Chapter 41
It was a day no different from any other.
“Myuant-25-03! Experiment time!”
A perfectly ordinary day, where one of them was dragged off by the researchers for experimentation, just like any other day.
But the Myuant-25-03 who returned after the experiment was completely different.
“Ugh, another failed experiment this year.”
Thud
“Samsam-i!”
The researcher opened the second-floor door of the cage and roughly tossed Myuant-25-03 inside. The Girl barely managed to catch her.
Myuant-25-03 returned in tatters.
Her whole body was stained red with her own blood, and blood flowed incessantly from her nose.
Above all,
“Are you okay? Can you understand me？”
“……Uuuh.”
She had lost not only the intelligence gained through the experiments but all of her original intelligence as well.
Her brain, unable to withstand the experiments, was destroyed, leaving her an imbecile.
Myuant-13-07 and Myuant-17-06 tried to restore Myuant-25-03’s mind using all the knowledge they possessed, but it was impossible.
There was no way they could do something that even researchers with the latest Magi-engineering equipment couldn’t, no matter how intelligent they were or how vast their knowledge.
“……These bastards did this to our Samsam-i!”
“Damn it!”
Bang!
Filled with Wrath, she kicked the wall hard, but the sturdy cage didn't budge.
“Damnnn it!”
“Ahbuuu…Uuuh……”
Even as her frustrated cries echoed, Myuant-25-03's broken mind didn't return.
“Yukuk-i.”
A firm resolve filled the Girl's tear-reddened eyes.
“Chilchil-i… you don’t mean…”
“Tonight, we’re doing it.”
“……We haven’t figured out everything yet.”
Myuant-17-06 knew that the Girl was analyzing the lab and searching for an escape route.
But they hadn't figured everything out yet.
For a year, bit by bit, during each experiment, she analyzed the lab and had grasped about 90% of the research facility, excluding one underground facility.
“……That doesn’t matter anymore. We can escape with what we know now. The other 10% was just to make absolutely sure.”
The Girl bit her lip.
It’s all my fault.
Because I was afraid of escaping, I gradually neglected searching for an escape route, and chased after the happiness of the present.
“Damn it! If I had just been a little more diligent! No, at least if I hadn't hesitated and just escaped, Samsam-i wouldn’t be like this!”
Bang! Bang!
The Girl pounded on the bars of the cage, trying to suppress her anger.
“It’s all my fault! I…I……!”
“Ahbubuu….”
“Samsam-i……”
Myuant-25-03 leaned into the Girl.
“Uuuh……”
She patted the Girl’s head.
Just as the Girl had once soothed her pain and held her warmly.
“Samsam-i……you……”
As if to comfort the Girl, telling her it’s okay, don’t be angry, it’s not your fault.
“I’m sorry, Samsam-i… I’m so sorry……”
“Samsam-i……you……really.”
The Girls embraced each other and sobbed.
Their pent-up sorrows coalesced into a heavy knot.
Woooong-
Magi-engineering parts hidden throughout the cage reacted to the Girl’s Magic Power and gathered around her.
“Tonight, we escape.”
And those who made Samsam-i like this will pay the price.
The Girl's eyes burned with uncontainable vengeance.
＊ ＊ ＊
Late at night, when the researchers had all gone to bed,
The Magi-engineering components, reacting to the Girl’s Magic Power, combined in her hand. These were the parts she had secretly smuggled and collected.
“Chilchil-i. Once we start this… there’s no turning back.”
“……I know. If we fail, there won’t be a second chance. But Yukyuk-i,”
The Girl gripped the Magi-Engineering Key.
“Could things get any worse than this?”
“That’s……”
“For Samsam-i’s sake. I’ll stake my life on this.”
“There’s no other way. Alright, let’s do it.”
While Myuant-17-06 carried Myuant-25-03 on her back, the Girl activated the Magi-Engineering Key.
Whirr-
The light flickered, and the hateful door that had imprisoned them opened so easily.
The Girls cautiously stepped out.
The outside space, which they had never stepped on except when dragged by the researchers.
It was filled with an unfamiliar air and the pungent smell of chemicals.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
The Girls ran quickly down the dark hallway, lit only by emergency lights.
A large bulkhead separated Sector 1 from the other sectors.
An obstacle impossible for a normal human Girl's frail Divine Body to move, but,
Woooong-
Things that operated on the power of Magi-engineering couldn't stop them.
“This way.”
“Got it.”
They broke through about five sectors.
They had reached places they hadn’t seen themselves, but there were no problems.
Everything was exactly as she had grasped beforehand through the knowledge in her head and the scan's analysis.
Woooong-
“Alright! This is the last one!”
The final sector, where the exit for their escape was located.
Only one gate remained between them and escaping this tedious and disgusting research facility.
It was then, as the Girl reached out to the control panel that managed the gate,
Click-
Tadadadadak-
All the lights in that sector, which had been off, turned on.
“……That’s impossible.”
It was a time when the researchers should have been asleep, and the lights should have been off.
Realizing that something had gone wrong, the Girl hurriedly operated the control panel.
There was no time.
-Access Denied. Access temporarily restricted for all personnel by highest authority.
But the control panel stopped working.
The Girl could no longer operate it.
Whirr-
“Finally.”
Thud- Thud-
“The time has come.”
The Elevator door opened behind them, and a masked man walked out.
“……Research Director.”
The Girl knew who he was.
The hateful person in charge of Sector 1 and the highest administrator who managed the entire research facility.
The very person who initiated the Myuant Project and turned the Girl into the state she was in now.
“First, I want to express my gratitude to you girls.”
The Research Director approached slowly, his hands clasped behind his back.
Five or six researchers followed him.
“If you hadn’t attempted to escape, I would’ve had to restart the Project from scratch.”
He shrugged and laughed, as if he couldn’t contain his joy at the current situation.
“The vast knowledge accumulated by humanity. Superior intelligence capable of utilizing such knowledge.”
The Research Director tapped his head with his index finger.
“And the executive ability to put such knowledge and intelligence to good use. Everything is in place.”
…It was all a trap？
The Girl gritted her teeth and quickly scanned her surroundings.
Then, she stood in front of Myuant-17-06, who was carrying Myuant-25-03, as if to shield them.
“The pinnacle of human civilization! The time has come to create an artificial God, a Constellation of knowledge!”
The Research Director spread his arms wide with ecstasy.
Kuguguguguung-
The research facility shook.
“…An, an earthquake？”
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
Woooong-
A giant Magic circle, densely inscribed with characters.
A Magic circle large enough to fill the sector appeared.
Possessing a vast knowledge of Magic, the Girl could read the vicious and arrogant human desires inscribed in the Magic circle.
To activate such a Magic circle without any preparation! It’s impossible! ……C-Could it be!
The Girl, who was shocked at the sight of the marvelous Magic circle unfolding, thought of one possibility.
“The underground facility! You used that as a preparatory place and a Magic Power source for activating the Magic？”
“Indeed. Extreme Magic prepared solely for this moment! None of the Researchers noticed, yet you figured it out immediately! As expected of my greatest masterpiece and the ultimate form of my research!”
“D-Director？ What is the meaning of…!”
“I-Is this Magic yours, Director？”
Unlike the composed Research Director, the Researchers were bewildered and at a loss.
“Ah yes. I no longer need you. You worthless insects with not a shred of talent.”
Bang!
The Research Director clenched his fist, and the heads of all the surrounding Researchers exploded.
“It’s the final stage now.”
He activated the Magic he had secretly prepared alone and killed the other Researchers.
Whatever the reason, it meant he no longer needed to maintain his position as Research Director.
The Girl gritted her teeth and stretched out both hands.
Her meager amount of Magic Power was no match for the Archmage, the Research Director.
But with this power.
Kuguguguung-
The power originating from the Girl's mind shook the research facility.
Psychokinesis, the power of intelligence originating from the brain.
“As expected, you had it! And you hid it throughout all those experiments, pretending you didn’t!”
The Research Director laughed maniacally, delighted that the Girl possessed psychic abilities.
“Such talent unbefitting your lowly status! If I had more time, I might have taken you as my companion.”
Thump!
“However.”
As the Research Director raised one hand, the shaking subsided.
“I don’t have time right now.”
And he stretched his other hand forward.
“In any case, I only need one. There’s no need to keep such a troublesome one alive.”
Magic Power, ferocious and intended to obliterate, shot from the Research Director’s hand before the Girl could react.
The annihilating Magic Power aimed to erase the Girl.
The Girl, who was focused on deploying her Psychokinesis to attack the Research Director, couldn't avoid the attack.
‘…I’m…going to die.’
Watching the attack in a daze was the only thing she could do.
A rapid montage of her short life flashed before her eyes.
To die without even seeing the outside world.
I wanted to avenge my friends and Samsam-i.
I wanted to go to Raiverhilde.
……I wanted to become one with the Prince.
Then-
Crack!
Someone blocked her, taking the Research Director’s attack.
“……No… No, Yukyuk-i!”
“Sorry……Chilchil-i……”
Thud-
It became the worst memory that would torment the Girl for eons to come.