Soon, Goki began to open the mechanisms one by one according to his reconnaissance results, while Muelsyse / Muir Sais on the side looked through the data Goki had seen, carefully examining the creatures in those cultivation pods.
The two tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened earlier; Goki treated it as if Muelsyse / Muir Sais had admitted her mistake, and Muelsyse / Muir Sais treated it as if Goki had relented.
"Oh my goodness... The Director never told us about these archaeological findings before. Ah, she's talking now, saying that the world is facing a threat more severe than natural disasters, and that we must use the power of gods to fight against gods—is it really that serious?"
Receiving information on two threads, Muelsyse / Muir Sais compared the data in her hand with the Director's speech, realizing that she was still hiding a lot from her.
"Now, can I see what you're really looking for, Mr. Goki?"
"Yes, yes, yes, please do."
Pushing the last heavy folder into the shelf, Goki, knowing he was in the wrong, quickly nodded.
Then, the wall beside them emitted a crisp sound of a mechanism opening, and a secret door popped open an inch inwards.
"Then let's go—"
Extremely satisfied with Goki's submissive expression, Muelsyse / Muir Sais forgot her previous embarrassment and laughed triumphantly, then quickly ran towards the secret door, scaring Goki into hastily stopping her.
"Wait—don't go, there's danger inside."
"What's there to be afraid of? This is just a Clone, I'm not afraid of being messed with by you, let alone dying. My Clone has died countless times—"
Not at all worried about what danger her Clone might encounter, Muelsyse / Muir Sais exerted all her strength and easily pushed the secret door open into the room.
"Eh?"
And the next second, Muelsyse / Muir Sais suddenly discovered that an inhuman creature was standing in front of her.
He, no, its body was emaciated, like a skeleton, resembling the charred mummies she had just seen in the cultivation pods, but it was full of vitality, emitting a pale glow.
Its head was like a sea anemone, or perhaps a chrysanthemum, emitting a viscous and noisy roar.
And from its hand, a shining light was released, thrown towards Muelsyse / Muir Sais.
And from this light, Muelsyse / Muir Sais sensed... danger.
"Ugh, what is th—"
Aside from Originium Arts, Muelsyse / Muir Sais was just a weak Liberi girl, completely unable to run away before her body was hit by the light.
The mist-like light instantly bound Muelsyse / Muir Sais's Incarnation, rendering her unable to move.
"Gah————"
The next second, the emaciated humanoid monster rushed out with unimaginable speed, slamming its hands onto Muelsyse / Muir Sais's shoulders. Along with its noisy cries, a shining tentacle extended from its sea anemone-like mouthpart, piercing directly towards Muelsyse / Muir Sais's head.
Even though this was a Clone, her instincts told her that this thing could threaten her existence—this power was so strong that her tiny will felt like it would be instantly annihilated.
Muelsyse / Muir Sais tried to struggle, but her body inexplicably became stiff.
Now, Muelsyse / Muir Sais truly began to be afraid.
Just as the tentacle was about to stab her, Muelsyse / Muir Sais finally opened her small mouth and surrendered to Goki.
"Goki, help, help me!"
Bang—
The next second, accompanied by a violent gunshot, a silver light flashed, and the chrysanthemum-like tentacle, which was about to clasp Muelsyse / Muir Sais's head, immediately stopped, twisting as if in a spasm.
Gun Counter!
In Muelsyse / Muir Sais's eyes, Goki's expression suddenly changed, from the shyness of moments ago, it instantly became rational, cold, and intimidating.
He slid over to Muelsyse / Muir Sais's side, his left hand revealing the large, smoking repeating pistol he had prepared, interrupting the monster's attack, while his right hand instantly ignited with flames.
In a nearby cultivation pod, the mummified remains of a God of Burning Wind's kin suddenly opened their eyes, but quickly extinguished again under the effect of the surrounding liquid.
Seeing this old friend, Goki fully confirmed that Rhine Lab indeed possessed the power of the Daughter of the Cosmos—and it was exceptionally vibrant.
Pfft—
"Ha, why didn't you do this earlier—it really is you, Mind-sucker. Back in Yharnam, you really had your fill of my Insight!"
With a gentle poke of his burning right hand, he crushed the Mind-sucker's chrysanthemum-like head, and Goki, somewhat disgusted, shook his hand.
Mind-suckers, creatures that control humans, parasitizing their heads, and then attack others, draining their Souls and consciousness.
Similarly, these things were also kin of the Daughter of the Cosmos.
In Yharnam, Goki had been sucked by these things countless times as if he were a drink, often having his Insight drained directly to zero, and upon returning to Hunters Dream, he would see the Nona doll slumped motionless in the flowerbed.
Finally, he simply made himself mentally deficient, directly having zero Insight—the effect was outstanding.
By now, he no longer feared these sanity-draining monsters.
"Ugh, what exactly was that?"
After the light dissipated, Muelsyse / Muir Sais regained her freedom, nervously hiding behind Goki, her expression extremely tense.
"You'd best... not delve too deep—hide behind me, protect your head."
Goki looked into the secret door, finding that in the narrow space, there were five or six Mind-suckers, all looking at him simultaneously, their chrysanthemum-like heads instantly blooming and emitting piercing screams.
And in the center of the secret door, on two small platforms, two different objects were placed.
One was twisted like a slug, emitting a blue light, while the other coiled like a seashell, covered with eye-like holes.
It was like a dried... umbilical cord.
Above the umbilical cord, a pale glow emanated, and... it was incomplete, seemingly cut off artificially.
"Ha... this is bad."
Goki's pupils constricted into tiny dots; all the information he had investigated began to connect in his mind, forming a complete necklace.
The Director's foresight surpassed his imagination.
She wanted to create an Inner Eye... inside Ifrit's body!
----------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 70 new chapters on Patreon!
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead, feel free to check it out.
Your support truly means a lot to me!
patreon.com/Kazenova223
Thank you so much for being here!
And if you're having fun with the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone for me!