“What the hell is going on!?”
Kentric, the head of the underground facility, couldn’t grasp the sudden situation.
The intruder who suddenly barged in was a real no-nonsense kinda guy.
He was slaughtering every church member in sight.
From combatants to researchers and even the faithful.
The massacre did not discriminate and swiftly broke through all their defenses.
It was truly alarming speed, fit for a monster.
“We’ve lost contact with the last defensive line…”
“Director! Please give us orders!!”
The church members gathered in what looked like a command room were looking at him.
However, he was primarily a researcher, not a combatant.
It was painfully clear that his involvement wouldn’t change the situation.
“Damn it… damn it…!!”
Could the One Who Steals Lives really have this kind of combat power…?
The church combatants slaughtered just now were decent fighters within the organization.
Not as strong as the core black knights, but they could easily handle a mercenary group or a single platoon of the kingdom’s army.
That they had been wiped out in just a few dozen seconds without being able to fight back was shocking.
“The last defensive magic has been breached! The enemy is about to arrive here!”
“We must stop him! No matter what it takes, prevent him from coming here! Everyone out to fight!!”
Now that things had come to this, there was no time for mercy.
Even if their identities were exposed to the kingdom, they had to escape with the data on the experiments.
“What about the subject!? What happened to the subject!?”
“The adjustments aren’t finished yet…”
“You idiot! Do you think it’s the time for adjustments!?! If we hesitate, we’re all dead!! Wake him up! Get him to fight that guy!”
“Y-yes, understood!!”
At his urgent shout, a church member nodded and ran off somewhere, while Kentric clenched his teeth with a crunch.
“You, One Who Steals Lives…!! How dare you…!!!”
He would make him pay double for this price.
Muttering that to himself, Kentric hurried off with his subordinates.
*
What was happening there could only be described as slaughter.
“Ugh, AAAAAAH!?”
“DEMON!! IT’S A DEMON!!”
Pools of blood spreading across the floor, spikes of shadow pouring down from the darkness, screams and death throes of fleeing church members.
All this chaos combined turned the facility into utter hell.
“Death to those who refuse the great death!!”
Some desperate church members charged at Rudell with weapons…
Spurt!
Only to end up skewered by spikes that erupted from the ground, lying there like piles of meat as they met their demise.
Thus, a battle that was hardly deserving of the name ended…
“It seems we have eliminated all visible enemies.”
“Looks like it.”
Kurt, pulling an axe from a fallen church member, spoke, and Rudell nodded in agreement.
Before them lay a horrific scene, yet Rudell felt no emotions whatsoever.
He was merely clearing away trash.
That was all Rudell felt at that moment.
“What now?”
“Let’s go deeper inside.”
If there were more church members, they’d just have to clear them out.
With that thought, Rudell headed deeper into the facility.
“It’s quiet.”
Perhaps the church members they had just wiped out were the last, as the dark corridor was literally silent as a mouse.
A sense of foreboding crossed his mind, but he had no intention of stopping.
He was determined to completely uproot the church from this place today.
As he continued down the passageway…
“Wait a second.”
“What’s wrong?”
Rudell questioned as Kurt stopped with a tense expression.
“There’s something up ahead.”
“There’s something up ahead?”
At that, Rudell looked up to see nothing but deep darkness ahead.
In that moment…
“…!!”
Feeling a chilling magic from ahead, Rudell swallowed hard and drew up his magic.
A curtain of shadows rose to block his path, and at the same time, thud sounds erupted as sharp red spikes lodged into the shadow barrier.
“This is…”
Spikes formed of magic imbued with a red aura.
He had seen them once before.
[UHHHHH…!!]
Rudell gulped at the sight, and then, from beyond the corridor’s darkness, a pair of red eyes glimmered.
“Just as I thought…”
It couldn’t end so easily.
Before him appeared an unidentified being once more.
He tensed at the sight of the fake One Who Steals Lives.
Compared to their previous encounter, its magic was definitely stronger.
Clearly, the church must have done something in the meantime.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll knock him out.”
Of course, he had no intention of retreating now.
[AAAAAAAH-!!]
The fake One Who Steals Lives’ red eyes glinted at Rudell as he readied himself for battle.
The crimson magic began to spread around him, and structures around, saturated with that red magic, began to crumble into pieces.
Kabooooom…!!
Before long, a low rumbling covered the corridor’s floor with cracks…
Crash!
And with a loud noise, the floor started to collapse.
The two caught in the collapse fell to where the ground opened, landing in a vast, dark space.
“What is this…?”
He couldn’t believe there was such a place underground.
What in the world was going on beneath the Royal Road, Rudell wondered, stunned.
And just then…
“HAHAHA!!”
“…?”
Rudell turned at the sudden sound of laughter.
And what he saw was a man standing on what looked like a platform.
A scrawny figure with snow-white hair.
With large glasses and violet eyes radiating a burning madness.
“You’re…”
Seeing that figure, Rudell instantly recognized him.
Kentric.
An archmage belonging to the Church of the Eaters of Death, without a doubt the worst mad scientist one could imagine.
The very one responsible for the devastating plague that ravaged the Empire.
And most of the threats that put the protagonist and his party in danger in the original story came from this man.
“One Who Steals Lives! I don’t know what you’re plotting by coming here, but your fate ends here!!”
“Whoa!”
He shouted something that sounded like a typical cliché for a crappy villain, making Rudell genuinely impressed.
Who would’ve thought someone would actually say such lines.
Of course, considering this was a world pulled straight from a novel, it wasn’t all that surprising.
“Kurt. Capture that guy; we can’t let him get away.”
“Got it.”
If that man disappeared, they could significantly weaken the church’s forces.
Nodding at Rudell’s words, Kurt drew the axe on his back and hurled it directly at Kentric.
WHOOSH!
“Hiiick!?”
The axe flew through the air with a sharp whoosh, barely missing him but making an ear-splitting sound. He dropped to the ground, staring in shock at the axe embedded beside him.
“W-what are you doing!! Don’t you know who I am!?! A genius like me dying would be a massive loss for the world!!”
“Shut it. You’re just a bunch of lunatics.”
Disguised as humans, treating other humans like bugs.
The horrific scene he had just witnessed reminded Rudell of that fact once more.
“YEEEEEEIK!! Subject 121! Kill those bastards!!”
With certainty, Kentric shouted at the fake One Who Steals Lives, known as Subject 121, and started to turn to flee.
“Are you trying to run away!”
Seeing that, Rudell tried to chase after him…
[OOOHHH-!!!]
But with a roar, the fake One Who Steals Lives.
Subject 121 began to unleash an overwhelming magic.
The level of magic exceeded even that combined with the bracelet received from Kahlan.
Kurt, sensing something was off instinctively, wore a serious expression as he stared at it.
“Kurt, I’ll handle this somehow. You go after him.”
“Understood.”
As Kurt nodded and dashed toward the path where Kentric had disappeared…
[GOOOOOO-!!]
The One Who Steals Lives reached for Kurt with a scream.
SHUNK!
From behind him, spikes of crimson magic erupted like bullets, targeting Kurt.
“Not on my watch!”
But Rudell was not one to idly stand by.
Shadows shot up from beneath Rudell’s feet, deflecting the crimson spikes.
As the fake One Who Steals Lives glared at Rudell…
“It’s you I’m fighting.”
[OOOOOOO-!!]
The being taunted, waving its arms at Rudell.
Meanwhile, Rudell spotted Kurt advancing down the path Kentric had taken.
This should be enough to buy time.
It was logically impossible for someone with physical abilities akin to a regular person to evade Kurt’s pursuit.
Now all that was left was for Rudell to deal with the monster in front of him.
“HUH…”
Thinking it would be a tough battle, Rudell summoned his magic.
And at that moment…
THUD…!!
“Wha…?”
Hearing a loud sound from somewhere, Rudell lifted his head to look in that direction.
It came from right above them.
[OHHHH…?]
Subject 121 also looked up, curiosity piqued by the sound.
THUD…!! THUD…!! THUD…!!
The booming noise began to grow louder, shaking the ground around them after a short while.
“Please don’t tell me…”
Another enemy?
Now of all times…
The presence of Kentric meant there were likely other subjects around here too.
As the situation grew more complicated, Rudell prepared for combat when…
KABOOM!!
The ceiling above them collapsed with a resounding crash…
“RUDEEEEEEEEL-!!”
“Wha…?”
Rudell couldn’t help but let out a blank expression at the sight of a girl emerging from the falling debris.
