I rushed through the hall and arrived at another cross-road. Without thinking too much, I rushed to my left, and more and more doors appeared on a side and the other of the walls. I continued forward and arrived at another tree doors. At the one from the left, I tried to use the golden card, but a golem suddenly metamorphosed from inside the wall behind me, trying to cut my throat. However, without even looking I slapped behind me and a great crater formed on the wall, the golem already completely destroyed.
So the card is useless from here henceforth. Alright then. → Shen
I grabbed on the door, penetrating my fingers on the sides of the door then pulled hard, separating the door from its frames. I threw the door with one hand then entered inside. There was only an empty room with empty bookshelves everywhere around. I looked intently everywhere and saw at the end of the room an iron plate on which a huge B was written.
They took everything and retreated even deeper… Alright then! → Shen
After I reached this conclusion, I rushed back and at the cross-section and shot out on the path from the middle-end of the road, reaching another great iron-door which I busted down with one strong fist. More tanks made of glass were present on left and right beside other iron doors but at the moment, all of them were emptied completely while nothing could be seen.
This is…? → Shen
I walked around the room and reached the end of it where another iron board told me about the room being B, while below, it a storage card was left behind as if dropped by mistake.
So they stored everyone in a hurry and deserted the place without even looking back… They sure do move fast for some mad scientists. → Shen
I threw the card and hastily turned back, this time rushing onto the middle path. Here more golems and gargoyles tried to stop my way, these were made of enchanted metal, sturdy to both magic and physical attacks. However-
[Dark Sura’s Wrath] → Shen
4 dark energy crystals appeared behind me and a wave of dark shockwave enveloped the entire hallway as everything was turned into debris. Even the walls and the floor got affected, making for the path so be rounder on the edges now.
If I was sure that no human was below me at this moment, I would’ve so broke through the floor right now… Why they had to enchant every damn thing? → Shen
I thought annoyed as I felt my mental waves being repelled by both walls and floor. When I first entered the door to dispel the defensive magic circle, I was unable to go beyond the wall with my consciousness, as it would’ve activated the magic circle. It’s not like now it matters if they’ll become aware of my presence, but I’m still unable to penetrate the magic barrier while if I try to erase it, it might actually detonate like a bomb and again, risk killing someone, worst case a human.
Who in their right minds would fill the entire place with possible bombs?! What if I was a lunatic? Would’ve been nice to kill every single one of you?! → Shen
While I was cursing on my own at the one who didn’t think of the possibility of a magic deviation inside the magic circles, I retreated my mental waves and focused my chi at my feet.
With another sonic step, I appeared in front of the destroyed door from the [Dark Sura’s Wrath]’s shockwave and walked down the spiraling stairs. After arriving at yet another door which was just torn off the wall like the other one, right in front of me, in the middle of another cross-road, a small white fairy with a silver ring around her head stood unmoving, then she suddenly ran to the right.
“Huh?” → Shen
This weird image made me somewhat confused but I rushed forward, toward her in a hurry.
It’s plain as day that she’s being controlled into luring me toward a trap… Let’s see if I can catch her. → Shen
Yet another sonic step, I shot out and at the end of another cross-path where the girl took another turn to left. I slowed down to take the turn and a huge, sharp spear of solid ice suddenly appeared in front of my eyes as I wished to take the corner.
Well, damn. → Shen
-POW~!-
The spike was strong enough to send me flying backward for 20 meters, having me to root my feet on the stone ground to finally stop. A little string of blood fell down my temple while it shone with a metallic luster. I looked intently forward and saw the little girl lowering her arm then continued running to the right on another path.
Th-this little… → Shen
I felt how a vein was throbbing on my forehead. Although I understood that she was being controlled, using the strategy of a hit-and-run on me made my irritation to spike up quite a bit.
“Oy controlled brat. Let me teach you something!” → Shen
The walls and the floor exploded after I shot out once again, my dark aura enveloping me completely. I took another corner and this time an even greater spear of ice welcomed me right in the face, just like the first one.
Not this time! → Shen
I used the blade from before and the entire spear was cut in two, penetrating the walls from behind and surrounding me from both sides with ice. I looked quite surprised at the concentrated amount of mana inside the spear, but the girl in front of me attracted my attention as I got closer with an annoyed frown on my face.
“Alright. That’s enough, it’s time for you to sleep.” → Shen
Just as I was about to put her to sleep with power-words, an inaudible murmur resounded from her moving lips as she entangled her fingers.
“Eh?” → Shen
I felt the mana from the two halves of ice inside the wall from my sides buzzing, and dozens of smaller spears suddenly spurt out, stabbing at me from both parts multiple times.
“…No…”
A small tear fell down her cheek while observing a small drop of blood falling on the cold ground. Despair and sadness flashed through her eyes, only to turn emotionless once again. As she was about to turn back, a hand was placed on her head, making her jolt in shock.
“Brat. You played enough tricks on me today. Now it’s time to [sleep].” → Shen
The next moment she fell on the ground while sleeping soundly. I got down while keeping my palm on her head so I could block the electric impulses from the ring, then tried to examine the weird device. Bloody holes were visible everywhere on my body, but they were slowly regenerating as I was just too annoyed to think of blocking the attack with a full [Iron Body].
After healing up, I stared more intently at the ring and observed that at more points, thin needles penetrated deep inside her brain, making for it to be close to impossible to take it off without killing her, or at least without leaving her with serious brain-damage.
Well, this is one nasty tool… → Shen
Not sure what to do now, I took the young girl in my arms as I kept my palm atop her head to disturb the connection with the mind-controlling ring. Then, a sudden idea struck me.
[Stop]Time suddenly stopped for the ring atop her head, making for the desperate electric pulses to freeze in place entirely. I placed the girl down then shot out at high speed, but still slow enough to not create more shockwaves around me.
I have at most 10 minutes before the time will run out. I need to find the mind-controlling room and have it stop functioning until I’m sure it’s safe to destroy it. → Shen
Faster and faster after I distanced from the little fairy, I shot out in every room of every hallway, only to find out that everything has been already cleaned of documents and even of prisoners, the rooms labeled as A and B being cleaned off completely.
Just how do they move so fast? I’m positive that not even 30 minutes passed since they found out about us. → Shen
After 4 minutes of searching around, I finally found a long hallway which had at the end a huge gate made of enchanted metal. With brute strength I opened the gates while denting the metal, having no time to think of a way to open it otherwise.
-BOOM!-
However. Just as I opened it, a huge red ax slammed on me strong enough to create a 2 meters deep scar on the ground.
[[[POV CHANGES TO THE THIRD PERSON]]]
[Hehe~. So the intruder wasn’t much after all.]The voice of an old man like through the radio resounded and laughed as the huge red armored golem tried to place the bloody ax on his shoulder.
“That’s one hell of a way to welcome someone. You know that?” → Shen
[What?!]The golem looked over his shoulder, and atop his ax Shen now stood with his shirt and cloak cut in two, barely hanging on his fit and scarred body. Although he was now uninjured, blood covered his body while an annoyed frown was visible on his face.
“The walls, the floor, the doors… Every damn thing is surrounded by magic anti-detection and I can’t read the damn mana at all! You lot created one hell of a damned place alright.” → Shen
[You… Why are you still alive?!]“Ah, quiet!” → Shen
Already irritated for the number of times he was taken by surprise, Shen shot out like a bullet right through the chest of the giant red golem, breaking through the core and rendering the golem unusable.
[Incredible… Have you absorbed the demons’ regenerating powers and the dragons’ brute force? What an incredible specimen you are. How about you let us examine you? Maybe we could find a way to grow your powers even more.]The voice continued to resound albeit the destroyed golem. Shen looked around unable to feel anything because of the enchanted walls and floor and observed how the place he was into was around two times more spacious than the one before where he had to fight the mutated monsters.
“Where are you, old fart? I’ll be sure to find you and show you Hell.” → Shen
[Hehehe~ aren’t you a kind one. But don’t worry. Since long I’ve learned that true Hell only exists in our own minds. Now, what do you say about my proposal?]“Don’t ask the obvious, dumb fart. As for the meaning of Hell: Indeed, it exists only in our minds. And that’s exactly where I’ll trap and torture you.” → Shen
His dark aura exploded, his AP fluctuated more violently while the average amount skyrocketed to around 1800 AP.
[What incredible power. But I’m sorry, I can’t let you leave this place now that I know just how priceless you’ll be to me.]“Who said I want to leave?” → Shen
Shen took a fighting stance and focused his power. The AP became more stable as he focused, the oscillations going between 1900 and 2000 AP. The dark aura now also had a purple light around and the air started to vibrate. His body was shaking while 3-dimensional shadows separated then reunited with his body as if shaking and trying to escape from inside of him.
[Just what do you think you’re doing? Destroying this place will only kill the ones you came to rescue.]“I’m well aware.” → Shen
His voice deep, then he took a more dynamic form and suddenly disappeared.
-BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM~….-
Multiple shadows together with himself shot out and bounced in all directions inside the respective hall at a speed faster than sound, destroying the walls, the floor, the ceiling, even the already broken golem, turning it into bits and pieces.
[Y-you! Just what are you doing?!]Shen did not answer as he together with five other shadows jumped from a wall to another, the shockwaves they created breaking down the walls.
[Grr~! In that case, I will give you what you wish!]Suddenly a part of the frontal wall opened with a heavy sound.
“Ah.” → Shen
However, before it could open entirely to let Shen see just what was on the other side, one of the shadows happened to leap inside and it started bouncing on the walls like a deadly wrecking ball, turning everything that was on the other side into a mess.
[W-w-wha-…WHAT?!]The runt-down wall finally opened completely but what emerged were just bits and pieces of red armored golems, the one who seemed the most whole being only with its chest, head, and one arm in one piece. Because the core was still intact, the golem continued moving, but it could do almost nothing in the state it was, so the shadow that was now sitting calmly in the middle of the new room, simply shot out a dark beam to destroy it.
“…”
Shen stared blankly at the shadow as it simply tilted its head, unaware of why Shen was looking at it like that.
I’m pretty sure I didn’t order to destroy it… Although that was my intention… but still. → Shen
He shook his head as he felt the idea of having his own shadows gain an independent conscience, being simply too ridiculous, but then he just sat down into a meditation position, trying to feel around. He only had 3 more minutes before the little girl will end up being controlled once again by the ring on her head.
[Y-you! How did you destroy 5 demonic golems just like that? Just how powerful are you?!]“…”
Shen answered nothing as he continued on focusing.
[Now you ignore me… Alright. I shall send you a better toy then-]“No need.” → Shen
He suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glare staring right at the eyes of a head of a golem.
[Ugh?!]The voice seemed surprised but Shen smiled mockingly, his terrifying eyes filled with confidence.
“Old fart. I found you.” → Shen
[What?! What do you mean you found me?! How can you find me when everything is surrounded by-… So this is what you were after…]The surroundings were completely destroyed. The white walls, floor, or ceiling. Everything was completely destroyed as only the grey stone was now visible. The magic circle was cast only on the surface of the walls, but nowhere inside them. After breaking down the first layer of white stone, the spell was no longer effective as he was able now to feel around the fluctuations of mana; and the most important fact: he was now able to feel the places that nulled mana as well.
“I am able to feel where you lot are. Where the prisoners are. Where the beasts are being kept. I know everything in here.” → Shen
[… Brat. Stop bluffing. You might have destroyed the walls of this one room, but every other place is still surrounded by the anti-detection magic-circles. You can’t detect us.]“Wrong. Here is where your little toys backfire you, old fart. The higher floors can be discarded as I have no interest for those anymore. But the rooms from this floor can still be detected by the way they make my consciousness unable to enter through them. Now discarding the rooms I already passed by, what remains are the ones around this ridiculously large place. The beasts’ room has the walls severely damaged for obvious reasons as I was able to penetrate my consciousness through the cracks. Now all I had to do was to search around inside until I found more different secret rooms that were connected to the beasts’ one. Viewing the doors from inside and the space from outside, I was able to tell which door was for the prisoners, which for personal use, and which was for the important people… For you.” → Shen
[And you did all that in less than 1 minute…?]“This is nothing for me.” → Shen
Although he smiled confidently, only Shen knows how much he had to forge his mental power to control his consciousness so accurately.
I might really need to sleep for a few days straight to fully recover. But at least I’ll be sure that no devil will be able to control me again like the last time. → Shen
He then slowly got up and with confident steps, he walked toward the inside of the new room.
[… Brat. Your goal is to save the experimental units. Right?]“Of course not.” → Shen
[What?]With a shameless lie, Shen rushed inside the room and with a desperate punch, using all his 2000 AP with a [Emperor’s Punch], he broke down the 6 m thick wall and get inside a hallway which was going from left to right. At the end of the path on right, Shen was sure that the head of this mad laboratory was being sheltered behind a great gate.
[You brat! For this I will kill every damn rat-lab from-][God Speed]
Not wasting any time, Shen turned into dark lightning and shot down a door that was more than 20 m in front at the left corner.
“-this place!-” → Shen
[Stop.]
Behind the great door, there were more hooded scientists that each had their hands on or close to different buttons, levers, or magic circles, desperate or mad looks visible on their faces. Now all of them were frozen stiff as time was momentarily frozen for them.
“…Heh…hehe.” → Shen
Shen chuckled amused at the thought of what he’ll do to them after finishing everything here. For now, he simply ordered all of them:
[Distance yourself from the control panel.]
Every word resounded in their minds loud and clear. After the time was left to flow once again, everyone distanced themselves from the panels. Shen looked around and stared intently at an old man who was also the one who talked after he entered inside the room, finishing his sentence from inside the great white hall. He walked closer to him and asked while using the same power words.
[How do I stop the mind-controlling devices? Answer me now.] → Shen
“Grr… The devices can be shut down by using the Diamond Card…”
[I see… Do you have it?] → Shen
“….”
“Oho? Using the fact that I didn’t order to answer “now” makes you keep quiet? Quite crafty eh, but you got the wrong person to mess with.” → Shen
[Shatter one of your own knees.] → Shen
“W-what?!”
Then his body moved on its own and with a fist of a Core Warrior, the old scientist shattered his own knee, making him fall on the ground while holding his knee with a pale face.
“The rest of you.” → Shen
[Freeze in place.]
With the corner of his eye, Shen observed the other men trying to reach the control panel, but their reaction was too slow as Shen ordered them instantly, making all of them pale in the face as they felt their doom coming near.
Afterward, Shen turned toward the old scientist and asked again.
“Where is the damn Diamond Card, old fart? You better answer.” → Shen
[Now.]
The old man jolted once again and his mouth opened on its own.
“I-It’s with me…”
“Good. Was it that hard to say it?” → Shen
Shen simply got down and searched around in the old man’s pockets until he found a transparent card with the same God of Knowledge on it. He took it then smiled at the old man.
“Next question. Which devices are used to control the rings on the victims’ heads?” → Shen
[Answer now.]
“T-the control panel from beside the door is used only for mind-controlling…”
“If I destroy it? What will happen?” → Shen
[Answer now.]
“The control will stop.”
“I see-…. You damn old fart.” → Shen
Shen’s smile disappeared as his eyes shone threateningly, making the old man freeze in fear.
“By stop you mean that the experiments will die, right? There must be some kind of device inside the rings that once they lose connection with the motherboard, they will kill the victim. Am I right? Old fart.” → Shen
“H-how did you….”
Everyone’s faces whitened even more as even the old man was now sweating bullets. Shen then stared more intently inside the old man’s eyes and said in contempt.
“How? Your eyes, your aura, the energy you give off. There are yet so many things that gave you off and you still ask how? Should I understand that you lot take me for a fool with brawls for brains? Heh, I can’t say I’m always using my brain, but… thinking that you can lie to me makes you guys much bigger fools than I.” → Shen
Shen walked in the middle of the panel room and raised both hands, his aura alone shaking the entire place as his eyes shone blood-red.
“The fact that you underestimated me, the gods, the world itself, and started doing such atrocious experiments, will bring you all into the deepest floors of Hell. And there will be many to make sure of your travels.” → Shen
He then turned around and with a mocking smile and sharp eyes he stared at the old man while saying:
“After your death, you will see whenever there truly is a Hell or not, old man.” → Shen
