MLBO 01

“About Test Subject No. 175. That kid is unbelievably tenacious.”

“That’s probably why he’s managed to survive this long.”

“Is that so? I heard almost all the other test subjects died.”

Researchers in white coats walked down the opposite side of the corridor, chatting among themselves.

There was only one path leading to where Emilian was imprisoned, so I ended up facing them head-on.

The researchers glanced at me carrying a tray with bread and soup and made comments one after another.

“A messenger girl?”

“Ah, you must be new here. She’s the child assigned to Test Subject No. 175.”

“So she brings him food every day.”

“We can’t have him dying. The director has high expectations for that test subject.”

They quickly lost interest in me and continued on their way.

Thanks to that, I hurried past them with the tray in my hands.

Reaching the room at the end of the corridor, I skillfully operated the device and opened the iron-barred door.
Creeeak. The sound of metal scraping echoed through the room.

The boy hanging limply from chains lifted his head.

The moment he saw me, life returned to his otherwise emotionless eyes. Warmth colored his voice.

“Anise?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” I answered as I walked closer to him.

The magic stone embedded in the ceiling emitted a faint glow, illuminating the boy.

Dark red needle marks covered his thin arms.

The researchers must have injected him with all kinds of drugs again today in the name of experimentation. I bit down hard on my lower lip.

‘This is too cruel. Something like this…’

Every researcher in this place was a beast wearing human skin.

No, even beasts were probably better than them.

But there was little I could do. The only thing within my power was bringing the boy his meals three times a day.

My situation was better than being used as a test subject, but I too was trapped inside this laboratory.

I set the tray with bread and soup in front of the boy.

When I operated the device attached to the wall, the chains binding his arms loosened and lengthened.

“Emil, hurry and eat before it gets cold.”

But instead of picking up the spoon, Emilian simply stared at me.

Blinking his long eyelashes, Emil spoke softly.

“Today was really painful and exhausting…”

Emilian raised his eyes.

His ruby-like red eyes trembled faintly.

“Can’t you feed me?”

“Huh?”

The unexpected request caught me off guard. When I hesitated, Emil spoke with a disappointed expression.

“…Can’t you?”

“It’s not that I can’t, but…”

According to the original novel’s plot, this laboratory would eventually be destroyed by the male lead.

Of course, I planned to escape before that happened.

Since I was only a servant girl running errands for the researchers, I was destined to die in the laboratory explosion.

But the problem was that I had grown far too attached to Emilian after taking care of his meals all this time.

‘I need to stop getting attached soon…’

Yet it was much harder than I expected.

Whenever drugs were injected into him, unimaginable pain followed. And Emilian endured such brutal experiments every single day.

And on days like this, when Emil acted spoiled and vulnerable, my resolve weakened endlessly.

In the end, I pulled the soup bowl closer to me.

“Alright.”

The moment I agreed, Emilian’s gloomy face brightened instantly.

I cooled the soup enough to eat and held it near his lips.

“Here, say ah.”

Emilian obediently opened his mouth.

I fed him a spoonful of soup, and he swallowed it without complaint.

The savory scent of potato soup spread through the bleak gray room.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah.”

A smile bloomed across Emilian’s pale face.

I wished he would always eat this well.

After enduring experiments, Emil often refused meals altogether. The aftereffects of torture-like experiments made it difficult for him to even eat properly.

Leaving a child like this behind and escaping alone weighed heavily on my conscience.

‘Still… someday, I have to leave this place.’

I steeled my wavering heart.

“Emil. Even if you don’t feel like eating, you still have to eat properly, okay?”

Emilian quietly accepted the soup for a moment before his expression stiffened.

Suddenly, he shut his mouth tightly.

“Why are you talking like someone who’s going far away?”

My heart skipped painfully.

It felt as if he had seen right through my thoughts.

“No, it’s just… something could happen to me someday.”

“What do you mean by that?”

His voice sank low.

The warm light in his red eyes sharpened like blades.

I hurriedly tried to explain.

“I’m not saying it definitely will… it’s just, if! Just if.”

“I hate even the thought of that.”

“Okay. Even if it’s only hypothetical, nothing like that will happen.”

Only then did Emilian’s expression soften again.

Clink.

The chains rattled softly.

A moment later, Emil’s hand touched my cheek.

“You’ll stay by my side forever, right?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Guilt twisted painfully in my chest for deceiving Emilian.

But even without me, he would eventually escape this laboratory.

By his own power.

‘So just hold on a little longer.’

Until this hell finally comes to an end.

My overworked arms ached as though they would fall off.

After rinsing rags in icy water over and over again, my hands had gone numb from the cold.

The other children looked equally exhausted.

It made sense.

We had spent the entire past two days cleaning this massive laboratory from top to bottom.

“You brats, stop slacking off and finish up already!”

At the researcher’s shout, the children cleaning the windows hurried their hands faster.

Would it really kill them to let us rest for a little while…?

I grumbled quietly while polishing the windows until they shone spotless.

When the massive cleaning finally ended, researchers in white coats lined up in front of the main entrance.

Through the crystal-clear window free of even a speck of dust, I looked outside.

The laboratory had been unusually restless these past two days, and I soon learned why.

The laboratory director had returned.

And he had brought new children to use as test subjects.

A bridge connecting the laboratory to the outside world descended.

The thick iron gates that were normally never opened slowly creaked apart, and figures emerged through the biting wind.

The laboratory director spoke as he led in the new sacrifices.

“These are children I personally selected. I brought especially talented ones this time, so we must achieve results no matter what!”

“Yes, Director!”

The researchers answered in unison.

According to research findings, children had much higher experimental success rates than adults, which was why only children were used as test subjects.

Of course, not just any child would do. Only children possessing magic power had value as test subjects.

Among them, orphans and beggar children were targeted specifically.

Children whose disappearance would not seem strange. Children no family would search for.

Using a magic-measuring device, the director selected talented orphans and brought them here.

I had originally been dragged here as a test subject too, but because my magic power was weak, I ended up being used for errands instead.

‘If I’d been used as a test subject, I probably would’ve gone through far worse…’

I wasn’t exactly in a position to pity anyone, but I still worried about what awaited those children.

“I wonder how many of them will survive.”

“Who knows… probably not even half.”

The researchers carelessly muttered while watching the new arrivals.

But even children have eyes and ears.

Dragged to a strange place without understanding why, hearing words like those—it was impossible for them not to be terrified.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and move!”

“Hic… p-please send me home…”

One child stubbornly refused to walk any farther.

As fear spread among them, the other children hesitated too.

The researcher leading them let out an irritated sigh.

“This is why I hate kids…”

What happened next occurred in an instant.

Smack!

A loud crack echoed through the hall as the child’s head snapped to the side.

Unable to withstand the blow, the small body collapsed onto the cold floor.

The other children trembled in terror as the researcher raised his hand again.

I clenched my fists tightly.

‘I have to stop him… I have to…’

But my feet refused to move.

I was terrified the violence would turn toward me instead.

When I was first brought to this laboratory, I had once been beaten for failing to do a task properly.

The memory made my legs feel as though heavy iron weights were chained to them.

‘W-What do I do…?’

While I hesitated, the researcher raised his hand high once more.

Unable to bear watching any longer, I tried to turn away.

That was when a voice rang out.

“Stop.”

The boy spread his arms wide, shielding the child as he blocked the researcher’s path.

I stared blankly at the courageous boy who stepped forward.

Then I gasped.

He was breathtakingly beautiful.

But it wasn’t only his appearance that shocked me.

‘No way…’

Black hair.

Red eyes.

Those rare features immediately reminded me of a certain person.

The one who endured the cruel experiments and eventually transcended humanity itself, destroying this laboratory.

The male lead who was born within this hell—

and who would one day bring an end to this hell with his own hands.