Before I started a riot on the third floor, I was moving the third clone on the second floor frantically.
No, to be honest, it felt like the clone was moving on its own.
Almost as if it had a will of its own.
The researchers didn’t come toward my direction, perhaps because they were busy with other tasks.
After a while, I—or rather, Clone 3—moved to a large room where the beasts were stored.
The entrance to the enclosure, where the beasts were confined, was blocked by a particularly thick and heavy iron door due to its danger.
The laboratory would take one of the beasts from these enclosures and put it in the testing area whenever needed.
‘Great. Let’s open this.’
I swiped the card key.
The sound of air escaping, like a whale exhaling, was followed by a stench that pricked at my nose.
The smell reminded me of a livestock farm.
Inside the dimly lit room, where only one faint light was on, all that could be heard was the sound of the beasts snoring as they slept.
‘Good, they’re asleep.’
I tiptoed forward and began unlocking the enclosures of the beasts one by one with the card.
I could feel the rough breaths of the beasts right in front of me.
I was incredibly nervous.
Just after I unlocked the doors to all the enclosures, I realized something important.
‘Wait, how do I wake them up now?’
If I provoked them, they’d wake up, sure.
But if I tried to run away with my slow footsteps, I’d be caught and killed before I could retrieve the clone and make it disappear.
Of course, since the “me” here is Clone 3, I wouldn’t truly die in the real sense, but it would still hurt a lot.
Both the main body and the other clones would feel the pain.
Also, it would be better if this incident looked like a random escape incident.
That would confuse the lab and make it harder for them to assume someone orchestrated it.
If I could use one of the researchers as bait, that would be ideal.
Just then, I heard footsteps approaching the area.
I peeked my head out of the enclosure room’s door and saw a familiar face.
‘Ack! It’s that slicked-back bastard who electrocuted me!’
This is the piece of trash who always harassed me with the ponytailed researcher as a 1+1 duo.
Perfect timing—I still had the electroshock collar I had removed from the main body.
I quickly sent it over to Clone 3.
One hand held the collar, and the other hand held the switch.
“That’s strange… Did no one properly secure the beast enclosure door before leaving for the day?”
I waited by the corner of the enclosure room, and the moment the guy approached the entrance, I threw myself at his legs.
“Ugh! What the—?!”
While he fell over and lost his balance, I quickly secured the electroshock collar around his leg.
I just held it near him and pressed a button, and it fastened automatically.
Pretty effective.
“Wait a second? You’re 10-6-8! What are you doing here?…”
While the slicked-back researcher was still struggling to grasp the situation, I kicked one of the enclosures hard and dashed out.
The loud clang of metal colliding echoed throughout the room.
-Grrrr…!
-Ooooh…
-Kyaaa…!
-Growl!
From a safe distance, I crouched down and watched.
The beasts, whose sleep had been disturbed, started to wake up one by one.
When one of them howled, others followed in a chain reaction like dominos.
“Huh..? Huh…? What is this…?”
The slicked-back researcher, who was staring nervously in the direction of the dark enclosure room, began to step backward slowly in fear, trying not to provoke the beasts.
But what would happen if I used the electric shock?
-Zap!
I delivered a shock at the lowest voltage first.
“Ahhhhhhh! Gah…!”
The guy tumbled over and fell backward, writhing in pain.
Hearing his screams, the beasts became agitated and began stepping out of their enclosures.
“My leg? Why is this thing attached to me? Ah! No! Stay back!”
Panicked, the slicked-back guy scrambled to his feet and began running in the opposite direction of where I was hiding.
As expected of an adult man, he ran quite well.
The beasts instinctively chased after the researcher.
Once he had run a reasonable distance, I adjusted the switch to its maximum setting and pressed the button.
“The grudge for electrocuting me? I haven’t forgotten it!”
-Bzzzzzzzzap!
“Aaaaaghhhh!”
The shock hit the slicked-back researcher’s leg like a bolt of lightning.
He screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and collapsed.
The first thing the terrified, fallen researcher saw was a wolf-like beast—Skulkit.
“Agh… Uh… Nice… beast… Stay away! Go away! No!”
“Grawwwrr!”
Here’s a setting detail from 『Deep Crimson Academia』:
Skulkits love the flesh of cowards.
“S-Someone save… AAAAAGHHH!”
The slicked-back researcher’s pitiful screams echoed throughout the entire lab.
“What’s going on? What’s with that scream?”
“It’s a beast! A beast has escaped! Emergency! Emergency!”
Unfortunately for the slicked-back guy, the direction he ran toward was where most of the people were gathered.
Having tasted blood, the beasts lost their minds and began charging at the people.
Soon, sirens blared throughout the entire lab.
“Well, I’ll take my leave now.”
Meanwhile, the main body had just knocked out the ponytailed researcher.
I retrieved Clone 3.
I had been retrieved.
The moment the elevator doors opened, Kalia stared in shock at the chaos unfolding on the second floor.
Screams, gunfire, explosions, noise, and turmoil—all of it blended into a cacophony of chaos.
A researcher firing an assault rifle was dragged away by tentacles that shot out from a corner of the room, a guard wielding an axe wrestled with a humanoid beast that had mantis-like forelimbs, and someone else danced in agony, engulfed in flames.
“Hey… Violet… What the hell did you do?”
“I told you already—I’m unleashing the beasts!”
“I thought you meant you’d release one or two at most!”
Stepping out of the elevator, the researchers noticed us immediately.
“Why is the elevator door opening over there?… Are those test subjects?”
“No! They’re escaping!”
“Kalia Blaze! That pink-haired bitch is escaping!”
“What?! Dammit…! Call the Team Leader!”
The guards spotted us and opened fire without hesitation.
I quickly shoved the pig-like researcher in front of me.
“Ack! No! I’m a member of the research team! Don’t shoot! Aaaah!”
The man collapsed to the floor, riddled with bullets, creating enough of a distraction for me and the others to duck for cover or hide.
From the corner of the wall, our eyes darted toward the elevator leading to the first floor at the end of the hallway.
“Seriously, why couldn’t we just go straight down in one shot?”
“Kalia, I’m sorry! The elevator system only allows one floor per ride—it’s a security feature.”
“You said we were waiting for the Brotherhood! You really do whatever you want, don’t you…”
“The plan was originally to lay low and stall until the Brotherhood made their move! But now? Screw it—let’s just smash through everything and get out!”
Kalia clutched her head in exasperation.
“Violet… I’ll take the lead, so just follow right behind me, okay?”
I summoned Clone 2 and Clone 3 and stuck close to her.
A bright violet flame enveloped Kalia’s entire body.
The flames flickered and swayed, large and small, like petals blooming and withering.
‘So that’s Kalia’s unique ability.’
The floor beneath her feet crunched and dented with each step she took as she charged forward.
“She’s coming! She’s coming this way!”
The guard who had first shouted upon seeing us aimed his submachine gun at her.
There wasn’t enough time to aim properly, so he settled for a hurried shooting stance.
Ta-ta-ta-ta-tang! Bullets rained down—or at least, they should have.
But it was too late.
The muzzle, which should’ve been aimed at us, was already grabbed by Kalia’s left arm and forced upward toward the ceiling.
At the same time, her flame-coated right fist slammed into his solar plexus. Bang! With a small explosion, the guard’s chest caved in as he was sent flying.
A clean one-hit knockout.
“Aaaargh! Die!”
A researcher standing behind the guard, his face twisted in terror, raised a shotgun and fired.
Bang! Bang!
I felt the heavy projectiles whiz past just above my head.
One of the test subjects beside me was hit and let out a piercing scream.
Kalia realized that if she dodged, the others would be struck instead.
Crossing her arms in an X-shape, she moved into the line of fire.
Two more shots rang out, and flames surged fiercely from her arms.
The heavy slugs bounced off, deflected by the blaze.
Kalia’s leg swung into the researcher’s side, sending him crumpling into the wall.
The shotgun flew out of his hands and spun through the air.
-Clang!
Sensing something amiss, Kalia took a step back.
A moment later, a white-glowing mace smashed into the spot where her head had been.
An Awakened Guard had burst through the partition next to the hallway, launching a surprise attack.
Retreating, Kalia kicked up the falling shotgun, caught it in reverse grip, and swung it up.
The flames on her arms spread along the shotgun, reaching all the way to the stock. The surface of the weapon cracked, glowing with a red, web-like pattern.
The Flame of Perseverance—Kalia Blaze’s unique ability. Its effects were simple.
The flames generated from her body enhanced both her physical self and any objects she held.
The resulting pyrokinesis was merely a secondary effect.
Though simple, its power was devastating.
Spinning her entire body, she swung the stock of the burning shotgun into the charging guard’s head.
-Boom!
The Awakened Guard’s head partially exploded, scattering sparks.
My jaw dropped in shock.
What the hell…?!
The headless body flailed briefly before Kalia hoisted it onto her shoulder and hurled it forward like a battering ram.
“Aaaargh!”
“Where’s the security team leader?! Damn it!”
The incoming armed researchers were knocked down like bowling pins by the flying corpse.
Kalia advanced like a lone lancer cutting through the chaos.
Anything in her way—whether it was guards or beasts—was crushed to pieces.
I dashed after her with all my might.
I shouted in excitement.
“As expected! Kalia is so strong!!”
“Stop yelling nonsense!!”
“Let’s smash through everything and gooooo!!”
Glancing back, I saw the other test subjects following suit, unleashing their own share of violence.
“Revenge! Take this, you damn scientists!”
“Ack! Stop hitting me!”
“Die! Just die already!”
“Kyaaaah!”
Our target—the elevator—came into view.
“Wait! Why is that locked?”
Out of the three elevator doors at the end of the shaft, all but one were sealed shut with fireproof barriers.
The final door wouldn’t open even after I swiped the card key.
Nearby, a researcher was being beaten by a test subject, so I pointed my gun at him.
“Ahhh! Don’t shoot! I was wrong! Please, spare me!”
“Hey! You! Why isn’t that opening? I won’t shoot, so answer me!”
“The lockdown system! The emergency lockdown system has activated! That door! That elevator can only be opened by the Research Director or the Security Team Leader now!”
“What?”
Wait, there was something like this? Am I really stuck here?
The test subjects nearby were visibly agitated after hearing this.
“Damn it! We can’t get out of here?”
“No, this can’t be real…!”
Kalia calmly approached the researcher and asked him.
“Then, where are the Research Director or the Security Team Leader? Don’t tell me they’re on a lower floor?”
“I don’t know! Ack! Don’t hit me! The Director was on this floor! Just a while ago…!”
Anger surged within me, and I struck the researcher on the head with my pistol’s handle. He fainted.
At that moment, a group of people cautiously approached from the right.
“Are they enemies?”
I readied myself for another fight, but amidst them, I saw a middle-aged man with a strikingly shiny bald head.
“What the hell is going on?”
“When are reinforcements arriving? Where’s the Security Team Leader?”
The Research Director, accompanied by researchers armed with guns, was cautiously making his way toward us.
“The Security Team Leader is on his way up! Reinforcements are coming with him, so just wait a bit longer!”
“Kalia! That’s the Director!”
Once again, Kalia darted forward like a bolt of lightning.
“Stop right there, Baldy!”
“What the—! Who are you people?! Don’t come any closer! What are you doing?! Protect me! Ughhhh…?!”
The researchers scattered like the tide receding, abandoning their guns and fleeing.
“Ahhh! Sorry, Director!”
The terrified bald man pulled a pistol from inside his lab coat but was immediately overpowered by Kalia, who snatched it away.
I took custody of him and dragged him to the elevator.
“10-6-8? Kalia Blaze? So, it was you two who caused all this mess!”
“Shut up and open this door, Baldy! You said you could open it!”
“Ridiculous! Do you think you can escape like this? You’ll never make it! Do you think Laplaxia is some convenience store? You’re all going to die here!”
Kalia grabbed the Director by the neck and growled a threat in a low voice.
“Hey, if you can’t open it, you’ll die.”
“Ah… Wait! I didn’t say I couldn’t open it. Calm down! Calm… Ahh…”
Suddenly, one of the older test subjects behind us pointed at the elevator.
“Wait! Look at that!”
The display on the elevator shaft, which had been off until a moment ago, now showed an upward arrow.
The elevator was coming up. Now I noticed the fire doors retracting as well.
“It’s moving…?”
I looked at the bald Director, who pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile.
“Hey! What’s going on? Why is it moving? Is there someone inside…?”
A sense of unease crept over us as we stared at the door.
Ding— A soft chime rang out as the elevator arrived.
“…Violet, take care of the Director.”
“What?”
The elevator doors opened.
Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed.
A giant clad in black armor with a helmet obscuring his face stepped out of the elevator.
“Uh…?”
“Run!”
Kalia pushed me and the Research Director out of the way.
A sledgehammer swung in a massive arc.
-BOOM!
With an explosive sound, Kalia flew toward me and collapsed on the floor.
“Kalia!”
I started toward her, who was trembling and coughing up blood, but froze at the sound of the ground shaking.
I turned to face him and shivered in fear. It was an Ogre.
“Kill them all.”
Behind the Ogre, heavily armed guards poured out of the elevator.
-Ratatatatata!
“Aaaahhh!”
“Nooo! Help me!”
“Save me!! Aaaahhh!”
The guards opened fire with automatic rifles.
Test subjects who couldn’t escape in time collapsed to the floor.
Bullets struck the heads of those crawling away.
Gunfire tore into the backs of those fleeing.
Elsewhere, awakened guards wielding swords and maces charged into the fray. Screams and chaos erupted where they went.
“Hahaha! The Security Team Leader is here! Save me, haha—Ack!”
The bald Director laughed hysterically.
I smacked him on the head.
When the bald Director screamed, attention turned toward us.
I, on the verge of tears, pointed my gun at the Director’s head.
I also made sure to drag Kalia toward me with Units 2 and 3.
“Don’t move! Move, and this guy dies!”
“Foolish.”
The Ogre dismissed me coldly.
Some of the guards aiming their rifles at me stepped forward.
In a fit of desperation, I pulled the trigger, shooting the Director in the shoulder.
-Bang! Bang!
“Aaaahhh!”
“I told you not to move! Or the Director dies! Do you want to see him die? Back off!”
“Ahhh… Right! I’ll die! Team Leader! Calm down for a moment! Ahhh! Stop!”
Using the Director’s pain as a shield, I backed away step by step.
With every step I took, the Ogre and the guards closed in.
The noose was tightening.
I needed to think. What was the closest room to the elevator?
Stay calm. Two lives are on the line here.
The room with the dense array of wires. Yes, the ventilation duct.
I remembered.
I dragged the Director into the room near the elevator entrance, locking the door behind us.
“Don’t come in! If you come in, your Director dies! Got it? Do you want to see your boss die? Then behave!”
“Right! Team Leader! Ahhh! Think wisely! Ugh! Think clearly!”