The spacious, crowded room had now transformed into a burning Hell.
In the air, where the perceived temperature was hundreds of degrees, far exceeding human physiological limits, ordinary people found even breathing difficult; their throats and lungs felt as if they were about to ignite, and their skin cracked, emitting a smell of scorching.
The moment he entered the laboratory, Goki instinctively recalled the battle a few months prior with the God of Burning Wind's Incarnation.
The Flame Demon Incident—
Subconsciously, Goki believed that the event from the original story—the one that caused Ifrit to go berserk, become a severe oripathy patient and the true Little Fire Dragon, and also led Saria to leave Rhine Lab and completely sever ties with Silence—was now unfolding before him.
So, Goki rushed forward without hesitation, braving the heatwave—if it truly was the Flame Demon Incident, everyone present would turn into oripathy patients.
"Wait, kind Hunter, something isn't right."
However, just as he was about to rush into that special isolation room, the Nona's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Don't wait! Can't you see how fiercely the fire is burning around you? Has this brute's power already permeated to such an extent—we'll talk later!"
But the Nona's voice grew even louder—and exceptionally stern.
"No, I must speak now! Haven't you noticed you haven't received any damage at all, kind Hunter! This is an illusion!"
Although the Nona had no combat power and, apart from the final battle with Gehrman and the Moon Presence, had never seen Goki's fighting style, she still had her own advantages.
No matter how much she yearned to become human and had already awakened human emotions, the Nona remained a non-human entity.
In Goki's Hunters Dream, she could synchronously perceive the outside world, experiencing what he saw and heard through his eyes.
More rational than the Old Hunter, even possessing a doll-like mechanicality, she noticed the difference between this fiery Hell and the scorching storm from the previous battle against the God of Burning Wind.
As an assistant guiding the Hunter, the meaning of the Nona's life lay in this.
Although this kind Hunter was an unconventional fellow—not only would he act spoiled around her every time he returned from a hunt, but even with her watching him daily, he would unhesitatingly fall for every girl he saw, making him a scummy and troublesome person—the Nona still deeply loved him.
There was no helping it; even sleeping with Nona Skadi every day, being missed by Nona Specter, making a promise of love with Nona Gavial, and during their cohabitation, his unspoken understanding with Nona Kaltsit grew increasingly evident, and in the past half-month, he had gained Nona Saria's appreciation.
But no matter which woman was in his arms, in Goki's beautiful dreams, there would always only be the Nona herself—this was a fact without any metaphor.
Whenever Goki was injured, the Nona could feel his pain; even if Goki himself had grown numb to such pain, the Nona would still feel exceptionally heartbroken, gently soothing the wounds on his Soul during his sleep each night.
If Goki were truly burned, the Nona would be able to detect it immediately.
But this time, the Nona did not detect any pain or injury in Goki's body.
Therefore, there was only one answer.
"Illusion?"
Whoosh—
After a second of stunned, Goki gritted his teeth and activated the "Fire" rune, causing raging flames to erupt on his arm.
Comparing the power of the God of Burning Wind in his hand to the entire burning room before him, Goki quickly noticed subtle differences between the two.
Although Goki's hands were both transmitting intense burning pain to his mind, and his skin was similarly scorching and cracking.
However, after Goki ignited his right hand, the uniform, which had already caught fire, now seemed to begin a new round of burning.
Goki nodded knowingly, quickly noticing this subtle discord.
"This is getting interesting."
This was neither a flame that burned the flesh nor a flame that consumed the Soul—it wasn't fire at all, merely an erroneous signal transmitted to human senses.
"It seems I've indeed grown accustomed to an easy life—Nona, I owe you. Is there any snack you'd like me to bring home tonight?"
"You never owe me anything, kind Hunter—don't talk as if we are, hus, husband and wife."
The conversation in his mind quickly ended, and in reality, Goki had already rushed to the isolation operating room.
Click—
He pulled out a metal baton issued by the defense department with his left hand to obscure his movements, and with his right, he directly retrieved the Saw Cleaver, which he hadn't used in a long time and dared not take out in civilized society. Goki, who hadn't fought in a while, revealed an excited smile.
Crash—
The explosion-proof, chemical-proof, bulletproof glass, which even Spell might not penetrate, was easily sliced open by the flaming Saw Cleaver, and Goki himself rushed in, unafraid of being cut.
Pale moonlight emanated from his eyes as Goki attempted to re-activate the Great One's power within him.
In his view, this power of paleblood was not some cheat, but a curse to be treated with caution, and he used it with extreme care—who knew if the Moon Presence was truly dead, for Gods were always full of surprises.
The next second, the real world became clear.
There were no flames, and no burning sensation.
Before Goki, there was only a small Sarkaz, tied to a bed, unable to exert any strength, struggling wildly, and a brown-haired woman, cloaked, seemingly resisting something.
Goki also looked back at Ptilopsis behind him; this white-haired girl was also holding up a shield with her staff, battling with thin air, constantly searching for temporary cooling Spell modules.
Like a blockbuster film set with the special effects removed, or a disco without the background electronic music, the actions of the few people present now appeared exceptionally awkward.
No wonder the cooling System "malfunctioned"; the entire room was incredibly cool, with no raging flames, and everything was a false illusion.
"However... alright, Ifrit, look into my eyes—stay awake, we're all here."
Coming before Ifrit, Goki gently held the Little Fire Dragon's shoulders, his eyes emitting a soft white light as he met her gaze.
Ifrit's body was burning hot, her expression filled with fear; if Goki had arrived any later, she might truly have unleashed a fire blast Spell.
"It hurts, Brother Rogue, I feel like I'm about to burn up—did I do this?"
The Little Fire Dragon opened her eyes and saw Goki's tall figure, but in Goki's eyes, her original orange pupils briefly showed a profound black, like a vast starry sky.
This was not the power of the God of Burning Wind, but... a new timeline.
"Alright, alright, good girl, good girl, the pain is gone—it has nothing to do with Ifrit, okay?"
Gently stroking Ifrit's small head, Goki softly comforted the Little Fire Dragon, who was caught in fear and self-blame. He tore off the straps used to restrain her and gently poured a small sip of an unlabeled potion into her mouth.
Yharnam-produced sedative, a no-name product with no production date, manufacturer, or address, but effective enough.
Even Kaltsit, upon seeing Goki use this unlicensed medicine from who-knows-where, would scold him while also testing the drug on him—and finally had to admit that this stuff was more effective than market sedatives, had no side effects, and wasn't even addictive.
Yharnam's medical technology is the best in the world!
Of course, fearing the potency might be too strong, Goki only gave Ifrit a small sip of the medicine.
"Mmm, hehe, Goki, I've been waiting for you to come..."
The sedative took effect instantly, and Ifrit's pained expression quickly subsided. She leaned gently into Goki's arms, and her strange pupil color returned to normal.
She once again felt Goki's familiar aura, somewhat similar to her own, but at the same time, watching the white light on Goki gradually fade, she also felt... "You smell so good, Brother Rogue—*huff*..."
Brother Rogue now seemed a little... fragrant? That tempting scent even made one want to take a bite.
Fortunately, however, before Ifrit could bite, she completely fell into a deep sleep.
"Ifrit—huh? You are... Researcher Goki?"
Silence and Ptilopsis, near Goki and behind him, also broke free from the illusion.
Looking at the laboratory, which showed no signs of burning, the two Liberi women fell into a brief confusion.
"Yes, our boss gave me a new assignment... and judging by the difficulty of the work, I might need a raise."
Quietly retracting his weapon and injecting a tube of blood into his thigh, Goki allowed his burned right hand to gradually recover. Goki shrugged at Silence, walked to her side, and gently helped her up.
"What happened, no, thank you, Goki—Ifrit!"
Without time to think, Silence quickly steadied her somewhat wobbly legs and ran to Ifrit's side, anxiously checking on the sleeping Little Fire Dragon.
Indeed, she was a good mother—and Goki's designated good wife.
While this medical Operator was busy, Goki secretly picked up a test tube from the table.
It was a freshly unsealed liquid, incredibly still, emitting a faint starlight, exceptionally beautiful.
However, Goki knew that the power contained in this small tube of blood—it, no, He, was the culprit behind this illusion.
"Who is your master?"
With a swift swipe of his finger, a small portion of the blood was collected by Goki into the Dream.
This was not the place for research; these samples were best handed over to Kaltsit, the professional scholar, for analysis.
But even relying solely on instinct, Goki knew that this power belonged to a Great One he had once killed—but only a part of it.
"Next, Kaltsit and Titi will be much busier."
—
"Silence, I heard the lab alarm—*huff*."
Accompanied by heavy footsteps, Saria abruptly pushed open the laboratory's electronic door.
In the lab, there was only Goki, holding a broom and cleaning glass shards, and a group of startled Researchers.
"Saria, you really owe me a bonus this time—don't leave Silence and Ifrit alone so easily in the future, okay?"
Goki waved at Saria, smiling as if claiming credit.
Next, Goki's true work officially began.
Rhine Lab surely stored many other divine blood samples.
In fact, Rhine Lab had already begun research on existences like Gods, or Great Ones.
And Goki intended to... taste them all.
Goki felt there was no better blood echoes storage station and divine data library than this place.
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