Chapter 120

Chapter 120

If You Encounter a Young Woman in the Lab Hallway, Run Away Immediately.

In a gray room, Iris, Noah, Jess, Nero, and Lily lay bound on beds placed at regular intervals. Gags stuffed their mouths, and magic-suppressing collars adorned their necks.

‘It’s all because of me…’

Tears, countless in number, flowed down Lily’s cheeks.

‘If only I hadn’t been taken hostage…’

Jess, known as the Red Queen, Iris, who collapsed the arena, Noah, who became several times stronger upon awakening, and Nero, who trained under Noah for a long time.

While Lily being held hostage was a reason for their capture, another reason existed.

“Oh, I thought at least one limb would be gone… You’re more intact than I expected.”

A man with a slightly curled mustache quietly appeared in the laboratory. A researcher standing by the bed they were bound to, jotting something down, greeted him with a bow and spoke in a respectful tone.

“They’re of that high quality. Materials like these are hard to find no matter how much money you have.”

“Even if they are defective, they’re materials capable of fighting on par with battle weaponry. It’s only natural.”

The mustached man grinned, baring his teeth.

“How fortunate, very fortunate. To have such high-quality materials come in at the end of the experiment.”

The man smirked unpleasantly, tapping the edge of Jess’s bed with his fingers as if playing a piano. Jess’s pupils contracted in response.

“Grr…”

As she growled, the man’s grin widened. It was a gaze similar to that of a housewife eyeing fresh vegetables or fish.

The mustached man, smiling slyly at Jess, turned his body to ask another researcher a question.

“How many discarded specimens are there?”

“At least ten.”

Hearing this, the man’s eyes widened.

“All ten were discarded by these?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Huh…”

The man’s cheeks flushed red as if he had encountered his first love. Excitedly, his mustache twitched.

What they were researching was a battle weapon stronger than a single knight of the empire.

A mass-producible knight-level battle weapon. Just hearing it conjured the thick scent of blood.

To create a perfect product, various trial and error were inevitable. Defective products emerged during these processes, and Noah’s group fought against such defects.

Even though they were defective, they were still knight-level results of the empire.

While it might have been a struggle, it wasn’t a total loss. The problem was the number of defects.

‘Were those horrifying things defective?’

Noah recalled the nightmarish creatures that surged like waves. ‘It,’ with various forms like beastmen, monsters, and humans, was strong enough to defeat the Nest’s executives single-handedly.

While Lily being a hostage was part of their capture, the main reason was those endlessly surging creatures.

Noah bit the gag, thinking.

‘I can’t just become a test subject like this. I must find a way to escape from here.’

As Noah’s eyes glimmered with determination, the mustached man approached her.

“Hmm, seeing that your gaze isn’t broken. You’re thinking of escaping here, aren’t you?”

“…!”

“But it’s better to abandon such thoughts.”

Up close, the man’s eyes were filled with madness.

“Having faced them directly, you should know better! The strength of ‘Inbisel,’ the final weapon of the Demon King’s army! Every drop of your blood will be used in the Demon King’s final weapon!”

The man shouted in an agitated voice and then continued in a chillingly smooth tone.

“Ahh -.. now you understand, right? How great of an existence you’re becoming.”

Noah closed her eyes, suppressing the rising nausea. She no longer wished to face the filthy man’s gaze.

The man, thoroughly excited, began to hum, extolling the greatness of the test subject ‘Inbisel.’

“Even if its heart is pierced, even if its head is cut off, it won’t die, and it can wield any weapon with ease. Yet, it lacks intelligence, ensuring loyalty!”

As the man continued speaking, the other researchers in the room had their eyes turn bloodshot. Imagining the glorious path before them, they became immensely excited.

“Such an honorable -…”

As the man attempted to speak his umpteenth praise.

Bang!

The tightly closed laboratory door burst open violently. Entering the room was a researcher, bloodied and pale-faced.

“…! What’s going on!?”

The man’s face turned cold at the ominous atmosphere.

“R-run -…ugh..”

The researcher couldn’t finish his sentence and collapsed forward. His eyes rolled upward, and his body went limp, lifeless.

The atmosphere in the lab turned as cold as a morgue.

“Find out immediately what’s happening right now!”

“Yes!”

They exited the lab swiftly, leaving Noah’s group behind. The mustached man also followed them out of the laboratory.

And not long after -.

“Aaaaah!”

“D-don’t come closer! Aaah!”

Horrific screams echoed from beyond the broken door. The group, bound hand and foot, had to listen silently to the dreadful sounds.

Time passed.

“Hmm, is it not here either?”

A woman’s voice was heard. Everyone turned to look at the person who had just entered the room. She was dressed elegantly, as if going on a date, with navy blue hair cascading to her waist and blue eyes.

The beautiful woman tapped her feet while checking her wristwatch. The problem was that her fists were covered in blood.

“Ugh… I can’t be late. The stains won’t come out.”

She took out wet wipes from a small bag, wiping the bloodstains from her clothes. But as the stains didn’t come out easily, she pouted.

“Oh! There are other people here! I don’t know why you’re tied up, but maybe you can help me!”

Saying that, the woman approached Noah.

“Excuse me, how do I get to Bucheon Station?”

Flooded with incomprehensible information, Noah’s mind stopped working.

“Ah, you don’t know, do you? Hmm… what should I do…”

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

Desperate for any way out of the current situation, Noah made urgent noises. The woman, startled, responded.

“Oh! Now that you mention it, your mouth is covered! Shall I help you?”

When Noah nodded, the woman clenched her eyes shut and, with a round fist, struck the bed’s corner, shouting.

“Hah!”

Crash!

…The bed and restraints shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor. Noah looked up at the woman with a dumbfounded expression.

“Then, about Bucheon Station, I…?”

As the woman continued speaking, her face suddenly began to melt away. Noah, shocked, quickly backed away.

Sssshhh -.

The woman turned into liquid, spreading across the floor as if water had been poured. Unable to withstand the Gag Resident’s blood, her body collapsed.

“This is…”

The melted form of the woman was oddly familiar. When the ‘defects’ they had fought died, they melted into liquid like the woman in front of them.

‘That was close.’

Noah realized that the incomprehensible woman was a result of the experiments.

‘I must get out of here as quickly as possible.’

Why the woman took that form, why she helped, and why she suddenly died were questions Noah had, but now wasn’t the time. Urgently, Noah began untying the others from their beds.

***

At that time, Lian, having sent everyone out, ventured deeper into the lab to find Noah but ended up lost.

“Where is this…”

Due to the chaos overturning the lab, Lian roamed openly without encountering any researchers.

The experimental subjects that drank Lian’s blood were rampaging, but he was only curious about the place.

Lian thought to wander around until he found a researcher to interrogate with the demon sword.

[ Partner, I sense several presences inside that door. ]

Lian immediately went in the direction the demon sword pointed. As he was about to open the tightly closed door, he paused.

‘..Do we have to do this, Gargandoa?’

[ You never know when you might have the chance to shine like this again! I only want to show your, ahem, my splendid appearance when I have the chance! ]

The reason for the pause was the demon sword taking control to perform a grand move like with the giant spider. Lian could reclaim control if he wished, but since the demon sword began whining, he sighed and let it be.

Excited, the demon sword meticulously guided Lian’s body, moving even his fingertips and toes with precision.

The demon sword had passed through countless hands, many of noble status.

Thanks to those memories, Lian moved with the dignity of a noble scion. His faint smile mirrored that of a noble wearing a constant mask.

Click.

The door, left unlocked by a hastily fleeing researcher, opened smoothly, and Lian stepped inside with leisurely steps.

“…! Who are you…?”

The assistants, handling chores inside, mistook Lian for an intruder at first but shivered like lambs upon seeing his noble appearance.

Among them, one was as astonished as the assistants.

‘M-my lord?’

A knight of the duke’s house, trapped inside a glass chamber, saw Lian’s face and was filled with shock.

End of Chapter.