episode_0024

The area with the red question mark was blocked by a rusty iron gate.

An ominous feeling that is difficult to explain in words seems to be flowing from beyond the door.

For some reason, if I open this door and go in, something very unpleasant will happen.

But I can’t come this far and go back empty-handed.

I have a reward to receive, and I want the loot that might be inside.

“Rebecca, you’d better go inside before more enemies come.”

“You are right. We can’t waste magic bullets anymore.”

I decided not to hesitate any longer on Laura’s suggestion.

Then, using the power of the magic armor, he simply broke down the locked door and entered.

The space beyond the iron gate was a dark dungeon.

When I turned on the light with my pocket watch, I could see what seemed like dozens of people trapped inside.

When I checked the map window, the red question mark had already been renamed to the Red Goblin Gang Underground Research Facility.

I don’t know what research they’re doing, but it’s already sending a chill down my spine.

I decided to block the broken door with Laura first before contacting people.

If monsters entered this place, everyone here would die, so they completely blocked it by piling up objects so heavy that they could not do anything with their own strength.

“Driver! Please save me!”

“Please save us!”

“Knight!”

The trapped people belatedly called me “sir knight” and desperately asked for help.

They were all hanging from the cold iron bars in a state of fear, stretching out their arms toward us.

When I used my analysis skill, I found that they were all slaves, but they were all in good nutritional condition.

“Why are you guys trapped here?”

“I was sold here and was just waiting to die. Please save us!”

“Calm down. Right now it’s just the two of us, so we can’t protect you guys properly. I’ll bring a rescue team right after I finish the mission. So just hold on a little longer.”

“Thank you! I will trust you and wait, driver!”

The slaves listened to me obediently.

I’m glad no one got excited and made a fuss.

Not only are they aware of their own status, but they also seem to have infinite trust in the Knights.

“Does anyone know what this place is?”

“I don’t know exactly, but when the time came, several people were dragged to that door over there.”

“I understand. I’ll get you guys out of jail first, so please wait here quietly. It’s very dangerous outside because of monsters, so you must never make a fuss. Did you understand?”

“Yes, driver! We will faithfully obey the driver’s orders.”

The slaves bowed their heads and swore to obey me.

I’m not a real knight, so there’s no need to go this far.

“Laura, I will take the left side, and you will take the right side.”

“Yes, Rebecca.”

We opened the doors of a total of six prisons and took out approximately 50 people.

I want to take these people to a safe place right away, but there are too many monsters in the underground waterway, so I can’t help it.

However, sending it straight up to a nearby manhole would be dangerous because it would be in the middle of a battlefield where a gunfight is in full swing.

For now, the safest way would be to have the slaves wait here and then lead a rescue team.

I’m sure the Knights won’t just give up on these people because they are slaves.

“Let’s go, Laura. We have to finish the job quickly so we can bring the rescue team.”

“Is it okay if I leave those people here?”

“I believe so.”

“Then I will trust Rebecca too.”

“Thank you.”

Out of habit, I raised my hand and stroked Laura’s helmet, not her head.

Whenever Laura was cute and adorable, I patted her on the head and she ended up reaching out even while wearing armor.

“Rebecca, I think that’s the entrance people were talking about.”

“I think so. Let’s go quickly.”

I walked over to the door Laura pointed to and pushed it open with my hand.

A long hallway greeted us, and unlike the prison, it was very clean and bright.

So much so that it has a modern feel.

We walked down the hallway and came across another door, which was quite thick so I kicked it a few times and broke it.

And then I encountered a real research facility.

When I checked the map window, I saw that the red question mark had been renamed to Red Goblin Gang Underground Research Facility.

In a research facility as large as a soccer field, there were water tanks of various sizes lined up, and inside them were naked people filled with an unidentifiable reddish liquid.

There were also large and small cages placed all over the place, inside which various animals were trapped and trembling in fear.

Everyone was looking at me asking me to take them out, but when I used the analysis skill, they were infected with demon parasites, so I had no choice but to kill them all.

Killing animals struggling to survive was harder than I thought, but for some reason, a sense of duty guided me.

The animals’ cries of fear soon subsided, and I turned around without hesitation.

In a stronger cage on the opposite side, the lowest-class monsters and the lowest-class monsters were locked separately.

They were either in the process of mutating or had completely mutated by eating flesh that appeared to be human.

As I was trying to kill all the monsters running wild, I suddenly turned my attention to the room sealed with a glass wall that was visible beyond us.

Inside, parasitic mushrooms were growing in large quantities, and the corpses of people who had been used as hosts were littered on the floor.

It is very ominous to see monsters and parasitic mushrooms in one place.

Is this why it is displayed in red on the map window?

I don’t know what they’re researching here, but it definitely doesn’t have good intentions.

“Rebecca! Check this out!”

Without thinking for a moment, I hurried to where Laura was when she shouted.

There was a large tank filled with palm-sized, pitch-black eggs.

It looks like a swimming pool filled with water and a pile of plastic balls poured into it.

As soon as I used the analysis skill on Al, I was shocked.

These large quantities of eggs were all devil parasite eggs, and almost all of them were alive.

If these weren’t in suspended animation, the research facility would have turned into hell by now.

“How is it possible to conduct such advanced research on the subject of gangs in such a huge facility?”

“He must have received support from powerful nobles. No matter how much money a gang makes, they cannot secretly operate such a large-scale research facility without the help of those in power.”

“I don’t know what they are trying to do by breeding so many demon parasites. Wait, those things look like things on their bodies too?”

I realized too late that there was something strange about the people floating in the water tank.

People’s bodies were full of devil parasites the size of a hand, and some people were still alive even with half of their bodies eaten by them.

I used my analysis skills on those people, but no special information came out.

It was only possible to confirm slave status.

“Demon parasites do not use humans as hosts, so why were they kept together?”

“There was a parasitic mushroom over there. Aren’t they trying to change the characteristics of the demon parasite by studying it?”

“Oh my God! If that happens, the world will be destroyed.”

Laura seemed very surprised by my guess.

Adapting traits from completely different species is almost magical, so no need to be surprised.

No. Magic really exists in this world, right?

Yes, it might be possible with magic.

That’s probably why Laura was so surprised.

“There is no solid evidence yet, so let’s look for more information. If you search your desk or dresser, you might find something like documents.”

“Yes, Rebecca.”

We opened every storage compartment in the research facility to find out exactly what was going on here.

But then, I heard the sound of the magic elevator operating.

We stopped what we were doing and quickly hid behind a pile of boxes in the corner.

I secretly looked outside through a gap in the box and saw members of the Red Goblin gang getting off the magic elevator.

About 10 of them were carrying oil drums and torches, possibly with the intention of burning the place down.

“This place sucks every time I come. Why is the boss doing such useless research?”

“Shut up and spray some oil. If we get caught here, we’re all finished.”

“The knights are already stomping on us, so what is there to end here?”

“You idiot! If this is discovered, you will be burned at the stake! Think about it before you live.”

“That’s terrible. What happened to the topic that popped up the other day when I got robbed by a girl?”

“Oh, fuck! It really sucks.”

Among the guys who are currently making fun of their mouths, the one who swore last was the one who provoked me by shaking his dick in front of me and then ran away to die.

I was sorry I missed it at the time, but I realized I could properly repay this opportunity.

As I watched the situation a little longer and tried to deal with the gang members, I unintentionally heard something shocking.

“Hey, have you ever seen a monster prey on a woman?”

“You said you ate it instead of catching it? Do those bastards have dicks too?”

“A few days before you signed up, the boss said he would show us something interesting, so we followed along and he showed us exactly that. It was a fucking show where the wife was eaten while the husband was eaten alive! It was such a shame that my daughter from the snow leopard tribe ran away before we attacked her.”

Are my ears wrong? A person was raped by a monster and it was a huge show? These guys are crazy.

I was going to ask Laura for help, with the intention of destroying all the bastards who were spouting this bullshit.

But something was strange about Laura’s condition.

Laura was shaking so much that her lightweight magic armor was visibly shaking and she was crying, trying not to make a sound.

Why are you doing this all of a sudden? no way?

My body froze for a moment as a horrifying thought suddenly passed through my mind.

But I couldn’t bear to ask Laura directly what she thought.

If I put that in my mouth, something irreparable will happen.

Fortunately, Laura spoke to me first.

“Rebecca, I have a lifetime favor to ask.”

“Tell me anything.”

“Please help me kill my parents’ enemies. I just can’t stand it. Please help me.”

Laura begged me with difficulty, as if swallowing the pain of her internal organs being torn apart.

I cried so much because I felt so sorry for Laura, who had hidden this unfortunate past and showed me a brighter side.

My guess was, unfortunately, what actually happened.

Laura’s parents met a very cruel end at the hands of the boss of the Red Goblin gang.

I thought it was lucky that Laura didn’t go through the same thing as her parents, but I couldn’t help but say that I was glad that you were alive.

In times like this, the best consolation would be to help with revenge.

“Of course I have to help.”

“Thank you, Rebecca. I love you with all my heart.”

“I really, really love you too.”

After giving Laura a hug, I went to the front to finish off the gang members.

My goal is to take down the bastard who excitedly mentioned Laura’s parents and kill everyone else.

I could not control my heart boiling with hatred, and I began to relieve my anger by aiming at the head of the nearest enemy and pulling the trigger.

The gang member who was hit by the magic bullet died because his head exploded without even making a sound.

That scene, which should have been disgusting, now felt refreshing.

I jumped high on the head of a gang member who was hastily hiding, stepped on him, and exploded him to death.

He then swung his fist at the gang member who was right next to him, blowing a large hole in his chest.

The seven remaining gang members fired magical bullets at me, but of course I didn’t take any damage.

The sound of magic bullets bouncing or crushing was loud, like the sound of popcorn popping.

There was a guy with a magic rifle, but the best way to do it was to use regular magic rifle bullets to provide a stopping power of a gentle push.

I ran towards the guy holding the magic rifle with great strides, tore apart one guy in my path with magic bullets, and hit the other guy with my shoulder, crushing all the bones in his upper body and sending him flying far away.

Then he kicked the guy holding the magic rifle, separating his upper and lower body.

Now there are four people left and there are four magic bullets left in the chamber.

However, I don’t think there is any need to use magic bullets.

I jumped up once more and crushed the guy who was firing the magic shotgun at me with my foot, and used the magic shield to push the guy who was trying to run away right in front of me up to the wall and crush him to death.

And now, I ran towards the guy who was trying to light the fire with a torch, ripped the arm holding the torch from his body, and hit his head with his fist and plunged it into his body.

By the time I regained my senses, all of the gang members, except for the one whose goal was to subdue them, had turned into unsightly pieces of meat.

The water tanks hit by blind magic bullets exploded, mixing the sticky, slippery jelly-like liquid with the oil that had been sprayed on the floor of the research facility, and the people inside it died.

Just like the people we found in the goblin spawning den before, there is no way to free these people other than this way.

I reloaded twice and fired at the remaining water tanks, freeing the souls of the victims.

“How are the ki, ki, knights here? Fuck, fuck!”

The gang members who had already seen me mistook me for a knight like slaves do, and were completely frightened and floundering in the unidentifiable liquid.

For people who live in sin, a knight is like the Grim Reaper.

So this guy is so scared that he even urinates while looking at me.

It seems like the confidence he had in shaking his head at me has completely disappeared.

“Noisy.”

I shot the guy in the ankle with a magic pistol.

He screamed and tried to cover his ankle, but I stepped on his ankle first, causing more pain.

“Rebecca, I’m going to die. We need to dig up information.”

“Whoa, I guess I was too excited. I’ll leave the interrogation to you.”

“Yes, Rebecca.”

I handed over the gang members to Laura and headed to the cage where the monsters were kept.

And I shot and killed all the guys who were anxious to kill me, leaving no one behind.

I felt sorry when I killed innocent people and animals, but when I dealt with monsters, I felt like I was just clearing up trash, just like when I killed a gang member.

A little tired, I watched Laura torture, or interrogate, a gang member.

Laura’s interrogation skills were so good that she only saw a little blood, but the gang member became very obedient and blew everything he knew on her.

“Rebecca, I found out where my parents’ enemy is hiding. I also found out what was studied here. They say the most important evidence is contained in that safe.”

“Good job. Leave the cleanup to me and you take care of the evidence first.”

I deliberately grabbed the gang member’s injured ankle and dragged him.

It didn’t matter whether he screamed for forgiveness or not.

My opinion is that this is just a lump of flesh making unnecessary noise.

I drained the water from the tank containing the monster eggs and threw the gang member into it.

He then poured oil on it and ignited it by throwing a torch at the gang members who were struggling to survive.

The monster’s eggs and the gang members screamed together and burst into flames, but soon became quiet.

But my work did not end here.

I broke the glass wall containing the parasitic mushrooms with a few punches and entered, spraying oil and lighting it on fire.

Since the magic armor completely blocked the parasitic mushroom spores, there was no need to breathe fire and burn the spores in the air.

And I completed my own purification mission by gathering the corpses of monsters, beasts, and people and burning them all.

As expected, the word purification goes best with fire.

When I opened the map window to take a breather, the red text changed to white text like the others, and another red question mark appeared nearby.

I was worried about some sort of boss battle because it was red, but now I see it seems to be a hint for a special event.

Here, I learned about Laura’s unfortunate past, which I had never thought about, and after doing something related to it, the text turned into white.

‘Anyway, the simple task of gathering information has suddenly grown into the task of avenging Laura’s enemies. Normally I would go back and get the money right away, but right now helping Laura is my priority.’

I walked over to Laura, who was waiting for me quietly next to the magic elevator.

She was holding a briefcase she had taken out of the safe and was crying sadly.

Laura must be tormented by sadness and pain that I cannot even imagine.

So I couldn’t say anything to comfort Laura other than hug her.

No matter what I say now, nothing will be able to heal Laura’s broken heart.