Light (2)
I wonder if they're watching by now.
A magical device hidden in a narrow crevice. I gazed at the lens finished with transparent light and flashed it a brief smile. I hoped it would at least feel some sense of unease.
“Heh.”
A low chuckle escapes me. The bastard probably thinks he still controls every situation in this basement. But the moment I set foot here, the game was already over.
I need to make him regret it. If he had simply lived like the dead after fleeing, he never would have crossed paths with me again. I was still immature back then, so I let you slip away, but…
Since you’ve shown yourself again… I have no intention of letting you off lightly.
I walk forward with calm, measured steps. Nothing fills my vision but a long, stretching corridor, the surrounding darkness lit only by the faint glow of torches. The ceiling was so high it couldn’t even be seen, a testament to how vast the space truly was. They must have cast expansion magic here as well. Typical of those who are always on the run—squeezing maximum efficiency out of even the most confined areas.
After walking for some time, the corridor ends and a massive door blocks our path.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
I casually press my palm against it, leaving the girls frozen at the dead end behind me. I infuse it with pure mana. Then—
Creeeeak—!
The iron door swings open. I hadn’t even used much force.
I smile softly. “Shall we go in?”
“Ah… Y-yes! Young master!”
“…How do you know about things like this?”
“Heh heh.”
Emilia eyes me with open suspicion. I couldn’t exactly tell her I learned it from game strategies, so I simply brushed the question aside.
“It’s a secret.”
“……”
My usual air of secrecy only seemed to deepen her doubts, but I didn’t have time to offer explanations. The episode was about to begin in earnest.
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed softly. At the end of the long corridor lay rows of rusted iron bars. The sight reminded me of the underground prison where I had once rescued Irene. The scale was much smaller than that one, but it could still easily hold thirty people.
We surveyed the area slowly.
“To think there’s this much open space even at the end of the corridor… This place feels more ominous the deeper we go.”
“W-what could a space like this even be for…?”
“Indeed.”
Of course, the scenery didn’t stop at the iron bars. Beside the gloomy, seething prison stood a bed whose purpose was all too clear. Sheets stained heavily with brown, chains meant for restraining bodies, and sharp blades scattered across the floor. To anyone who knew the truth, it was painfully obvious.
The Abandoned Laboratory.
This place had once been used as a laboratory long ago. A fanatical cult of unspeakable cruelty. They who had continued chimera research by artificially combining various creatures had ultimately succeeded in creating something—an existence far removed from common sense.
Midterm Exam - Abandoned Laboratory, The Monster That Cannot Laugh
They have finally trespassed upon the domain of the gods.
By forging life, they insulted the stars. By drenching themselves in blood, they praised their heretical deity.
The fanatics sang with one voice.
“All for Him—the origin of all things and our master…”
The laboratory was sealed afterward, with only the minimum staff left to manage it. As for exactly what happened here… a little imagination would be more than enough.
That was the scene before us now.
“……What in the world is this.”
“……”
“Didn’t I warn you? No matter what you see, don’t be too shocked.”
It had been abandoned for a long time; dust lay thick over everything. Yet not even that could cover the ugliness of the sins that had flowed through this place. The children fell silent. Bloodstains pressed into the floor. Bones piled in the corners. Remnants left over from surgeries. The sharp, stinging stench of decaying meat stung our noses.
“……”
The two girls stood frozen. It wasn’t anger, confusion, or sadness that paralyzed them. It was simply the intense shock slamming into the backs of their heads. For children who had not yet reached adulthood, the scene was unbearably cruel.
I knew they would react like this, but…
Emerald and sapphire eyes wide with horror. It was a mercy there were no clearly human remains. If there had been, one of them would almost certainly have fainted.
A small sigh escapes me.
No matter if this is necessary for Legia’s growth… is this truly the right thing to do?
Wouldn’t it have been better if I had entered the laboratory alone from the beginning? The regret flashed through me for a moment, but I quickly shook my head.
…It’s a necessary process.
Legia’s growth was critical. There was a certain item she would obtain in the latter half of the story. To use it perfectly, the protagonist needed to achieve complete awakening. Her current fragile state was unacceptable. Since the item served as a key to the ending, the final outcome would change depending on how well she wielded it. Exaggerating only slightly, it was a matter that could decide the fate of the world.
“W-what exactly happened here…?”
That was why her growth was essential. To guide this world toward a happy ending, a story of overcoming pain was necessary—until her wish could reach that.
Growth always carries pain. I had stopped Emilia from tormenting her last time, but in the long run, I needed to turn a blind eye to the trials that came her way. She had to learn how to endure on her own.
“……Ugh.”
Legia stumbles backward. Watching her desperately swallow her nausea makes my chest feel tight. I chew on a wave of pity in silence.
My beloved protagonist. In the original story, she had met a tragic end. This time, I wanted to protect you so you wouldn’t have to suffer.
But it seemed fate was determined to force you to become an adult.
“Miss Legia.”
“……Young master.”
I gently stroke her head. The warmth that colors my palm feels especially tender. As I calm the protagonist with a kind touch, the villainess beside me suddenly mutters in a grave voice.
“I felt an ominous premonition from the start… As expected, this basement doesn’t look like any normal facility.”
“I agree.”
“We should stop moving forward.”
“Lady Emilia.”
“Let’s turn back. We should return to where we first teleported.”
“Um, Lady Emilia.”
“I can’t yield this time! After seeing a scene this suspicious, are you seriously still going to suggest we keep searching this place?!”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I only……”
Emilia’s nerves were completely on edge. I shook my head at her heated outburst and slowly raised a finger, pointing toward the opposite side—the door to the laboratory we had just entered through.
There…
“I was simply trying to say that it’s already too late to go back.”
Something was blocking the path.
The girls forgot their argument for a moment and turned to look where I pointed.
Growl—
A grotesquely distorted breath. It clearly belonged to a beast, yet it carried a terrible sense of alienation, cracking and splitting as if multiple vocal cords had been sliced and stitched back together. Sharp teeth glowing blue fixed their gaze on us. From horribly torn cheeks, the full structure of bestial fangs was visible, filthy saliva dripping freely.
Where eyes should have been, tentacles writhed. While the upper bodies resembled wolves, several had lower halves twisted into spider-like forms.
It was a nightmarish sight.
“W-what is that…?!”
“Where did such horrible creatures even come from…!”
The trash mobs that inhabited the abandoned laboratory. Low-grade chimeras—Failed Wolf Mutants.
They emitted strange cries and glared at us with clear intent to charge. The tentacles sprouting from their eye sockets were especially hideous. Even in the game they hadn’t been pleasant to look at, but seeing them in reality made them far more chilling.
To mass-produce creatures like this under the mere pretext of experimentation… Baob. These bastards were completely insane.
Thanks to them, it looked like I would have to do some cleaning.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves. It seems they have no intention of letting us leave peacefully.”
I issue the command calmly. As I gather the Lie at my fingertips, Emilia steps up beside me, an ice spear already in her grasp. Behind us, Legia was preparing a chant.
“That’s why I told you not to move from the starting spot!”
“If we had stayed put, wouldn’t we have run into them even sooner?”
“I don’t know!”
“Please calm down. They aren’t as difficult as they appear.”
“They look like the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my life?!”
Emilia snaps back while wrapping her entire body in mana. Perhaps because we were in immediate danger, she didn’t seem to remember our earlier deal at all. I let out a small laugh.
“The situation right in front of us takes priority for now.”
Growl— Kiiiiii—!
The mutants that had been circling and waiting for an opening bared their vicious teeth and kicked off the ground all at once, charging toward us.
“Well then.”
I step forward. In both hands I hold a sword formed of shadow.
Right after—
“Shall we try surviving this?”
Thud—!
Blackness pierces the forehead of the mutant that had closed in right before me. As I smoothly withdraw the blade, two more wolves leap in from both sides.
Shiiiing—!
I spin once, drawing a graceful arc. The blackness carved through the air. The short, concise sword path resembles elegant handwriting.
And in the next instant—
Slash—!
The wolves’ upper bodies, severed before anyone could register the cut, tumble to the floor. Rotten blood soaks the ground.
In the blink of an eye, three mutants had been butchered.
I stop in place, faint killing intent radiating from me.
“Heh heh.”
It was a kind of message. To the person watching this entire situation from beyond the screen right now.
“Just wait.”
Once this trivial cleanup is finished, I’ll come straight for your throat.
With my lips still twitching, I smiled with deep meaning.