Chapter 86: Swift Progress
Chapter 86: Swift Progress
We had probably entered the Ruined Laboratory the moment we passed through the entrance. But looking around, it was hard to tell if we were in a forest or standing before the laboratory itself.
It seemed the building had been constructed not by clearing the forest, but by preserving as much of the natural environment as possible. Because of that, the Ruined Laboratory felt something like a natural fortress.
A tightly shut iron door stood ahead. Without a word, the party walked toward it with entranced expressions.
When I pushed open the visibly heavy iron door, rust flaked off and fell to the ground with a soft shower. A grating, unpleasant creak echoed through the air. I opened it just wide enough for one person to squeeze through and took a step inside.
And then, as the others followed me in, the sight before them made everyone hold their breath.
“The Light magic… it’s still active?”
“Not perfectly. The intermittent flickering means they’re almost at the end of their life. More importantly, Soohyun-ssi.”
Jung Hayeon’s addendum brought me back to my senses, and I focused my gaze forward again. A wide, white corridor reminiscent of a hospital hallway stretched before us, still faintly illuminated by Light Stones. But the passage of time was unstoppable; every part of the building was severely dilapidated. The eerie chill that hung in the air gave the others goosebumps, and they huddled closer to me.
It was then.
“Sob… sob…”
A faint voice suddenly reached us. Though it came from some distance away, it was unmistakably a voice. The party was silent, the corridor still. It seemed I wasn't the only one who heard it, as everyone's faces had hardened.
“Oppa. Could it be like last time…?”
I shook my head at Yoojung’s anxious question. It was not a Ramic. When I spread Sensing forward, it caught a human-shaped figure. Yet something subtly alien about the presence made it difficult to call them human.
After a moment of deliberation, I decided to press on. We couldn’t just stand here forever, and we’d find out soon enough if we got closer. I felt someone’s hand grip my clothes from behind, but I took the lead and began to move forward slowly.
“Sob… sob… here?”
The corridor seemed to stretch on endlessly. It was a single long passage flanked by old, rusted walls. The farther we went, the clearer the faint voice became.
“Sob… sob… you’ve come?”
Sob. You’ve come. As we closed the distance, I could finally make out the words. A sobbing voice, and the phrase, “you’ve come.” But the tone was by no means a welcome; it was laced with obvious hostility.
A little closer. A little closer.
Even without a word from me, the party was on high alert. Seeing them with their weapons drawn and their eyes fixed ahead, I figured they must be quite scared.
This was a psychological fear. Not the physical dread of one’s life being threatened, but a mental terror that preyed on the mind. Faced with a situation similar to the horror movies they’d seen back on Earth, their bodies tensed up unconsciously.
I, of course, was an exception. Having experienced the depths of hell in the first run, most ghosts and grotesque monsters were child’s play to me. Hell back then was truly… The memory alone sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. Seeing my reaction, the others grew even more anxious. It seemed there was a misunderstanding, but I ignored it and steadily closed the distance to the source of the voice.
At last, we could faintly make out the shape producing the voice. Some distance remained, but in the intermittent flashes of the Light Stones, a solitary figure could be seen kneeling with their back straight. At the same moment, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around me from behind.
“Sol?”
“Don’t… go…”
“Ahn Sol. Calm down.”
Sensing something was wrong, Ahn Hyun quickly stepped in to soothe Ahn Sol, but her trembling didn’t stop. In fact, it grew worse. This wasn’t simple whining. If left alone, she looked like she might have a seizure. I quickly placed a hand on her head and channeled my magic.
“Ah…”
As my magic permeated her body, I could feel her own magic, frozen solid. I soothed and coaxed it with my warm energy. Seeing her slowly begin to respond, I continued to calm her.
Only then did Sol seem to relax slightly, and a faint flush returned to her pale cheeks. Fear still remained, however, and she did not loosen her arms around me. After feeling my Magic Power circulate through her body for a moment, she finally spoke in a halting voice.
“An immense malice… I mean… that kind of blind…”
Hearing Sol’s words, the others all frowned. Her words made no sense to them. Sol, too, seemed to want to say more, her lips parting and closing, but she couldn't seem to find the right words to express herself. Jung Hayeon, however, was an exception.
“I feel it too. Mages and Priests are naturally sensitive to the flow of souls and minds. An enormous resentment is pouring from the figure we can barely see. Honestly, even I find it chilling.”
As Jung Hayeon finished her explanation, Sol nodded eagerly. Shin Sangyong did the same. Ahn Hyun had a blank expression, but he must have felt something unsettling, as his steps faltered. Seeing them, I spoke in a light tone.
“Even so, it’s just a monster in the Hall Plain. We have no choice but to move forward. Don’t be scared. Let’s get a little closer.”
“Orabeoni…”
“O-Oppa.”
Yoojung and Sol looked at me pleadingly. Reading the resolve on my face, they eventually gave up and drew their weapons. Once the arms around me fell away, we began moving forward again. As the distance narrowed, both the voice and the figure’s appearance grew clearer.
The figure looked human from the outside. They wore a white gown, old and faded, and had long, disheveled hair. They knelt with their back to us; we could see only the back of their head.
When we drew reasonably close, the sobbing abruptly stopped. A cold silence settled between us and the figure.
The party held their breath and stared at her back. I stepped forward and spoke quietly.
“Are you perhaps someone related to this laboratory?”
“…”
She did not answer. I rested a hand lightly on my sword and signaled the others with my eyes. Then her voice, silent until that moment, traveled through the air and reached me.
“How… did you come here?”
That one grating voice, heard just as we were about to engage in battle, forced us to halt our actions. Behind me, someone swallowed hard. I answered with a composed expression.
“We found this place by chance. In any case, if you can speak, I’d like you to answer our questions. Who are you?”
“How… did you come here?”
“If you give another irrelevant answer, we will consider you a clear enemy and act accordingly. This is your last chance. What is your connection to this laboratory?”
She did not respond to my declaration. A brief silence passed—eerie and deeply uncomfortable. And then…
“To this place.”
With a crack, I saw her neck twist.
“How.”
Crrrack! Was that bone twisting? Her neck had turned halfway around.
“did you come?”
With one final crunch, her neck twisted completely around. Her body remained kneeling and facing forward, but her head had rotated a full 180 degrees. Only then could we see her face clearly.
Sunken eyes, a collapsed nose, and a slack mouth emptied of teeth—it was a face fit to be called a ghost’s. Unconcealed hostility poured from her expression.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Unable to endure the sight, Sol screamed. Behind me, I sensed Yoojung clamp a hand over her own mouth. Everyone’s breathing had grown ragged; they had clearly been badly startled. As though savoring our reaction, the woman slowly cocked her head, her sunken eyes curving into crescents as she opened her mouth again.
“Heeheehee! How did you come to this place? Heeheehee! Heeheeheehee!”
“Soohyun-ssi!”
Several party members fell into a panic as the woman laughed like a madwoman, unable to overcome the psychological fear. The instant Jung Hayeon cried out urgently, the Light Stones intermittently illuminating the corridor began flickering even more violently.
Pitch-black darkness, broken by Light Stones flickering like a faulty fluorescent lamp. The woman moved in time with the flashing corridor: with each pulse she rose, let her limbs hang loose, and rushed toward us while flailing wildly. It felt like watching a slideshow one image at a time.
As she lunged at me with her mouth open wide, I thrust out my right hand. Something sharp caught against it, and I realized the teeth felt more like an animal’s fangs than human teeth. With no time to spare, I seized them and pulled with all my strength.
“Gack! Gyaaaaaaaah!”
“Light!”
I felt something tear away at my fingertips with a crunch, and at the same time, Jung Hayeon’s Light magic activated. As my vision cleared, I let out a sigh. I glanced back and saw that everyone had their weapons raised, poised to charge at me at any moment.
“You lot—don’t tell me this is a betrayal.”
I threw out a joke to break the tense atmosphere, and only then did I get a reaction.
“Wh-What? No! That ghost was clearly attacking you, Hyung…”
Ahn Hyun, who had been looking around, finally focused on my hand and stared in shock. I smirked and dropped what I held. A jawbone rolled across the floor and stopped beside the woman, who had collapsed while clutching her mouth.
Seeing the party stare at me blankly, I shrugged and crouched where I stood. The woman who had charged so dramatically was now writhing and twitching in pain. You’re only a monster, so why make such an entrance when it was going to end like this anyway? I might have been a little rough, but I felt no guilt at all after she had frightened my precious kids.
I wiped the dark-red blood from my hand on her gown and examined her more closely. She looked grotesque, but still far better than the creatures of Hell.
“Hieee…”
A mournful sound escaped her like air leaking from a balloon, but I ignored it. I wanted only one thing: information about this creature. I grabbed her long hair and yanked her head up. Looking into the limp face of the ghostly monster, I gave a faint smile.