There were more than one pair of eyes gleaming in the darkness.
As though they had been waiting for us, the moment ripples shimmered across the water, countless black eyes looked down at us from the ceiling like a colony of bats.
Only when the lantern flame flickered did their forms begin to emerge faintly from the darkness.
《Grrrr…… It, huuurts…… D-don’t…!》
Animalistic cries and barely comprehensible words emerged together through their distorted vocal cords.
The first things I noticed were the stitches binding together their faces, shoulders, and thighs like crudely sewn patches. They were a horrifying collection of creatures that barely retained human shapes, their entire bodies covered in dark surgical scars and pierced with objects resembling rusted iron spikes.
They truly looked like ‘discarded test subjects.’
“I think I understand why you did not want to come here now.”
I clicked my tongue at the horrific forms the University had created.
“Haaah…… We encountered them after all. I had hoped never to see them.”
Ravenwood released a sigh deep enough to sink the ground beneath her.
“Do they have any weaknesses?”
“Well, it is simple.”
She simultaneously threw a flask containing a milky liquid and a bottle filled with a dark liquid from inside her black coat.
“Throw a Hardening Agent and a Firebomb onto their bodies at the same time, and that will take care of them. No matter how much their bodies have changed, fire remains especially effective. They also dislike bright light―that is about it.”
The strategy Ravenwood explained was simple.
It occurred to me that once a target belonged to the category of ‘flesh,’ burns remained effective in any game, regardless of the genre.
When the test subject Ravenwood had targeted caught fire, the flames spread through the creatures tangled around it.
The flames decorated the ceiling so brilliantly that they almost resembled a spectacle one might see in summer.
Only after our little fire festival with the test subjects ended did Ravenwood speak in a bitter voice.
“For the creatures immediately blocking our path, this should be enough, but…….”
“But?”
“No, never mind. Let us finish our business and leave quickly. Merely being here makes me feel as though revulsion is seeping into every part of my body.”
……After that, much the same thing repeated itself.
Ravenwood disposed of the ragged test subjects by throwing bottles at them, while I cut down any that charged us with my longsword.
It was flawless teamwork.
“This way, old woman. The footing may be troublesome, but do not fall behind. There is a limit to how many of these things we can kill while they continue chasing us.”
That was true.
No matter how efficiently we eliminated the enemies, the number of prepared items we had was limited.
Considering that, we needed to finish our business and leave this place as quickly as possible.
“Little Fox, do you even know exactly where we are going?”
Ravenwood complained as she followed me, forcefully wading through the current.
Had I not possessed prior experience, I would never have been able to move with such confidence.
“This way.”
I recalled the image of the waterways I had traveled through in the game.
Relying instinctively upon my memories of terrain I had visited hundreds, if not thousands, of times, I took the lead.
Straight ahead until the passage split into three.
Then left, left again, right, and back into the central passage.
Beyond the next bend was an old hidden door.
A broad chamber opened within the waterway, and the familiar outline of an iron door came into view.
“Run, old woman!”
The harsh breathing and shrieks of the test subjects sounded behind us all at once.
Caretakers had originally been stationed throughout the waterway. However, on our way here, I had already seen dried blood and pieces of human flesh clinging to the walls.
They had probably been eaten by the test subjects.
Those creatures were showing far too much interest in us as well.
“We are both old and taste terrible! Give up already!!”
“You are still young!”
We ran while shouting nonsense that barely qualified as banter.
SPLASH, SPLASH.
My feet and legs felt heavy, but this was the time to run.
I threw my body forward and sprinted through the water. Once I reached the proper distance, I turned around and thrust my leg backward.
“The essence of taekwondo is the back kick!!”
CRASH―!!
I kicked the old iron door open with all my strength and immediately leaped inside.
Ravenwood hurried in after me, closed the door again, and locked the bar into place.
“Huff, gasp……! I-I am going to die. I cannot breathe! You bastard!!”
As Ravenwood shouted at me, the creatures outside scraped their claws viciously across the iron door.
“You found a place like this without getting lost even once. So tell me, Little Fox. What exactly are you? How do you know all of this?”
“I already told you. I only know what I know.”
I steadied my ragged breathing and examined our surroundings.
It seemed that I had found the correct place.
The structure and design were familiar.
This was the Maintenance Quarters where the caretaker of the ‘Leaden Waterway’ had once lived.
Originally, the objective had been to find the keys to the waterway exits here, then use the various passages to shorten travel time.
“So, was this your destination, Little Fox?”
Ravenwood asked after catching her breath.
I had intended to deny it while glancing around. However, once I confirmed that this was not the dusty, abandoned control room I remembered, my answer changed.
“Well, yes.”
Perhaps because it was a room inside the underground waterway, the air was remarkably cool.
However, several details differed considerably from the control room I remembered.
For example, there were far more blankets being used as bedding. The dust had been thoroughly cleared away, and signs remained that a wood-burning stove had recently been used, accompanied by a faint glow.
The entire space showed unmistakable signs of habitation.
……The control room should have been abandoned and unused for a very long time.
At least, that was what I remembered.
‘It seems I was right.’
Moreover, a distinctly animalistic scent had been striking my nose for some time.
Unfortunately, I could also detect the same rotting stench I had smelled outside.
There was only one possible explanation.
The caretakers had become infected, and the contagion had spread through everyone.
“Ravenwood, draw your weapon.”
“Hmm? Little Fox?”
“No questions. You there, come out.”
I prayed that this was not the worst possible situation as I cautiously drew William’s longsword.
The moment the blade flashed, the stove shifted slightly.
I immediately pointed my sword toward the source of the sound. Before long, a slender shadow shot out from between the ashes and dust.
“Y-you! Who are you!! This is my territory! G-go back!”
A creature fundamentally different from a human crawled from the gap behind the stove, its voice carrying a sharp, metallic quality.
Its form was undeniably humanoid, but large ears twitched prominently through the wild strands of hair sticking out in every direction.
“A Cursilng……? Ah, Little Fox. Is that the child you were searching for?”
Ravenwood put away the weapon she had been about to draw, raised the lantern, and illuminated the other person.
The Cursilng girl revealed by the lantern light certainly resembled a human, but there were numerous differences.
Her pupils were vertical like a cat’s, while the sclera surrounding them gleamed gold.
Her face looked small beneath her large ears and remained filled with hostility. Soot and what appeared to be pieces of flesh were smeared across it.
She looked ridiculous, almost as though she had applied military camouflage paint.
However, the sight of her baring her fangs and growling was more than enough to evoke a wild animal.
“D-do not come any closer! Tell me who you are right now, or! I do not know what might happen!”
Although her body trembled, the girl continued growling and responded to me with open hostility.
Her leather-gloved hand held a rusted dagger. Her body was small, but the murderous intent she emitted rivaled that of any wild beast.
The rags draped over her body fluttered, yet her desperate gaze never left the tip of my sword.
She was――a beast trembling in fear, yet growling for the sake of her family.
‘……It is Paulo Rin.’
The girl who should originally have been a thief from the slums was now living inside the waterway for some reason.
Fortunately, the unpleasant stench mixed with her animalistic scent did not seem to be coming from Paulo Rin herself.
It was the heavy, stagnant smell of ‘someone dying,’ seeping from beneath the layers of blankets piled beside the stove behind her.
‘That can wait until later.’
First, I needed to reassure her before we could continue the conversation.
“You are Paulo Rin, are you not?”
At the sound of her name, the girl’s twitching ears abruptly stiffened.
Confusion was clearly visible in the golden eyes that had looked ready to attack me only moments earlier.
“H-how do you know my name?! Who are you!”
Rin became even more wary and continued hissing fiercely.
She looked ready to burst into tears at any moment, yet she possessed the ferocity of a lioness protecting something precious.
“The person lying behind you must be your younger sibling.”
Without lowering my sword, I casually spoke those words.
Rin’s tail went rigid, and every strand of fur stood on end.
“Do not touch my sibling! Take one more step closer, and I will not hold back!!”
Still growling, Rin looked ready to charge forward and bury her rusted dagger in me at any moment.
Her bristling tail swung wildly from side to side, betraying her anxiety.
However, something even more terrible than fear occupied her eyes.
It was the desperation of someone who might lose her family.
“Calm down, Rin. We did not come here to harm you.”
“That is a lie! Everyone approached us claiming kindness at first! I will not be fooled by those sweet words!!”
Her voice remained filled with suspicion.
Ravenwood responded to Rin’s shout.
“Let me examine the child’s condition.”
“N-no! You cannot!!”
“Can you not see? It is a miracle that a doctor has come all the way here, and you intend to refuse her help?”
Rin flinched at Ravenwood’s rebuke and muttered quietly.
“Th-then please…… cure my sibling. Please cure Kariya……!”
At Rin’s words, Ravenwood placed the lantern beside her, lowered herself, and reached toward the pile of rags.
When she pulled back the blankets, the figure beneath them was impossibly small and frail.
The young child possessed ears resembling Rin’s. Kariya wheezed softly, releasing faint breaths while clearly suffering from a high fever.
More specifically, purple veins of an ominous color bulged across the child’s skin.
Even someone as ignorant of medicine as I was could easily tell that something was seriously wrong.
“Tsk…… Lead poisoning. On top of that, the contamination flowing through the waterway has corrupted the ink circulating through the body. I cannot treat this here.”
When Ravenwood clicked her tongue and delivered her cold diagnosis, Rin’s shoulders trembled beside her.
“Old woman, can you treat the child?”
“I can, but it is impossible here.”
Rin began to sob and shouted.
“Wh-what does that mean!! You said you were a doctor! Does that not mean you can save my sibling?!”
At Ravenwood’s despairing answer, Rin tightened her grip on the rusted dagger.
Ravenwood sighed before replying.
“It means I cannot do so immediately, brat. This place is far too damp and filthy. We do not even have purified distilled water or a heating apparatus, so how could I make medicine? If I succeeded under these conditions, it would not be pharmacology. It would be a miracle.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? My sibling, Kariya, is only eight years old…….”
At Ravenwood’s words, tears began dripping from Rin’s golden eyes.
I spoke sternly to Paulo Rin, almost as though cornering her.
“Paulo Rin, listen carefully. Your sibling will unquestionably die in this place. Outside, the test subjects you escaped from are scratching at the door. Inside, there is neither proper medicine nor adequate equipment. How long do you think your sibling will survive like this?”
“B-but still! The conductor and the toller are roaming outside! Uncle William became the toller, and Roden became the conductor, so the slums! The court!! It is not safe out there!!”
Rin rambled incoherently because of the dangers outside.
However, she could not have known.
She had remained underground all this time, so there was no way for news to reach her.
“Can you not see this sword?”
I showed Rin the sword in my hand.
The young Cursilng recoiled in shock.
“Is-is that Uncle William’s sword?!”
“Roden……? I suppose he must have been the conductor. He is dead too. I killed him.”
At my firm declaration, Rin’s ears perked up again as though life had suddenly returned to them, and she stared up at me.
“I drove my sword through his heart myself. The slums are no longer the place you remember. There is clean water there and food. There are also tools Ravenwood can use to make medicine.”
I cleared my throat once, then addressed Rin again in a solemn voice.
“Choose, Paulo Rin. You may remain here and watch your sibling’s final moments, never knowing when that life will end…… Or you may return to the slums with us and seize the chance to save Kariya.”
At my words, Rin lowered her head sharply.
She glanced between Ravenwood, me, and her younger sibling, who was groaning in pain.
The horrifying sounds of the test subjects scratching at the iron door echoed throughout the Maintenance Quarters.
We had no more time.
“……Can you truly save Kariya? If you are lying, I will never leave either of you in peace for as long as I live.”
Rin muttered softly and returned the rusted dagger to the sheath at her waist.
She then carefully gathered the blankets wrapped around her sibling into her arms.
“Good. We are leaving this place now. Do not lower your guard until we are outside. Rin will move in the center. Old woman, protect the rear. I will take the lead.”
As I spoke, I accepted the items Ravenwood had prepared to exploit the test subjects’ weaknesses and stared intently at the iron door.