Chapter 50
Chapter 50
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Test Subject (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I left nothing behind. I destroyed all the research data and stored it in my inventory, and everything else I considered useless, I burned.
Starting from the end of the hall, I went into every room, taking what was necessary and destroying what wasn't. The guards who stood in my way got their heads smashed, and the vials filled with condensed magi were carefully placed in my inventory. To be absorbed later, when I had the chance.
“Is this really all there is?”
I couldn't shake the feeling that a lot of personnel were missing, especially considering the size of the lab and the living quarters.
No, it wasn't just the personnel. The whole lab felt deserted.
“A chimera. Chimeras.”
This was definitely the place where the chimera had escaped. The massive iron cages, the traces of research, and the bloodstains soaked too deep to be erased all pointed to it.
“Three of them. Three iron cages. An empty lab. Not enough personnel.”
The cages, which I assumed had once held chimeras, were all empty. So where did the chimeras that were originally in those cages go?
Even if one had escaped and been killed, the remaining chimeras must have been moved to another lab somewhere.
So, was this place a discarded card? Why did it become an empty lab? Because of the chimera's escape? To cut any potential loose ends?
It's possible. If so, it would also explain why there were so few people in this lab.
Then what about the remaining personnel? They become discarded cards. But why? Is there any reason to leave people behind?
They could have just emptied the place, sealed it off, and buried it. Then no one would ever find it.
“What reason would they have not to do that? A reason to keep this lab around.”
The Empire and the stone, the lab and the test subject, the chimera, and the black mages. If that's the case, where are the researchers who created that beast?
I smashed a few heads on my way here, but I didn't see any of the so-called madmen who would create something like that.
A test subject like that should have attacked us the moment we broke in. But it didn't. It only appeared after we reached the prison and confirmed the kidnapped people were there.
The scenes and data I'd seen so far swirled chaotically in my mind. And at the end of it all, a hypothesis suddenly emerged.
It was the same in Lagaris, and in Granok, and of course, it was probably the same in many other cities.
What if this whole situation was connected to the magi-infused stones planted deep underground? And what if this lab was intentionally left here for the purpose of an experiment?
Hadn't I said it myself? If that stone were to explode.
‘The Demonic Realm itself would literally manifest in this city.’
I had. What if this was all part of an experiment? And what if someone knew we were coming here?
“Fuck.”
I rushed back down the hallway. If that was the case, the place I needed to worry about wasn't here, but Granok.
Kuuung—
The massive body fell, shaking the floor.
“Hah. Hah. Persistent. So persistent. That damn beast.”
Peri Batoni was panting heavily, using his sword as a cane to support himself. The hallway was a clear testament to the fierce battle that had taken place.
He looked exhausted and was about to slump against the wall, but I stopped him. There was no time to rest.
“Is it over?”
“That’s not the problem. This place is a decoy. The main event is in Granok. The lab was empty.”
“What?”
For a moment, Peri Batoni couldn't comprehend Kratos's words, but then the meaning dawned on him, and his face contorted into a demonic scowl.
“No wonder it felt too easy. Dammit. We’ve been had.”
There was no time to waste. Without even sheathing his sword, he sprinted toward the elevator.
“Commander! Right now…!”
“Granok!”
As they reached the elevator, the doors opened just in time, and Seamus shouted urgently.
Kratos shouted the answer as he boarded the elevator.
“There were barely any people inside. No research data, either. I checked the cages, but they were empty.”
“An empty lab.”
“It’s about those stones planted in Granok. What if, like in Lagaris, they have a purpose?”
The stone in Lagaris was magi of Sloth. It put us in danger. Granok has magi of Wrath. Weren't the people there filled with rage? So what are they trying to do by using people's anger?
Make them fill with rage and kill each other?
It’s not like they're Valentine from *Kingsman*, trying to purify the Earth by making people kill each other. That would be meaningless here.
When the elevator reached the surface, they saw their squad members standing there with devastated expressions, looking at the burning city of Granok.
And the sight of the kidnapped people, still groaning in pain, came into view.
“Hans.”
Peri Batoni called out to a survivor from Squad 3 who was in relatively good shape.
“I know the timing is terrible, but I have to ask you a favor. Protect the survivors here. It’s not like we can go anywhere right now.”
Hans wasn't in great condition either. He was wounded and low on stamina. But they couldn't afford to split their forces now. Not when they didn't know what was happening in Granok.
“Understood. Don’t worry. I’ll protect them until you return.”
“We will be back. Let’s just solve this problem and return together.”
“Yes, sir.”
Peri Batoni gave a slight smile before looking at his squad members. The mission to rescue Squad 3 felt like it was spiraling into one thing after another.
And all of them were top-tier difficulty missions. He was just grateful that his men carried out their duties without complaint.
“We head to Granok immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
With a grim expression, Peri Batoni stood at the front. He was already exhausted from fighting the test subject in the basement, but this wasn't a fight he could back down from.
The other squad members had to be just as tired. Besides, the members of Squad 12 might be waiting for them in the city.
***
“Kill them—!”
“Kill them all!”
Flames engulfed the surroundings, but the people of Granok paid no mind to evacuating. All their attention was focused on killing one another.
“Hurry!”
“Don’t come in—!”
The moment they set foot in Granok, the squad members hastily retreated at Kratos's urgent shout.
“The magi concentration is too high.”
The moment they entered, they would surely be consumed by rage and go on a rampage. The only ones who could maintain their sanity inside were Peri Batoni and Kratos.
“I’ll go in and evacuate the people over here. You protect them from this spot. That’s the best we can do.”
“Understood.”
“Die—!!”
Kratos grabbed the head of a man with crazed eyes rushing at him and threw him out.
“Will you be alright?”
Kratos asked nonchalantly. Hadn't he expended a great deal of mental energy in the previous battle? It hadn't been an easy fight.
“Look who’s talking. I told you, didn’t I? You’re not a brawler. You’re a strategist disguised as one.”
Peri Batoni replied, rotating his stiff arm as if his blood was boiling for the first time in a while.
The battle would likely continue without a break. They had to rescue people, too. But as a commander, he couldn't just leave a task like this to his men and stand back.
“The top priority is rescuing the members of Squad 12. Over there.”
High in the sky, a flare from the White Mercenary Corps was visible. They had lost contact long ago. The magi was probably interfering with normal communications.
Kratos spread his Spiritual Power wide. He could feel countless life signs on the path to Squad 12.
“It seems they’re still in their right minds, at least. Considering they had the presence of mind to fire a flare.”
“Let’s hope so. For now. That way. We’ll move while knocking out anyone who charges at us.”
“Kyaaaak—!”
People whose eyes had turned, leaving only rage, charged at them, but they only knocked them unconscious as they ran toward the source of the energy. They couldn't kill innocent people.
They were innocent victims, after all.
“Block them! Hold them back! Don’t kill them!”
Knocking people out along the way, they arrived to find Squad 12, who had set up a defensive perimeter around an inn. And with them were priests from the Holy Kingdom.
The priests were neutralizing the magi with their divine power, while Squad 12 protected them, pushing back the charging people.
“That’s our mercenary corps for you!”
“Commander!”
Kratos lightly tapped the backs of the heads of the people rushing toward the mercenaries with his hammer, clearing a path.
“Commander!”
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
While Peri Batoni explained the situation to Derek, the captain of Squad 12, Kratos approached the priests of the Holy Kingdom.
“Are you from the Holy Kingdom?”
“Yes. The situation is not good. We never expected it to be like this. We’re clearly at our limit. We need to find a solution. We’ve requested emergency support, but there’s no telling when it will arrive.”
The priests, sweating profusely as they held back the magi, stammered their reply to Kratos.
Who could have predicted something like this would happen so suddenly? That's why they had requested emergency support, but it was uncertain when other priests would arrive.
Even if it were a matter of hours, two mere priests, not even bishop-level, were not enough to handle this situation. At this rate, everyone was bound to be swept away by the magi and die.
“Will this help?”
“This is…!”
The priests were stunned once by the immense and pure divine power emanating from the wooden tablet Kratos took out, and a second time when they saw the tablet itself, their eyes wide as they looked at him.
“It’s a wooden tablet I received from an Inquisitor priest. As it happens, Bishop Luciano also imbued it with his divine power.”
“Ah! You must be Brother Kratos of the White Mercenary Corps that Bishop Luciano mentioned! We’ve heard all about you.”
It seemed his name had already spread to the priests of the Holy Kingdom.
“With this. With this, it should be enough. No, it is enough. Are you really sure? You’re letting us use this?”
“This is what it’s for. What could be more important than protecting people from magi?”
“Ah… you put us to shame. We will be sure to report this to our superiors.”
With expressions of deep respect, the priests carefully accepted the wooden tablet and unleashed its divine power. As the divine power enveloped the inn they were defending, blocking the magi’s encroachment, the people's faces relaxed.
“We have personnel waiting outside Granok. There are also survivors from the lab up in the Chalkis Mountains. I think it would be best to join them for now.”
Peri Batoni, having finished his discussion with Derek, approached the priests and updated them on the plan.
“Understood. It would have been difficult without your help, brother. But this is more than enough.”
“I think we should take the unconscious citizens with us on the way and neutralize the magi affecting them.”
“If it means we can save even one more person.”
Just as they were formulating their plan to escape Granok, a stinging sensation of magi on his skin made his head turn instinctively.
“Did you feel that too, brother?”
“What’s over there?”
“Something corrupted by magi. No, a demon. That’s where it all started. This whole situation.”
The magi was so intense it felt like it was pricking his skin.
Moreover, the magi was getting closer.
“We need to hurry our escape. Can you feel it?”
The priests were so stunned by the immense amount of magi, which now felt so close, that they were speechless.
“It’s coming this way. Get the people ready, quickly.”
Its approach was getting faster and faster.
“Derek! We’re escaping now!”
“Get the people! We’re leaving immediately!”
But while everyone else prepared to escape, Kratos drew his weapon instead.
“Brother?”
“I’ll buy you time.”
It was time to play my card. The timing was perfect. If I showed them my Spiritual Power's ability to purify magi now, no one would suspect me or become too curious.
“It’s dangerous! Fighting here is a suicide mission. To fight a demon in a place filled with magi!”
Kratos stepped out of the barrier of divine power and stood tall in the middle of the magi, fiercely rotating his Spiritual Power.
It was as if a barrier had formed; the magi couldn't penetrate it, and his Spiritual Power was consuming the magi. Yet Kratos, the master of that energy, remained perfectly calm, as if completely unaffected.
In other words, this was a fight only I could handle. Not a mage, not a priest, not even a weakened sword master—only me. For others, it would surely be a difficult battle, but not for me.
“Oh. My goodness. Lord have mercy. Such a thing…”
“Fortunately, the magi doesn’t affect me.”
“Brother, what in the world are you…!”
The priests, witnessing such a sight for the first time, called out to their god and recited prayers. Where else would they see something so astonishing?
I didn't know what those bastards were thinking, but the fact that magi didn't affect me would become a powerful card in my hand. Powerful enough to make the Holy Kingdom a steadfast ally.
The connection hasn't been revealed yet, but as long as the Empire sides with the magi, it can never coexist with the Holy Kingdom. One of them has to die.
“Commander. It seems this one is my fight.”
Seeing this, Peri Batoni burst out laughing and nodded. *So this is why the squad members trust him*, the thought came to him naturally.
“Hah. Don’t have all the fun by yourself. Wait for me. I’ll be right back to help.”
“I can’t promise that. I might kill it first.”
“That would be good in its own way. It would mean your skills are just that exceptional. Everyone, move quickly! Don’t waste time! We need to get there and back fast!”
Seeing the complete trust in Peri Batoni's expression, I was somehow reminded of Mike Hoare from the past and let out a small chuckle.
They were both commanders, and it seemed their personalities were similar too.
After the others left, I picked up the discarded weapons lying around one by one and stuck them into the ground.
The magi was no longer just pricking my skin; it felt like it was about to slice it open.
At the edge of the dreadful magi, a figure appeared. I tilted my head at the sight of him. A face I had definitely seen somewhere before.
“Victor Braak…”
The Empire’s head researcher, who studied magi in preparation for the northern Demonic Realm.
The man who had always warned me to be careful of the abyss. He was a man I knew all too well, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“To think you ended up being devoured by the abyss… you foolish man. I warned you to be so careful.”
The man, completely consumed by the abyss, walked slowly forward. As if yearning for an endless abyss.