MDR-C26

Chapter 26

Eunseong pressed his palm firmly against the floor, forcing his trembling hand to steady.

He couldn’t keep hiding behind fear.

Instead of lowering his head like a coward, he slowly lifted his gaze toward Kang Mujin, who was still locked in battle with the monster.

The fear in his eyes hadn’t disappeared completely.

But beneath it, something firmer had begun to take shape.

“…A burden?”

His voice was low and dry—the kind of tone the original Baek Eunseong might have used without hesitation.

The words reached Mujin even through the monster’s deafening roar.

For the briefest moment, the tip of Mujin’s sword shifted.

This wasn’t the same Eunseong who had practically collapsed into his arms only moments ago.

Eunseong forced his trembling legs straight and pushed himself upright.

Then he pulled a mana recovery potion from his inventory and swallowed it in one go.

A little liquid escaped the corner of his mouth. He casually wiped it away with the back of his hand before extending one arm toward the monster.

His fingertips were still shaking.

He ignored them.

Eunseong lifted his chin.

“Baek Eunseong doesn’t hide in a corner while someone else fights for him.”

[Activating Skill: ‘Spear of Ruinous Thunder (SS)’.]

A brilliant spear of lightning materialized in the air.

Before the monster could react, it shot forward and pierced straight through its chest.

The creature didn’t even have time to scream.

Its enormous body fractured, then disintegrated into drifting ash.

Amid the scattering remains, Eunseong met Mujin’s eyes.

This time, he didn’t look away.

For that brief moment, he wasn’t the frightened man who had been clinging to Mujin’s clothes.

He was Baek Eunseong.

The Guild Leader of Zenith.

The repeated use of his skill left a persistent tingling sensation running from his shoulder to his wrist, as though residual electricity still crawled beneath his skin.

Since every activation consumed his mana completely, the strain was considerable.

Whew… You really can’t deny that firepower.

Eunseong quietly drank another mana recovery potion.

He wiped his mouth, then casually dropped the empty bottle onto the floor.

Before Mujin could say anything, Eunseong turned away.

He stared deeper into the central hall.

“What are you waiting for? Move.”

His voice was curt and cold.

Mujin said nothing.

He shook the monster’s fluids from Lord of the Black Night and then shifted his gaze toward Eunseong’s coat pocket.

Only a few moments ago, Eunseong had been gasping for breath in sheer terror.

Now his expression was completely composed.

Too composed.

Yet his body betrayed him.

The faint trembling beneath that carefully maintained facade was impossible to miss.

Watching him desperately pretend to be calm left Mujin with an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

Without commenting, he walked past Eunseong and continued deeper into the facility.

Eunseong held his breath before following.

The two of them finally had the opportunity to inspect the central hall properly.

B-04 glowed ominously in red across the floor.

Beyond the markings stretched an experimental facility far more disturbing than the corridor they had passed through.

The stench had grown unbearable.

Eunseong pulled up the sleeve of his coat and covered the lower half of his face.

I seriously need those sunglasses back.

Fortunately, the facility was so poorly lit that most things remained difficult to see unless they were standing right beside them.

Strangely enough, that was comforting.

The less clearly he could see, the less horrifying everything seemed.

It didn’t make the place any less disgusting.

Every step landed with a wet squelch.

Whenever something unfamiliar brushed beneath his shoe, Eunseong’s entire body stiffened.

I hate this place…

Isn’t this completely destroying the original setting?

As Eunseong approached the center of the hall, an old machine nearby suddenly began to hum.

“Mm!”

His shoulders jumped.

Mujin didn’t even glance back.

Eunseong swallowed and forced himself to keep walking.

One by one, the dead monitors scattered throughout the room flickered to life.

Most displayed nothing but black-and-white static.

Then the largest monitor in the center suddenly lit up.

Its harsh white glow was almost painful against their darkness-adjusted eyes.

Both men narrowed their eyes.

Broken symbols appeared first.

Then, little by little, the characters became readable.

[Connecting to B-04 Biofusion and Disposal Sector……]

[Administrator signal detected. Initiating authorization adjustment.]

“Biofusion and Disposal Sector…”

Eunseong read the words aloud under his breath.

Administrator?

He barely had time to wonder what that meant before a chill ran down his spine.

The grotesque monster they had encountered earlier immediately came to mind.

Was that thing created here?

Then more information appeared.

[Specimen 824 disposed of. Reason: Neural network uncontrollable.]

[Fusion success rate: 3.2% / Remaining disposal subjects: 4,302]

[Warning: Uncontrollable specimens remain. Barrier damage: 78%]

[Final transfer destination: Upper Cultivation Chamber]

“Four thousand…?”

Eunseong’s heart began pounding.

Four thousand?

How many monsters were they trying to create?

Even reduced to a handful of lines on a monitor, the information was enough to turn his stomach.

Eunseong concealed his trembling hands beneath his coat sleeve and cautiously tried operating the nearby panel.

Nothing happened.

“…Let’s go.”

But the moment he spoke—

Crack.

The facility emitted a violent metallic sound.

The monitors flickered.

Then a new line appeared.

[Specimen Name: B-4 Incomplete Fusion]

[Status: Reactivation complete.]

At the same time, the entire ceiling began shaking violently.

The central hall trembled as though a massive earthquake had struck beneath it.

A roar of machinery filled the room.

BOOM!

Something came crashing down from above.

Then another.

And another.

Fusion creatures began pouring from the ceiling like a swarm.

They were much smaller than the enormous monster they had encountered earlier, but their bodies looked faster and more agile.

Eunseong instinctively backed away.

Then something caught his eye.

“Wait!”

Mujin was already preparing to leap.

“The pipe!”

One of the large pipes near his path had begun swelling.

The metal bulged grotesquely.

Small ruptures appeared along its surface one after another.

Then acidic liquid began leaking through.

The solution struck the floor and mixed with the slime already coating it.

A poisonous chemical vapor immediately began spreading through the hall.

Mujin glanced toward the pipe.

His trajectory changed instantly.

He cleared the dangerous area in a single leap.

Lord of the Black Night flashed through the air, cutting down the creatures descending around him.

“Don’t go there! Dodge!”

Eunseong hadn’t known anything.

He hadn’t analyzed the situation.

He had simply felt an overwhelming certainty that Mujin absolutely could not go that way.

Shit.

Why did I say that? I don’t even know what’s happening!

BOOM!

The pipes Eunseong had warned him about exploded.

Acid sprayed violently across the hall.

Mujin narrowly avoided the corrosive liquid.

His eyes narrowed.

That warning hadn’t sounded like a tactical assessment.

It had been instinctive.

Urgent.

Almost like a frightened cry.

And yet Eunseong had warned him at exactly the right moment.

Mujin’s gaze shifted toward him.

Eunseong looked genuinely confused.

That was the problem.

He really appeared as though he had no idea what had just happened.

And yet this same man had detected a danger that even Mujin hadn’t noticed.

Mujin said nothing.

His sword continued moving.

A fusion creature lunged toward him.

He split its skull with a single strike.

Even while fighting, however, his attention remained fixed on Eunseong.

The battle ended quickly.

But the destruction left behind only made the smell in the hall more unbearable.

Eunseong leaned against the control panel, breathing heavily.

“Haa… haa…”

His lungs felt as though they were burning.

Suddenly, his vision spun.

He had probably inhaled too much of the chemical vapor.

His knees weakened.

Just as his body began to collapse, a cold hand caught his shoulder.

“…Guild Leader.”

Eunseong’s expression immediately tightened.

That tone.

Whenever Kang Mujin used that low voice, it meant questions were coming.

Again.

Just as he expected.

The pressure on his shoulder began to hurt.

Eunseong slapped Mujin’s arm away with the back of his hand.

“Get off.”

“……”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said let go.”

Eunseong glared up at him.

After a moment, Mujin withdrew his hand.

But instead of walking away, he caught Eunseong’s hand.

He lifted it.

Eunseong’s fingertips were pale.

Almost bloodless.

And they were trembling.

Again.

Mujin wrapped his large hand around Eunseong’s thin wrist.

The difference between their temperatures was striking.

Mujin’s skin was warm.

Eunseong’s was cold.

“You really don’t know anything about this place?”

Eunseong looked away.

He didn’t answer.

“You may not know where this place is.”

Mujin’s grip tightened slightly.

“But the facility has reacted to you more than once.”

His eyes lowered toward Eunseong.

“Just what are you, Guild Leader?”

“……”

Eunseong grimaced and tried to pull his hand free.

He couldn’t.

Mujin’s thumb slowly traced from his wrist toward his palm.

Then Mujin bent down until their eyes were level.

They were close enough that their breaths nearly mingled.

Eunseong’s reflection was clearly visible in Mujin’s dark eyes.

“I suppose I’ll find out eventually.”

“……”

“If you’re frightened, you can stay behind me.”

His thumb pressed against Eunseong’s palm.

“You don’t have to hurt yourself like this.”

Eunseong’s breath caught.

There were deep crescent-shaped marks in his palm where his fingernails had dug into the skin.

Mujin had noticed.

His secret had been exposed in the smallest possible way.

Eunseong sucked in a sharp breath.

His heart began pounding.

The pulse beneath Mujin’s fingers accelerated with it.

It was an unmistakably honest reaction.

Mujin stared at him.

Does he really not know?

Or is he simply that good at pretending?

Until now, Mujin had believed Eunseong knew exactly what was happening and was deliberately hiding it.

But now, he wasn’t so certain.

And that uncertainty only made the mystery more difficult to ignore.

There was something else.

The more time he spent with Eunseong, the more differences he noticed.

This man was nothing like the Baek Eunseong in his memories.

Which was precisely why Mujin could not lower his guard.

At that moment, Eunseong clenched his fist and forcefully knocked Mujin’s arm away.

Mujin could easily have stopped him.

He didn’t.

He simply let go.

“Move.”

Eunseong’s voice was cold.

His fingertips were still trembling, but he refused to show it.

“If figuring out what I really am is driving you this crazy…”

He looked straight at Mujin.

“…then let’s survive long enough to get out of here first.”