“These guys said they were a hidden organization.”
As Yeon-hee and I returned to this place from the area where Cha Jin-hyuk was, I received a call from Kang Yeon-su.
「Yeon-hee, this isn’t going to be as easy as we thought. The guy who was acting as the building owner was under the effect of [Charm] and doesn’t remember anything.
And what I found out by analyzing the destroyed documents is that the organization operates thoroughly like a hidden group.
It’s easy to take them down individually, but digging up to the very top and exposing that guy… it won’t be something we can achieve in a short time.」
They restrict information sharing among themselves, and those ranked as ‘Goblin’ suddenly appear to deliver the orders of the chairman.
That was all Kang Yeon-su had discovered.
This factory is likely one of those running in such a fashion.
‘Doh…’
Kang Yeon-su had already named the organization ‘Do’.
Just as I shook off the fleeting thoughts that crossed my mind, one of the organization members inside suddenly shouted loudly.
It was a cheer of joy, and I felt dizzy at the pure evil of humanity hearing such a bright voice in this horrific space.
“It’s a gem! It’s an Evolutionary Gem!!”
“Is it real? Wow!! How long has it been!”
“Yay! This is awesome! I wonder how much the performance bonus will be?”
“Even if the mood is down lately, it should at least be over 1,000%, right?”
“Everyone, be quiet and get back to your places!”
They all ran toward the guy who shouted, as if they had gained something huge.
I approached to confirm the so-called Evolutionary Gem, and oddly enough, it was the eyeball of a newborn baby lodged in one of the sockets.
‘……It’s dead.’
The hybrid that was born was already shriveled up and lifeless.
‘That gem… is filled with the life force of the child…’
[Calm]
[Calm]
‘Are you telling me to be calm now? Does that just mean to become a monster? Isn’t that imminent?!’
As my inner fury boiled over, the messages quieted down.
I grabbed the arm that was about to draw my sword and watched what they were doing.
One of the guys reached out his filthy hand toward the baby and began to carefully extract the eyeball.
It wouldn’t be strange to call the gem shining with a beautiful silver radiance.
The one who seemed to be in charge among them checked the gem, then took out a piece of paper the size of a palm from his bosom and ripped it apart.
‘He sent a signal.’
It was an item known as ‘Note of Well-being’ that informs those with the same paper of his mishap. Yesterday, Yeon-hee had received several from Kang Yeon-su at the café.
“The goblins will be here soon. Let’s do a little cleaning after a long time.”
‘Cleaning in this situation? Has no emergency signal gone off here?’
Was this place not sounding alarms in what was supposed to be a birthing area? That would really be a joke.
Or maybe they didn’t expect an intruder could arrive so quickly in an area opposite from where the prison was.
Anyway, if the entity contacting me was on par with the dwarf craftsman I met yesterday, I needed to hurry and leave this place.
Right now, I’m an existence that couldn’t withstand a mere S-rank Hunter.
But even if I have to go, I couldn’t just leave these trash behind.
The people working on receiving babies in the birthing space were all lower-ranked hunters at E-rank or lower, about twenty in number.
‘You all need to feel some pain too.’
[Lightning Step]
Whoosh─!
“Ugh!!”
I first took down the organization leader who was delicately wrapping the ‘Evolutionary Gem.’
As he crumpled to the ground, I had already started taking down the others in sequence.
“Crack!”
“Ugh!”
The hunters who witnessed their comrades falling one by one belatedly tried to escape, but it was far too late.
In the end, all the members of ‘Do’ crumpled to the floor, becoming one with it.
If I were in human form, I would have spat a thick phlegm on their faces, damn it.
‘They can’t die easily.’
The reason I only knocked them out without killing them was that.
‘What the hell is this…’
I picked up the small orb-shaped gem they were treating with such care.
It was a horrific hybrid’s eyeball, but still, it was a being mixed with human blood.
With a somewhat solemn mood, I read through the long messages that followed.
=====
[Evolutionary Gem]
– The head of ‘Do (Defenders Of Humanity)’ has grown up seeing the future that unfolds in this world every day without fail from the moment she was born.
When she turned fifteen, she accepted her fate and has been walking the best path she chose until now.
– The heinous acts of the organization she created are so terrible that they are hard to describe in words.
However, paradoxically, due to the activities of ‘Do’, an unimaginable possibility has been discovered, and that is the [Evolutionary Gem].
– ‘Glimmerkin,’ born from the crossbreeding of humans and goblins.
The poor hybrid continued to survive, holding onto a single faint light even amidst the collapsed psyche of the host.
Despite possessing an unwilling creature, she had only one wish: for her child to be happy.
The [Evolutionary Gem], filled with amazing compassion and love that bloomed in a horrendous environment, holds incredible possibilities that even deities could not fathom.
– The [Evolutionary Gem] can temporarily infuse equipment with astonishing power. That power cannot be predicted by anyone.
– The [Evolutionary Gem] has a magnetic pull when approached.
=====
‘…… What is this? The head of the organization was a woman? A woman did this? Wow…’
I felt punched in the back of the head once again.
‘She grew up seeing the future of this world from the moment she was born…’
What kind of sight did she witness at the end of this world to carry out such horrifying acts?
‘Well, if she grew up seeing that every day, it wouldn’t be strange for her to go mad.’
Although it was a pathetic event in the life of a child, I wanted to ask what exactly it was that she ultimately desired.
‘Huh…’
I gave my head a big shake and started moving.
A power that temporarily enhances equipment.
But since it’s consumable, I couldn’t recklessly use it.
I’d better keep it safe.
‘If they’re going this dirty, I can’t just be indulged in human sentiments.’
The Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion and this gem. It seems right to actively seek ways to utilize them now.
I continued my thoughts while putting the hunters into the space.
‘By the way, is the Life Potion different from the Elixir?’
The Life Potion that could even revive the dead.
Of course, no one has seen it, but if it’s a power that pays a considerable price, it could very well be real.
Until now, people thought it had the same effects as the Elixir, but looking back at the quest description for finding the Elixir, the [Life Potion] is considered a lower-tier concept to the [Elixir].
‘The Elixir is said to be able to revive long-dead individuals, so there’s no comparison there. Hmm…’
For now, I put the gem into the space and gathered all the fallen mothers.
Their bodies were in such a state that even if I took them outside, I didn’t know if they could live a proper life.
But it would certainly be a much more humane death than being here.
‘As for the babies…’
I hesitated for a moment upon seeing the being called ‘Glimmerkin,’ but then I raised my sword to grant the babies their rest.
‘I’m sorry.’
It felt like such a sentiment was natural.
Afterward, I thoroughly set bombs and when I was about to escape the space.
“Look, there’s something over there!!”
“The exit!! Close the exit!!”
‘Son of a—.’
I wanted to tear them apart and kill them right then and there.
I detonated the remaining bombs I had set in sequence, and concealed myself inside the explosion, escaping their sight as I soared up to the ceiling.
And when I emerged above ground.
I triggered all the unreleased bombs and hurled the Fireballs into the holes I made while gathering power.
– KABOOM──!!!
And as the [Corrupted Breath] that had been triggered since I saved the people trapped in the prison broke, I gathered the remaining magic power to unleash the [Wall of Fire] recklessly into the underground space.
Flames roared violently-!
– “Kuhhh—!!”
– “Hiiik!! It’s hot!!”
The paralyzing effect of [Corrupted Breath], which accumulated in the sealed space, would restrict their movements.
The combination of Skeleton Bombs, Fireballs, and the Wall of Fire would deliver awful pain.
Boom Boom Bang──!! Clash!!
The explosion I created triggered a chain explosion of the machines and various experimental devices inside. A torrent of messages began to float in my mind.
– You have acquired a Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion. (21/100)
– You have acquired a Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion. (24/100)
As the members of ‘Do’ inside began to die, the counting of fragments started to soar horrifyingly.
However, there were no deaths among the high-rank hunters above B-rank, and I could only collect one or two fragment pieces from those below C-rank.
– You have acquired ‘Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion.’ (100/100)
– You have collected 100 ‘Fragments of Corrupted Life Potion.’ If you [Purify] this, you will obtain a ‘Fragment of Life Potion.’
– ‘[Purify]… this is expensive…’
Those capable of [Purification] require a hefty payment to exercise their power.
‘While it does come at a price, expensive is still expensive.’
– You have acquired ‘Fragment of Corrupted Life Potion.’ (7/100)
From this attack, I obtained over 80 fragments, and those exceeding 100 began stacking again.
I would need to gather 1,000 fragments to obtain the [Life Potion], so the journey still felt long but not too distant.
I gazed at the now trembling underground factory.
Though it was regretful not to have wiped out all of these trash, I didn’t want to suffer unnecessarily again like yesterday.
Shedding any lingering feelings, I rushed straight to Yeon-hee.
Because my offensive maneuver worked better than expected, none of them managed to come up to the surface, they were all trapped under the collapsed ceiling structures along with the explosions.
Yeon-hee was already in the process of summoning a Corrupted Shadow Drake.
– ……
The Sword Dragon spotted me and narrowed its vertically slit eyes even sharper, but for some reason, it allowed me on without resistance.
“I had made a request in advance!”
‘… Thank goodness Yeon-hee listens well.’
I thought it wouldn’t let me ride it.
“Actually, it didn’t respond, so I increased my Dominance a bit…”
‘…… You spent stats on Dominance again? That’s a waste. Tsk…’
Two days later, as soon as we entered the dungeon, I would need to give this guy some training.
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