"What?"
"What I mean is... don't the creatures you killed mutate as Lust builds up?"
Murder turned back toward the monster they had just killed.
"Have you ever considered...? The monsters down here keep mutating. If one day they found a way to escape..."
"Or if, for some reason, you needed to use that human soul..."
These possibilities sent a chill through Lust, who was walking ahead.
"...You've definitely got a point."
"So why not leave it to me? I'll help you clean this place out."
Murder pulled Lust back into the open room from earlier, deactivated the inhibitor's 200% boost, and returned it to him.
Several roars immediately rang out nearby.
Those monsters have spotted us.
Murder wasn't particularly worried. Now that he had confirmed Anti-Determination worked against these monsters' self-healing mechanisms, these freaks were nothing but paper tigers that would crumble with a single poke.
The True Lab.
"What's taking them so long?"
Killer complained to Insanity. They had finished the preparations long ago, but Murder and Lust still hadn't returned.
"That's actually pretty normal."
Insanity leaned against the wall of the True Lab, seemingly unsurprised by this outcome.
"Haven't you read those comics and novels? Whenever the protagonist goes to retrieve something important, they're always forced into a fight."
"Insanity, I never knew you read comics and novels!"
"...I didn't before. Another Murder-the Murder from Triple Past-gave me some to read while we were waiting during that battle."
Whoosh.
While the two were chatting, Murder and Lust finished dealing with things on their end and returned.
The only strange thing was that Murder looked utterly exhausted, as though he had pushed himself beyond his physical limits in a fight.
"Murder... why... do you look so weak?"
Killer took Murder from Lust, startled by how exhausted he looked.
"I... used too much magic. I can barely muster any energy..."
"Seriously?! What the hell did you two do over there?"
"...Fought a few monsters."
Supporting himself against the wall, Murder made his way to the screen.
Lust really hadn't been wrong.
There really were only four or five down there.
But even those remaining three or four were more than any normal person could handle.
They were far faster than the one that could talk. They had actually dodged every single bone he fired.
Left with no other choice, Murder had fought the monsters at close range with Red Bones.
Lust could draw the attacks of one or two at a time, but Murder had to handle the rest himself.
Fortunately, Murder was no pushover either. He had taken on two at once and smashed them both.
The remaining few hadn't posed much of a threat.
Murder shook his head and focused on the information on the screen.
"Killer, Insanity, have you finished the simulation for extracting the molecules?"
"We finished ages ago."
Killer pointed to a mysterious blue sphere on the screen.
"All we're missing now is Lust's soul trait. You managed to get it too, right?"
"Yes. We ran into some trouble, but we got it in the end."
Murder took the syringe from Lust and handed it to Insanity.
Before leaving earlier, he had noticed that Insanity was the one adjusting the settings.
That made Insanity the best choice to handle the input.
Insanity took the syringe without wasting a moment, teleported directly above the Determination Extractor, and performed a mysterious injection into an opening that had already been prepared.
Humm-humm-
A pink glow began to shine in the Determination Extractor's hollow eye sockets. Clearly, the desire had reacted with something.
Murder swiped across the screen. Sure enough, the status updated-the blue sphere began to change slowly, shifting from pure blue toward purple.
"Good... next, we need to generate the Enchantment Web."
Before you continue