Chapter 592 – Infiltrating the Facility

Nights in the mountains were cold.

The Antas Mountain Range was especially frigid. Its peaks stretched endlessly into the distance, and strong mountain winds made the night feel even colder.

Tauro and his companions kept their distance from the facility and waited until deep into the night.

“It’s colder here than I expected…”

Ankh woke because of the cold and grumbled to Tauro, who was standing watch.

“Oh, you’re awake too, Ankh. Then we should wake Ragune and Zion.”

Only then did Ankh notice Aeris standing beside Tauro.

“Oh—did I interrupt your time together? Sorry!”

He apologized for waking earlier than expected.

“Hahaha, it’s fine. Right, Aeris?”

“…Yes.”

Unlike Tauro, Aeris looked distinctly displeased.

She rarely had the chance to spend quiet time alone with Tauro, so standing watch together in the secluded mountains had been a precious opportunity.

“I really am sorry! I’ll pretend to be asleep on the way back.”

Ankh added, rather tactlessly.

“So you do plan on eavesdropping?!”

Aeris blushed and snapped at him.

At that moment, Seth returned from scouting the facility.

“Good work, Seth. Let’s wake Ragune and Zion and get ready.”

Seth nodded, went to the tent, and woke them.

“…Is it time already? I wanted to sleep a little longer… Damn it… Just kill me…”

Ragune muttered sleepily, letting her familiar refrain slip out.

“Ragune, we’re about to raid the facility. Wake up.”

Already fully alert, Zion pinched Ragune’s cheek.

“Ow! That hurts, Zion…!”

That finally woke Ragune properly.

“Alright, everyone. Once we’ve packed up, we move.”

Tauro immediately stored the tent and the rest of their camp equipment in [Magic Storage].

Then everyone, Seth included, formed a circle and held hands.

After confirming that everyone was ready, Tauro activated the skill.

“[Teleportation]!”

The entire group vanished.

Adam and Eve remained outside. The rest of Tauro’s group reappeared inside the facility grounds, concealed in the shadows between buildings they had observed from above during the day.

“Seth, have Adam and Eve secure the outer entrance on the Empire side.”

Seth nodded.

“Alright, everyone. Split into pairs and check the buildings.”

The group divided into three search teams: Tauro and Aeris, Ragune and Ankh, and Zion and Seth.

They had already identified several buildings that looked especially important.

During the day, Adam’s shared vision had let Tauro observe the movement of people throughout the compound from above.

Tauro and Aeris headed for the largest building, Ragune and Ankh took the second-largest, and Zion and Seth moved toward the mansion deeper inside the compound.

Each pair began gathering the information it needed.

Tauro and Aeris infiltrated the largest building first.

Perhaps because few outsiders ever entered the compound, security was lax. Guards were present, but they were chatting instead of watching carefully, and the doors weren’t even locked.

After passing several rooms, the pair reached a pitch-dark laboratory.

“This looks like the basic-research area.”

The room contained rows of test tubes, glass bottles, and partitioned glass chambers. Shelves at the back were packed with documents and other materials.

“Then we’ll leave one here…”

Tauro took one Rock-series puppet from [Magic Storage] and placed it in the center of the laboratory.

“You’re going to have it destroy this place when the time comes?”

Aeris nodded as she understood the plan.

“Exactly. The timing is what matters.”

Tauro smiled, then found what appeared to be researchers’ white coats in the room. He and Aeris put them on and headed downstairs.

A staircase inside the building led underground.

Tauro was certain that what he wanted to find would be below.

After descending a considerable distance, they discovered that the underground section was far larger than they had expected.

The ceilings were high, and both the corridors and the individual rooms were unusually spacious.

Unlike the dark rooms above ground, the underground area was illuminated. Security was still sparse, but guards were posted throughout the corridors.

Their attention, however, wasn’t focused on possible intruders.

It was focused on what lay behind the doors.

Monsters.

Growls echoed from behind the heavy iron doors that divided the underground rooms. From time to time, the guards peered through small observation windows to check what was inside.

Wearing their white coats, Tauro and Aeris walked confidently down the corridor as though they belonged to the research staff.

At the far end of the broad corridor, they spotted what looked like a lift used to transport cargo to the surface.

“There are several monsters in every room. Mostly Olog-Hai and Bloodsucking Wolves.”

Pretending to conduct an inspection, Tauro casually passed the guards, looked through the observation windows, and quietly reported what he saw to Aeris.

Aeris played along by pretending to write notes on a wooden board.

The guards assumed they were researchers conducting routine checks and didn’t question them.

Near the far end of the corridor, just before the loading area, stood an especially large chamber.

It was packed with Olog-Hai.

“There are still this many…”

Surprised by the number, Tauro noticed another room nearby. Its entrance wasn’t sealed by a heavy iron door, so he and Aeris went inside.

It appeared to be a final-adjustment room for the monsters. Documents, magic tools, collars, and other equipment were scattered throughout. The papers Tauro examined included operating instructions and related information.

The documents indicated that monsters were produced in batches in the smaller rooms, moved along the rear corridor to this area for final adjustments, transferred into the large holding chamber, and then taken to the surface through the loading area.

There were also detailed instructions for carrying out those final adjustments.

Following the manual, Tauro inserted several magic stones and activated the magic tools one switch at a time.

“I see… If I feed my magic into this device, it imprints commands onto the monsters and lets me control them. Alright, then—here goes.”

Without hesitation, Tauro poured his magic into the sphere connected to the large magic device.

“…This uses quite a lot of magic… but I think it worked.”

Tauro checked the manual once more to make sure he had made no mistake. Then he looked through the small window into the large chamber next door and issued a command.

“Everyone, line up…!”

And then—

The Olog-Hai and Bloodsucking Wolves that had been scattered throughout the chamber immediately gathered into a single orderly line at Tauro’s command.

“…This facility absolutely has to be destroyed.”

After confirming firsthand how dangerous the facility was, Tauro whispered the conclusion to Aeris.