A sacred silence enveloped the laboratory.

The swirling shadows had faded, leaving only the faint scent of blood lingering in the air.

The fierce battle had finally come to an end.

---

"......"

In my arms lay a girl with azure hair.

Perhaps it was from relief, or perhaps she had simply reached her limit. The girl, beautiful like a flower blossoming in snow, had lost consciousness.

Her faint breaths brushed softly against my collar.

"It seems you were quite exhausted."

Her eyelids were delicately closed.

I gently lowered her to the floor, careful not to wake her.

Beside her, a girl with pink hair lay unconscious as well.

Both of them were covered in dust, but fortunately, neither appeared to be injured.

This was at least a small comfort.

---

"I may have taken some precautions, but... it was hard not to worry."

A bitter smile crept onto my face.

Though I knew they wouldn't be harmed thanks to certain safeguards, I couldn't help but feel anxious.

That lingering unease—perhaps it’s just something adults are cursed with.

"Maybe it was all needless worry."

The girls had done far better than expected.

Even in such a terrifying situation, not one of them acted selfishly.

Feeling proud, I gently patted each of their foreheads.

"Well done. Both of you."

The pilot and the vainglorious one—each had played her role to the best of her ability.

More challenges lay ahead, but for now, they needed rest.

I draped a shadow over them like a blanket.

"May you have pleasant dreams."

---

*Snap!*

I snapped my fingers.

In an instant, a small barrier formed around them, twisting the space around to keep them safe.

Not even the headmaster of Galimar would be able to penetrate it.

---

"I may have said it was over... but I still have personal matters to handle."

I dusted the darkness off my fingertips.

Since arriving in this lab, quite a bit of time had passed. Soon, the academy would locate our position.

I had about thirty minutes left.

Was it enough?

With the upcoming episodes in mind, I needed to build up enough here.

Lost in thought, I turned my gaze.

---

<Aaaah… Aaahhhh>

A grotesque figure writhed within my view.

Despite being split in half, unable to even move a single tentacle, it clung to life with a stubborn vitality.

It seemed that soon enough, it would finally stop breathing.

---

<Aah, aaahhh…>

A moan seeped through its gaping mouth.

Its red eye flickered one last time, almost appearing… sorrowful?

I met its gaze in silence.

Dark, rotting blood streamed down its face like tears.

---

"......"

The monster couldn’t smile.

It was the worst experiment Baob had ever created—a chimera of disaster that had claimed countless lives.

---

"Poor thing."

It, too, was only one of many victims.

Through experiments it had never chosen, it had mutated, lost its mind, and become a creature driven by bloodlust.

How could I not feel pity for such a wretched being?

"This is the ugliness that adults have sown."

While most of today’s chimeras had been crafted from beasts, this one was different.

It was the only one made from a human.

The ragged, skin-covered form…

She had likely once been a young girl who smiled purely.

She hadn't even reached ten years of age before becoming a monster.

Not a single adult could truly blame her if she never had a chance to experience childhood.

All anyone could do was pity the tragic remains of a life wasted.

---

‘A promise is a promise.’

Quietly, I extended my hand.

A shadow crawled up from the floor, consuming her broken body.

The monster resisted briefly.

Then, with a sigh of resignation, she sank into the darkness.

I placed her in a pocket dimension.

There, no one would see her, and she could rest in quiet peace.

Whenever I wished, I could retrieve her.

---

"...Hm."

Though a pang of unpleasantness lingered, I swallowed it.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Time was running out.

Now it was time to conclude the episode.

---

I calmly began to walk.

Leaving the chaotic laboratory behind, I once again crossed the long corridor.

I headed toward my destination.

---

‘Let’s pay a little visit, shall we?’

Into the deep, dark basement, to find the rat hiding somewhere in its depths.

---

Meanwhile, at the very bottom of the basement,

In a hidden room that could only be reached by descending a labyrinth of seven flights of stairs,

A man was standing.

---

*Bang!*

A loud noise echoed.

The man frantically gathered the documents scattered across his desk, preparing to flee the laboratory.

His pale face peeked out from beneath his disheveled robe.

---

"Damn it…!"

He spat a curse, his deep voice trembling in fear.

His hands fumbled through the mess, desperately searching for what he needed, revealing his state of confusion.

As though he were trying to escape something.

---

"How could such a thing even exist…?!"

He mumbled, utterly terrified.

When he’d been given this assignment, he’d heard no mention of such a monster.

He’d thought it would be a simple matter.

---

"This is absurd!"

The mission had seemed trivial.

A teleportation hijacking through a secret route.

Using it to kidnap a single student.

The target was the girl rumored to control a wyvern as her familiar.

---

- She’s worth studying.
- Chimera experiments using dragons have been rare… she’ll be an excellent stimulus for the faithful.
- We should offer that child to our god.

The man had eagerly accepted the mission.

After all, he had the rare opportunity to directly feed an "artwork."

---

Despair-filled students standing before countless tentacles.

The mere thought of them being torn apart was electrifying.

The man had anticipated such a thrilling sight.

But.

---

[Oh my, it appears this is quite the crisis.]

A boy had appeared with a playful tone.

With a single flick of his hand, the many tentacles were cut down in an instant.

---

What on earth had happened?

Before he could comprehend the situation, a blue line had traced the air.

And in the next moment, the massive body had been effortlessly sliced to pieces.

---

"Where did that monster come from…?!"

The greatest artwork created by Belzen,

A top-class chimera, unable to muster even the slightest resistance, had been effortlessly destroyed.

Strength beyond any reasonable scope.

A creature that even renowned heroes of the empire had struggled to face had been overwhelmed by a mere student.

Something was terribly wrong.

---

[Hehe.]

And on top of that,

The ominous grin on the boy’s face as he watched the monitor.

It was as if he knew he was being observed, a smile so disturbing it sent shivers down his spine.

The man had felt that something was terribly amiss.

---

An icy sensation crawled up his neck.

Something very bad was about to happen.

The man immediately prepared to escape.

He intended to use the emergency staircase leading from the hidden room.

No one, unless they were the administrator, would be able to find this route, so he had no fear of pursuit.

---

"I need to get back to the headquarters immediately."

He had to report this to the leader.

A creature of such power hiding among the students, possibly the result of a traitor within their ranks.

The man rose, desperate to escape this cursed space.

But then—

---

"I must quickly inform the leader of this—!"

"In a hurry, are we?"

"......"

A voice spoke from behind him.

The man froze in place, his mind going blank.

He hadn’t sensed anyone approaching.

---

"......"

"Where could you be going so urgently?"

A voice whispered leisurely in his ear.

Slowly, he turned his head to find the golden serpent, the one he’d seen on the screen moments before, standing before him.

As if he had simply appeared out of thin air.

---

The boy smiled calmly, his narrow eyes gleaming.

Though his smile seemed harmless, alarms blared in the man’s mind.

If he didn’t move now,

There would be no escaping death.

Instinctively, he tried to channel mana into his fingers, conjuring an attack.

---

"Interesting attempt."

*Snap!*

A sharp snap of the boy’s fingers dispelled the magic instantly.

Every muscle in his body froze.

As though he had been paralyzed by poison.

He couldn’t even blink.

---

"I have many questions for you."

The serpent smiled sweetly.

But the air around them brimmed with murderous intent.

---

"You’ll answer every single one."

The boy’s hand covered the man’s face.

A chilling touch shattered his sanity, wrapping him in a deep terror.

The serpent murmured,

"No need to trouble yourself with speaking."

Those glowing white pupils bore down on him.

With eyes fully open, the boy gazed, an unexplainable dread crushing the man.

The gaze was like Death itself.

---

"I’ll simply listen directly from your brain."

"Aaaah…"

*Snap!*

The snap of his fingers once again shattered the silence.

The shadows covering the man’s face exploded in a final burst.

---

"Sleep soundly in your nightmare."

The last image the man saw as his consciousness faded was a pair of contemptuous white eyes. 

---

Some time later,

In the now quiet basement, several people burst in.

It was a group of professors from Galimar.

---

"Find the students immediately!"

After a two-hour delay caused by the mana interference, the professors had finally tracked the teleport’s destination and quickly mobilized.

They walked hurriedly down the corridor.

The professors soon found two students lying on the laboratory floor.

A girl with

 pink hair, and another with blue.

---

"Students located here!"

"Regia Pyloratz and Emilia Beniti—two of the three missing students."

"And the third?"

"Search the surroundings!"

"But... what exactly is all this lying around?"

"...Beast corpses?"

---

The professors looked around the laboratory in shock.

The chaotic scene left them speechless.

Two unconscious students, surrounded by strange chunks of flesh.

Wolves, spiders, tentacles... creatures fused together, all in pieces.

The professors were at a loss for words.

---

"What... is all of this?"

"......"

"What on earth happened here...?"

Lost in thought, they heard footsteps approaching.

They held their breath, bracing themselves.

A voice suddenly whispered in their ears.

---

"Oh dear... seems you're all a step too late."

Their gaze was drawn to the figure emerging from the shadows—a golden serpent with a sinister smile.

"You’re already too late."

---

A sentence, heavy with meaning.

It was the last student they’d been searching for, yet an uneasy feeling prevented them from relaxing.

An ominous sense of foreboding tightened around their throats.

---

"......"

The professors swallowed hard, their bodies tensed without even realizing.

The boy continued to approach them calmly, ignoring their apprehension.

---

"Hmm~ No need to be on edge."

"......"

"The situation concluded a long time ago."

With the pungent scent of blood in the air, the serpent flicked his tongue in delight.

"Please, rest assured."

A greeting that chilled the basement even further.