Chapter 94
“Help me.”
“Why should I?” Kazar asked with a domineering attitude.
“You’ve received the blessing of mana, haven’t you? I was chosen too. But since I never learned magic, I ended up like this.”
Maria gave a bitter smile and pulled out the arm hidden under her cloak. It was nothing but skin and bone, no flesh, no muscle.
“You’ve been using magic without learning it first, haven’t you?”
Eluana, who was watching from the side, covered her mouth with both hands. She was so shocked she forgot her own voice wouldn’t be heard. Her heart pounded and she let out a muffled whimper.
Maria’s appearance was that grotesque. Eluana shivered at the thought—if Louis had been left unchecked, he might have ended up like this woman before them. She had heard of the tragic ends of children blessed by mana, but actually seeing it was far worse than anything she had imagined.
Kazar spoke again.
“Didn’t you know you’re not supposed to use mana like that?”
“I’m holding back as much as I can. But while I was running away, I had to use it a few times. Better that than dying, right? So please, take me with you and teach me magic. If I use mana one more time, I might die.”
“That much seems true.”
She looked close to death already, even if she never used magic again. Maria noticed the flicker in Kazar’s expression and pressed her plea once more.
“Please… help me.”
Kazar still kept his stern, overbearing tone.
“How can I trust you? Aren’t you one of Marquis Pegimul’s people?”
“I never swore him loyalty. It’s natural for you to doubt me. But I never reported your intrusion, did I? I could have helped you leave safely too.”
Kazar’s gaze darkened.
“How deeply are you involved here?”
“It wasn’t like I wanted this life. The Marquis promised to protect me. And after I came under his house, I wasn’t chased anymore. For the first time, I could live like a person. That’s why. Because I wanted to live like a human being.”
Kazar felt a flicker of sympathy but more importantly guessed her role. A girl blessed by mana could recognize those with magical talent.
It was likely this woman who had picked out Sally, Hans, and Ring.
“Prove you can be trusted.”
“Ask me anything. I’ll tell you.”
“Is this the only laboratory?”
“There are two. This is Lab No.1.”
“Are children locked up in the other lab as well?”
Maria quickly shook her head.
“Only here. The other place only has monsters.”
“Where is the other lab?”
“I don’t know the location.”
Seeing doubt on Kazar’s face, Maria hurried to explain.
“I’m not fully part of the Pegimul family, so they don’t tell me important things. You won’t abandon me, will you?”
She gave him a pitiful look again.
I should kill her right now.
Kazar didn’t trust Maria. She was a liability. If he were alone, he would have chosen to eliminate her. But Eluana stood behind him. True, she had seen him kill assassins before—but this was different. Killing someone who appeared weak and desperate for help…
That would shock her.
Kazar fixed Maria with an arrogant stare.
Whether she was trustworthy or not, her desperation was real. If used properly, that desperation could make her a perfect witness.
“I’d like to see a sign of trust.”
“What should I do? Tell me. Ah, here—take this.”
Without hesitation, Maria pulled a ring from her finger and placed it on the table. It was the same design as the one Shavia had worn.
Kazar recognized it but feigned ignorance.
“What is this?”
“It opens every door in the lab.”
That was enough to convince Kazar it was worth the gamble.
“Can you leave without the ring?”
“You don’t need it to exit. Only to enter.”
“Then leave right now. Go to the Spes family’s villa in Tuna Territory. Until recently, it was an imperial villa, so it’ll be easy to find. Say Prince Kazar sent you, and wait quietly there.”
Maria’s eyes flickered. Realizing he was royalty, she immediately changed her attitude.
“Have you ever met Lord Ceyren?”
“He helped me.”
I knew it.
Maria had never heard of any royal being blessed with mana. He must have survived thanks to Ceyren’s aid. And that was how he lived in such good health.
“Could I… also meet Lord Ceyren?”
“That’s not for me to decide. But I can let him know of your existence. The choice will be his.”
Mana around Maria sparkled, dancing like light.
“Then I’ll wait. I’ll go there and wait.”
Hearing her reply, Kazar reached one hand behind him. Eluana, watching, gently held it.
Once Kazar vanished, Maria bowed once more.
“I’ll go right away.”
She left the door open as she departed. Eluana only glanced back at the retreating woman once, saying nothing.
Kazar picked up the ring on the table and handed it to Eluana.
“You keep it.”
The two left and pressed on. At each fork they tested the paths until they emerged into a wide, dim circular chamber. Large flowers grew along the round wall, waist-high.
“Are these monsters too?”
At Eluana’s question, Kazar stepped closer to examine them. They looked like giant trumpet-flowers with stamens protruding outward. He had never seen this species in any monster or plant compendium.
“It’s my first time seeing it. I’ll have to check when we leave.”
“But the kidnapped children aren’t here. Maybe we should have asked that woman for the location.”
“Let’s go a bit farther.”
As they advanced, the flowers behind them began to glow. One by one, they lit up along the path they had taken.
The once-dark chamber now shone brightly with the light of hundreds of monster-flowers.
Meanwhile…
“Right or left?” Rain asked at a fork.
“Left!” Sing chose left, but Rain immediately started toward the right. Sing tightened the whip still wrapped around Rain’s arm.
“Where are you going? I said left.”
“I’m going the opposite of you. Listening to you is what got us lost in the first place! Look at us—when the Prince and his friend went in, and we’re still wandering around here. We should’ve searched the buildings outside the iron mine instead.”
“Ugh, you weed, you talk too much. So noisy.”
To be called noisy by Sing—Rain gaped in disbelief.
“Anyway, I feel it’s left. My nickname is ‘Intuition Sing.’”
“Nope, I’m going right.”
Just then, a presence came from the left. Both froze. Soon footsteps drew near, and a hooded woman passed by. Her arm, thin as bone, briefly showed.
“Didn’t she look strange? Like a corpse.”
Ignoring Rain, Sing pulled him toward the left.
“See? It’s left.”
Deeper in the mine, the passage ended at a dead end. But since someone had just come out, there had to be an entrance nearby.
Sing leaned against the wall—and the wall slid aside. A gray-haired man emerged. Slipping through the gap, Sing and Rain rejoiced at having finally found the way inside.
Looking around, Sing said,
“I knew it. There’s no way there was only one entrance. Now let’s find the others.”
The mine’s passages had been a maze, but inside the hidden entrance it connected into a single corridor, like a research facility. Passing through, they reached a wide chamber, bustling with many people. Sing peeked at a mage scribbling notes at a desk.
“What are they even doing?”
When the mage left, Sing checked the desk. Complicated formulas filled the page.
“Magic?”
Rain glanced at it and replied, “Potion recipes. Written in code—I’d have to study them to be sure.”
“Should we steal one?”
“Stealth magic only works on items we already carry. Until it’s hidden in my clothes, a floating paper would be obvious. Someone would notice.”
So Rain memorized as much of the formulas as he could. Meanwhile Sing tugged his whip on Rain’s arm.
“Let’s check that room. Looks like it belongs to someone important.”
Inside, the lavish office was empty. Sing prowled about and spotted a dark-brown file case on the desk. A sheet of paper stuck out.
“Heh.”
The seal on the document looked familiar.
“Hurry up, let’s go. We need to get deeper inside,” Rain urged.
“Fine.”
Turning to leave, Sing snatched the paper and stuffed it in her clothes. The door had been open, and it seemed no one noticed.
Faster than lightning, that’s me.
She grinned and followed Rain onward.
Beyond, rows of iron cages appeared.
“Damn…” Sing cursed.
Inside were monsters—some missing arms, some missing heads or legs. All still alive. Some were stitched together from mismatched parts, like patchwork dolls.
Rain gave Sing a sideways glance.
“Why so shocked? Don’t be so soft.”
Rain was used to such sights. His father once ran a monster-fighting arena, where small monsters fought for gamblers’ bets. The memory of those childhood days still gave him headaches.
“You okay, weed? My stomach’s turning.”
“I can handle it…” Rain started to boast, then fell silent.
The next cages held people.
Where human arms should have been, monster limbs had been grafted on. The grafted parts were already rotting.
Rain instinctively turned his eyes away. Monsters patched together he could stomach—but not this. His face twisted, refusing to smooth out.
“This is too much. I haven’t lived a saint’s life either, but there’s a line humans should never cross.”
Rain quickened his pace, sickened at humanity itself.
Sing, however, was struck speechless with rage. She only stared silently at the dying people in the cages.
“Wiping this place out won’t be easy. Too many passages, too many hiding spots. They must have secret routes too. If we want to catch every last one…” Rain muttered, but Sing said nothing, her lips sealed tight.
They pressed on until they found another chamber. Rain pointed.
“Kids.”
Both rushed forward. In each iron cage, four or five children were huddled together.
At the fifth cage, a familiar face appeared.
“It’s Ring.”
Ring sat with a girl’s head in his lap—Sally. She looked deathly pale.
Ring called her name in a panicked voice.
“Sally.”
“Yes…?” came her weak reply.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
“Yes…”
Sally looked like her life could go out any second.
At that moment, Kazar’s voice rang in Rain’s head.
[We’ll need to request support from the Duke. This place is too big for our numbers. The children aren’t in sight yet. We’ll have to keep searching.]
Rain’s heart dropped.
[Uh, actually… we already got inside. We found the maid named Ring.]
There was silence. Kazar must have been consulting Eluana. Then his voice returned.
[Where exactly are you? We’ll come to you.]
[Uh… where are we, exactly…?]
