That Man Is Daniel Steiner
That Man Is Daniel Steiner
Daniel pulled a flashlight from his chest and pressed the power button; light fanned outward.
The low illumination gave the place a dark feel, but there was no trouble identifying objects.
Taking a quiet deep breath, Daniel descended the stairs.
After descending for a while, a narrow, deep corridor came into view.
Shining the flashlight toward the end of the corridor revealed an iron door standing there.
Daniel, instinctively sensing that it was the entrance to the research laboratory, slowly moved forward.
Even as he walked, Daniel swept his gaze around without easing his tension.
'The power must be out—no lights are on, but there are light bulbs installed at regular intervals. They obviously cared about convenience, so why make the corridor this narrow?'
The corridor was so narrow that two people couldn't run side by side.
Daniel, who had been mulling it over, reached a conclusion before arriving at the iron door.
'There are traces of dried blood on the walls. From the spatter pattern, someone was shot here. Which means...'
It could be interpreted as a deliberately straight-line corridor, designed to conveniently deal with anyone trying to escape from the laboratory.
Appalled by the Allied forces' thinking, Daniel clicked his tongue, turned off the flashlight, and then grabbed the iron door's handle and pulled.
Kkiiiik─
The iron door began to open.
Bracing for any unforeseen mishap, he peered through the gap in the door, but there was no sign of anyone.
After waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Daniel flung the iron door wide open and urgently scanned the area.
Once again confirming there was no one there, Daniel let out a relieved sigh and turned the flashlight back on.
'Nobody's here. Did they abandon the laboratory?'
The laboratory he examined by flashlight beam was a complete mess.
Glass ampoules, syringes, microscopes, torn documents, and all sorts of glass bottles were scattered chaotically on the desks.
The most eye-catching thing among them was a vertical cylindrical chamber.
It looked like a glass bottle large enough for a single person to enter, and beneath the chamber, unknown wires were connected haphazardly.
'What in the world...'
He couldn't even begin to guess what purpose such a bizarre contraption was made for.
After staring at the chamber for a while, Daniel turned his gaze to another area.
After a moment of deliberation, Daniel walked toward the area marked with the phrase 【Test Subject Area】.
As he stepped inside, a musty, stale smell sharpened his sense of smell.
Pulling out a handkerchief and covering his mouth and nose, Daniel looked around the rest of the area.
'This place...'
He saw beds with leather straps for restraining human bodies scattered here and there.
Beneath them, used syringes were rolling about carelessly.
The clothes and shoes that appeared to belong to the test subjects were a bonus.
'Disgusting bastards...'
Thinking that Lucy had lived in a place like this made his anger flare up for no reason.
Daniel, who had been clenching his fist tightly, soon regained his composure.
'Calm down. The reason I came here is to find out the full story of Project Lucy.'
Reminded of his original purpose, Daniel discovered a room inside the test subject area marked 【Archive】.
As he entered, a wide room filled with dozens of shelves opened up before him.
Finding the shelves densely packed with documents, Daniel picked up a random one and examined it.
"...Experiment Progress Report for Test Subject 37?"
Beneath the title Experiment Progress Report, the red word 【Disposed】 was stamped in large letters.
'No way. All the documents here...'
These were the files of all the test subjects who had passed through the laboratory.
Daniel, clicking his tongue, wandered around the archive looking for Lucy's report.
It did not take long for Daniel to find a document labeled 【Test Subject 187】.
When he carefully opened the document, the report was revealed.
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Document Number: KZZ - FS - 013
Date of Drafting: April 11, 1932
Classification: Top Secret
Subject Information
Code Name: Test Subject 187
Place of Birth: Unknown, presumed Imperial citizen
Sex/Age: Female / 8 years old
Health Status: Good
Special Notes: Mana reaction speed is the highest among current subjects
─────────
'If it's 1932...'
It had happened about 13 years ago.
'They carried out human experimentation on a child who was only 8 years old?'
Feeling disgusted, Daniel turned the page.
─────────
『May 15, 1932』
Classified as a superior subject as she raised no questions regarding the purpose of the experiment.
『June 17, 1932』
Initial factor injection initiated, biological rejection response minimal.
Complained of headaches and vomited intermittently, but it was minor compared to other subjects.
『July 10, 1932』
Noticeably became less talkative.
Expressed blind fury toward the researchers, but not significantly concerning.
Continued the research; she is now accustomed to the factor injections.
『August 07, 1932』
With orders from the top to produce results, decided to utilize the subject's emotions.
Decided to use the research finding that factor manifestation is related to anger and sorrow.
Attempting to link Experiment Subject 96, who is sociable, with Test Subject 187 to form a bond of empathy.
『October 13, 1932』
Confirmed the formation of intimacy between Experiment Subject 96 and Test Subject 187.
Planning to dispose of Experiment Subject 96 when the appropriate time comes to induce an emotional change.
『November 21, 1932』
Test Subject 187 began calling Experiment Subject 96 a 'friend'.
Determined that intimacy formation was complete, 'disposed' of Experiment Subject 96.
Upon being informed of this, Test Subject 187 was seized by despair.
The despair led to a frenzy.
Confirmed a red light tinging the retinas of Test Subject 187 as she burst out in rage, demanding Experiment Subject 96 back.
As there was no physical rejection reaction, it appeared to be factor manifestation.
『November 22, 1932』
Test Subject 187 went on a rampage during the factor injection process.
Soldiers tried to stop her, but it was beyond their ability.
Succeeded in restraining her after sacrificing as many as 8 soldiers.
A strength and mana power unbelievable for a child.
Sensed intuitively that the experiment succeeded.
We researchers relayed this news to the top.
Ah. Are these dreadful days finally over?
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The report ended there, with the handwriting scrawled at the bottom.
After finishing the report, Daniel's eyes were calm, but a nameless emotion lurked within them.
Daniel, who had been frozen for a while biting his lip tightly, folded the report.
Then he fell into thought for a moment.
'If you calm down and think about it, there are many strange points.'
Why had the Allied forces not erased these records and kept storing them here?
Why had the iron door been open?
Why had the rusted lock not been replaced?
Thoughts linked together in a chain and stopped at a single point.
'It's a trap.'
A trap to tie Daniel Steiner down in this place.
Having judged that, Daniel's eyes narrowed sharply.
*
At the same time, a squad wearing the military uniforms of the Allied Nations burst into the research laboratory.
Orem, one of the squad members moving while keeping their footsteps as silent as possible, looked back and spoke.
"Lieutenant. Aren't we just the advance party, here only to report Daniel Steiner's location?"
Lieutenant Hamilton nodded.
"We already reported his location, didn't we? The main force will soon conduct a large-scale assault using Ethelium. What's the problem?"
"...Wouldn't it be better to leave subduing Daniel Steiner to the assault troops?"
"If we leave it to those bastards, we can't claim the battle honors. Do you realize what kind of value is hanging around Daniel Steiner's neck and you're still spouting that crap? You all need to get medals too, right?"
At Hamilton's answer, Orem bit his lip tightly.
"He's a neural acceleration ability user. Are you aware of that?"
"Yeah. But the neural acceleration ability isn't invincible, is it? And besides, we're in a position to do a surprise attack. He'll be so flustered he probably won't even be able to use his neural acceleration ability properly. Right?"
It wasn't wrong, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Hamilton was using them as throwaway pieces.
Squad leader Orem let out a low sigh but nodded his head.
They were about to enter the laboratory, and he thought there was no need for pointless arguments.
A moment later, the squad that had entered through the open door of the laboratory exchanged hand signals with each other.
─ Search in teams of two, report immediately if you find Daniel Steiner or notice any abnormal signs.
The squad members, having heard squad leader Orem's orders, nodded and scattered to their respective areas.
Orem also took one squad member and entered the test subject area.
At the same time, Orem and the squad member covered their mouths.
It was not only because an acrid smell was spreading, but also because the traces of the experiments were eerily grim.
However, Orem soon pulled himself together and ordered the search through hand signals.
After confirming that the squad member was entering the archive, Orem stood guard outside.
Then it happened.
Keok─
Just after the crash of something collapsing, the squad member's death cry rang out.
A panicked Orem immediately ran toward the archive.
"Sebillat!" he shouted, but there was no answer.
Thinking he'd been had, Orem broke out in a cold sweat as soon as he entered the archive.
It was because flashlight light was leaking from beyond a shelf in the corner, and the archive's opposite door stood open.
'Did he kill Sebillat and escape through the other side?'
Orem, gripping his rifle tightly in the tension, inched forward while watching warily for Daniel to jump out from beyond that door.
After making his way to the far end of the archive, Orem discovered Sebillat collapsed, his neck strangled.
The flashlight lay beside him as well.
It was the moment Orem, certain it was Daniel Steiner's doing, reached for his radio.
Cheolkeok─
He felt the cold of metal touch the back of his neck.
It was the muzzle of a revolver.
'He didn't escape out of the archive?'
As Orem was panicking, a chilling voice came from behind him.
"Looking at the epaulette on your shoulder, you must be the squad leader."
Daniel, revealing himself from the darkness, continued quietly.
"If you don't want to die, follow my orders from now on."