episode_0153

Levarud Capture

“W-what in the world…? Why did the clamp activate on its own?!” “Gwaaaah!” A thick clamp suddenly emerged from the ceiling and seized Omega’s neck. Stein, seeing the clamp activate without his input, was greatly perplexed. We too were bewildered, unable to understand the sudden appearance of the clamp. As Stein turned his head this way and that, trying to grasp the situation, he suddenly spotted something above and behind me. His face contorted with rage, veins bulging.

“It was you! XMC-034! You manipulated the clamp, didn’t you?!” “What…?! Wait… now that you mention it…” When Stein shouted, asking if the experimental girl had manipulated the clamp, I looked around and realized that she was nowhere to be seen. Then, following Stein’s gaze, I turned my head and saw the experimental girl inside a room, visible through a window above and behind me, actually operating the device. I was startled. As Stein and I discovered her, the experimental girl opened the window and shouted at Stein.

“Yes, I did it! Did you think I was some useless idiot?!” “You damnable incomplete experiment… But how did you manipulate the clamp?! I never taught you how to operate the device!” “Did you forget, Stein?! I’m an experiment you created! You especially said it until your mouth was worn out! That I’m more complete than other experiments?! Did you think I wouldn’t be able to use the brain you gave me in this lab?!”

“….?! This was a lab?! Not a control room?!” The experimental girl angrily stated that this was a lab, not a control room, and that she *could* use the brain the Levarud researchers had given her. I, however, was more shocked by the revelation that this wasn’t a control room but a lab. What…? This vast, enormous place isn’t a control room, but a lab?!

“That’s right, Zeke! In this place… those bastards analyzed… and modified various life forms…! The horrible things that happened here, the amount of suffering other experiments went through… it’s too terrible to even think about… The clamp holding Omega right now is also a tool to restrain experiments, and there are many such tools here!”

“Damn it… I didn’t know that thing would gain such intelligence… Has it been hiding its intelligence throughout the experiment…!!” “I’ve been meticulously hiding the intelligence you gave me, Stein, waiting for the day I could use it against you. And I’ve been biding my time, watching for an opportunity to take over the real control room. Now that I’ve taken this place… it’s time for you to pay for your sins.”

“Ugh! You damnable brat!!!” The experimental girl reminded Stein of the suffering they had endured, glaring at him as she declared it was time to settle the score. Stein, enraged that he had been outsmarted by his own experiment, began to seethe with fury. Despite Stein’s anger, the experimental girl paid him no mind and urgently shouted at me.

“Zeke! There’s a white-haired human fighting the Saints and Priests outside right now, are they your comrade?!” “A white-haired human…? Yuria…!! Yes! She’s our comrade… She’s fighting Saints and Priests?!” “Yes! She seems to be in danger right now… It’s really fortunate…! That I managed to take over the control room just in time…!!” “What?! Yuria’s in danger, what do you mean…!!”

“Do you have time to be distracted, Explorer!” When the experimental girl mentioned Yuria was in danger, I was startled by the news and tried to ask her what had happened to Yuria. But Stein, wielding a sword-shaped black magic energy from his bracelet, gave me no reprieve, and I was forced to refocus on him. Meanwhile, in a certain corridor, Yuria, surrounded by numerous Saints and Priests, was breathing heavily and in a difficult situation.

“Oh no… I didn’t realize there would be so many… *pant*… *pant*… No matter how much I freeze, it never ends…” “Many of our sisters lost their lives because of you. But their noble sacrifices were all the will of Goddess Camilla… So we cannot let their sacrifices be in vain, can we?” ‘*Pant*… *pant*… If these guys also had the ability to manipulate emotions, like that fairy Saint-nim, Renbu… *whew*… I might encounter Zeke as an enemy next time… But still… Tiavel… I want to save Tiavel at least…’

Yuria, sensing she was about to be defeated, wanted Tiavel to escape even if she herself fell. However, seeing the Saints and Priests densely encircling her, Yuria realized there was no opportunity for that. She then stroked Tiavel’s head, who was clinging tightly to her leg, and gave a faint smile.

“I’m sorry, Tiavel. I promised I’d help you with your life… and now I’m messing up… Huh?” “….??” “Oh?” Just as Yuria, cornered, was about to resign herself to fate, the floor where Yuria and Tiavel stood suddenly opened downwards like a lid. Perplexed by the sudden turn of events, Yuria and Tiavel began to fall. The Saints and Priests were greatly flustered as the floor suddenly opened like a lid and then closed again. Meanwhile, Yuria and Tiavel, who had fallen, were sliding down a strange passage, thoroughly terrified.

“Aaaaaaaah! What in the world is thiiiiis?!” “…!!!!” “It’s good that we’re alive, but… is this really an okay situation?!”

It was a relief to have escaped the Saints and Priests, but Yuria and Tiavel, having no idea what kind of passage this was, shed tiny tears of unknown fear as they were transported somewhere. Eventually, Yuria arrived at the end of a gigantic passage. Complaining of pain in her backside from the slide, she slowly got to her feet.

“Ouch… my butt… Where in the world is this? And what was that just now…?” “I noticed you were in danger earlier and moved you to a certain location! This facility has many secret passages that function like traps!” “…? Where’s that voice coming from…? Is it that square device?”

As Yuria tried to figure out the nature of the dark passage they had arrived in, a voice told her that it had used a secret passage to rescue them. Perplexed, Yuria looked around. Realizing the voice was coming from a square device on the ceiling, Yuria and Tiavel looked up. When they saw the square device, the voice spoke again from it.

“I’m the one currently helping your friend Zeke and the Black Saint-nim in the central lab, okay? You need to listen carefully to what I say from now on, Yuria!” “…!! You’re helping Zeke and the Saint-nim? Where are they now?!” “I can’t hear your voice directly from here! And the reason I sent you there is because I have a favor to ask, so listen carefully!”

As Yuria tried to ask her something, the experimental girl, watching through a screen, said she couldn’t hear Yuria’s voice and that she had a favor to ask, so Yuria needed to listen carefully. Yuria was confused, but since it was true that the owner of the voice had saved her, she decided to trust it and nodded. Seeing Yuria’s reaction, the experimental girl spread out a map of the Levarud facility next to her and spoke.

“Listen carefully. Zeke and the Black Saint-nim are currently dealing with the remaining researchers and the worst failed experiment in the lab. So, I’d like you to handle something else!” “Something else…?” “The place you’ve arrived at can be considered a pillar-like location that supports the Levarud facility! In fact, it’s full of pillars that support the entire Levarud facility, and most importantly, it’s packed with devices that stabilize the facility’s environment. I saw earlier that you… have the ability to freeze things, right?”

When the experimental girl explained that the place supported the Levarud facility and asked if Yuria had freezing abilities, Yuria nodded, confirming it. The experimental girl then smiled, checked the map, and began to explain the plan to Yuria.

“We all want this place to collapse right now. Because its existence could contaminate the Elum Dimension… that is, the Krentid World. So here’s what you need to do! Your task is just one thing! Just go through that passage and freeze everything! Then this place will collapse, and I’ll tell you the location of the escape route, so don’t worry!” “….Hmm… So, if I freeze this entire passage, this research facility will collapse?”

Upon hearing the experimental girl’s explanation and realizing she just needed to freeze the entire passage she was in, Yuria, finding it quite an interesting proposition, smiled and slowly began to emit cold air from her hands. Then Tiavel showed Yuria a piece of paper with writing on it.

‘You’ll do it, right?’ “Of course! Zeke didn’t seem to like this place much to begin with, anyway! Plus, we’ve escaped the Saints and Priests, so I can proceed with peace of mind! Let’s go!!!” As Yuria said she’d do it without hesitation, emitting cold air from her hands and slowly starting to freeze the passage, Tiavel put the paper in her pocket, nodded, and began to run with Yuria. Meanwhile, Stein, who had overheard the experimental girl explaining the plan to Yuria, pressed me hard with the sword-shaped aura emanating from his two bracelets and shouted.

“Destroy this place?! Do you think you’re free just because you escaped from us, XMC-034!!” “Of course I do! You idiot, constantly rationalizing yourself, you’d never know how much that girl resented you while trapped in that cramped cage, would you?!”

Stein became greatly enraged that the experimental girl was contacting others to destroy this place. Instead of the experimental girl, I rebuked Stein and, wielding Trahan, began to push him back. The experimental girl then looked at Stein and urgently shouted at me.

“Zeke! Those bracelets on Stein’s arms right now! They’re made of Brahamel, a harder iron that can absorb other things, like the ore called Tiamel! Brahamel specifically has the property of repelling absorbed power!” “….!! So that’s what it was…!! No wonder that cage and those bracelets kept deflecting Aria’s and my power… So there was something hidden like that…!!”

“Th-this damned half-baked experiment…! Did it read the documents in the control room…!!” When the experimental girl even revealed the identity of his bracelets, Stein was furious, realizing she had learned their secret from the control room documents. I, meanwhile, realized my suspicion about a hidden secret in the bracelets was correct and fell into thought. So, those bracelets are absorbing Aria’s and my power and releasing it in the form of a sword, and the reason magic kept failing to pass through was because the bracelets, having absorbed the magic, repelled and deflected my power… If that’s the case…!!

“Then I just need to attack without touching the bracelets, right?!” “Ha… Damn it. Since everything’s been revealed, I guess I have no choice… In that case, I’ll have to change my attack method so your plan won’t work!” “What…?”

When all the secrets of his weapon were revealed, Stein suddenly stepped back and shouted that he would change his attack method, leaving me momentarily bewildered. At that moment, Stein suddenly slammed his hands onto the floor, and cracks began to spread across it. Then Stein lifted the cracked pieces of the floor with both hands… Sh-shards?!

“Don’t forget I’ve also modified my body, Explorer!” “Th-this crazy bastard…!! Please, Iruvan!!” As Stein hurled the huge floor shards he had broken with his hands at me, I quickly spread my hands and unleashed powerful flames from my palms. The shards, struck by Iruvan’s flames, began to slow their approach to me, stopping right before my nose and falling to the floor. At that moment, Stein rushed at me and swung his sharp claws. I hurriedly leaned back, dodging Stein’s hand. However…

“Cough…!!” “You fell for it, Explorer.” I hadn’t noticed Stein’s kick, and I was sent flying back into the wall by his blow to my abdomen. Aria, who had been analyzing Omega’s weakness, saw the scene and cried out in alarm.

“A-ah… Z-Zeke-nim!!!” “Uooooh!” “….!! Th-that crazy bastard… Aria! This isn’t the time for that!”

The moment Aria turned her head towards me, Omega began to scream, then started to break the clamp holding its neck with both hands. Dio V Runner was greatly astonished and called out to Aria, and the experimental girl, seeing Omega breaking the clamp, was utterly shocked.

“N-no way…!! That’s a clamp used to restrain gigantic life forms! No life form has ever broken it… Something… there must be another way…!!” “Aria! Stick to the plan! I’ll draw its attention, so you *must* find its weakness and attack! If the plan fails, Zeke, who’s collapsed right now, will also die!” “…!! Ah… Aaagh…!! I understand! I get it! Just tell me what to do already!”

As Omega slowly began to free itself from its restraints, Dio V Runner urgently proposed to Aria that they stick to the plan. Aria, realizing that if they failed, my life would also end, raised her voice and shouted that she understood. Dio V Runner then flew towards Omega’s face, equipped a new orb into his flamethrower, aimed it directly at Omega, and shouted.

“Let’s see if you can withstand this heat, monster! Flamma Orb!” “….! Gwaaaah! Ughhh!” As Dio V Runner unleashed intense flames from his flamethrower, searing Omega’s face, Omega frantically flailed its hands, trying to attack Dio V Runner. But Dio V Runner flew back and forth, dodging Omega’s hands and continuously focusing his flames on Omega’s face. At that moment, Omega urgently covered its face with its hands. Seeing this, Aria continued to gather light into her staff, glaring at Omega with a fierce gaze as she muttered.

Aria, having pinpointed Omega’s weakness from Dio V Runner’s recent attack, began to gather power into her staff, intending to finish it. Meanwhile, Stein, watching this, let out a sneer of disbelief and mocked Aria and Dio V Runner.

“Hah. Do you really think Omega has a weakness? No matter how much of a failure that thing is, weaknesses don’t exist for it. You’re just wasting your ener—” “If you, too, have a weakness… it’s probably not your physical ability, but rather…” “?!! You’re alive…!!!”

The moment Stein, scoffing at Aria and Dio V Runner, let his guard down, I, while flying back from his kick, manipulated the magic I had spilled on the floor and seized both of Stein’s ankles. Stein was greatly shocked that I, who had just been kicked into the wall and was coughing up blood, was still alive. I then used the magic holding his ankles to pull him towards me. Then, holding Trahan, which was wreathed in fire and magic, I charged at the pulling Stein and shouted.

“It’s probably your arrogance!!!” “Hah…!! Did you forget?! My power can be repelled with just this bracelet!” “Ah… I know very well… because I expected it!!!” “…?!”

As Stein asked if I had forgotten that his bracelet could repel my power and crossed his arms to block my attack, I quickly manipulated the magic tentacles holding his ankles to cross each other, then released Stein. Stein’s body began to spin in mid-air. When his back became visible, I swung Trahan and slashed him across the back. Even though Stein’s skin had been modified and hardened, it couldn’t withstand Trahan’s might, Iruvan’s flames, and the power of magic, as Trahan cut deeply into Stein’s back.

“Cough….!!” The moment Stein was cut by my sword and sent flying, Aria, who had been aiming her staff at a certain part of Omega’s head, began to recite a prayer as sufficient energy gathered in her staff.

“O Omnipotent One in the heavens! I seek to fell this hideous monster with your power… so lend me your strength!!”

As Aria recited her prayer, a powerful beam of light shot out from her staff towards Omega’s mouth. When the beam from Aria’s staff pierced its mouth, Omega screamed and slowly began to fall backward.

“Gwaaaaaaaah!!!!” Thus, Stein and Omega, struck by my and Aria’s attacks respectively, simultaneously began to fall backward.