We continued the mission. Our next destination was Mr. Elderfield's residence on the southern side of Orilah.
The place was quite far from the city center, but we had already made it about halfway there. We had to take a detour to avoid the soldiers scattered throughout the city.
"Strange. Carina wasn't with her earlier," Percy remarked.
"I heard she's on watch in the western area of Orion City," Dania replied.
Percy tilted her head. "Watching for what?"
"Monsters, obviously. What else?" I answered.
"Yeah, that's probably it," Dania said lightly. "I just hope she doesn't run into Naira."
"Yeah. I'm afraid she might get captured if she's discovered."
Dania's expression remained flat.
"No. That's not what I'm worried about. Besides, Carina wouldn't capture her."
I turned toward her. "What do you mean?"
Dania fell silent for a moment. There was a hint of unease in her expression as she prepared to explain.
"Carina feels indebted to Princess Jasmine. For years, she lived with her family and was raised like one of their own. When Princess Jasmine left Asteria, she promised she wouldn't drag anyone else who had also left the kingdom into trouble. Princess Avra knows about it too."
"So… about Carina still being in contact with Princess Jasmine…"
"Yes… she knows."
"…."
"When Princess Jasmine left, Princess Avra actually pleaded with her. She understood why Jasmine had to go—she couldn't bear the King's injustice any longer. The King only cared about those who sided with him. But Princess Avra loved both her father and Asteria. That's why she chose to remain."
I looked into Dania's eyes as they grew more sorrowful.
My breath caught in my throat.
It felt as though I could feel the pain in her heart as well.
"Now… she's the one responsible for leading Asteria since the King fell ill. She wants to change what the King once did."
"Change…?"
"In essence, both of them want to change how the world sees Asteria. Princess Avra will do it from within the kingdom, while Sister Jasmine works from outside."
"But… why did she have to leave the kingdom?" I asked, still unconvinced.
Dania suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at me.
Confused, I stopped as well and met her gaze.
"Let me ask you something, Azca," she said, her voice serious. "If all of us were still part of Asteria… would you still trust us when we first met?"
"Huh?"
"Would you still accept people who once destroyed your homeland?"
"…."
"Asteria's sins in the past are heavy. Not everyone in Asteria knows about them. We feel ashamed and guilty. We wanted to change things, but we had no power. We were disgusted with what the King had done."
Dania clenched her hands tightly, as if holding back something suffocating inside her chest.
"There had to be something that would stop Asteria from acting so ruthlessly. But at the same time… we didn't want to destroy our own homeland."
"That's why… you chose to leave rather than hurt Asteria."
"Ya. We left together with those who could no longer endure it. We started a new chapter in another land, proving to the King that dictatorship is not the way to lead a nation. A ruler must care for the people… and for those who are weak."
I couldn't answer.
I was beginning to understand how they felt.
Back when I first learned they were from Asteria, I hadn't believed it either. When they invited me to join them, a huge sense of doubt lingered in my heart.
I was afraid of being betrayed again.
"Azca, we didn't give you the Core-jet merely because of your abilities. We gave it to you because we believe in you."
My head, which had been lowered, slowly lifted again.
"We believe you'll bring change. Not just for the southern region, but for the others as well."
"But why…?"
"Because you matter to us."
"…!"
It was the first time I had ever seen such a sincere smile from her.
It reminded me of the moment Princess Jasmine held my hand… and the night Naina hugged me.
"Come on. We're almost there."
Dania resumed walking.
Meanwhile, I stood there, quietly reflecting on her words. The distance between us slowly grew as she moved ahead, while I remained where I was.
"They do have a point, Azca." The iron sphere resting on my shoulder seemed to share the same opinion.
"When you say 'they,' does that mean you saw what we did in the tent?"
"Of course."
I gave Percy a small sideways smile. "Please forget about that part, Percy."
Then I started walking again to catch up with Dania.
Dania glanced back. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. It's nothing. By the way… this place is pretty creepy. It feels like we're walking through a ghost town. There are abandoned ruins of houses everywhere."
"Ya. Before the neutralization… this place used to be quite lively."
We walked along cracked asphalt. Trash and rubble were scattered everywhere. There was no one around except for us—and a few animals passing by.
The cawing of crows only made the atmosphere even more eerie.
"Hii—!"
Startled, we instinctively grabbed onto each other.
Buildings that were nearly collapsing.
Houses with cracked walls and caved-in roofs leaning against one another.
I guess even in this futuristic era, Genesta humans like us could still feel fear toward things… supernatural.
Not far from there, a large house still stood.
It retained a faint trace of elegance despite being on the verge of collapse. Most of its tall fence had fallen over. The yard was overgrown with wild grass and the rotting remains of a massive tree left to decay.
Several windows of the house were shattered.
Part of the front doorway had collapsed—as if it had been forced open.
We could only stand there, shivering slightly once we reached the entrance.
"Azca?" Dania asked.
"Ya?"
"Can Eternal Emerald be used to fight ghosts?"
"How would I know?!"
"You're the one using it."
"I just started using it! And what kind of skill fights ghosts anyway?!"
"Then just make one!"
"I told you there's no such skill! Ah, enough already! Let's just get inside!"
I grabbed Dania and pulled her into the house. Her body, cold with nervous sweat, moved along with my steps.
Honestly… I was starting to get goosebumps.
This house was genuinely terrifying.
Dust, moss, and spider webs covered everything. There were dark stains of dried blood on several walls. We also found claw marks on the walls, the sofa, and other pieces of furniture.
The deeper we went inside, the less light managed to reach us.
Both of us activated Night Vision mode to help us see.
Since our destination was the basement, we didn't go upstairs.
"Azca… look!" Percy suddenly spotted something.
Exactly ten meters ahead, there was a narrow corridor beside another room. The passage seemed to be blocked by a large rack filled with household items.
"This corridor looks like… it was deliberately hidden," Percy said.
"Yeah… you're right."
I swallowed hard. Without a word, I grabbed Dania, who was trying to run away.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"A-Azca! I'm scared!"
"That's enough! Let's go in!"
We stepped into the dark corridor.
After a few steps, we found a staircase leading downward. This must be the way to the basement.
We began descending deeper into the stairs. The clearer the view through Night Vision became, the darker the room actually was.
Rats scurried away after hearing our footsteps. Their squeaks sometimes startled Dania. Honestly, my hand was starting to hurt from how tightly she kept squeezing it.
"Azcaa…" Her voice trembled.
Too bad she wasn't Naira. If she were, I would've left that girl behind and locked the door from the outside.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we discovered a wide room. Even with Night Vision assisting us, the darkness here made us uneasy.
I scanned the room, hoping to find something that could light the place. Eventually I found a switch. I pressed it, and the room was illuminated by a dim light.
There was nothing here.
Just a large table and several shelves filled with worn-out documents.
The place was damp and full of spider webs. But at least it wasn't as messy as the upper floor.
We reflexively began checking the files one by one. Their contents were only research reports, materials, and things like that.
Nothing related to what we were looking for.
"Looks like there's nothing here," Dania said.
"Yeah." I scanned the surroundings again, remembering something. "Carina was hidden in this place before, right?"
"Yeah. She was found unconscious here."
"…I can imagine how terrified she must've been in a place like this."
Dania didn't answer. She simply kept looking around.
"Eh? Look at this, Azca."
Percy shone her light toward a bookshelf—more precisely, toward something tucked between a neatly stacked row of books on one side. There was a faint square outline carved into the wall.
I walked closer and examined it.
I touched the square outline. It felt cold, like metal. Different from the surrounding wall.
My curiosity grew stronger.
I pressed the center of the square.
A small cracking sound echoed, and the wall slowly slid sideways.
Revealing a passage to another room.
The two of us simply stared at what we had just discovered before deciding to step inside. The door that had opened earlier immediately closed automatically once we crossed the threshold.
The lighting here was brighter than the previous area.
The place was also cleaner.
The room, about twenty-five square meters wide, contained only a large desk in the center. On top of it sat a computer and several neatly arranged files.
This seemed to be Mr. Elderfield's hidden workspace.
I hurried over to check the computer.
Then something caught my attention.
A folder whose title made my breath stop for a moment.
"ASTERIA'S SECRET PROJECT"
I opened it.
Inside were several files… and several videos.
Even from the video thumbnails alone, it was clear that the people shown were experimental subjects.
The metal sphere on my shoulder moved.
"Wait, Azca. We don't have time to check everything."
"You're right," I muttered. "Percy, can you copy all these files?"
"Got it!" she replied, jumping down from my shoulder.
Percy's lens eyes began glowing green. A hologram appeared in front of her, rows of small tabs scrolling rapidly.
While waiting for Percy to finish copying the data, I opened several files that might reveal something.
I clicked one of the videos.
A recording immediately appeared.
Several people stood inside an all-white room that looked like an experimental laboratory. They wore white coats and long white pants—most likely researchers.
In the center of the room were several people wearing prisoner uniforms. Their hands and feet were bound with straps to the sides of beds.
Then one of the researchers injected something into them.
There was no reaction at first.
But a few minutes later, the prisoner used as the test subject began moving violently.
He groaned and struggled, as if experiencing unbearable pain.
Some of the researchers started to panic. None of them dared to approach. They only watched.
Until finally, the subject roared like a wild beast.
Slowly, his body began transforming—like a werewolf. His skin turned black like charcoal.
Moments later, his body melted and smoked like burning wax.
We could only stare in shock.
Fear slowly crept through us. Even just watching it felt painful.
With trembling hands, I played another video.
The contents were essentially the same.
Someone used as an experimental subject… transforming into something horrifying before eventually melting away.
All of us fell silent as we watched their suffering unfold on the screen.
"So… they were really experimenting on humans?" Dania murmured.
I turned off the video before it even finished. I nearly punched the monitor, but instead slammed my fist against the table.
I never imagined they would do something so cruel.
I couldn't understand what their goal was.
"A-Azca…"
Percy's tiny claw touched my hand, trembling. She looked extremely worried. Dania too.
"Sorry. I almost lost control."
I opened another folder on the computer.
This one was different from the previous one.
The thumbnail of one video showed a man covered in wounds, staring straight ahead.
I had seen that face before.
"Isn't that Mr. Elderfield?" Dania murmured.
Without waiting any longer, I pressed play.
The figure of Mr. Elderfield appeared—complete with his large glasses and white toga—exactly like the photo once shown by Professor Denis.
But this time he looked far more worn.
The white toga was covered with stains and splashes of blood.
Fresh blood flowed from his head. One of his eyes was closed—clearly injured.
He trembled weakly as he began to speak.
["By the time you find this recording… I may… already be dead."]
※※※ (Chapter—18) ※※※