NABC Chapter 1692: Super Humans? Really?
Chapter 1692: Super Humans? Really?
"Virus?""Y-Yes..." The woman’s lips trembled uncontrollably as she answered. Tears continued streaming down her cheeks.
Reflected within her watery eyes stood an emotionless man whose gaze felt less like a person’s and more like a Devil crawling against her soul.
"W-W-We were or-ordered to create a virus capable of annihilating all otherworlders instead of wasting military resources fighting them directly."
Lackey remained silent for several seconds.
"So let me understand this correctly," Lackey finally said, his voice colder than before. "You captured my people, locked them inside this Zoo, and used them as experimental subjects to test your virus. Is that what those cages contain?"
The woman immediately lowered her head and nodded repeatedly.
"Y-Yes. We constructed environments that resembled their natural habitats because we wanted the test subjects to remain physically and mentally stable. F-Forest regions, mountain zones, wetlands, and several artificial ecosystems were created specifically for long-term observation. A-A-Af-Afterwards, we introduced different viral strains into their bodies and monitored the results."
A dangerous look appeared within Lackey’s eyes.
"But why a Zoo?" he asked. "You could have performed those experiments inside secured laboratories. Why waste resources creating an entire Zoo like this? And isn’t it kind of dangerous? Doing it openly in Broad daylight?"
The woman swallowed nervously before answering.
"W-W-We don’t know the exact reason. G-Genome Beta personally suggested the project and convinced the President to approve it. None of us were told why a Zoo was necessary. We simply followed o-orders."
Lackey frowned deeply.
The explanation only made the situation stranger.
He understood experimentation.
He understood research.
He even understood the brutal logic behind developing biological weapons.
However, building an entire Zoo solely to test a virus made absolutely no sense. Millions of civilians could potentially visit a place like this.
Families, workers, tourists, and children could unknowingly expose themselves to unimaginable danger if even a single containment failure occurred.
His gaze shifted toward the barrier visible through the surveillance feed.
Perhaps the barrier was never designed to keep prisoners from escaping.
Perhaps the barrier existed to keep something else trapped inside.
The virus?
"So have you succeeded?" Lackey asked.
The woman immediately shook her head.
"N-No. It-It... It has been three and a half years since we captured the f-first subjects, yet we have failed to create a virus capable of killing every race... W-We have spent enormous amounts of money, manpower, and research materials, but none of our projects produced the results we needed."
Lackey raised an eyebrow.
"Then I assume you at least managed to create a Virus effective against one race."
Again, the woman shook her head.
"N-No... The concentration of Arcane energy within their bodies is simply overwhelming. Every viral strain we created was neutralised shortly after entering their bloodstream. Their blood destroys foreign contaminants before the virus can spread throughout their system."
Her expression gradually twisted into frustration.
"Their muscles contain Arcane energy. Their organs contain Arcane energy. Even their cells appear saturated with it. It is as though their entire biological structure has become a living extension of energy itself."
Then disgust replaced frustration.
"Th-Those bastards should consider themselves fortunate. They c-continue surviving by using energy that rightfully belongs to our Goddess and us."
Lackey stared at her without responding.
After several moments, Lackey finally spoke again.
"Then explain something else to me."
The woman flinched.
"The child. The one who appeared to be of mixed race. What exactly was he?"
The colour instantly drained from her face.
Her body became rigid as she cowered her face in fear.
Fear flooded her eyes so quickly that it looked as though she had been stabbed.
"Oi," Lackey said, his voice carrying a warning that sent shivers through her body.
"Answer the question."
The woman clenched her shaking fists.
"I-I... W-W-We were trying to create S-Su-Super Humans."
"Super Humans?" Lackey repeated. "What exactly does that mean?"
The woman hesitated before finally speaking.
"Humans are fundamentally different from others. Unlike them, we cannot naturally utilise both forms of energy. We are incapable of wielding magic in the same way other species can. N-N-No matter how advanced our technology becomes, there will always be races capable of overwhelming us through sheer magical superiority."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"So w-we decided to c-c-ch-change ourselves."
Lackey remained silent.
The woman lowered her head further.
"We conducted genetic modification experiments using biological samples collected from various races.
We attempted blood integration, organ transplantation, cellular reconstruction and genetically combined artificial womb.
O-O-Our goal was to create a new generation of humans capable of wielding magic while retaining the advantages of human intelligence and adaptability."
Her voice grew weaker.
"Most of the subjects died."
Fragments of horrific memories flashed through her mind.
Operating tables covered in blood.
Bodies convulsing violently as incompatible energies tore apart muscles and organs.
Researchers recorded data while children screamed in agony.
Laboratory floors were stained red from failed experiments that continued for years without success.
"Some exploded from internal energy overload. Others suffered complete biological collapse. A few survived for several days or months before their bodies began consuming themselves from the inside.
Every failure provided more data, but none brought us close to success.
And t-t-that child... managed to survive 2 years... though it was still a failure as he was unable to function properly like normal humans, and his cells kept destroying and reconstructing into different races every time. S-So he kind of turned into mixed race!"
Lackey listened quietly.
The calmness on his face made him far more frightening than any enraged monster.
Slowly, he turned his attention toward the surveillance screens positioned throughout the room.
The live footage revealed countless Beta Soldiers surrounding the Zoo from every direction. Armoured vehicles formed defensive lines while heavy artillery units positioned themselves beyond the perimeter.
The barrier protecting the Zoo trembled under repeated bombardment.
Lackey watched the scene silently.
It would not be long before the barrier collapsed completely.
"Tell me something," Lackey said while casually leaning against the control console. His fingers lazily tapped against the metal surface. "What do you really think about us?"
The woman immediately froze.
Fear flashed across her face before she could suppress it, and that brief reaction already told Lackey everything he needed to know. Even so, she forced herself to answer because she understood that silence might be even more dangerous.
"I... I love you all."
Lackey stared at her.
The forced smile on her face looked painful. Her trembling lips betrayed her fear, and the terror swimming inside her eyes made the lie painfully obvious.
A chuckle escaped his mouth.
"H-Hey..." she stammered while desperately trying to seize the opportunity. "I can leave now, right? I told you everything I know. I answered every question honestly. P-p-please... I really don’t know anything else."
Instead of answering, Lackey tilted his head slightly.
"What about Genome Beta?"
The woman blinked.
"Their suits were advanced enough to slaughter entire armies, yet they were forced to stay here. Why?"
"I-I-I don’t know!"
"Huh?"
"I s-s-sw-wear I don’t know! Nobody told us anything about their situation. P-Please believe me! I ba-barely talk to her!!"
She clasped her hands together and repeatedly bowed her head.
"P-Please... please let me g-g-go."
Lackey studied her silently before releasing a slow sigh.
"Fine... You can leave."
Disbelief immediately appeared on her face.
For several moments, she simply sat there staring at him, unable to process what she had heard. After everything that had happened, after all the bloodshed and terror she had witnessed, she genuinely hadn’t expected mercy.
To keep his promise!
Slowly, cautiously, she stood.
Lackey had already turned away from her.
His attention appeared focused on the control panel while he removed the cartridge from his weapon and examined the glowing Origin Core Crystal resting within his palm.
The woman swallowed.
Step...
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
Each movement carried her closer to the shattered doorway.
Hope slowly replaced fear.
By the time she reached the ruined entrance, her heartbeat had become almost uncontrollable.
She was going to survive.
She was actually going to survive!!
"Oi."
The woman stopped.
"You forgot something."
Confusion immediately crossed her face... did she forget something?
"Huh—Chuckk!"
She turned around.
The next moment happened so quickly that her brain failed to process it.
Lackey crossed the distance between them instantly.
A sharp impact struck her eyes.
Then the pain.
An impossible amount of pain!!
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The woman’s scream exploded throughout the corridor as she collapsed onto the floor, clutching her face.
Her world vanished.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Blood poured through her eyes while agony ripped through her mind!
"My eyes! My eyes! My EYES!!!"
Lackey casually withdrew his hand and stared at the blood coating his fingers.
For several moments, he simply examined it before wiping the crimson stains against a nearby wall.
A wicked smile slowly spread across his face.
"Beautiful eyes are wasted on trash," he said while watching her crawl across the floor in blind terror.
"Besides, I already know several women who wear gorgeous eyes far better than you ever could!"
The woman desperately dragged herself away.
Blood streaked across the metal floor behind her.
"Y-You promised..." she sobbed. "YOU PROMISED! YOU LET ME GO!!"
Lackey shrugged.
"I did."
The answer made her freeze.
"What?"
"I said you could leave. I never said I was going to help you."
His grin widened.
"All you have to do is find your own fucking way out."
The woman could hear the smile in his voice.
The man wasn’t angry.
He wasn’t acting out of revenge.
He was enjoying himself~
While she struggled to stand, Lackey casually inserted several Origin Core Crystals into the control panel and fired the beam at them,
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!
The control room disappeared beneath a violent eruption of fire and debris. The shockwave hurled the woman across the corridor before she slammed into the floor and rolled across the metal surface.
Every part of her body hurt.
Every breath burned.
Every sound felt distant beneath the ringing inside her ears.
"N-No..."
She forced herself onto trembling hands.
"Please..."
Tears mixed with blood as she blindly reached for the nearest wall.
"P-P-Pl-Please..."
Her palms scraped against metal while she desperately searched for an exit she could no longer see.
The corridor had become an endless nightmare.
She stumbled into walls.
She crashed into debris.
She fell repeatedly and forced herself back up because stopping meant dying.
Behind her, Lackey walked at a leisurely pace.
His hands rested inside his pockets.
His expression looked almost peaceful.
The sight of a terrified woman blindly running through a collapsing facility while desperately clinging to life entertained him far more than it should have.
"Laaa~ la laaa~ laaa~"
The tune sounded cheerful.
Almost innocent~
That only made it worse.
"Laaa~ la laaa~ laaa~"
The woman’s breathing became increasingly frantic as she stumbled forward.
She could hear him.
No matter how desperately she moved.
No matter how fast she crawled.
No matter how many times she forced her broken body back onto her feet.
She could still hear him.
The song never grew distant.
The footsteps never disappeared.
The realisation slowly crushed what little hope remained inside her heart.
Lackey wasn’t chasing her because he needed to.
He wasn’t hunting her because she could escape.
He was following because he enjoyed watching her try.
"Hehe~ Watching her run was like watching little mice celebrate finding an exit, completely unaware that the cat built the tunnel for them."
The Dark voice chuckled amusedly.
For the woman trapped within endless darkness, the world had become a nightmare made entirely of pain, terror, and sound.
Blood continued pouring from her ruined eyes as she staggered through the collapsing corridors, her trembling hands desperately searching for walls, debris, or anything that could guide her toward freedom. She could no longer see the flames consuming the facility, nor could she see the bodies scattered throughout the corridors, yet one thing remained painfully clear within her mind.
She could hear his lovely song~
No matter how desperately she ran, no matter how many times she stumbled across broken meat and bloody ground, and no matter how frantically she forced her exhausted body forward, she could still hear that cheerful song drifting through the corridor behind her.
The tune sounded almost playful, as though someone were enjoying a peaceful afternoon stroll.
’I need to leave... I need to leave...!’
The thought repeated endlessly inside her head.
’That fucking monster... that fucking monster is following me...!’
"Laaa~ la laaa~ laaa~"
His voice echoed through the darkness behind her.
The woman nearly collapsed.
"P-P-Please... please..." she muttered while dragging herself forward. "Please let me g-g-go..."
Yet... The song continued.
It never stopped.
It never grew distant.
It simply remained behind her like the voice of a devil patiently waiting for the moment she finally broke.
Then suddenly, after what felt like an eternity of stumbling through hell itself, a gentle breeze touched her face.
The woman froze.
Fresh air?
For the first time since entering the facility, she felt fresh air... mixed with the stench of blood.
Hope exploded within her chest so violently that blood immediately began pouring from her ruined eyes.
The exit.
She had found the exit!!
"H-Ha..Haha..."
A trembling laugh escaped her lips as she pushed herself forward and stepped through the doorway. The cool wind brushed against her blood-covered face, and for a brief moment, she genuinely believed she had survived.
"I-I finally got free..." she whispered.
CHUUUKK!
The sword entered through the back of her skull before the sentence could finish.
The blade erupted from her mouth in a spray of blood and shattered teeth while her entire body instantly went rigid. The tiny spark of hope she had been protecting throughout her desperate escape vanished before she could even fully embrace it.
For several seconds, she remained standing there, almost frozen in place, while blood dripped from the sword protruding through her head. Then her body finally lost all strength and collapsed onto the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Lackey silently pulled the sword free.
Drip...
Blood slid down the edge of the blade and dripped onto the dirt beneath his feet.
His expression remained completely emotionless.
There was no satisfaction on his face.
There was no excitement.
There was no anger.
"Hm."
The quiet sound escaped him naturally before his attention shifted toward the figures waiting outside.
Hundreds of people stood there.
His people!
The same people who had been imprisoned, tortured, dissected, experimented upon, and treated as little more than livestock stood beneath the darkened sky while holding weapons stained with blood.
Their bodies carried scars.
Their faces carried exhaustion.
Their eyes carried memories that would never disappear.
The screams that once echoed throughout the Zoo had completely vanished.
The battles had ended... The revenge had ended.
The slaughter had fucking ended!!
And no, all that remained was... dead silence.
Ssshhh~
The breeze itself seemed heavy beneath the overwhelming stench of blood, smoke, rot, and death.
Bodies littered the ruined Zoo behind them while crimson rivers slowly flowed through the broken pathways... A pure massacre!
*What are you all doing here?* Lackey asked casually while resting the sword across his shoulder.
*Did you get your revenge?*