged toward the evil dragon's flames, sacrificing his own life to provide cover.
Watching their comrade fall, hearing his dying roar, more people snapped to their senses!
"The enemy wants to kill her! They're panicking!"
"Protect Lapko! Our other comrades will avenge us!"
"I didn't want to live anyway! If I'm going to die, I'm taking them with me!"
"..."
In that instant, the pent-up fury in the hearts of the human experiment victims erupted.
You're scared? Good!
Even in death, we'll tear a pound of flesh from you bastards!
They weren't sure if the Holy Cross Group could be trusted, but they were certain that the evil dragon before them was their enemy.
Fueled by a rage that could set the very sky ablaze, they all charged forward, disregarding their own lives.
The thought that even a ten-thousandth of the torture and pain they had endured could be returned to their tormentors in the form of fear made their sacrifice feel worthwhile.
"You kids, take me there too!"
Seeing his comrades charge to their deaths, Typhon threw his head back and roared, tears of blood streaming from the corners of his eyes.
He never, ever imagined the enemy would slaughter his people right in front of him.
The inferno in his chest made him willing to give his own life to take them down with him.
However—
"If we take you, you'll slow Kasukabe down. That delay will only lead to more casualties," Izayoi said calmly, suppressing his own rage.
In the sky, Kasukabe Yō's figure had already transformed into a divine bird and vanished.
The moment Kudou Asuka had voiced her concern, the stoic girl hadn't asked a single question. Without even knowing the reason, she had taken the coordinates and left.
At her speed, she could reach the other side of the Earth in no time. Taking Typhon along would slow her down considerably.
And with Satan's power, that delay would be more than enough time for him to pulverize the entire research base. They couldn't afford to be a second slower.