episode_0139

※ Contains graphic descriptions. Viewer discretion is advised. ※

The Underground Facility Activates

The moment I entered the secret biological lab, I felt a deep unease. Seeing the horrifying transformation of the girl who had become an experimental subject, rage surged within me. But now… a researcher has appeared, threatening this world like some World Tree? What in the world is going on? Even if exploration brings unimaginable events, this…

“This is going too far!!!”

“…How dare he try to ruin the world that Zeke-nim and I will live in…!!”

I was ready to just let the World Tree slide. It was a creature that had endured agony for tens of thousands of years, eventually losing its mind. But the researcher here is an otherworldly being, and not only did he torment a child merely for the sake of progress, but he also threatens the entire world? What an unbearable nuisance is this?! Aria also seemed utterly flabbergasted by the situation and was furious. So, I slowly opened my mouth and spoke to Aria.

“Aria. You’re angry too, aren’t you?”

“Of course! He’s trying to disrupt this world that Zeke-nim and I will live in… And what’s more, someone who isn’t even from this dimension, an otherworldly person, is suddenly trying to destroy our world? It’s absolutely despicable!!”

When I asked if she was angry, Aria replied with a resounding yes, vehemently criticizing the researcher from before. I agree with her. Who wouldn’t be angry if someone tried to ruin their home? And the reason behind it is so absurd that I couldn’t possibly tolerate it either.

“Aria. I really won’t say anything about this. If… if you see that researcher…”

“You don’t need to say it, I know full well! I, Aria, am feeling Zeke-nim’s rage right now! Therefore, I absolutely cannot forgive him…!! I will bestow upon that man a death more agonizing than anyone else’s…!!”

Aria swore that she understood my feelings and would ensure that researcher suffered an agonizing death. And so, we vowed to definitely defeat that nameless researcher. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Dio V Runner was burning the Saintesses and priests with fire.

“Gasp….!!”

“Wh-what?! I protected my body with divine power, but how is this fire… Arghhhhhh!!”

A priest, who had protected his body with divine power, watched in horror as other priests nearby were easily overcome by Dio V Runner’s flames. At that very moment, Dio V Runner unleashed fire directly in front of the priest, burning his head. He then immediately grabbed the face of a Saintess next to him, forced her mouth open, and inserted his flamethrower into it. As the hot flamethrower was forcibly pushed into her mouth, the Saintess began to moan in agony.

“Ughhh! Ughhh!”

“Even if you protect your body with divine power, it won’t matter, but… don’t you think it’s a good choice to blast fire inside the body just in case? Red Orb.”

“!!! Ughhh!”

When Dio V Runner stated that he would blast fire into her body just in case, the Saintess, startled by his words, was seized with terror. Tears streamed down her face, and she struggled desperately, trying to break free from Dio V Runner. But fire had already erupted from Dio V Runner’s flamethrower, and the Saintess, burning from the inside out, crumbled without even being able to let out a proper scream. Seeing this, the other Saintesses looked greatly bewildered and muttered.

“Wh-what?! Why is he so strong?! He’s not even a Black Saintess, so why…”

“Oh… so you know Aria. Your objective seems to have some value in being heard… Should I just burn everyone except one?”

“Eek?!”

Dio V Runner, who was contemplating what to do with the numerous Saintesses and priests still around, decided to just burn everyone except one. His statement made everyone jump in fright. Dio V Runner then flung the charred corpse he was holding against the wall and spoke to the Saintesses and priests.

“I’ll give you two choices. Confess willingly, or only one of you will survive.”

“How dare an otherworldly being be so arrogant…!! You can never defeat the one who governs this world!! A mere human, do not defy His will!!”

“Th-that’s right!! No matter how strong you are, you’re just a human…!! Even if you defeat us, a mere human cannot defy Him…”

“…A god, is it? The being you revere and your mastermind.”

“!!!”

Dio V Runner, realizing that the ‘Him’ the Saintesses and priests had been mentioning was a god, questioned them. His conjecture seemed correct, as the Saintesses and priests were startled silent by his question. Seeing their reaction, Dio V Runner attached two blue cubes to the flamethrowers on his arms and spoke.

“After all, since you are Saintesses and priests, the identity of the mastermind behind you is likely a god. Anyway, this is the first I’ve heard of it. There seem to be ranks among Saintesses, no? If Aria is a powerful Saintess… then are you perhaps apprentice Saintesses?”

“Wh-what does that matter…!!”

“Indeed, as you said, we are still apprentices, and not like the Black Saintess who possesses vast divine power and strength. But… our devotion to Him. Our faith is something we are confident no one can surpass…”

“If you’re confident in that, does your inherent strength increase, you fools!!! Steam Orb!!”

When a priestess proudly declared that though they might be weaker than Aria, their faith was second to none, Dio V Runner scoffed, asking if that would make their inherent strength increase, and unleashed hot steam from his flamethrower onto the surrounding priests and Saintesses. Those touched by the hot steam recoiled in horror, stumbling backward. Seeing this, Dio V Runner recalled Aria and thought.

‘Aria didn’t even flinch at dragon’s fire. If these Saintesses, of the same kind, react in pain, it means Aria has trained her body enough to withstand even this steam. What kind of training did she go through to become a Saintess, anyway?’

“Carelessness is forbidden, otherworldly being.”

“…!! Ugh!!”

Just as Dio V Runner was comparing Aria to the Saintesses he was fighting, wondering what kind of training Aria had undergone, he noticed a priest whose body was emitting light, hammer in hand, had somehow gotten behind him. Dio V Runner swiftly dodged sideways to avoid the priest’s hammer. However, he reacted too late, and his right shoulder was slightly grazed by the hammer. Dio V Runner put a hand to his shoulder and quickly jumped backward, escaping from the priest.

‘Damn it… I was distracted and didn’t even notice him coming. To surround his body with protective light to block the steam…’

“Is that all your petty tricks, otherworldly being? There are still about twenty Saintesses and priests here. There are also a few more who can withstand your flames. Are you still not going to surrender?”

“Don’t get cocky just for blocking some steam. Besides, you won’t let me live even if I surrender, so why bother asking?”

Dio V Runner asked the hammer-wielding priest, who had questioned if he would surrender, why he even bothered asking if he wouldn’t spare him anyway, his eyes sharp. At that, the surrounding Saintesses and priests began to ready their respective weapons. Seeing this, the priest spun his hammer and said.

“As you said, we can’t let you live, knowing the secrets of this place. Well… we could consider imprisoning you.”

“You lot, who tried to thoroughly conceal this place using strange orbs, wouldn’t have prepared a prison.”

Dio V Runner, believing that the priests and Saintesses who had tried to conceal this place from the outside world using the heavenly orb he had found would not have a prison, aimed his flamethrower at them again. At that moment, the ceiling lights suddenly began to flash red. Moreover, a strange booming sound echoed from the hallway, making the priest cry out in great bewilderment.

“Wh-what?!”

“…? What is this? Wasn’t this facility supposed to be empty? Or did you tamper with your vault? This sounds like a common facility alarm.”

“What?! So there’s still a living otherworldly researcher?! We were sure we had dealt with them all…!!”

When Dio V Runner said it was an alarm and asked if they had tampered with a vault, the priest was greatly bewildered and shocked that there was still a living otherworldly researcher in the facility. Just then, seeing the Saintesses and priests fall into chaos due to the sudden alarm, Dio V Runner noticed a gap among them. He swiftly ran, pushing aside the Saintesses and priests blocking his way with his hands, and made a quick escape. Only then did the priest realize Dio V Runner had fled, pointing a finger at the escaping Dio V Runner and shouting.

“Don’t ever let him escape!! If he escapes, His plan will be disrupted…”

“Pr-priest-nim!! Watch your back!!”

“…!!!”

As the priest was ordering the other priests and Saintesses to chase Dio V Runner, a Saintess frantically shouted for him to watch his back. The priest tilted his head and looked behind him. There, a bizarre quadrupedal beast, a mixture of various animals, revealed its sharp teeth and lunged at him. The priest swung his hammer in great bewilderment. At the same time, Yuria and Tiavel, who were investigating traces of the Saintess, also encountered a strange beast.

“Wh-what is that?! Bird wings… cat paws… Wh-what’s all mixed up like that?!”

“Roar!”

“…!!”

As the beast, drooling at the sight of her and Tiavel, bared its sharp teeth and charged, Yuria quickly began gathering cold energy in her hands. As the beast lunged at her, Tiavel screamed in surprise and hid behind Yuria. Then, as the beast came right up to her nose, Yuria extended both hands toward it.

“Haaaaa! Freeze!!”

Before the beast’s teeth could reach her, Yuria unleashed the cold energy gathered in her hands all at once, instantly freezing the beast. She then swiftly struck the beast with her hand, knocking it down to her side. Seeing the booming sounds echoing in the hallway, the roars of beasts, and the red flashing lights, Yuria realized the situation was taking a bad turn.

“This… whatever it is, it’s too ominous… And this creature… What is it? It looks like many creatures mixed together…”

The hallway, which had been quiet moments ago, became noisy with a mix of sounds, leaving Yuria greatly bewildered and unable to understand what was happening. Looking at the frozen beast lying beside her, she couldn’t fathom what kind of creature it was. Then, Tiavel wrote something on a piece of paper and showed it to Yuria.

‘Perhaps this is an animal born from that biological experiment, Mom?’

“…An experiment mixing various creatures… This place really has a terrible hobby… And these beast sounds echoing amidst the booming… That means there are more of these beasts… This isn’t even a snowy mountain… or even outside, so I can’t use my full power…!”

Yuria pondered what to do, considering that more experimental subjects were roaming the hallways and that she couldn’t unleash her full power because this wasn’t outside. Finally, as if she had made a decision, she embraced Tiavel, looked ahead, and said.

“Let’s go to the secret lab where Zeke is! The stench and everything, if we stay here, we’ll surely die…!!”

Yuria stated that they would surely die if they stayed there, and that it would be better than the stench coming from the biological lab. Tiavel seemed to agree, nodding her head. Yuria then blasted cold energy from her hands, freezing the floor, and rushed toward the entrance of the biological lab.

“Those beasts will slip on this ice and won’t be able to move well… But as a Snow Woman, walking on this ice is like walking on flat ground for me…!! I have to hurry to Zeke! Though few, I must protect the traces of the Saintesses and priests I’ve gathered so far…!”

With the traces of the Saintesses and priests they had found before the experimental subjects attacked, tucked into a bag with a strap, Yuria and Tiavel swiftly ran to the biological lab. Meanwhile, in the hallway leading to the biological lab, Aria and I were in a situation where experimental subjects, a mix of various creatures, blocked our front and back, preventing us from escaping.

“Damn it… so the guardians were the experimental subjects…? I didn’t expect there to be other experimental subjects besides that girl…”

“…? Zeke-nim. Look closely at those beasts. Parts of their bodies are from the demonic beasts that inhabit Krentide World…”

“…!!!”

I closely examined the experimental subjects and, as Aria said, realized that several parts of their bodies were indeed from the demonic beasts of Krentide World. My jaw dropped. Damn it, no wonder the demonic beasts didn’t come into this pit… they already knew about this pit…!! They must have felt terror seeing their comrades and families indiscriminately dragged into this place…!!

“We really can’t leave this place alone. Besides, if these experimental subjects get outside… Krentide World is already a headache because of the demonic beasts, but these things will make it an even bigger headache… No… it could cause even greater chaos…!”

“Hmm… you mean it doesn’t matter what we do to these creatures?”

As I worried that the world would fall into chaos if the experimental subjects got outside, Aria twirled her staff and asked if it meant it didn’t matter what we did to them. I couldn’t even imagine how much suffering the experimental subjects had endured because of the humans in this facility. I raised Trahan and spoke to Aria.

“Yes. Let’s put them at ease. I’ll leave the front to you, Aria!!! As for the back…”

“It’s alright, Zeke-nim. I’ll handle both sides. Coincidentally… I’ve been building up a lot of frustration and needed someone to take it out on…!!”

“….. Oh.”

Aria, who had been accumulating frustration that wouldn’t dissipate, smiled with an angry expression, seeing the perfect targets for her anger, and told me to leave it to her. Feeling her spirit… no, her rage, I was bewildered and slowly backed toward the wall. Aria then raised her staff toward the experimental subjects charging from the front and chanted a prayer.

“Oh, you who are in heaven. I shall use your power to punish the sinners. Judgment upon the sinners!!!!”

As Aria chanted her prayer, a powerful light burst from her staff, repelling all the experimental subjects charging from the front. Aria immediately turned around and blasted light at the experimental subjects coming from the rear, repelling them all. Seeing this, I let out a hollow laugh and thought.

‘Oh… that’s not God’s judgment… that’s Aria’s judgment itself….’

Aria defeated the experimental subjects so easily that I felt awkward for having pulled out Trahan again. Meanwhile, in a dark room, a girl confined within an iron cage shook the bars frantically and shouted at the man in white standing before her.

“Damn it!! Get me out of here now!! You’re the only one left, why are you still doing experiments?!”

“Why? With a perfect specimen like you right in front of me, do you think I’d stop experimenting? Humanity, you see… has achieved progress through such experiments. So, wouldn’t it be logical for me to also contribute to that progress?”

“Progress, my foot!! You… no, how many creatures have suffered because of you?!”

“It is a sacrifice for progress. You should even be proud. Thanks to your sacrifice, the world can develop even further.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get me out of here!!!”

No matter what the girl said, the man in white simply justified his actions as an unavoidable sacrifice for progress. He then opened the door and walked out into the hallway. The girl, her face filled with resentment, frantically shook the iron bars until the man, visible through the light filtering through the door crack, disappeared.