Thud.
The guard at the Bureau of Magical Development roughly tossed Cain—who had just finished his latest experiment—into his designated room.
Without a second glance, the guard turned and left.
“Ugh…
damn it…” “What the hell…
are those bastards…
experimenting with…?” Thrown onto his bed, Cain curled into a tight ball, trying desperately to endure the sheer, white-hot agony radiating from deep within his body.
His vision began to blur.
“Am I…
dying…?” Standing before a massive array of monitors, the Doctor watched the live feeds completely expressionless.
Beside him, an assistant was rapidly reporting the real-time status of each test subject.
“Subject 97 has died.” “Subject 121 has died.” “Subject 54 is unconscious, core body temperature continues to rise.” “Subject 115 is unconscious, core body temperature has reached critical levels.” “Can none of them truly withstand the Demon Factor?” Though the Doctor had anticipated these results, he couldn’t help the wave of bitter disappointment that surged within him as reality laid itself bare.
The Demon Factor experiment was currently the Bureau of Magical Development’s most important project.
If it succeeded, even ordinary humans could gain terrifying strength and massive reservoirs of magic power.
But so far, out of the 500 subjects injected with the Demon Factor, 469 had died, 10 had mutated into mindless beasts, and 21 were left in a vegetative state.
Just as the Doctor was pondering how to alter the formula, a bizarre change occurred deep within Cain’s body.
His magic—which he hadn’t used once since his awakening—was slowly but steadily purifying the foreign Demon Factor tearing through his veins.
As the Demon Factor was purified, his body absorbed the remaining energy, using it to slowly, permanently increase his physical resilience and magic capacity.
With the Demon Factor neutralized, the agonizing sensation of being ripped apart from the inside gradually faded, and his spiking body temperature slowly returned to normal.
“Doctor, Subject 115’s body temperature is dropping.” The assistant’s words didn’t exactly thrill the Doctor.
“Keep observing him.” The subjects who had fallen into vegetative states or turned into monsters had shown similar signs of stabilization.
At the time, the Doctor had mistakenly thought those trials were successful, only for some subjects to never wake up, while others suddenly mutated into mindless beasts days later.
No, ‘monsters’ was a more accurate term.
“Hmm?
I’m not dead?
Hahaha, I’m back, baby!” When Cain finally regained consciousness, he found that not only was he still breathing, but his physical condition was surprisingly excellent.
However, his celebration was short-lived.
Just because he survived this round didn’t mean he’d survive the next.
“Looks like it’s time to put the escape plan into action.” In the recreation room.
Ultear watched Cain slowly strolling toward her and complained, “Cain, you’re so slow!
Hurry up and help me build this house.” “There’s no need to rush, Ultear.
We have plenty of time,” Cain replied smoothly, sitting down beside her and picking up a few blocks.
As she stacked the pieces, Ultear mumbled, “Time always goes by so fast in here.
Today, I’ll be the mom, and you be the son.” That’s right, the two were playing ‘house.’ Cain casually swept his gaze around the room.
Confirming that no one was paying attention to them, he leaned in and lowered his voice so only she could hear.
“Ultear, I’m going to escape from the Bureau of Magical Development.
Do you want to come with me?” Cain’s words made Ultear’s hands freeze for a split second.
But she was smart; she quickly smoothed out her expression and continued playing as if nothing had happened.
“Even if we leave, where would we go?” As if remembering something painful, the light in her bright eyes dimmed, and she asked in a hollow whisper.
Cain thought for a moment.
“Anywhere is better than staying here.
Look around.
Have you noticed there are a lot fewer kids in the recreation room lately?” Ultear glanced around.
Just as Cain had said, the room was noticeably emptier than it used to be.
“If I stay here, one day, I might disappear too.” Hearing that, Ultear’s head snapped up.
She grabbed Cain’s hands tightly, her eyes wide with panic.
“I don’t want you to disappear!” Cain smiled warmly and gently squeezed her trembling hands.
“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere.
And I don’t want to lose you either, Ultear.
That’s why we have to leave together.” “But where will we go?” Unlike her earlier bleakness, a faint glimmer of hope and longing now sparked in her eyes.
“Well,” Cain mused, “my entire family was killed.
What about your mom and dad, Ultear?
Are they still around?” “My mom doesn’t want me anymore.” Cain knew this was a massive misunderstanding, but he couldn’t exactly tell her that outright right now.
Instead, he asked her gently why she believed her mother had abandoned her.
If Cain had asked this back when they first met, Ultear definitely wouldn’t have answered.
She probably would have swung her little fists at him for being a nosy blond brat.
But now, their bond was different.
Slowly, Ultear opened up and told Cain the story of her past.
After listening quietly, Cain crossed his arms and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Hmm.
So, Ultear, did your mom actually look at you and say, ‘I don’t want you anymore’?” “Uh, no.” “Then let’s go find her and ask her face-to-face if she wants you or not.” Cain’s simple logic made Ultear’s eyes light up with sudden hope, though a shadow of worry quickly followed.
“But…
but what if she really doesn’t want me anymore?
Then…” Before she could finish her sentence, Cain cut in smoothly.
“Then I’ll want you.” Cain’s firm, unwavering tone struck her young heart like a hammer.
A brilliantly radiant smile bloomed across her face, and using every ounce of her strength, she nodded fiercely.
“Okay!” Then, Ultear quietly explained the method she had used to escape the first time.
Listening to her plan, Cain couldn’t help but marvel at how clever—and insanely bold—this little girl was.
During her first escape, she had waited until the dead of night when everyone was asleep.
She had secretly memorized the passcode to her room door while the guards were escorting her back earlier.
The Bureau of Magical Development was a research facility, not a military fortress, so its internal security wasn’t exactly air-tight.
Clearly, the guards never expected a bunch of six- or seven-year-olds to have the guts or the smarts to break out.
And according to Ultear, the passcode to the children’s holding cells was the exact same for every door.
Once she finished explaining, Cain made a snap decision.
“Ultear, we move tonight at 2 AM.” Ultear was slightly surprised by his decisiveness, but she wasn’t one to hesitate either.
She nodded sharply, signaling she understood.
Soon, their recreation time ended.
Before heading back, Cain and Ultear exchanged one last, meaningful glance before the guards escorted them back to their separate rooms.
After dinner, Cain lay quietly on his bed, waiting patiently for night to fall.
When the clock struck 2 AM, Cain’s eyes snapped open in the pitch-black room.
“Operation Escape begins.” He crept silently to the door and peered through the small window.
The hallway was completely empty.
He punched in the passcode he got from Ultear, and the door slid open with a soft hiss.
Cain moved carefully, sticking to the shadows until he reached the designated meeting spot outside the recreation room.
A tiny silhouette was already waiting there, anxiously looking left and right.
When she spotted Cain, Ultear let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief.
Before she could say a word, Cain grabbed her hand and whispered, “Let’s go!”