Chapter 155

Chapter 155

Bam!

After a deafening explosion, a shockwave spread outward. Obviously, as she was at the center of the blast, Arc was also affected, so she protected herself through her No Thoughts Gold Strong Technique. Since the magic explosion originated from her spell and she had a strong defensive base, Arc could easily endure the shockwave.

Tap.

However, before Arc could move, her surroundings changed. Arc, as well as Cruze and Merlin, were already at the end of the hallway. Like a magic trick that used sleight of hand, they had magically appeared in a different location.

“We don’t have to fight them. I can move us into any visible area.”

“Teleportation… this quickly?”

“If it’s me, it’s possible.”

“…”

As she saw Merlin’s friendly smile, Arc flinched, but regardless, Merlin held Cruze and Arc in his arms as he teleported once more. The research center’s walls seemed as though they were fortified with additional magic spells and properties, but Arthur had destroyed all these obstacles, allowing Merlin to teleport in a straight line. After realizing that the elevator was locked and inoperable, Arthur smashed a hole in the floor and was already on the seventh subbasement floor.

Poof!

Merlin and his party members arrived on the fifth subbasement floor as Cruze wriggled out of his grasp.

“Thank you! I’ll move on my own from here.”

However, Arc suddenly moved to stand beside Cruze.

“Wait. Can I go with you?”

“Huh? Why?” Cruze asked.

“There’s something I need to check.”

After hearing Arc’s reply, Merlin nodded. Based on Arc’s words, it seemed she was also after the Gigas blueprints. Usually, splitting from the group during a mission was frowned upon, but Merlin merely accepted it.

“Alright, doesn’t matter to me. We only have about ten minutes left, so hurry up.”

After stating this, Merlin teleported. In the blink of an eye, he appeared next to Arthur.

Boom!

What welcomed Merlin’s arrival was a loud explosion. Similar to a bank vault’s door, a daunting, massive door blocked one wall.

“What are you two up to?”

“What does it look like? We’re trying to get past. It seems we need to somehow get to the other side of this door, but it’s holding up well. It’s not made of a typical metal.”

Arthur’s sword strikes were at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, so if he was stating this, then the door must be abnormal. Even if a nuclear missile hit, the door probably wouldn’t budge.

“What about Shadow Jump?”

Ilyia saw Merlin turn to her, and she shook her head.

“It’s blocked.”

“Hmm.”

Merlin operated his Enhanced Eyesight. His right eye shone with a golden brilliance as it collected all the information in his surroundings. Yet, Merlin soon shook his head.

“I don’t see any methods.”

Due to some special effect or spell, Merlin couldn’t peer through the door. Subsequently, this meant that he couldn’t latch on to a set of spatial coordinates and teleport. Merlin’s Absolute Coordinate System was different from the latitude and longitude coordinate system of standard maps, so estimated coordinates couldn’t be used for teleportation. Moreover, even if this was possible, what if there was something on the other side?

“I guess it can’t be helped. Everyone, stand back.”

Arthur had apparently come to some sort of conclusion as he stepped forward. He was about to bring out his Divine Weapon, but before he could, Merlin stopped him.

“Wait.”

“Hmm?”

“This power… it’s similar to magic.”

Merlin placed his hand on the metal door, which had immense power flowing through it to form its defensive system.

Woong!

Merlin started interpreting the data flow. Then, he ran interference and took down the defensive system before inputting his own operational system.

Creak!

As if it had received the correct password, the door opened without any resistance. Merlin had hacked into the system and tricked it into thinking he was an authorized user.

“Oh, how interesting. It seems like you used some magic… was it that easy to open the door?”

“Well, I guess it depends on the person.”

As someone who wasn’t familiar with magic, Arthur was fairly surprised. However, if any knowledgeable user saw this scene, they’d probably foam at the mouth in shock. By interpreting and then attacking the defensive system, which could withstand Arthur’s ‘essence’ attack, Merlin instantly neutralized it. This was a remarkable achievement, especially considering that Merlin had never confronted such a system before.

Merlin could not only deactivate but also control an otherworldly futuristic system, which was similar in principle to magic. As such, this meant that Merlin could bypass any similar magic system barrier pattern with ease.

“What?! Why is the door opening?!”

When they stepped passed the door, they were met with six telephone booth-sized capsules that were protected by an energy field. It seemed the energy field was activated as the last defense once the door was opened.

“How much time do we have left?”

“Seven minutes and forty seconds.”

“We probably need to warp as soon as we find that Lucy person.”

The three slowly approached the energy field. If the energy field were made from energy alone, then it would need a monumental amount to stop these three, but it did not meet this requirement.

“What do you think?”

“It’s comprised of pure spiritual power. It’ll be difficult to break it down with my interpretation and analytical skills.”

The simple energy field system relied on its abundance of spiritual power, so Merlin couldn’t deactivate it by squeezing through a crack and controlling the system. However, since the spiritual power pattern was simple, there was another way.

“This time, it’s my turn.”

Zing!

Sword qi erupted from Dustin, Arthur’s draconic sword. As they saw this, a researcher on the other side of the energy field smirked.

“Is that the sword aura used by modified humans? To think of taking down a Level 7 defensive energy field with such a-”

Yet, Dustin started wavering like a mirage as it entered the energy field and started absorbing the energy within. As Dustin did so, its overall strength seemed to increase. Arthur was utilizing Bright Tai Chi Sword, the Wu Tang Clan’s absolute peak sword art move.

“What the heck!”

The one who seemed like the chief researcher gasped as he saw the energy field instantly crumble. The chief researcher had come across countless beings with a variety of superpowers and otherworldly monsters that possessed incredible abilities, but he had never seen such a flabbergasting and illogical scene. Arthur wasn’t a celestial, demon, or even a low-tier god, but he had such an extraordinary amount of power, which didn’t make any sense to the chief researcher. This could only mean….

“W-wait! Did the Noblesse send you here? I don’t know what they told you, but this is clearly a violation of the Union Agreement!”

The chief researcher’s words seemed to be stated as a threat, but it didn’t deter Arthur or the other party members.

“What does that mean?”

Bam!

As Arthur’s sword strike continued onward, it sliced off the top portions of the capsules as smoothly as if cutting a cake. Then, Arthur made his way to one of the capsules and put his hand on the metallic material.

“N-no, don’t!”

“I will.”

Crackle!

Though the capsule was made of some special alloy, it was torn apart like a paper box under Arthur’s grip. From countless hours of training and defeating a plethora of boss monsters, Arthur had accrued a tremendous amount of bonus points. So, on top of his excellent skills, his ability stats were top-notch.

And within the capsule was….

“Huh? Isn’t this a member of the draconic species?”

“D-damn it!”

Merlin quickly understood the situation, and Arthur wasn’t far behind. They didn’t possess much background information, but they could gather a great deal of intel from the chief researcher’s facial expression and tone of voice alone.

“Why don’t you explain again… we’re breaking the Union’s Agreement?”

“D-damn it! How did you know? We didn’t have any information leaks, and our communication and information systems are impenetrable! Who are you guys? Where did you come from? The Golden Dragon’s Temple? Or from Draconian?”

The chief researcher’s words didn’t make any sense to them, but they stored the info nonetheless. Of course, they didn’t outwardly show any of this.

“Anyway, we’ll be taking the female. We don’t have much time left.”

“Hmph! You think you can just waltz right in and take whatever you want?”

The chief researcher gritted his teeth and shouted. Right at that moment, an alarm rang out.

[Warning! Warning! The fourth experiment subject’s restrictions have been lifted! Pattern C. Due to extreme levels of stress, the fourth experiment subject is in a chaotic, flight state! Once again, warning! The fourth experiment subject’s restrictions have been lifted! The fourth experiment subject’s restrictions have been lifted! All researchers should leave the research center immediately!]

“The fourth experiment subject?”

Merlin asked, and at that moment, the black-haired girl lying in the capsule opened her eyes.

Bam!

Suddenly, there was a huge blast. Merlin grabbed Ilyia and teleported to safety, while Arthur, the closest to the explosion, dispersed it by swinging his sword.

“Grr!”

Experiment Subject Four cut off the dozens of tubes and electrodes connected to her body and stood. These tubes were thick and hard, and once they were torn off from her sudden movement, her entire body was covered in blood, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Ugh! It’s pretty strong, no? It’s definitely above Level 14.”

Even so, it wasn’t something that could easily defeat the gathered users. A Level 13 being could be handled by Merlin alone, let alone the combined force of the entire party. However, this wasn’t necessary. Once the girl regained her freedom, a message appeared in front of the party members.