The entire corridor looked as though some unknown monster had torn its way through it. Long, narrow gouges stretched several meters along the iron walls, exposing the tangled cables and pipes beneath. With sharp bursts of steam, scalding vapor hissed from the ruptures, filling the entire passage.
The smell of blood mingled with the stench of rust. Combined with the thickening steam, it created an indescribable sense of suffocation. A thin layer of condensation clung to the surrounding metal, while somewhere beyond the fog came the steady sound of liquid dripping. No one could tell whether it was blood or merely water.
"The game has begun…"
Eve whispered the words, tightening her grip on the scalpel in her hand.
Against the body of a demon, the thing was utterly useless. Calling it a weapon was almost a joke. But it was all Eve had, and so she held it tightly.
The soldiers escorted the medical personnel toward the evacuation route, with Robin leading from the front. Everyone moved quietly, their footsteps barely audible as they splashed through the shallow water covering the floor.
It seemed the research sector really had been attacked by something. The power supply throughout the entire area had been severed, and the great ventilation fans had long since fallen silent. Steam that could no longer escape hung around everyone like a shroud, obscuring their vision. Through that eerie mist, the emergency lights bled into vast halos of crimson and amber.
Everything before them was deeply unnatural. Under the corruption of the demons, the human mind seemed to sink into an even heavier oppression.
As she walked through the corridor, Eve felt as though she had fallen into some bizarre nightmare.
The patients had been released as well. Though they had lost their sanity, the instincts of living creatures remained within them. Under the terrifying influence of the corruption, those who had previously been restless and agitated fell silent instead. They could feel that power. They knew that some terrible monster was nearby.
Some refused to leave the safe room. Like children trapped in a nightmare, they curled themselves into corners and refused to move. Others remained silent for a brief moment before suddenly fleeing into the endless fog in terror. Eve could only watch them disappear, their figures swallowed by the mist until even the sound of their footsteps splashing through the water faded into the distance.
Most of the other patients seemed lost. They were frightened, yet confused, like rats dragged out of a cave and suddenly exposed to sunlight. They stood there in panic, staring around themselves without the slightest idea where to go.
A few of the more eccentric lunatics, however, seemed to genuinely believe that this was some sort of game.
Old Cole and the others gathered a group of patients and sneaked away with them, whispering among themselves like a band of conspirators. After a brief round of appointments, the patients were suddenly given various military ranks and sent off to fight for Inlvig.
As he left, Old Cole excitedly gave Eve a thumbs-up. Judging from the shape of his mouth, he seemed to be saying something along the lines of, "We'll meet again at the rear and celebrate our victory."
Eve could not help but laugh helplessly. Yet she had no idea what she could possibly say to that, so she simply watched them disappear.
The group continued forward at a slow pace. Armed soldiers guarded both the front and rear of the formation, protecting the medical personnel in the center. Robin walked at the very front, keeping a vigilant eye on their surroundings.
With a thermite rifle in one hand and a communicator in the other, Robin had been checking the signal repeatedly ever since they left the safe room. Escaping this place did not mean they would survive. They would only be truly safe once they had reunited with Arthur and the main force.
Yet the communicator continued to spit nothing but static.
Within the silence and corruption, the chaotic electrical noise seemed to twist into some kind of sinister howl, as though an endless horde of demons waited on the other side of the channel.
The corruption was still affecting the area. The Geiger counter clipped to Robin's chest continued to emit its steady, rhythmic clicking.
Suddenly, Robin raised a hand and signaled for everyone to stop.
He crouched down and gently touched the water beneath his feet.
Under the fog and emergency lights, everything visible within the corridor had taken on an eerie hue, its original appearance distorted beyond recognition. They had been walking through the passage for some time, and most of the others had simply assumed they were stepping through ordinary puddles.
But Robin knew from the texture beneath his fingers that this was not condensed steam.
It was blood.
Thick, sticky, foul-smelling blood.
Robin slowly straightened. His expression turned solemn as he stared into the endless fog ahead. He ran his fingers along the wall, wiping away droplets of moisture, only to feel something viscous beneath them.
Farther ahead were one grotesque gouge after another. Their surfaces still retained a scorching heat, and when Robin touched one, the residual warmth burned his fingertips.
He could already picture what had happened.
The demons had come charging down the corridor. The soldiers had opened fire. Burning rounds had melted the iron walls, leaving one crater after another. But they had failed to kill the demons quickly enough.
The creatures had reached them.
Then the soldiers had been torn apart at the waist.
Blood had splattered evenly across everything, while their flesh had been devoured by those ravenous bodies.
"How do you feel?"
Robin's gaze settled on Eve.
As the final product of the Ranger Project, Eve was a Ranger born by design. The modifications undergone by the High Knights were merely inferior versions of what the Ranger Project had once achieved. In a situation like this, Eve's instincts might prove useful.
"I'm fine. It just feels a little strange."
Eve glanced at the Geiger counter on Robin's chest. It was still clicking incessantly, the irritating sound continuing without pause.
"The corruption is definitely here, but we still haven't encountered any demons."
"Exactly. These bloodthirsty devils would never abandon their hunt after catching the scent of living humans. Yet until now…"
Robin looked ahead.
"Nothing."
He felt a trace of unease as well.
The patients he had released were not merely bait to lure out the demons. Once they scattered in every direction, Robin would have been able to locate the creatures through the patients' screams if they were attacked.
But now…
It was too quiet.
So quiet that it felt as though the entire world had been reduced to them—and this endless labyrinth from which they could never escape.
BOOM—
A sudden roar shattered the silence.
In an instant, the dim lights went out one after another, plunging everyone into darkness.
Before fear could take hold, a much brighter light suddenly illuminated the corridor from above.
The dormant ventilation fans began turning again.
With a deafening roar, they started sucking away the rancid, rotten air.
In the blink of an eye, much of the fog dispersed. Their vision gradually cleared, and at the same time, a cacophony of sounds erupted around them. It was almost as though everything Eve and the others had experienced moments earlier had been some disorienting illusion, and only now were they reconnecting with reality.
"Power has been restored!"
A familiar shout came from the far end of the corridor.
Then came a burst of gunfire.
Eve and Robin exchanged a glance.
No words were necessary.
Robin immediately directed the formation forward. The medical personnel remained at the rear, where they would assess the situation and act accordingly, protected by several soldiers who stayed behind with them.
The rest followed Robin.
"You're staying here!"
Robin had barely moved when he realized Eve was following beside him.
But Eve said nothing.
The usually carefree girl was utterly silent now, her expression more serious than Robin had ever seen.
It reminded him of something Arthur had once said during one of their conversations.
Arthur always called Eve a reckless little wildling, forever cheerful and seemingly incapable of sadness or solemnity. He had once told Robin that if the day ever came when Eve stopped smiling, when she no longer behaved like the wild girl she had always been, then that would be the moment Arthur would truly start to worry.
Ironically, Arthur had always wished Eve would behave more like a proper lady—less wild, more composed.
Robin said nothing more.
Perhaps he had silently accepted her decision.
He knew Eve's personality well enough. In a situation like this, there was little chance she would listen to him anyway.
They quickened their pace.
The gunfire sounded close now.
Then a blinding streak of fire tore through the air, carrying residual heat and blood before burying itself in the iron wall.
The space suddenly opened up.
From what Robin remembered, another safe room lay on the opposite side.
And at this very moment, someone was fighting the demons.
Robin immediately raised his thermite rifle and prepared to fire. Through the sights, he finally saw the two sides locked in combat.
Bloodthirsty demons poured out of another passage in swarms.
The soldiers had established a wall of firepower and were barely holding the creatures back, but it was only a temporary defense. Most of the soldiers were already wounded, and no one knew how much ammunition they had left.
Before Robin could observe any further, the intensity of the barrage suddenly weakened.
Some soldiers had emptied their magazines and were frantically reloading.
That brief reduction in firepower was all the demons needed.
They surged forward one after another, nearly breaking through the passage.
At the critical moment, Robin pulled the trigger.
Thermite rounds wove a blazing red line through the air, converging upon the passage. Molten iron poured over the demons' bodies, penetrating their flesh and hardening into grotesque statues.
"Robin!"
Someone shouted his name in delight.
It was Red Falcon, that lunatic, firing a thermite rifle with one hand while waving at Robin with the other. Judging from the blood-soaked state of his uniform, he had clearly just survived a brutal battle.
Behind the defensive line, the doors to the safe room stood half open. Beyond them were numerous patients and medical personnel.
It seemed Red Falcon and the others had reached the same conclusion as Robin.
They had no intention of simply sitting around and waiting to die.
Unfortunately, Red Falcon's group had encountered the demons first.
"What happened?" Robin asked.
"Because of the corruption, our communications are completely down. We can't contact anyone else. As for the research sector…"
Red Falcon finally had a moment to catch his breath.
"It has been invaded by demons. The good news is that Arthur sealed the entire area in time. Once the gates came down, the demons were trapped inside. They haven't been able to spread to the other facilities yet."
He grinned bitterly.
"The bad news is that we're trapped in here with them."
The arrival of fresh reinforcements eased the pressure considerably, giving Red Falcon enough breathing room to explain the situation.
"And there's one more thing."
He paused.
"Arthur is trapped here with us too."
"What?"
Robin froze, clearly unable to understand.
"Wasn't he supposed to be evacuated first?"
"More precisely, the enemy attacked too quickly. We were trapped here before we could withdraw."
Another voice interrupted them.
Wounded Swift walked over.
Seeing the confusion in Robin's eyes, Swift continued.
"High Knight, codename Swift. Primarily stationed at Black Mountain Hospital."
Before Robin could ask anything else, Swift continued.
"We were conducting tests on Lloyd when Gawain suddenly reported that a demon tide was approaching from inside Black Mountain Hospital."
"Based on our assessment, they were remnants of Lawrence's faction. They used inferior Secret Blood to mutate the patients in the mild-treatment ward. Gawain managed to establish a defensive line and hold back the demons, while Percival was also falling back toward the research sector."
"Arthur suspected that Lloyd was the enemy's true target. Of course, they could also take advantage of the chaos to slaughter all the senior members of the Purification Bureau here. Taking that into consideration, Arthur, Merlin, and the others withdrew along different routes."
"So Arthur's route led here?" Robin asked.
Swift nodded.
"Exactly."
He continued, "There are many important patients here. We need to evacuate them…"
He hesitated briefly.
"Or kill them."
"According to Arthur's plan, we had more than enough time to withdraw. But clearly, we underestimated the enemy."
"Everything that happened before was a feint. The demon tide, all of it. It was nothing more than a diversion. The enemy had already reached the research sector before we even detected the demon tide. He released the demons, and to prevent those damned creatures from spreading, we had no choice but to seal them inside with us."
"Fortunately, Merlin should be with Lloyd. And Butcher is escorting Abigail out from the surface. He's using a Second-Generation Old World Divine Armor. Among the High Knights, he's the only one who has ever piloted a Second-Generation armor."
Robin fell silent.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Gradually, his expression twisted into something almost painful.
Then, at last, he let out a long breath, as though he had finally removed the last piece of armor protecting his heart.
"So…"
His voice was strangely calm.
"It looks like things aren't that bad after all."
"Yeah…"
Red Falcon nodded.
"Not that bad."
Unlike Robin, whose expression carried a strange sense of relief, Red Falcon looked almost miserable.
He had been prepared to die.
But now that death had actually come knocking, he found himself reluctant to answer.
After all, the world was such a colorful place.
All those bright, beautiful things still had a way of making a man want to stay.
Eve, meanwhile, could not understand them at all.
In fact, she thought they might have gone completely mad.
Robin, Red Falcon, and the wounded Swift all wore different expressions, yet somehow they seemed to be conveying the same thing.
As though some great mission had already been completed.
How could this be "not that bad"?
Eve could not understand.
Everywhere she looked, people were going to die. They were going to be torn apart by demons.
Yet Robin and the others seemed to believe that things were not so terrible after all.
After letting out a long sigh, Robin turned around.
He looked at Eve.
The girl's normally lively face was now cold and rigid, yet beneath that stillness, complicated emotions churned like a storm.
For a moment, Robin felt as though he were looking at his former self.
Everyone who came into contact with the demons went through a process like this.
He knew exactly what she was thinking.
"The personnel responsible for the core technologies have successfully evacuated. The research sector itself hasn't suffered catastrophic damage. Once the facilities are repaired, they should be operational again within a short period of time."
"We still have many Knight Commanders alive. The chain of command will not collapse…"
Robin spoke words that were almost cruel in their calmness.
"The unfortunate part is that we may die."
He paused.
"But the fortunate part is that the Purification Bureau has not lost."