Chapter 215
Everyone stared with expressions full of vigilance and anxiety, but the Inmate did not commit any particularly surprising sudden action.
“Why are you all so scared? Afraid I might eat you? Kihihihit. Ah, sorry if I got too excited. I sincerely apologize. It’s been so long since I’ve had outside air. It’s just a single wall’s difference, but it feels so huge.”
After babbling for a long time about the irrationality and loveliness of the human flesh, the Inmate only took the lead after the others cleared their throats and gave him stern looks, as if he just realized his mistake.
“Right. I said I’d give guidance, didn’t I? Hurry and follow me! A lot of time has passed since I was imprisoned, but the system hasn’t changed much. We’ll reach the Suppression Chamber in no time.”
As he strode forward fearlessly, it seemed he really did know the way.
“Let’s follow him.”
At Paradox’s words, the Companions carefully followed the Inmate.
In the space they left behind, only the madness-filled howls of the other Inmates, who had even forgotten how to speak the human language, remained, echoing.
* * *
“”
GM
: Quest Updated!
“What Would the witches Have done?”
You have rescued an Inmate from the deepest part of Glitch Hall who claims to know how to deal with the inquisitor. His statement is too firm to be a lie. It seems clear that he knows important information. Perhaps he will become the key to escape.
Perhaps the end of your journey is not far off. Should I congratulate you in advance?
But it is still too early to let your guard down. You will likely be careful without me saying so, but the Inmate is not a trustworthy being. Would the witches have truly cooperated with one heart and mind in front of the inquisitor? If there is something you missed, looking back could also be a method.”
As the GM updated the quest, a new string of text appeared.
The meaningful phrase troubled his mind.
“If there is something you missed, looking back could be a method.”
What could they have missed?
Unlike the ominous warning, the Inmate thoroughly fulfilled his promise. At least, that was what he had shown so far.
It wasn’t certain if he knew the location of the Supernatural Ability suppression Chamber, but it was at least certain that he knew a safe path without traps.
There were absolutely no risk factors like the Monster Monkey, Killer droid, or invisible laser that they had to directly break through or filter out with the danger sense ability when moving on their own.
It was to the point where one would wonder if Glitch Hall had always been such a peaceful place.
If nothing else, they no longer suspected that the Inmate might have lost his mind and might have been trying to lead everyone to a death trap so they could all die together.
It was a good thing. Because such a competent guide had been gained, it was safe to say the escape probability had doubled.
Paradox’s judgment that the Inmate was a “game mechanic” prepared for clearing the stage was correct.
Things were working out very well… but Cheonchilbaek somehow didn’t feel good. Was it because he thought the Inmate might have set up some other trap?
No, it was something different from that. A sense of regret and disappointment was catching fire in a corner of his heart. Cheonchilbaek let out a hollow laugh upon realizing the emotion he was feeling.
He was feeling a sense of loss and jealousy over having his guide role stolen by the Inmate.
Wasn’t the Inmate, who guided them to their desired destination without hesitation, a far superior guide compared to him, who had barely found the way while suffering through a Vague and Tormenting Illusion?
Cheonchilbaek felt like an idiot.
He truly looked like a fool - feeling a sense of accomplishment from something that wasn’t even his own ability, and now feeling regretful that it was taken away.
“…Damn it.”
There was a bitter taste in his mouth. Somehow, he couldn’t look kindly upon the Inmate who was giving them such great help.
Cheonchilbaek thought that even objectively speaking, setting aside his personal feelings or the GM’s warning, the Inmate was still an untrustworthy being.
The mere fact that he Was Confined in the deepest part of the underground of Glitch Hall proved it.
Just from the parts of the experiment he had shared, it seemed he had conducted a great deal of biological experiments so disgusting they induced nausea, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to isolate him so thoroughly.
As the saying goes, since when did Dusk City ever treat human lives so preciously?
It was the logic of the world that no matter how many human lives were ground up, it didn’t matter as long as greater results could be produced.
The Inmate - if it was true that he created the inquisitor - must have been an exceptionally brilliant researcher, and if so, no matter how vicious the biological experiments were, he would have certainly been forgiven since he produced results.
There had to be some reason beyond research ethics as to why he was imprisoned in the underground. He himself claimed he had 'forgotten,' but in Cheonchilbaek’s mind, that couldn’t be true.
Even he himself looked back on the criminal activities that played a decisive role in bringing him to Glitch Hall, regretting and agonizing over them every single day; would an Inmate locked in the underground be any different?
Living in a solitary cell all the time, an inmate’s rumination would only be more intense, not less.
He definitely remembered it clearly but was deliberately choosing not to say it. And there had to be a reason for hiding it.
It also bothered him that he appeared relatively normal and showed some degree of sociability, despite being locked for such a long time in a solitary cell in the underground full of lunatics.
There was no telling how the madness that wasn’t clearly visible on the outside might manifest.
It also bothered him that the Inmate had said, “I know the knack for control over the inquisitor.”
It would be great if he controlled the inquisitor to help stop that Monster, but would things really work out so easily? Couldn’t he instead manipulate the inquisitor to try and kill the Companions?
'There’s no way Paradox hasn’t thought of something even I can think of, but…'
He couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Cheonchilbaek nervously continued to observe the Inmate’s actions. Because of that, when the Inmate guided them to the equipment storage room, saying, 'There’s really not much further left now. It’s the Supernatural Ability suppression Chamber soon,' Cheonchilbaek was able to catch him taking something naturally from a corner locker all by himself while the others were gathering items like stun batons and cable ropes.
He tried to follow and stop him quickly, but someone else stepped forward before him.
It was Paradox. True to his thorough nature, he hadn’t let go of his tension regarding the Inmate.
“What is that?”
When the plump, middle-aged Paradox, who had appeared out of nowhere, asked slyly, the Inmate turned his head and replied.
“Ah, this? Can’t you tell by looking? You should definitely know it well.”
It did have a familiar appearance: a long, thick metallic necklace. Except for the fact that it didn’t emit light or sound, it looked exactly like the Supernatural Ability suppressor they had been wearing until recently.
“I think I know what it is, but I’m curious as to why you’re taking it out.”
Of all things to secretly pocket, it was a Supernatural Ability suppressor. For those who had gone through all sorts of hardships to take those off, it was inevitable that their vigilance would be raised.
The inmate calmly replied.
“I was just going to take it in case it might be useful. If it’s a problem, I’ll just leave it. Or you guys can take it! You’re scaring me with those serious faces, friends. It’s nothing much, so relax, whoa.”
He said that, but Cheonchilbaek saw the Inmate’s pupils waver the moment he was caught by Paradox.
He might have seen it wrong, but his suspicion deepened even further. The Inmate was definitely hiding something.
“It doesn’t seem to be working? It looks a little different, too.”
Paradox said, examining the necklace the Inmate handed over.
“Of course it’s not working yet. It hasn’t been fastened around a neck. It only triggers activation after it’s fastened and detects the wearer’s supernatural ability. It looks different because it’s a research prototype.”
“A research prototype? What’s different about it?”
“Not much is different. Just that it can be simply fastened and unfastened without any special procedures. Once you fasten it, it triggers activation immediately, so be careful.”
Cheonchilbaek narrowed his eyes and watched. Even at a glance, it seemed like a lie. He didn’t know exactly what part was a lie, but…
“If the Supernatural Ability suppressor and the Suppression Chamber were made with the same technique, wouldn’t putting this suppressor on the inquisitor have the same effect? What happens then?”
“There’s a high probability the suppressor will explode. Since you’ve met the inquisitor yourself, you’d know… his abilities are too strong to be stopped by a toy like this. There’s a reason the Suppression Chamber exists. You’d better not think about catching the inquisitor with that suppressor!”
Paradox nodded.
“Is that so? Understood. Still, it looks like it could be useful, so I’ll take this.”
The Inmate watched with a smirk as Paradox took the suppressor.
Cheonchilbaek observed him with suspicious eyes, wondering if he would suddenly go crazy and run wild, but that was it, his reaction showing it truly didn’t matter if it was taken.
“Was I overreacting too much?”
Whether Cheonchilbaek felt uneasy or not, the Inmate smiled brightly and said.
“If you’ve gathered everything you need, we should move on to the Suppression Chamber now, right? There’s not much left. We just need to pass through a few more rooms. I’m really looking forward to it.”
What was the reason he liked going to the Suppression Chamber so much?
According to the Inmate, they had to pass through the Suppression Chamber anyway to get to the Core Room, so even if it wasn’t just because of the inquisitor, they would have to pass through it regardless, but…
While Cheonchilbaek was lost in thought, a fork in the road appeared.
The Inmate chose one side without much hesitation this time as well, as if he knew the way. Right before the door opened automatically, Cheonchilbaek shouted as if having a seizure.
“Wait!”
Samsao and Osai grabbed the Inmate, who was about to ignore them and just walk in.
They reacted sensitively to him, true to those who had benefited enough from Cheonchilbaek’s danger sense ability.
The Inmate expressed his annoyance.
“Ah, why! There’s nothing in there, I tell you. What’s wrong with you? Huh?”
Everyone looked at Cheonchilbaek. He breathed heavily and spoke.
“I saw an Illusion of Burning Body. It’s dangerous in there, unconditionally.”
It was his first time experiencing such an intense hallucination. The pain of the flames burning his flesh and nerves was still vivid.
He didn’t know what on earth was in there, but it would be worse than the Monster Monkey, not less.
“Did you lead us into a trap?”
The hot-tempered Osai grabbed the Inmate by the collar and growled. However, the Inmate had a genuinely bewildered look in his eyes.
“No, I didn’t? I really didn’t! Was it newly made after I was locked up? Could that… be possible? Wait, did you just use a supernatural ability? What kind of ability is it that you can see future events that haven’t happened yet - “
It was then.
Vrrr -
The door opened.
All the Companions were standing far away from the door, but the blast door slid open on its own.
Beyond the door, a single man stood alone with his hand stretched out.
And before anyone realized it, intense flames like the fires of Hell shot out from his fingertips, piercing the air like an arrow!
Fwoosh - !
“Kuaaaagh!”
The flames hit the inmate precisely and spread across his entire body.
A desperate scream, the smell of burning meat, and scorching heat.
“…”
In the blink of an eye, the inmate was reduced to black charred remains.
Everyone was speechless.