As previously mentioned, every Toward Hymn member operated at Cognition Level One.
Cognition Level One!
These people barely thought about anything on a daily basis.
To reach the so-called Cognition Level One, one's mind had to be extremely single-minded and completely inflexible, only then could they fall under Cthulhu's influence.
Thus—
From their memories, Haruto found nothing but worthless garbage, devoid of any useful information. However, in order to track down the real culprits behind the attack, Haruto had no choice but to keep searching.
The torment of doing so—
How could it be described?
Imagine being tied to a chair, your eyelids forcibly pried open, and being forced to watch the Top 100 worst-rated films on an endless loop.
If anyone thought that was easy—
Go ahead and watch "Plan 9 from Outer Space" three times in a row.
It was the equivalent of an intellectual insult, an assault on one's cognition, and a lobotomy for the brain.
Fortunately, effort always pays off.
After an exhaustive search, Haruto finally uncovered some valuable information.
Just as expected—
Toward Hymn did not have the power to carry out the site attack on their own. These lunatics had been gathering for a long time.
Otherwise, their numbers wouldn't have been so overwhelming.
Initially, these members had just been roaming around, performing all sorts of blasphemous, insane rituals that would make even a mad god cringe.
Many among them were eager to find their 'Lord' and offer themselves as sacrifices.
But—
There was zero information about their so-called 'Lord'.
Then, one day—
A few individuals suddenly joined Toward Hymn.
They claimed to be believers of the same 'Lord'.
But it was obvious they weren't.
From the memory fragments, Haruto could clearly see that these newcomers didn't have the same vacant, mindless gaze as the rest. While Toward Hymn members were indulging in delirious madness, these newcomers were barely holding back their disgust.
After infiltrating the group, one day, these newcomers suddenly declared that they had 'found' the Lord's location.
They claimed—
"Our Lord is imprisoned by mere mortals! We must rescue Him!"
With that, the location of the Foundation site was exposed to Toward Hymn.
Unfortunately, among this group of lunatics, there happened to be a security guard working at a chemical plant!
That very night—
This security guard summoned other Toward Hymn members, slaughtered his fellow guards, and broke into the plant, stealing a massive amount of C4 explosives.
And that was how this attack came to be.
As for the two individuals who had infiltrated the site as security and research personnel, their information had been altered from within the Foundation itself. Someone had manually entered their profiles into the system, giving them C-Class clearance.
The Foundation's internal logs were reviewed and, just like what happened during the Immortal Lizard Incident, the Foundation's central server had automatically unlocked itself, bypassed its security locks, and recorded their identities.
These two individuals—
Were both Toward Hymn fanatics.
Their sole purpose was to self-destruct, drawing MTF Nine-Tailed Fox's attention, and using the explosion to signal their allies.
Under normal circumstances, a suicidal mission like this would be unthinkable. But unfortunately, Toward Hymn members were all insane.
To them, completing this mission was a blessing, at the very least, it would allow them to glimpse their 'Lord' before dying.
As for who hacked into the site and modified the records—
The memories contained no clues.
And so, the attack on the site unfolded. Those few infiltrators with actual intelligence, they had already fled unnoticed the moment the attack began, leaving behind only Toward Hymn's cannon fodder.
"Trying to use Toward Hymn as cover? Taking the Foundation for fools?"
Haruto sneered coldly.
He didn't have to wait long—
A lead surfaced.
But it wasn't from the global purge.
Instead, the Global Spatial Disturbance Detector picked up a reaction.
The location?
Africa.
(T/N: 'Nig3r Continent', author be wildin.)
Without hesitation, Haruto led two Mobile Task Forces straight to the source.
"This mission's objective is to execute or capture all members of the attacking organization and successfully recover three containment objects. Additionally, the opposing group may have control over unknown anomalies. Their properties are unclear, and on-the-spot judgment will be required."
"One known anomaly is unobservable, produces high-heeled footsteps when moving, and can unlock high-level containment doors. However, the containment priority for this anomaly ranks below the Clockwork Virus. Containment priority must be observed, this is a mission that must succeed!"
Haruto stood before the two Mobile Task Forces and addressed them.
The two units were Wings of Freedom and Black Ball. In terms of combat capability, these two were the strongest.
As he spoke, the team had already arrived at the target location.
In the sky, a hatch suddenly appeared. Haruto pulled it open, below lay Africa. This was a Black Ball flying vehicle, capable of reaching Mach 30 and equipped with stealth technology.
Without hesitation, Haruto was the first to leap out.
The two Mobile Task Forces followed suit, diving from ten thousand meters above.
No parachutes.
They would land directly.
And they couldn't make a sound.
Under Haruto's deliberate acceleration, the descent lasted only an instant. Upon landing, only a faint cloud of dust rose, without a single sound.
Behind him, one crimson squad and one black squad landed as well. According to the Detector, the fluctuation's origin was right ahead.
What lay before them was a dense jungle.
A complex terrain, clearly chosen to delay and hide.
However…
"Clear it. Civilians have been evacuated. We'll restore the terrain afterward."
Haruto ordered.
Black Ball operatives stepped forward and drew sleek, black long-barreled firearms from their waists.
They aimed at the jungle.
The next moment, crimson beams of energy swept forward. Like a pillar, the laser raked across the dense vegetation.
Massive trees were instantly severed at their bases.
All surrounding undergrowth was incinerated into ash.
What had been a dense jungle was reduced to a blazing wasteland in mere moments. Yet, something remained standing.
Deeper in the jungle, a bizarre structure had withstood the onslaught.
A strange metallic building, adorned with countless slowly grinding gears.
It looked like an abandoned warehouse but its construction was disturbingly warped, filled with uneven slopes and recesses.
Seeing this, Suu increased the laser output. She even prepared the heavy gravity gun to flatten the structure entirely.
But Haruto raised a hand to stop her.
Narrowing his eyes, Haruto scrutinized the building.
"Attention, Mobile Task Force—containment object detected. Confirmed as Clockwork Virus. Full armor deployment—avoid physical contact. The host bodies of Clockwork Virus can be completely annihilated. Leave just a single part behind. Prepare for battle!"
Following Haruto's command, both squads entered full combat mode, their suits sealing tightly with no gaps.
And then, the bizarre structure began to change.
The warehouse started breaking apart. Gears disassembled, scattering into individual components. In the next moment—
Dozens of humanoid figures, each bearing metallic wings, emerged into the sky. That "warehouse" had been a congregation of mechanical angels (SCP-217-1). They emitted eerie mechanical sounds, speech of some kind.
But unlike before, their words were no longer comprehensible.
Clearly, they had been corrupted not only by the CLockwork Virus but also by Broken Tongue.
At that moment, Wings of Freedom launched their attack.
They no longer used old grappling-based ODM gear; instead, they had upgraded to true 3D maneuvering systems.
These former Survey Corps soldiers displayed terrifying mobility and lethality.
Crimson blades sliced through the sky, instantly reducing multiple mechanical angels to fragments.
Meanwhile, Black Ball unleashed a full-scale bombardment.
Their mastery of energy weaponry was near perfection.
Despite the chaotic battlefield…
Their energy blasts effortlessly avoided Wings of Freedom members, striking only the mechanical angels.
Against a regular army, these mechanical angels could have easily wiped out several divisions. Missiles and artillery wouldn't have been able to destroy them completely. And their metallic shells would have only provided them sustenance.
But against Mobile Task Forces?
They were nothing but prey.
Had it not been for the abundance of scrap metal in the area, they would have been wiped out in seconds.
Amidst the chaos, Haruto strode forward.
Ignoring everything, he walked directly toward the center of the former warehouse.