Chapter 136: A Madman’s Plan

Time to Hunt[13]

Chapter 136:A Madman’s Plan

My left shoulder slammed into the wall as I rounded the corner.

"Kh! Damn it!"

I winced. A sharp pain spread from my shoulder, numbing my whole arm as I stumbled a few steps forward.

But my shoulder wasn’t the real problem.

My broken ribs and my left leg—which might have been broken too, for all I knew—were much bigger problems.

Every breath felt like a knife stabbing into my chest. Every step sent unbearable pain shooting from my left leg up to my hip.

My body had reached its limit.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say I’d already gone well past it.

And yet I kept running.

Even if it killed me.

Where was I going?

Honestly, I had no idea.

The attack I’d made with an arrow coated in Azure Flame had bought me a brief opening. Even I hadn’t expected it to be that destructive.

And I’d taken it.

I’d smashed through that damned iron door with everything I had, thrown myself into the corridor, and started running without even looking back.

I’d killed a few armed men who got in my way.

A few doctors, too.

Under normal circumstances, I might have hesitated a little before killing that many people.

But right now?

Hah!

Hesitate?

I barely had time to breathe just to keep myself alive.

And all that fighting had drained even more of the stamina I was already running out of.

Umbrella was trying to keep the bleeding under control by compressing the wound in my left shoulder. But with every heartbeat, I could feel warmth pooling beneath my armor.

I was losing blood.

A lot of it.

Great.

Just great.

I wondered what would happen to me next...

I reached the end of the corridor and turned another corner.

My feet slipped on the floor.

I gritted my teeth as I braced myself against the wall, trying to regain my balance.

"Haah... Haah..."

My lungs were burning.

But I couldn’t stop.

Because I knew exactly what was chasing me.

And worse, I knew how little chance I stood against it.

So what was I supposed to do now?

Where was I going?

What was I trying to accomplish?

Did I actually have a plan, or was I just a cornered rat looking for a hole to escape through?

No.

I had nowhere to run.

Actually, running away wasn’t even an option.

Even if I managed to get out of this damned lab, the System’s penalty would probably kill me.

On the other hand, if I stayed and fought to the end, there was a good chance I’d die anyway.

Whichever path I chose, death was waiting for me.

But...

I had no intention of dying!

I hadn’t even had a proper girlfriend yet!

Damn it!

Dying this young, while I was still a virgin?!

Absolutely not!

I refused to accept an ending that shitty!

"Haah... Fuck..."

I actually did have a plan in mind.

Or rather, a crazy idea that passed for one.

But every time I thought about trying it, I remembered just how dangerous it was and found myself running again.

Still, I was out of options.

Places like this usually had a control center.

Or a core.

At least, that was how it worked in movies, games, and the stories I’d read.

After all, the pods, experiment rooms, security systems, and all that insane technology had to be controlled from somewhere.

Right?

This wasn’t some ordinary hospital.

It was a massive underground lab holding hundreds, maybe thousands of test subjects.

A facility like this had to have a power source or a central control system.

And if I could find the control center and destroy it...

Or at least cut off the power...

All the test subjects could be freed.

Well... That was what I hoped, anyway.

There was a small chance the pods would stay locked if the power went out.

Or worse, that the subjects inside would die.

I had no idea how any of it worked.

But if I pulled it off...

A smile crept onto my face.

This damned place would turn into a literal hell.

I imagined dozens of monsters being released at once.

Creatures filling the corridors.

Alarms blaring.

Soldiers scrambling in every direction.

Doctors panicking.

And in the middle of all that chaos...

Marven.

Dorian.

Those two sons of bitches.

If I caused enough chaos, I might get a chance to hunt them both down.

And maybe...

Maybe, if I got lucky, one of the freed monsters would kill them for me.

Heh.

That would be nice.

Once I was done, all that would be left was finding a way to get out of here alive.

Of course, I had to find that damned control center first.

And I had no idea where it was in this massive lab.

"Haah... Haah..."

I rounded another corner.

And suddenly had to stop.

Three people stood in front of me.

The first was a busty woman in a white coat, wearing a strange mask.

A few steps behind her were two armed men in black uniforms.

Guards?

Or special soldiers in charge of security for this fucking place?

Who knew?

Honestly, I didn’t care.

All three froze the moment they saw me.

The woman’s eyes widened.

One of the guards instinctively reached for his weapon.

But...

It was too late.

SWISH!

Azure Blade sliced down through the air.

Before the man could even raise his weapon, my sword cut into his shoulder and nearly split him in two.

Blood and chunks of flesh scattered across the floor as the other guard jumped back.

"WHAT—?!"

A small dagger formed in my palm.

I hurled the sharp blade Umbrella had created as hard as I could.

SHNK!

The dagger sank into the man’s neck.

His eyes widened in horror.

A hoarse rattle came from his throat as he clutched his neck with both hands.

Then he dropped to his knees.

A second later, he fell flat on his face.

It was all over in a few seconds.

But even those few seconds had taken a toll on my body.

"Kh...!"

I gritted my teeth at the pain shooting up my left leg.

My knee nearly buckled.

Damn it!

At this rate, I won’t even have the strength left to fight!

"AAAAAHHH!"

The woman’s scream cut through my thoughts.

She stumbled backward in a panic and fell on her butt.

She planted her hands on the floor and tried to scramble away from me.

Her eyes darted from one body to the other before turning back to me in terror.

"P-Please! I... I’m just—"

I didn’t let her finish.

THUNK!

I drove my sword into her knee.

"AAAAAAAAHH!"

Her scream echoed down the corridor.

Blood from her leg stained her white coat red as I knelt in front of her.

Honestly, I didn’t even have time to talk to her right now.

But I needed information.

And by chance, I’d run into a doctor.

"Hey."

The woman looked at me through her tears.

I left my sword in her knee.

"I’m only going to ask once."

I brought my face a little closer to hers.

"Where’s this fucking lab’s control center? Or its core?"

"I-I..."

"Hmm?"

"I’m just an employee here—"

SHING!

My sword flashed right in front of her face.

Her mask split in two, and a deep cut opened from her cheek to her chin.

"AAAAHH!"

She screamed and clutched her face.

Blood seeped between her fingers.

I tilted my head slightly.

"You’re what?"

"P-Please..."

"Answer me."

She was sobbing.

"I-I don’t know! I swear, I’m just—"

I twisted my sword slightly.

"AAAAH! STOP! STOP!"

"Tell me."

"M-Minus one!"

I frowned.

"What?"

"L-Level minus one! The m-main control section... It’s downstairs!"

"Minus one?"

She nodded frantically.

"Y-Yes! Please! I told you! Please don’t kill me! I was just following orders! I had no—"

I raised my sword.

For a moment, hope appeared on her face.

She probably thought I was going to let her go.

"Please... Let me li—"

SHNK!

My sword pierced her heart.

A choked sound escaped her mouth.

Her eyes went wide.

For a moment, she looked at me.

There was fear in her eyes.

Surprise.

And above all, that desire to live she’d clung to until the very end...

"Thanks."

My voice was barely a whisper.

I pulled my sword free.

Her body slumped to the side as the light slowly faded from her eyes.

I stared at her for a few seconds.

Then I looked away.

I didn’t have time to think about it.

I didn’t want to, anyway.

I got up.

And started running again.

Just then...

"OROCHIMARUUUU!"

A terrifying roar shook the corridor.

"...!"