Chapter 64

Having obtained the information I had been searching for, I returned to the front door where Rose and Ms. Leia were waiting.

"Ah, Allen! How did it go!?"

"Did that blood fox do anything to you!?"

"Sure enough, Rize was a very good person! Look at this map! It says their laboratory is marked with a red X here!"

As I opened the map I received from Rize, smiles appeared on both of their faces.

"We did it... Now we can go save Reia..."

"Who would have thought you could actually get information out of Rize... Well done, Allen!"

After that, the teacher stared intently at the red X.

"Hmm, it's about a fifteen-minute walk from here... But I never knew there was a laboratory in this forest..."

She tilted her head and said with a troubled expression.

"Let's go anyway. This is our only lead now."

"Indeed, Allen is right... Let's go!"

"Yes!"

After that, we pushed through 'God Street' and headed west, deeper and deeper into the forest. The path became increasingly treacherous, and we ventured into a dense forest.

After running for about ten minutes,

"...This is it."

The teacher, who had been moving with the map in hand, stopped abruptly.

"Is this it...?"

"There doesn't seem to be any building like that..."

Rose and I looked around.

As the teacher had said before we left, it was just a forest. Tall, lush trees obscured the sky, and a large waterfall roared nearby. There was no sign of any artificial structures, let alone any indication that people had been there.

It was a landscape of pure nature.

(Could it be... a dud...?)

Cold sweat trickled down my back, and unpleasant thoughts crossed my mind.

Then,

"Rize's information network is impressive... It's a big hit."

The teacher said with a complex expression, half pleased and half frustrated. She then started walking towards the large waterfall.

"Teacher...?"

"Where are you going...?"

When Rose and I called out to her,

"Knifeless style—Sever!"

She suddenly delivered a powerful punch to the waterfall.

In the next instant, the large waterfall shattered into pieces, revealing an old laboratory.

"Wha!?"

Rose and I were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the laboratory.

"It's a powerful recognition-blocking barrier. It's probably the work of the magician Thor-Summons. But for me not to notice it until I got this close... It's an incredibly advanced barrier."

After praising Thor, the teacher cracked her knuckles and smiled belligerently.

"Given that the barrier was set, they are definitely in there! Let's go!"

"Yes!"

With that, we followed Ms. Leia as she led the way into the laboratory.

■

Reia, who had been defeated by a member of the Black Organization, Zak-Bombard, woke up in the lowest level of the laboratory.

"Where... am I...?"

While still dazed, she tried to move her body.

"..."

A dull pain shot through her wrists.

Looking down, she saw that her hands were restrained by chains connected to the ceiling. Her feet were also shackled with weighted chains, leaving her completely immobile.

Then,

"Ha ha ha, you're awake already! You have a surprisingly strong body, Reia-Vestaria!"

"...Hey, girl. We're keeping you alive, so don't get any funny ideas."

Zak and Thor, who had noticed Reia's awakening, appeared from the back of the room.

"...Zak-Bombard!?"

Reia, recalling the bitter defeat, twisted her face in anger and frustration.

With her hands and feet restrained and unable to do anything physically, she said,

"...To think you have such a perverted hobby, binding young girls with chains. Are you a pervert, or what?"

As a form of resistance, she spat out such an insult.

Then,

"Ha ha ha! To still be able to talk like that in this situation, you really are a strong-willed girl!"

"...Ha! Your big body and perverted nature are beyond saving, Zak?"

Zak laughed joyfully, and Thor joined in.

Reia, judging from the current exchange that she wouldn't be killed immediately, asked,

"What is your purpose? Why did you kidnap me?"

A question that had been on her mind since the attack during the summer camp.

"Hmm? Of course, it's—"

Just as Zak was about to speak,

"Hey, stupid Zak! Don't reveal the organization's secrets so easily! Do you have a brain, or what!?"

Thor, with a vein popping on his forehead, kicked Zak's shin.

"Ha ha ha ha! Sorry, sorry! I forgot it was a secret!"

"Damn... Get a grip..."

As they were talking,

"Fufufu... I'm sorry to interrupt, but... I need a sample now..."

A male researcher, holding a large syringe, cautiously spoke up.

Thick round glasses.

A pale, bloodless face.

About 150 cm tall, probably in his mid-forties.

His black hair, streaked with white, was unkempt and lacked any cleanliness.

"Alright, get it over with."

"Fufufu... Yes, sir..."

With Thor's permission, the man bowed deeply and approached Reia.

"Wait... What are you going to do...!?"

As Reia writhed in resistance,

"Tch... I just need a little blood. Don't struggle, you hag..."

Thor, looking irritated, said dismissively.

"Hag...!?"

Reia, a young girl with a fair amount of confidence in her appearance, felt intense anger at being called a hag.

However, the intelligent girl, who had received a rigorous education since childhood, thought,

(Huff, huff... Calm down, Reia-Vestaria...!)

She regained her composure with a faulty breathing technique.

(Struggling in this situation will only waste my energy... It's wiser to comply for now, even though it's infuriating...!)

With that, Reia obediently fell silent and stopped resisting.

"Fufufu... Excuse me."

The man inserted the needle into Reia's upper arm, causing a sharp pain. After collecting a large amount of blood, equivalent to three syringes,

"Fufufu... This should be enough...!"

He set the samples into a large machine with a twisted expression of joy.

"Hey, how long will the 'analysis' take?"

"Fufufu... Even if we hurry, it will take a full day..."

"Alright, finish it as soon as possible. I hate waiting."

The impatient Thor muttered and disappeared upstairs.

Left alone and with nothing to do, Zak stretched.

"Well, I'll go get some food... Oh, right, Reia. Are you hungry? I'll see what I can find for you."

"...Hmph, I won't accept food from the enemy. Besides, it might be poisoned."

"Ha ha ha ha! You really are a strong-willed girl! Well, if you get hungry, just let me know."

Zak laughed heartily and disappeared upstairs.

Reia then waited, hoping for a miracle.

To conserve her strength, she neither resisted nor struggled, but simply waited.

Allen would surely find her. He would rescue her.

She believed this wholeheartedly and continued to wait.

Then, after several hours had passed since her capture,

"Fufufu... Are you awake, Reia-Vestaria...?"

The same researcher approached Reia.

"...What is it? You've already taken enough blood, haven't you?"

"Fufufu... Just listen... You will be sent back to 'the homeland' and killed without much ado..."

"...I see."

Reia, who had vaguely expected this, didn't let it greatly disturb her and dismissed it lightly.

"Before that... I want to have a little fun... with you..."

The man's lecherous gaze roamed over Reia's body.

"You're a despicable man...!"

"Fufufu... Say whatever you want..."

The man, saying this, took a step closer to Reia.

"No... Don't come any closer...!"

Just as the man reached out to touch Reia, a red flash of light streaked through the dark room.

In the next instant,

"Fufu...! A, a, it's hot, it's hot!?"

The man was enveloped in searing flames, rolling on the ground in agony.

"A, a, aaaaaaaah...!?"

A terrible scream echoed through the laboratory, and the man died almost instantly.

Then,

"Ha ha ha ha! That was close, Reia!"

Zak, holding a glass of wine, appeared, laughing heartily.