After getting dressed, Jay finally recalled what happened before she was affected.
Roy thought for a moment and decided not to tell Jay the truth, worried she might not be able to handle something so horrifying.
"That weird humanoid creature sacrificed itself to summon a succubus. You were influenced by the succubus, which is why you ended up like this."
"A succubus? So I didn't actually fall for Black—it was all the succubus's doing!"
Jay was shocked. She'd heard rumors about succubi but had never encountered such a hellish creature before.
"What are you muttering about?"
"Nothing! Anyway, we've got work to do. Now's not the time to chat!"
Jay was clearly dodging the topic, which surprised Roy, though he didn't press her for answers.
Next, Jay shared the intel she'd gotten from Cliff Layton, and the two began discussing their next steps.
"Based on what we know, we could already report back to General Hammer," Jay said.
Cliff had pretty much laid out the whole story. For Jay, the remaining questions were about Elsa Layton in the main lab and why such drastic changes were happening at the bottom of the canyon.
"In that case, why not investigate the experimental zone?" Roy suggested, looking at Jay. It was still a while until dawn, so they might as well keep digging.
Jay hesitated. According to Cliff Layton, the experimental zone was extremely dangerous, and opening it could easily lead to biological contamination leaking out.
But then she thought, if Roy could handle a succubus, investigating shouldn't be a problem.
"How about this, Black? I'll stay in this hidden lab, and you go check out the experimental zone?"
From the hidden lab, Jay could use Cliff's access to remotely open and close doors for Roy and guide him via radio, which was pretty convenient.
"Fine by me! But my gear's busted. I'll need a new protective suit."
Roy wasn't afraid of the biological contamination in the experimental zone, but he also didn't want to bring any of it out, so a protective suit was necessary.
"There should be spare protective suits in the energy zone. You'll need to check there," Jay said, handing Roy her PAD.
"I've mapped out a route for you. If anything comes up along the way, I'll let you know over the radio."
"No problem."
Roy took the PAD and turned to leave, but Jay called out to him.
"Black!"
Roy turned back, puzzled, seeing Jay with a hesitant expression.
"Miss Jay, anything else?"
Jay bit her lip, looking at Roy.
"Black, be careful!"
Roy nodded. "I will."
Not long after Roy left the hidden lab, Jay turned on the lights in the living quarters.
Walking through the brightly lit area, Roy felt a bit more at ease.
Then, Jay's voice came through the radio.
"I just checked the energy zone's surveillance. It's clear of biological contamination. You can head straight through the zone's main gate."
"Got it!"
Having someone guide him was handy. In just a few minutes, Roy reached the main gate, which Jay opened remotely.
Soon, Roy found a full set of protective gear in the energy zone. It was industrial-grade, not as good as military-grade, but it'd do.
"Black, I checked the experimental zone's surveillance. Only Lab 3, connected to the energy zone, has working cameras. The other labs are compromised. You can enter the experimental zone through the energy zone's gate, but brace yourself—the scene inside… isn't pretty!"
How bad could it be?
Roy figured he'd seen plenty and wouldn't be fazed.
"Just open the door. I'm going in now."
"Door's open, but you'll need to go through sterilization first."
Roy knew the drill. To keep the lab as sterile as possible, anyone entering had to go through a sterilization process—basically getting sprayed with a ton of disinfectant in a sterilization chamber.
He'd seen it in movies and games, but this was his first time experiencing it himself.
Inside the sterilization chamber, though, no disinfectant sprayed out.
"Miss Jay, what's going on?"
"Hang on! The sterilization process was manually disabled, probably by Cliff Layton to make it easier for Dren to access Lab 3. I'll open the lab door manually."
A few seconds later, Lab 3's door opened, and Roy saw what Jay meant by "not pretty."
The entire lab was littered with body parts—hundreds of corpses, roughly estimated, all with signs of being gnawed on, some missing limbs entirely.
This must've been Dren's dining area. Cliff Layton had lured Roy and Jay here to make it easy for Dren to feed.
"Black, you okay?"
"I'm fine. I've seen worse."
Roy answered Jay calmly.
"Good. I was worried this might get to you!"
"What's my next move?"
"Hold on. I can't see the other labs' surveillance, so I need to assess."
There wasn't much to assess—only two paths were available.
"Alright, head to Lab 2, the right exit. Lab 1's door is broken and won't open."
"Got it!"
Roy headed down the right corridor, finally experiencing the disinfectant sterilization process.
As for how it felt? Nothing, really—he was in a protective suit.
"I'm opening the door, Black. Be ready!"
"I'm good!"
Roy aimed his M1014 at the sterilization chamber's door.
"Three, two, one—open!"
The door swung open, and Roy instantly felt a wave of heat, even through his industrial protective suit.
Beyond the door was a world of red and yellow. Cell-like substances covered the corridor, connected by fungal filaments, making passage impossible.
"Roy, what's the situation?"
"Not good. Outside Lab 3, it's all carrion—the stuff we saw in the maintenance tunnels."
"Damn! So you can't get through?"
"No big deal. I've got a way to clear it, but I might not be able to talk for a bit."
Jay paused before responding. "Alright, I'll check in every ten minutes, and you update me."
"Deal."
Roy stashed the radio and pulled out his execution blade.
"Let's see what this stuff's all about!"
As Roy approached the carrion, the yellow pustules burst, releasing pale yellow liquid that formed new pustules on the ground, connected by red filaments.
(That's the gist of it.)
This must be how carrion reproduced, explaining its rapid spread.
In no time, the sterilization chamber was crawling with carrion.
Roy tried using his execution blade to carve a path, but even with its enhanced strength and sharpness, it was too slow.
After some thought, Roy switched to his Nephilim form, manifesting a spinning cutting weapon with chaos energy. That did the trick.
Before long, Roy cleared the corridor and passed through Lab 2, also overrun with carrion, reaching the main lab.
Surprisingly, there was no carrion here. Instead, at the center of the circular main lab stood a massive blood-red tree with strange yellow fruits.
It looked like a tree of flesh, formed from the carrion outside.
The tree's roots had pierced the lab's sunken floor, extending who-knows-where.
Most chilling was the face of a woman on the tree's trunk. Could this be Elsa Layton?
"Black, where are you?"
"I've reached the main lab. There's a red tree here."
"A red tree? What's it like?"
"Hold on, I'll snap a photo with the PAD."
Roy took a picture and sent it to Jay's computer via the base's intranet.
"I've never seen anything like this. There's no record of it in Cliff Layton's computer either!"
"Really? Must be a mutation of the carrion."
"Mutation or new creation, whatever it is, our mission's done. Black, you can pull back now."
"Hang on, Miss Jay. I've got an idea. Maybe I can talk to this tree."
Roy had noticed the face on the tree's trunk shifting expressions, as if it had a mind of its own.
"What? Black, don "'t act on your own! You're alone, and no one can help if something goes wrong!"
"Relax, Miss Jay. I'll be fine."
With that, Roy tossed the radio into his inventory and entered the core area.
"Who's there?!"
As soon as Roy stepped in, the face on the red tree sensed him.
"It's me."
The tree twisted, turning the face toward Roy.
"Who are you? I've never seen you before!"
"I'm with the military, here to investigate this base. Are you Elsa Layton?"
"Yes, I'm Elsa Layton. Tell me, have you seen my husband, Cliff Layton?"
Roy hadn't expected her to still call Cliff her husband. Was there some lingering affection?
"Cliff Layton's dead. I killed him myself."
Elsa went silent for a moment, then began trembling violently, her face twisting with glee.
"Hahaha! That monster's finally dead!"
Clearly, there was no love left between the Laytons. Calling him "husband" must've been a slip of habit.
After laughing, Elsa looked at Roy with a complex expression.
"Thank you for avenging me, sir. But I'm useless now. Suppressing this body takes all my strength."
"Suppressing?" Roy asked. "Why are you suppressing your body?"
"This red tree's instinct is to devour all life! I used my hatred to turn the chaotic carrion into this tree. The carrion you saw outside? That's the failed byproduct. But I'm losing control. Its roots have spread into the island's groundwater, affecting the canyon's ecosystem.
Worse, the tree's starting to develop its own will!"
Roy listened quietly as Elsa explained.
With her仇人 gone, the fire driving her seemed to fade, likely why she was losing her grip on the tree's will.
"What happens if the tree goes completely out of control?"
Elsa took a deep breath before answering.
"It'll turn this entire island into its nourishment and start polluting the ocean. Sir, please, go back and tell the military to use the nuclear warheads buried here to destroy this base—before it's too late!"
Nuclear warheads? Roy's heart skipped a beat. Few technological weapons could threaten him now, but nukes were one of them.
If he could one day withstand a nuke with his body alone, he'd be unstoppable in the human world.
Still, Roy wasn't convinced this flesh tree made of carrion was that dangerous. Compared to something like the Colour Out of Space, it felt like plain biological pollution. The Colour could manipulate intelligent beings and create mutated creatures with some degree of intellect. What did this flesh tree have?
If anything, a nuke's pollution might rival the tree's.
Seeing Roy still standing there, Elsa urged him frantically.
"Go! I'm losing control of the tree's will! Oh no—it's too late!"
As she spoke, the flesh tree began shaking violently, as if refusing to stay a plant and yearning to become an animal.
A massive branch, twisted from countless carrion strands, swung toward Roy, aiming to crush him into paste.
Roy caught the branch with one hand.
"No need for all that trouble, Miss Elsa. I'll handle this now."