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At the Maki Biochemical Research Lab at Jyoto University, assistant professor Masada is testing the effects of radioactivity. The research takes a specific turn after a group of radiation-stricken fishermen are recovered. They tell a tale of boarding the Ryujin Maru II, a ship found adrift in the South Pacific. While onboard, the fishermen find a captain's log mentioning how six of the crewmembers vanished. The log then ominously ends, raising concern about their fate. The answer to the mystery is discovered shortly afterwards as the fisherman are attacked by liquid beings: the H-Man. Two of the fishermen survive, barely able to escape back to their boat. However, the encounter leaves them with radiation poisoning.
Masada believes their story. He starts researching what could have caused it, before finding out that the Ryujin Maru II was in the vicinity of a nuclear experiment involving a hydrogen bomb. He theorizes that some of the crew were exposed to nuclear fallout, the "ashes of death", and transformed as a result into these liquid beings.
To test this theory, the assistant professor begins experimenting on toads. He develops a machine that removes the immediately harmful effects of nuclear fission, such as heat and kinetic energy. The hypothesis is that this will lead to similar conditions that the Ryujin Maru II crew experienced, seeing as how the ship was not destroyed or damaged despite being in the vicinity of an H-bomb test. The hypothesis proves correct: when the amphibian is exposed to the radiation it undergoes a delayed metamorphosis. This causes the toad's body to bubble, before cells change and the creature slowly turns into a liquid state. Biochemically, the animal is no longer an amphibian at all but a living liquid creature.
Later, after finding out that the H-Man is in Tokyo and victims begin to pile up, an additional experiment is conducted in the lab. For this yet another toad is transformed into a liquid being after exposure to radiation. This time, though, the radioactive monstrosity is set next to a normal toad. The result is horrific as the liquid being attacks the regular amphibian. Through a dissolving touch, the liquid beast reduces the toad to a fluid state and then consumes it. This helps the authorities understand the motive of the H-Man, as it's feasting on the inhabitants of Tokyo through dissolving them and leaving inorganic matter like clothing behind. |
