#25 Night of the Great Battle (3)

"We?"

Tail Hair cocked her head.

"Honey~ what do you think this place was originally used for~?"

The team leader swept his gaze across the room before answering her lilting question.

"Monster containment."

"Correct~! That's my guess too. We're on the same wavelength, Romeo~?"

Empty restraints. Even without a proper mage, it was hard to imagine they'd need such strict restraints for ordinary animals. Almost certainly monsters.

"Chimera material?"

"Most likely, right?"

After a brief look around, the team leader grimaced at a sharp stench clawing at his nostrils.

"Blood?"

Rounding the far wall, they found a room crammed with switches and buttons—and a heap of brutally slaughtered bodies.

"Did we pass through here?"

"No. Not once."

The two exchanged a glance. Unless they'd both suddenly developed amnesia...

"Magic?"

Tail Hair inspected the scene, then shook her head at the implied question of internal strife.

"No. The magic here belongs to them."

"...There are bite marks too."

The team leader let out a breath.

He already had a strong suspicion. An unforgettable mana pattern. Wounds that looked like a beast attack, yet showed restraint.

'Tail. Prodigal. Intimidation.'

The three words the Wolf had reportedly spoken.

It wasn't as if the thought hadn't crossed his mind. No—he'd been suspicious the moment he heard the name Tail Hair. But it couldn't be. Common sense said the bastard had no reason to be in the middle of a city.

Then again, the creature had a record.

A record of attacking people in an urban center before.

'—Alpha. The Jirisan Warg.'

He's here. The team leader was certain of it now.

***

'This place is already wiped out.'

A massive laboratory, drenched in blood and corpses. As I grimaced at the slaughter, I spotted wounds that looked like they'd been made by a slender blade.

'Fine Sword.'

The blood stench was thick, but my olfactory skills were good enough to remember a scent once I'd caught it.

'I half-convinced myself it couldn't be.'

I'd been skeptical even when I heard the name Three Swordsman, but it really does seem to be Gu Jin-ha. What the hell is he doing here?

'Did Gu Jin-ha have ties to the Blind Spot?'

No. Gu Jin-ha doesn't learn about the Blind Spot's existence until much later. He shouldn't have any connection to them before then...

'Has the story diverged from the novel?'

That's the only explanation I can think of. Did I cause this by leaking information about the Prodigal Sons? Or is something else at play?

'That's not what matters right now.'

I'll think about it later. Escaping is the priority.

Against anyone else I might trust my Stealth to hide me, but not from someone of Gu Jin-ha's caliber. That's why I wanted to reach Block B as fast as possible...

'Damn it.'

Caligula Effect or not, I couldn't find the damn path.

I used Detection to check for hidden passages. I ran my tentacles along every wall. Nothing.

'Are Block A and Block B not connected after all?'

What if they were built as entirely separate structures? What if there's no underground link?

'No. That's unlikely.'

Thinking back to the intercepted call—he'd said, "We'll hold them off in Block A as long as we can, but if they reach Block B..." Which implies a route connecting A to B.

'If there wasn't a path, he would've talked about fleeing, not blocking. Hell, there wouldn't have been a call at all.'

There is a way to Block B. No—I have to assume there is. But I can't find a way to Block B...?

'Ah.'

Something clicked.

The entrance when I first came underground—the massive iron door, and that Armored Monstrous Figure standing in front of it. He'd died to me moments later.

There's no way Gu Jin-ha let him live, which means he escaped...

'Which way did Gu Jin-ha go?'

Following the trail from faintest to strongest blood scent. He'd gone almost in a straight line from the entrance. No—he probably just ran straight.

'.......'

I, on the other hand, had followed the monster's presence down the left corridor. That route had a bulkhead blocking it—impassable for intruders, and for Blind Spot personnel too.

'At that moment, Gu Jin-ha was here.'

Right in this very laboratory. Which means...

'There's a hidden path between the entrance and the central laboratory!'

That had to be it. I immediately turned back, racing toward the entrance, when a sound made me whip my head around.

'You've got to be kidding.'

Enclosed space. A bathroom. But if my ears weren't playing tricks on me, that sound just now was unmistakably—

'No way...?'

A pulley. As if mesmerized, I stepped into the bathroom. Being underground, it was a little grimy, but otherwise an ordinary bathroom. Except it wasn't.

'Unbelievable.'

Beyond the stall partitions, there was an elevator.

'Block B—does that mean further underground?'

It wasn't a connecting path. It was a descending one. I'd thought I'd checked every wall, but I'd skipped the bathroom. Or rather, Detection showed no one inside, so naturally I hadn't paid it any mind.

"Hrk."

A dry laugh escaped me. They'd exploited a blind spot in psychology—a gap in awareness.

'They do live up to the name Blind Spot.'

An elevator in a bathroom. Necessity is the mother of invention—this was the cunning that mages produced when they put their heads together.

'Carefully now...'

I eased the door open without a sound. Beyond the sealed door was an empty shaft. I pressed my tentacles against the wall and descended slowly. Sure, I could've taken the elevator, but I had no intention of doing that.

'They'll be waiting.'

Why wouldn't they guard the one and only access route? They'd be down below, eyes peeled. Midway through the descent, I felt something unpleasant.

'Mana?'

A thin membrane woven of magical power. So subtle I wouldn't have known it existed if I hadn't brushed against it directly.

'So that's it.'

It's not that other hunters were too stupid to track down the Blind Spot or the Prodigal Sons. This mana membrane was how they evaded skills like Detection.

The moment I passed through the barrier, I could finally sense presences.

'Waiting, as expected.'

Just as I'd predicted—they had the elevator surrounded, formation set. Individually, each was stronger than the mages upstairs, but their numbers were smaller.

[Derek Clark (Human)]

[Height 177.6 cm] [Weight 56.4 kg]

[STR 125] [AGI 116] [VIT 115] [MP 401]

'A proper mage.'

I couldn't compare him to a monster like Hong Yuri, but he was qualitatively different from the small fry upstairs. Another mage exiled from the Squares, like Agail?

'This is a bit troublesome.'

Because I have no idea what methods he's prepared or what tools he might use. If he were alone, no problem—but the other mages being with him makes me reluctant.

'Rather than taking unnecessary risk.'

Let's see what exactly they're hiding down here in Block B.

I descended onto the roof of the elevator without a sound.

There was a small ventilation opening on top. Barely large enough for a small dog to squeeze through.

'This'll do.'

I carefully pried off the metal grate covering the vent and slithered through.

'An electrical room?'

Large generators, a tangle of wires and switches. Two mages hurried in.

'...!'

"This one?"

"Yeah. Just pull that one down. Don't touch anything else."

A switch was flipped. Something powered down with a low sigh, and they walked back out.

'Thought I'd been made for a second.'

Startled me when they came barging in, but no—they hadn't seen through my Stealth.

'Nothing for me here.'

I opened the door on the opposite side from the one they'd exited through. They must not have realized ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an intruder had reached Block B, because the bulkhead was still raised. Through the door, a vast room opened up.

'What is this?'

A room filled with equipment I didn't recognize. Makes the labs upstairs look like toys—precision instruments that radiated importance. One wall was lined with reagents, most of them blood samples from animals and monsters.

A chamber full of blood samples. The thought came naturally.

'This can't be...'

As if pulled by a string, I stared at its center.

***

"Sir Derek. Are reinforcements coming? Before that—is Sir Agail—"

"He's on his way. Let's wait a little longer."

Even as he said it, the mage called Derek let out a low sigh. Agail was one thing, but word from the Prodigal Sons was far too late.

'They didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠abandon us, did they?'

That fear was precisely why he hadn't mentioned Three Swordsman was here...

'No. There's no way they'd abandon us.'

The [Incidental Achievement] is here. The odds of them abandoning this place were slim. Though why their arrival kept getting delayed...

'Regardless, all we can do now is endure.'

"The barrier membrane?"

"Maintained. They won't find it easily."

"The power's cut, yes?"

"Yes. Done just now."

Then the elevator won't function.

"Good."

Nervous, the mage chewed his lip. Ideally, the intruders would fail to find this place and just leave. But if they did descend here, into Block B—

'No. That, absolutely not!'

Let them find the unfinished products. But they must not discover that the completed one is here.

'Tail Hair, that wretched bitch!'

He had no idea how she'd found this place, but right now he couldn't afford a fight.

'Of all people to bring, Three Swordsman...!'

Even if Block B was never found, this site had to be abandoned. The mage ground his teeth. So deep in thought, he failed to notice that something which had descended from Block A had already slipped past him.

***

"No matter how I look, there doesn't seem to be a path."

"Strange..."

"What's strange?"

Her playful manner gone, Tail Hair gnawed at her nails, visibly agitated. She mulled it over, then let out a heavy sigh.

"Derek isn't here."

"Derek?"

"Derek Clark. The Blind Spot's leader's... right hand."

At this previously undisclosed detail, the team leader's eyes narrowed.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"...I simply assumed he would obviously be here. No need to state it."

"Are you joking?"

Tail Hair sighed at his accusing tone.

"I'm sorry. But just as you couldn't fully trust me, I couldn't fully trust you either. How would I know if one of them was hiding among your people?"

"Ha. You claimed to have taken every precaution? You were the one suspicious of me the whole time."

"Mages are a wretched lot by nature."

Her voice was laced with self-mockery.

"I'm sorry."

At the repeated apology, the team leader looked up at the ceiling.

'We were never allies who trusted each other anyway.'

Trust had never existed from the start. Only a temporary cooperation born of convenience.

"Is there anything else you haven't told me?"

"...No."

After what looked like a moment's hesitation, she answered. Team Leader Gu Jin-ha's lips curled upward.

"Do you know what I've realized?"

"......?"

Watching the puzzled Tail Hair, Gu Jin-ha smiled coldly.

"You haven't told me a single thing this entire time."

Frowning, Tail Hair shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't even know your name."

"......."

"You've deceived me twice now."

Gu Jin-ha's voice was ice, drawing a clear line.

"Tell me—how am I supposed to trust you now?"

An ultimatum. A steel-hard declaration that any further deception would end the alliance on the spot. Tail Hair weighed her options, then sighed and raised both arms.

"Fine. But don't forget—this must stay an absolute secret."

"......."

"I'm not joking. You have to keep it secret."

"That's not your decision to make."

Tail Hair chewed her lip, then squeezed her eyes shut.

"My name is Anella."

"......."

"Anella... Anella Morest."

Anella Morest. The team leader felt a strange prickle of recognition. Definitely a name he'd never heard before—yet somehow it rang familiar.

Then he realized. It wasn't the name 'Anella' that was familiar. It was the surname: Morest.

"No."

Morest... Whose surname was that?

The team leader's eyes widened in shock as the name Phantom Butterfly surfaced in his mind.

***

[Unfinished Product of Incidental Results]—that was the name of the substance Gu Ma-jun had drunk.

'He won't turn out like Gu Ma-jun, obviously.'

Whatever miracle had been at work, that bastard had become a horrific incarnation of Malice called the Quickening Evil. The Unfinished Product of Incidental Results didn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have that kind of power. Even the completed version couldn't replicate an effect like that.

But—

'...It's worth more.'

The Prodigal Sons had experimented endlessly to create an elixir, and in the process they'd produced a substance infinitely close to one.

'Imitation Elixir.'

If they could make a superior Imitation Elixir, wouldn't that allow them to create a true Elixir? That's what they'd thought, what they'd tried to achieve. But all they ever managed were unfinished imitations. Never an Imitation Elixir, let alone a true Elixir.

'So this is...'

[Imitation Elixir]

My eyes blazed bloodshot. My body trembled uncontrollably. D-rank Insight wasn't anywhere near enough to analyze it—the sheer volume of information felt like it might blow my brain apart.

'...!'

When I forced Insight to stop, a wave of exhaustion crashed over me, as if I'd suffered complete mental depletion.

'This is... real.'

Undeniably the completed product. A miracle reagent that could revive anyone so long as they hadn't died—a mimicry of a god's blood. The apex of alchemy and the magic path, a single existence in this entire world.

'Why is it here?'

No need to think about it. To study the original. To copy it.

'Then this entire facility...?'

It was never about creating chimeras. Chimera research was a side project at best. This—this was the real work.

'I'm taking it. No question.'

[Stowage (E) Lv.1 skill acquired.]

I grabbed the skill instantly. The pocket dimension was tiny, but more than enough to hold the Imitation Elixir.

'Done.'

An achievement I'd never anticipated. Excitement sent tremors through my body; my heart hammered.

'Just this one thing alone...'

More than enough. How much Karma would this be worth? Killing Gu Ma-jun? Killing Lee Baek-seom? Those were petty accomplishments compared to this.

'Calm down.'

I breathed deep and steadied myself. The task right now wasn't celebrating—it was figuring out the next move.

'First, calm down. Then look around more.'

The Imitation Elixir might not be the only prize. I took a different passage from the one I'd entered through, which led into a corridor.

'Start with wherever they aren't.'

Past the corridor, another large laboratory. No—"torture chamber" was more accurate. The place was crammed with blades and machines armed with blades.

'They'd already been doing it.'

How the Blind Spot members grew stronger later. The reason Agail was expelled from Purple Square.

'Human experimentation.'

I clenched my teeth.

Calling it "experimentation" was too generous. They were physically grinding people down and wringing mana out of them.

To them, humans weren't human. Just materials. Raw resources.

Their only concern: how to extract more mana, more efficiently.

'Fucking bastards...!'

The pounding in my heart subsided, replaced by a cold clarity in my head. As I scanned the room, I sensed a presence.

'Ha... they really don't hold back, do they.'

There was a space beyond the laboratory.

A sickening reek of blood seeped through the gaps. Almost certainly, people were being kept there.

'.......'

I steeled myself and opened the door. What lay beyond was far worse than anything I'd vaguely imagined.

'.......'

For a moment, I lost my words and just stared blankly.

Beyond imagination. Caked in blood and filth. And yet, they still writhed.

Bodies crammed into tight spaces, strewn about like garbage.

"Uh... uh...?"

People crawling on the floor, groaning like animals.

Empty eye sockets squirming with maggots. One man's cheek so hollowed by starvation that you could see inside his mouth, as if he'd gnawed at his own flesh.

More horrifying than anything I'd read. More than anything I'd half-heartedly pictured. Just looking at it felt like it was wearing my sanity away.

I stared. For a long time.

The shock froze my mind. My body wouldn't move.

A long while later, when one of them brushed against my motionless leg, I flinched back.

"Uuh, auh?"

A person with no eyes and no tongue looked up.

He was too weak to threaten me—too weak to even breathe without effort.

So why... why had I flinched?

'Damn it.'

Nausea surged up my throat. I ground my teeth so hard they creaked.

'.......'

This shouldn't be allowed.

People shouldn't be able to do this.

People shouldn't be able to do this to other people.

A pen. That's the only word for the space beyond the wall.

'—I've decided.'

I'd had no intention ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of taking risks.

Fighting mages was a massive gamble.

Who knew what dangers lurked in their hideout?

Agail could return at any moment.

Eun Ja-rim might already be pursuing me.

Gu Jin-ha and Tail Hair could descend to this floor any second.

I'd secured the Imitation Elixir. I knew what they were doing here.

The smart, rational calculation—escape right now—every shred of it was obliterated in an instant.

'I'm going to kill every last one of them...!'