episode_0037

‘Is he watching right now?’

A magical artifact hidden in a corner crevice. I looked at the angle, finished with a transparent light, and flashed a brief smile.

I hope he feels at least a sense of incongruity.

“Hmph.”

A low laugh escaped me. He must be mistaken, thinking he controls everything in the basement. But from the moment I stepped in here, the game was already over.

I’ll have to make him regret it. If he had lived as if dead after fleeing, he wouldn’t have had to face me again, at least. Back then, I was inexperienced, so I let you go.

‘Since you’ve reappeared… I have no intention of letting you off easy.’

I walked calmly forward. All that met my eyes was a long corridor, with only torches faintly illuminating the darkness around it. It was so vast that the ceiling was out of sight.

Did they cast expansion magic here too? Perhaps because they are always being chased, they are extracting extreme efficiency from limited spaces, both then and now. After moving my feet for a while, the corridor soon ended, and a massive door blocked the way.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

I subtly placed my palm on it. Leaving the girls stopped at the dead end behind me, I infused pure mana into its surface. Then.

*Creak-!*

The closed iron door opened. Even though I didn’t exert much force, I smiled faintly and spoke.

“Shall we go in?”

“Ah… Yes, yes! Young Master!”

“……How do you know things like this?”

“Heh heh.”

Emilia looked at me with suspicious eyes. I couldn’t explain that it was a strategy learned from a game, so I merely equivocated.

“It’s a secret.”

“……”

Perhaps due to my peculiar suspiciousness, it seemed to have amplified her suspicion, but I didn’t have the luxury of offering a detailed explanation. Because now was the real beginning of the episode.

*Thump-thump-thump-.*

Footsteps echoed softly. At the end of the long corridor was a scene of rusty iron bars standing in rows. It brought to mind the underground prison where I rescued Irene previously.

Of course, the scale was much smaller than then. Even so, it was large enough to accommodate at least thirty people. We slowly surveyed our surroundings.

“To think there’s such a vast space at the end of the corridor… This place is getting more ominous.”

“W-what in the world was this space created for…?”

“Oh dear.”

Of course, the scene here wasn’t merely limited to iron bars. Beside the gloomy, seething prison, a bed of unknown purpose lay there. Sheets covered in brown stains, chains seemingly for restraining bodies, and sharp blades scattered on the floor. To someone who knew, these were alarmingly blatant details.

‘Abandoned laboratory.’

This place was used as a laboratory a long time ago. A group of unbelievably cruel fanatics. They artificially combined various creatures and continued their chimera research, eventually succeeding in creating something: a being far removed from common sense.

[EP5. Midterm Exam]

-Abandoned Laboratory, The Monster That Cannot Laugh-

[They had finally trespassed into the realm of God.] [They insulted the stars by molding life, and praised their wicked god by being covered in blood.] [The fanatics sang in unison.] [“”Everything is for Him… the source of all creation and our master.””]

The explanation from the game ended there. Afterwards, the laboratory was closed, with only a minimal number of staff remaining. What exactly happened… I think a little imagination would be enough. At any rate, that was the scene we witnessed.

“……What in the world is this?”

“……”

“Didn’t I tell you? Not to be too surprised, no matter what you saw.”

Although it had been left neglected for a long time and accumulated dust, that didn’t mean the ugly sins that had flowed out were completely covered. The children fell silent.

Bloodstains caked onto the floor. Bones piled in the corner, and remnants from surgeries. The peculiar pungent smell of rotten meat stung their noses.

“”……””

The two stood frozen for a moment. Anger, bewilderment, sadness… It wasn’t these emotions that froze the girls. Simply, an intense shock that washed over them. For children who hadn’t even reached adulthood, it was a rather cruel sight.

‘I knew they would react like this, but…’

Green and blue eyes filled with horror. It was fortunate there were no human-looking remains. If there had been anything that could be presumed as such, at least one of them would have surely fainted. A sigh briefly escaped me.

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

Wouldn’t it have been better if I had come into the laboratory alone from the beginning? Such regrets briefly crossed my mind, but I soon shook my head.

‘……It’s a necessary process.’

Regia’s growth was a crucial matter. A certain item obtained in the latter half of the story. To use it perfectly, the protagonist had to be in a state of complete awakening. This fragile appearance, as she was now, was problematic.

As an item that appears as a key to the ending, the outcome of the ending depended on how well Regia utilized it. To exaggerate slightly, it could even be said to be a matter concerning the fate of the world.

“W-what in the world happened here…?”

Therefore, the girl’s growth was essential. To lead this world to a happy ending, a narrative of overcoming pain and rising stronger was needed. To the extent that her wish could reach ‘it’.

Growth always entails pain. Last time, I stopped Emilia’s bullying. When considering the long term, I needed to moderately ignore the trials that came upon her. Because she had to learn how to endure on her own.

“……Ugh.”

Regia stepped backward. Watching the girl desperately trying to swallow her nausea, my heart felt inexplicably heavy. I inwardly replayed my regretful thoughts.

My beloved protagonist. As she met a tragic end in the original work, this time, I wanted to protect you from pain. But fate seemed to wish for you to finally become an adult.

“Regia-yang.”

“……Young Master.”

I gently stroked the girl’s head. The warmth that tinged my palm. It was a warmth that felt particularly poignant. As I calmed the protagonist with a gentle touch, the villainess beside me suddenly murmured, in a somewhat serious voice.

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

“I agree.”

“We should stop moving forward any further.”

“Lady.”

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

“Excuse me, Lady.”

“I won’t back down this time! After seeing such an ominous sight, are you seriously going to suggest we keep searching this place?!”

“That’s not it. I was just trying to…”

Emilia was completely on edge. I shook my head at her agitated outburst and slowly raised a finger to point to the opposite side. It was the door to the laboratory we had just passed through. There.

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

Some things were blocking the way. The children momentarily forgot their conversation and looked in the direction I pointed.

*Growl-.*

Grotesque breathing sounds echoed. It was definitely a beast’s cry, yet it had a terribly alien quality to it. It cracked and splintered as if multiple vocal cords had been cut and reattached.

Deep blue glowing teeth glared our way. From their horribly torn cheeks, the beast’s dental structure was clearly exposed, and dirty drool was profusely dripping. Tentacles squirmed where eyes should have been. Some of them had the upper body of a wolf, but their lower body was mutated like a spider.

Truly a nightmarish scene.

“W-what are those…?!”

“Where in the world did such horrifying creatures come from…!”

The trash mobs inhabiting the abandoned laboratory. Lesser Chimeras, ‘Failed Wolf Mutants’. They let out strange cries, staring at us as if ready to pounce at any moment. The tentacles attached to their eyeballs were quite grotesque.

They weren’t exactly pleasant designs in the game either. Seeing them in real life, their appearance was even more chilling. To mass-produce such creatures under the mere pretext of experimentation… Baob, these bastards were definitely crazy. Thanks to them, it looks like I’ll have to clean up.

“Everyone, prepare yourselves. It seems they have no intention of letting us pass peacefully.”

I calmly gave the command. As I collected my lies with my fingertips, Emilia, now holding an ice spear, stood by my side. Regia was preparing her incantations from behind.

“See? I told you not to move from the start!”

“Wouldn’t we have encountered them even sooner if we had done that?”

“I don’t know!”

“Rest assured. They aren’t as difficult as you might think.”

“Their appearance is the most terrifying I’ve ever seen in my life, you know?!”

Emilia reacted sharply, shrouding her entire body in mana. Perhaps because they were in immediate danger, the deal seemed to have been completely forgotten. I chuckled.

“For now, the immediate situation at hand takes precedence, doesn’t it?”

*Growl, screech-!*

The mutants, who had been lurking and waiting for an opportunity, soon bared their fierce teeth and simultaneously pushed off the ground, charging towards us.

“Alright then.”

I stepped forward. A sword made of shadow was held in each hand. Immediately after.

“Shall we try to survive?”

*Thrust!*

The black blade plunged into the brow of the mutant that had come right up to me. As I smoothly withdrew the blade, two wolves ambushed me from both sides.

*Swish!*

I spun around, tracing a dance line. The black blade slashed through the air. The short, concise sword path resembled elegantly written calligraphy. And the next moment.

*Slice!*

The upper halves of the wolves, severed at an unknown moment, fell to the floor. Putrid blood soaked the surroundings. In an instant, three mutants met their end. I stopped in place, while emitting a faint killing intent.

“Heh heh.”

It was a message of sorts, conveyed to the person who was currently watching this entire situation from beyond the screen.

“Just wait.”

Once this trifling matter is over, I’ll come straight for your neck. With my lips twitching slightly, I smiled meaningfully.