episode_0093

I got on the elevator.

He gestures to his hesitant older sister.

But she hesitated to follow me into the elevator.

“Don’t worry. I’m on your side.”

He reassured her in a somewhat tired voice.

My sister bit her lip at the words, ‘on your side.’

And then reluctantly I got on the elevator.

As soon as the elevator closes, I press the button for the first floor.

It was a high-speed elevator, so it took some time to depart.

Meanwhile, classical music flows out of the speakers.

But I couldn’t enjoy the melody.

There are so many thoughts flowing through my head.

Even because there is someone standing right next to me that I have wanted to see my whole life.

I glanced back at her.

My sister’s health has become weak due to being locked in a glass case for a long time.

His body, which was once full of muscles, has become thinner and his skin is pale.

But it seemed like the feeling was still there, and he raised his head to follow my gaze.

Take out the potion that was in your jacket pocket.

And he put it in the hand of the woman he met.

“What is this…?”

The older sister asks cautiously, looking at the glass bottle containing black liquid.

“This is a potion. Drink it now.”

Jisoo glanced at me and observed my expression.

Then, sensing my sincerity, he slowly took a sip of the suspicious black liquid.

You’re still very trusting of people.

Who knew what I was riding inside…

Of course, it’s just a regular Black Russian.

Besides, if she has a higher strength stat than me, the effect will be even better.

The elevator starts moving.

Is this finally an escape?

The elevator gradually rises upwards as if preparing to jump.

but…

Soon the machine stopped working as if it was being controlled by someone.

Even…

Even the classical music that was playing peacefully now contains a strange noise.

Before long, the music turned off completely.

「—.」

A low-quality noise begins to be heard from the stopped speaker.

It’s like a walkie-talkie.

Eventually, I heard a voice I never wanted to hear again.

The voice of the number two person in this research institute.

“Sister.”

My heart sank as if I had been caught stealing.

I looked up at the speaker with a pale face.

“What are you doing now?”

I couldn’t answer that question.

I just clench my teeth to keep my lips from trembling.

How on earth does Misha know about this situation?

Were they also monitoring the lab from outside?

“Where are you taking that test subject? Do you two know each other?”

Even though I’m listening through the speakers, I can still hear the madness in Misha’s voice.

She seems more curious about my relationship with my sister than about my addiction to my colleagues.

My sister also stared at me, following her question.

“I don’t know.”

He spoke coldly into the air.

Then there was a brief silence from the speaker.

“Why are you suddenly doing this to me? What did I do wrong to you?”

I did a lot of things wrong.

Maybe your very existence is wrong.

“I’ll go over there. Let’s talk. Until then, wait in the elevator.”

The speaker stopped.

Classical music flows out of the speakers again.

As if nothing had happened.

Thanks to that, I was able to come to my senses right away.

Every facility here obeys her commands.

There’s no time to stand around dumbfounded any longer.

We must hurry and get out before the other exits are closed.

Emergency stairs in the main lobby.

Now that’s the only exit.

I pressed the elevator open button.

But the button doesn’t respond at all, as if Misha had blocked it.

I even tried desperately to force the elevator door open.

But it was no use for my thin fingers.

I need the strength of someone stronger than me.

“Please help me.”

“How…?”

My sister looks at me with a puzzled face.

I pointed to the empty potion she was holding.

“Your strength should have returned somewhat thanks to the potion you just drank.”

Jisoo stares down at her hands.

On the outside, he looked as emaciated as if he had been locked in a glass case.

“Clench your fist and think about warming up the blood flowing through your body.”

Jisoo frowned at my detailed advice.

I clenched my fists as I was told, because there was no way to escape from here right away.

yet.

A red current begins to flow through her hand.

And finally, a spark rose from his hand and wrapped itself around his sister’s arm.

“Did you know my abilities?”

Jisoo looks at me with a puzzled expression.

I didn’t respond to her face like that.

instead.

I asked like an NPC.

“Now swing it.”

“…”

My sister ran towards the door, sparks flying.

And then he threw his fist without hesitation.

Just like the days when we went on adventures together.

“—!”

Then the sturdy iron door was crushed like a piece of paper.

Soon the control room came into view again.

Loud emergency bells are ringing everywhere.

It was probably an alarm set off by Misha.

The sound of the siren urges us on.

Get out of here quickly.

In response, I took her hand.

I took the lead and spoke to my sister.

“Follow me!”

We ran through countless glass tubes.

Soon you will see the entrance to Lab 2.

The moment I saw the sight there, I stopped dead in my tracks.

My older sister asks me, looking at my frozen, cold appearance.

“Why did it suddenly stop?”

“I can’t see it…”

I muttered with trembling lips.

“What the heck?”

I wiggle my finger and point to the exit.

I can’t see 04, which should be lying in front of the entrance.

My heart is pounding like crazy.

That can’t be… There’s still at least 5 minutes left for the effect to wear off…

I approached the entrance, barely holding my chest.

The moment I looked down the hallway of Lab 2, my body completely froze.

Because all the rankers were gathered in front of Lab 1, which we had to pass through.

All 04, 06, 08, 09.

They are gasping for breath and glaring at me as if they are going to kill me.

How on earth…

“Bartender… What the heck?”

The rankers speak one by one.

Their faces look very haggard and weak, as if they are not normal.

“What the hell did you feed us…”

09’s bloodshot eyes flash.

She approaches me slowly, holding a dagger.

dagger…

Could it be because of the memory of being stabbed so badly by her?

My whole body is shaking.

I’m going to die.

I’m sure I’ll die just like that!

I instinctively took a step back.

Then, as if signaling the start of a fight, the speaker hanging from the ceiling of the lab begins to shake.

“Guys, it’s me. Misha.”

All rankers stop their actions at the sound of the speaker.

Thanks to that, I was able to distance myself from her again.

“I think there’s something wrong with the potion you ate today.”

“What?”

06 and 09 are the most angry.

They look at me with eyes full of anger.

“You all drank that potion and fell asleep at the same time.”

04 and 08, who had been particularly trusting me, looked surprised.

The two boys and the girl look at me with eyes filled with betrayal.

“It seems like a fox entered the lab while everyone was asleep.”

The rankers all focus on me.

Like watching an animal come into the house.

“I think that guy is trying to steal our ‘food’.”

The word feed makes my eyes tremble.

I turned my stiff neck and looked at my sister who was called ‘food’.

Jisoo is out of breath, trying to control her breathing.

You’re using it to eat your older sister…?

“It’ll be hard because of the debuff, but we have to catch the intruder, right?”

Misha’s unique, lively voice fills the lab.

Finally, she revealed her true colors.

The rankers prepared to attack simultaneously even though their condition was not good.

They are geniuses at hunting humans.

They’ll try to catch me somehow.

It’s definitely a crazy scary situation.

but…

Is it because my older sister is standing next to me?

Or maybe it’s because of the anger towards the Counters.

My body actually became very calm.

I feel like I can get through those scary rankers and escape safely.

“ Mr. Index.”

“Yes.”

Even though I called her name, she answered me without being flustered.

This is truly the composure of a genius hunter.

“Can you use fire powers?”

“Thanks to you.”

He took four small potions out of his jacket pocket.

And each of them put it between their fingers.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆(Artifact)

Effect: Creates a flame that burns forever at the point it lands.

Information: A fire bomb made from the highest alcohol content of all spirits. It is recommended to only use it for throwing as it causes death when consumed.

“If I create a firework, control it and open the way.”

It’s an ambiguous statement.

But she would have understood it well enough.

This is an escape method we often used in the past whenever we failed a raid.

“Go.”

He waved his fingers deftly.

Soon, small glass bottles fly towards the rankers.

They stagger due to Hypnos’ debuff.

The rankers quickly got out of the small glass bottle, fearing that they might get hurt.

This resulted in a long gap in the center.

As intended.

“—!”

A broken glass bottle falls to the floor, sparks burning.

At that moment, I shout at my sister.

“Now!”

Jisoo reaches out her hand towards the burning flame.

As she waves her hands as if directing, the flames begin to move little by little.

Gradually the flames split to the sides, creating a long passage.

The path opens up as if by a miracle of Moses.

“Run now!”

We ran through the fire together.

Because of the intense flames, the rankers couldn’t break through and catch us.

As we reached Lab 1, my sister threw a punch just like I taught her.

The door shattered helplessly before my sister’s fist.

But I could never be happy about the open exit.

09 came out of his room with the gravity rod he had been using.

“Where are you running off to, you little rat…!”

As she sticks the stick into the ground, an intense flame gathers there.

Thanks to that, the rankers who had the path open all rushed to me.

But they could never reach me.

Because a strong electric current was created between me and the rankers.

“Eel!”

Thanks to my reservation opening, the glass wall of Lab 1 was opened.

Thanks to that, the electric boy who was trapped inside was able to escape.

He didn’t escape right away, he was waiting for me.

On the glass wall where the boy appeared, the four letters I wrote with my breath still remain.

‘I’ll save you.’

“How dare you, you idiots!”

This time, the muscular 06 is on the scene.

He chases us, piercing through the boy’s current.

The bald man was ready to throw himself at me.

But his body never reached me either.

because.

Because someone who woke up from a long sleep bumped into his body directly.

If a normal human were to collide with 06, their body would just explode.

However, no matter how strong and solid the muscles are, can they be harder than crystal?

A man whose entire body had been transformed into crystal stands upright, supporting his bulk.

06’s shoulders shook as they collided.

The bald man clenched his teeth in resentment.

“This piece of trash…”

While he confronts the man with the crystal, the boy again releases electricity to block the approach of the other rankers.

“Thank you… everyone.”

I spoke quietly to the people in Lab 1.

I don’t call them test subjects.

They are not all patients.

They are people just like us, more normal than anyone else.

The eel swarm turned its head and stared at me.

His eerie gaze is now unmistakable.

The boy instead looked at me and raised the corners of his mouth.

As if to say thank you.

The same goes for men who are in correction.

It was different from what Misha said when she said she would cause a ruckus when she woke up.

He approached the battle very calmly.