Chapter 70: Laboratory L.
Lucius frowned as he watched the whole exchange.
’That old bastard cared quite a bit about my mother, but what do you mean, "founding guardian"? Did my mother found this island? Shit... How old is my mother?’
There was also the fact that she was pregnant and was planning to go to a dangerous place. What kind of place was it that it worried Valerius so much?
’And that mission she mentioned at the end...’
’Could it be the Kalgarth Ground?’
The Kalgarth Ground hold too many secrets of the world, of history, and of the ages. There are so many secrets and important things down there that when an S-Ranker reaches a certain position in the Global Rankings, that place becomes their second home.
After all, only that place can give you true growth. The problem is that navigating that place isn’t so easy.
Lucius’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the video cut to a different scene.
Some time later, Valerius stood up, confused. But his mind cleared quickly, and he realized what had happened when he felt the fog enveloping his body.
He grabbed the recording device. "Shit," he groaned and ran off—who knows where.
.
The video must have switched; Lucius started playing another one.
"Sir, the Lady has returned. She’s seriously injured."
"What?!" Valerius jumped to his feet upon hearing the news.
"Where is she?" he asked urgently.
"She’s in..."
Before the informant could answer, Valerius ran out of the room, dragging the informant along with him.
A whole month had passed since he last saw her, and although he’d mobilized all his people to search for her and received help from guilds, no one had been able to find her.
The informant led him to one of the hills on the outskirts of the city of New Asturias.
As soon as he arrived, Valerius rushed over to check on his wife...
Her limbs were severed halfway through or were missing entirely. Her chest had a gaping hole, and some of her organs were missing—it was plain to see.
It was a grotesque sight, yet one that did not overshadow the beauty of her gaunt face.
The first emotion he felt was anger.
The anger rose up his neck and lodged in his throat, until it burst out: "I told you so!" he roared, filled with rage, and grabbed her in his arms as he scolded her.
"Get a healer—quick!" he roared at his subordinates, who rushed off to fulfill his order.
However, the woman in his arms simply smiled.
"No... nothing went wrong," she murmured, almost lifelessly.
"Huh? You still dare to say that?! Look at the state you’re in!" He roared, furious.
"No... this is the state I should have always been in," she murmured once more.
Valerius didn’t understand. He just wanted to roar again, but his wife’s soft voice silenced him.
"Everything turned out fine... I’ve already taken care of everything..." She smiled.
A strange happiness radiated from her face like a powerful energy capable of calming the surroundings and Valerius’s heart.
In all the time he’d known her, she had never smiled like that.
Valerius couldn’t understand her.
"Starting today... take good care of my son," she said suddenly, bringing unease back to Valerius’s heart.
"Shut up! You’ll be fine! I have the best healer in the country with me right now—you’ll be fine!" he roared, trembling.
"Don’t worry... no one can heal these wounds."
"Of course it’s possible!"
She smiled. "No. No one can. These aren’t normal wounds..." She then uncovered her belly... it was still swollen; the child was still there. He was protected by a strange barrier.
"I’ve separated him from my body... you’ll know what to do," she murmured in a much softer voice. "Take care of him..." Her last words were so faint that not even Valerius could hear them.
Then she died. Just like that.
Valerius stood frozen in place. He wanted to get up and rush her to the city, but he couldn’t keep her in one piece when all her organs were loose.
He was tied to this spot, helpless as her vital signs faded at an alarming rate.
A few minutes later...
The country’s best healing magicians rushed to the scene. "Sir, let us handle this!" one of them said as soon as he arrived, but the moment he touched the woman’s body, he froze.
He couldn’t move.
Neither he nor the others.
"She..."
"I don’t want a single word spoken about what was seen here. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever," Valerius said in a hoarse voice.
"Miss Asturias died fighting beasts... Is that clear? Whoever reveals anything else... I’ll kill him myself," Valerius declared.
They all nodded quickly at his menacing glare.
Valerius took his time looking at his wife’s belly, thinking about what to do.
"You all leave. You stay," he ordered.
One of the healers remained—a member of the Asturias family. Someone loyal to the family.
"The child will be born in about two or three months," Valerius said.
"But, sir..." The man frowned. How could he be born?
"You’ll take him to Laboratory L."
"Huh?" The man looked up in shock. "I-I’ll take him to that place?" he asked, dazed.
"He’ll be useful for our plans," Valerius declared.
"B-b-but sir, he’s y-y-your s-son..." The man stammered several times, but when he saw the look of indifference on Valerius’s face, he trembled.
’Even his son...’ He swallowed hard.
"No one must find out about this. If I hear a single word..." Valerius stood up and grabbed him by the collar. "I’ll kill you. You and all your descendants. Do you understand?"
"O-of course, sir..."
"Very well. Do as I say."
"W-what will we do with the young lady’s body?" the man asked before Valerius left.
Valerius stood still for a moment before turning toward him. He moved his lips as if to speak, but no words came out.
The man nodded and lowered his head without saying another word.
Then the video ended.
"Laboratory L..." Lucius frowned.
He’d heard that name a few times before. As far as he could recall, it was a research facility located somewhere in the country.
No one knows exactly where it is, but it belongs to the Asturias family.
’Well... Casius knows,’ he thought.
Casius has been in charge of that place since he was seven years old, so he should know where it is.
Why did they take him there?
’They could have just incubated me in any local lab...’
He looked at the other recording, thinking he might find an answer there, so he opened it.
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