Just as Expected
The underground research lab. Just as I expected.
After smashing through the floor and falling for a short while, what greeted me was an enormous laboratory complex.
That explains why it felt off.
While Ice Queen was chasing me all over the place, several questions had been nagging at me. The lab equipment didn't look merely clean—it looked like it had never been used at all. The number of staff was absurdly small for a facility this size. And finally—
There were no people.
When Astra had explained the mission, she'd clearly stated that they were colluding with a villain organization, kidnapping civilians and using them as test subjects. So where were those "test subjects"? Even in a world where death was commonplace, bodies didn't just vanish like in a game. Had they dumped them somewhere? That would leave traces. Yet the upper lab had no equipment capable of erasing all signs of human presence.
Then there's only one answer left.
They'd hidden the test subjects—or whatever it was that disposed of them. Where? Either in the sky or beneath the ground.
And my prediction had been spot on.
If it's down here, there'll be even more data for the organization.
I rose from the mat I'd created with my ability and scanned my surroundings.
The only variable is that I brought Ice Queen along...
In the original plan, she should have been unconscious ages ago. Her sheer tenacity in tracking me down was genuinely impressive. Was that what made her a heroine?
Anyway, no sign of Ice Queen no matter where I looked.
We definitely fell at the same time.
I'd seen her dropping alongside me in real time the moment the floor gave way. Unless she'd used her powers to climb back up...
Aha.
I tilted my head upward to look at where I'd fallen from. An ice path stretched down in a perfect slope from top to bottom.
Well, my method wouldn't be easy for Ice Queen to replicate.
Creating an ice path was probably far more efficient for her. In that case, we'll probably run into each other while exploring the underground lab.
With that thought, I began walking slowly deeper into the facility.
Thud. Thud.
Since I'd brought Ice Queen along anyway, maybe I should add another concept? Something like a villain with a tragic backstory?
"Damn it! You useless bastards! How the hell do heroes and villains lose to just three villains?!"
In the dimly lit underground laboratory, a man slammed his fist down on a desk cluttered with scattered documents and blueprints, his face twisted in rage.
"B-but Team Leader..."
The man was Research Team Leader Choo Seo-ho—the same one who'd been guiding the heroes around the facility.
"Team Leader my ass! You can freeze to death for all I care!"
If he went back like this, he'd be mocked for the rest of his life. The man's face crumpled with disgust.
"Hurry up and pack your shit! I heard something explode earlier—we'll be discovered any second!"
At his roar, the researchers beneath him frantically stuffed documents into bags.
"Did you copy the Regeneration Drug research files?"
"Y-yes..."
Choo Seo-ho snatched the USB the researcher offered him.
So this is the result we barely managed to produce...
The man let out a heavy sigh at how far the outcome had strayed from their original goal. Their target had been "a drug that restores the body under any circumstances," but the final product had taken a completely different direction. And to think they'd found value in its side effects.
From Choo Seo-ho's perspective, the situation was utterly frustrating.
Still... even this might be enough to keep the project and me alive.
He shoved the USB into his pocket and turned to the researchers.
"...Wait. One's missing. Kyu-hwan. Where the hell did Park Kyu-hwan go?"
"Kyu-hwan? He said he was going to check out where that noise came from..."
"...S-save me..."
While Choo Seo-ho and another researcher were discussing the absent man, a voice suddenly echoed through the room.
"Hello there, researchers."
"What the fuck did that idiot bring...?"
Park Kyu-hwan was trembling violently, a man pressing a gun to the back of his head. The moment Choo Seo-ho saw him, he clutched his forehead as if suffering from a migraine.
"Nice to meet you, everyone."
When I greeted them with a bright smile, the researchers' faces all soured at once.
"......"
Click.
"Ahahaha! What an honor to meet you!!"
"I-it's an honor!!"
"Uahaha ha ha!!"
The moment I pointed my "kindness" (the pistol) at them, their expressions flipped to bright smiles. Satisfied, I took a sip from the tea I'd poured into a paper cup.
Hmm. Not bad at all.
The aroma and clean finish suggested it was quite an expensive blend.
Thud.
I set the cup down and looked at the researchers before me.
Time to squeeze out some knowledge.
"I'd appreciate it if you gentlemen would now show me everything you've been researching."
"...Even so, that's asking a bit much..."
One researcher immediately protested. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger.
BANG—!
"......"
"No objections now, I trust?"
"......"
"Excellent. I'll be sure to spare whoever provides the most interesting research data, so please don't hold back."
Thankfully, none of the researchers resisted after that.
"Looking at my research results..."
"This phenomenon..."
"Please examine test tube B-425. The cellular reaction is..."
After the brief disturbance, I dragged the researchers around with me, examining each of their projects in turn.
Even with the single theme of regeneration, it can branch out in so many directions.
The approaches were diverse, often incorporating elements from other fields. Same subject, completely different paths.
I observed the results with genuine admiration.
"...Therefore, what I researched are octopus legs! Or more precisely, tentacles!"
"...?"
"Tentacles that regenerate almost instantly after being severed! Aren't they beautiful? By sending signals through the tentacle nerves and manipulating them, you can achieve incredibly delicate movements!"
The researcher then strode forward, grabbed my hand tightly, and shoved a thick stack of research materials into my arms.
What the hell...
"Villain sir! No! Maker sir!! It doesn't matter if I die! Please use this child to commit acts of terror!! Use it on the heroes! More specifically the female heroes! Turn them into a complete, utter, chaotic, fucked-up mess!! I beg you!!!!!"
"...Understood. I'll gratefully accept your research data."
Occasionally you ran into true madness that made you flinch, but the quality of these results was high enough to make it worthwhile.
"My sensitivity 3000x potion too, please!!!!!!!!!"
"My research data as well, please!!!!"
"Pleaaseeeeee!!!!!"
"......"
Was it really just "occasionally"?
As I tilted my head in confusion, the man who'd introduced himself as the research team leader let out a deep sigh.
"...Fuck. So that's why the results came out so weird."
Choo Seo-ho seemed to have reached some profound realization. Once the presentations from the researchers under him were finished, I turned to look at him.
"Choo Seo-ho. Now it's your turn to show me what you've got."
"...Haa. Understood. Follow me."
At my words, Choo Seo-ho took the lead and headed toward a specific area.
A space that emitted an especially sinister green glow even in the dark underground.
Stop.
The man who'd been walking silently ahead suddenly halted and turned to face me.
"Is something wrong?"
"...Maker. Do you truly spare anyone you take a liking to?"
Choo Seo-ho fixed his slightly trembling eyes on me with unexpected seriousness.
I'm planning to kill them all.
That was what I was thinking, but there was no need to say it out loud.
"I usually keep my promises, however..."
"......"
"There are more interesting research materials here than I anticipated. It's quite the dilemma. I can't possibly spare everyone..."
I pretended to ponder for a moment, stroking my chin, then exclaimed "Ah!" with a wide grin.
"One person. I suppose sparing just one wouldn't hurt?"
"...I see."
Choo Seo-ho fell silent.
..?
The moment I felt suspicion, Choo Seo-ho pulled a gun from his coat and quickly squeezed the trigger.
BANG!
"H-huh...? What? T-Team Leader...?"
Not at me—at the researchers.
"W-why..."
"Sorry about this."
"Aaaaaagh!!!!"
"Uaaaaagh!!!!"
BANG! BANG! BANG BANG!!
"I have to survive, you see."
BANG!
Choo Seo-ho gunned down every last researcher, even those who tried to flee at the last second. He then tossed the gun to the floor and looked at me.
"You abandoned the researchers who followed you, just to save yourself?"
"...What choice did I have if I wanted to live? Eliminating unnecessary variables whenever possible is simply a researcher's duty."
"What if I was lying about sparing someone?"
"...I simply chose to believe in you, Maker."
He's full of shit.
When he'd fired at the researchers earlier, the gun barrel had swung toward me for a split second. I'd noticed how it trembled slightly before correcting its aim. He must have been testing me—when he realized he couldn't kill me, he pretended otherwise.
"...Well, I understand. Let's proceed."
It was rather absurd, but since I was going to kill him anyway, I might as well extract every last bit of information first.
Besides, it was about time to prepare for my encounter with Ice Queen.
Where on earth is Maker?
After his bomb had sent her falling into this unknown location, Ice Queen had immediately begun searching for him.
What is this place?
The questions kept piling up. A normal research facility wouldn't hide an underground lab like this.
"Haa..."
She let out a sigh at the incomprehensible situation.
BANG! BANG! BANG BANG!!
Gunshots echoed from somewhere in the distance.
Maker?
Ice Queen immediately ran toward the source of the sound.
When she arrived, several corpses in white lab coats lay scattered on the ground.
Ice Queen picked up the gun that had presumably been used in the killings and broke into a run again. She felt a twinge of guilt toward the deceased, but there was no helping it.
The gunshots were recent. He couldn't have gone far.
Without even pausing to catch her breath, Ice Queen started running once more. What she soon discovered was—
"Maker?"
"Oh? Ice Queen. You really did make it all the way here."
It was the sight of Maker holding a gun to the head of Choo Seo-ho, the research team leader who had been guiding the heroes.