Chapter 116: Beneath the Ruins
Smoke filled the corridor.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
The underground laboratory erupted into movement.
"Kill the intruders!"
More hooded figures poured from side passages.
Some wielded swords.
Others carried staffs already glowing with magic circles.
One raised his hand.
Three fireballs shot toward the Outlaws.
Munnu laughed.
"There we go!"
He dove sideways.
Boom.
The corridor exploded behind him.
Chunks of stone flew everywhere.
Persia clicked his tongue.
"They're using magic again."
"Then stop whining and shoot them!"
Several Outlaws raised rifles.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Bullets tore through the narrow hallway.
One cultist dropped immediately.
Another raised a barrier.
The third wasn't fast enough.
Blood splattered against the wall.
Kai stared.
"...Guns work."
Munnu rolled behind broken machinery.
"They're still people."
"They die the same."
A cult mage slammed his staff into the floor.
Stone spikes erupted beneath the Outlaws.
"Scatter!"
Everyone jumped.
One wasn't fast enough.
The spike pierced his leg.
He screamed.
Another Outlaw immediately dragged him behind cover.
"No one gets left behind!"
Munnu shouted.
Kai felt something stir inside him.
Not memories.
Instinct.
He could...
feel it.
Mana.
Tiny streams flowed throughout the room.
The cultists.
Their spells.
Even the lanterns.
Everything leaked mana.
His eyes widened.
"I can..."
Before he finished—
Another fireball flew straight toward him.
Kai instinctively raised his arm.
Nothing happened.
"...Shit."
The explosion threw him backward.
His cloak caught fire.
He quickly rolled across the floor.
Munnu burst into laughter.
"You looked confident for a second!"
Kai stomped out the flames.
"I thought something would happen!"
"Well it didn't!"
Another barrage of bullets echoed.
The Outlaws fought differently.
No formations.
No ranks.
Pure improvisation.
Two fired.
One advanced.
Another threw smoke bombs.
Someone kicked over a rusted cabinet to create cover.
Messy.
Chaotic.
Effective.
The cultists struggled inside the confined hallway.
Their larger spells couldn't be cast without risking their own allies.
One cultist shouted,
"Retreat deeper!"
Another immediately answered,
"No!"
"We protect the laboratory!"
Kai caught that word.
Laboratory.
So this place was still being used.
Then—
A loud metallic clang echoed deeper inside.
Everyone paused.
Even the cultists.
Another sound followed.
Something heavy.
Dragging across steel.
Scrraaaaaape...
Persia frowned.
"...What was that?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
The moment of hesitation ended.
The cultists charged.
Steel clashed against steel.
One Outlaw blocked a sword strike before punching the cultist in the throat.
Another smashed the butt of his rifle into someone's face.
Kai barely ducked beneath a blade.
He drew his own sword.
The cultist smiled beneath his hood.
"Fresh blood."
Kai swallowed.
"...Probably."
The cultist lunged.
Kai parried.
Too slow.
Too rough.
Too inexperienced.
His opponent immediately noticed.
"You've barely fought with a sword."
Kai gritted his teeth.
"No."
"I usually punch things."
"...What?"
Kai answered by kicking him square in the stomach.
The cultist stumbled backward.
Kai followed with another kick.
Then another.
The cultist crashed into a table.
Munnu whistled.
"That's more like it!"
Kai scratched the back of his head.
"I never said I was a swordsman."
Another cultist appeared beside him.
Kai turned—
Too late.
The blade descended.
Bang.
The cultist's head snapped sideways.
A bullet hole appeared through the hood.
Munnu twirled one revolver.
"Don't die yet."
"You still owe me language lessons."
Kai laughed despite himself.
"I thought I already paid."
"You've only taught me how to insult Persia."
Persia shouted from the other side of the room.
"I HEARD THAT!"
"Good!"
Another explosion shook the laboratory.
This one felt different.
Closer.
Much closer.
The walls trembled.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
One cultist suddenly shouted,
"Fall back!"
"The lower level is compromised!"
Lower level?
Kai frowned.
There was another floor beneath this one?