Chapter 467 – Boxes and Composite Numbers

000

Area A of the research center headed by the ruins entrance team. Even if you go inside a little bit, you can feel that the atmosphere is the opposite of Area B.

Abandoned cages of various animals and paper boxes with ancient words written on them were scattered here and there, a mascot character with a motif of a tiger showing a cheerful appearance with thumbs up and tongue sticking out.

“What, what are these boxes… “

As Amelia carefully looks at the boxes on the ground, Artis walks up to Amelia and examines the cover of her box her together.

“Ah. This is fodder Food for pets. Full of nutrition. Your puppy will turn into a tiger.”

“A dog turned into a tiger… ? Is there such a magic potion…”

Amelia curiously picked up her paper box and looked in front of her.

“I think it’s probably a metaphor… “

Just then, Al Mirage, who was cradled in Amelia’s other arm her, sniffed at her and rang-

Shaak! Kwajik!

She suddenly pierced the food crate Amelia was holding with her own horn.

“Aww… !”

Its splendid horn created a huge hole in the box at once, but Amelia dropped the box because of what happened so suddenly.

“This guy… !”

As soon as Lyla sees the sight, she conjures a ball of fire in her hand and tries to block her but-

“Wait Master! Look at that box!”

When Innis, who was standing next to her, hurriedly stopped it, Layla also moved her gaze along Innis’ fingers to her.

Then, the box that fell on the spot wriggled on its own.

Loud enough to make a whooshing sound, something like a dark insect leg protruded and twisted its body.

[Kigeek! Kigi Geek!]

“Oh… !”

At the sight so shocking, Amelia backs away in a cold sweat, but Al Mirage struggles in her arms as if to protect Amelia.

“What is that disgusting thing… !”

Attis also hid behind Layla, perhaps for the first time seeing such a creature.

Lila watches the food crate for a moment, trying to move like her bug, then snaps her fingers.

OK. A small ember that jumped out of her hand flew straight into the box and landed on it-

Roaring! And, a large and colorful fireworks exploded, turning the box into ashes.

[Kigigigigit!]

Opening the top of the box like a mouth, she tried to resist the fire by wielding her tongue, but since she was made of paper, she couldn’t help it.

After her legs her are burned and disappeared, Lila swings her arm to capture her magical energy and talks.

“It’s Mimic. Just what.”

“I just… Mimic? It’s a bit different from the Mimic I know.”

When Artis says that with eyes that disbelieve Layla, Layla nods her head.

Mimic.

Generally, a type of monster fused with a trap created by bad-tempered beings with the will to kill intruders without fail.

Most of them mimicked in the form of treasure chests, and remained calm until an intruder caught their guard and opened them.

The moment she opens up, she is a ferocious monster that sucks in and chews intruders to death with her own sharp teeth and thick tongue.

Adventurers are wary of mimics, to the extent that they account for a fairly high percentage of the causes of death for those who have just become adventurers entering dungeons.

Maybe that’s why, the cases of adventurers who have started to accumulate experience to a certain extent are quickly reduced to mimics, and even if they are caught in a trap, they can survive as long as they improvise and escape before their mouths close.

Thanks to this, the mimic is not so effective that it feels like a moving treasure chest (a bit dangerous) for mid-level adventurers.

Among wizards and magical tools, there were even those who only studied methods for identifying mimics.

“… Could it be some kind of synthetic water created in Area A?”

At Amelia’s words her, Layla goes, “Mmmm…’She made a sound like she was thinking about something-

“Yes. Mimics are definitely better suited to monsters than monsters or synthetic beasts. A mimic is made by putting a parasitic monster core called ‘Mimic’s core’ into a box that can be opened and closed… The way I see it, that mimic isn’t that old.”

When Lila’s eyes narrow, she giggles and the lights go out.

However, Artis continues asking questions to Layla as if she can’t just ignore Layla’s words of her.

“Hasn’t it been a while? This facility was sealed for thousands of years until we uncovered it… It can’t be.”

“Are you doubting my magic poetry? When Lyla said that with her arms crossed, Artis wondered whether to nod or shake her head before she placed her hand on her forehead on her.

“No… For a moment. Almiraj was lying on the ground, injured. That there was a Mimic that had just been made. …”

“Could it be that someone other than us is in this facility?”

When Innis continues Artis’ words, the members of the investigation team become agitated.

Then, Amelia recalls the door that had not been closed for a while before, even though they all passed through when she entered this laboratory.

She seemed to have said something like ‘close the door when everyone enters’, but she didn’t.

It wasn’t that anyone in the party had fallen out, even though everyone in the facility had to gather together to deal with it.

When Amelia relayed that fact to her group her, Layla shut her mouth.

And she thinks for a bit, then clicks her tongue and looks at the same kind of broken boxes around you.

“Shit. Laplace.”

The moment Amelia muttered, her food crates stood up all at once and crawled around her party.

The investigators raised their arms in fear at the scene, as if cockroaches had formed camps and surrounded them.

“No! Don’t attack now! If you can’t kill and stop like Lyla, she’ll jump in after the attack!”

However, when Artis finally stopped her aggression her by stopping it, Layla would also nod her head.

Her flames her were capable of inflicting intense damage while inflicting pain on her opponents her, preventing her movement her.

However, mimics are basically monsters. No matter how much wood or paper she was made of, she was able to burn so much with ordinary magic fire because it was Lyla who used that magic.

[Whoop whoop…Haha! That’s the correct answer. Also, you are on the wise side. Criminals around – Excuse me. Compared to young sprouts.]

A male voice mixed with metal was heard from the mimics.

No one in the party had ever heard Laplace’s voice directly in the past, but-

Instinctively, there was an air of madness in his voice, in his manner of speaking, even though he was an insane human being-

At the same time, it was a strong warning that he was a dangerous human being.

“Okay… You tied the feet of the people upstairs and you came downstairs.”

[That’s right. And thanks to all of you, I was able to come to this deepest place comfortably. What a wonderful place this is, overflowing with knowledge about the secrets of life that I needed. Furthermore… Good stuff too.]

Just hearing that voice brings to mind the ecstatic expression of an old man with a monstrous face, and Layla vomits.

“Material? Could it be that there are more synthetic waters besides Almiraji that have survived… ?”

[Of course. You don’t know, but humans in the primordial world had a technology that could keep life alive and seal it for thousands of years. Not magic, but science.]

“And. You let it go Among them was Almirage. Is this…”

Layla frowns as if she can see the details of the incident.

[If you tell me everything like that, then I have nothing to say. Young students.]

However, Laplace raised her voice as if she was fed up with Laplace, who didn’t care about Layla’s reaction to her and continued to talk nonsense.

“Sorry but. No time to hang out with your bullshit. If we don’t have to find it ourselves, the effort is lost. Because in order for you to leave this place, you will eventually have to pass through this aisle where we are.”

[Hoo. Then I became a rat in a poison… That’s the story.]

“That’s right.”

At Laila’s words, both Attis and Amelia looked at Laila.

Of course, what she said was true, but it was impossible without the confidence that they could gain the upper hand and win against Laplace.

[—Kuhuhh…Haha!]

And, the madman’s laughter broke out.

The sound of laughter rises slowly and so violently that it scares you from running out of breath, reverberating throughout the facility.
Al Mirage, who was in Amelia’s arms her, reacts sensitively to her evil aura her, to the extent that she cowers when she hears her voice her.

It’s the same with Amelia, and it makes us feel once again that the girl’s instincts her, which have been hostile to the devil for a long time, are disgustingly evil.

Among the demons of Astarothe, Ishtar, the king of dwarves and vampires I met in the gap of another dimension.

An evil energy comparable to those three came through.

However, they are, so to speak, heterogeneous beings that have surpassed human limits.

In that Laplace, who was still within the human category, could radiate something comparable to those beings.

Amelia was able to confirm that there is no limit to human malice.

Of course, there was no way that Layla was in a good mood at her voice as if she was laughing at herself.

With a frown on her face, when she snaps her fingers.

Hwareuk! And the embers that seemed to have burned her Mimic earlier exploded and spread around her, forming a ring of flames around her.

It passed through the bodies of allies like the members of the investigation team as if nothing was there, the moment it touched the mimics in the paper box.

Like a substance that caused an intense chemical reaction, it causes intense flames as if it explodes in an instant, turning all Mimics into ashes.

[Kugagagagigiggig!!]

When the painful voices of Mimics could be heard coming from all directions, the sight was like something you would only see in hell.

[Ah- it’s good to be full of confidence. Lyla Flamewatch. As expected, wizards like you seem to have arrogance overflowing with shame by default.]

Regardless of whether the mimic was dead or alive, his voice emanated from the inside of the mimic as it was written and squirmed in its place.

“Arrogance? This isn’t arrogance, it’s confidence. Do you know how many bastards like you I’ve met so far? All of them are like that. They’ll all go according to their plans.”

Lila shakes off her hand as she says that.

Her hair her is dyed a deeper scarlet red, and the ends sway as if to cause her haze in response to magical energy.

[…

“Well. He must be making another boring failure while waiting for us inside. I can smell it when I hear your voice. Blood and intestines. And the smell of rejection created by the mixture of disinfectant and mana.”

Due to the intense magic pressure, those around her felt fear even for Lyla.

At the same time, the fact that the powerful magician was on their side, they felt a bit of relief.

After repelling Laplace’s provocation, Layla heard Laplace’s voice once again.

[Whether my works are failures or not… Come and see for yourself. It doesn’t matter if you get scared and run away… But the monsters inside are so good as materials.]

He stopped talking once, then spoke in a sneering voice.

[Would you like to see it too? Lord of the earth. Behemoth.]

“—Beheimes.”

It was Attis who muttered as if in response to his words.

And that last.

When you can no longer feel Laplace’s voice or his energy his, the members of the investigation team sigh as if letting out the breath they’ve been holding back, returning their hands to their original positions.

“Huh.”

Layla, too, captures the magic she had spread and returns it to herself, looking at Amelia and Al Mirage.

“Are you okay? Amelia. Did I release the magic pressure a little stronger?”

“Gwa, it’s okay. More than that… What is a ‘Behemoth’?”

Amelia must also be worried about the words that Laplace proudly said at the end.

When Layla thought about how to answer Amelia’s question, she said, ‘Ah-‘.

Attis, who was standing behind him, opened his mouth as if he were a minister.

“Lord of the land. Behemoth. Among the monsters that exist in legends, it is the name of the most powerful and gigantic beast on earth.”

“On the ground…? Then. Is it bigger than a dragon?”

When Amelia asked such a question after hearing Artis’ explanation, Attis smiled and raised the corners of his mouth.

“It’s like that in a legend. But. It’s a legend to the end. Unlike the Almirage of that side, there are no fossils or evidence of the existence of Beheimes.”

As long as there is no evidence, it can’t be said that he really existed. When Artis speaks.

Following that Artis, Lila says:

“The legendary Behemoth is initially born from an egg the same size as an egg. It is said that it is a beast that doubles in size every time the sun rises… If there had been such a thing, this continent would have already been destroyed by that beast. It would have sat down, and it would be difficult to find food to sustain its body that had grown to such an extent.”

“So. The Behemoth, as scholars like us call it, is an imaginary creature that can’t exist. It’s absurdly gigantic, and it’s an existence that ignores the laws of various creatures up until now, and it’s called that by comparing it to a legend.”

Then, after hearing that explanation, the assistants and Amelia get headaches that Laplace created something like that.

“Why are you two taking turns talking like that?”

As much as Innis, it was to throw a pure question regardless of such an atmosphere.

In response to Innis’ question, Layla and Artis both shut her mouth and turned her body in the direction they were supposed to leave.

“Hey, why are you two taking turns talking?”

“Noisy Innis! Do you want to have your mouth sealed like when you were living in the mansion!?”

“Eh!?”

001

There was a commotion for a while, but Leila was advancing through Area A at the forefront, leaving behind Innis, whose voice had finally stopped coming out.

And what stood in front of Lila was another door attached to a huge wall made for containment.

I couldn’t see beyond that, but what had been bothering Laila from a while ago was the strong smell of blood coming from in front of her.

Considering that there was no small amount of magical power mixed in with the unpleasant feeling that irritated her nose her.

It is not difficult to imagine the scene that will unfold in front of her eyes after a while.

Layla turns her head slightly and looks at Amelia as she talks.

“Amelia. There’s probably… A scene that’s a bit hard to see before here. You don’t have to force yourself to follow. Cleon will come after this. Joining them too.”

“It’s okay Layla. She’s me from hunting demons. … To some extent, I’m used to the horrors.”

In response to Amelia’s answer her, Layla shut her mouth for a moment, then she nodded as if she could n’t help it.

“Then… You should follow me.”

And when Layla throws the door open.

The first thing I felt was ‘coldness’.

The coldness that makes you mistakenly thinking that a cold wind is blowing from somewhere.

As it is a facility deep underground, you should assume that this is not the case, but Layla thinks she has felt this kind of chill before.

It was in the laboratory where Mercury was asleep.

And next is a sea of ​​red blood that dominates the visual field.

Things that had been life until a while ago rolling on the ground have now become mere pieces of meat, strewn with entrails.

Parts of the body had been shredded into small pieces, as if only remnants remained except for the ‘great parts’ of the creature.

The thought of her vaginal discharge her, the blood clinging to her own feet her, was the blood of her her sacrificed beasts her, and Laila really made her feel bad.

“Ooh…!”

Some of the investigators couldn’t stand the sight in front of her.

She seemed to be about to go back out through the door she came in and pour out what was inside.

“Ah- ah-. You made it gorgeous.”

Artis is not in a good mood, either, so he raises his lower part slightly to keep the blood from staining his white robe while frowning at her.

Amelia holds Al Mirage tightly in her arms her, excited by the smell of her blood her, and grabs her her slightly trembling hand her with her other hand.

“…Is this also something a regressor did?”

Even in the rituals of devil worshipers that we have seen so far, human or animal sacrifices were commonplace.

It was the first time that something close to a massacre had been carried out to such an extent that blood splattered from the floor to the walls and even the ceiling of the room.

When she recalled the red space created by the vampires that she had seen through the rift in another dimension, Amelia’s heart felt tight.

And, listening to Amelia’s words, Layla, who was silent for a while, answered.

“I guess so. Did they extract body parts from demon beasts as materials?”

Layla injects a bit more of her magical energy into the armor that surrounds her body her, thickening her shield her.

She walks and walks among the corpses of demon beasts lying on the ground, she examines them.

“Pegasus. Unicorn. Manticore. Orthros. Cerberus.”

As she walks, figuring out the approximate identities of the corpses, she notices that the one feeling the cold is an iron cylinder that has been placed around the corpses.

“Did it go inside and get frozen…”

I had heard before that an ancient creature that had been frozen alive and sunk in the sea was still alive when it was discovered and thawed by an expedition.

Lyla thinks about it and she turns her head for a moment.

“No way. Demonic beasts with the characteristics of various animals in one… Are you saying that they were created here?”

“Although there were many life forms that would be difficult to exist without artificial design… So. Are those Demon Beasts also a type of Chimera? Also, the thesis will become thicker…”

As for Layla’s guess, Artis talks a little bit intriguedly, but Layla frowns at her.

“I can’t believe it. To say that the monsters were actually the product of a scientific chimera… No. Isn’t this kind of word appropriate for this situation?”

Layla thought a little about her as she put her hand on her forehead on her.

And the next moment.

If you think you heard something like a snake’s cry.

Something like a whip was flying, aiming for the nape of Laila, who was distracted by the demons.

“Lyla!”

When Amelia notices it and shouts Layla’s name-

The magic shield spread across Layla’s body and her instantly turned red and filled the surface with flames.

As soon as the whip that flew for her throat she touched the flame-

[KIaaaaa!]

It was the same sharp scream that came out.

“Did there be a witch that survived?”

Laila turns her body around, and in the dark she looks at the thing that is aimed at her.

She must have been burned by the fire, and the twisting of her body her meant that, slowly, she was going back to the darkness from which she had sprung.

Layla stared unnaturally at the dimmed ceiling lights.

She stretched out her hand toward the darkness within her, and it set it on fire.

Roaring! And when intense flames are sprayed, light alone is created to brighten the passage.

And, what she saw there-

A lion-like face and body.

A goat’s face protruding from its back her.

Her tail her was a serpent, and the goat deflected it by striking back at Layla’s fire.

“This… Again. It’s typical…!”

Layla clicks her tongue as she sees the sight and immediately backs away from her.

Kwajik! And the snake’s tail flies in once again. This time, with her magical powers all over her body.

When the body, which is harder than steel, is pierced to the ground, confirm that the part is hollowed out.

Lyla clicked her tongue and quickly prepared her next spell.

The one that aimed at Layla earlier was that lion’s tail. That is, it was a snake.

“Chimera!”

Attis recognized the shape of the beast and raised his voice.

What she put into her mouth wasn’t the word chimera, meaning ‘synthetic water’-

It became its etymology. It was the name of a legendary monster said to have existed in ancient times.

The shape, the characteristics of the animal mixed with it.

Because it perfectly matched the legend.

“Artis! Don’t be idle by, take your assistants and get out of the room!”

Lyla knows that she cannot use strong enough fire magic to stop her chimera with her and her assistants her by her side her, so she calls out to her her.

Then Artis looked at the assistants for a while.

“Okay! But you can’t completely burn it to ashes!”

“Is it time to care about that…! Innis! You help me too!”

Innis nods his head and tries to go by Laila’s side her, and Amelia tries to do the same, but-

“Amelia is this way…!”

“Hey, wait a minute, me too!”

“It’s just getting in Layla’s way.”

As Artis said, he grabbed Amelia’s arm from her and left her room from her.

And, after confirming that everyone had left, Layla and Huu. She sighs and releases the restraint of her magic power.

Then, intense magical pressure was released from her body, and Chimera, exposed to that magical pressure, hesitated a little, but her lion’s face her roared loudly as if it would not give up.

“The momentum is good. Are you synthetic water made here? Or Laplace’s toy?”

When Chimera, who couldn’t answer her question, showed her hostility.

“…Either way is fine. I have business after that. As long as I don’t get out of there.”

Her exclusive staff that appeared the moment she waved her hand in the air.

And, her body changes once surrounded by flames.

The second form of her avatar, which was also used in the battle against the Exiled Church.

“I’ll burn those three at the same time.”