A chuckle emanated throughout the room. Liko could tell by now the chuckle, that noise which annoyed him so heavily, was owned by Otis. He stopped next to Liko, his lips curled into a pleased smirk.
"It's a pleasure to see you again. You're looking lovely as always Lady Yura." And then, he got down on one knee, lowering his head respectfully.
Liko watched the man closely, a look of disdain on his face at the formal gesture.
Yura stood up, seemingly done with her petting. "Stay," she said under her breath.
She then walked over to the pair of visitors, her features becoming very clear to Liko. She was stunning.
Having dark blue hair and crystal blue eyes as well as freckles that filled her cheeks which were slightly red.
Her skin was very pale, not deathly so, but she clearly preferred staying inside over getting fresh air. She was also wearing a lab coat, however, unlike the workers, they'd run into previously hers appeared more disheveled.
The collar was folded slightly wrong and there were a couple of scuffs of dirt on the lower half of it. Her expression was inquisitive, as she gazed at Liko intently.
A couple seconds of awkward silence passed, and Otis used the time to rise back to his feet. As she looked him up and down, Liko never removed his eyes from her, curious about what she was thinking currently.
Seemingly grasping everything she could from him, her eyes fell on Otis, she spoke, having a casual tone.
"So, is he a volunteer for my experiments?"
"Hell no!" Liko quickly coughed up. His eyes were locked on the beasts behind her. Now that he was slightly closer, he could tell, those weren't normal bears.
One had the head of a raccoon, the other a wolf-head, and the last, while having a bear's face, had the eyes of a frog. He shivered in disgust.
Yura's cheeks puffed slightly, noticing his discontent.
"Hey don't look at them like that! Don't be rude! These are my adorable babies!"
"Adorable isn't the word I'd use for them…" He responded sourly.
Besides the chimera creatures that made him feel repulsed with each look, the room appeared relatively normal. It was a warehouse. He'd never have guessed such a thing was attached, given the previous room was a lab with many high-quality materials in it.
The only thing that seemed to stand out in the room, was the random boxes scattered throughout and a large red stain further away which very much resembled blood. Otis nodded his head, gesturing at Liko.
"I was hoping you could get him sorted with some herbs. He fought Wilson earlier. Have a pretty packed day so him being in better condition would be appreciated."
"Well, congrats on fighting that man and not dying. He's a beast in his own right. It's too bad he wouldn't let me run experiments on him…."
"Thank…you?" Liko didn't quite know how to respond.
Not only was he not used to praise but the last part about running experiments didn't do wonders for him to gleam anything positive from the woman.
So far besides her face which could be scored in the way above average category looks wise, he couldn't say she made the best first impression.
From the chimera creatures which she seemingly made to constantly going on about experiments that implied monsterization of some kind was disheartening, to say the least.
Yura released a disappointed sigh.
"That's pretty unfortunate that it seems I've been reduced to a mere doctor. I'd have thought there was something far more important like a new subject to research. Medicine is so boring after all."
"I can understand why you'd say that Lady Yura. You are a genius after all."
She huffed slightly at the praise, almost sounding frustrated however her face was all smiles. She clearly appreciated the compliment.
Yura shot Liko a curious glance as she started to walk past the two of them, the direction of her path being aimed toward the entrance door to the room.
The instant she passed them, he noticed yet another detail that set her apart from the other lab workers.
On her right sleeve, the symbol of the Legion was on it, however, it had two slashes instead of one like the door previously. While he noticed the symbol, he didn't ask about it, choosing to follow silently along with Otis.
With her back facing them she asked. "So, why do you look like that?"
Liko, assuming she was talking to him based on the look she'd given a moment ago responded. "I was born like this. It's my blessing."
The instant the eight-letter word came from his mouth, she whipped around quickly; rushing straight toward him until \her face was a mere inch away from his own.
"Really!? I haven't seen many heteromorphic blessing users."
Liko, unsure how to react to the lack of personal space, leaned back his head slightly. It didn't seem to change much though as he could still see into the depths of her eyes.
Much to his dismay, he couldn't detect signs of vibrance in them, the one thing he could clearly spot however was her pure curiosity. Her eyes were so focused on his, that it felt as if she were peering into the deepest part of his soul.
He responded, maintaining eye contact. "Um. Yeah?"
A bit of drool started to fall from her mouth but she quickly wiped it, backing up from him slightly.
She turned around, allowing a second of silence to fill the room as her back faced him.
"...Sorry. Didn't mean to do that. I was just curious is all, let's carry on," and then she continued walking forward.
He thought to himself. What part did you not mean to do? The soul staring or the 1-inch from face questionnaire?
Nonetheless, he followed along with his partner, who he was currently shooting a hostile gaze at. Otis, noticing the look turned away from him, whistling inconspicuously as they continued trodding along.
Liko had a sneaking suspicion that if Yura hadn't applied the art of self-control, he may have become a new test subject. It was clear Otis wasn't intending to intervene at least.
He wasn't currently in the best condition to resist either since earlier when Alto the wolf chimera attacked him, he pulled a leg muscle during the evasive maneuver used to dodge its attack.
It took all he could to just walk straight currently, which he was doing slightly slower than the two ahead of him.
At this point, the group of three had made it back into the main lab room having all the tables with items on them.
Three of the lab workers were still by the tree, however now they were sitting on stools, talking instead of analyzing and taking notes.
Also, the woman who'd spoken to them previously was sitting amongst them as well, being another voice in the discussion.
Yura, instead of walking into the room ahead, turned to her right, facing a stone wall. She reached out her palm, touching directly at shoulder level. She held the hand there for about five seconds before a noise rang out.
Bing Ding
The stone wall suddenly shifted, opening up to reveal a staircase leading downward. The group walked down it, Liko in the back, Otis in the middle, and Yura at the front being their guide.
Wherever they were headed was completely dark.
The only thing serving as security to prevent a slip-and-fall accident was a handrail attached to the wall. Liko chose to use the handrail, hovering his hand above it just in case as they continued traversing further.
The staircase was longer than he would've assumed as it felt like they'd been walking down it for a minute or so.
The click and clack of Yura's heels echoed all around them.
It was the only thing getting picked up by his auditory senses besides the sounds of their own footsteps. Everything else was deathly quiet.
Eventually, after what felt like a lifetime of walking, Liko felt a shift, as he took another step, then another, realizing he was on the flat ground finally.
Then, he heard a finger snap from up ahead of him and the darkened area was illuminated. Candles encased in a sort of glass container were the source of light, being attached to every corner of the room.
Otis chuckled, muttering under his breath. "Let there be light."
The new room shared similarities with the others the group had visited, having stone tables with several monsters' remains and herbs but there were a couple of differences.
For one, unlike all the previous areas, the room appeared to be made from a different material, one silver-colored and shiny.
On the left side of the room, there was a mahogany desk, having a nameplate with the name Yura on it.
Also, a couple of feet behind that desk were tubes. They were at least 6 feet tall, having some strange blue liquid in them.
What was even stranger than the tubes however was what was held inside them, appearing to be human bodies.
At least 20 were in immediate view. One in the front, in particular, had just a head floating in it. The name Floyd Silvers was inscribed on the nameplate at the bottom of the tube.
Yura continued walking forward, her eyes focused on one place, her desk. Upon reaching it she stopped, crouching behind it as the creak of a wooden drawer being opened sounded out after.
"What is this room's purpose?" Liko questioned, his voice having a mix of curiosity as well as slight concern.
"It's where I hold my most important research." She rose, her hand appearing to be grasping something. As she started walking back toward him, she continued.
"Oh yeah, this is probably common sense but never, and I mean never try and enter here without permission. Especially meddling with anything, okay?"
She stopped right in his face; her tone had a jovial glint in it.
If it weren't for her eyes which didn't have a shred of emotion in them, he'd have assumed she was jokingly threatening him. He knew better, however.
Liko scoffed, turning his head away from hers defiantly.
"I would never. This place is too unsettling for me to want to come back to, especially just to mess with things."
"Hmm… Palm."
He hesitantly complied, feeling something cold fall into his hand. He looked down, seeing a golden sphere the size of a fingernail in it.
"If you ingest it whole, you should be all right." She walked past him, starting to head back up the staircase without another word.
Liko watched her walk up the stairs, a conflicted expression on his face. He glanced toward Otis. "Will this really work?"
"Of course. I wouldn't have brought you here if it wouldn't. You're so mistrusting." The man responded with a voice holding back a laugh or at the very least chuckle.
A snap came from the direction of Yura. The candles which had been lit suddenly got snuffed out, Yura's voice cutting through the darkness.
"Well, that's that. Otis, I trust you'll leave using your ability. No need to exit through our front door."
"Indeed. See you next time Lady Yura."
A hand touching Liko's shoulder was the last thing he remembered before his surroundings of darkness was no more.