Let it Begin

"... Well then." Timothy scratched his nose as they were returned to the projection room, which generated the simulated space. More than a few pieces of equipment were smoking or sparking due to the overloaded systems.

"It appears that there are still some improvements to be made to these simulated environments." Lady Haggai hummed as she stood up and walked over to the two tamers and their beast, the prominent swell of her belly seeming to do nothing against her mobility.

Osho and Mrs Jane looked more or less unscathed. Though, Mrs Jane did appear a bit disheveled as she had been clinging to Ignis's back during the final clash. The wyvern had done an excellent job protecting her, but that didn't stop her from looking like she'd come out of a hurricane. Then again, she technically had.

... And still looked hot despite that.

On the other side, Osho sat on the ground behind Bedrock, whose armor had several cracks running through it that weren't from his lava. Nora had done a number on it, but one fact remained true.

She wasn't able to break through it and harm him.

By his side, Gale lay on his back, his four wings spread flat against the ground. He returned to his 'small' form as his chest heaved, but he seemed immensely satisfied by the results of the battle.

Lady Haggai made a beeline for Osho and his beasts, and as soon as she reached them, she said directly.

"You plan on being here for a while, right? I'd like to borrow your gorilla for a while."

No preamble. She just went ahead and said it.

Osho looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Uh... why?"

She just stared back at him.

"Your beasts are anomalies." Like that explained everything.

"... Okay. But why just Bedrock?" He raised a brow. Not that he didn't think his second beast wasn't worth looking into alone, but considering Gale's clash with a creature two ranks above him destabilized an entire simulated space and forced their duel to end... surely that was worth the scientist's attention.

Indeed, after he asked, Haggai paused before turning to give Gale a deep stare, and Osho could practically feel her desire from there. However, she slowly shook her head after a few seconds.

"It... would be ideal, but many of the experiments I would want to do require him to be still, which we both know isn't possible. Furthermore, leaving you without both of your beasts isn't exactly wise." Hearing this, Osho was surprised.

'How... thoughtful of her.'

The Haggai he remembered would do anything in her power to ensure that she could monitor both beasts and experiment on them simultaneously, Osho's opinions be damned. And even if he convinced her not to, she would make her dissatisfaction very obvious.

However, now, despite her clear desire, she was the one taking the initiative to explain why she couldn't do that.

'Is pregnancy making her soft?' He couldn't help but wonder.

As if hearing his thoughts, she looked straight at him.

"Your existence is too valuable to leave you without adequate protection, and I believe that Gale would be better at keeping you safe, especially considering his ability to escape should the need arise." As soon as she said this, Bedrock let out a dissatisfied snort while Gale looked up with a gloating expression.

"First of all, both my beasts can protect me should the need arise," Osho corrected. "Secondly, it's not my choice. If Bedrock wants to go along, then he will." Hearing this, Haggai shifted her gaze to the large gorilla who looked contemplative.

At this point, he'd dispelled his armor, returning to his usual self, which was devoid of any injuries despite Nora's constant assault. The sight only made Haggai more intrigued as she waited for Bedrock's response.

After a few seconds, Bedrock looked at Osho, and then Osho looked at Haggai.

"He asked if he gets anything out of it." Hearing this, Haggai paused.

"Is there anything he likes?" She asked back.

"Rare earth materials." Osho answered without hesitation.

"That can be arranged." She nodded.

'Right, they do have a meteor.' Osho just as Bedrock finally nodded.

"That's that." He shrugged. If Bedrock agreed, then so be it.

'I do wonder what she has developed this past year.' Osho mused. If there was one thing he couldn't dispute, it was her genius.

He'd seen many of the things she'd developed. From technological marvels to beast-related items, and all of them were impressive at least and shocking at most. The way the woman's brain worked was simply something else, and that was a lot coming from Osho, whose experiments were literally world-changing.

Something told him that if she was the one who received his ability, her applications of it would be significantly different, and probably not much worse than whatever he could achieve.

It was then that Mrs Jane pulled Ignis and Nora into her Beast Space before approaching them as she fixed her hair, and the other people also came over as Osho finally stood, and Gale came to land on his head, the few wounds already healing with the aid of his domain.

"So, I take it that you two are satisfied?" William addressed Osho and Jane.

The latter looked at the former for a few seconds before smiling gently.

"Very satisfied." She nodded, and Osho couldn't help but feel a bit of joy at her recognition as he, too, nodded.

"Great," William nodded. "In that case, I just received a message that the others are ready to come over, so we can properly discuss the other things that warranted your visit." Hearing this, Osho's expression turned a bit more serious as he nodded

"Alright."

***

Roughly half an hour later.

There was a large conference room with a rectangular table that had many luxurious-looking seats, and at the end of the table was a hologram projector.

Around the table, all sorts of individuals were sitting. Osho and his group were a bit further up on the table along with William and many of the elites of the Citadel.

There were some military and government officials as well, with a few delegates sent by other nearby Citadels who believed this matter could involve them.

The room was completely dark, save for the light of the hologram and tablets each person had, as all forms of communication to the outside were cut off, making it clear that whatever was said in the room was to stay in it.

"Alright, then." William spoke cooly as he swept his gaze across the room before his gaze stopped on Osho's group.

"Let the meeting commence." As soon as he said that, Irene stood up, having changed from her casual clothes to a fitting suit, her hair having been tied into a neat bun behind her.

She went to the head of the table, unperturbed by the stares of so many significant people on her at once.

She'd felt worse.

"Good day, everyone." She gave a small bow before straightening and gesturing to the hologram.

"As most of you know by now, there were two incidents that occurred over a year ago that involved the appearance of two creatures. One of them was known as the Skyblight Harbinger, which caused one of the largest Beast Tides in Blossom Citadel's history. The other was the Abyssal Scrounger, which used its insidious abilities to cause chaos during the practical part of the college entrance examination." As she said this, the hologram shifted to reveal two creatures.

One looked like a sickly chimera-like beast, which had an avian creature as its base, and another which looked like a vaguely humanoid mass of constantly shifting black tar.

At the sight of them, the mood of the room turned a bit tense.

"The appearance of both creatures were both unprecedented and disastrous, and they both caused immense damage to the Citadel in different but dire ways." The hologram changed again.

"After the Skyblight Harbinger was defeated, many investigations took place, as its point of emergence was recorded to be at the Black Rock Chain, a location which is the main source of one of the Citadel's primary forms of revenue.

Unfortunately, the way the Abyssal Scrounger made its way into the Citadel was never discovered, which shouldn't be overly surprising, considering its nature." When she said this, the hologram changed again.

This time, it showed what looked like remains of both creatures.

"After investigating their remains, we discovered that both creatures were made using a form of Mana called corrupt Mana. We also discovered that the Skyblight Harbinger was no different from a prototype, while the Scrounger was the more... 'complete' entity of the two." This caused a few frowns, but she continued.

"However, the fact remains that both of them used corrupt Mana as their sources. Still, for a while, we came up empty when it came to finding traces of where they came from. That is until, however, aid from a higher-leveled Citadel arrived, and after over a year of investigating, results were finally yielded." Irene paused and regarded the room, then she continued.

"My group and I have been sent to investigate and uncover traces of those behind both incidents, and we have reason to believe that we have several leads which are, if not definite, will at least be helpful to our case. We will now be presenting these leads and discussing how each person here can render their assistance."