Ch.37Light (2)

“I wonder if they’re watching right now.”

A magical device hidden in a secluded corner.

I looked at the lens covered with transparent light and flashed a brief smile.

I really hope they sense something off.

“Hehe.”

I let out a soft laugh.

That person probably thinks they’re controlling the entire situation in this basement.

But from the moment I set foot in this place.

The game is already as good as over.

I’ll make them regret it.

If they had lived like they were dead after running away, they wouldn’t have had to face me again.

Back then, I let them escape because I was inexperienced.

‘But now that you’ve reappeared… I have no intention of letting you off easily.’

I calmly walk forward.

All I can see is a long corridor stretching ahead, with only torches softly illuminating the darkness around.

Meanwhile, the ceiling was so high it couldn’t even be seen.

Did they put expansion magic here too?

Now as before, they’re fugitives after all, extracting maximum efficiency from limited space.

After walking for a while.

The corridor ends with a massive door blocking the way.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I gently place my palm against it.

With the girls standing behind me at the dead end, I infuse pure mana into the surface.

Then.

Creeeeak-!

The iron door that was closed opens.

Despite not applying much force.

I smile brightly and say:

“Shall we enter?”

“Ah… y-yes! Young master!”

“…How do you know about these things?”

“Hehe.”

Emilia looks at me with suspicious eyes.

Since I couldn’t explain that I learned this from playing the game, I simply brushed it off.

“That’s a secret.”

“……”

Perhaps due to my peculiar behavior.

It seemed to amplify her suspicions, but I didn’t have the luxury to offer explanations.

Because now the real episode was about to unfold.

Thud, thud-

Footsteps echoing gently.

At the end of the long corridor stood a scene of rusted iron bars lined up in rows.

It reminds me of the underground prison where I rescued Irene before.

Of course, the scale was much smaller than back then.

But even this could easily accommodate thirty people.

We slowly looked around.

“To think there’s such a spacious area at the end of the corridor… this place gets more ominous by the minute.”

“W-what on earth was this space created for…?”

“Oh my.”

Of course, the scenery here wasn’t limited to just iron bars.

Beside the gloomy prison.

There was a bed placed with unknown purpose.

Sheets covered in brown stains, chains meant to restrain the body, and blades scattered on the floor.

For someone who knew, it was all too obvious.

‘An abandoned laboratory.’

This place was used as a laboratory long ago.

A cult group of unimaginable cruelty.

They continued their chimera research by artificially combining various organisms, and eventually succeeded in creating something.

A being far removed from common sense.

[EP5. Midterm Exam]

-Abandoned Laboratory, A Monster That Cannot Laugh-

[They finally crossed into the realm of gods.]

[By creating life, they insulted the stars, and by covering themselves in blood, they praised their wicked god.]

[The cultists sang in unison.]

[“All for the sake of the one who is the source of all things and our master…”]

That was the extent of the explanation given in the game.

After that, the laboratory was shut down.

Leaving only minimal management personnel.

Exactly what happened… I think a little imagination is enough.

Anyway, that was the scene before us.

“…What on earth is this.”

“……”

“Didn’t I tell you? Don’t be too surprised by whatever you see.”

Although it had been abandoned for a long time and dust had accumulated.

That didn’t mean all the sins that had flowed so grotesquely were completely covered.

The children fell silent.

Bloodstains stuck to the floor.

Bones piled in corners, and remnants from surgeries.

The sharp smell of rotten meat stings the nostrils.

“……”

The two stood frozen for a moment.

Anger, confusion, sadness… it wasn’t these emotions that froze the girls.

Just.

The intense shock coloring the back of their heads.

It was a somewhat cruel scene for children who weren’t even adults yet.

‘I expected this reaction, but…’

Green and blue eyes filled with shock.

It was fortunate that there were no remains that appeared to be human.

If there had been anything that could be presumed as such, one of them would have fainted.

A sigh escapes me briefly.

‘Even if it’s for Lezia’s growth… is this right?’

Should I have entered the laboratory alone from the beginning?

Such regret flashed briefly, but.

I shook my head.

‘…It’s a necessary process.’

Lezia’s growth was a critical matter.

A certain item obtained in the latter part of the story.

To use it perfectly, the protagonist needed to be in a state of complete awakening.

Being vulnerable like now was problematic.

As the item appears as a key to the ending.

Depending on how well Lezia utilizes it, the outcome changes.

With a bit of exaggeration, one could say the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

“W-what on earth happened here…?”

That’s why the girl’s growth was essential.

To lead this world to a happy ending, a narrative of overcoming pain was necessary.

For her wish to reach ‘it’.

Growth always accompanies pain.

Last time, I stopped Emilia’s bullying.

But thinking long-term.

I needed to appropriately ignore some of the trials she faced.

She needed to learn to endure on her own.

“…Ugh.”

Lezia steps back.

Watching the girl trying to swallow her dry heaves makes my heart heavy.

I inwardly contemplate my regretful feelings.

My beloved protagonist.

Since you met a tragic end in the original work.

This time, I wanted to protect you from pain.

But fate seems determined to make you grow up.

“Miss Lezia.”

“…Young master.”

I gently stroke the girl’s head.

The warmth coloring my palm.

It was a particularly poignant sensation.

As I was calming the protagonist with a gentle touch, the villainess beside me suddenly muttered.

In a somewhat serious voice.

“I had an ominous feeling from the beginning… as expected, this basement doesn’t look like a normal facility.”

“I agree.”

“We should stop advancing further.”

“My lady.”

“Let’s go back the way we came. It would be best to return to where we first teleported.”

“Um, my lady.”

“I won’t yield this time! After seeing such a meaningful sight, are you still going to talk nonsense about continuing to search this place?!”

“That’s not it. I just…”

Emilia was on edge.

I shook my head at her heated outburst and slowly raised my finger to point to the opposite side.

It was the laboratory door we had just passed through.

There.

“I was just going to say it seems too late to go back.”

Something was blocking the way.

The children momentarily forgot their conversation and turned to where I was pointing.

Grrrr-

A bizarrely resonating breath.

It was clearly that of a beast, but there was a terrible sense of dissonance.

It cracked as if several vocal cords had been cut and stitched together.

Blue-glowing teeth glared at us.

The beast’s tooth structure was clearly visible through its terribly torn cheeks, with dirty saliva dripping down.

Tentacles writhed where eyes should have been.

Some had upper bodies in the form of wolves, but lower bodies transformed like spiders.

A truly nightmarish scene.

“W-what is that…?!”

“Where on earth did such terrible creatures…!”

Low-level mobs inhabiting the abandoned laboratory.

They were low-grade chimeras, ‘Failed Wolf Mutants’.

They were glaring at us, making strange cries, looking ready to pounce at any moment.

The tentacles attached to their eyeballs were quite hideous.

They weren’t particularly pleasant designs in the game either.

But seeing them in person made them even more creepy.

To mass-produce such creatures under the pretext of experimentation… Baob, these bastards were definitely insane.

Thanks to them, I’m going to have to clean up.

“Let’s each prepare. They don’t seem to have any intention of letting us go peacefully.”

I calmly give instructions.

As I prepare my falsehood at my fingertips, Emilia stands beside me, holding an ice spear.

Lezia was preparing a spell behind us.

“That’s why I said we shouldn’t move from our initial position!”

“If we had stayed, wouldn’t we have encountered them sooner?”

“I don’t know!”

“Don’t worry. They’re not as difficult as they look.”

“They look like the scariest creatures I’ve ever seen in my life?!”

Emilia responds sharply while surrounding herself with mana.

Perhaps because we were in immediate danger.

She didn’t seem to remember anything about our deal.

I smile slightly.

“Let’s deal with the situation at hand first.”

Grrrr, keeeeek-!

The mutants that had been lurking, looking for an opportunity.

They soon bared their teeth savagely and charged at us all at once, kicking off the ground.

“Well then.”

I step forward.

In each hand, I hold a sword made of shadows.

Then.

“Let’s try to survive.”

Thwack-!

The darkness pierces the forehead of a mutant that approached right in front of me.

As I smoothly pull out the blade.

Two wolves attempt to ambush from both sides.

Swaaaash-!

I spin around, drawing a dance line.

The darkness slicing through the air.

The short and concise sword path resembles elegantly written calligraphy.

And the next moment.

Slash-!

The upper bodies of the wolves, cut at an unknown moment, fall to the floor.

Rotten blood soaks the surroundings.

It was a scene where three mutants were butchered in an instant.

I stop in place.

With a subtle killing intent.

“Hehe.”

It was a kind of message.

To the person who must be watching this situation through the screen.

“Just wait.”

Once this trivial matter is finished, I’ll come to take your neck.

With my lips moving.

I smiled meaningfully.