A battered heavy vehicle rushed back to the Hayes clan's forward base at top speed.
Although many Hayes soldiers had risked their lives to cover the vehicle's retreat, its hardened alchemical metal shell still bore terrifying corrosion marks and impact dents.
These marks were proof of the hardships and horrors it had endured along the way.
No matter what, the sacrifices of these Hayes soldiers were valuable.
Because now, a primal demon captured on the battlefield had been made into a specimen and sent here...
"Commander, the Brain-Eater squad has returned!"
A Hayes officer burst into the commander's residence to report.
"They successfully captured a biological sample from a hostile world. Its power level is…"
"Legendary!"
"According to the front-line reports, this creature's vitality is considered the 'peak' of enemy soldiers."
At the Hayes forward base, ever since engaging in conflict with the Endless Abyss, the commander finally received some good news.
Hearing this, the commander couldn't help but brighten at the prospect.
"Well done, excellent work!"
After saying this, the commander quickly dressed and hurried with the officer toward the Brain-Eater squad.
---
When he arrived beside the legendary demon and saw its true form with his own eyes, even he couldn't help but gasp in shock.
"What a terrifying creature!"
Within the seal, a four-armed demon fixed its crimson eyes on every Hayes clan member present.
Its crimson gaze exuded the ruthless aura of a chaotic and evil world.
Its mouth uttered demonic whispers, tempting every soul present toward the depths of corruption.
Even just locking eyes with it caused ordinary Hayes soldiers extreme discomfort.
"(Demonic) Little one, I feel it…"
The four-armed demon sensed the commander's gaze, looked at him, and spoke.
The moment it spoke, the commander felt as if his soul had been shattered by icy water, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
In the demon's eyes, the commander's pale face was reflected.
"The fear hidden in your soul~ Are you scared, are you trembling?"
Calming himself, the commander turned to a Brain-Eater squad member with gears and books painted on his chest.
"What is it saying? Can it be translated with magical tools?"
In this world where mana exists, the Hayes clan had the ability to communicate with most other species.
In the Hayes home world, magical translation devices were expensive but not uncommon.
Hearing this, the Brain-Eater squad member shook his head decisively.
"Sorry, Commander. We have attempted communication, but its language seems affected by some world rules. We cannot translate it."
"What?"
The commander frowned. To him, this was almost unbelievable.
"What kind of world rules could protect a creature's language?"
"Commander, we do not understand it either, but it is the truth."
The Brain-Eater squad member spoke seriously.
"This legendary creature is the most valuable acquisition since our arrival in this world. What we can confirm now is…"
"The aura contained within this legendary being is incompatible with the world we invaded. In other words…"
"It truly is a creature from another world!"
Hearing this, the commander exhaled heavily, a complex joy swelling inside him.
"Can we be 100% certain?"
"Not yet, but once we send it to a research institute, or to any of the mana academy or alchemy school facilities, we can confirm it completely."
---
While the two were discussing, countless points of light began glowing within the base's spatial channel.
Thud thud thud!
Orderly footsteps appeared, and all soldiers turned their gaze toward that direction.
From the spatial channel, a fully armed army emerged.
This army's uniform was completely different from the current "vanguard" forces.
Their bodies bore bright red alien skull emblems.
As soon as they appeared…
"The Exterminator Corps!"
Someone recognized the infamous army, the terrifying force that had destroyed countless worlds.
"But that's not all…"
At the second spatial channel, the same glowing lights appeared.
Another army, with uniforms marked with blood-dripping blades, emerged. Silence immediately fell over the forward base.
No one dared speak in front of these chemically brainwashed "madmen," breaking military discipline.
"It's… the Exterminators!"
A Hayes soldier trembled, thinking this to himself.
Meanwhile, in the third channel, ugly, almost junk-like heavy alchemical machines were transported through the portal.
These machines were covered in blood and grime, as if they hadn't been cleaned for a long time.
But everyone knew these machines were well-maintained. They were filthy because they had just rushed from another battlefield.
They had received no rest or resupply and had come straight to the new battlefield.
Each machine bore various marks of poisonous sores painted with blood and machine oil.
At the same time, the fourth and fifth channels lit up. The Great Scientist Corps and the Mana Envoy Corps were also arriving, though much slower due to their different equipment.
Once these three armies had arrived, the vast forward base fell into an extreme, terrifying silence.
"Commander, what you need to worry about most now is how to command these three formidable armies."
The Brain-Eater squad member shrugged and ordered the team to push the demon toward the spatial channel.
"And we will take these samples back to our world."
The commander nodded blankly.
Watching the squads from the academy and alchemy school push abyssal creatures and black earth samples toward the portal…
He instinctively glanced at the legendary demon.
This creature, chaotic and evil to the extreme, inexplicably bore a strange smile as it looked toward the other end of the portal, toward…
The home world he was born in?
In an instant, a sense of foreboding filled the commander's heart.
"He…"
"Why is it smiling?"