episode_0041

A sacred silence settled over the laboratory.

The swirling shadows had long since faded, leaving only the metallic scent of blood lingering in the air.

The fierce battle had finally come to an end.

…….

In my arms, a blue-haired girl lay.

Had the tension finally eased?

Beautiful with her shimmering, snowflake-like eyes, she seemed to have lost consciousness, as if her strength had run out.

Her faint breath brushed against my collar.

“It seems you were tired.”

Her eyelids were gently closed.

Pondering the warmth against my chest, I slowly lowered the girl’s body to the floor.

Carefully, so as not to wake her.

Beside her lay the owner of the pink hair.

She, too, was unconscious.

Both were covered in dust, but neither seemed to have any serious injuries.

That, at least, was a relief.

“Even though I secretly intervened… it seems I couldn’t help but worry.”

I offered a bitter smile.

I knew they wouldn’t get hurt because of the safety measures, but at the same time, I kept on fretting.

Anxiety was always the illness of adults.

“It seems it was a needless worry, though.”

The children performed beyond expectations.

It must have been a terrifying situation, yet not a single one acted selfishly.

With a proud heart, I stroked the foreheads of the two girls.

A low whisper held a hint of affection.

“You both worked hard.”

The pilot, and the vain one.

Roles performed to the best of their abilities.

Many more things awaited them, but for now, it was time for rest.

I covered them with shadows, spread like a blanket.

“May you have good dreams.”

Snap!

I snapped my fingers.

Leaving the momentarily distorted space behind, a small barrier formed around the children.

Even if the Dean of Gallimard came, they wouldn’t be able to break through this.

“I said it was over… but there are still personal matters to handle.”

I brushed off the inky blackness clinging to my fingertips.

Quite some time had passed since arriving at the laboratory, so the Academy would likely find our location soon.

About 30 minutes remained.

Is that a bit tight?

Considering the episode that would unfold next, I needed to build up enough here.

I turned my head, deep in thought.

A grotesquely writhing form appeared in my sight.

Though its body was severed in half, and not a single tentacle could move properly, it somehow clung to life with its characteristic tenacity.

Left as it was, it seemed its breath would soon cease.

A cry leaked from its horribly gaping maw.

Its red pupils blinked for the last time. In a way, they seemed tinged with sorrow.

I quietly met its gaze.

Putrid blood flowed down like tears.

…….

A monster unable to smile.

It was the worst experimental subject created by Baob, a disaster-grade chimera that left countless casualties in its wake.

“Poor thing.”

This, too, was merely one of the victims.

It had undergone mutation through an unwanted experiment, lost its original reason, and became a being that craved slaughter.

How could one not pity such a wretched life?

“This is truly the ugliness spawned by adults.”

All the mutated beings encountered today were created using animals as a base, but this monster was different.

It was the only chimera made from human material.

Its skin was tattered and torn.

Originally, it must have been a girl with a pure smile.

She became a monster before even turning ten.

If she wasn’t even given the chance to forget her childhood, what adult in this world could resent her?

One could only pity a life so fleetingly shattered.

‘I must keep my promise, then.’

I quietly extended my hand.

Shadows crept up from the floor. They swallowed the severed form.

The monster seemed to struggle for a moment.

Soon, it resigned itself and vanished into the darkness.

I placed her in a sub-space.

Here, she wouldn’t be noticed by others, and she could rest in comfortable tranquility.

And I could take her out whenever I wished.

……. Hehe.

My mood had soured slightly, but I swallowed it down.

A bitter smile painted my lips.

Not much time remained.

It was time to bring the episode to a close.

I calmly took a step.

Leaving the chaotic, messy laboratory, I began to traverse the long corridor once more.

I moved my feet towards my destination.

‘Let’s see your face.’

A deep, dark basement.

To find the rat scurrying somewhere, hiding tightly.

***

Meanwhile, in the lowest level of the basement.

A hidden room, reachable only after descending seven flights of labyrinthine stairs.

A man stood there.

Clatter-!

A rather noisy sound echoed.

The man hastily gathered the scattered documents on his desk, preparing to leave the laboratory.

His pale face was visible between the folds of his disheveled robe.

“Damn it…!”

He spat out a rough curse.

His deep voice trembled uncharacteristically.

His fumbling hands, unable to find what he needed, clearly revealed the man’s state of confusion.

As if trying to escape from something.

“How could such a being exist…?!”

He muttered, utterly terrified.

When he received this mission, he certainly hadn’t been informed that such a monster existed.

He had only known it to be a simple matter.

“Fuck! This makes no sense…!”

Originally, it was nothing special.

The planned teleportation device theft, prepared through a secret route.

Using it to abduct one person.

The target was the rumored female student who handled a wyvern as a summoned beast.

-She’s worth researching. -Chimeras made from dragons have been rare until now… she would be a great stimulus for the believers. -That child must be offered to our god.

Permission had been given to do whatever they wished with the two additional individuals who came along.

The man accepted the mission with delight.

It was a chance to personally feed the ‘artwork’.

Students despairing before countless tentacles.

Imagining them being torn apart by soft flesh, a thrilling sensation flowed down his spine.

The man had anticipated such an ecstatic scene.

However.

[Oh dear… This is truly a moment of crisis.]

A boy appeared with a playful tone.

With a mere flick of his wrist, the numerous tentacles were instantly severed.

What could have happened?

Before he could even grasp the situation, a blue line was drawn in the air.

Immediately after, the massive body was effortlessly cut into pieces.

“Where the hell did such a monster come from…?!”

The finest artwork created in Belzen.

A top-grade chimera had been severed without being able to exert any power.

It was a strength beyond the norm.

A mere novice student overpowering a monster that even renowned heroes of the Empire struggled with.

The feeling was ominous.

[Hehe.]

Furthermore.

A meaningful smile, made while gazing at the screen.

It was an ominous smile, as if he knew he was being watched.

The man felt something was wrong.

A chilling sensation overtly swept over the back of his neck.

He felt as though something bad was about to happen.

The man immediately prepared to escape.

He planned to escape through the emergency stairs leading from the hidden room.

Since it was a location that couldn’t be found by anyone other than the manager of this place, he didn’t worry about being pursued.

“I need to return to headquarters right now.”

He had to inform the Cult Leader-nim of this fact.

That such a powerful being was hidden among the students, and that perhaps the informant had betrayed them.

The man stood up to escape this ominous place.

The next moment.

“I must quickly tell the Cult Leader-nim this fact…!”

“You seem busy?”

…….

A voice came from behind him.

The man’s mind went blank, and he froze in place.

Clearly.

He hadn’t heard any presence.

…….

“Where are you rushing off to so quickly?”

A leisurely voice brushed past his ears.

Slowly turning his creaking head, he saw the golden snake he had just been watching on the screen standing there.

Had he suddenly appeared from thin air?

The boy smiled with his eyes, nonchalantly.

It was a carefree smile, yet an alarm bell rang frantically in his mind.

If he didn’t move now.

He wouldn’t be able to escape death.

Instinctively, he channeled mana to his fingertips, unleashing an offensive spell.

But.

“An amusing attempt.”

Snap!

As the sound of fingers snapping echoed, the magic lingering on his fingers vanished.

At the same time, all his muscles stiffened.

As if he’d been afflicted by a paralyzing effect.

The man couldn’t even blink his own eyes.

“I have many questions I’d like to ask.”

The snake offered a gentle smile.

Yet, a terrible killing intent swirled around him.

“You will have to answer many things for me.”

The boy’s palm covered the man’s face.

His chillingly cold body temperature shattered reason, creating an immense terror.

The snake murmured.

“There’s no need to trouble your mouth to speak, you see?”

His white pupils glowed brilliantly.

The boy stared with his eyelids fully open. An inexplicable sense of deprivation crushed the man.

It resembled the gaze of a grim reaper.

The gaze of one staring at a sinful soul soon to be reaped.

“Because I intend to hear the answers directly from your brain.”

“Ah…”

Snap!

The snapping sound between fingers echoed once more.

Immediately after, the shadows covering the man’s face erupted in a massive explosion.

The last scene remaining in his fading consciousness was.

“Then, may you sleep in nightmares.”

A coldly contemptuous white gaze.

***

After a short while.

Into the basement, which had been quiet for a while, several people stormed in.

They were none other than some professors from Gallimard.

“Find the students at once!”

The students who had vanished with the runaway magic circle.

Detection had been delayed due to the distorted mana, but swift action allowed them to backtrack the teleportation’s destination.

Within 2 hours of their disappearance, the children’s whereabouts were identified.

All available personnel instantly teleported to that location.

They hurried down the corridor.

As they continued their search, the professors soon discovered two students lying on the laboratory floor.

Pink hair, and blue hair.

“There are students here!”

“Regia Filers, and Emilia Vanity. They appear to be two of the three missing students.”

“Where is the other one?”

“I will search the surroundings further!”

“No, more importantly… what are all these things scattered around?”

“…….Animal corpses?”

The professors who entered the laboratory couldn’t help but be considerably flustered.

It was due to the scene, truly a chaotic mess.

Two unconscious students.

Numerous unidentified chunks of flesh splattered all around.

Wolves, spiders, tentacles… countless corpses of creatures that seemed to be combinations of all sorts of beings.

The professors were dumbfounded.

“…….What is all this?”

…….

“What on earth happened here…?”

It was a space that conjured terrible imaginings.

What on earth had the students gone through during their 2 hours here?

As they were just casting useless glances around.

Thump-thump-.

Footsteps were heard from somewhere.

Perhaps due to the sudden presence. The professors reacted sensitively, each taking up their stances.

As they waited, holding their breath.

Suddenly, a sticky voice whispered in their ears.

“Oh dear… You’re all a step too late.”

Their gazes focused.

Emerging from the deep darkness was none other than the golden snake.

His eyes were ominously curved into a smile.

“It’s already too late.”

A single phrase that came with an especially profound meaning.

It was the appearance of the last student they had been searching for, yet for some reason, the professors found it difficult to relax.

Because there was a sinister aura constantly strangling their necks.

…….

The professors involuntarily swallowed dryly.

Of course, regardless, the boy merely approached them with leisurely steps.

“Hmm~ You don’t need to be so cautious, you know?”

…….

“The situation ended a long time ago, you see.”

Against a backdrop drenched in the smell of blood.

The snake flicked his tongue, as if amused.

“Please, rest assured.”

It was a greeting that made the temperature of the basement even colder.