Chapter 612: Investigation Results
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 612: Investigation Results
"Damn it! Damn it!"
Yalur Nutt slammed the documents in his hand onto the desk in front of him, letting out a low, guttural roar.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this. This isn't how it was supposed to go... You promised me! You said you would always support my research, but now..."
"This wasn't my choice, Mr. Yalur."
A black bird perched on the drafty windowsill, tilting its head as it surveyed the trashed laboratory. It let out a sigh.
"The Lord Speaker has lost, and the Inner Council has fallen with him. Our priority now is figuring out how to preserve ourselves. In a situation where our own lives are forfeit, the fact that I came to notify you at all is an act of the utmost benevolence."
"Hmph. I think you're just afraid that if I'm caught, I'll cough up information that incriminates you!" Yalur sneered.
"You're free to think that, but it won't change the outcome one bit."
The Robin fluttered its wings. "Right now, we are all just insignificant bricks and mortar beneath a collapsing skyscraper. You can mock me all you like, but it won't change the fact that we're about to be buried. You'd be better off saving your breath and thinking about how to run."
"Ha... I was wondering why people of your sort hadn't come to silence me yet. Now I see. You don't even have the strength left to tie up loose ends."
Yalur spat a glob of phlegm near the bird. "You beaten cur!"
"Say what you will. I don't even dare show my face anymore, so I suppose I am indeed just a beaten cur," the Robin replied. "But I must warn you: the people coming to kill you are already on their way."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean..."
Screee—!
Before the Robin could finish, a piercing alarm blared through the entire laboratory. Outside, the sudden cacophony of shouting and chaos erupted.
"Are they here already? Faster than I expected."
The Robin sighed. "Well then, do your best to look after yourself, Mr. Yalur. I truly hope you manage to escape. Oh, and remember to burn all those documents. Keeping them will do you no favors."
"You bastard!"
Yalur slammed his fist onto the desk again, his rage mounting. "Telling me to 'do my best to escape'... who do you think caused all of this in the first place!"
There was no one left to answer.
The Robin had already spread its wings and vanished through the narrow window.
"Damn it!"
Yalur scratched at his thinning hair, his anxiety reaching a fever pitch.
If he had known, he would have bolted the moment he achieved his preliminary results. But he hadn't been able to resist the lure of the forbidden, and now he had landed himself in this deathtrap.
"Whatever. I have to get out of here first. My genius brain cannot fall into the hands of those rigid fools at the Royal Research Institute. My research hasn't reached its ultimate stage yet!"
Yalur scrambled to pile the documents over an alcohol lamp, burning them all.
"Mr. Yalur!"
The laboratory door burst open. His assistant—a woman with a slender waist, a generous bust, and a soft, delicate voice—rushed in, her face pale with terror.
"There's... there's an intruder!"
"I know that! I'm not deaf!" Yalur snapped impatiently.
"But... but..."
"No 'buts.' Pack your things... Wait, how many intruders are there?"
"One."
"Only one?"
Yalur looked up in bewilderment. The assistant gave a frantic nod of confirmation.
"Just one person? They think so little of this old man?"
Yalur’s eyes flickered with calculation. After a moment's thought, he beckoned to the assistant. "Come here for a second."
"Oh..."
The assistant approached timidly. She had been assigned by the Inner Council specifically to serve Yalur. Now that the Council was on the brink of total collapse, she had no choice but to rely on the man she had previously found repulsive.
"Yes? What are your orders?"
Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her low-cut top sat even lower than usual. Her fragile, pitiable appearance was enough to stir the protective instincts of any man.
Yalur’s expression softened significantly. He leaned in close and said tenderly, "Don't worry. It's not a dangerous job."
"Really? That's so—"
Puchi.
A dagger pierced through flesh.
The assistant looked down in disbelief, coughing up blood. "Wh... why..."
"Honestly, women really are all curves and no common sense. Why would you think I’d bring a piece of dead weight along while I'm running for my life?"
Yalur pulled the dagger out expressionlessly, letting the blood spray across his clothes. He then pinned the dying assistant down and forced a pill into her mouth.
"Mmph... no... please..."
"It's an honor for you to be of some use in the end."
The pill dissolved the moment it touched her tongue. Within seconds, the medicinal power surged through her limbs, carried by the blood flowing from her wound.
The assistant began to convulse violently. Dark veins writhed like snakes beneath her skin. Soon, her eyes turned blood-red, and jagged fangs sprouted from her gums.
"The 'Sacred Flesh' is gone, so I have to make do with this inferior product. But I suppose it should be enough."
Yalur ordered the drug-controlled assistant to guard the laboratory entrance while he fumbled with the console and pressed a button.
With a harsh grinding of gears, the entire laboratory was sealed behind precision-engineered steel. Faint lights flickered in the corners, projecting images that monitored every corner of the hidden facility.
"There are over thirty researchers here, all drugged in advance. Add to that the hundred-plus test subjects... that's two hundred in total. And there's only one intruder. Two hundred enhanced monsters against one person—that should buy me more than enough time to escape through the secret passage!"
Yalur tapped rapidly on the console. Soon, a highly concealed hatch opened beneath the desk. This was an escape route he had prepared long ago; even the Robin didn't know about it.
He ducked down with a nimbleness that belied his age, preparing to crawl into the tunnel...
But at that moment, his gaze instinctively swept across the monitors.
A terrifying sight seared itself into his vision.
"What—?!"
Yalur froze mid-motion, letting out a scream of pure disbelief. "How is this possible?!"
*
"One hundred ninety-seven."
"One hundred ninety-eight."
"One hundred ninety-nine..."
"Two hundred!"
Ariel swung her sword casually. A fierce burst of fire illuminated the corridor, instantly tearing apart the humanoid monster lunging at her.
"Exactly two hundred. A real godsend for my OCD."
Ariel clapped her hands. Standing before a mountain of corpses, she looked down at the charred face of the humanoid monster and sighed with regret.
"What a shame. Looking at her, she was probably a pretty young lady. I wonder who was heartless enough to turn her into a monster."
"She's one of the lucky ones, relatively speaking. At least she didn't seem to suffer for long."
A shimmering, ethereal figure rose beside Ariel.
"The truly pitiable ones are those deformed children. They must have been used as test subjects since they were very small."
"Yeah..."
Ariel sighed, her gaze sweeping behind her as a cold, murderous intent flickered in her eyes. "To do something like this... they're worse than beasts!"
"I've laid a formation around the perimeter. The person in charge shouldn't have escaped yet," Ariel's teacher said. "However... finding him might not be easy. I sensed the area with my soul power; the layout here is quite complex."
"Well, I'd find him eventually if I looked long enough... but I don't really have the patience for that."
Ariel scratched her head, looking at the labyrinthine corridors. Suddenly, she clapped her hands.
"In that case, let's try my luck!"
Ariel's teacher wore an 'I knew it' expression.
"Missy, oh Missy."
Ariel knelt down and gently lifted the woman's charred hand.
"If you still harbor resentment, please point the way to the person who turned you into a monster!"
With that, Ariel gave the limp, cold arm a gentle toss.
The arm fell naturally to the floor.
However, the hand on the ground suddenly moved with eerie fluidity, extending a single finger to point down a specific direction.
"Excellent. Looks like it's this way!"
Ariel’s lips curled into a smirk as she drew her greatsword.
"Watch this—Heavenly Fire Draw!"
BOOM!
Blazing fire mixed with concentrated sword qi instantly tore through the wall engraved with defensive magic runes. The hardened metal melted, glowing a dull crimson. Through the massive hole she had carved with a single strike, Ariel saw...
A stunned, withered old face.
"How... how is this possible?"
Yalur was still muttering in disbelief. "My meticulously crafted defenses... how could they be torn open so easily by a mere Fourth-Tier Martial Artist? This isn't scientific... this isn't scientific!"
"Oh? So you're the boss here?"
Ariel acted as if she hadn't heard his mumbling, happily clapping her hands. "Don't be scared. I just want to ask you a few questions. Would you mind coming with me?"
"I... you... monster... You are the real monster!"
Yalur pointed a trembling finger at Ariel, his eyes rolled back, and he actually fainted right then and there.
"Huh? He just passed out? That's it?" Ariel asked in surprise.
"He might be faking it."
"True. But it doesn't matter. It's not the time for an interrogation anyway, and he's not going anywhere."
Yalur’s eyebrows twitched imperceptibly, and his fingertips hidden in his sleeves moved slightly.
However, Ariel gave him no chance to employ any tricks. She pulled out an ancient-looking bell and gave it a casual shake. Yalur, a full-grown man, was sucked inside just like that.
"As expected of an Ancient Artifact. So convenient."
"I recall you have a few magical beasts stored in there. Is that going to be a problem?"
"Don't worry, don't worry. I've trained those beasts well. They wouldn't dare make a sound without my command. At most, they'll just give him a few licks."
Ariel confidently tucked the bell away.
Then, she surveyed the room.
The laboratory was a mess, with charred scraps of paper scattered everywhere.
"Looks like the important data was burned."
"That was to be expected."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Teacher."
"That was also to be expected."
Ariel's teacher sighed, giving the sheepish Ariel a light tap on the head before her soul power rapidly expanded.
A highly complex formation condensed instantly. Ariel's teacher pointed a finger.
"Restore."
In an instant, the scraps of paper began to piece themselves back together as if time were flowing backward. Even the dust that had been burned to ash transformed back into pages covered in script.
"Fortunately, these are just inanimate objects. It didn't take much effort."
"Thank you, Teacher! I'll definitely find more soul-restoring treasures for you later!"
"Between us, there is no need for such talk."
Ariel's teacher handed the documents to her, then vanished into her body in a flash of light. "The rest is up to you. I'm going to sleep for a bit."
"Don't worry. There shouldn't be anything left that requires your help."
Ariel patted her flat chest confidently, then turned her attention to the documents in her hand.
It wasn't an empty boast. She had tracked things all the way here, and while she had encountered many obstacles, they had all been within her capabilities.
And now, she had finally reached the final step.
By combining the various pieces of intelligence she had gathered with the clues hidden in these documents, she would be able to piece together the truth behind the shadows of the Inner Council.
"Hmph. Thinking you could escape my grasp? You're all too green. This will definitely make Celicia look at me in a new light. Ahahaha... wait, what?"
Ariel’s triumphant grin faltered. She frowned, looking at certain pieces of information in the documents with confusion.
"Is this... a recording error? No, this kind of thing is easily verifiable. There's no reason to fake it..."
"But..."
As if sensing something, Ariel began flipping through the pages faster and faster. But the more she read, the more solemn her beautiful face became.
"No way..."
Finally, as all the information converged in her mind, her expression turned so dark it looked like it might drip ink.
*
Time passed. Three days had gone by since the incident at the Imperial Palace.
During these three days, all of Belland had been in a busy recovery phase. There was a shortage of manpower everywhere, to the point that the newly ascended Empress of the Empire had issued an order to temporarily recruit citizens to join the city's reconstruction.
Surprisingly, many people volunteered. This accelerated the progress of many projects. According to rumors, Her Majesty hadn't even had time to prepare her own coronation ceremony because she was personally investigating and supervising the situation in the Lower District.
In short, despite the recent mass casualties, Belland felt much more peaceful and secure than before. Even walking alone at night was no longer as dangerous as it used to be.
Ariel was walking with hurried steps through a relatively quiet part of the city's night.
"Ariel."
Suddenly, someone called out to her.
"Wait a moment."
"Hmm?"
Ariel turned around, looking expressionlessly at the figure slowly emerging... or rather, slowly rolling out from an alleyway.
"Big Brother?"
"Ahem. It seems you still acknowledge me as your brother."
Orlando sat in his wheelchair, a gentle smile on his slightly pale face. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"I should ask you the same, Brother. It's dangerous to be out alone so late, isn't it?"
"Haha, it's not dangerous. Things are different now. Her Majesty the Empress is wise and powerful. What monsters or ghosts would dare cause trouble in Belland today?"
Orlando lightly stroked his withered, wood-like thighs. His expression returned to a serious one as he asked again, "So, where is Ariel going?"
"The Imperial Palace."
"The Palace? It's so late. What are you going to the Palace for?"
"Nothing much. Just reporting a few things."
"I see..."
Orlando sighed softly, looking at Ariel with the kind eyes of an elder brother. He said quietly:
"Then... for my sake, could you choose not to go?"
"Why?"
"Do you need a reason?"
"I do. For example..."
Ariel’s eyes flickered. She spoke each word with deliberate weight:
"Should I call you Mr. Robin... or something else?"