At the end of the passageway was something that looked like a mechanical parking elevator.

A massive door wide enough for a freight truck loomed before us. It was obvious this was how they brought the Creatures up from the lower floors and sent them into the arena.

The button panel was half-buried under rubble, glowing red.

I fixed my eyes on the huge button marked with an inverted triangle.

It was unmistakably an elevator button.

“Should we go down?”

I murmured, relieved that Ricardo was safe.

“There’s no guarantee things will be any better down there, though.”

“There’s no guarantee staying here will be better either...”

Thankfully, he answered.

I nodded, signaling agreement, then listened carefully.

A low vibration.

It came from the rubble opposite the elevator—from the arena’s direction. That was definitely where the bomb had gone off. I could still feel the lingering impact on my back.

Something was continuing to collapse on that side.

Were Bobby and Asil all right?

I pushed down the rising anxiety and spoke.

“I’ll go down first to check.”

When I said that, Ricardo stared at me without a word.

His expressionless face was unnerving.

“Please sit somewhere least likely to collapse. I’ll be back quickly.”

“Do you do things like this because of that self-awareness of yours?”

Not the kind of question one would normally ask in this situation.

I wasn’t completely sure what he meant, but he was probably referring to my reckless behavior.

I straightened my knees and walked slowly toward the button.

“Probably.”

I muttered as I pressed it.

“Though this time, I’m acting quite rationally.”

Ding!

The elevator arrived quickly.

The heavy doors opened with a dull clang.

The hallway filled with fan-shaped light.

The sudden brightness stung my eyes. I narrowed them and leaned forward, keeping my hand on the button while peering inside.

The control panel was simple—only three levels.

Level A, Level B, and the Arena.

After explaining the situation, I turned back to Ricardo.

“I’ll start with Level A.”

“No...”

He finally spoke, his tone calm but firm.

“Go to Level B... They usually keep the tougher Creatures on A.”

“Oh.”

I’d forgotten how often he’d done missions like this.

I nodded, but didn’t step in right away.

Would he be all right alone?

After a moment’s hesitation, I took off my baseball jacket.

“Here, at least take this.”

Ricardo grabbed the jacket I offered—and threw it on the floor.

Thud. The jacket Bobby had scolded me about but secretly liked landed in the dust. I knew it wouldn’t really make a difference, but it still hurt.

My poor baseball jacket...

Feeling small, I bowed my head and stepped into the elevator.

“I’ll be back soon...”

“Don’t lose focus.”

His voice cut sharp.

“You do realize your body isn’t in perfect shape right now?”

Inside, I pressed the button marked <B>.

Then I started hitting the close-door button repeatedly like a madman. I just needed to check the floor and get back fast.

The elevator, of course, didn’t move as quickly as I wanted.

The doors closed slowly, and the descent was just as sluggish.

I bit my lip the entire time until—

Ding!

[Warning. Cage 27 is open.]

[Warning. Cage 33 is open.]

[Warning. Cage 21 is open.]

Darkness.

As soon as the doors slid open, AI’s clear voice rang out through the dark.

Frowning, I kept my finger on the open button.

Were cages 21, 27, and 33 the ones that had held the Creatures I fought before?

Or had the explosion caved the cages in, forcing them open? If it was the latter, then something could be loose out there—assuming it survived.

I stayed inside the elevator and studied the corridor.

Cool air brushed my face, carrying a mixed stench. The area near the elevator was relatively intact, but the section toward the arena seemed blocked by rubble.

The far end was too dark to see clearly.

Both sides of the corridor were lined with cages.

I sharpened my senses.

“Huh.”

They’d caught a lot of them.

Or maybe... they were still alive?

I could feel the presence of Creatures behind the bars. They didn’t feel as oppressive as the ones outside the Core, probably because these were weaker ones civilians could take down.

Even so, there were too many for comfort.

And one of them was heading this way—

[Subject 33, prepare for transport.]

“Ah!”

I shouted as something floated out of the darkness.

“That!”

A white mask.

A plaster mask with hollow, black eyeholes drifted toward me.

A mask floating alone in the dim corridor—an eerie, all-too-familiar sight.

The moment it moved, a memory surfaced from deep inside me. I used to encounter these often in the old world’s castles.

The so-called Death Mask.

“Good to see you, buddy!”

Death Masks were easy to deal with—if you knew how.

“You’re a slow one, huh?”

The fast ones were trouble.

But this one was sluggish, approaching at a crawl, its growing size almost comical. Keeping my hand on the open button, I waited until it was close enough.

A Death Mask attaches to a living being and drains it dry until death, feeding on its life force. But as long as you didn’t touch the inner surface, it could be captured.

You couldn’t destroy it by breaking it—only melt it with heat.

Useless information for now, but noted.

As soon as it floated in front of the elevator, I jumped and reached out.

“Gotcha.”

My chest throbbed in pain.

The wound from Arthur’s shockwave still hurt. I winced slightly and looked down at the captured Death Mask.

Caught it clean.

If I didn’t make any mistakes, it’d be useful.

Ignoring its trembling in my palm, I stepped out into the corridor.

I finished my sweep of Level B quickly. As expected, the end was blocked by debris. Cage 21’s Creature seemed crushed beneath it. Cage 27 appeared to have held a spider. Near the elevator, in an empty cage, a small spiderling crawled.

I crushed it underfoot and hurried back.

“Sir.”

Ding! The elevator chimed cheerfully as it opened.

Thankfully, Ricardo was still sitting in the same spot.

“Level B’s no good for escape. It’s blocked like this corridor.”

“What did you bring back?”

He looked at my right hand in disbelief.

I lifted the squirming Death Mask slightly.

“A Creature.”

“Why the hell would you bring that?”

“I’m going to use it as a weapon.”

I spread my hand, covering the mask’s front.

Held like this, all it needed was contact with a living being to turn into a biological vacuum cleaner. The stronger the target it absorbed, the stronger it became—but that also made it volatile. Still, we had no other choice.

Ignoring Ricardo’s incredulous stare, I asked,

“I’ll check Level A next. Is it lower or higher than B?”

“A’s closer to the ground... They keep the more dangerous ones there, too tough to move upstairs.”

“Oh. Then the containment there might still be intact.”

The cages should be in better shape too, hopefully.

That answer gave me a little hope—and a welcome distraction from all the self-loathing.

“It’ll take longer this time, but I’ll be quick.”

Bending down, I picked up the baseball jacket lying nearby.

“If it’s stable down there, we can—”

KWOONG!

A deafening blast.

The corridor toward the arena was collapsing. The floor caved in.

Rubble—and Marie’s faintly breathing body—fell through, vanishing before my eyes.

I ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) dropped the jacket and sprinted to Ricardo.

He jerked up as I caught him.

Damn it!

“Let go.”

Sliding, I practically dove into the elevator with him.

The moment I felt the solid metal floor beneath us, Ricardo spoke. I set him down roughly and slammed the close button.

“You’ll break that button at this rate...”

Level A.

I ignored him and hit it. Level B was too close to the arena—too risky. There was no guarantee it wouldn’t collapse next.

When the elevator clanked and began moving properly, I felt a flicker of relief.

Descending.

As Ricardo had said, it went down for quite a while.

Was this thing even safe?

“Are you... all right in here?”

Having been punched in the face and rejected over the jacket, my tact had clearly eroded. I asked anyway, glancing at his condition.

Ricardo caught my meaning immediately.

“It’s not claustrophobia...”

His face was calm now. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

“The building collapsed. My whole family died.”

Ah.

I hadn’t expected him to say it so plainly.

I froze, forgetting how to respond.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what~?”

He laughed as he asked, and I shut my mouth.

I must’ve made a strange face, because he gave a faint chuckle.

A different kind of smile than before.

Leaning against the wall, favoring his injured ankle, he continued.

“During the First War... a bombing raid brought the whole place down.”

“......”

“Someone probably thought it was poetic justice, huh~? You’ve heard my old man was Mafia.”

His voice dripped with bitterness.

I couldn’t tell if that sharp anger was aimed at himself or at his father.

“My mother and siblings had nothing to do with that world, though...”

No.

Listening closer, it was clear—he was angry at both.

“But yeah, my father always favored me, the eldest son. I hated him for it, so I was the only one who rebelled.”

Cold words.

“I rarely came home. Wandered around, looked for ways to leave the city.”

He turned his head slowly, eyes distant.

“I should’ve quit rebelling sooner...”

Ding! The elevator stopped.

As the heavy doors slid open, I kept my eyes on him.

Leaning against the wall, arms crossed, he watched the doors open with a bitter smirk.

“That day, I stupidly ran off again, swearing I’d leave the city...”

[Warning. Cage 1 is open.]

[Warning. Cage 2 is open.]

[Warning. Cage 4 is open.]

[Warning. Cage 10 is open.]

[Warning. Cage 12 is open.]

His voice cut off.

The clear AI alerts yanked us both back to reality.

We had arrived at Level A.