Chapter 15: It’s a sea-bang

As Akairum exited the room, the soldiers approached me. They held something like a blindfold in their hands.

“Stay still.”

Swish—

With rough hands, they tied the blindfold over my eyes. My vision went completely dark.

“Done.”

“Good. Let’s move.”

I heard the soldiers moving behind me. Unable to see, I couldn’t tell what they were doing.

“One, two, three—push!”

“Ugh—!”

Rumble—

Moments later, I felt myself being shoved forward. It seemed they were pushing the wall my shackles were attached to.

My body was propelled forward for a while. Though blindfolded, I could guess our destination. Since they mentioned a ritual, it was likely the lab where Tana was held.

Clank—

I tugged lightly at the shackles on my wrists, then tested my ankles. I’d been straining against them since waking, and they felt looser than before, especially at the joints. They were sturdy, but a few more hard pulls might break them.

Acting now would be reckless. Breaking them would take time, and even if I freed myself, a fight was inevitable. I didn’t know the way to the lab. Better to conserve energy and let them drag me there.

“Ugh… this is killing me…!”

“Shut up and push, you bastard…!”

Groan.

The soldiers’ grunts echoed as they shoved the wall. Even for second- or third-job soldiers, pushing a car-sized wall with just a few of them was no easy task. At least it made my trip comfortable.

“Stop yapping and push harder…!”

“…I heard this guy’s the key this time.”

The soldiers started chatting as they struggled.

“Key, huff—what’s that mean?”

“The ritual, for Subject 618. They say with this guy, huff, the ritual’s guaranteed to succeed.”

“What…? No way. They’ve been saying it’ll work for ages. Probably another bust.”

“Yeah, huff, I’ve given up expecting anything.”

“No, I heard some details. This time sounds legit.”

“What details?”

Their focus on the conversation weakened their pushing. I listened closely.

“Once we get to the lab, they’ll pile debuffs on him.”

“Debuffs? Why?”

“To weaken him so he’s easier to cut. His body’s like a rock—blades don’t pierce it easily.”

“Oh… but why cut him? Making jerky? Torture?”

“No. They’ll stab his heart. Right in front of Subject 618.”

…What?

“What’s that got to do with the key?”

“From what I heard, it’ll shock Subject 618 into despair. That moment of lowered resistance lets them start the ritual. I don’t know why.”

“…Shock? Why would killing him shock her?”

“Hm… maybe they know each other or something?”

“Oh, like… they’re in love?”

“That makes sense…”

“Nonsense. I’ve seen enough experiments to know Subject 618 has no emotions. She barely speaks.”

“Haha, just a thought. Love between monsters? Yeah, right.”

They kept babbling, but I tuned them out.

…

Stabbed in the heart in front of Tana.

…The ritual begins.

“Hey… is it okay to talk so loud? He can hear everything.”

“Let him. What’s he gonna do? He’s bound tight.”

“Don’t get cocky. This guy took out dozens of us. Even Kalak went down in one hit.”

“Kalak? The fourth-job Paladin? …Nah, that’s just a rumor.”

“Anyway, if the ritual succeeds… will His Majesty really become immortal?”

“Probably. Given Subject 618’s vitality.”

“What happens to 618 then?”

“She’ll vanish, I guess. That’s what the ritual does.”

“Man, that’s a shame. Have you seen her face? She’s…”

I steadied my breathing, trying not to lose my cool. Countless experiences taught me emotions only cloud judgment.

But in this situation, with no clear solution, controlling my emotions was tough.

Saving myself wasn’t hard. If I stayed sharp, I wouldn’t die. But preventing Tana’s ritual was another matter.

If I’m the key like Jang was, the ritual doesn’t need my death. Tana seeing me gravely injured would be enough to shock her and start the ritual.

In the original story, the ritual began before Jang even died. It’d be the same for me.

I had one last resort, but it was too risky. I wasn’t sure it’d work.

…What do I do?

Without my weapon, I had nothing viable. My Latuhander was a custom blade, crafted over a year by Critias’ best blacksmith at a steep price. Its cutting power, durability, and stability were unmatched—especially its durability.

Standard weapons couldn’t handle my skills. They’d break after a few uses, a limitation of pre-Big Bang gear. The soldiers here weren’t low-level, so their weapons weren’t trash, but in a mage-heavy city like Critias, finding a high-quality sword suited for a Hero’s style was unlikely. I couldn’t exactly bash people with a magic wand.

“…”

Could I protect her under these conditions?

Huff— A small sigh escaped, drowned out by the soldiers’ groans.

I could only hope to avoid the worst-case scenario.

If only everything could go smoothly.

“Guh—! Phew!”

“F*ck… thought I was gonna die!”

“Good work, everyone.”

The three soldiers who’d pushed the car-sized wall to the lab’s underground prison wiped sweat and caught their breath.

“Liam, gimme some water.”

Gulp, gulp—

“Hey! Don’t drink it all, you bastard!”

“Quiet down and open the door. We’re not done. Gotta get him inside the lab.”

As the prison grew noisy—

Clank—

The sound of rattling chains came from the wall’s front. The soldiers exchanged glances, then laughed. What now?

Clank—

The chains rattled again. One soldier shouted toward the sound.

“Shut up, you!”

Clank—

“This bastard…”

The three circled to the front.

There I was, bound to the wall, blindfolded, tugging at the shackle on my right wrist.

Whack—

“You little sh*t.”

An angry soldier struck my head. I didn’t react.

“Hey, you deaf? I said shut up!”

“Don’t touch him. If something goes wrong, we’re screwed.”

“Sorry. He was quiet till now—why’s he acting up?”

Clank—

“This guy’s at it again. We’re at the lab, and he’s losing it?”

“…We’re here?”

“…What?”

I spoke for the first time.

“I said, are we here?”

“Hah! Yeah, we’re here, you bastard. Once we’re in the lab, you’ll get a nice big hole in your chest. Then you’re done.”

“…”

“What, scared? Even a monster like you’s afraid to die?”

“…Oh. It’s you. The one calling me a monster earlier.”

“What?”

At that moment—

CLANG—!!

I yanked the chains hard. The three soldiers jumped back, startled.

But soon, smirks crept onto their faces.

No wonder—the shackles were custom-made for me. Not perfect, but even ten fourth-jobbers couldn’t break them.

The soldier who’d hit me sneered and approached again.

“Hah, what’re you doing, idiot? You think you can break those?”

Clank! Clank!!

“Try all you want. You won’t even scratch—”

Snap, crack—

That moment—

“—!”

The third-job Paladin at the back noticed first.

“Hey! Get back—!”

He shouted urgently, but—

CRASH—!!

“…Huh?”

Too late.

Crunch!

“Guh—!”

My freed right hand grabbed the nearest soldier’s face.

“Gah—! Urgh! Let—go—!”

He thrashed, clawing at my hand, overwhelmed by the pain of his head being crushed.

But his struggles were futile.

Crack…!

“…Urk.”

His skull gave way, brain matter spilling.

“Now I can crush second-jobbers barehanded.”

I tore off the blindfold and spoke.

“…Kill him—!”

“F*ck—!”

The stunned soldiers snapped out of it and charged.

“Power Strike!”

“Slash Blast!”

I smirked. Their skills and power were pathetic.

Only my right arm was free, but that was more than enough.

I swung the shackle on my right wrist at them. The attached chain whipped toward their heads.

Crack—! Thud—

“Guh…!”

They collapsed, screaming briefly, dead on impact.

Clank, clank.

Snap, crack.

After dealing with the grunts, I broke the remaining shackles one by one.

Thud.

Finally, I snapped the ankle chains and stepped off the wall, touching the ground for the first time in a while.

“Phew…”

I looked at the shackles dangling from my wrists.

The chains dragged on the floor.

This reminded me of someone.

“…Liberation.”

I couldn’t help but say it.