The Mine, Red Ginseng Candy, and Heavenly Demon Hitler (2)
Deep within the Iogi Mine lay a secret laboratory.
"Dr. Joseph Mangrove."
A young woman called out to the elderly man lost in thought.
Her name was Irina Penhoff—a Rank 4 employee of the Red Whale Magic Tower, and the lover of Byeon Geomgyeong.
"Ah, look at me, woolgathering."
Joseph Mangrove—the man whose dentures had been mentioned back in Chapter 43—chuckled and stroked his beard.
With his monocle and white lab coat, Joseph cut the figure of a distinguished scientist.
But Irina knew the truth: how horrific and terrifying the experiments this man had carried out truly were.
"Now then, where was I?"
Only moments earlier Irina had insisted that every second counted, yet Joseph's manner remained utterly unhurried.
Ordinarily she would have exploded at him, but her counterpart was a Rank 2 employee of the same Magic Tower—someone who had climbed far too high to be treated carelessly.
"You were speaking about the disposal of the Watchman's soul sealed within the relic."
"Ah, yes."
Joseph lifted an object. It was roughly spherical, plastered all over with talisman-like slips of paper.
"Weren't there two relics discovered?"
Irina voiced her doubt, but Joseph only laughed again.
"Indeed. One for the Magic Tower, and one for the alliance."
"...Lord Byeon Geomgyeong wished to examine both."
"That will not be possible."
Byeon Geomgyeong—the strongest warrior in the Sword Saint Society, leader of its largest faction.
Even when Irina invoked his name, Joseph did not so much as flinch.
"Both were extraordinarily powerful beings. Further verification is required."
"You said the verification was finished."
"I said the safety measures had been confirmed. The research itself is far from complete. Too many unknowns remain."
Joseph smiled gently and shifted his gaze.
"Which is precisely why we need those."
At the end of his stare, small children locked behind iron bars trembled violently.
Children abducted from the slums by Red Whale Magic Tower employees.
Worthless existences—and therefore perfect for experiments.
"Here. Take one. I shall continue my research."
Irina accepted the relic and left the laboratory with a faintly dissatisfied expression.
Joseph watched her go in silence, then drew something from his pocket.
A small stone glowing red.
It looked like nothing more than a pretty pebble, yet it was the finest creation Joseph had ever produced.
A supreme elixir compounded from the remains of Watchmen recovered deep beneath the mine.
With this, he might even create an artificial Watchman.
"Heh heh heh..."
Joseph's true nature surfaced in a sinister laugh.
In truth, the Watchman's soul was hardly an important research material to him.
He had only pretended to pursue the experiment the Tower Master so desperately wanted. His real goal was to use the materials, personnel, and sacrificial lambs obtained under that pretext to create a puppet Watchman that obeyed his commands alone.
Lay a mental barrier over a frail body, feed it this elixir, then insert the Watchman's soul sealed in the relic—and it would surely be born. That was Joseph's conviction.
If this elixir proves effective, even the Tower Master—a being beyond humanity—will kneel before me.
"Hello, my pretty little ones. You're going to eat this for me."
Joseph, holding the elixir forged through months of secret research, was approaching the children when—
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG—!
Something collapsed with a thunderous crash, and an earthquake shook the mine.
"What in the world is going on?"
"S-someone set off a magic bomb, sir!"
"An attack...? Summon the Twelve Disciples."
Fortunately, the Iogi Mine was currently guarded by the elite warriors Byeon Geomgyeong had trained specifically to counter assaults by certain entities—primarily Watchmen.
"Understood!"
The researcher who had answered Joseph's question bolted out in a panic.
"Of all the times for this to happen..."
Joseph clicked his tongue and stared up at the cracked ceiling of the laboratory.
"Drop everything you're holding!"
A fake ninja playing at being a Runaway Ninja raised a sharply honed sword.
Apparently short on funds, he wore a skintight bodysuit instead of a proper ninja suit, but with the mask and headscarf he looked vaguely like me at a glance. His muscles looked solid too—definitely a combat type.
"..."
The rest of us, myself included, tossed our pickaxes aside, and twenty fake-ninja lackeys silently surrounded us. At first glance their outfits and heights were similar enough to pass for the fake ninja's clones, but their builds differed in subtle ways.
A few of them had slight curves to their chests—women, no question—and their eyes were all different shapes. Definitely not clones or shadow clones.
"Why is a Runaway Ninja here..."
"Ugh..."
I seemed to be the only one who'd noticed they were fakes.
The old man who was Supervisor Number 45 had frozen with an expression harder than decade-old hardtack, but the yellow puddle spreading at his feet suggested he'd wet himself.
So the whole "you lose control when you get old" thing was real. I'd better watch myself.
"You claimed you protected the innocent... It was all a lie."
The curly-haired guy on my team said it while trembling.
Annoying as hell, but if I got mad and started defending the Runaway Ninja right now it'd be way too obvious, so I decided to just ride it out quietly.
Twenty-one uninvited guests doing a thorough job of imitating me. Who the hell were these bastards?
"Everyone, sit where you are."
At the fake ninja's command, roughly a hundred mine workers and supervisors dropped to their knees one after another. Whether it was my reputation or not, none of them even thought of resisting.
Why surround only this sector instead of the whole mine? Not enough people? Or because this was the most important zone?
"Hmm..."
The fake ninja approached and slowly studied our faces. Was he looking for me?
I was perfectly disguised—no problem. I gave the mole I'd drawn beside my nose a little touch, then shivered as if terrified.
"Hwaaang..."
For truly convincing acting, you had to throw in the right little noises. A first-rate ninja could perfectly mimic even the fear a high-school girl felt.
"You there. Stand up."
The fake ninja pointed at a man—the supervisor wearing a badge marked "43."
"Y-yes? Me?"
"A Runaway Ninja only says things once."
Supervisor Number 43 rose with a miserable look. He was the sort of guy who made you think of a plump, well-fed raccoon. Reaching supervisor rank meant he'd been working the mines for years, yet he still hadn't lost the weight. Lazy bastard for sure.
"Jim Blake. Correct?"
"...Yes."
The fake ninja clicked his tongue and strode toward the man called Jim Blake. The deliberate, heavy steps were clearly meant to look intimidating.
"You piece of trash who sells little kids."
The fake ninja seized Jim by the collar and shook him. Jim flopped around like a scarecrow in a windy field.
"Sitting here all calm among people who know nothing? Shameless scum of the earth."
"I-I don't understand why you're doing this."
"Cut the lies! I already know everything!"
"Oof—!"
Thud—!
The fake ninja's body slam sent Jim toppling with a bizarre scream.
The fake ninja grabbed his collar again and hauled him upright. Was he trying to copy my interrogation style too? Everyone who'd seen that was supposed to be dead.
This was another world, though—I couldn't rule out undead. I kept my guard up and watched him carefully.
After being slammed the same way about three more times, Jim was streaming blood from both nostrils and frantically begging with both hands. The fake ninja, who had been watching in silence, exchanged a look with the lackeys pretending to be his clones.
"Workers of the mine. I have not come to judge you. I have come only to punish the wicked. The moment this is finished, I shall vanish like the wind. So do not be overly concerned."
After delivering a reasonably cool line, the fake ninja casually stepped back again.
"Supervisor Number 43 always seemed off to me."
"That guy's a parachute hire."
Hope of survival had given the workers courage; they began murmuring among themselves. Even as the whispering grew louder, the fake-ninja lackeys made no move to stop it. Looking at the workers, their eyes even held a trace of pity.
Not yakuza or samurai, then? Still didn't erase the crime of impersonating me.
Once this was over, I'd have to tail them. That was the thought running through my head when—
Rumble—
The mine suddenly shook.
"Everyone, snap out of it and get up! The cave's collapsing!"
I shot to my feet and shouted. In a moment like this, stepping up was fine. I was saving innocent people, after all.
"Stop! Stay quiet and wait—"
Rumble-rumble—
Before the fake ninja could finish, the mine shook again. The vibration was strong enough to rock our bodies; the workers' faces went deathly pale.
"W-what the hell?! Why is it collapsing all of a sudden?!"
"Run—start with the people in front!"
"Why are you all dawdling?!"
The workers shoved past the fake ninja and his lackeys, who were desperately trying to keep control, and bolted. In the face of overwhelming natural disaster, an armed robber's threats meant nothing.
Boom!
A massive icicle-shaped boulder hanging from the cave ceiling came crashing down.
"Look out!"
Fragments sprayed in every direction and struck one of the stone pillars supporting the cave. The pillar cracked with a sharp crack. From the look of it, it would come down any second. If we didn't get out of here within five minutes, we'd all be flattened.
"Move already!"
I grabbed the curly-haired guy's shoulder and gave him a light shove forward. The bastard just stood there spacing out instead of moving his ass.
Where had the blonde tanned girl gone, though? She'd been nearby just a moment ago.
Not important right now. Moving on.
Whoosh—!
My group, Squad 45, was at the very back, so I got to watch every last worker in front of us race out.
Once I confirmed Supervisor Number 45 was pumping his legs for all he was worth in the rearmost line, I started moving forward myself at a measured pace. Up ahead I could see the fake ninja and his lackeys.
"The bomb was more powerful than we expected!"
"I knew we shouldn't have trusted those Transparent Lizard Magic Tower bastards!"
"...We need to get out first."
"Decide!"
The lackeys had dropped the mute-clone cosplay and were clustering around the fake ninja. One of them was streaming blood from a head wound—must have taken a falling rock. All that talk about ordinary attacks not working on them had been pure bullshit after all.
"...We're pulling out too."
Having made his decision, the fake ninja took the lead. The unbroken posture and breathing made it clear he'd received military training. A member of another ninja village? Or some secret organization? Time to confirm their identities.
Luckily I'd worn my ninja suit as underwear, so the disguise was no problem.
Ssshk—
I activated Floating Shadow, melted into stealth, and tailed them. They were taking a different route from the workers—looked like they knew a side path.
What exactly did these bastards know? I was starting to get curious.
"Whew."
Once safely outside the cave, they brushed the dust off themselves. As they tugged and shook their clothes, the stretchy bodysuits pulled taut. Kind of tempting, honestly.
Maybe I should confiscate one?
"We've lost too much time. The order-maintenance forces should be arriving about now."
"I'll buy us time."
The first to speak after the fake-ninja leader was a lackey—a woman.
That voice... it sounded faintly familiar.
"Comrade!"
"I was the one who planned this. I have to take responsibility."
The woman drew her sword from its scabbard.
"...May fortune favor you."
With those words the lackeys scattered.
The woman left behind drew a deep breath, as if about to shout.
"—I'm over he—!!"
Thwack!
"Ghk?!"
I dropped her with two sharp flicks to the forehead and laid her beside a boulder. Anyone who went down from two of those wasn't buying anyone any time.
"Who are you?"
I pulled off the female lackey's mask. Who was this person impersonating me with that familiar voice?
Dark skin. Golden hair. Fierce brows angled sharply upward.
"What the..."
The identity was someone completely unexpected.
"Golden Sun Girl?!"