Chapter 325 – Laboratory of Blood (3)

[Han-Yeol-nim.]

‘Yes, Karvis?’

Karvis suddenly spoke to him.

[I sense the Dragon of Destruction’s mana.]

‘Again?!’

[Yes…]

‘Just how much influence does that lizard have in our world?!’

[It feels somewhat artificial, yet I sense a trace of the Dragon of Destruction within them.]

‘I see…’

Shiiing…!

Han-Yeol drew his sword once more, a sudden thought striking him.

‘Wait... Could it be that the hyena found its body and caused this chaos?’

The only creatures he knew capable of wielding the Dragon of Destruction’s mana were hyenas. That suspicion immediately arose within him.

Around thirty seconds later, a group of people finally appeared before Han-Yeol.

‘Goodness... Are they all Agent Smiths or something?’ he grumbled inwardly, observing their attire.

Clad uniformly in black suits and sunglasses, their hairstyles slick with pomade, they resembled characters straight out of the Matrix movie.

"…"

Tak! Tak! Tak!

Without a word, they launched an immediate attack on Han-Yeol.

“Hoho~ Master~”

“Yeah?”

“May I?”

“Ah, go ahead.”

Han-Yeol’s monster pets mirrored his strength, growing more powerful with each battle. This was why he often entrusted them with dealing with weaker foes unworthy of his attention.

“Hoho~ It's been ages since I've had some action.”

Crack!

Scales, the color of lead, began to emerge on Tia’s milky-white, slender arms. Whenever they transformed, she became strong enough to dislodge boulders from mountains.

“Kyaaaaah!” Tia emitted a shriek akin to a beast.

Chwak! Chwak! Chwak! Chwak!

She shot spider webs from her mouth, immobilizing the Smiths. Spider webs were remarkable, enabling thumbnail-sized spiders to hunt prey ten times their size.

Yet, what if a spider, three times the size of an average human male and revered as a spider god, spun the web? Naturally, the resulting web would be more durable than any other.

The Smiths emitted mana, indicating they were also hunters. Despite this, they lacked the strength to sever Tia’s webs.

However, the fight wasn't concluded; the Smiths held a numerical advantage.

Tak!

Closing the distance, they attacked Tia with their daggers.

“Hoho~ Such pitiful creatures~” Tia chuckled as she effortlessly swatted them down, one after another.

Whoosh! Tak! Tak!

Whoosh! Tak! Tak!

In two swift swings, she brought down four Smiths.

Thud!

Their decapitated bodies fell to the ground, blood staining Tia’s lips.

Slurp!

Unfazed, she licked the blood, finding excitement in it.

“It's too dull. Put in more effort and amuse me,” she declared, smiling.

Wooooong!

Then, she unleashed a menacing wave of mana.

‘Wow, Tia truly lives up to expectations,’ Han-Yeol mused, witnessing the battle unfold.

Tia had a habit of interrupting the maids while they bathed Han-Yeol, scaring them off instead of joining. Her penchant for boredom made peaceful baths quite challenging for him.

Kwachik!

Tia sank her teeth into a Smith’s neck, flinging him behind her like a rag doll. Her blood-smeared smile turned her visage into that of a horror movie demon.

Arachnids, usually composed, turned ruthless and bloodthirsty when excited.

"More! I want more!" Tia exclaimed, mercilessly dispatching her enemies. Mercy was forsaken; she sought crueler ways to end their lives, tearing one of the Smiths in half.

Meanwhile, Han-Yeol seemed discontent with the battle's progress for an unknown reason.

"..."

“Kyu?” Mavros tilted his head, as if asking, ‘Why aren’t you happy? We’re winning.’

Han-Yeol, preoccupied, couldn’t spare a glance at Mavros. A more pressing question troubled him.

‘Who are they?’

Han-Yeol dubbed them ‘Smiths’ for simplicity. Despite appearing as ordinary humans when observed with his Demon Eyes, their true form, without the power activated, was far from human.

Yet, the strangest aspect was...

‘Why aren't they reacting while dying?’

Even the most trained assassins typically displayed pain before death, yet these ‘Smiths’ remained stoic, their faces unchanging even as Tia tore them apart.

‘It's impossible if they’re human.’

However, these ‘creatures’ bled red and had human-like organs. Everything about them screamed ‘human.’ If they were cyborgs, it would make sense, but these were undeniably flesh and blood humans.

Chwak!

Tia seized another Smith, tearing him apart, yet no groan or grimace escaped him despite the brutal demise.

‘What’s happening...?’

Amidst the chaos, Han-Yeol's life never seemed to find peace. However, pondering the mystery of the Smiths could wait. His priority lay elsewhere.

‘First, I need to ensure Yulia's safety.’

It seemed improbable she was still alive. All except the Smiths lay dead, the gruesome sight of maggots squirming on the corpses indicating they had been deceased for some time. With all this evidence, her survival seemed highly unlikely.

Despite the remaining Smiths, Han-Yeol resolved to press on.

Tak!

“Tia.”

“Yes, master?”

“I apologize for interrupting your fun, but I must find Yulia. Can you move ahead more quickly?” Han-Yeol requested.

“Hoho~ Sure thing~ It's enjoyable to eliminate these guys, but they're not much of a challenge as foes,” Tia responded before launching a poisonous spider at a lunging Smith.

Chwak!

The Smith writhed on the ground, attempting to free himself from the web. Struggling vigorously, he tried tearing it with his hands and resorted to his dagger when he realized his strength wasn't sufficient.

“Hoho~ Sorry, but my web isn’t something you can cut with that~” Tia said with a sinister smile.

Clink!

The poison within the web proved highly corrosive, splitting the Smith’s dagger in half. Even his skin, in direct contact with the web, began to dissolve.

Yet, the Smith persisted without altering his expression, struggling as though programmed. He persisted until the web dissolved through his bones and organs, continuing even as it ate through his skull and brain, finally ceasing only at that point.

‘Ugh… That’s quite disgusting…’ Han-Yeol groaned.

Then, he wondered, ‘Is there someone capable of brainwashing like Mariam?’

In the end, there was only one way to find out, and that was to see for himself.

‘Demon Eyes!’

Woooong!

He maximized the output of his Demon Eyes, scouring every nook and cranny within a six-kilometer radius for any signs of Yulia.

‘There,’ he easily pinpointed the room where she was likely located.

This particular room stood as the most heavily guarded within the entire laboratory complex, and the sole reason for such vigilant protection was Yulia.

Despite existing only as a brain, she held the esteemed title of a Master Rank Hunter. Her unique ability, despite being mental in nature, was exceptional. While Mariam could infuse her mana into brainwaves to control others, Yulia possessed the remarkable talent to alter her brainwaves’ length, enabling her to ‘communicate’ with electronic devices. Essentially, Yulia herself functioned as a supercomputer.

Han-Yeol sensed Yulia's substantial mana emanating from the basement of the laboratory complex.

‘Is Yulia safe?’

He harbored pessimism regarding her survival, yet he was certain that the mana he detected belonged to her.

‘She processes data faster than a supercomputer and possesses unique abilities. The Smiths likely targeted her, but what if they're still after her, even after their initial failure to breach her defenses?’

If this theory held true...

‘I must hasten to rescue her.’

Time was of the essence. Yulia was indispensable, as Han-Yeol lacked crucial knowledge and information about the ongoing situation. Losing her, essentially a potential ‘knowledge bank,’ was not an option.

“Let’s hurry! Tia! Mavros!”

“Okay, master~”

“Kyu!”

Chwak!

Tia ripped another Smith in half while responding.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Han-Yeol fired one mana shell after another to kill the remaining Smiths.

Tak!

Then, they ran as fast as they could toward the basement.

Tak! Tak! Tak!

More Smiths emerged along their path to the basement, identical to those they had battled in the courtyard: same suits, sunglasses, expressions, and weapons. It seemed as though someone had intentionally customized and replicated them like NPCs in a game.

Chwak!

However, Han-Yeol wasted no time, swiftly dispatching the Smiths obstructing their path. Even Tia swiftly disposed of them, feeling bored with the monotony of killing the same enemy repeatedly.

Kwachik!

In an unfortunate mishap, a Smith collided headfirst with Tia's legs, resulting in his head exploding like a watermelon. It was a gruesome sight, but Tia, no longer interested, felt nothing.

‘Tsk… These guys are just wasting my time... They're not even tasty,’ she thought.

In her hunts through hunting grounds or strolls around the city in pursuit of both human and monster prey while Han-Yeol was occupied, Tia discovered she could absorb the memories of the humans she devoured. This clandestine ability granted her extensive knowledge of the world, knowledge she chose to conceal from Han-Yeol.

‘Hoho~ I'd rather not incur my master's displeasure,’ Tia pondered.

Though an Arachnid of immense power, she remained bound by loyalty to Han-Yeol, having been born as a monster pet. Han-Yeol's Taming ability held such force that it could supersede a monster's instincts, compelling them to pledge allegiance. Mavros stood as a testament to this; despite being a miniature dragon, his fierce loyalty rendered him nothing more than a cute pet in Han-Yeol's eyes.

Tak!

They continued swiftly, cutting down Smiths in their way until they reached a sizable steel door.

‘This is nothing to me!’

“Mavros!”

“Kieeeek!”

Fwaaaaah!

Mavros transformed into his combat mode and unleashed his Poison Breath at the thick steel door.