Humanity Vash and Wolfwood arrive in July, where Vash reveals he knows Wolfwood has been working for Knives. At Knives' base, Meryl and Roberto meet the researcher Bill Conrad who explains that he has been attempting to create an new type of weaponized human which would be better adapted to Nomans Land's hostile conditions. However, his experiments such as Monev the Gale, Nicholas and Livio have ended in failure. He is now using cloned tissue from Knives in an attempt to create an new type of human-plant hybrid type of humanity which are "Independents" like Knives and Vash. When Meryl expresses pity for them, one named Elendira bursts from her capsule and attacks her and Roberto. Vash and Wolfwood arrive just in time to save Meryl from Elendira, but Roberto is mortally wounded. He entrusts his signature derringer pistol to Meryl before dying and she decides to confront Knives herself. Wolfwood parts ways with Vash now that his mission is complete. Vash confronts Knives, who drops him into a pitfall trap, intending to remake him as the perfect Independent.