Chapter 141: Infiltrating The Secret Laboratory, Uncovering The Horrors Being Made

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Noir, Label, and Riven walked deeper into the fortress. Just as they had expected, Ryujin himself was nowhere to be found, yet there were still a great many people inside. The interior of the fortress, however, was nothing like what Riven had imagined. Everything was cold and metallic, and the air carried the sharp smell of artificial cleanliness — the kind found in a hospital... or rather, a laboratory.

As the group continued exploring the sterile hallways, they were suddenly stopped by a wave of dozens of heavily armed guards. Every one of them exuded a clear C-Rank Aura. They were high-level security forces. The moment they injected themselves with Yokai Serum, their auras jumped to C+ Rank!

Label narrowly avoided a deadly slash, using her living hair to crawl rapidly along the walls and ceiling while tightly holding Chemy in her arms.

"Chemy, all out!"

"GRAWWR!"

Chemy roared furiously and fired concentrated beams of burning green flames packed with potent poisons and deadly toxins. The flames melted the Yokaified humans on contact, forcing them to scream in agony as explosions of green fire spread across the corridor.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOM!

At the same time Noir emerged from the shadows around Riven. He roared and transformed into a gigantic wolf head that swallowed entire foes whole, crushing them between his sharp teeth and eating them with clear enjoyment.

"Don’t eat too many. Leave some for me, boy."

Riven took a single step forward and materialized a massive axe formed of his ice. The weapon now contained both potent poison and the Black Water of Yomi. When he swung it, a wide wave of cursed frost erupted outward, instantly freezing enemies in place while also weakening them severely.

"Ice?! Nnngggh?!"

"Ugh! Gaaaahhh!"

"H-How is this possible— AAGH!"

"Who is this guy?! Who are you?! L-Let me go! Let us go! We are only here because we were paid!"

Riven walked calmly toward the frozen survivors. They watched in pure horror as a shadow clone stepped out of his own shadow, approaching them with an evil, almost theatrical smile.

"Oho? So you’re all innocent? Just because you were employed here, that somehow makes you pathetic little innocents? Let’s see exactly what you’ve been doing all this time."

Riven kicked the nearest heavy door open with one powerful strike, revealing the truth to everyone’s eyes. Giant glass tubes filled the large chamber. Inside them, people were kept suspended and continuously injected with monster genes, experimented on against their will. It was a clear and disgusting violation of human rights — a truly terrible crime.

"Illegal human experimentation," Riven said coldly as he stared at the tubes filled with mutated, amorphous bodies that were no longer truly alive. Their brains had died long ago. "So this is how you’ve been developing those Serums so quickly, huh? Label can create hers cleanly without any need for experimentation... her Alchemy is far superior to whatever twisted methods you’re using here, you bastards."

His shadow self smiled even wider and laughed with pure malice as it transformed into a monstrous specter. "Well? Any last words?!"

"W-WAIT!"

"We’ll pay you whatever you want!"

"Please spare ussssss!"

As they screamed in helpless agony, still unable to move because they remained half-frozen, Riven’s Shadow opened a gigantic jaw filled with razor-sharp teeth. It ate them alive without mercy, tearing their bodies to shreds and consuming their souls at the same time.

Label rejoined Riven not long afterward. She looked around the laboratory in a mixture of scientific awe at the advanced equipment and deep sorrow for the poor innocents who had been kept here against their will.

"This is awful..." she muttered, letting out a heavy sigh. "W-Why would they do such a horrible thing?! There’s... there’s even children among them..."

"...Tsk!" Riven clicked his tongue in anger and smashed a nearby wall with his fist.

If only he could have arrived here earlier... if he had been just a little faster... maybe he could have saved at least some of these people while they were still alive.

But there was no point in endlessly lamenting what he had been unable to do.

"Do you think you could save any of them?" he asked quietly.

"..."

Label examined the tubes carefully and then checked several scattered papers and research documents.

"This is... advanced genetic mutation. It’s usually... irreversible," she sighed in frustration. "I..."

Then she suddenly stopped speaking. A determined light glimmered in her eyes.

"No... there’s nothing impossible, right? Nothing is truly impossible! There’s always a solution. There has to be."

"...!"

"With Alchemy... there is nothing I cannot achieve if I try hard enough."

"Oh?"

Riven smiled as he realized Label had found a powerful new resolve. She immediately began extracting small samples of blood from all the dozens of people still trapped inside the tubes and started cooking up experimental formulas inside Chemy. Meanwhile Riven moved through the nearby rooms, gathering additional materials and more research documents for her.

As he continued searching, he reached the central chamber of the facility. There stood a giant Mana Reactor that fueled the entire fortress and also transported energy to the other two fortresses, and likely to locations outside as well.

There were also two massive factories dedicated to producing drugs and Yokai Serum. The workers inside were all clearly slaves. They screamed in fear when they saw him enter while carrying the bodies of the dead guards he had already dealt with.

"Don’t worry. You’re safe now," Riven said calmly as he opened a portal leading directly into his Gate. "Go inside. A few of my giant allies will nurse your wounds and take care of you. Later I will bring you back outside and hand you over to the proper authorities."

"A-Ahh...!"

"I can’t believe this is real..."

"T-Thank you!"

"Cough, cough... thank you so much..."

"Uuuggh... They’ve been working us for days without any rest... and whenever we became too weak to continue working, they used us for their experiments... thank you... thank you... cough..."

The rescued people were in terrible physical condition, yet Riven felt genuinely happy that he had managed to save at least a few dozen souls from this nightmare. There were roughly fifty workers in total, a significant number of innocents.

While he examined the massive Mana Reactor more closely, he noticed a lone figure standing near it... some kind of scientist or professor. The man was old, with long black-and-gray hair and a pair of glasses.

He was tall and skinny, with a mildly handsome face despite his advanced age.

And he also looked completely, unmistakably insane.

"Huhuh, so that Ryujin couldn’t even keep his own domain safe," the old man sighed before breaking into laughter. "Well, where are my manners? I was in the middle of something truly revolutionary... and yet you’ve managed to find me. It’s truly a pity."

"You...?" Riven suddenly recognized that distinctive voice. "Professor Willheim!"

The old man chuckled with a vicious, delighted smile and spread his arms wide. "Ah, so you already know my name. Well, that will make things much easier. I always hate having to introduce myself."

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