Chapter : 700

The Battle Tiger roared. It charged down the hallway. The Vanguard unit ran right behind it. They swung their giant axes. They smashed every single glass tube they passed. They broke every single computer screen. They left a massive, chaotic trail of pure destruction in their wake.

Ares disappeared into the smoke and the flashing red lights. He did not look back at the 13th Unit. He just wanted to find more things to break.

Princess Iris lowered her silver rapier. She let out a long, frustrated sigh. She hated his aggressive methods. She hated how he ignored logic.

"He is impossible to reason with," Princess Iris murmured softly.

Ken Eliot sat safely behind a metal crate. He watched Ares ride the tiger down the hallway. He pulled another potato chip from his bag. He tossed it into his mouth. Crunch. Crunch.

"I called it," Ken analyzed lazily in his mind. He drooped his shoulders. "Ares just wants to speed-run the dungeon. He does not care about the side quests. Collecting evidence is a side quest. He is just sprinting straight toward the final boss room. He is ruining the exploration phase. It is very annoying."

Ken looked at the mess around them. Green liquid covered the floor. Broken glass sparkled under the red emergency lights. Sparks flew from the destroyed computer wires.

"But I have to admit," Ken thought casually. He chewed his salty snack. "Having a berserker clear the path is actually very convenient. He is pulling all the enemy aggro. The security guards are focused on him. We can just walk safely behind him. We do not have to fight anyone. This is the best way to play a video game. You just let the loud guy do all the hard work. Then you quietly walk in and take the loot."

Ken stood up from the metal crate. He brushed the chip crumbs off his navy blue sweatpants. He dragged his cheap shoes on the floor. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He walked over to the group.

Sayma pushed her glasses up. She looked at the smashed computer terminal. She looked very disappointed.

"The investigation is severely compromised, Princess," Sayma reported politely. "The 4th Prince destroyed the primary data nodes. We cannot extract any digital files from this sector."

Laxmi punched her open palm. "Let us follow him! We can punch the guards he missed! We can still find the artifact!"

Zinia crossed her arms. The strong earth mage nodded. "Laxmi is right. Ares is clearing a massive path. But we need to be careful. The ceiling is very unstable. If he breaks too many support pillars, the dirt will collapse. The toxic fog from the surface will pour into this lab."

Risa hugged her brown teddy bear very tightly. The sweet pink-haired healer looked at the glowing green puddles on the floor. She gripped her white purification shard. The holy energy kept her safe, but she still felt the horrible pain of the corrupted magic in the room.

This reproduction has no author permission. The chapter remains on the official page used for publishing, where readers support the work.

"This place feels very sad," Risa whispered softly. Her green eyes looked frightened. "The magic in those tubes is wrong. It feels like poison."

Naomi stepped close to Risa. She smiled a gentle, comforting smile. She patted the young girl's shoulder.

"We will stay right next to you, Risa," Naomi promised warmly. "Just keep holding your crystal. Do not look at the green puddles. We will find the artifact and go home."

Ken sagged his posture. He buried his hands deep into his pockets. He let out a loud, dramatic yawn.

"We should definitely stay out of his way," Ken suggested lazily. He offered a goofy, relaxed smile to the team. "Ares is very loud. Loud people attract a lot of trouble. If we follow his path, we will just find broken rocks. We should look for a different hallway. I want to find the cafeteria. Secret evil bases always have a cafeteria. I want to see if they serve pizza."

Princess Iris looked at Ken. She smiled a very small, calm smile. His silly joke helped relieve the tension in the room.

"We are not looking for pizza, Ken," Princess Iris stated smoothly. She raised her silver rapier again. She looked very determined. "But you are right. We will stay out of his way. We will follow his trail of destruction from a safe distance. We will look for clues in the rooms he missed. We must find the Ode to a Black Phoenix before he destroys that too."

The 13th Unit formed their tactical formation again. Naomi took the front. Sayma stayed in the center with Risa. Zinia and Laxmi guarded the sides. Luna prepared her wind magic to blow away the smoke. Ken and Ira walked at the very back.

They stepped carefully over the broken glass. They walked past the ruined computer servers. They avoided the puddles of glowing green liquid.

They moved deeper into the massive underground laboratory. The red emergency lights flashed constantly. The alarms blared. The sound of Ares smashing things echoed from far down the hallway.

Ken popped another potato chip into his mouth. He chewed quietly. He kept his sleepy dark eyes perfectly relaxed. He did not care about the broken computers. He did not care about the 4th Prince. He just wanted to find the missing artifact so he could go home and take a very long nap.

The 13th Unit continued their march. They were ready to search the rest of the facility. They walked forward with bravery and determination. They had no idea about the terrifying, mutated horrors waiting for them in the very next room.

---

Princess Iris led the team down the long, flashing corridor. The red emergency lights spun in circles. Broken computer wires sparked against the white floor tiles. The 4th Prince left a complete mess behind him. The 13th Unit walked carefully. They stepped over smashed metal. They avoided the puddles of green liquid.

Ken Eliot slouched his shoulders. He walked at the back of the group. He reached into his plastic bag. He pulled out a yellow gummy ring. He tossed it into his mouth. He chewed it slowly.

"This is like a skipped cutscene," Ken mumbled to himself. He shoved his free hand into his pocket. "Ares just ran past all the story details. He smashed the terminals. Now we have to read the leftover background lore. Background lore is always so boring. It is just endless text logs. I prefer audio logs. Audio logs require zero reading. You can just listen to them while you eat snacks."

Naomi walked right beside him. She wore her dark combat pants and a sleek green shirt. She held her twin silver daggers. She did not scowl at his untucked white shirt. She smiled a very soft, warm smile. She looked at the floor in front of him. She gently bumped his shoulder.

"Watch your step, Ken," Naomi warned kindly. "There is a lot of broken glass right there. I do not want your shoes to get ruined."