Strongest Existence Becomes Teacher

Selene slowly dragged Jax through the dim underground corridor.

His unconscious body leaned heavily against her shoulder, making every step more difficult than the last. The black rings around her wrists still prevented her from using magic, forcing her to rely entirely on her own strength.

The hallway stretched endlessly ahead, lit only by a few pale green crystals embedded into the walls.

"...Where's the exit?"

She looked around anxiously.

"...Where am I even supposed to go?"

Just then, as she stumbled slightly under Jax's weight, her shoulder bumped against a nearby door.

Click.

The door slowly creaked open.

Selene instinctively looked inside.

The color drained from her face.

"...What..."

Rows upon rows of enormous glass tanks filled the room.

Each was filled with a murky green liquid, while intricate magic circles covered the glass from top to bottom.

Floating inside them...

Were things that should never have existed.

Twisted masses of flesh.

Some vaguely resembled humanoids.

Others had no recognizable shape at all.

Extra limbs.

Malformed heads.

Bones growing in impossible directions.

Some appeared half-melted, while others looked as though several creatures had been forcibly stitched together.

A sickening smell lingered in the air.

Selene instinctively covered her mouth.

"I..."

She fought back the urge to vomit.

"...What has that woman done here?"

Her voice barely escaped her lips.

"What... is all this...?"

She slowly stepped farther into the room despite every instinct telling her to run.

Then her eyes noticed something else.

Three of the tanks had already been shattered.

Jagged glass covered the floor.

The green liquid continued dripping from the broken containers, slowly spreading across the room.

The things that had once floated inside...

Were gone.

Selene felt a chill run down her spine.

"...This doesn't look good."

Every survival instinct she possessed screamed at her.

"I need to leave."

She immediately turned around, supporting Jax once again before hurrying back into the corridor.

The heavy door slowly swung shut behind her.

...

Inside the laboratory...

One of the remaining tanks trembled.

Very slightly.

--

Selene continued dragging Jax through the endless underground corridors.

Her breathing had become heavier.

"...Where's the exit?"

She looked around anxiously.

"...Where am I...?"

After walking a little farther, another door appeared on the right.

This one opened with only a gentle push.

Unlike the previous room, shelves and cabinets filled the interior instead of glass tanks.

Stacks upon stacks of files, documents, and books occupied every corner.

"A record room...?"

Selene carefully lowered Jax against the wall before walking toward one of the cabinets.

She pulled out a thick file at random.

The title immediately caught her attention.

Project Obsidian

Below it were several smaller words.

Test Subject Conditions: Mostly Failed

Success Rate: Low to Medium

Her expression grew serious as she opened the file.

The first pages contained old experiment records.

Year 1

15 test subjects of different species used.

Result: All 15 test subjects dead.

Observation: Death before successful fusion due to complete organ failure.

Selene's pupils shrank.

She silently flipped another page.

Then another.

And another.

The reports continued.

Failed experiments.

Dead subjects.

More failures.

Her hands began trembling as she rapidly turned through years of records.

Finally...

She reached an entry far deeper into the file.

Year 20

Day 78

Subject Zero arrived.

This has opened an entirely new path for our research.

Selene frowned.

She turned another page.

Day 153

Today, the Source has been obtained.

Using the Source together with Subject Zero... our goal can finally be achieved.

...

The file slowly slipped shut.

Selene stared blankly at its cover.

"...Twenty years..."

She felt her stomach churn.

For twenty years...

These monstrous experiments had continued beneath everyone's feet.

Hidden from the world.

Hidden from every kingdom.

"...How many people..."

She couldn't finish the sentence.

Taking a deep breath to suppress the nausea rising inside her, Selene returned the file to its place before lifting Jax onto her shoulder once more.

"...Let's go."

She quickly left the archive behind.

The room became silent again.

For several long seconds...

Nothing happened.

Then—

Behind one of the towering file racks...

Something moved.

Like a predator silently watching its prey.

Selene continued dragging Jax through the endless underground passage.

Her breathing had become ragged, every step growing heavier as the unconscious demon leaned against her shoulder. The black rings around her wrists still suppressed her magic, leaving her with nothing but rune papers and sheer determination.

Then...

She saw it.

A large door stood at the end of the corridor.

"...The exit?"

Hope flickered in her eyes.

Without wasting another second, she pushed the heavy door open.

Creak...

Beyond it wasn't the outside world.

Instead, it opened into a small circular hall connected to several other passageways.

"...Not yet..."

Suppressing her disappointment, Selene continued dragging Jax across the hall.

Yet...

That strange feeling returned.

Ever since leaving the room filled with those grotesque creatures preserved inside glass tanks, she had felt as though something was watching her.

A cold sensation crawled up her spine.

It was getting stronger.

Stronger.

Her instincts suddenly screamed.

Her pupils shrank.

A massive claw burst into her vision.

Without even thinking, Selene threw herself to the side while dragging Jax with her.

At the same moment, two rune papers slipped from the bundle tucked at her waist, landing beside her feet. The instant her legs brushed against them, the runes activated and clung to her boots.

Boom!

The claw slammed into the stone floor where she had been standing only a heartbeat earlier.

Selene looked up.

"...!"

The same grotesque creatures.

Their twisted bodies were somehow even more horrifying outside the tanks.

They crawled on distorted limbs, their mouths hanging unnaturally wide as thick saliva dripped onto the floor.

Growl...

Growl...

An unfamiliar aura seeped from their bodies.

Mana...

Yet not quite mana.

Selene narrowed her eyes.

"It feels... similar to those Vassel bastards..."

"...No."

"It's the complete opposite."

Unlike the suffocating darkness of Vassel's mana, these creatures radiated something strangely pure, almost holy... and yet their appearances were so grotesque that the contradiction made her skin crawl.

Then she noticed their faces.

Human faces.

Twisted into expressions of endless agony.

She didn't recognize any of them.

But somehow...

That made it even worse.

"...Disgusting."

Carefully, she lowered the unconscious Jax onto the ground.

"I'll deal with you first."

Since she couldn't use magic through her hands, Selene bit down on several rune papers before tossing them high into the air.

She leaped.

Spin.

Her legs lashed out one after another.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Each kick activated another rune.

The papers burst apart as glowing orange runes detached from them, floating behind Selene in a rotating circle like loyal guardians.

One of the grotesque creatures lunged.

Its enormous claw descended toward her.

Immediately, one rune shot forward.

The orange symbols intertwined, forming a gigantic spectral hand.

Boom!

The claw stopped dead in its tracks.

At the same instant, another rune shattered into countless glowing fragments.

Those fragments rapidly reassembled.

A massive orange machete materialized in midair.

Slash!

The blade swept across the monster's body.

Its grotesque form split cleanly in half.

The corpse collapsed onto the floor.

Selene allowed herself a small smile.

"Good... I can still fi—"

A terrifying force exploded behind her.

Pain.

A sharp, burning pain erupted across her back.

Before she could react—

Bang!

Her body was launched through the air.

She crashed violently into the stone wall.

"Cough!"

Blood escaped her lips.

Groaning, Selene slowly lifted her head.

"...J..."

Her voice caught in her throat.

Jax...

He was standing.

His body trembled violently.

The small gray horns on his head continued growing larger.

Black tears slowly streamed from his eyes.

Then—

"GRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

His roar shook the entire underground facility.

Selene stared at him in disbelief.

"...J-Jax..."

Before she could process what was happening...

A faint light appeared inside her stomach.

"...Huh?"

The glow slowly traveled upward through her body.

Past her chest.

Her throat.

Then—

Cough!

A tiny glowing cube flew out of her mouth.

Selene weakly watched it bounce onto the floor.

"...So..."

"I made a mistake... in the timing..."

The cube unfolded by itself.

Click.

The emergency button was pressed.

Space distorted.

A familiar figure appeared with his back facing Selene.

Long black coat.

Calm posture.

Without even turning around, he looked between the grotesque monsters and the transformed Jax before letting out a quiet sigh.

"...Well."

"This just became much weirder."

---

Back to the present.

Zane's gaze swept across the hall.

The grotesque creatures.

Jax.

The strange pure mana radiating from every one of them.

Then...

A smile slowly spread across his face.

"Finally."

"The fight can start."

He rolled his shoulders before chuckling to himself.

"It's been like a month."

Selene blinked in confusion, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

Zane simply stepped forward.

His smile never faded.

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