The Imprisoned Fallen Ones (Part 1)

"Mithras! Wait for me!"

Riko caught up with Mithras and grabbed her hand.

"Riko!"

Upon seeing Riko arrive, Mithras excitedly hugged her shoulders, "My dad will definitely agree to let me join your Exploration Team!"

"Um."

Riko, however, was not so confident.

In the past six months, Saundin has not made things difficult for her and the Rabbit Girl. He only occasionally takes some flesh and blood from the Rabbit Girl for his secret experiments, and offers them some incentives to enhance their power in the hope that they will participate in the experiments.

But they all refused.

After being rejected, Saundin wouldn't force them; instead, she would try other methods to persuade them...

It seems that Saundin is very principled and does not pose any direct harm to them.

But one day, with the help of the Rabbit Girl, Riko to remove the masks from the rest of the crew at the Steel Base—

The faces beneath the triangular, circular, and square masks are blank, with Beast Transformation or mechanized features. They are all incomplete Fallen One who have undergone corresponding modifications. The original eye positions have been replaced with Soul Tool resembling Searchlight Lens.

Those Fallen One were definitely not formed when the Explorer ascended on their own due to the curse. It is highly likely that Saundin used them as experimental subjects, forcing them to ascend and conducting his so-called experiments.

Although Saundin doesn't seem to force anyone, he will offer empty promises to entice Explorer to agree to participate in his experiments.

Therefore--

Saundin is definitely not a good person!

In Riko's mind, Saundin's behavior would be considered a disqualification from the Adventurer's Guild, and he would no longer be a proud Explorer.

However, when faced with Riko's questioning, Saundin frankly admitted that he had indeed been expelled from the Adventurer's Guild, but he didn't care.

After all, the other White Whistle Explorer, except for Odin, were all on the Fourth Layer or below, Adventurer's Guild simply didn't have the ability to deal with him.

After the Adventurer's Guild suffered several losses, due to his own strength and the influence of the Ascension Curse of the Abyss Ruins, the two sides reached a tacit agreement.

The Adventurer's Guild used Saundin as a mechanism to test young Explorer, and Saundin also took the opportunity to obtain some experimental materials.

After all, most people who dare to continue exploring downwards out of curiosity have severed their ties with Abyss Town... Saundin's idea was also simple: since he didn't have many ties anymore, and his will to explore downwards was flawed, he might as well stay on this Fourth Layer and serve as his experimental material. It would be best if he could find the real way of "evolution" and lead everyone to evolve together.

It was on that occasion that Riko realized that all the employees in the Steel Base were actually Explorer who came to this level. They wanted to enter the Fifth Layer in a stronger form, but were lured by Saundin and became his experimental subjects, thus turning into puppets who only obey Saundin's orders.

They are still alive, but their memories have been completely erased. Their entire bodies have been modified by Saundin, and they have been fitted with all sorts of mechanical and Soul Guidance Device, turning them into walking corpses.

For these—

Mithras had no idea.

After learning that the White Whistle was transformed by the sacrifice of her closest person, Riko mentally encouraged herself not to be friends with anyone in this Steel Base.

However, after learning about Mithras's naivety, Riko bear to see her continue to be deceived by Saundin. Even though she suspected that Mithras was part of Saundin's plan, she still wanted to rescue her.

Even if she didn't do that, Mithras would still be arranged by Saundin to encounter other Explorer who come to this Fourth Layer in the future...

Saundin has his own principles, that's for sure, but he's gone mad for the sake of his experiments, even deceiving his own daughter.

Even without Zhou Qing's involvement, Riko would do everything in her power to help Mithras escape Saundin.

Even if she didn't know what to do, there were some things she had to do, even if it didn't concern her personally! Even if it cost her her Life!

Since making the decision to descend to the first level of the Abyss Ruins, Riko had already prepared herself for the possibility of never being able to return.

Now, with Zhou Qing, Romantina, and Dugu Bo involved, the probability of Mithras being able to escape Saundin is even greater...

···

"Excuse me, may I go to the lab to see my dad?"

In the northern Steel Base, in front of an oval-shaped steel building, Mithras asked the guards outside the door.

The guard with a triangular shape on his mask voluntarily stepped aside to let the passage to the building pass by.

"Great! Dad finally agreed to let me go in to see him!"

From childhood to adulthood, Mithras had never entered any of Saundin's laboratories. Even if he tried to sneak in, he would be stopped by the relevant personnel.

Saundin had once told Mithras that she would only be qualified to enter the laboratory when she found a truly trustworthy adventure partner.

Now that the guards at the lab entrance have moved aside, doesn't that mean—

"Daddy has accepted you, Riko!"

Mithras was overjoyed. He took Riko's hand and skipped into the oval-shaped steel building.

Inside the gate was a long, narrow passage that rose around an oval-shaped steel structure, causing Riko feel a slight stinging sensation on her skin.

The Ascension Curse affects anyone who moves upwards.

Mithras was in the same situation, but his symptoms were milder than Riko's. He had probably been living on the Fourth Layer since birth and had adapted a little.

The spiral passage was only about ten meters above the base, which wasn't very high, but it still took the two of them nearly three minutes to reach the exit.

Outside the exit is an elliptical circular walkway.

Looking up, there's a void above, and you can see the gray, misty top.

Look down—

Countless bizarre creatures huddled together, a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. Some were smooth, some had fur, some were covered in scales, and some had grown things that resembled swords.

"These are... Fallen One?"

Riko's eyes trembled, and she couldn't help but take a step back.

The Fallen One below were completely different from the Rabbit Girl and Odin. They were asymmetrical, and some were just a mass of wriggling flesh with no bones inside.

These incompletely alienated failures are intertwined and Entangling, their features misaligned, making it impossible to distinguish one from another.

Twisted and bizarre.

Riko no longer hold back and, leaning against the railing outside the walkway, began to vomit.

Mithras was also at a loss.

One side of the walkway slopes slightly inwards. People walking on it don't feel it, but Riko's vomit flows to the bottom under the influence of Gravity.

The stench of the vomit, ironically, attracted the attention of the twisted, Fallen One below. They swarmed towards the dripping vomit, using their mouthparts or extending soft, red tentacles to scramble for the contents...