Chapter 119: Beast Escape
The silence behind the door was heavy, breathing only through the soft hiss of air that seeped from vents somewhere in the walls. Reinhard’s eyes adjusted to the thin strip of light through the small gap between the frame and door.
He slightly frowned at the masked woman seated upon the armored back of the Stellar Bone. The blue flicker from her spear reflected faintly off her mask before it dispersed into glittering lights.
The Director is really an extremely strong and skilled person. Reinhard thought inwardly as he began thinking of what they should do next.
A sudden brush of warmth against his shoulder made him glance up. Scath had pressed herself against him, her grin wide and predatory as her scarlet eyes peered through the same slit.
"Yes, yes, yes..." Scat whispered, voice trembling with contained excitement. "Fighting an opponent like that would totally be worth the months of boredom."
Before Reinhard could hush her, two shadows moved behind. Marie’s hand caught Scath by the wrist while Roana hooked an arm around her shoulder, and then both pulled her back while whispering.
"Not now," Marie hissed.
"Control yourself." Roana added under her breath.
Scath clicked her tongue softly, but relented while Marie gave her a pointed glare before releasing her grip.
Reinhard let out an inward sigh of relief before turning his attention back toward the hall, steadying his breathing as faint echoes of boots approached.
The Director remained seated on the beast’s back as multiple guards and workers entered the chamber, moving in hurried lines. Their armor clinked faintly, and the smell of blood followed them in.
One of them was a man carrying a broken lance who stopped near the doorway and spoke in awe. "You already defeated them? As expected of the Director!"
Another voice followed. "With the Director here, it was only a matter of time."
The masked woman tilted her head slightly and spoke softly. "Some of you help with the dead and those injured."
A chorus of affirmations followed as Reinhard heard the sounds of boots moving across the ground, with some fading away. A few rushed to lift fallen bodies, dragging the wounded toward the side corridors. Reinhard’s gaze followed one guard who passed close enough for him to see the faint tremor in the man’s hands as he picked up a limp human corpse.
The Director’s next words spread through the chamber in a slight, cold tone. "Now then... Explain how they escaped from the Bolner Storage Underground. Didn’t you put them to sleep?"
A younger guard stepped forward and said. "We did, ma’am. After they were summoned, we ensured full containment with them already put to sleep, but it seems they woke faster than expected."
The Director hummed, resting her hand over her knee. "So either their resistance exceeded the sleeping dose... Or they were faking it."
"Is that even possible?"
The Director rose from the beast’s back with fluid grace while her boots still made no sound as she walked. "Possibly, now. How did they escape? From this battle, I can tell none of them possessed teleportation or spatial abilities."
The same guard hesitated. "N-Not even the Butterfly Princess? The reports said she was... Appearing all over the storage floors."
The Director shook her head. "It was just that they couldn’t keep up with her movement. She used a skill that moves her at light speed, and by the time your eyes perceived her, she had already moved."
From behind the door, Reinhard’s eyes widened slightly. Light-speed movement... that explains it.
Beside him, Roana’s whisper was soft but awed. "No wonder. She figured it out and countered it perfectly."
Scath’s grin returned, fiercer this time. "Better than I thought. I’m happy this Director isn’t just a figurehead."
Marie’s voice carried quiet agreement. "The Sinners wouldn’t allow someone weak in a position like that."
The guards exchanged uneasy glances before one of them spoke up again. "Director, we think it might have been the other escaped Phantasm Beast. It could’ve opened a portal hole within the cage, then another outside for them to pass through."
The Director’s masked head inclined slightly. "That would explain the traces I found. Yet... You still haven’t found it?"
"No, ma’am. But the last report mentioned someone saw movement even deeper below."
For a second, the Director paused, and then a small, almost amused chuckle escaped her. "Further below, hmm?" Her masked face turned slightly, angled toward her left as if addressing someone unseen. "Should we interfere... Or let Phineas handle it?"
Reinhard froze as he saw the Director looking over to their area.
The guards stiffened as well, unease flickering across their faces.
The Directors spoke in a soft and light tone. "What? But this wasn’t our failure."
Reinhard narrowed his eyes. Who is she talking to?
Scath tilted her head, frowning faintly. "Is she trying to do something? Who is she speaking with?"
Roana’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Maybe someone invisible... Or something formless we can’t perceive. Stay quiet."
The Director continued to speak, as if addressing a child or a close companion only she could see.
Reinhard could almost feel the unease in the room as it seemed it wasn’t just them, but even the guards seemed to avoid looking in her direction for too long.
One of them walked closer to where Reinhard and the others hid. They immediately pulled back, the door creaking faintly as Reinhard eased it tighter.
The man’s muttering drifted through. "There she goes again, talking to her imaginary friend..."
Another guard hushed him quickly. "Quiet, unless you want to be thrown through a wall. Mehko told us not to worry when she acts like this."
The first guard scoffed. "You actually believe those lunatics? They’re probably the reason she’s like this. Calling her their ’Golden Star’."
A third guard sighed heavily. "Believe it or not, they created this monster. The Golden Star of Mehko."
Reinhard’s eyes widened in shock while he froze.
Golden Star... Mehko Researchers... Imaginary friend.
Memories surged up as he recalled the file he had read by himself the night before that talked about the experiments Mehko was doing.
All of them are trying to force a Blessed one with Mehko’s "golden child," being the only successful one.
A girl abandoned by her parents for money, and tormented until she fabricated an imaginary sister to survive the loneliness.
Reinhard’s hands trembled slightly against the wood. That can’t be...
But it made too much sense.
Reinhard gritted his teeth. The Director... She’s that girl. She didn’t die on that mission that they sent her on... Somehow, she survived the Monster Zone. His mind ran wild. Does she still work for them willingly? Or is she still trapped under the same brainwashing?
The questions burned, but he forced himself to breathe. Marie’s eyes flicked toward him, concern flashing briefly, but Reinhard didn’t speak.
Outside, the last of the guards finished organizing the captured beasts. The Director had paused again, her head tilted as though listening to a reply only she could hear.
Then the Director said. "Alright. I’ll investigate the lower floors myself. Bring these three down, we’ll keep them contained here instead."
The guards obeyed instantly, their nervousness buried beneath. They moved to lift the three Phantasm Beasts, chains clinking faintly as they hoisted the heavy bodies upright.
Reinhard watched every motion. The golden-skinned beast’s wings fluttered faintly, the white-furred one’s trembled, and the bone-armored one’s shaked.
All of the guards were chaining up the Butterfly Princess, Nibel Eater, and Stellar Bone one at a time and carefully.
The Director, before descending the steps without another word with her spear balanced across her shoulder.
The guards followed, the chained beasts leaving faint streaks of light, frost, and shadow against the floor.
When the echo of footsteps faded, Reinhard exhaled slowly.