Earth Dungeon 115.2

Test

Chapter 115.2. Experiment

"Let me be honest. I was planning to experiment."

Serika said, tilting her head and revealing a mesmerizing smile.

"It's an experiment using all of you who took the bait. I wanted to face humans, even if they were weak. It's like gaining experience points by defeating weak enemies, you know, the basics of a game."

"I'll be the decoy! Kill this mad scientist!" 

One person shouted while holding a military knife, running towards Serika with anger.

[Accelerator]

The charging man decided to use his trump card. His body accelerated by martial arts, leaving afterimages, and rapidly approaching Serika.

"Provide cover!"

"Understood!"

A person who seemed to be the leader shouldered an automatic rifle and pulled the trigger to support the charging man. Other subordinates followed the order, shooting frantically. The bullets traveled at the speed of sound, with the power to easily pierce even steel plates – armor-piercing rounds.

"This doesn't seem right. Not like an assassin at all. I was looking forward to facing someone with stealth skills. Oh well, just another military force."

The bullets, moving at the speed of sound, stormed toward Serika, but she remained unfazed, showing no sign of panic. As the bullets approached her, they gradually lost speed and eventually fell to the ground without reaching her.

"[Decay] and [Magic Barrier] magic. With five layers, the power of AP bullets gets nullified, and they can't reach me like this. The countermeasure is simple. Shoot from within my 1-meter range, and the barrier won't deploy in time. Oh, by the way, since it's a magical item, destroying it won't make a difference."

Serika mocked as she rolled up her sleeves, revealing a bracelet adorned with gems that faintly glowed with magical power.

"Well then, it's a matter of range! [Flash Blade]!"

The man, shining his knife, attempted to strike Serika with a flashing knife, pulling back his hand to swing it forcefully and accelerate further.

Thud!

With a loud sound, the running man passed by Serika without slowing down, his head falling to the ground.

A black skeleton with bone-like armor, resembling the Grim Reaper, manifested from the air. It held a blood-dripping longsword in its hand.

"Oh dear! How surprising!"

Watching the beheaded man fall to the ground, the woman screamed in agony, dropped her automatic rifle, and rushed toward Serika with a military knife.

"Damn it! Gotta go for it!"

"Wait!"

Although the captain tried to stop them, the two didn't stop and continued towards Serika. The black skeleton stood in their way, seemingly protecting Serika. It had ghostly, pale blue flames in the eye sockets of its skull.

"Bow down!"

"Coordinate!"

The two infused their knives with fighting spirit, unleashing their power as techniques.

[Snake Strike]

[Hard Slash]

The woman's knife seemed to bend oddly, moving in an unnatural, snake-like manner, striking the black skeleton. The man, generating a gust of wind, attempted a powerful blow that seemed more like crushing than cutting.

However... 

[Circle Blade]

The woman's knife pierced the black skeleton, creating a crack, while the man shattered the left half of its ribs. Yet, that was the end of it. Unfazed by the attacks, the black skeleton used its combat skills. The swung longsword traced a circular path, severing the woman's hand and leg, and inflicting deep wounds on the man's head and torso.

"Guh!"

The woman fell into a pool of blood, and the man, his gaze vacant, joined the ranks of the dead.

Seeing this, Serika furrowed her brows slightly.

"Oh dear. You've taken quite a bit of damage. Well, prototypes have their limits. I can always make more. Anyway, finish off that woman for me."

The black skeleton nodded emotionlessly and crushed the head of the woman trying to escape with a terrified expression. With a squelching sound and blood splattering, Serika calmly stepped back to avoid staining her clothes.

"Oops, can't get dirty. Blood is hard to wash off, you know."

Retreating with a composed expression, Serika's nonchalant words angered the captain.

"This mad scientist! What does she think of human lives?"

Angered by the captain's words, Serika started laughing immediately. It seemed she found something amusing.

"No, no, I find something curious. It often happens in anime and novels, right? Someone who comes to kill ends up having their brother or lover killed and seeks revenge. They say things like, 'My lover was killed so horribly...' as if forgetting they came to kill in the first place."

Tilting her head, Serika, a beautiful girl with white skin and red eyes, continued speaking.

"No matter how horribly they get killed, it's their fault. Don't you think? The moment they come to kill, they're expressing consent to anything that happens to them."

"Kuh!"

With that cute expression, the captain, feeling a gaze that didn't see humans as humans, held a knife ready.

"That's why, even if you become an experimental subject, it's your fault. Ask Yama-sama if you can hire a lawyer for a defense. Well then, goodbye."

With a smirk resembling a crescent moon, Serika looked at the captain, who faced her with a determined attitude...

After a while, the desperate screams of a painful death echoed.