255 – Runaways from Hell and Nymphs # 3
“I’ve entered the 51st floor.”
I finished my brief report through the communicator I had.
Even though I made the report, I found it hard to be certain that I had actually reached the 51st floor.
It was pitch black, and I couldn’t see anything.
51st floor underground.
Perhaps because of the depth that not even sunlight could penetrate, I truly couldn’t see anything.
Click—.
I activated the lantern attached at my waist.
Thanks to the beam of light moving forward, my vision began to clear, and I frowned slightly.
The 51st floor I had visited yesterday was a facility that was severe yet intricately constructed. It was a place firmly established with a heavy order.
However, what lay before me now was pure chaos.
The 50th floor, which had various things collapsed, was chaotic, but compared to the 51st floor, the 50th floor still maintained the shape of a building.
Splash—.
Lee Jin-A inhaled sharply, covering her nose from something that touched her shoe.
“What is this? There’s something all over the floor and walls.”
As Lee Jin-A said, the floor and walls were covered with substances that could only be described as organic materials. It was sticky and wiggled like living creatures.
“It looks just like an alien breeding ground. Is a queen alien about to emerge? I mean, a queen.”
I found it strange that Lee Jin-A was familiar with the movie “Alien,” but I also thought it was quite an apt comparison.
This 51st floor seemed like a place where some alien lifeform had decorated everything to terraform an environment suitable for itself.
A construction formed by bits of flesh stuck together grotesquely.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if something popped out.
Soon, the Nymphs followed me in, making grimaces.
“The floor is sticky!”
“What is this disgusting place…? It’s a nymph-hating place…!”
“I don’t know what’s what, but I think it’s fun to be here with my Nymph sisters…!”
The Nymphs perked their short triangular ears up and down, looking vigilant.
Kkungkkungi, who was sitting on my shoulder, also fluffed up its fur and went into alert mode.
“Honey ants, check if there are any survivors. The guards might be around.”
According to what Cha Yura told me yesterday, this underground prison is managed by three B-rank team leaders among the guards.
The person who first guided me was also a team leader.
I think their name was Lee Su-Hyun.
However, I hadn’t seen any sign of the team leaders while I was making my way to the 51st floor.
Perhaps the current police speculation is that they might be involved in this prison break incident.
Nevertheless, the team leaders I had met yesterday seemed very dedicated to their jobs and appeared to be excellent public servants.
They didn’t seem like the type that would cause a prison break.
—Crank…!
—Crank…!
The warrior ants increased their dominance in the gloomy 51st floor.
I also drew my repaired lightsaber and shone the light to the left and right.
At that moment, Lee Jin-A asked me.
“Haildo, your magic radius is relatively wide, right? Can you sense anything?”
“I was just about to give it a try. But it seems that because of this mucous, my magic is not expanding easily. It feels like I’ve entered a massive interference device.”
The strange magic swirling in this 51st floor made it difficult for me to spread my magic and expand my territory.
Even Kkungkkungi, with its keen sense of smell, seemed unable to track properly due to the bizarre scents lingering everywhere.
Then it happened.
—Caw…!?
One of the warrior ants screamed.
The emotion felt was one of confusion and disbelief.
When I turned my head, I saw a silver honey ant caught in something long and slender.
Slosh, slosh—.
Wriggle—.
The color of that which extended from the floor was dark blue, and its smooth, mucous surface was covered in suckers.
Tentacles like those of an octopus or squid.
Nothing else could better express the situation.
“What is that disgusting object…? It’s impossible for Illinois to tolerate such a blasphemous and nymph-hating being!”
Illinois openly expressed its feelings of hatred.
The wriggling figure did have a way of putting someone in a bad mood.
—Caw…!
A warrior ant flew toward the tentacle, spreading its wings with a buzz.
Approaching rapidly, the warrior ant split the tentacle with its scissor-like horns.
Thud—!
The bizarre tentacle didn’t have high durability, as it melted away upon being attacked by the warrior ant and disappeared into the ground.
The rescue of the warrior ant was successful.
But soon, there was a problem.
Wriggle—.
Wriggle—.
Wriggle—.
As one tentacle was cut, it was as if they had awakened from sleep; many tentacles simultaneously rose from various places!
It was truly a crisis!
Clap, clap, clap—.
Somewhere, applause could be heard.
I shone the lantern into the pitch black darkness and saw someone sitting on what seemed to be a chair made of horrific flesh.
Their skin was pale, and their long hair had a deep blue tint. They had an appearance that was so emaciated it was impossible to tell if they were male or female.
Then Lee Jin-A spoke.
“That guy is….”
“Do you know them?”
“No, I don’t know who they are, but it’s certain they are a dangerous one.”
I see.
I thought that since Lee Jin-A reacted, she might know them.
However, her assessment was quite accurate.
—A dangerous one—.
Could any expression better describe that person?
A normal and harmless person wouldn’t be sitting there calmly, clapping their hands in this horrific flesh hell of the 51st floor.
“Who are you?!”
I asked directly to identify the opponent, but I was not foolish.
Rather, I was quite perceptive.
I could tell that this person was one of the three monsters trapped on the 51st floor.
Each of them was said to be a level 0 inmate capable of causing a national disaster.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
The androgynous voice echoed in the space.
It was more humble and cultured than I expected.
“What a pity. Although it has been 3 years, 22 days, and 15 hours since I was imprisoned, I didn’t think my name would have been forgotten so easily….”
“Ah—! I smell the scent of recollection…! This Inoi can smell the scent of recollection even in this terrible place…!”
Inoi shuddered slightly.
It seemed certain that the bizarre human was trying to recall the past, just like Inoi said.
Soon, the bizarre human twitched.
“Inoi…. You seem to be a mystical being. You are from another realm, I can tell. I can sense the presence of mystical beings from another realm…! My name is Jinri Yeon. I am the seer of the Jinri Mandala Church—.”
Clap—!
The woman who revealed her name as Jinri Yeon clapped her hands.
Then thick tentacles, like the legs of a gigantic kraken, extended to her left and right, touching the high ceiling. They were tentacles as thick as the pillars of a temple.
“I am a lighthouse that leads all people to enlightenment and a holy realm that ascends high. Can you now recall such a name? Haildo.”
I don’t know.
Who is she?
But there was a familiar word.
“Jinri Mandala Church?”
# # #
「Jinri Mandala Church」.
Isn’t that the cult that teamed up with the “Monster Association” in Japan a few years ago to form the villain organization “Psycho Shockers”?
I had some information because I had reviewed related articles and materials that Tsukki gave me.
“How about it? Haildo. Are there many enlightened beings in the world? Is the Jinri Mandala Church unifying the world and leading a transformation with its burning eye?”
The Jinri Mandala Church was a cult that sought to make everyone into ‘enlightened beings,’ or Awakened.
I didn’t specialize in detailed doctrines, so I didn’t know much, but I had heard that the slogan was that when everyone became Awakened, the world would change.
However, I could say this much.
“The Jinri Mandala Church is a cult. They aren’t recognized by anyone, let alone bringing about transformation.”
“That can’t be! Haildo. Since I don’t think you would lie, I suppose I should look into this.”
“Yikes!”
Lee Jin-A screamed.
When I turned my head, a tentacle passed by, licking her cheek like a large tongue.
“Ugh, that’s disgusting! It feels gross!”
Lee Jin-A wiped the mucous from her face with the back of her hand.
She seemed to be fine, but she looked very troubled.
Soon, the seer of the Mandala Church, Jinri Yeon, trembled slightly.
“Did you know that sweat contains a lot of information? And this taste… unexpectedly pure maiden’s taste. For a maiden to exist in this day and age… It seems the transformation has failed.”
Jinri Yeon displayed hostility.
A prickly sensation—.
It was a blatant form of hostility that was palpable against my skin.
Was her mana at the A-rank level?
Five years ago, before her imprisonment, she had already reached A-rank.
If this woman had not been captured and imprisoned, it could mean she had the potential to become an S-rank.
“This world is only truth in its endless expansion and enlargement. The infinitely increasing number is the driving force that leads us…! Therefore, a maiden is a sin in itself!”
Yeah.
I remembered.
Usually, in any religion, they force purity, but the “Jinri Mandala Church” vilifies maidens and virginity.
Because it is a religion that takes quantitative expansion as truth, they think it is something wonderful that humans increase, and reportedly, every week the believers would gather and hold meetings in the nude.
And the content of the meetings… Well, they were movements for population increase and expansion in various ways.
That’s why it was deemed a heresy.
“Is it a sin to have never been in a relationship? What a laughable woman. Haildo, I’ll take care of her. Don’t touch her.”
Lee Jin-A showed enthusiasm.
Seeing that, Illinois said.
“Is this a fight between the woman Jinri Yeon, who freely wields tentacles like a tongue, and Kore Jin-A, who manipulates human emotions like a succubus…? Very interesting!”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I, Kore, also want to watch…!”
Puff—!
Soon, Lee Jin-A kicked off the squishy floor and charged at Jinri Yeon.
