Floor 21: The Colony Planet (1)

After a moment of deliberation, I decided to head for the building at the center.

The reason was simple. In places like this, the odds were high that some important facility sat right in the middle.

Besides, the black smoke pouring out of that central building had caught my eye more than anything else.

With Dobby held in my arms, I carefully made my way back down the outer wall.

"Have you found the intruder?"

"Not yet, sir!"

"Any sign he climbed the wall?"

"We can't tell, sir!"

"You can't tell?"

"Our apologies! We'll check at once!"

They still hadn't considered that I might already be inside the fortress, so the voices of the passing demihuman soldiers carried loud and clear.

From the insignia on their uniforms, I could tell they held positions of some authority, so I strained my ears as best I could.

As I descended and eavesdropped on their ongoing conversation, I managed to pick up some information that seemed fairly important.

"Damn it! This has to be dealt with before the Overseer arrives! Move!"

"When will the Overseer be returning, sir?"

"He hasn't shown his face in a week — how the hell would I know? This planet's been squeezed dry like a squeezed lemon; he might not come back for a long while. The real problem is that if we haven't fixed this before the Administrator gets here, we're all dead men."

The Administrator, huh…

I had no way of knowing how strong such a being might be, but either way, it was good news. If there was no Administrator present to answer for this place, it meant every single decision these bastards made would be a beat slower than it should have been.

Once I'd heard everything worth hearing, I headed for the central building.

As I drew closer, the sound of ringing metal grew thick in the air. Clang, clang—

It was the kind of sound you'd expect from a blacksmith's forge, and mixed in with it came shouted orders like 'Move faster!'

Did I guess wrong?

Was it simply a place where they made the soldiers' weapons?

No. I couldn't afford to jump to conclusions. The very place I'd been dragged to might well be this army's munitions factory.

In that case, I would have to destroy the factory.

Let's get inside and see for ourselves.

Having settled my thoughts, I tried to enter the building — only to run into a problem. The iron door was shut.

I can't just walk right in…

These were bastards who already knew I could turn invisible. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If a door opened with no one around, it would give away the fact that I'd gotten into the fortress.

But waiting around indefinitely wasn't an answer either, since I had no idea when the door would open.

Hmm. What should I do?

Another problem was that I couldn't see the Tower's message. With no way to know how much time remained, I couldn't decide how to act. If I had plenty of time, I could afford to wait patiently — but if I didn't, I'd have to brave the risk and force my way in.

As I stood at the door deliberating, I heard footsteps approaching from that direction.

"Oshuk, sir, do we really need to go into the weapons factory? They said no trace of entry has been found yet—"

"Enough. Better safe than sorry. We need to raise the alert inside the fortress as well."

A goblin bearing an officer's insignia and a single orc soldier were walking toward me.

From the soldier's words, I learned that this building was indeed the weapons factory.

The orc swung the factory door wide open so the goblin could enter.

Through the gap, I caught sight of demihumans forging weapons, shields, and other armaments.

And there were machines moving entirely on their own.

It felt like a medieval forge fused with a modern factory.

Wait — this is no time to gawk.

I slipped in behind the orc soldier as he moved to follow the goblin, and entered the factory.

The place bustled with activity. I couldn't see anything that seemed particularly important hidden away here.

Then my eye fell on the massive furnace at the center of the factory.

Not because it looked important.

If breaking this place is what the trial demands… then bringing that down would probably do it.

It was a stone laid in advance, just in case I failed to find anything truly vital later on. It looked like the sort of thing that would explode the moment I hit it with a bolt of lightning.

While I was thinking, the goblin was shouting warnings to the workers inside.

"…So stay sharp and keep your guard up while you work! If you sense anything suspicious, don't hesitate — sound the alarm at once!"

From the way he was talking, it seemed he'd be leaving the factory again before long. He was probably planning to go around warning the other buildings inside the fortress, too.

It suddenly struck me that I ought to follow that goblin.

If the other places have their doors shut tight like this one…

I wouldn't be able to enter them freely.

But if I trailed that goblin around, I could get into the other buildings with ease.

Having confirmed this place was nothing more than an ordinary munitions factory, it seemed better for me to move along as well.

But before that, I should do one more check.

There wasn't nearly enough time to search every corner.

I immediately used Lightning Flash. Within the slowing time, I moved fast and swept the factory.

There was a room that looked like an office, but it didn't seem to hold anything of importance.

This place really was nothing but a weapons factory.

Now it was time to follow the goblin again.

"Are you heading to the barracks now?"

"No. The slave factory."

"I already inspected the slave factory earlier, sir. Is there truly a need to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go there?"

"I have a bad feeling about this. I get the sense he's already inside the fortress…"

As he spoke, the goblin's sweeping gaze brushed over me. I swallowed hard, my nerves on edge.

Was he sharp-instincted, or just a worrier?

Probably the latter. After all, he had no idea I was trailing right on his heels.

That said — the slave factory, huh.

I had a feeling it was connected to the trial that ran through this floor. The barracks were, naturally, just a place to sleep; nothing important there.

The orc and goblin's conversation continued.

"The walls are that high — there's no way he got inside the fortress, is there? He probably saw the great army outside and ran for it."

"Ryoken."

"My apologies, sir."

"Cast off hopeful thinking and always assume the worst. One day, that hope will drag you to your death."

"I will keep it in mind, sir."

At the goblin's somewhat irritated words, the orc hurriedly bowed his head.

Watching him, the goblin fell silent for a moment as if lost in thought, then looked up at the sky.

"Bring the soldiers outside the fortress inside at once. However I look at it, that thing is in here with us."

"Sir?"

"Bring the soldiers in and search the fortress. Move — now!"

"Understood, sir."

At the goblin's bark, the orc soldier sprinted off toward the main gate.

The goblin watched the orc's retreating back — then turned his gaze in my direction.

"Come out."

Huh? What? Had he known I was here all along?

A moment of bewilderment washed over me.

But I quickly realized it was nothing but a bluff. He wasn't meeting my eyes at all.

It was like a child alone at home shouting at an imaginary burglar, 'I know you're in there! Come out!'

He was posturing, nothing more.

"Come OUT!"

Perhaps from the strain of tension, the hand gripping his sword hilt had gone red.

A stretch of silence. After about ten seconds, the goblin clicked his tongue — tch — his cheeks flushed as if he felt ashamed of himself.

"I was certain I felt a gaze just now…"

His superhuman hearing picked up his own faint muttering, and it reached my ears.

Hm. I take back what I said about him being a worrier. Even for a commander, he seemed to have a decent amount of instinct after all.

I needed to be even more careful about where I directed my gaze.

The goblin set off toward the slave factory again.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The slave factory was a shabby building behind the factory proper — the one I'd compared to a colossal sports stadium.

The goblin heaved open the slave factory's massive iron door.

Unlike the way the orc had thrown it open for his superior earlier, the gap he left was narrow.

I used Lightning Flash.

In the slowing time, through the gap in the door, I glimpsed the interior of the slave factory.

I was struck speechless by the shocking scene inside.

…Wait. Let me get inside first.

It was a sight shocking enough to steal the words from my mouth — but Lightning Flash didn't actually stop time.

I had to get inside the slave factory first.

Following behind the goblin, I stepped inside — and the grim landscape of the slave factory spread out before my eyes.

The interior was broadly divided into two spaces.

One held a mass of unpleasant, twisted black tentacles.

And in the other, demihuman soldiers were torturing other demihumans.

Those tentacles… they look like the ones from the 6th floor…

On the left, much like when I'd first laid eyes on Queen Seraphim's egg, dozens of tentacles were embedded in demihumans' heads.

The demihumans impaled on those tentacles convulsed violently at intervals.

And on the right, demihuman soldiers were burning other demihumans with fire and beating them with clubs.

Seraphim torturing seraphim. Orcs torturing orcs.

Even as they tortured and beat their own kind, not a trace of guilt showed on the soldiers' faces.

"Hhhhnnngh…"

Dried-out, withered husks of demihumans.

Those without the strength left even to scream let out only faint, feeble moans.

One soldier, who had been heating an iron over the flames, spotted the goblin and came running.

"Oshuk, sir!"

"Yes. How long until this batch's brainwashing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is complete?"

"About a week, sir. I've heard the central weapons factory has already finished preparing the armaments and armor as well."

"Good. Then this conscription will let us replace at least a fraction of the soldiers we lost."

So that was what a slave factory meant.

They were torturing perfectly healthy demihumans and turning them into their slave soldiers.

My body grew hot, my breath quickened.

Through the haze of rising heat, the withered forms of those demihumans seared themselves vividly into my vision.

So this was the future that would befall the people of Earth, had I failed to conquer the Tower.

Just then, I felt a small tremble at my fingertips.

Dobby, beside me, was shaking with his hands clamped over his mouth.

Goblins torturing goblins — a scene of his own kind. It must have been devastating for him to witness.

I gently stroked Dobby's head.

Rage boiled up inside me. Who do you think you are — why are you torturing them? I wanted to scream.

But I didn't.

After all, every soldier here was brainwashed too. It was nothing but the weak tormenting the weak.

The ones who truly deserve to die are the gods who set up a colony planet like this in the first place.

That said, it didn't justify what the brainwashed ones were doing, either.

Torturing their own kind — torturing any sentient being — and brainwashing them could never, under any circumstance, be justified.

But as unfortunate as it was, I had no way to break their brainwashing.

So I raised my axe.

"The intruder is presumed to have already entered the fortress… Gak—!"

The axe swept clean through the back of the goblin commander's neck, tearing through his green skin.

The cleanly severed head of the goblin sailed into the empty air. A beat later, blood fountained up from the stump.

"Uwaaaaaaaaah!"

"Th-the intruder!"

"Commander Oshuk is down!"

"The alarm! Sound the alarm!"

The demihumans' screams filled the slave factory. Deong, deong, deong— the alarm belatedly began to toll. Someone at the back seemed to have rushed to ring the bell in a panic.

It didn't matter, though. If I meant to carry the surviving demihumans in this place out alive, I would have to kill every last one of the bastards inside anyway.

The alarm that had started in the slave factory began to echo throughout the entire fortress.