"Where am I?" I demanded, as I fixed him with a hostile stare.
"P-Please don't kill me...! I was just hired to do my job, nothing more!" He quivered. I took another step forward, not caring about his situation.
"I said… where am I? I ain't got all day."
"Y-You're in a secret facility that conducts tests on fresh bodies!"
"What tests?"
"Tests where we implant magical instruments and the parts of other species together!"
"The parts of other species together? A Chimera…?" I whispered. At the sound of the word Chimera, the man's body jolted, and he had a surprised look on his face.
"H-How do you know about the Chimera Project?!"
"You don't need to know that. Is the branch leader of Cronas here?"
In a split second, the gloved man averted his eyes and kept his mouth shut.
"So, they are here… wonderful."
In a series of unfortunate events, it was fate itself that led me here. I can't tell if I'm lucky or unlucky. What else should I ask him?
"Ah! Was there another person who was taken in for tests, too?"
He slowly shifted his eyes to meet mine, and before he could open his mouth, the door behind us flew open.
"Pike! Where are you?" A female voice shouted in anger. I tried to silent Pike by putting my hand over his mouth while signaling for him to be quiet, but it was of no use. Almost immediately, the angry woman swiped away at the curtains. A female clad in thick armor, with a long scar running down her left eye, drew back the curtains and viewed us both huddled together. In swift movements, she took out a small device and pressed a red button, speaking into it.
"He's escap-"
Her sentence was cut short as a sword was now embedded deep within the woman's chest. She glanced at the weapon with a look of shock, and released the object from her grasp, causing it to shatter into fragments. She too fell onto her knees and plummeted straight to the floor face-first. A pool of blood slowly stained the checkered floor. Pike took a step back, looking on in horror.
"Holy Fu!-"
I chopped the man's neck with my hand, knocking him unconscious. I laid him on the bed gently and got up, pulling my sword out of the woman grimly.
"…Killing people who look like humans leaves a sour taste in my mouth. However, if you threaten me or my family with evil intentions, I won't hesitate to kill you."
I don't know why I said that out loud when there was no one nearby who would hear it. Maybe it was meant for my ears only and I was just finding an excuse to justify my actions…
I took one last look at the fallen woman behind me. I shook my head at the scene and walked out of the room, leaving those two behind. The corridor was illuminated just like the room I was just in. Instead of bricks, the walls were made of smooth stone. A series of doors were planted into each wall. As I walked by them, they had name plates next to the frames.
"Looking at the plates, it seems they are divided into sections. Are there multiple floors in this musty building?"
Each room had the same layout, although some had a body on the metal sheet in the middle. The bodies would have a limb missing or their stomachs would be cut open, with some organs missing or replaced. There was one where a body had its brain removed. It was kind of cool to look at. If my sister were here, these sites would have her gagging in disgust. As for me, I'm the complete opposite. I enjoy watching those types of videos that go into gory detail about the human body. Laila would call me a weirdo for enjoying them…
A blaring alarm echoed across the halls, causing me to flinch. It was like a posse of ambulances was driving through here, but the noise was amplified by megaphones. Up above, a crimson light bathed the area. As if I was being chased by a monster, I checked through each of the doors with incredible speed, scanning every room and looking for Myra, though she was nowhere to be seen.
"She might be somewhere else!"
At the end of the corridor was a stairwell ascending and descending. Near a wall was a sign.
I was at a loss for where to go. I could not speak to the person wearing the apron earlier, because I was in a hurry and was not sure if backup would come. Going back now isn't worth it…
"The signal was disrupted at Level B!" someone barked from above. The sound of heavy boots smacking against the concrete in the quiet halls was thunderous. A few moments later, more armed personnel arrived shouting at me.
"There's the escapee! Catch him!"
Finding Myra as of now is my top priority. I can't waste my time fighting a group of people in these tight hallways.
"Down I go!"
I rapidly descended the steps, plunging deeper into the depths below. Signs on the walls portraying the levels passed by in a flash of letters.
Just how many levels are in this damned place?! Whoever runs this base must be a hotshot or someone extremely wealthy person. This weird place all but increases the probability of the branch leader of Cronas being here.
As I reached Level F, what awaited me were more of those bastards.
"Why are they having trouble with this one?" A serpent-man hissed as its reptilian eyes gazed at me. He was wearing a sleeveless chest piece of silver, his green scales visible. Underneath his torso was a long tail, its tip flickering like a maraca.
"Either the other members are that weak, or this is one slippery son of a bitch!" Another screeched. She looked to be the same species as Nevar. It was a black bird resembling that of a raven. She had a frail-looking body and armor way too big on her, like a short, skinny teenager cosplaying as a paladin. On her back was a pair of black wings.
From behind, the footsteps were faint, but they were definitely catching up to me. I should start mov-
An axe whizzed past my body, almost decapitating my head clean off. If I hadn't noticed the birdbrain move at the last second and not backed away, I would've died!
"Oh? You dodged that?" It squawked.
"Of course I did. You're slow after all. In the head and body," I mocked, tapping at my temples. That only seemed to have infuriated the two even more.
"You cocky basta-"
In an instant, both serpent and birdbrain were impaled by an icicle the length of a metal pole. The bird died in the blink of an eye, but the serpent was still alive, howling in pain.
"You think I'll be done in by mere ice?!" The serpent scowled as he was clutching his gaping chest wound.
I appeared right in front of the lizard as I pulled out my sword from the Inventory. "Yes, I do, actually."
"N-No matter how far you run… you will not escape from Ruin…" he croaked. I swung my blade and chopped off the head of the serpent. His head rolled away as a trail of green blood followed suit.
Ruin…? The way he worded it made it sound like Ruin was after us. Perhaps they were the ones who sent those people to us in the forest. That would mean Ruins base of operations is somewhere in Aglona, and the branch leaders are part of Ruin. We're dealing with an evil syndicate here… This is getting exciting! Toppling an evil organization is on my bucket list, right behind meeting a dragon in person!
While I was in fantasy land, I hadn't noticed a squadron of mages preparing their magic in secret.
"Fire!"
I whirled my body around and was met with a sea of flames. I held my arms up defensively as clothes and skin singed from the fire. My [Heat Resistance] automatically activated, weakening the power of the flames. The onslaught of magic stopped, and the mages prepared again as a vanguard of sword-wielders marched forward in rows of two in this cramped hallway.
"Lining yourself up for me? Wonderful!"
I held my palm up when another wave of flames was slung forward. Using my [Energy Manipulation] the flames sizzled into nothingness. My enemies had faces of pure shock.
"He's a disabler! Save your mana reservoir!" A swordsman from the back row yelled. He had a sword and shield equipped wearing a full suit of armor. On his helmet was a single red feather amidst his silver color palette.
"Have you guys seen an elf around these parts?" I said to the group.
"Surrender to Ruin, puny sacrifice!" he answered firmly.
"A sacrifice? That's not nice at all!"
I went into a defensive stance with my weapon as the first two swordsmen swung their blades at me. I easily evaded both swings and went on the offensive, rendering through their armor like a sharp knife cutting through wet meat. Not stopping for a second and keeping Zelkes swordsmanship training in mind, I charged through the mob of enemies. I would clash blades with one while the other would take that opportunity to attack, thinking I was full of openings. Too bad he died when an icicle stabbed through his skull.
One hand was all I needed to deal with a single person. A single icicle to the head from me can kill them instantly. The person I was clashing blades with faltered for a moment at their comrade's death, and I took that chance to slice his arm off. He howled in pain, holding his leaking arm, and I simply thrust my blade into his head. Knowing I could use magic as well, the commander switched his orders.
"Men! Fall back! I'll deal with this one!"
The troops fell back and created enough space to let the commander through.
"Mages!"
The mages who were saving their mana in the back nodded their heads in agreement and started a new chant. The commander's body shined with golden light for a moment, and it was gone. As a lifelong gamer, that could only mean one thing.
"They gave you buffs, didn't they! That is totally unfair!"
He replied by holding his shield with his left arm and charged forward, his face red and fierce. I held my sword up to top his charge, but I hadn't accounted for how great the buffs were. The man applied the full force of his weight onto his shield, resulting in me being thrown backwards. Since I lost my footing, the commander slashed his longsword horizontally.
"Woah now!"
Just barely was I able to defend against the blow, although it was extremely awkward to do so, and that action had me fall onto my back. The commander didn't let up and stabbed his sword downward. I rolled away from the attack and steadied myself up.
"Not only can you run away like a coward, but you also dodge like one," the man snarled.
"I don't want to hear that from someone like you!"
The commander and I traded blows with each other for a while. I'm still a little woozy from earlier, so my attacks are a little sluggish. Even then, as the fight went on, I could feel myself returning to normal, although it was slow. The commander noticed this and was feeling himself getting pushed back.
"Mages!"
"Oh no you don't!"
I raised another palm toward the back line and unleashed a flurry of icicles. They flew with great speed at the mages, yet they didn't make their mark as the remaining swordsman sliced them away.
"Tch!"
The man I was facing increased in strength as more buffs were applied. Instead of him being pushed back, it was me. As I was thinking of a solution to deal with the mages and the commander, a miracle appeared. Panic arose in the ranks as someone yelled,
"S-STOP HER!"
Curious about what was happening, I looked past the commander and saw that a person was killing the mages one by one on top of the stairs. Peering a little closer, I recognized who it was.
"Ha! There you are!"
It was Myra, slicing and dicing her way through the swarm.