Chapter 18: Lab Rat

Action movies and anime portrayed fights with such flair.

Those people must have had vivid imaginations.

Or was I the only one who fought like this? The televised sparring matches between those elite students were dazzling displays of skill and power.

But blood… blood was dirty, smelly, and sticky.

While Lee So-hyun stared at me, dumbfounded, the pool of blood at my feet sharpened into spikes and pierced her left thigh.

I tried to explode her leg, but it only caused a slight limp.

This uniform was too conspicuous. Only E and F-ranks wore it.

She gritted her teeth, lunged at me, and hurled a spear that embedded itself in my right shoulder.

I hadn’t even seen her throw it.

It was unfair. I had endured so much, been pumped full of drugs, and this was all I could do. While she, with a little effort, could fight so skillfully.

She had started as a D-rank.

I wished hard work could have solved my problems.

I had waited so patiently, enduring each day, clinging to the hope that she would return.

But what was this? They said children shouldn’t live like this.

I envied her, living a happy life in this privileged world, while I was abandoned.

It must have been difficult for her, adapting to this new life, but still…

If she hadn’t looked at me with such disdain when I visited…

I lost focus.

Another spear struck my right shoulder, tearing it from my body. Blood sprayed everywhere.

I couldn’t bring myself to inflict such pain on myself, sober.

“What will people think when they find out you’re doing this to a junior?” I asked.

“They’ll praise me as the hero who captured a rogue villain hiding in the academy.”

The spear vanished from my body, reappearing in her hand, clean, without a trace of blood.

I didn’t understand how she did it, but I wasn’t worried.

She was limping. Badly.

My right arm started regenerating, leaving a bloody lump of flesh on the ground. The pool of blood absorbed it.

“Limbs shouldn’t… regenerate.”

“It’s an acquired skill.”

She frowned, taking it as a provocation.

But it was true. Reactions like that hurt a sensitive person like me.

“I envy you. That leg would have exploded by now, if it were mine.”

I launched the regenerated arm into the air, detonating it.

It wouldn’t tear her apart, just splatter her with blood and gore.

She pulled out her phone, trying to call for help, but the bloody spikes kept her at bay.

Would she run? That would be problematic.

A villain caught in the academy would be taken away. Back to that basement? I didn’t want to go back.

But I wouldn’t give up and run. I was tired of being alone.

I would rather die here. Though I didn’t want to die.

A stray spike struck her phone, shattering it.

“Why don’t you run? I wasn’t looking for you. I just wanted to see the researchers again.”

She gritted her teeth.

Unlike Team Leader Joo, she probably didn’t have a lover among them.

“They’re… not very nice people. No one would blame you for running. I can’t chase you in this state.”

“You… want me to run? From you?”

“It’s called a tactical retreat. Better for them to die than you…”

I wanted to say it was a cost-effective strategy, but she threw another spear.

I could deflect stabs and slashes, but thrown projectiles were difficult to block.

It struck me in the stomach. I felt blood rising in my throat, spilling from my nose.

But I was still conscious, my limbs still functional. Just a bit weaker.

I didn’t know my limits, but I wouldn’t die to a cripple.

As the spear pierced me, I redirected it, impaling her right thigh.

“See? Not very cost-effective.”

The wound in my stomach closed. My right arm was almost fully regenerated.

I stared at her, struggling to stand, and pulled out a cigarette.

My pocket was soaked in blood. I had kept the cigarettes in their plastic wrapping, just in case.

I tore open the pack, tapped out a cigarette, and placed it between my lips.

The lighter was damp, but I managed to light it.

“It’s so quiet. The researchers probably don’t even know they’re under attack.”

“You talk too much. You monster.”

I looked around innocently. I wasn’t a monster. Just an F-rank student, lucky enough to have awakened an ability.

My physical strength was only three times that of an ordinary man.

I launched more blood spikes. She deflected some with her spear, but most found their mark.

Her blood, flowing freely, mingled with the pool of blood I controlled.

But I couldn’t control her blood. It felt… inert. Unlike my own, which I could manipulate at will.

Even after all the wounds I had inflicted.

But the wounds were festering, the blood spikes dissolving her flesh.

“You’re… one of them, aren’t you? A…”

“What are you talking about?”

“Lab rat.”

As she uttered the words, I lunged, stabbing her with a blood spear. Her body was surprisingly resilient. The spear barely pierced her skin.

“I… overheard things… in the lab…”

Her eyes… I didn’t like the look in her eyes. A thin wire of blood shot out, piercing her left eye. She didn’t scream.

“Why don’t you just call me a villain? I don’t like being pitied by someone I’m killing.”

“You are a villain,” she said, chuckling dryly.

“And I won’t let you near the girl I’m training.”

I tried to retort, but I couldn’t speak.

The world tilted.

I felt myself falling, a warm sensation spreading through my neck.

I touched my throat. It was half-severed, my head hanging loosely.

I tried to reattach it, but the regeneration was slow. The drugs. They slowed down the healing process.

She stood over me, her body covered in wounds, reaching for a spear that materialized in her hand.

“I guess I can’t grant your last… request…”

She vanished from my sight. A loud bang. Or perhaps, a single word:

Thud.

I turned my head. A woman in a rabbit mask stood there, holding a large gun.

Relief washed over me. I relaxed, staring at the sky.

Blood gurgled in my throat, my consciousness fading, but I didn’t feel like I was dying.

I just wanted another cigarette.

It had been… exhilarating.

More gunshots.

Not exactly a lullaby, but comforting nonetheless. I smiled and closed my eyes.

“I know you’re not dead. Say something.”

“My… neck… isn’t attached yet…”

“It’s good to see you again.”

Even if she was wearing a mask.

It was good to see her too.

Who wouldn’t like the kind stranger who freed them from their plastic cage?