Falkmar and Josef turned to face the newcomer.

  Standing before them was William Faraday, the head researcher of the department and a Colonel in the military. He was a man in his fifties, yet his physique remained as solid and disciplined as a soldier in his prime. His sharp, silver hair was neatly combed back, accentuating his stern features—deep-set eyes that held a piercing intensity, a strong jawline, and an ever-present furrow in his brow, as if he were constantly scrutinizing the world around him.

  Unlike many of the researchers who spent their days hunched over experiments, William carried himself like a warrior, his posture unwavering, his presence commanding. Even Josef, for all his arrogance, hesitated before speaking in his presence.

  “Greetings, Colonel Faraday. Major Tatjana requested this girl be examined,” Falkmar said, his voice steady and professional.

  William Faraday arched an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he regarded the girl standing before him. “Oh? Someone Tatjana has taken an interest in?” he mused.

  “Yes, sir,” Falkmar confirmed. “This girl was possessed by an angel.”

  William’s expression shifted, curiosity flickering in his sharp eyes. He stepped forward, studying Kelda with a keen, practiced gaze before pcing a firm but careful hand against her forehead. His touch was cool, clinical—searching for something unseen.

  “Do you feel cold?” he asked, his voice measured.

  Kelda met his gaze without hesitation. “No, I don’t feel cold. I feel fine,” she answered simply.

  William’s fingers lingered a moment longer before he withdrew his hand, his interest clearly piqued. “Fascinating…” he murmured, rubbing his chin in thought. His gaze flicked toward another man in the room.

  “Josef,” William called, a smirk tugging at his lips. “She’s right up your alley. You’ll definitely want to take a closer look at this one.”

  Josef scoffed, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “What could possibly be so special about some country bumpkin?” he grumbled. “If this turns out to be a waste of time, you’d better start allocating more funding to my research.”

  Despite his compints, he pushed himself up and strode toward Kelda, his sharp eyes scrutinizing her from head to toe. His gaze was clinical, dissecting, as if he were already peeling away yers of mystery with nothing more than a gnce. Kelda stiffened under his stare, shifting slightly, but Josef paid no mind to her discomfort.

  Without warning, he reached for her wrist, his fingers wrapping around it firmly to check for any irregurities in her pulse. The moment his skin made contact, he faltered. Her wrist was ice cold—unnaturally so.

  His grip tightened slightly. “You said you don’t feel cold?” he asked, his voice losing some of its previous skepticism.

  “Y-yes,” Kelda stammered. “I feel fine.”

  A slow grin crept onto Josef’s face, his earlier irritation melting into intrigue.

  “Well, well…” he murmured, his tone ced with excitement. “Now this is interesting.”

  “I’ll need to conduct a thorough examination,” Josef stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. He turned on his heel. “Follow me.”

  Kelda hesitated for a brief moment before trailing after him.

  Indienee moved to follow as well, but Josef abruptly raised a hand to block her path. “Outsiders should remain here,” he said ftly.

  “She’s under my care,” Indienee shot back, her tone firm.

  “I don’t care,” Josef replied without so much as a gnce in her direction.

  A flicker of irritation crossed Indienee’s face. Her fingers twitched, as if considering whether to physically stop him, but before she could act, Kelda spoke up.

  “I-I’ll be fine… I guess?” she said, her uncertainty evident. She gnced at Falkmar, silently seeking reassurance.

  Falkmar met her gaze and gave a small nod.

  Reassured—at least somewhat—Kelda exhaled and followed Josef through the doorway, the heavy wooden door closing behind them with an unsettling finality.

  “She’ll be fine. You have my word,” Falkmar said firmly.

  Indienee crossed her arms, her voice edged with warning. “If anything happens to her, I’ll make sure you hold to the promise you made back in the camp.”

  Falkmar didn’t flinch. “And I will.” His confidence in Almany was unshaken.

  After completing Kelda’s check-up, Josef practically trembled with excitement as he reviewed the results. “Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating! With this discovery, I might even become the head researcher!”

  Kelda hesitated before speaking. “Can you save my Mutti and Vatti? They’re trapped in ice.”

  Josef barely looked up from his notes. “Yes, yes, of course! I can save them—with your body.”

  “E-Eh? M-My body?!” Kelda stammered, her face turning red.

  Josef finally gnced at her, raising an eyebrow. “Yes. Your body’s unique properties allow you to absorb ice energy. By harnessing that, we can free your parents from the ice.”

  “O-Oh… you meant that.” Kelda’s embarrassment deepened as she realized she had completely misunderstood.

  “But first, I need you to remain here,” Josef said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. “I need to conduct further research to understand how your body works.”

  Kelda hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Okay… as long as you can save Mutti and Vatti.”

  Josef reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a small tablet, holding it out to Kelda with an air of urgency. “Swallow this. It will help me conduct tests more efficiently,” he instructed.

  Kelda hesitated, eyeing the tablet suspiciously. Sensing her reluctance, Josef leaned in slightly, his voice low but insistent. “It’s for your parents. This will help us save them.”

  His words pierced through her hesitation, and with a deep breath, Kelda accepted the tablet. She swallowed it quickly, but as soon as it slid down her throat, an unsettling wave washed over her. Her vision began to spin, colors swirling together like a storm, and before she could grasp what was happening, darkness enveloped her, pulling her into unconsciousness.

  “Oi, bring her to the container over there,” Josef commanded the guards, pointing to a metallic chamber in the corner of the room. The guards quickly obeyed, hoisting Kelda’s limp form and transporting her away, leaving Josef with a satisfied grin on his face as he prepared for the next phase of his experiments.

  Back in the main research room, Indienee waited alone. Falkmar had left earlier to attend to other matters.

  When Josef finally emerged from the examination room, she wasted no time.

  “What’s the verdict? Where’s Kelda?” she asked.

  Josef barely spared her a gnce. “Oh, you’re still here? The girl will be staying for further study. You can leave.”

  Indienee’s eyes narrowed. “I need to see her.”

  “You can’t,” Josef said dismissively.

  “I wasn’t asking for permission.”

  Josef let out an annoyed sigh. “Stop pestering me, or I’ll call the guards and have you detained.”

  "Try me," Indienee said, her left prosthetic arm whirring to life, gears spinning as energy built up within it.

  Josef narrowed his eyes. "If you y a hand on me, you’ll be making an enemy of Almany."

  "I don’t care," Indienee shot back. "I don’t trust people like you."

  Josef sighed, scratching his head in frustration. "Fine, fine. If you’re this determined, then come with me."

  Josef led Indienee down a stark white hallway, her eyes scanning for any sign of an ambush. Every step she took was careful, wary of the man ahead of her.

  When they reached a door, Josef stepped inside, then suddenly turned around. "Oh, I almost forgot something."

  Before Indienee could react, the door smmed shut between them.

  Her instincts fred. "What the hell?!" she shouted, smming her fist against the barrier.

  Josef’s voice crackled through a hidden speaker. "Idiots like you should just listen to people smarter than them."

  A faint hiss filled the hallway. Indienee’s eyes widened as a thick mist seeped through the vents.

  "Gas?!" She grit her teeth, gears in her prosthetic arm whirring as she gathered energy. If she could bst a hole in the wall—

  Her vision blurred.

  Her body swayed.

  Too te.

  The energy in her arm fizzled out as she colpsed to the floor.

  Once the gas dissipated, the door slid open, and Josef stepped out, a smug grin stretching across his face.

  "A ptinum-ranked adventurer… and that arm of hers looks like a fine piece of work." He crouched beside her unconscious form, inspecting the intricate mechanisms of her prosthetic.

  "I suppose I should study her body as well."

  "That fool William will be green with envy once he sees my research." Josef chuckled, his fingers twitching in excitement. "I'll surpass him. No—I'll surpass them all!"

  A manic grin spread across his face as he envisioned his future, standing at the pinnacle of scientific discovery.

  "Ahahaha!" His ughter echoed through the cold, sterile hallway, filled with the promise of his inevitable triumph.

  Later that day, Falkmar returned to check on Kelda, only to notice that Indienee was nowhere to be found. A sense of unease crept over him as he searched the facility.

  Finding Josef, he wasted no time. “Where are they?”

  Josef sighed, rubbing his temples as if exhausted by the question. “They left. Now stop bothering me.”

  Falkmar frowned but didn’t press further. Trusting Josef’s words, he walked away—completely unaware that both Kelda and Indienee had been captured.

  Falkmar scoured the entire kingdom, his determination unwavering as he sought any sign of Kelda and Indienee. He questioned soldiers, searched through barracks, and even ventured into the markets, but all his efforts proved fruitless. Frustration mounted as the hours passed, and he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong.

  Eventually, weariness set in, and he had to confront the painful possibility that Indienee had taken Kelda away, acting on her distrust of Almany. With a heavy heart, he returned to the command post, his mind racing with worry for their safety and the implications of their departure.

  In one of the sterile rooms of the research department, Indienee y on a cold examination table, her metal dress armor stripped away, leaving her naked. The clinical atmosphere felt oppressive, the stark fluorescent lights casting harsh shadows over her form. Josef stood nearby, an array of apparatus spread out before him, his gaze fixated on her as he prepared to conduct his examination.

  He had chosen to start with Indienee, his excitement bubbling beneath the surface. She was a formidable specimen, after all, but his true interest y with Kelda, the girl whose unique properties he pnned to explore st. For now, he focused on the ptinum-ranked adventurer, intrigued by the potential insights her body could provide.

  Josef approached her, adjusting his spectacles as he began to scan her physique with a mixture of curiosity and scientific ambition. “Let’s see what you’re made of,” he murmured to himself, his mind racing with the possibilities of what he might discover.

  “Ah, I see now!” Josef excimed, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of excitement and malice as he scanned the results on the paper in his hands. “You’re not just any human—you’re a demon! Just like that insufferable soldier who refuses to acknowledge my brilliance.” He let out a derisive ugh, the sound echoing ominously in the sterile room. “It seems that rebellion runs deep in your filthy blood, doesn’t it? Ahahaha!”

  His ughter was tinged with a sense of triumph, reveling in the idea that he had uncovered something extraordinary. The notion of examining a demon fueled his ambition further, igniting a dark fascination within him.

  “And what’s with the burnt scars all over your body? Were you a sve, too?” Josef sneered, examining Indienee with a mix of disdain and curiosity. “I initially thought this gauntlet was just a part of your armor, but it seems you’re nothing more than defective goods.”

  With a malevolent grin, he continued, “Let’s remove your prosthetics. Not that you’ll need them anymore.” He moved closer, his intentions clear as he began to strip away her left prosthetic arm and right leg with a ruthless efficiency.

  As he discarded the limbs carelessly, he showed no sign of interest in the advanced craftsmanship that had gone into creating them. To Josef, they were merely an afterthought. His sole obsession y in the realm of bio-research, where he believed true discoveries awaited.

  “I haven’t had the chance to study a demon specimen before,” Josef said, a sinister grin spreading across his face. “This is going to be quite entertaining; I can’t wait to uncover the secrets of your kind.” With that, he leaned closer, eager to begin his examination, his tools ready as he prepared to explore the unique aspects of her biology.