Chapter 45 – Chain of Rampages (8)

Only a cold, eerie energy lingered in the desolate factory on the outskirts of Seoul in the early morning hours.

The twisted steel beams were bent like bones, and the scent of rusty iron swirled through the air.

Could this really be their hideout?

As I gazed upon the seemingly deserted factory, I couldn’t help but stroke my arm, covered in goosebumps. Despite the lack of visible activity, my keen senses told me that someone was indeed hiding here.

“Junior, how do you plan on infiltrating this place?”
“Are you going to leave even that decision to me?”
“Well, you are the captain, so I have to trust you. Besides, our master has never been wrong before.”

Hearing Rossi’s words, I stood tall and surveyed the factory’s perimeter with a discerning eye. A sinister and gloomy atmosphere seemed to gather on one side. This place was anything but ordinary.

“Hmm.”

As I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, I began to contemplate our next move.

How should we infiltrate this place?
Taking too much time wasn’t a good approach.

I took a deep breath, relaxed, and turned my head towards where P and Rossi were standing.

“I have just one method that suits my style. Would you like to try it?”

* * * * *

The factory, shrouded in a black veil, writhed with its massive form, silently draining the lifeblood of the city.

The 40th branch pharmaceutical factory.

The third leaf of Flower’s seven leaves, the factory was erected under the strict rule of Sistus and was slowly nearing the end of its long existence.

“Lord Sistus.”

Dozens of devotees knelt in reverence.

Dark air, black mist.

A young girl with snow-white hair sat in a chair, a faint smile gracing her lips.

“It seems the time has come to remove this place as well.”
“Yes.”

“Yes. It lasted a long time, didn’t it?”

Cistus. The face of the girl, shaped like a child, was adorned with a pattern of sparse, red square tattoos arranged in a circle around her nose. Her two fluorescent eyes sparkled as she rose from her seat.

“Now that I’ve said what I needed to, I’ll sever the connection. Use the alter ego as you wish.”
“Yes.”

The followers bowed their heads. With the light gone from her eyes, Cistus continued to speak in a detached, emotionless tone.

**”The enemy approaches.”**

Her ethereal form slowly stepped forward. Gracefully and confidently, she moved through the ranks of the faithful. Cistus gazed intently into the void with an eerie expression on her face.

**”Realign the formation.”**
“Yes.”

The followers, having repeated their response, donned their ash-gray cloaks and retreated to their positions.

**”Permission to use the artifacts is granted.”**
“Yes.”

This time, even the priests with higher honors vanished. Gazing at the last two remaining elite members, Sistus murmured.

“Prepare the calamity operation.”

A massive tree materialized in midair. It was once the foundation of this vast world’s roots. However, even the once-noble tree is now nothing more than a disaster.

Sistus placed his hands on the necks of the two elite members.

“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”

*Chwa-hak!*

Blood spattered. Their heads rolled and tumbled across the floor, eventually coming to a halt against the base of the tree. The roots of the tree, protruding from the second floor, enveloped the heads of the two and absorbed them. With steely eyes, Sistus wiped the blood from his face and stared intently out the window.

“Heavenly Demon.”

She laughed.

“I can’t wait for the day you die.”

【Flower Third Rank Officer :: Cistus・Sistus】

【Cristaceae·Cistus】
【Alias: The Suicidal Flower】

Sensing the approach of three auras outside the window, her alter ego declared to the Ents, who were kneeling behind her:

**”Awaken.”**

Yellow eyes opened wide atop the black bodies of the towering 2-meter-tall Ents. They stared blankly at Cistus with their mouths agape.

At that moment—

*Boom!*

The walls of the abandoned factory crumbled.

Magic surged like an explosion, rippling throughout the entire building and creating a storm. One of the Ents, standing by the door, shattered into pieces and collapsed.

Even taking into account the diminished defense of the Ents over time, the power was overwhelming.

‘Heavenly Demon, or is it White Peach? Regardless, it has to be her.’

Cistus gathered magical energy throughout her body and fixed her gaze upon the silhouette in the smoke.

The power was far from matching the main body’s strength, but it could still inflict fatal wounds when utilized. The clone’s death held no consequence, as simply capturing one or two orphans, seizing their bodies, and transforming them into clones would suffice. Thus, the creation of the Cistus had been rooted in this process.

However, the figure that appeared before her was not the individual she had anticipated.

A sinister man with black hair and a mask. A warrior, shrouded in black magic, effortlessly breached the abandoned factory, gripping the neck of a priest in both hands.

The crude approach and fearlessness mirrored White Peach’s tactics, leading her to momentarily believe he was White Peach in male disguise.

“…I didn’t realize the buff was this potent.”

The man, suppressing the lightning-like magic power surging over his shoulders, swung his fist at the approaching Ent.

– Quaang!

In that moment, the Ent’s vital point shattered. Observing him kick aside the feeble, collapsing wooden fragment, the woman behind him murmured under her breath.

“They said you resemble the Master, and indeed you do. Don’t you, P?”
“Admittedly.”

Do-won’s comrade. Upon seeing the two figures, Sistus furrowed her brow.

Yet, something seemed amiss.
A pounding heart. The exhilaration stemming from the discovery of something. She scrutinized the man’s appearance once more.

A black aura of prestige. The peculiar manifestation of magical power.

Sistus’ alter ego deliberated repeatedly before sending a message to her true self.

– Found the eighth leaf.

Soon, the response arrived from her core being.

– Conciliation has failed. Kill him.

* * * * *

“Have you gathered all the necessary provisions?”
“Yes.”

Heaven sharpened her bloodstained leaf sword as she surveyed her surroundings. The fairly large pharmaceutical company had already erupted into chaos; from the scattered stationery to the papers and files strewn about, disorder reigned on the floor.

I spotted a rolling medicine bottle in one corner. Cheondo picked it up, opened the bottle, and checked the contents.

“Mercury is mixed in.”

Cheondo surmised that this must have been a place where various studies using Menedel were conducted.

“But I’m a little late. No, it seems they had already prepared an escape route.”

Upon examining the computer, it was apparent that the stored files had been completely formatted and lost long ago. The internal server was disconnected as well. There were noticeable signs of something hastily swept away.

Having assessed the situation, Cheondo sheathed his sword.

“Alright. Let’s head to the next floor, Bob.”
“I understand.”

Standing at the door, Cheondo scanned the room from left to right, making sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.

-Kek, Kerreuk.

The sound of air escaping from a severed neck. In the office, thirty corpses were twisted in bizarre directions, spewing blood. Broken bone fragments were embedded in the windows.

The disemboweled human innards and eyes lay strewn on the floor, gnawed upon, trampled by feet, or sliced by swords.

A horrifying scene that would alarm anyone.

Heaven and Hae-nul stepped into the corridor without any change in their expressions.

Dozens of worshippers stood there.

“…Heavenly Demon!”

The horde of evil minions launched their hateful attack. Heaven subtly furrowed her brow.

“I told you not to call me by that name.”

Heaven bent her knees, shifted her center of gravity, and firmly grasped the hilt of her sword.

“The Heavenly Demon does not exist in this world.”

As a solitary woman standing tall beneath the sky stirred the crumbling world, countless people revered her as the Heavenly Demon. Although everyone called her by that name, she alone persistently denied it.

There could be myriad reasons for her denial, but what purpose would it serve to unveil the truth to mere minions? Heaven unsheathed her sword.

-Swoosh!

“Turn back.”

Long solid lines appeared on the followers’ heads, and they slid to the floor.

-Clank.

Their mushy heads fell simultaneously, echoing with the sound of rupture.

‘Anyway, there are so many enemies.’

A corpse was entangled at her feet, but she didn’t care. After taking a few steps, she glanced toward the factory. The man’s face suddenly came to mind but was quickly erased from her thoughts.

Above her numbed senses, she could feel the form of a child clinging to the ceiling. The child lunged at her.

“Heeheehee!”

-Swoosh!

The infant perished on the spot. Sistus – a self-destructing weapon in the shape of an alter ego, created by an executive. She thought of the infant children who lost their lives while creating a monster in the form of a girl.

-Sizzle.

The burnt corpse exploded as it was.

-Kaboooom!

A crimson flash engulfed my vision. Cheondo seized Bob’s clothes and levitated into the air outside the office. Moments ago, the building had maintained its original form, but now a gaping hole stretched from the third to the sixth floor, and the structure was being pushed to the opposite side by the force of the explosion.

‘Hwangdo.’
-Yes.
‘Stop that.’

Hwangdo, appearing amidst a puff of smoke, extended her delicate hand and invoked her magic.

The bending steel frame came to a halt.
Scattered fragments of concrete froze in mid-air.

“This is quite difficult…”
-Endure it.
“…Aaah!”

With her face flushed red, Hwangdo whined as she restored the building to its original position.

“I’m not some kind of Wood Dragon…!”

In the end, Hwangdo managed to prevent the destruction of the company and maintain its stability. With tears in her eyes and her magical energy depleted, she returned to Cheondo.

“Well done.”
-…You meanie.

After checking her own condition, Cheondo re-entered the company.

The company teetering on the brink of collapse appeared to be in shambles, with nothing of value to be gained.
Suddenly, she halted her steps and cast her gaze back toward the factory.

“Sisyphus…”

Cheondo thought of the young girl she had just seen and then of Lee Si-heon.

“…”

If Sisyphus were in the abandoned factory, Lee Si-heon’s situation could be extremely dangerous. Even she, if unprepared, would suffer a lethal blow, so what of Lee Si-heon, who hadn’t yet fully matured? Even if P and Rossi joined forces to protect him, it would be difficult to safeguard his life.

‘Sisyphus’ alter ego is a chimera created by sacrificing ten children.’

And if Si-heon knew that…

She envisioned his face, drenched with guilt and bitterness.

“Let’s go. To the factory.”

-Boom!

At that moment, an explosion sounded in the distance.