### Chapter 245 – Room 202, Cursed Room – ‘Mermaid Princess’ (23)
—
– Elena
The place Serenade guided us to was at the end of a corridor directly connected to Imelda’s residence. It was only upon standing in front of that door that we realized we had made quite a big mistake earlier.
“…”
“…”
“Sister, I think we shouldn’t have killed Imelda.”
Serenade didn’t respond.
The final card prepared by the Bureau was none other than a door requiring the ‘living’ biometric information of Imelda. Come to think of it, it’s pretty common for security systems to ask for the biometric info of high-ranking individuals, right?
A moment later, Serenade brought in a terrified-looking guy. Thankfully, it seemed there were others besides Imelda who could open the door.
This rather unassuming dude held the quite significant title of deputy director, despite being just an ordinary human who was blissfully untouched by the bizarre creatures.
He was sweating buckets, pleading for his life. Apparently, he had seen Serenade mercilessly take down Imelda from a distance.
Of course, Serenade, not particularly harboring any vendetta against the guy who looked as if he were a bit out of place, promised not to kill him.
In the center of the facility stood a rather enormous tank.
“What’s this? A giant Rudakh?”
The Rudakhs we had seen until now had been toddler-sized, maybe as big as a mushroom. But the one in front of me was nearly the size of a human head.
“What the hell? Didn’t you just say something familiar about it? Rudakh is not a thing—”
“I could’ve sworn I heard ‘pipe’! This is my first time seeing it in person too.”
“Yes, it’s a pipe. And it’s also an object. All of you daughters of the sea gods, look up!”
The deputy director pressed a button on the wall, and as I spun around, startled by the sudden light from the ceiling, I found myself dumbfounded.
The Tank.
Countless tanks were suspended from the ceiling, entangled in unknown wires. Inside each tank was something resembling a ‘human’.
The deputy director’s voice filled with excitement broke the silence.
“The PIPE! You folks call it the Resting Pipe, right? It’s a truly marvelous object. Do you know what powers it holds?”
“… It weakens nightmares.”
That was something Seungyub had heard from Rilinganor during the first attempt.
“Haha! That’s correct, but also a completely pointless answer. You left out the ‘how’. How does the pipe stop the nightmares?”
Time was of the essence. Luckily, the deputy director didn’t seem interested in engaging us in philosophical debates.
“I suppose I should give you all a pointless explanation. I don’t know. No one does. Nobody in this world can comprehend the principle of the pipe! Because the pipe was bestowed by the gods. How could mere humans grasp the principle of a divine artifact? Would a cat understand quantum mechanics? Likewise, we can’t grasp the divine capabilities!”
“What are you trying to—”
“But that doesn’t mean we know nothing. At least we’ve figured out that the pipe weakens the sea god’s power! The cessation of nightmares is a direct result of the weakening of the sea god’s power.”
The idea that the pipe weakened the sea god’s power felt a bit off to me.
“But the sea god bestowed the pipe, right?”
“Exactly. The sea god delivered an artifact that weakens its own power to humans. That’s the pipe’s greatest mystery! Well, enough idle chatter. Look back up at the ceiling! What do you see?”
“People trapped in tanks….”
“People? People? No! What are those ‘things’ compared to humans? Don’t get fixated on forms. Those are merely ‘bio-pipes’. They are our greatest invention! The original material of the pipe you use isn’t found anywhere on Earth. That’s why mass production was a painstaking problem.”
“Don’t tell me….”
“Research! More budget! More time! It took us over ten years to realize that a human body could replace the pipe. After years of suffering, we succeeded! It’s a leap! A great leap!”
As the deputy director pressed the button again, the ‘bio-pipes’ began to awaken and flop around in their tanks.
“Ugh!”
… For the first time, I felt nauseated. At the same time, I was overcome with a strong urge to smash the deputy director’s head.
Those mindless thoughts faded as the bio-pipes began flopping out of the tanks. They didn’t appear to possess normal intelligence. We needed some way to control those beings.
That’s when I finally understood the purpose of the gigantic Rudakh in the center of the facility.
“Is this how you intend to control those ‘pipes’? How?”
The deputy director said calmly.
“You all have to research that method from now on.”
“…”
“…”
What?
While I was flabbergasted, Serenade couldn’t hold back any longer!
“This piglet, for real! I’ve been listening to your crazy talk and—”
“Whoa! Freeze! The ‘orchestra’ is still incomplete!”
“Sis, hold on. Where’s the incompleteness here?”
“I’ve created a ‘conductor’ to control the living pipes, but I have no way to control the conductor itself.”
“… So you made a remote to control a machine but can’t control the remote, huh?”
“Impressive understanding.”
Just as Serenade stood there in a daze, she suddenly burst out laughing.
“What’s so hard about that?”
“…”
“Come on, everyone knows how to control a Rudakh! Our ancestors figured it out 800 years ago and passed it down for generations! Your Bureau learns it and uses it like a pro!”
“…”
“Just implant it into a human.”
— Clank!
Serenade crashed the tank, yanked out the ‘conductor’ Rudakh. The squishy Rudakh wrapped around her arm and she slowly approached the deputy director.
“W-What is this? Why are you coming to me?”
“I’m going to implant it into you.”
“Eh? No way! We already tried numerous implant attempts and—”
“They all died, right?”
“…”
“Who could possibly survive having such a monster implanted? How many people did you kill trying to implant this, you crazy pig?!”
“You promised you wouldn’t kill me—”
Before he could finish that sentence, the deputy director turned to stone. Serenade coolly shoved the gigantic snail into his body. It didn’t take long before his body started writhing like jello.
I didn’t really feel sorry for him. The researchers in this facility had clearly crossed the line of human decency. More than that, I was relieved that as the ‘conductor’ entered the deputy director’s body, it seemed to emerge unscathed.
Now, what to do?
At first, I thought about using the escape method I used on Kain. The so-called ‘fish transformation’. Of course, it didn’t take long to realize that was impossible.
In terms of the story, Kain has never done anything wrong toward the sea god. Thus, he could transform as a pure being and avoid the sea god’s wrath. On the other hand, I’m a descendant of a sinner.
The notion of my ancestors’ first sins being forgiven is a theory, but let’s set that aside. I’ve worked in this research facility, so no matter how you slice it, I’m a sinner.
It didn’t come easy to think of a way to dodge the sea god’s wrath. Instead of abandoning the fish transformation, I thought maybe I could rely on this pipe that weakens the sea god’s power.
If I could somehow control that ‘conductor’ and harness the power of the ‘living pipes’ flooding this place, I could suppress the madness spreading throughout the facility. Who knows, I might even be able to thwart that ominous force of the sea god looming from afar.
I reached out toward the ‘conductor’ to try and control it, but it was laughably futile. The ‘queen Rudakh’ dwelling within me and Serenade can dominate and control the weaker Rudakhs. But this ‘conductor’ appeared several times stronger than the queen Rudakh. Of course, my commands had no effect whatsoever.
As I leaned against the wall, feeling faint, Serenade had already gone outside to bring back unaffected humans. Soon, a mixed group of slimes and people began to gather around us.
…
It’s surprising that I haven’t thrown up yet. Eunsol once said that her stomach had become bulletproof through her experiences at the hotel, and that’s exactly how I felt right now.
When there were about four slimes, I grabbed Serenade’s arm.
“Sis, let’s call it a day. If we leave these research facility folks alone, they’ll all die anyway.”
“So what should we do? Should we go for an implant ourselves?”
“We already have the Rudahks inside of us! Can it even be possible to implant two? Think this over a bit more—”
“Elena, did you time travel too?”
… Is she still believing the nonsense Kain told? But then again, it’s not entirely a lie either.
“…”
“You did, huh? You seem a lot different than before.”
With those words, Serenade made a slightly nostalgic expression.
“This time, I’ll give it a shot. If I fail, you handle it next time, okay?”
“Serenade….”
“I’m glad you’re able to time travel. It’s a relief – really, a relief.”
I felt a spark of madness in Serenade’s eyes.
To witness the being I had believed to be a royalty of the gods reduced to a lab rat, the sight of countless hybrids blending human and fish, and the imminent descent of the sea god signaling unavoidable doom.
To top it off, I felt that Serenade had completely let go in the overwhelming tide of madness flooding the research center. Her mind had surely crossed the point of no return.
Eventually, another slime joined the mix. Now I was left completely alone in this insane place.
Leaning against the research facility wall, I realized I was truly, truly alone. The comrades I’d relied on all seemed to be dead. It looked as if even the NPCs I thought would remain sane were nowhere in sight.
Indeed, ‘hell’ was a fitting term to describe this gruesome atmosphere.
…
Ironically, I had an ability perfectly suited for this atmosphere. Sinister imaginings began to envelop the entirety of the facility.
Strangely enough, the environment of the research center was ideal for me to use my powers. Even the most positive person would feel they were in hell in this place.
I simply fervently prayed. For salvation for myself and everyone.
That the child born from this hell would be strong enough to accept the ‘conductor’.
So that I could lead the living orchestra and calm all this chaos.
And from the darkness, a moth awakened.
—
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