Chapter 58: Mi-go’s Laboratory (2)

Chapter 58: Mi-go’s Laboratory (2)

But meeting the Mi-go was out of the question today.

At the moment when Je Mu-gyeong and his friends initiated their rebellion, the Mi-go had already escaped from this laboratory.

However, it was possible to encounter something else.

Who is?

An eerie voice filled the air.

Whos there?!

Hold on Curtain Call.

Who is it?

Why is it so dark?

Kim Shin-hwa, what is that?

That is an assistant of the Mi-go.

The assistant of the Mi-go was the sole survivor among the researchers of this hospital.

Though it was debatable whether this could still be considered survival.

I didnt know its name. In the game, it was simply referred to as Migos assistant.

The assistant of the Mi-go spoke to me.

What on earth has happened?

Youve been deceived by the Mi-go.

Bubbling Bubbling

There was nothing in the room that bore a human shape.

Only a large glass tube was placed on the desk.

It was a glass tube connected to a mechanical device of avant-garde design.

Inside the glass tube was a living human brain.

The very thing often joked about a brain in a jar.

This was Mi-gos assistant.

[System: The unique trait Madness of the Abyss has been activated. The mental distortion has been nullified.]

Bubbling

The sound of bubbling emanated from the glass tube.

A strangely modulated human voice flowed from the speaker connected to the machine.

The emotionless voice continued to pose questions to me.

Why cant my body move?

Where are the others?

I want to go home

The Mi-go often engaged in such perverse acts for the sake of their research.

They would open a humans head, extract the brain, and imprison it in what they called a Mi-go Brain Cylinder.

This wasnt something they did to just anyone Typically, they reserved this grotesque form of kindness for humans who caught their fancy.

This was, in a manner of speaking, a gift from the Mi-go.

Why consider this a gesture of goodwill or a gift?

Who could possibly understand?

With a culture and philosophy utterly alien to humanity, trying to comprehend their actions was futile.

If I were to enlighten this brain about its predicament, instead of driving it to madness, it would impart to me the madness and wisdom of the Cthulhu Mythos.

And if I coax this brain well, I may be able to find out the truth about what happened here.

But neither was of any real use to me. I had already experienced both paths in the game.

Kim Shin-hwa, kill it!

Suddenly, Curtain Call cried out.

Just a moment.

Ah. Kill it now!

Wait.

Instead, I turned off the life support system beneath the glass tube.

Are you still nearby?

Hello? Hello? Hello?

Please say something

I cant see anything

Its dark so dark

Its cold so cold so very cold

Its cold

Its cold

so cold

The [Mi-go Brain Cylinder] soon fell silent.

Ha, is it dead?

Yeah, its dead.

What a nasty business.

Haaah Indeed. It leaves behind a bad taste. If you go through events that are hostile to Helistic, you will have several more opportunities to confront the Mi-go race. When those times come, perhaps there will be an opportunity to shake off this foul mood.

Curtain Call and I moved further into the Mi-gos laboratory and soon discovered a special area.

But they still go and collaborate with human corporations like this. which meant that they had a goal big enough to override their taboos.

While there were no direct documents from the Mi-go, it wasnt true that there was nothing of use.

Was this written by human researchers?

It was a note written by someones hand about the test subjects Among them, it contained information about the experiments conducted on Je Mu-gyeong.

The author of these notes was likely either killed by the test subjects or had their brains harvested by the Mi-go.

Although not of the caliber of magical books, these documents still held value in the context of the game.

I tossed those experimental notes into the cart and turned my attention to the other books.

Most of the other books revolved around biological knowledge or human modification.

Being involved with Helistic kept leading me to accumulate such materials.

Combining these materials with the [Secret Knowledge: Creation of Life] trait I acquired last time could lead to incredible achievements.

The knowledge of creating life was a trait I had never acquired throughout my journey in [Cthulhu World], making it difficult to decide how to make use of it.

I made sure to collect all the books that seemed useful.

Ah, there is one more thing I need to grab.

Arent there gamers who cant rest until theyve rubbed against every wall and opened every box in sight? Im one of those gamers. Its a time-consuming habit, but its the only way to uncover certain information.

It was around here somewhere

I slid my hand into a small nook hidden among ordinary-looking mechanical devices.and pulled

Click.

Right.

There was a very small secret box here. It was more akin to a secret shelf, but I reached inside and pulled out a small stone hidden within.

It was a smooth shiny stone about 5cm in diameter.

On one side, a star-shaped magic circle was engraved into the middle of the object amidst the emerald glow. It felt more like an artifact of magic than a product of technology.

[Guardian Amulet of the Ancient God (B-rank Magical Tool): a protective amulet with the power to drive away malevolent forces and weaken beings from the abyss. Blessed with the protection of an ancient deity.]

Despite the grand description of its power to weaken abyssal beings, the effect of this Guardian series varied significantly by rank. Since it was B-rank, it was more likely to fend off minions of the abyss rather than directly influence the beings themselves.

Nevertheless, it could still be harmful to the Mi-go.

However, it seemed the Mi-go had humans insert this amulet into a device to extract the ancient deitys energy contained within.

As a result, its magical power was depleted, rendering it unable to perform at its full capacity.

Still, its a thousand times better than having nothing at all.

If all else fails, it could serve as a material or a catalyst for other artifacts.

I packed up the items I had gathered and headed toward the elevator.

Its time to head back.

As I approached the elevator, I saw Curtain Call leaning against the wall. Her gaze was fixed on something The brain container of the Mi-go assistant who had died earlier.

Thats quite an indescribable scene in its own right.

I wondered what she was thinking.

Curtain Call, its time to go back.

Ive killed a lot, Kim Shin-hwa.

What?

I think Ive killed about 50 people. Right?

There were 58 subjects here, including Je Mu-gyeong. Considering the ones I subdued, its possible that the number of subjects Curtain Call ended could be around that.

What are you trying to say?

We need to kill more only then can I fulfill my wish.

A wish? What kind of psychopath talk is that?

It reminded me of my recent encounter with Jang Hyeon-deok and the [King in Yellow]. They had mentioned a wish. In [Cthulhu World], the mention of wishes seldom bodes well.

It implies something is broken, someone will die, or something will become twistedif it hasnt already. It is a word that is only mentioned in such situations.

I moved closer to Curtain Call and spoke.

What kind of wish do you want to fulfill?

Well? Thats not whats important. The fact that its being fulfilled is.

Curtain Call, Im not quite sure what youre getting at

Did Kim Shin-hwa kill for no particular reason?

No, there was a reason.

Or perhaps there was no reason not to kill.

Cant you hear the voices?

What?

The revelation that commands us to kill. You think people are killed without such a thing?

Who says such things?

Curtain Call looked at me with wide eyes and smiled.

The [All-Mother].

Ah.

That one was a familiar name.

This was the nickname of [The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young], the abyssal being that turned Lee Chang-hyuk into a mutant.

The monstrous power and bizarre madness of Curtain Call, a surreal force that can only be called a mutation. I understood where it all came from. Curtain Call was a cultist who received the blessing of the [The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young].

A dangerous and horrifying cultist who praises the great goddess by repeating slaughters in accordance with her revelations.

However, for some reason, it seemed that the blade was only directed at entities associated with the corporation named Helistic.

For the time being. I decided to keep a closer watch on her And that day I parted ways with Curtain Call without further conversation.