## Chapter 100 – Black Root (6)
The seemingly wide, yet narrow corridor stretched out like a maze within the research facility.
Countless voices and hurried footsteps collided against the walls of the corridor,
creating a sound reminiscent of a bustling Friday night downtown.
…Listening to this commotion reminds me of high school before I came to Seoul.
Back then, I didn’t have to think about anything; I’d skip night classes and go to PC cafes.
Comparing it to the sounds now, it reminds me of the line in front of the cafeteria during lunchtime.
When I was younger, I didn’t mind this kind of noisy atmosphere; I actually liked it.
“Where did he go?! Sector E37?!”
“It’s already sealed off! We’re searching all sectors now…”
“…Sigh.”
If the sounds echoing from all directions weren’t coming from the researchers,
who were recklessly conducting human experiments to create biological weapons.
It’s almost a shame that I’m the main topic of their conversations right now.
As soon as I entered this building, disguised as an ordinary plant research facility,
I immediately electrocuted the security guard in the black suit standing right in front of me.
The moment the two men, instantly turned charcoal black, collapsed to the floor,
the lights, which had been creating a businesslike and calm atmosphere, turned red,
and an alarm that sounded like it would tear your ears apart echoed throughout the building.
Thus, this contradictory facility, which had been acting ‘normal,’ revealed its true nature.
Men armed with armor and weapons popped out from everywhere and attacked me,
and that’s how, one way or another, the situation has become what it is now.
“…”
I crouch in the corner of a dark corridor where even light doesn’t reach, avoiding pursuit.
I sense the soldiers running around the facility, searching for me.
“…Roughly about 500 of them…”
Is it because I’ve gained new power, or is it because I’ve awakened the power within me?
I was able to defeat them, who were armed to the teeth more thoroughly than when I first encountered them,
in a way that can’t even be compared to our first encounter.
The red beams fired from the ends of their guns were blocked by the magnetic field from my body,
and the soldiers who charged at me with electric batons that had inflicted terrible pain on me last time,
were roasted by the power of Lapus.
It’s so easy that the suffocating tension I felt before entering this building has completely dissipated.
Just as I was thinking that, something strange started happening to my body.
The magnetic field that had been blocking the bullets they were firing was weakening, and the more I used my powers,
the more I noticed that the men weren’t falling even after being hit by the shockwaves that turned them into electric-grilled meat in one shot.
And more than anything, my whole body is freaking prickly, like I’m getting a strong static shock all over?
So, I ran away for now.
It’s been almost 10 minutes since I hid like this, and when I look down at my hand,
I see electricity crackling and popping on my fingers.
“…Is this discharging?”
Does this mean the power within me isn’t omnipotent?
It’s an overwhelming power that transcends humanity, but is it because I’m still lacking?
I felt like I was still far short of the ancient beings I had sensed before.
If I go to Busan in this state and face the danger that I can still faintly sense even at this moment…
“…I’m still far from ready.”
I still don’t know how to use the power within me.
That’s a problem that no one can teach me; I have to solve it myself.
“…Ah.”
The mask I was wearing burned up from the electricity I emitted and fluttered to the floor.
…
I gather blue energy in my hand, the light gathering more easily than when I used it before.
The radiant light envelops the dark corridor, and a small birth begins within that light.
A small seed emerges from the void, and that seed soon sprouts a blue bud.
And that blue young leaf grows rapidly, becoming a stem and taking on the color of wood.
“…This should be okay, right?”
A wooden mask is completed in my hand.
I fiddle with the mask, which emits a subtle blue light between the slightly cracked stems,
bring it to my face to check the size, and then fix it to my face.
Okay, this should be enough to cover my face, and the power of Lapus still hasn’t… returned.
I could just stay hidden here and wait safely until it’s fully charged, but…
“Going the Spartan way will be easier in the long run.”
—————————————–
“…No anomalies.”
“…No anomalies here either.”
I swallow hard, feeling suffocated by the tension.
The dark corridor is chilly, but sweat is dripping from my chin to the floor.
The unidentified intruder who was wearing a mask has disappeared from the facility.
It’s just that one fact, but me and my heavily armed colleagues are just as tense.
“…Sector F50 search complete, no anomalies in the entire area.
Situation Room, have you found anything?”
‘…Nothing, it’s as quiet as a mouse.’
“…Damn it, where the hell did he go…!!”
“Calm down.”
“…How the hell am I supposed to calm down…!! Huh?!”
After receiving the report from the Situation Room, I let out a heavy sigh and give a hand signal to my team members.
Everyone relaxes for a moment, lowers their guns, and sighs along with me.
But perhaps the emotions that had been suppressed were released as the tension eased,
one of the team members muttered curses and shook his head with anxious eyes.
I tried to calm him down by putting my hand on his shoulder, but he slapped my hand away and shouted.
“Right now…! You’re saying that male entity is in this building right now…?
And he withstood the concentrated fire that all the teams poured on him at once…
He even annihilated Team C in the process!! That’s already… already…”
An existence far superior to the test subjects we knew.
The strongest parasite we have suppressed and killed countless times.
The indescribable fear of being in the same space as such an existence is overwhelming him.
He throws off the night vision goggles he was wearing and grabs my collar.
“Team Leader…! Please, please send me away…! I, I don’t want to die yet…!!”
“…That’s enough.”
The other team members sense the unusual atmosphere and step between me and him,
trying to separate us.
“…I understand.”
“…Team Lead-”
I brought a pistol to the solar plexus of the man who barely managed to let out a relieved breath and pulled the trigger.
Instead of the roar of gunpowder exploding, it made a mechanical sound, and the light emitted by the red bullet filled my vision.
His corpse slumped to the floor without even uttering a short death cry.
There was a large hole in his chest where I had pointed the gun, as if it had melted.
“…To think we blocked something like this… It’s laughable.”
The remaining team members are not flustered by the sudden firing.
I nod to the two team members who were closest to him,
and they silently nod back, drag his corpse to the corner of the corridor, and leave it there.
‘Team A, respond.’
“…What’s going on?”
‘The vital signs of one of Team A’s members have disappeared.
Did something happen?’
“No, a disobedient person appeared, so I executed him on the spot.”
‘…Yes, understood. Then we will collect the corpse of the member in question after the situation is resolved,
and process it according to the procedure.’
“Please do.”
‘Then what should we do for now? Should we withdraw first and seal off all areas?’
“No, don’t seal off everything, just seal off the areas I’m calling out now.
Seal off all areas of A, C, D, and E, have Teams B and D join us,
and have the remaining teams re-search Area B.”
‘Understood. I will relay it to the other teams.’
The relatively high-rise areas A and D are too small to hide in.
And Area E and C, where the director’s special security office is located, which is currently vacant.
Not even the male entity will be able to enter here.
Then the only remaining areas are Area B and this place where we are standing,
only Area F remains.
“…If anyone is scared right now, or doesn’t want to die, speak up in advance.
I can kill you without pain, like that friend sleeping over there.”
“…”
“Good.”
I look back at the team members one last time and give a warning containing a chilling threat.
The team members, hearing those words, silently readjust their weapons.
They nod in affirmation and turn back around, lowering their posture again.
‘Team Leader, control and ㄹㅛhthㄴiek#4’
“…Alert.”
Everyone readjusts their posture, stops walking, and guards their surroundings.
I throw the broken communicator on the floor, crush it with my foot, and take out my gun.
…
…
A suffocating silence.
…
A single speck of dust cut through the air of the dark corridor and fell at my feet,
“He’s above!!”
All at once, in response to my signal, they pour all their bullets into the ceiling.
As if he knew our presence in advance, a man came down through the ceiling.
We aimed at the man, who was hiding his identity with strange mask and casual clothes,
and pulled the trigger, but a stalk that sprouted faster than the bullets wrapped around the man.
“Shit!!!”
Towards one of the team members who was pulling the trigger without stopping because he was excited,
the man’s arm, which had pierced through the tough stalk that even the heat bullets that melt people couldn’t penetrate, grabbed the team member,
and in the short moment that the team member couldn’t even groan, he put strength into his hand and snapped his neck.
“Ugh, aaaaaah!!”
A tree house made of stalks unfolds, and the man inside jumps out.
And the strange blue light that was seen around the man faded,
turning into a light green color and began to emit an energy that seemed to tear apart the surroundings.
Literally, that’s all, I don’t know how to express it more here.
That man pointed his index finger, and a small bubble of light formed at the end of it.
“Ugh?!”
“Cough…!”
“!”
He shot the light towards the remaining team members.
The light pierced through the heads of all the team members in an instant,
and the team members fell powerlessly in the corridor.
“…!! It stings even more when you gather it and shoot it…!!”
…
Someone’s voice is heard in my head.
‘Talent.’
‘Overwhelming talent.’
“…If this is the end anyway…”
“…Are you the highest-ranking person here, mister? I have a few things I want to ask…”
If this is the end, I want to prove that you were wrong, Director.
