episode_0102

When Violet first crossed the gate, what it encountered was a long tunnel. After passing through the dark passage, a suddenly vast space appeared.

“It’s huge! More than I imagined. Can everyone see it?”

“Seriously. What is all this?”

Violet’s temporary command center was busy processing the real-time information delivered by Unit 406. After observing for about five minutes, there were too many suspicious aspects. Furthermore, the student council president and treasurer, who should have been at school, were here. It seemed worth investigating.

The facility here was like a giant cave, except the ceiling was made of concrete. Temporary structures, built with metal panels serving as floors, were scattered throughout, and various complex equipment and wires were haphazardly laid across them.

Artificial lights were installed all over the ceiling, and large and small machines and building-sized facilities cast shadows.

Violet Unit 406 moved stealthily to avoid detection. Fortunately, this suspicious facility seemed as if a storm had swept through it, with no intact parts.

“Did an earthquake happen or something?”

“Yeah, and I see some dead people.”

Unit 406 quietly climbed the stairs and ascended onto a temporary structure. As it surveyed the surroundings, numerous metal cages came into view.

“Look there, they’re monster cages!”

Violet recalled its time trapped in Laflaxia’s laboratory. This facility also kept monsters, large and small, confined in cages for experiments, just like that place. The monsters inside the cages were imprisoned, and some of the cages were all broken or destroyed.

“Did the monsters we captured spill out from there?”

The surrounding floor was soaked with blood, and monster and human corpses were strewn everywhere, suggesting something major had happened. The surrounding walls were stained with bullet marks, and broken swords and bolts lay scattered on the floor.

“Did a mass monster escape happen?”

“I’ll keep looking for now.”

Violet continued to spy on the facility. It didn’t forget to photograph every suspicious location.

Researchers in white coats hurried about in various places. Guards with the Magnabyss Clan’s symbol on their arms rushed around everywhere. Some of the lights were off, indicating damage throughout the facility.

Violet entered one of the rooms inside the facility. And then, it witnessed a shocking sight.

“What is that? Human brains!”

“Gah!”

Inside what appeared to be a laboratory, the tops of numerous people’s heads were open. Their ages varied. Electrodes and wires were densely embedded in each exposed brain, and unknown drugs were being injected into their heads through tubes.

“Those people are alive!”

“It’s horrifying…”

At the center of the people was an unidentified device. The wires embedded in their brains connected to the device in the middle. Surrounding monitors displayed unknown signals in real-time.

“What on earth is going on?”

As soon as Unit 3 cautiously spoke, a scream was heard from outside the door.

“Help me! Please save me!”

“The test subject is escaping!”

It peeked slightly outside the door. A person in a patient gown, with pins embedded in their head, was shot and collapsed to the floor.

“This place was like Laflaxia’s laboratory too…”

The guards dragged the corpse away. Violet raised its head, surveyed the surroundings, and then headed to another room.

The scenes in the laboratories varied. There were rooms where large and small monster brains were laid out, and there were also people connected to monster brains with wires.

It seemed the true identity of the hidden facility inside the dungeon was a human experimentation laboratory. For what purpose, exactly?

Having exited the laboratory, Violet climbed back onto the structure to check for anything unusual.

It was then that sudden gunshots rang out. With the gunfire pouring out like popping beans and the screams that followed, Violet quickly moved.

Unit 406 ran between the structures towards the source of the commotion. Immediately after, everyone in the Violet network was speechless at the tragedy that flowed in.

“A student…!”

***

Long ago, the Magnabyss executives’ decision to monopolize the Chloris Great Forest was a mistake. After reviewing reports from their subordinates, the executives realized the dungeon’s profitability was excessively low. The quality of the resident monsters was poor, and their numbers were few. There were also no special resources inside.

Furthermore, the Chloris Great Forest possessed somewhat unstable spatial characteristics. The dungeon’s space expanded and contracted in cycles, repeating like the ebb and flow of tides. What was an extremely rare occurrence in other dungeons was an annual event here.

After several incidents where hunters exploring the dungeon were swept away and disappeared by the spatial expansion and contraction phenomenon, the executives deliberated on how to deal with this useless dungeon.

Just before everyone’s opinion converged on closing the dungeon, one of the executives proposed an interesting idea: What if they utilized the dungeon’s spatial characteristics?

Through several studies and experiments, Magnabyss’s mages discovered an interesting fact: objects placed within the expanded space did not disappear or get destroyed when the dungeon contracted, even if they became inaccessible.

It was a space perfectly suited for hiding something.

Going further, they succeeded in manipulating parts of the dungeon’s unstable space to construct a subspace. It was a dungeon within a dungeon, so to speak. Thus, the secret research facility, A13 Laboratory, was born.

And currently, Kroshel was inspecting the interior of the research facility.

“Thank you for the swift support. Thanks to you, it was suppressed quickly.”

“It’s just a mission. Don’t mind it.”

When the person in charge of the laboratory gave an awkward smile, he replied perfunctorily.

The A13 Laboratory was caught in an unexpected sudden expansion phenomenon of the dungeon, resulting in the destruction of parts of its facility. Taking advantage of this, a large-scale escape of experimental monsters occurred. When the laboratory requested support, the board dispatched Kroshel and Kaim, who were on standby at the closest location, the academy. There was a small passage connecting the outside to the laboratory within the subspace.

The two quickly handled the commotion.

“It doesn’t seem like the situation is fully resolved yet, so I’ll take a closer look.”

Kroshel decided to inspect the interior of the laboratory further. There was a lot to do, but since it was a directive from the board, it shouldn’t be carried out carelessly.

“Oh dear, Student Council President-nim. You’re working hard!”

Kaim, who had arrived at some point, chattered idly beside him.

“I’ve told you multiple times to drop the formalities when we’re outside. This isn’t the academy. Omit the ‘Student Council President’ title too. There’s no reason to act like a student.”

“Alright. Goodness, you’re so picky.”

As they checked the internal state of the laboratory, the two conversed.

“By the way, what’s this new processing mission? It doesn’t seem to involve outsiders.”

“It’s nothing much. They’re people you know.”

“Who on earth is it?”

Instead of answering, Kroshel handed him the tablet from his bag. Kaim grinned like a child opening a toy box and operated the tablet. When he opened the file, the face of a resolute-looking girl with purple hair appeared.

“Wow! It’s Irene Solstis. That’s amazing, isn’t it? Didn’t the board tell us to just keep an eye on her for a while?”

“We’ve finished talking with the insiders of the Helios Clan. Now, she’ll lose everything she has. Her home, her assets, even the clan’s protection.”

“How pitiful! She’s so pretty too. But insiders? Who are they, then?”

Kaim’s eyes sparkled with interest as he asked. Kroshel let out a short laugh.

“Well, they’re relatives who want to snatch up the shares of the naive heiress. We just have to clean up after those people.”

Kaim exclaimed in admiration.

“Wow! Family really is the scariest, isn’t it?”

“As you know, Orion Solstice is currently half-dead and confined to a hospital room after fighting a top-tier monster. He’s clearly beyond recovery. Soon, the clan’s management issues will surface. Normally, the daughter would inherit her father’s shares, but…”

“If the person in question disappears, it will go to someone else. To think they’ve already finalized everything with the insiders. The board is truly thorough. Then the next person is… Oh. It’s this person.”

As he scrolled through the screen several times, a familiar face appeared to Kaim.

“Instructor Frederick has been around for quite a while too. It’s time for him to retire, don’t you think?”

“They say that old man was pretending to be idle all this time while secretly investigating various things.”

“Well, good then. I’ve always been curious about the skills of that senior figure.”

“Don’t have useless thoughts. Lera and the forces dispatched from Magnabyss will also move. That old man has another use.”

Saying that, Kroshel secretly scoffed at Frederick. A pathetic old geezer who had idly collected his salary for five years. Was his sense of justice finally flaring up now?

As Kroshel surveyed his surroundings, something strange caught his eye. Outsiders. He thought the external passage was closed?

“Call the guards.”

“Oh, it’s true?”

The two quietly and quickly moved towards the students.

***

While Violet was extensively spying on the laboratory, eight students coincidentally stepped into the entrance of the A13 Laboratory. From the outside, the subspace entrance resembled a normal gate’s entry point.

“Nathan, is this the right place? It’s different from where we entered.”

“It might be connected to some underground passage outside the dungeon.”

The male student named Nathan drew his sword and pointed beyond the passage.

“We’ve been trapped for three days already. If we try just a little, we can go home quickly with the others. If it’s a dangerous place, we can just come right back out.”

Nathan thought. Since his fellow students were exhausted, they had to find a new gate as soon as possible. Otherwise, he worried that someone might get hurt or die soon.

“Don’t be too scared. I’ll take responsibility for protecting you all.”

“Alright, I’ll trust you. Huh? It’s an exit…”

At some point, the group exited the black tunnel. At the unexpected sight, the students’ eyes widened.

“Where are we?”

“It doesn’t seem like the outside…”

The eight students entered the passage of the A13 Laboratory.

“I don’t know what this place is, but it seems there are people here. Maybe we can ask for help?”

“Well? It looks like this place was also attacked by monsters.”

It didn’t seem like a dungeon exit, but the students thought they might be able to find water or food here.

However, upon entering the laboratory, the students were met with a chaotic scene.

“What? This place is…”

“Something’s strange? Let’s go back quickly!”

Feeling uneasy, Nathan decided to take his friends and return. He didn’t know what kind of place it was, but it seemed like somewhere they shouldn’t be.

Just then, four or five people were seen running somewhere in front of the students. Startled, the students hid themselves behind nearby fallen debris.

“Ah! Please!”

“Test subjects 4, 1, 12 are escaping. Deal with them quickly!”

People in patient gowns with strange devices embedded in their heads were chased by guards, shot, and collapsed to the floor. The guards dragged the fallen people away like trash.

“Ugh, what is that!”

“Hey, le-let’s go back!”

As the shocked students quickly retreated towards the exit, heavily armed guards appeared and blocked their way.

“Stop!”

Under the threat of sharp muzzles and blades, the students panicked and drew their weapons. Kroshel, who walked out from among the guards, felt a slight sense of perplexity.

‘Students. First-years. Come to think of it, was it a field trip period?’

‘Now that I think about it, the dungeon passage is currently blocked. We’re not going to deal with them right away, are we? Don’t forget the directive from above. We need to handle them according to their grade.’

‘I know.’

As Kroshel gestured, the guards lowered their weapons. The students’ gazes focused on Kroshel, who had suddenly appeared.

“Who is that person?”

“I know him. I saw him last time. Isn’t he the Student Council President?”

As the students looked on with subtle gazes, the Student Council President slowly opened his mouth.

“You’re first-year students, correct? I apologize, but this is a restricted area managed by the academy. Please return immediately.”

“Restricted area? I’ve never known there was such a thing here before…”

He examined each student’s face, cross-referencing them with a list. They were not on the list of students to be kept. Their rank was also mid-low, and they had trespassed into a facility where security was crucial. By principle, this could not be overlooked.

Kroshel’s eyes, which had been drawing flexible lines, sharpened. Kaim, who was also examining the list, nodded.

“Well, since you’ve found out today, that’s enough. You shouldn’t have stepped foot here in the first place.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

The moment one female student questioned him, she felt a great impact in her chest. She looked down and saw a sword impaled in her chest. Without understanding why, the girl fell to the floor.

-Bang bang bang!

Simultaneously, the guards opened fire.

“Aaaargh!”

“Graaargh!”

Students hit by bullets fell. The remaining students began to flee. Some tried to hide themselves with shields or magic.

“Haaaaah!”

One brave student, relying on his shield, charged towards the guards.

‘How stubborn.’ Thinking so, Kroshel extended his arm. The male student’s body faltered and floated into the air. As he clenched his fist, telekinesis crushed the student’s limbs.

“G-Graaaaargh!”

Several swords appeared behind the Student Council President and rose into the air. The swords, manipulated by telekinesis, cut off the breath of the boys and girls who were trying to escape or defend against the bullets.

“Aaaargh! My eyes! I can’t see… Nathan… help me…!”

“No! Riley!”

A girl whose eyes had been slashed wailed before a knife pierced her heart, killing her.

Nathan, who had held out with his shield until the very end, collapsed, spitting blood. Five swords consecutively impaled his body. He barely managed to muster the strength to shout,

“Why… why are you doing… this!”

“Because you saw what you shouldn’t have seen. That’s all.”

Kroshel answered calmly, ending the last student’s life. Of course, he privately enjoyed the thrill of dealing with people he considered vulgar and low-class, but he didn’t show it.

“Oh dear, quite a few died this time too.”

“You know, they’re people who can be dealt with without issue. Orphans, single-parent households, families of low social status. They weren’t even Awakened Ones necessary for the plan’s execution. They’re easily replaceable.”

Hearing footsteps, Kroshel turned his head and found three people frozen by the entrance. Lucian’s group had entered at the worst possible moment and witnessed everything.

“Oh, you saw that.”

At the horrific sight before him, Lucian cursed.

“You crazy bastard!”

The swords hovering above Kroshel’s head turned to target the group and flew towards them. The guards also unleashed a volley of gunfire.

“W-Whoaaaa!”

“Kyaaah!”

Granite threw himself to the ground, and Levi hid behind nearby cover. Lucian used various spells to defend against the bullets and deflect the incoming swords.

“Ugh!”

Lucian groaned in pain. Several swords manipulated by telekinesis had subtly bypassed his defenses, aiming for his back. He quickly dodged, but couldn’t avoid injury.

“Lucian! Your, your back!”

“This won’t do! I’ll fight too!”

“Help? What help?! You idiots! You’re not good enough. Run away quickly!”

The encirclement was closing in by the moment. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no opening for the group to escape.

Just then, Violet, who had come upon hearing the gunshots, witnessed the entire scene.

***

The Violet outside screamed.

“Gah!”

“Violet? What’s wrong?”

Irene looked at Unit 98 with concern. The horror felt by Unit 406 on site was transmitted directly to Unit 98 without any filtering.

“The Student Council President!”

“The Student Council President? Kroshel?”

“The Student Council President is killing students!”

“The Student Council President is killing students!”

“Hee-yaaak!”

I, at the scene, saw the students who had fallen from gunshots and blades.

“Those hero party kids are there too! Poor guys.”

Unfortunately, they had met a horrific end long ago. Something else was important. Lucian’s team, engaged in a desperate struggle, was visible.

“They’re still alive! We have to save them!”

“Our identity might be exposed!”

“Does that matter? A madman is killing people!”

Even our Violets committed murder, but not randomly like that lunatic! We didn’t stab innocent students!

I thought he was a psycho, but I didn’t realize he was a deranged psychopathic killer!

We couldn’t let Kroshel kill anyone else. The students who had already died couldn’t be helped, but at the very least, Lucian’s team had to be saved!

Lightning sparked through the Violets’ mental network. Unit 406 on site contacted the temporary command center as if screaming. Its shock was vividly felt by all of them.

“Command! Permission to use Blazing Blade and Hand of Fate!”

“Not now! Look at his level. Can’t you see him using telekinesis?”

“Look at the mana levels around! He’s even stronger than our friend!”

Unit 1 calmly instructed.

“Avoid direct confrontation as much as possible! Stall for time. I’ll permit the use of the assault rifle!”

“Got it!”

Unit 406 pulled out the assault rifle. Crossbows were slow, so there was a chance of evasion. It wasn’t sure if it could kill him.

Lucian’s condition looked bad. He seemed overwhelmed, fending off the guards’ incessant gunfire while dealing with several swords flying through the air. He was already bleeding, having sustained several injuries.

It checked for the other group members: Levi was hiding behind cover, and Granite was struggling just to deal with one flying sword.

It had to distract them so they could escape!

It rested the rifle on the railing and pulled the trigger without even taking aim.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crisp gunshots rang out consecutively. The bullet flew and then shattered the Student Council President’s head…

-Clang!

…and bounced off with a spark. I doubted my eyes. Was Kroshel’s head made of rock?

No, it wasn’t. The swords flying with telekinesis had blocked the bullets!

“Target change! The Treasurer!”

It quickly aimed at the head of the Treasurer, who was standing beside him with his arms crossed, and fired again.

This time, there was a result. The assault rifle’s bullet shattered the Treasurer’s head and tore a large hole in his chest.

At that moment, as the surrounding defenses loosened, Lucian’s group, realizing the situation had taken a strange turn, fled at full speed.

“Got them!”

Kroshel gave some instructions to the guards and then turned around. Strangely, he didn’t seem to care about the Treasurer who had died right beside him.

Its gaze met his. It saw him opening his mouth to say something. Although it couldn’t hear, from the atmosphere and his lip movements, it understood what he meant.

‘There was another one.’

Now he knocked away bullets with the sword he held. Some of the guards also turned their attention towards me. The moment the bullets stopped, he pushed off the ground and leaped.

He flew straight to where I was.

“That guy is flying!”

“It’s telekinesis, he used telekinesis to lift himself!”

I thought telekinesis was only for choking people, but it’s surprisingly versatile!

Even more chilling were the ten swords hovering around his body. The telekinetically controlled swords moved like living creatures.

As he flew towards me, the swords poured down on my position.

“Crazy! It’s sword mastery!”

“Dodge!”

I quickly ducked my head. The swords flew over our heads and impaled the wall. Their power was no joke!

He flew through the air and landed on the metal panel of the structure where I stood. The ten swords hovering around him emitted an ominous aura. It felt as if they would impale me the moment I moved.

“Should we fight him here?”

Unit 2 dissuaded.

“Not here! Remember when we first met the Student Council President? He knows what our ability is. If we use cloning, he might notice.”

“Then what should we do?”

“We have to disguise ourselves with another unique ability. For example…”

The temporary command center quickly explained to Unit 406. Unit 406 inwardly gasped. It was quite an innovative method.

Kroshel approached, pressuring me with a sharp intensity. He opened his mouth.

“What is your identity?”

“…”

Kroshel’s eyes, which had been scrutinizing me, crinkled slightly.

“It seems you’re using a cognitive interference device since your image appears blurry. Well, it doesn’t matter if you don’t answer. My friend is good at interrogation. It won’t matter even if you answer later, tied up tightly…”

He babbled on without me even asking. That was fortunate. If he didn’t pursue, Lucian’s group would have a higher chance of survival.

I decided to provoke him to buy more time.

“Shut up, you trashy eunuch!”

“What did you say?”

At my sudden outburst, Kroshel frowned.

“I have come to judge you all.”

I chose my words carefully. Slowly, I’d act the part of an evil villain. Conveniently, I had a cognitive interference device and a voice modulator. Using these, there would be no risk of my identity being exposed.

“From now on, we’re villains! Terrorists, that is. Wait, those guys existed, didn’t they?”

“Good, our identity will be those guys from now on.”

Just then, in Academy City Lustrum, there was a representative name for people who wore black combat suits and did bad things.

“Judgment? What…”

“I am from the Obsidian Legion.”

Even to my own ears, the modulated voice sounded stiff.

He made a dumbfounded expression.

“Obsidian Legion? Hah, a terrorist calling someone trash. Who are you to talk?”

“Right? But are you really part of the Obsidian Legion?”

Another voice came from the opposite side of the Student Council President, so I turned my head. I gasped in horror. The Treasurer, whose head I had just blown off with an assault rifle, was standing perfectly fine.

Seeing my startled reaction, Kroshel sneered.

“You seem surprised. My comrade doesn’t die, you see. Hey, did you say Obsidian Legion? I’ll take that mask off you, so just stay still.”

I saw the ten swords hovering above him. A few more swords appeared from behind him. Now, a total of 15 swords were pointed at Violet.

Unit 406 pulled out two submachine guns, fired wildly, and ran backward.

“This is Kroshel, intruder moving from Sector 1 to Sector 2! Catch them!”

I felt the whooshing sound of swords flying from behind. Magnabyss guards were also running up from below. But it was fine.

Because I saw Lucian’s kids escaping. The guards were chasing them, but our friends were heading in that direction. If the timing was right, they might be able to escape.

Keep stalling for time!

“Judgment, my ass! Hey! We’re about to be judged first!”

“Run! Aaaaargh!”

However, a knife was plunged into Unit 406’s back. Immediately after, I created a new clone on the lower stairs and simultaneously took out prepared explosives and ignited them.

-Boom!

Unit 406 was shattered.

Unit 312, created just before Unit 406 exploded, ran wildly across the platform. Kroshel’s bewildered eyes turned towards us. I could sense his dumbfoundedness upon seeing Unit 312.

“I definitely felt the sensation when I stabbed. How…?”

Unit 312 indiscriminately fired its gun to prevent him from thinking otherwise. I had to prevent him from seeing my body scatter!

Fortunately, he turned his gaze. As Unit 312 ran desperately again and was pierced by a sword once more, the Molotov cocktail it held reduced it to ashes. While the body scattered into mana particles, Unit 12, generated beyond the wall, unleashed gunfire and fled.

They conversed as they pursued us.

“I definitely killed it? Is it resurrection?”

“No, it’s the same person! That’s…”

And our intention succeeded.

“The intruder can use teleportation! It couldn’t have gone far. Surround them!”

“There it is?”

Kroshel, that bastard, pursued us, calling for reinforcements in a fervent voice. Every time he yelled into the comms, he talked about teleportation. We had successfully created a misunderstanding.

From now on, I am Teleportation Genius Violet. Let’s survive as long as possible and stall for time!