novelraw Chapter 115 : Research Facility
Chapter 115 : Research Facility
Chapter 115: Research Facility
Before going down, they listened to Duncan’s brief explanation.
In the pitch-dark underground, visibility was extremely limited.
It would be better to have torches than not, but they could not think in terms of normal visibility.
“Then how did you wander around for that long?”
“I followed Maria. That girl seems to have been underground before.”
“With no light at all, she found the way?”
Maria somehow found a way to live.
In the underground, no different from having one’s eyes closed, she led the bandits.
The remaining bandits also harbored the hope that they might survive.
“If we hadn’t gone toward that creepy room, I wouldn’t have run out by myself.”
“What creepy room?”
“There’s a room that feels like you’ll die if you go near it…….”
Duncan trembled as he recalled that moment.
He could not see even an inch ahead, but he ran.
It wasn’t that he had particularly good intuition, but he could tell.
That if he took just a few more steps, he would never be able to get out.
“Shouldn’t you reconsider, even now……?”
“Not a chance.”
Sigbard gripped Duncan’s shoulder tightly.
Duncan’s expression twisted.
‘It would be better to assume there’s something down there.’
How could they create a more advantageous situation?
Watching Duncan force himself to take steps, he thought.
‘Should we collapse the second floor.’
If they did that, they could secure visibility.
If they didn’t think about what came after, it was possible.
But it wasn’t a good idea.
Not only could they not deal damage to a wraith by ordinary means,
but if things went wrong, the entire building could collapse.
“Duncan, tell me about the characteristics of a wraith.”
“W, wraiths are said to be spirits that couldn’t let go of their regrets and became monsters…….”
“Not that. What do they react to?”
“Obviously, living people, aren’t they…….”
Robin stared straight at Duncan.
“W, why are you looking at me like that…….”
‘We might be able to lure the wraiths to one place.’
“Duncan.”
“Y, yes!”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
As they walked down the corridor, a wardrobe caught his eye.
“We don’t need guidance. I’ll find the way myself.”
“W, why all of a sudden……?”
“Instead, I’ll use you as bait.”
Duncan blinked, as if he thought he had misheard.
As Robin carried over the wardrobe, a sense of reality slowly returned.
“I’ll spread holy water thinly. Get inside this and draw the wraiths’ attention.”
“That’s ridiculous! You’re basically telling me to die!”
“Think carefully. Going with me, or staying here. Which is better?”
“T, that is…….”
He couldn’t refute Robin’s words.
Staying here had a higher chance of survival than going down there.
Even if he had to be surrounded by wraiths.
“If you do your job properly, we’ll finish things quickly too.”
“Are you really going down…….”
“Yes. Dealing with that many wraiths with three bottles of holy water won’t be easy.”
Duncan, who forced himself to appear calm, asked one thing.
“If things go well… will you spare me?”
“Yes. So endure it to the end.”
“I understand…….”
It wasn’t that he trusted the swordsman in front of him.
Even so, he asked whether he would be spared to suppress his anxiety.
This was something he could never do with a clear mind.
“Rest for a moment, I’ll apply the holy water.”
He caught his breath for a short while, but Duncan couldn’t rest easy.
Seeing the holy water being scattered over the wardrobe, he sensed something was wrong.
“Th, that… aren’t you being a bit too stingy…….”
The trivial protest didn’t work at all.
Just the sweat shed so far was probably more than that.
The holy water Robin used wasn’t even a third of it.
“All set.”
Duncan squeezed his eyes shut.
As he walked toward the wide-open wardrobe, he prayed.
That this wouldn’t be the end.
Wraiths gathered around the wardrobe placed at the far end of the second floor.
However, despite their numbers, they only hovered around.
They did not pass through the wardrobe.
‘The effect of the holy water is better than expected.’
Even Robin himself had been doubtful, but it went surprisingly smoothly.
Now there were no wraiths around the underground entrance.
“H, hiiik!”
The more Duncan trembled in fear, the less the wraiths shifted their attention.
They waited for the holy water’s effect to wear off.
Thanks to that, they went down to the underground without any major clashes.
Step. Step.
The underground, filled with icy air, was empty.
Bringing torches made it much better than before.
‘It’s definitely darker than outside.’
What he had said about limited visibility was true.
Beyond ten meters, it was pitch-black.
‘Still, this is something.’
It was far better than lighting the way with matches.
They advanced little by little at an unhurried pace.
“Robin, I’ll take the lead.”
Sigbard passed by his side, holding the rod out front.
The rod imbued with holy water moved strangely within the darkness.
There was no difference from before, yet the area around the rod felt alien.
‘Does holy water have the effect of dispelling darkness.’
Robin raised his sword forward as well.
Even though the path ahead was lit with a torch, the area around the sword was far clearer.
Two bottles of holy water remained.
They split them, one for Sigbard and one for himself.
The fact that they could deal damage even to ghost-like monsters instilled confidence.
Creak. Creeeak. Creak.
The intermittently audible sound made Robin stop.
It was faint, yet distinct.
Sigbard moved his steps cautiously.
“Here.”
Standing in front of the door, Sigbard adjusted his grip on the rod.
‘Is this the place Duncan mentioned.’
A sinister air spread everywhere, but there was no presence threatening enough to end their lives.
Sigbard slowly opened the door.
Creeeek.
A sound that could not be distinguished as the door’s noise or something else entirely.
The room illuminated by the torch was no different from the other rooms.
“There’s something here.”
In the farthest corner, the shape of a person could be seen.
As they approached a little closer, the figure was standing with her back turned, opening and closing a drawer.
One of Maria’s group.
A woman with a fierce-looking face.
“What are you doing there.”
Sigbard asked, but there was no reply.
He stepped closer.
“I asked what you’re doing.”
“…….”
“Are you dead or something.”
Thud.
Sigbard grabbed the woman’s shoulder and spun her body around.
She was alive.
However, her condition was extremely bad.
Her body had withered to the point it was hard to believe she was the same person.
Her eyes had turned cloudy white, as if she were blind.
Sigbard waved his hand in front of her eyes, but there was no reaction.
Robin examined the drawer the woman had been opening and closing.
“A doll?”
Inside was an animal doll that a child would like.
When he picked up the teddy bear among them, the woman turned her head.
Precisely toward the doll.
She stretched out her hand, her mouth opening and closing, but she could not reach it.
Thump.
Like a tree that had reached the end of its lifespan collapsing, she fell straight over.
Sigbard lifted the woman up, but she had already drawn her last breath.
“What do you think she was doing alone with a doll.”
“She died leaving nothing but questions.”
They looked around the room, but there was nothing unusual.
Only the dolls in the drawer were the sole trace of humanity here.
“Let’s keep going.”
Robin stared silently at the teddy bear, then tucked it into his arms.
It was a doll with a pocket sewn into its belly.
‘It might be useful somewhere.’
One should not carelessly touch the belongings of the dead.
However, this building was overrun with wraiths.
If they were wraiths that had been trapped for a long time, they might react to a doll.
‘If not, then so be it.’
He followed behind Sigbard, who boldly stepped forward.
They made a full circuit of the underground, but it was unexpectedly ordinary.
No survivors, no monsters appeared.
‘Did Duncan lie.’
But his terrified expression had been unmistakable.
It could have been acting, but if it were that level of acting, he would have acknowledged being fooled.
“Sigbard, don’t you sense anything else?”
“This area is correct. If I had to say, it’s below.”
“Could there be a second basement level.”
“That might be the case. Step aside, Robin.”
Before anyone could stop him, Sigbard swung the rod down at the floor.
Bang!
“The floor is quite solid.”
The stone floor only cracked. It was still intact.
Bang! Baaang!
‘Wouldn’t it be better to find an entrance rather than smashing it like a brute.’
The cracked floor slowly split apart.
Rumble.
It collapsed wide enough for several people to enter at once.
At the same time, Robin’s nerves stood on end.
Demonic energy leaked out from the collapsed floor.
‘What is this all of a sudden.’
“Robin, get ready.”
There was no need to ask what he meant by get ready.
He had already heightened his tension and taken up a combat stance.
Amid the demonic energy that rose in wisps, the sounds of monsters came up.
Grrrraaa.
Looking down, dozens of ghouls were staring upward.
Whoom. Whooong.
Sigbard spun his rod and tried to leap down.
Robin hurriedly stopped him.
“Wait a moment!”
“Why.”
Sigbard looked at him as if asking what the problem was.
Ghouls were no threat.
But that was not the end of it.
“Even I know there’s something more dangerous inside.”
Robin also wanted to check it immediately.
With this level of demonic energy, there might really be a member of the Demon Tribe here.
Even so, Robin suppressed his fighting spirit.
“Those ghouls… don’t they look like people?”
Sigbard withdrew his rod and examined them closely.
All the ghouls were wearing similar clothes.
Normally, ghouls did not wear clothes.
Monsters had no sense of shame.
“And their skin looks fine too.”
Robin was right.
Unlike the shriveled, rotting ghouls, the ones below were closer to humans.
They lacked intelligence and had a hostile air, but calling them monsters felt off.
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I’ll drop a single drop of holy water.”
Ghouls were not astral-type monsters like wraiths, but they were a kind of undead.
They were extremely incompatible with holy water imbued with divine power.
Even a single drop touching them would cause a violent reaction.
Drip.
He opened the glass bottle and let one drop fall.
The holy water touched the forehead of the one in the center.
Grrrraaa.
It only let out a phlegm-filled cry.
There was no sign of pain.
“If they’re not monsters, then what in the world are they.”
“Who knows…….”
Suddenly, Duncan’s words crossed his mind.
-They say experiments related to the Demon Tribe were conducted in the past.
-Experiments to combine humans and demons.
‘Was that true?’
Come to think of it, most of them were dressed similarly.
As if for experimentation, they wore white lab coats.
‘Then are the one-piece outfits like patient gowns?’
If this place had been used as a kind of research facility, it fit perfectly.
A research facility that conducted human experiments using living people.
‘But it doesn’t make sense that they survived for years.’
There were no traces of food being supplied to an abandoned facility.
In the first place, he hadn’t even known there was a second basement level.
Robin was confused.
Step. Step.
Unusually heavy footsteps echoed.
The people who had turned into ghouls obediently stepped aside.
Rather than intelligence, it was an action closer to instinct.
The owner of the footsteps met Robin’s eyes.
“Why weren’t you coming, oppa.”
“Maria.”
“You found something I didn’t want you to see.”
Maria let out a deep sigh and looked around.
“What kind of place is this, anyway.”
“Didn’t you hear from Duncan? This is a research facility.”
“Research to combine the Demon Tribe and humans?”
It sounded absurd, but Maria answered as if it were obvious.
“Yes. It was established for the purpose of creating half-human, half-demons.”
“It’s hard to believe, but I have no choice but to believe it.”
“Of course. It already succeeded.”
Maria’s expression was calm.
How she could be fine underground.
How much she knew.
There were many things he wanted to ask, but he didn’t.
“You’re not going to answer my questions, are you?”
“If you cooperate, I could tell you everything.”
“What kind of cooperation?”
The corners of Maria’s lips lifted slightly.
“Die quietly.”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps approached from behind Maria.
“Corpse golem?”
A golem made by fusing dozens of people.
Not just one.
Three came forward, then merged together, their bulk swelling even larger.
“Do you have any intention of cooperating now?”
“No.”
The holy water applied to the sword glinted in the torchlight.
“I don’t think I’m going to lose.”
“I figured as much.”
Maria crooked her finger toward Robin.
The corpse golem’s fist smashed into the floor with a ferocious roar.