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Rumble—
The edges began to crumble and fall. The aftermath of the collapse was drawing closer and closer to Novel.
He cursed and came to a halt.
“Damn it. Before it all falls, I should just blow everything—”
“There you go spouting nonsense again.”
A familiar voice cut in.
At the same time, the collapsing ceiling suddenly froze in midair.
Novel turned toward the source of the voice. Floating in the air, deep indigo hair billowed.
“Hey, Letilia!”
“If you knock out the supports, of course the top’s going to cave in. Are you proud of setting things off without even thinking? It’s your ability, and you still don’t know how to use it?”
Letilia spoke in a tone full of exasperation.
She landed lightly beside Novel.
Splosh—
The puddle of blood at their feet rippled. Her black boots were stained red.
With a casual wave of her hand, the ceiling debris suspended in the air gently lowered to the ground.
“Perfect timing. Where’s Hazen?”
“Downstairs. I think there were still some test subjects left in the lab.”
“The subjects looked pretty dead to me. There were more?”
Aside from the researchers, there had been plenty of test subjects who were used like menial labor. But most were either on the verge of death or already corpses, likely mixed in somewhere down there by now.
Letilia nodded to Novel’s question.
“Technically, they were still being experimented on.”
“Well, whatever. You gonna kill them or not?”
“Say that first.”
Novel indifferently kicked a researcher at his feet. Letilia shrugged. “Who knows.”
“For now, when Isaac gets here—”
“No, we’ll talk now.”
Isaac emerged from the other end of the hallway.
He approached leisurely, holding up a stack of papers.
“These are the only useful documents from the Central Records. The rest, I threw into the abyss.”
“As if you only threw those away, you bastard.”
“Maybe don’t get so smug just because you figured out one thing.”
His wrist was smeared with bloody handprints—remnants of people who had desperately clung to him. He smirked coldly.
“Damn apple bastard…”
“If you wanna argue, bring it. I could use a little warm-up.”
“Fine by me. This place is wrecked anyway!”
“Would you two shut up?”
Letilia growled viciously.
But Novel was never the type to listen, so in the end, Letilia gave up on stopping them and decided to check if anyone else was left alive instead.
❖ ❖ ❖
Plink—
“……”
Hazen brushed off the dust that had fallen onto his head and looked up. The floor and ceiling trembled faintly.
“They’re at it again, my brothers…” he muttered, then lowered his gaze.
His eyes fixed on a figure.
The underground lab was silent, but Hazen wasn’t alone.
“…Hmph.”
He tilted his head slowly, exhaling through his nose.
Beyond the iron bars in front of him, a man was restrained.
His body was battered beyond recognition, his skin ghostly pale from lack of sunlight. His clothes were little more than rags. The only thing that still looked intact were his striking blue-gray eyes, clear even in the dim light.
But what drew the most attention were the shackles on his wrists, ankles, and neck, and the gag in his mouth.
“What to do with you…”
In the pitch-black lab, Hazen’s silver-gray eyes gleamed coldly.
Whoosh—
Something like black smoke rose near him.
The man met Hazen’s gaze through the bars.
“Should I kill you right here, or not?”
Hazen murmured lazily, his tone detached. Behind him, piles of corpses blackened with death were stacked like mountains.
“Hazen?”
Letilia’s voice came from behind. Hazen immediately dispelled his energy and turned around.
“Oh, Leti…”
“What’s that? A test subject?”
“Looks like it, but I’m not sure…”
Letilia’s golden eyes scanned the man beyond the bars.
His body seemed too frail to move, but his eyes burned with fierce vitality.
“Hazen. Was this the only test subject here?”
“Yeah… The rest were all researchers. I killed them.”
“Good. Anyway, they called this a lab.”
Letilia glanced around. The place was dark and decrepit, and the iron bars in front of her made it look more like a prison than a laboratory.
Unless they had to lock subjects up like this to run experiments.
There were several possibilities, but no proof.
And why he was locked up alone, unlike the other subjects, is another mystery.
After a brief thought, she spoke.
“…Go get Ethan.”
Hazen looked at her. She didn’t take her eyes off the man in the cell.
“I want to take a look inside his head.”
❖ ❖ ❖
“…Is it finally over?”
The research facility, which had been exploding and collapsing nonstop, had grown somewhat quiet.
As I murmured cautiously, Ethan let out a deep sigh.
“Probably.”
“It ended faster than expected, but why do I feel uneasy…”
“I feel the same. Honestly, trusting anything that involves Novel is already a stretch.”
“Oh, true.”
“Think Novel would mind if we told him that? He might actually shut up for a while.”
“No way. He’d be upset.”
Ethan chuckled softly.
As we speculated about how everything might have turned out, the atmosphere grew lighter.
“Ethan.”
“Yeah?”
His emerald eyes met mine, warm and ready to listen. That gaze always made my heart stir in strange ways.
I looked at him for a moment, then spoke.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Sorry? For what?”
“For coming along today.”
I fidgeted with my clasped hands.
“If I hadn’t come, things would’ve been smoother. You wouldn’t have had to waste time like this either.”
“……”
“I think I made everyone worry in a lot of ways, too. But I couldn’t choose to stay behind either, it didn’t feel safe…”
Saying it out loud made me feel embarrassed.
“I know it’s not my fault. Being born without powers isn’t something I could control, and it’s not my fault I’m not strong physically either. So I’m not beating myself up over that.”
“…Shunen.”
“But I really am sorry for choosing this.”
Objectively, me not being a gifted person isn’t my fault. Powers are innate.
…Well, I guess since I’m technically the author, it kind of is my fault?
This must be what they call a self-inflicted disaster. Damn it.
Anyway, just looking at the others’ physical abilities says it all.
Shuneria’s body had only escaped years of abuse a month ago, and as for me, the person who possessed her, my only “training” had been school P.E. classes.
The gap between a normal person like me and people in this world was enormous.
“I’m sorry, but thank you, too.”
You five treated me kindly, even though you probably couldn’t fully grasp that gap.
I was grateful for that.
As I gave a slightly bitter smile, Ethan’s face darkened with sympathy.
“There’s no need to thank us, and definitely no need to apologize, Shunen.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true. Honestly, we’re the ones who are thankful—and sorry.”
Ethan smiled wryly and gently patted the back of my hand.
“We should’ve brought you back earlier.”
“You wouldn’t believe it, but from my point of view, you were early enough.”
Since it hadn’t been long since I arrived in this world…
I couldn’t say that, so I just laughed awkwardly. To me, the fact that they came at all was already a miracle.
“Honestly, I don’t get why you’re all so nice to me. It’s not like we met before, and I’ve done nothing for you… You said it’s a secret, so I won’t ask, but I am curious.”
As the author, all I did was give them “Happy Healing Times with Saren,” but that was already a lost cause.
I really hadn’t done anything.
Ethan spoke quietly.
“There’s a reason, Shunen.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve given us a lot, even if you don’t know it. That’s why we want to do a lot for you too.”
He smiled faintly.
“You’ll find out someday. But thanks for being honest.”
“Well… Isaac already told me it’s a secret.”
“Pretty much.”
“Then I’ll just wait until then. Right?”
Compared to waiting at the duke’s estate, this was nothing.
Ethan blinked, then gave a soft laugh.
“Yeah. You’re right. Thanks.”
“…Ever think of saying something like ‘I hate you’ instead of ‘thanks’?”
“Not likely. Probably never.”
I briefly considered whether I should try to coax some kind of rejection from him later, but my thoughts were interrupted when he called my name.
“And, Shunen.”
“Mm?”
Ethan stood up.
“You’re right—it’s not your fault. And wanting to come here was a perfectly reasonable choice. Anyone would want to stay safe.”
“……”
“If there’s something you want to say next time, make sure you do. That’s how we can keep adjusting to each other—like today.”
“…Yeah.”
“Then let’s get ready.”
He dusted himself off lightly and pointed toward the lab.
“Looks like everything’s wrapped up. Isaac should be here soon—”
Flash. Before Ethan could finish, Isaac appeared in a burst of light.
Speak of the devil. I stood up, impressed by the timing.
“Ethan, Shunen. You should come with me for a moment.”
“Why?”
“What’s wrong, Isaac?”
We asked curiously. Isaac frowned.
“I found a surviving test subject.”
❖ ❖ ❖
“That one?”
Ethan and I arrived in the basement using Isaac’s power. Standing in front of the cell, Ethan asked flatly.
Letilia nodded.
“Every other subject is dead. He was kept somewhere else to begin with.”
“So he’s special, then.”
“Probably.”
Ethan narrowed his eyes, scanning the man inside the cell with detached scrutiny.
“Alright.”
He extended his hand. The man twisted his body desperately to avoid him, but Ethan was faster.
Grab—!
“…!”
