I descended the long staircase at full speed, rushing towards the basement. As I advanced, distant sharp noises caught my attention.
However, being far from the source, the meaning of these peculiar sounds eluded me.
That changed when I finally reached the basement entrance.
'Are those screams?'
The closer I got, the more the sounds of screaming and crying intensified.
Are they currently experimenting on someone?
Initially, I was surprised that there were any survivors in this place. While exploring the upper floor earlier, I had only encountered disfigured corpses in various rooms.
!!!
Wait a moment.
These screams originate directly from that presence!
With unease mounting in my heart, I accelerated even faster, evading everything in my path until I reached a large steel door.
Initially, I attempted to force the door open with my physical strength alone.
But the door resisted.
Unsuccessful in my attempt, I thought:
'Well, it looks like that's as far as stealth goes.'
I regretted the inability to continue undercover. Initially, I planned to explore the facilities thoroughly, designing a more elaborate plan to gather maximum information.
However, a more pressing matter took precedence.
I instinctively felt that it was my duty and priority to eliminate 'this being' as soon as possible.
Thus, I focused a significant amount of mana on my sword, Geronimo, executing a wide vertical slash at the door.
Why not use Merlina instead?
While Merlina possessed an incredible ability to cut through anything, it required an immense amount of mana as fuel.
Earlier, I had used at least half of my mana to halt our free fall.
That might not sound so bad.
But it was.
Despite my hero status providing one of the largest mana pools among humans, losing half of it in a single attack posed a significant problem. Mana regeneration in this world was slow, insufficient to fully recover in such a short time.
Regardless, Geronimo proved sufficient to breach one iron gate.
- SLASH!
A resounding noise of something breaking echoed, and moments later, the door collapsed, splitting in half on the floor.
This, of course, caused another thunderous noise in the basement.
'They won't take long to come here. I'd better hurry.'
With these thoughts, I cautiously peered into the room from the entrance.
Only an extensive darkness filled the room—nothing visible to the naked eye.
Yet, I easily discerned the presence of something monstrous.
I mean, a repulsive smell permeated the place.
But above all...
"MAAAMAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
"HOOOOONNNNEEEEEYYYY!!!!!"
Heart-wrenching screams were unmistakable.
Upon hearing these desperate cries, I entered the room, emitting a significant killing intent.
However.
I froze the moment I entered, witnessing what was inside the room.
'What the hell.'
A bizarre creature defying description. Its body was a mishmash of various species, rendering it grotesque and repulsive.
The creature stood at least seven adult men tall and eight adult men wide.
Goat head.
Serpent tail.
Bear fur.
Bat wings.
Not to mention an array of animal parts, including wyvern wings, and even body parts from other monsters like orcs and goblins.
But the most horrifying aspect was not that.
"HHHHoooOOnNNNNNEEeeeyyyy!!!!!!!"
To compound the horror, human faces adorned its body, pleading for help to their loved ones in an incessant loop.
Truly.
It was a creature straight out of nightmares.
A grotesque Chimera.
"How is it possible that something so bizarre is alive?!!!"
Moreover, how was something like that imprisoned down here?
I mean, it appears powerful enough to break the steel door that confined it.
'...'
Before recklessly attacking the bizarre creature, I scrutinized it and realized numerous black chains were binding it.
'These chains... are made of mana.'
A recent event flashed in my memory.
This was the same spell I had witnessed in the capital.
High-level magic, Unbreakable Chain.
A spell capable of immobilizing the victim with unbreakable mana-formed chains, with release possible only at the summoner's discretion or upon their death.
While not an exclusive spell for one person, it required an expert wizard close to the level of an Archmage to cast.
Honestly, it left me perplexed.
Is there another Archmage in Herssian's kingdom whom I'm unaware of?
Is there some sort of social gathering or Archmage party occurring in the kingdom that I haven't heard about?
'This is bizarre!'
!!!
While contemplating the slim chances of encountering another magician of that caliber in the kingdom, I suddenly realized something I had overlooked.
'...'
Wait a minute...
Didn't these bandits wear black robes similar to the ones in the capital?
I hadn't connected the two groups before, as wearing such attire is common among criminal organizations.
Even with the use of this high-level spell, the probability of them being part of the same organization seemed low.
Yet, that seed of doubt was enough.
'There is a simple way to know the truth.'
***
In the command center.
Several men in black robes gathered, listening to the instructions of the apparent leader.
"Six more months?!"
An enraged voice filled the
room.
"I-I'm sorry, boss. It's taking longer than expected to gain control over the chimera. Even though we combined promising individuals with the creature, it doesn't show signs of intelligence enough to be trained..."
The boss, annoyed, inquired,
"How bad is it?"
"For now, it attacks everything in front of it... although we managed to get some good data when it attacked those villagers who rebelled recently."
The subordinate, sweating profusely, tried to highlight positive aspects like successful combat data collection.
"Hmm, its performance in combat was magnificent, especially that skill it used. However, it will be worthless if we are not able to control it."
The boss rose from his seat and looked down at his subordinate.
"I'll give you three more months to find a solution, or I'll have to find a replacement."
The chief's eyes displayed complete indifference and calm as he spoke.
The subordinate knew that a dreadful fate awaited him if he were to be replaced.
The person before him was the Southern division's Sub Leader.
Jones Beckett.
The second-highest-ranking individual assigned to the southern part of the Herssian kingdom.
In the organization's hierarchy, only the Supreme Leader of the South surpassed him in this region.
Why would someone of his stature be in a remote, unknown village?
The reason was simple.
Today was inspection day to evaluate the experiment's results happening here.
Thomas, the head of research, had the responsibility to achieve positive outcomes in this project.
Given Jones Beckett's temperament, it wouldn't be surprising to say that Thomas's life depended on the investigation's success.
"Y-yes, boss! In three months without fail, I will have good results for you."
As he watched his subordinate tremble while answering, Jones Beckett thought:
'What a bother to have to come all the way here for this kind of useless stuff. If it weren't for the leader's orders, I would have already beheaded this worthless man in this very place...'
Known for his quick temper, Jones Beckett hailed from a prestigious family and was considered a genius from birth due to his incredibly powerful unique ability.
His impatient and intolerant personality grew with the expectation that everything should be fulfilled perfectly.
He simply wanted to conclude the inspection quickly and leave.
"Alright, the next point I need to check is-"
Jones Beckett couldn't finish his sentence.
The entire command room began shaking violently.
'An earthquake in this place?'
As Jones Beckett exchanged quick surprised glances with the other black-robed men in the command room, a messenger rushed in with urgent news.
"The chimera has escaped!!!"
Everyone present showed shock.
"What are you talking about!? How is it possible for that creature to break free!!"
The messenger froze for a second under Jones Beckett's imposing presence but quickly regained composure, reporting:
"A-an intruder was reported in the basement where the chimera was kept. Most likely, he somehow released the chimera!!"
Hearing this, Jones Beckett's face twisted in anger.
"SEND SQUADS THREE AND FOUR IMMEDIATELY TO THE BASEMENT RIGHT NOW. DON'T LET THEM GET OUT OF THERE!!"
"Th-they have already withdrawn into the basement a few minutes ago. H-however... all communication was suddenly cut off."
"WHAT??!!"
As they argued,
*CRACK*
A massive gap opened in the command room's floor.
"Sh*t!!! This place is collapsing; everyone gets out of here now!!!"
The entire structure inside the cave, its floor, walls, and ceiling, began to collapse abruptly.
Personnel inside tried to evacuate quickly, but unfortunately, many were buried and crushed.
While everyone inside ran to escape before the cave collapsed, I, still cutting through 'people' in my path, observed the chaos unfolding.
"As I thought... Geronimo is not reacting at all."
With an intrigued expression, I was cutting a 'person' in half.
Numerous lifeless bodies lay on the floor, each cut in two with a single stroke.
The chimera was seen destroying walls and ceilings in a frenzy in the distance.
'The Chimera can't exit through the corridor due to its size. To move it from here, they must have used teleportation previously.'
I had freed the chimera in the same manner I freed the sisters in the capital, using Merlina.
Afterward, I swiftly distanced myself from the creature in the direction of the approaching black-robed bandits, eliminating anyone in my path to prevent them from reaching the chimera.
"This place will become your grave because of the very creature you created. How ironic."
The threat level assigned to this group had escalated significantly upon discovering the horrifying experiments they were conducting.
But my expression changed after uncovering the connection to the non-human kidnappers who had attacked the capital.
"Hahahaha."
An unexpected, unheroic laugh escaped my mouth.
'So deeply rooted is this organization that it operates even in this part of the kingdom in secret?'
I acknowledged that it was wrong to feel excitement at learning about a large criminal organization thriving in the shadows within the kingdom.
In fact, I felt great disgust for everything they had done.
Yet, it had been so long since I last faced a powerful and clearly evil enemy, one I could confront with all my might.
In a way, it felt somewhat refreshing.