episode_0138

Composite

“Who are you?! You’re not talking, so you must be those scientists, right?!”

…I was too surprised to speak. It was astonishing enough that there was a living creature in a place like this, but it was beyond astonishment—it was a huge shock. What in the world was it? This creature, with body parts from various races combined into a single girl’s body…? No matter how much the girl yelled at us, we couldn’t shake off the shock. We just stared at her with bewildered expressions. The girl then seemed to notice something, gripping the iron bars tightly with her lizard-like hand before speaking to us.

“You’re not scientists, are you?! Your reaction… If you were scientists, you wouldn’t have reacted at all to seeing me, but you’re extremely surprised, right?!”

“Uh… Uh-huh… Who are you, exactly? And what about that appearance…?”

“…Ahaaa… It’s too complicated to explain everything… So, could you first break these bars?! I want to get out of here quickly!”

“You cannot. There’s no guarantee you wouldn’t attack Zeke-nim if you were to come out.”

The girl, realizing we were connected to this facility, desperately pleaded for us to break the bars holding her captive. However, Aria, who couldn’t rule out the possibility of the girl attacking me, flatly refused. The girl then looked greatly flustered and began shaking the bars, shouting.

“Please, I’m begging you!!! I don’t want to suffer any longer here!! If you let me go, I’ll explain everything about this place, so please, just let me go!!!”

“Absolutely not. How can we carelessly release you when we don’t even know what you are? We are strangers, aren’t we? So, I believe it’s natural for us to think carefully about this, don’t you agree?”

“…..”

Aria refused the girl’s plea, stating it was only natural for them to remain cautious since they were strangers to the girl. The girl, greatly flustered, couldn’t say a word. Aria was definitely right about this. As Aria said, we were exploring this highly suspicious facility and had stumbled upon this girl by chance. Moreover, since we still didn’t fully understand this facility, we couldn’t just act recklessly… But I couldn’t believe Aria would say something like that…

“Ah… Alright. So, if I explain about myself first, will you drop your suspicions?”

“Hmm… We’ll listen first. Aria, you spoke really well just now. That was impressive.”

“Hehehe… It’s a matter of Zeke-nim’s life, so of course, I must calmly analyze the situation. However, if Zeke-nim had tried to save this girl anyway, I would have strongly opposed it.”

Aria said she had judged the situation calmly because my life was at stake, and if I had still tried to save the girl, she would have vehemently objected. I let out a wry chuckle, thinking that Aria would indeed have done so. The girl trapped inside the bars then sighed and began to introduce herself.

“First, I am a test subject in this facility. I don’t have a name, and the scientists who experimented on me call me XMC-034.”

“No name, huh… We did find documents earlier that mentioned experiments in this facility combining body parts from other living creatures… Are you the result of those experiments?”

“Yes. The scientists here… the researchers, they removed my body parts and attached parts from other creatures… I even know exactly which body parts have been combined into my body so far.”

XMC-034 remembered all the body parts that had been combined into her, and her expression twisted as she recalled the researchers. I could immediately feel how much animosity this girl harbored towards the people of this place. The girl then removed her hands from the iron bars, put them on the ground, and spoke.

“These two hands of mine are from an armored salamander, a newt with tough skin. My red eyes are harpy eyes… And my two legs are beastfolk legs, my shoulder blades have dragon bones, my tailbone has a lizardman’s tail… Lastly, my ears are elf ears. Besides that, including my internal organs, my body has a total of 23 different racial body parts…”

“….Good heavens….”

When the girl revealed that her body contained a total of 23 different racial body parts, I was speechless. What in the world had the people of this facility done to a child who looked barely 13… no, 11 years old…? As I continued to learn shocking details about the girl, still unable to fully recover from the shock, the girl shed tears and spoke to us.

“I was originally human… But now… I’ve been experimented on endlessly without knowing how much time has passed… I’ve even forgotten my original appearance… I’ve lived here for a long time, undergoing experiments, forever forgetting where I came from, and who my family was…!!”

“However, we found people from this place… no, what appeared to be researchers from this place, dead and mummified outside. Now, the researchers who would experiment on you…”

“No… There’s still a living researcher… When the Saintesses and Priests of this dimension attacked them, one managed to barely escape to the secret biological lab and survived, and he’s still continuing the experiments…”

“…?! W-what did you just say?! Saintesses and Priests?!”

When the girl mentioned that Saintesses and Priests had attacked the researchers here, I was more shocked by that news than by the fact that a living researcher still existed. So, just as we suspected, the Saintesses and Priests had attacked this place…!! And I don’t know what kind of ability they used, but they used some strange power to mummify and kill the researchers…!! While I was reeling from the girl’s testimony, Yuria and Tiavel, who were investigating outside, were rummaging through a messy warehouse.

“Hmmm… I’d rather find traces of the Saintesses and Priests than just random items here… How dare they make Tiavel go through such a terrible experience…!! I never forgave them in the first place, but thinking about it just makes my blood boil…!!”

It had bothered me from the beginning that the Saintesses and Priests had some hidden agenda, and recalling her past intensified her animosity towards them. Tiavel, who was rummaging through boxes nearby, let out a wry laugh and scratched her head. Then Tiavel wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to Yuria.

‘But Mom, what exactly is the Saintesses and Priests’ hidden agenda? What was their reason for coming to this facility?’

“Exactly… There are many materials for the Sphere of Divine Light here, so this could be a good base for them… I don’t know why there isn’t a single Saintess or Priest here… Or maybe… they’re not here, but on the opposite side?”

‘Didn’t Zeke Uncle say that Dio V Runner-nim is on the opposite side?’

“….Oh… Now that you mention it, he did…? Then he’s currently…”

Yuria thought that since there were no Saintesses or Priests here, they might be on the opposite side. Tiavel then reminded her that Dio V Runner was there. And just as they thought, Dio V Runner was facing Saintesses and Priests holding staffs in the secret passage on the opposite side.

“….I didn’t expect to find you in a place like this… You’re the Priests and Saintesses who attacked Yuria before, aren’t you?”

“Oh my… You appear to be an otherworldly being. I don’t know how you reached this place, but… does it matter? Only we, the chosen ones, are meant to know the secrets of this place. The command from Him came down to execute all others…”

“….Indeed. This is a research facility for exploring other worlds… and a laboratory where terrible secrets are hidden. That’s why this place must be full of the materials you desire… You want to monopolize it, don’t you?”

As the surrounding Saintesses and Priests raised their staffs and eyed him warily, Dio V Runner pulled a red cube from his pocket and attached it to his flamethrower. He then spread his arms, aiming the flamethrowers attached to his arms at the Saintesses and Priests around him, and said:

“Take your hands off otherworldly artifacts, you rude fools. And tell your master. I will burn this place until not a trace remains, so don’t covet the items here.”

“We cannot. This place is essential for Him. We cannot allow His plan to be disrupted…!!”

One Priest ignored Dio V Runner’s warning and charged at him with his staff raised. The other Saintesses and Priests also rushed at Dio V Runner. Dio V Runner sighed, realizing that the Priests and Saintesses had no intention of listening to him. He then immediately unleashed fire from his flamethrower, attacking the charging Saintesses and Priests. Meanwhile, Aria and I continued listening to the girl’s story.

“There’s a mineral called ‘Tiamel’ here… I heard that the Saintesses and Priests need that mineral. Furthermore, they investigated this place to acquire its technology, but they couldn’t reach this secret biological lab itself, so they’re only procuring Tiamel from here, that researcher said.”

“Tiamel…? Aria, do you know what Tiamel is?”

“Hmm… No. It seems to be an otherworldly mineral. I’ve never heard of such a mineral even after becoming a Saintess.”

“…? What, you were a Saintess too?”

When Aria said she had never heard of a mineral called Tiamel even after becoming a Saintess, the girl, realizing Aria was a Saintess, tilted her head and asked Aria. Then she sighed deeply and spoke to us again.

“No… Your being a Saintess has nothing to do with me… Anyway, I kept undergoing modification surgeries here, and sometimes, to see how much pain I could endure, they would experiment on me while I was awake. You can’t even imagine how much pain I felt each time…”

“…..Lunatics…”

I couldn’t speak, horrified that the researchers had tormented such a young girl to that extent. And I fully understood why this girl wanted to get out of this iron cage. She had lived for so many years enduring such great pain; of course, she would want to escape this place…

“Alright. This is enough. More than enough. Aria, these iron bars… you can break them, right?”

“….!! You’ll really save me!?”

When I, having learned her circumstances, asked Aria if she could break the bars, the girl was overjoyed and asked me. Aria then looked at the girl, deliberated, nodded, and spoke to me.

“Hmmmm… If that’s Zeke-nim’s decision, then there’s nothing I can do… Honestly, normally I would have strongly opposed it, but… she told us everything, as per our promise to Zeke-nim. Well… just know that if you try anything funny, I’ll smash your head in right away.”

‘Uh… In a way, she seems even scarier than the Saintesses and Priests I’ve seen so far…’

When Aria warned her with a fierce expression that she wouldn’t stand by if the girl tried anything, the girl swallowed hard, intimidated, and tensed up. Aria then loosened her hand, prepared to swing her staff, and I urgently shouted at the girl.

“…!! Q-quickly, step back!”

“Ah… Alright!”

If Aria were to break the iron bars, the girl could get caught in the blast, so I urgently shouted for the girl to step back. The girl then crawled quickly and retreated, and once she was clear, Aria immediately swung her staff and struck the iron bars. But then…

“…?! This is…”

“No way… Aria’s staff is made of the solid Tears of Behemoth, isn’t it…? And Aria’s not weak, so what in the world are these iron bars made of that they didn’t even get a scratch?!”

Everyone present was greatly bewildered when Aria’s staff failed to even scratch the iron bars. Aria, perhaps greatly provoked or her pride wounded, her face gradually twisted as she glared at the iron bars and spoke.

“Ha… Haha… This one and that one… The objects in this facility… excluding the cameras, they seem to really get on my nerves… Zeke-nim. May I be a little rough…?”

“Uh… Yeah… You can hit it as hard as you need to to let out your anger…”

Aria, truly enraged, chuckled with a twisted expression as she asked for my permission to be a little rough. I, bewildered, told her she could. Aria then immediately ran her hand along her staff and began to recite a prayer with her right hand.

“Oh, Omniscient and Omnipotent One in the heavens. Your follower, who seeks to borrow Your power, asks that You lend Your strength to me. With Your power, I shall punish the wicked…!! Haaaah-aaaaahp!!”

“Waaaahhh!”

As Aria recited the prayer, her staff began to emit a yellow light. When Aria swung the staff at the iron bars that held her captive, the girl recoiled in terror, thinking she might get caught in it too. However, even with Aria’s strengthened staff, the iron bars didn’t budge, and instead, Aria’s hand just felt numb. Aria gasped in surprise.

“W-what is this iron bar?! It still hasn’t even gotten a scratch…”

“Are all otherworldly objects like this…? Aria! Let’s try using the Gleam of Holy Ring!!”

“Understood, Zeke…”

“That’s enough.”

“!!!”

Just as I suggested using the Gleam of Holy Ring because Aria’s prayer-enhanced staff couldn’t break the iron bars, a strange man’s voice was heard from somewhere in the room, greatly unsettling us. However, the girl began to grind her teeth upon hearing that voice, and I understood from her reaction. It’s a researcher…!!

“An otherworldly researcher… right?!”

“Oh… To figure it out so quickly. You’re quite the curious one, aren’t you? Those types are usually quick-witted.”

“How dare you inflict such horrific, torturous experiments on this child…!! Aren’t you ashamed?!”

Recalling the terrible experiments the girl had endured at the hands of the researchers here, I felt my teeth grind and shouted at the disembodied voice. The researcher was silent for a moment after my question, then suddenly scoffed at me and spoke.

“Hahahaha!! Ashamed, you ask? Not at all! This is all for progress!!”

“For that progress, you use a child like this…?!”

When the researcher said he wasn’t ashamed because it was all for progress, I became enraged and turned my head to the girl, shouting. However, the girl trapped in the iron cage began to gradually disappear, and I was greatly flustered by this sight. W-what’s happening all of a sudden?!

“I know the power of that Black Saintess next to you is dangerous, having seen the power of the Saintesses who came here before. So I predicted that Saintess would surely break the iron bars confining the test subject. Therefore, wouldn’t it be natural to think of moving the test subject?”

“….!! T-this…!!”

“I’m fine!!! Both of you, listen carefully!!! If you leave this researcher alive, your world will be destroyed!! You absolutely must not let this researcher go!! Underst…”

Just before the girl disappeared, she advised us that if the surviving researcher remained in this world, they would destroy Krentid World, and that we absolutely had to defeat him. We were speechless at the sudden situation. Then the researcher spoke to us again.

“There are truly many intruders here now… I suppose I can release some Watchers… Well then, try to survive, humans of Elum.”

The researcher said he would release the Watchers and then sarcastically told us to try and survive, before falling silent. We immediately understood. The researcher had gone to release the Watchers. And if we left this place alone… this world would be in danger.