Chapter 232: Holy Nation (4)

Carl had no intention of actively stepping forward in this operation.

He had instructed the members of NOX who were participating in the operation to focus on support, leaving the frontline to the Holy Nation.

‘Evaluating the capabilities of the priests is important too.’

Depending on how well they fought, his plans would change.

If they performed reasonably well, he was willing to cooperate and work in tandem, but if they fell short of expectations, he planned to maintain formalities and act independently.

‘It would be more efficient for me to absorb Kylos’ divinity instead.’

Along those lines, he also had no intention of taking on the role of the so-called Hero.

There was nothing more grueling than working shoulder to shoulder with incompetent people.

And he had no desire to be used as a pushover.

“Hm.”

At the entrance of the mansion, a fierce battle was raging between the Demon Humans and the combined forces of the Holy Nation and NOX.

The enemy’s resistance was fiercer than expected, and it seemed they were struggling to break through.

In the meantime, Carl’s role was to pursue any who tried to escape.

If priests from the Holy Nation had suddenly stormed in, the enemies must have been caught off guard.

Naturally, they would retreat from the mansion and flee to their base.

Creak.

As expected, a section of the wall opened with dust falling, and a group slipped outside.

Thick demonic energy poured out from under their cloaks.

Even at a glance, they were no ordinary opponents, and Carl scratched his head in discomfort.

‘I wasn’t aiming for such a monster-sized catch.’

They were at least at the executive level or higher.

Glancing toward the mansion, he left a mark known only to members of NOX and then launched himself after them.

The Dark Flow Footwork he blended into the shadows with had reached mastery.

Even someone of comparable skill to Carl would find it nearly impossible to detect unless they intentionally swept their surroundings.

“……?”

Chasing after the Demon Humans, Carl wore a puzzled expression.

He had assumed they would head for a specific place like Flick or the Underworld, as they had during the Origin incident.

But there was nothing in the direction they were heading.

‘Are they heading outside the capital?’

Not all factions of the Demon Realm were organically connected.

Rather, it was said they remained in competition until the Middle Realm invasion was finalized.

Could it be that their main base wasn’t in the capital but located externally?

Swish.

It was late at night, and the gates of the capital were firmly shut.

The Demon Humans easily broke through all kinds of spells and barriers and leapt over the city wall.

Tap.

Carl, pursuing them, also crossed the wall.

Of course, he didn’t forget to leave marks along the way.

‘Are they factoring in being pursued?’

Carl’s mind raced.

Outside the capital, there were only small village clusters, and placing a base in such places wasn’t ideal in terms of security.

NOX had also chosen the Harlem District of the capital for similar reasons.

They needed to minimize unnecessary foot traffic and secure stability.

Out here, one could never know when or where someone might pass by.

……That meant there must be a reason compelling enough to risk that kind of exposure and still build a base outside.

Shff!

As the Demon Humans began to accelerate, Carl also increased his pace.

Roughly thirty minutes passed this way.

Eventually, they arrived at a small village two days away by carriage from the capital.

“…….”

It was a quiet village with nothing particularly unusual, even in the depth of night.

With less than five hundred households, there was no trace of demonic energy.

The Demon Humans didn’t enter the village immediately.

After what looked like an exchange of signals, the lights in the largest house at the back of the village turned on.

They immediately made their way there and vanished without a trace.

‘There’s a facility underground.’

Whether hidden by a barrier or not, it was impossible to tell from outside.

But seeing how all their presences disappeared the moment they entered the house, Carl turned his suspicion into certainty.

So what were they hiding in a place this close to the capital?

“Hm.”

Carl paused and pondered.

Should he go back and bring reinforcements from the Holy Nation, or should he break in now and check with his own eyes?

‘It’s better if I move personally.’

Whatever was inside, if it was organized enough to be this cautious, then once they realized their capital base had been exposed, they would abandon and evacuate this place too.

If he were in charge, that’s the decision he’d make.

It was obvious that the enemy would do the same.

Srrk.

Blending with the darkness, Carl stepped inside the largest house.

There were no spells or barriers set up.

Climbing through the window, a typical interior unfolded before him.

The bed still held a faint warmth, as if someone had been lying there just moments ago.

“…….”

Following the traces on the floor, Carl moved deeper inside.

The trail ended abruptly before a seemingly empty wall, and a smirk lifted his lips.

“This is it.”

He briefly looked around.

If he opened this passage, the enemy would certainly realize he had followed them.

Click.

Wearing his NOX mask, Carl slowly drew his sword.

If he killed them all, there would be no witnesses to worry about.

So he gently swung his sword and sliced through the wall.

Srrk.

A long scar marred the colorless wall.

At the same time, a hidden door fell away, revealing a descending passage.

“Hm.”

Carl’s eyes sparkled with interest.

While NOX’s bases were accessed by descending staircases, this one appeared to use an elevator that moved on its own.

It seemed more efficient than walking down manually, and applying this system to NOX might be worthwhile.

‘I’ll have to mention this to Queen when I return.’

However, this time the elevator didn’t operate normally since it wasn’t opened through the standard method.

But Carl didn’t mind as long as it took him downward, so he lightly stomped atop it.

Thud!

At that, the lock securing it was released, and the elevator began descending on its own.

It seemed even the safety mechanism had been disengaged, as it rapidly picked up speed to a level where an ordinary person would struggle to stay standing.

Crash─!

When it reached the bottom, it crashed with a loud noise.

Carl had already leapt lightly just before impact and landed without injury, then swung his sword at the tightly closed door.

Crkkk.

The door shattered into pieces and fell apart.

Looking inside, it resembled a research lab.

He thought perhaps they were trying to modify Mana Beads like in the Origin case, but that didn’t seem to be the case this time.

“Did they already flee? They’re quick.”

Clicking his tongue, Carl leisurely moved forward.

They hadn’t gotten very far, as he could still sense presences just ahead.

Clatter.

At the same time, he meticulously checked the lab.

If it wasn’t Mana Beads, it meant they were researching something else, and that surely couldn’t be anything good.

-Grrrk, grrk.

Inside several transparent cases, unidentifiable lumps of flesh were wriggling.

Carl tapped one of them with the tip of his foot and frowned.

“Are they manufacturing Monsters?”

Come to think of it, even Black Beads turned users into Monsters if improperly ingested.

If such things were to spread, the damage on their side would be immense.

It looked like they were modifying Monster or human bodies to transform them into Monsters…

Click.

As he passed through the next gate, Carl realized he had been mistaken.

“…….”

His gaze instantly turned icy.

The reason was the humans gathered inside the next chamber.

All of them had restraints fastened around their necks or limbs, leaving them immobile.

The problem was that parts of their bodies had been deformed.

“Ki-ll, me…”

“…Ah… aaah.”

“……”

All of them seemed mentally unstable.

As Carl approached and carefully examined them, he quickly understood the purpose of their research.

“So they were trying to turn humans into Monsters altogether.”

He saw vials on a table.

According to the documents nearby, it stated that if the drug was consumed beyond a certain dosage, the subject would lose reason, undergo physical transformation, and become a Monster.

‘…So if this were mixed into a well or rainwater, the entire city could be turned into a Monster den in an instant?’

It was a chillingly dangerous idea.

Even a fortress protected by a powerful army wouldn’t last if its citizens all turned into Monsters.

There was no siege more terrifying than one where the collapse came from within.

“…….”

Then why were they conducting this research so close to the capital?

Material procurement might’ve been one reason, but if the experiment succeeded, they were clearly planning to flood the capital with Monsters immediately.

“This can’t be allowed.”

The Demon Realm’s forces were advancing their plans more thoroughly than expected.

Carl had intended to take a passive role tonight, but with things like this, he could no longer stand by.

Click.

As he opened the next door, a spacious room appeared.

And immediately, he met the gazes of dozens of individuals looking down at him.

“You didn’t flee?”

“Us? Why would we?”

A bald man in a white coat smirked at Carl’s remark.

“Do you think it’s over just because you found this place? We confirmed you came here alone from the capital. Now that you’ve entered this research lab, you’re completely cut off from the outside. This place is in the Middle Realm, yet a separate dimension.”

“……”

At his words, Carl lifted his gaze and looked around.

‘It’s true.’

This explained why he couldn’t sense anything from outside.

It felt like a space someone had artificially created, distinctly separated from the outside world.

That also meant they wouldn’t be able to escape so easily.

“Are you the one in charge here?”

“Damn right I am. How fortunate. I was getting frustrated since the research wasn’t progressing, but now I’ve got a fine test subject.”

He looked at Carl with greedy eyes.

Carl smirked behind his mask and stepped forward, only for one of the robed figures to leap up and block him.

“I’ll give you a chance. Go ahead and bring everyone.”

“……”

Carl looked at him coldly.

Did this lone guy really think he could stop him?

But since the man remained silent, Carl casually swung his sword.

Slash!

Even though it was just a light swing for a probing strike, it wasn’t something that could be easily dodged.

However, Carl’s sword only cut through the robe the man was wearing.

“…Ho.”

Carl let out a low murmur of admiration.

Not because his sword had been avoided.

But because of what was revealed beneath the robe.

“I’ve heard there used to be a race called the Lizardmen.”

“Close. We modeled it after them and succeeded in implementation. You’re quite knowledgeable for someone with such presence. Your brain might be useful too.”

What Carl had assumed was a Demon Human was actually a grotesquely engineered chimera human.

Its skin was coarse like that of a lizard, its unusually large eyes rolled about grotesquely, and a long tail swayed behind its back.

“Capture him! Preferably without injuring him!”

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