Volume 2 Chapter 12 – A Secret… No Longer Hidden?

The rusted gate creaked and groaned, but thankfully it still worked. The clatter of old gears and rails made Dylin's toothache as the iron door slowly rose from the bottom.

The moment they stepped through the arched iron gate, Dylin felt a chill settle in the air. Beyond the gate stretched a straight passage, the stone walls on either side recessed inward, each alcove housing a lit candle. Like the oil lamps earlier, these burned with unknown fuel—still alight after all this time.

Then came a stench so foul it rushed up their noses in a wave. Even Felicia couldn’t help but wrinkle her brow.

It was the kind of rot that came from waterlogged corpses—bloated, putrid, stomach-turning.

Dylin covered his mouth and nose, trailing behind Felicia like a crawling insect.

The passage continued into darkness. Every so often, a candle flickered on either side. Then—

Click! The sharp sound made both Dylin and Felicia whip around—only to see the distant iron gate slam shut with a final, heavy boom. The reverberation left a prickling numbness along the scalp.

No turning back now.

The further in they went, the stronger and more overpowering the smell became. Rooms lined both sides of the corridor—the odor seemed to be leaking from them.

Dylin and Felicia exchanged a glance, then cautiously peered into one.

Pitch black—utterly lightless. Nothing visible, only the stench, lingering and foul, betraying something unnatural inside.

Dylin stepped into the room, which was no more than a hundred square meters, raised his flintlock, and activated the illumination.

A ghostly pale light painted the surroundings. What appeared before them twisted their expressions instantly.

A viscous, greenish fluid filled the tanks, submerging pulsing, dark-red, soft-bodied organs. The blood had long since drained, leaving no metallic tang in the air, only the reek of decay oozing from the rotting tissue.

Human organs.

Most of the room had been taken up to house these grotesque remnants—blood-red hearts and lungs, as though still pulsing from their last moments inside a host.

The sight made Dylin instinctively gasp, but all he inhaled was the stench.

“Cough…” He gagged. His stomach turned violently from both the physical and psychological assault. He wanted to retreat—but even stepping back was beyond him now.

Felicia silently pulled him out, then slammed the door shut.

“Cough…” Dylin keeled over, and Felicia gently patted his back to help him recover.

“What… was that?” he gasped.

Felicia shook her head, leaning on her greatsword against the wall, her gaze distant.

“Could this have been a Demon-built lab for dissecting light-attribute beings?”

“Possibly… but Demons have their own language,” she said. “There’s no reason they’d use the human common tongue.”

“And this isn’t the kind of facility that orcs or goblins—those low-intelligence Demons—could build,” she added. “It must’ve been crafted by more intelligent kinds, but they usually dwell in the rich central regions, not fringe areas like this.”

“Unless they commissioned it in secret.”

The mystery deepened. Once Dylin recovered slightly, the two continued down the corridor.

The entrance had vanished behind them. The dim candlelight did little to dispel the pressing gloom. The corridor’s ceiling felt low, threatening to collapse and crush them at any moment.

Room after room, Felicia searched each one. They were all the same—organs soaked in some unknown preservative fluid.

Only the sounds of their footsteps echoed in the oppressive space—Dylin’s soft steps and the sharp click of Felicia’s heels.

Eventually, even the candlelight ceased. Darkness blanketed the passage.

Felicia felt a chill in her heart. She glanced back at the frail Divine Child trailing her, took a deep breath, and pressed on.

Right now, there was no one else to rely on.

‘Why is it that Miss Felicia always has to act so tough? Why not learn to rely on your companions?’

The voice of Teresa echoed suddenly in her mind.

Felicia’s eyes softened, the suffocating black pressing inward. The scent, the quiet—her mind whispered:

“If only Teresa were here…”

For that ever-capable girl, this place wouldn’t even count as danger.

She wasn’t sure why Teresa was the first person she thought of at this moment.

Up ahead, a faint glimmer appeared. A candle—it had been so long since they’d seen light. Had they reached the end?

“No more path?” Dylin asked.

They stood at the corridor’s end. A single wall sconce flickered on the brick wall, beneath it a treasure chest—as if a reward for reaching this far.

But Dylin knew—there would be no reward here. Not in a place like this. Opening that chest might unleash something far worse.

There was nothing else here—no doors, no corners, just that aged leather chest.

Felicia motioned for Dylin to step back, then used her greatsword to unhook the latch.

Unlocked. It opened easily.

Eyes sharp, the two watched for traps. When none emerged, they finally looked inside.

Only a single, old notebook.

They exchanged glances, crouched down, and Dylin sprayed it with a bit of alchemical mist, carefully removing it and opening the cover.

Blank. Every page.

Dylin frowned. Why would something like this be hidden here, if it meant nothing?

He flipped rapidly to the last page. A brief glimmer caught his eye, and he turned back a few pages—one of them held a barely visible tag. Barely visible to the naked eye.

Activating Divine Appraisal, he finally saw it.

Not a tag—but a sentence written in faint yellow ink:

“Curious cats don’t live long.”

Suddenly—Boom! The words ignited, as if drenched in fuel.

Thud! The notebook dropped to the floor. Dylin stared, stunned, even as he tried to understand why it was burning.

That’s when the rumbling began.

Something massive slammed into the earth from somewhere below. Dylin nearly fell, saved only by Felicia pulling him away.

The walls groaned. Something enormous was bashing against the underground structure. The ground buckled and twisted like a shaken bottle.

It was collapsing.

Felicia threw herself over Dylin and deployed her Divine Domain to shield him.

The shaking stopped. Replacing it—drumming.

Deep, steady, like some massive creature was awakening beneath the earth. Getting closer.

From behind them.

Felicia looked back. With a deafening crash, a twisted piece of metal smashed into the wall behind them—it was the warped iron gate.

Then whoosh!—the candles all went out.

Darkness swallowed the corridor.

What…?

Could that line in the notebook have been a trigger? Had reading it with Divine Appraisal awakened something buried in this lab?

Dylin’s mind raced beneath Felicia’s weight.

Whoever built this place must have expected intruders to reach the chest, open the notebook, and use Divine Appraisal.

That was why no other traps were needed—the enemy waited, dormant.

If that person didn’t want anyone discovering this lab… then what they’d unleashed now was something Dylin and Felicia couldn’t possibly defeat.

Dylin shivered. Who was mad and twisted enough to build such a lab—and then rig it like a cruel joke?

Felicia could already sense the presence in the dark. She stood in front of Dylin, sword in hand, like an iron tower against the deathly presence.

The drumming stopped.

They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to.

They could feel it—a massive shadow had stopped before them.

The air turned still, oppressive.

Dylin silently pulled out a flash potion, tossing it to the side.

Pop! A dull white glow spread, illuminating the corridor.

And the thing standing before them.

Massive limbs like stone pillars bulged with veins. Bloodstained, scale-covered flesh. Three tails swayed behind it—neither draconic nor beastlike. And its head—

Its head was the grotesque face of a fetus, as if torn from a womb and stitched onto this abomination. The features weren’t fully formed, its face like a lump of wet dough. The pale light made it look like it was smiling at them.

Dripping fluid pooled beneath it. It had just awakened from some nutrient bath, now blocking their escape entirely.

Was this really… alive?

Even a glimpse drained Dylin’s sanity. His legs nearly gave out.

The body, the limbs, the head—they didn’t belong together. A stitched monstrosity.

Dylin raised his flintlock and fired.

The powder sparked—plink. A tiny flicker against its flesh.

Useless. Not even a toy.

This thing had been created for eradication.

If nothing changed… they were doomed.

Dylin didn’t counterattack. He turned around and activated Divine Appraisal on the wall behind him.

Behind him, Felicia had already engaged the creature.

Every candle in the corridor was out—except one. The one behind Dylin.

Could that be a clue?

No matter—he just needed time.

“Felicia… I need you to buy me—”

Boom! A shadow flew past and slammed into the wall.

It was Felicia.

“Are you serious?” Dylin broke into a cold sweat.

For all her strength, Felicia hadn’t lasted a single exchange.

Still, she seemed mostly unharmed.

Her eyes now gleamed crimson—dragon blood boiling.

She roared and swung her greatsword. Amber crystals formed on its edge, crashing down.

The monster raised one arm. It blocked her swing with ease. The crystals shattered on contact.

She tried again—but she had only one sword. It had two arms.

One blocked, the other grabbed her—and slammed her into the ground. Hard enough to crack it.

Finished with her, the creature turned its head—featureless, smiling—toward Dylin.

Frozen in place.

Then, Felicia surged back to her feet and slashed at its legs.

It nearly tripped. Its tail lashed out, sending her crashing into the wall in an explosion of dust.

A complete beatdown.

Dylin silently pulled out a blue-glowing butterfly hairpin.

If he transformed here—His secret would be exposed.

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