Chapter : 701

"Thank you, Naomi," Ken smiled a goofy, lazy smile. He stepped over the sharp glass. "You are an excellent navigator. I am blind without you. I am too busy looking at my candy."

"Just stay close to me," Naomi chuckled softly. Her green eyes looked very fond.

The 13th Unit moved deeper into the underground laboratory. The noise of Ares fighting faded away . The corridor grew very quiet. They reached a massive set of sliding steel doors. The doors were slightly bent. Ares had clearly forced them open earlier.

Princess Iris squeezed through the gap in the doors. The rest of the team followed her. They stepped into a brand new section of the facility.

This room looked different from the computer labs. The white LED lights were very dim here. The air felt cold. Long rows of massive glass containment cells lined the walls. The cells were built directly into the concrete. Thick metal bars reinforced the glass. It looked like a high-security prison.

Sayma pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. The intelligent Vice-Captain opened her notebook. She clicked her silver pen. Click. Click.

"This is a biological containment ward," Sayma stated politely. Her dark eyes scanned the dark room. "The temperature is artificially lowered. This prevents bacterial growth. They are keeping living subjects in here."

Zinia crossed her muscular arms. The strong earth mage frowned a deep, serious frown. "Living subjects? Do you mean animals?"

Princess Iris walked toward the nearest glass cell. She raised her glowing white shard of the Core of Luminus. The holy crystal cast a bright light into the dark cell.

Princess Iris gasped loudly. She dropped her hand. She took a fast step backward. Her violet eyes widened in horror.

"No," Princess Iris whispered softly. Her voice shook with profound sadness. "They are not animals. They are people."

The entire unit rushed forward. They looked through the thick glass.

The sight was terrifying. Horribly mutated test subjects sat inside the cells. They were once normal human beings. Now, their bodies were twisted. Green, glowing veins pulsed under their pale skin. Sharp, jagged bone spikes protruded from their shoulders. Their arms and legs looked warped and unnatural. They did not move much. They just sat on the cold floor. They breathed in slow, painful breaths. They looked miserable.

Laxmi dropped her jaw. The fire user lost her excited grin. A tiny orange spark fizzled out on her finger.

"This is terrible," Laxmi said quietly. She pressed her hands against the glass. "Who would do this to another person? They look so sad. I want to burn the evil scientists who did this."

Zinia clenched her large fists. "This is a massive crime. They are experimenting on innocent citizens."

The author's published chapter remains on NovelPhoenix, though this version was copied without approval. Reading the source supports the person who made it.

Luna rubbed her sleepy eyes. She did not yawn. She looked wide awake. "They are in so much pain. The magic inside them is wrong. It is very twisted."

Ken stood near the doorway. He slumped his posture. He looked at the mutated subjects. He popped another gummy ring into his mouth. He ran the visuals through his flawless video game logic.

"This is the mutant experimentation lab," Ken analyzed casually in his mind. "The evil corporation always captures civilians. They inject them with glowing green serum. They try to create super soldiers. But the experiments always fail. The subjects turn into tragic monsters. It is a very dark plotline. The developers usually put a sad piano soundtrack in the background during these scenes."

Risa walked slowly toward the center of the room. The sweet pink-haired healer hugged her brown teddy bear very tightly. Her small hands trembled.

Risa was a nature mage. Her magic relied on empathy and connection. She could feel the ambient emotions in the room. The pain radiating from the mutated subjects hit her like a physical wave. It felt cold and sharp. She felt their intense suffering. She felt their despair.

"It hurts so much," Risa whispered. Her bright green eyes filled with glossy tears. "They are crying on the inside. The green liquid is burning their magic."

Sayma walked up to a small digital terminal attached to the wall. The screen still worked. It displayed lines of complex medical data. Sayma read the text quickly.

"These are the subject files," Sayma reported softly. "They logged the genetic markers. They logged the mutation progress. They captured these people from the outer districts. They targeted specific families with latent magical abilities."

Risa stopped walking. She turned her head. She looked at the digital screen.

A specific name flashed on the monitor. Then a hometown was listed. Then a list of specific magical traits appeared on the screen.

Risa dropped her brown teddy bear.

The stuffed toy hit the white floor tiles. It made a soft, muted sound. Risa stared at the digital terminal. Her green eyes locked onto the glowing text. Her entire body went rigid. Her breathing stopped for a single second.

The files listed her own family's genetic markers. The files listed her own relatives.

Risa realized the absolute, horrifying truth. Her family was a victim of this exact project. The people who ruined her childhood were the same people running this secret laboratory. The evil scientists who captured her relatives were funded by this massive conspiracy. Her family suffered this exact same torturous mutation.

A massive, uncontrollable wave of pure emotion slammed into Risa's mind.

It was not just fear. It was profound, shattering grief. It was immense, overwhelming anger. All the pain she kept hidden inside her heart exploded to the surface. Her empathy connected directly with the suffering mutants. She felt her family's pain echoing in the room.

Risa let out a loud, agonizing scream.

"No!" Risa shrieked. Tears poured down her pale cheeks. "You hurt them! You hurt my family!"

The reaction was instantaneous. Her unstable nature magic flared up dangerously.

A brilliant, blinding green light erupted from Risa's chest. The magical pressure in the room spiked to a terrifying level. The air turned hot. The smell of aggressive, wild pollen filled the containment ward.

"Risa!" Naomi yelled loudly. Naomi tried to run forward.

But Naomi could not reach her. Massive, thick green vines exploded out of the floorboards. The vines smashed right through the solid concrete. They ripped the pristine white tiles into pieces. The vines whipped wildly through the air. They crashed into the metal cabinets. They smashed the light fixtures on the ceiling. Sparks rained down on the floor.

Risa lost total control. Her erratic mana core was overloading. Her emotions fueled the destructive magic. The vines grew thicker and thicker. They wrapped around the glass containment cells. The entire room began to shake violently.

"Her magic is reaching critical mass!" Sayma shouted. Sayma pushed her glasses up her nose frantically. "The emotional trigger bypassed her logical safeguards! The purification shard cannot suppress a trauma spike of this magnitude! She is going to explode!"

Princess Iris gripped her silver rapier. She looked desperate. "We have to calm her down! We have to reach her!"

Laxmi summoned bright orange flames around her hands. "I can burn the vines! I can clear a path to her!"