121 – Why is Brother coming out from there?
Lian’s gaze turned towards the children trapped inside the glass room.
Normally, when encountering non-human spirits, one would be taken aback. But Lian had lived in a world where even ghosts and zombies had intelligence, so he didn’t find it strange that their skin was bluish.
He simply thought the children were sitting at regular intervals.
“…? Why are there so many kids like this?”
Since the walls were made entirely of transparent glass, it didn’t look like the children were trapped in the room; it appeared as if they were sitting separately. But upon closer inspection, it was clear that wasn’t the case.
“Ah, these kids must have been captured as test subjects.”
Slaves were the most common sight in the Demon King’s territory, and they were often used like water in the experiments of dark magicians.
Therefore, many of the children who entered the Nest organization were test subjects. The reason Lian immediately thought the spirits looked like young children was because of that.
“Um…”
One of the attendants, who had been observing the situation, bent forward as if bowing and clasped his hands before looking up at Lian.
Despite feeling somewhat overwhelmed by Lian’s atmosphere, which clearly indicated that he was from a different world, the attendant tried to speak somehow.
“Just by looking at you, it’s clear you’re someone important! If I make a good impression, maybe I can even become a researcher!”
The attendants, who were the dark magician’s subordinates, were no different from slaves or test subjects with slightly higher ranks. For them, the fastest way to rise to a higher position was to catch the attention of noble individuals.
“If you don’t mind, could you please tell us why you’re here? If there’s anything you need, I’ll do my best to assist you!”
There were stewards who waved their hands like a butterfly in Paris, but there were more stewards who stuck to the walls like barnacles and trembled.
In Iran, the land of the Demon Lord, there were beings who held power and could take lives with a single gesture. That’s why the weak always had to bow down flat in front of those in power, begging for mercy.
Rather than being surprised at the sight of Lian holding the demonic sword, which exuded a fierce atmosphere, they were grateful. It was because those who foolishly interfered with the powerful, who played power games, were often torn apart.
For stewards who openly expressed “I am a strong and dangerous person”, it was a great mercy to stick to the walls and tremble.
For that reason, they stuck to the walls and trembled, but they were also residents of the Demon Lord’s land.
Their desire to succeed was overflowing.
As Lian laughed wickedly and the stewards, who had gathered like penguins in a snowstorm, began to approach one by one, without cutting or playing with a single steward, Lian’s presence alone made them gather.
What should I do?
Lian’s original plan was to intimidate a researcher and find out where Noah was. He had to either subdue the steward in front of him right away or take advantage of the situation to extract information. But… he noticed the children trapped in the glass cells.
Ah, could the kids be trapped here?
There seemed to be more than dozens of glass prisons in sight. When he thought that Noah might be trapped here, the face of the trembling steward came into view.
If he caused a commotion for no reason, Noah might be moved to another place. Let’s try to make the most of the current situation.
After reaching that conclusion, Lian spoke to the steward who was sweating profusely without realizing it.
“I heard that someone was caught this time…”
“Ah! If you’re talking about that man, he’s over there!”
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…!
Because the steward had taken Noah and the children to another department, he knew nothing about Noah. That’s why he mistook the person Lian mentioned as a knight.
The stewards who were slowly approaching with Lian’s mild(?) attitude swarmed like a swarm of bees. It was like visiting a research institute sponsored by a major company’s CEO.
The captured knight had been assigned a room close to the entrance. Thanks to that, the knight and Lian were able to meet eye to eye in an instant.
“….?!”
The moment Lian faced the knight, his face was filled with astonishment, but his poker face was maintained by the dark sword.
Because of that, Lian casually looked down at the knight, and the knight, with his mouth slightly agape, looked at him with an astonished expression.
“Could it be… the missing son of His Excellency?”
There were three reasons why he misunderstood.
The first reason was the combination of white hair and golden eyes. In a world where white hair itself is rare, it is almost impossible to be born with both white hair and brilliant golden eyes, like Lian. Such pristine white hair and shining golden eyes were one of the biggest characteristics of the direct bloodline of the Duke.
The second reason was the dignity and grace emanating from Lian. Seeing someone with a familiar color exuding an atmosphere similar to that of the Duke, he unknowingly fell into such a misconception.
The third reason was that he didn’t properly know the gender of the missing child of the Duke. If he had known that the missing child was a girl, he would have been confused at first seeing Lian and quickly realized it was a mistake. But all he knew was that the Duke’s child had gone missing, he didn’t know the gender.
If he looked closely, he could easily see that the Duke and Lian didn’t resemble each other much in appearance.
The Duke had a strong image like a snow leopard gracefully hunting in a snowstorm. His eyes were as sharp as the sword she wielded, and his mouth was always tightly shut. He was a person with the dignity befitting a ruler.
In contrast, Lian had eyes that slanted slightly downward, giving him a gentle impression. His face suited the image of a religious leader rather than a ruler.
He realized this fact belatedly, but the strong first impression made it difficult for the misconception of him being the “missing child of His Excellency” to easily leave his mind.
“If he resembles his father, then it makes sense.”
The Duke had gone to war without any warning and returned with a child. At first, there were rumors that he had been captured by the enemy, but when he returned and started preparing for the wedding, the controversy subsided.
The problem was that even after all the preparations for the wedding were completed, the Duke’s fiancee did not return. After a long time, the Duke canceled the wedding, and the fact that the reason was the husband’s death gradually spread.
If Lian’s color resembled his mother and his appearance resembled his father, then everything fell into place like a puzzle.
Before he knew it, the knight was frozen in shock, almost concluding that Lian was the missing child of the Duke.
“What on earth could have happened for His Excellency to end up like this…”
Looking at Lian, who clearly looked like a high-ranking member of an organization, the knight couldn’t hide his gloomy mood. On the other hand, Lian was secretly excited.
“Crazy! It’s that knight who ran away with Iris all the way to the Empire!”
Thanks to the exact resemblance described in the novel, I was able to recognize it immediately. Lian felt her heart pounding and thought to herself.
“But why am I trapped here?”
In fear of having such doubts, the assistant next to her began to babble about both necessary and unnecessary information. It was an act of flattery to impress those above.
In summary, the knight in front of her had infiltrated the research facility and attempted to steal the experimental subject but failed and was captured.
Although she didn’t know the exact reason why he targeted the experimental subject, it was rumored to be related to a great experiment.
“Oh, so this is where ‘that weapon’ is being created.”
Lian found it difficult to regain her composure from the new shock.
The reason why the Demon Army was able to swiftly push other countries aside and almost bring the empire to the brink of destruction.
It was all because of the mass destruction combat weapon being produced in this research facility.
Each one was stronger than the empire’s knights, impervious to heart-piercing and decapitation, and capable of mass production.
It was one of the reasons why the Demon Army was able to swallow up most of the human lands. And that weapon was being produced right here.
“If possible, let’s destroy the facility and leave.”
Lian’s goal now was to protect the precious children so that they could live in peace. So, it was best to hinder the Demon Army whenever there was an opportunity.
When a new goal was registered in Lian’s mind, the assistant whispered a new fact to her lips.
“And as you know, spirits have the power of nature and can easily change their nature. Thanks to that, we were able to conduct various experiments.”
“…Could it be that all the beings in this room are spirits?”
“hahahahaha, that’s right! Although it was for the sake of the experiments… it was really difficult to obtain this many. It’s all thanks to the help of the great ones!”
The assistant regarded Lian as a noble sponsor and smiled flatteringly. Upon hearing this, the other assistants around them also gathered and began to discuss the spirits.
“They kidnapped the Spirit Mother?”
Once again, Lian clenched her lips at the shocking news she heard.
“Then the spirits weren’t originally insane?”
In the original work, the spirits were depicted as extremely aggressive and malicious, almost like monsters. But now, hearing this story, it seemed that the spirits had become wicked as a result of the horrific experiments conducted here.
Lian silently looked at the spirits trapped inside the glass room. The small-bodied spirits, fitting the description of young children, huddled with sorrowful faces.
[Mom… Mom…]
[Sob… Mother…]
The spirits cried pitifully, their voices muffled, as they searched for their mothers. Their cruel appearance was so horrifying that even criminals would think, “Oh, this is a bit much.”
…
Lian wordlessly gazed at dozens of rooms before raising the Dark Sword. Then, as if bringing a knife to melted butter, he plunged the sword into the glass wall.
[It’s been a while since I’ve shown off my skills.]
As Lian cast a rather difficult spell, the Dark Sword spoke in a spirited voice. At the same time, the blood with its radiant color from the Dark Sword spread endlessly, as if it would devour the entire glass room.
Thud.
“Ah, ack…!”
“Ugh…!”
The startled attendants were either startled and fell to the ground or ran away in retreat at Lian’s sudden actions.
Swoosh.
Before the fleeing attendants could reach the wall, the blood began to return to the Dark Sword.
“Huh…?”
As if the blood had melted away the glass wall, it disappeared without a trace. The spirits, startled by their sudden freedom, blinked their eyes in confusion and looked around.
[Ah!]
[Freedom, we’re free!]
The spirits, realizing they had belatedly gained their freedom, floated joyfully in the air.
“Heek!”
As dozens of spirits appeared in the sky, the steward sitting on the ground panicked and started to retreat. The spirits all turned their gaze towards the steward at his small scream.
[Now then…]
[I can find my mother.]
[And I can take revenge for my friend.]
The spirits remembered everything without exception.
The sight of the stewards venting their anger on my friend, whether out of boredom or because they were scolded by the researchers.
The sight of my friends dying in that violence.
They hadn’t forgotten a single thing. Their anger poured down on the stewards was justified.