Abyss(2)

For the next few days, he took me to a lot of hidden locations, secret bases, experimentation sites, and hidden treasures in the vicinity of the academy.

When we found the genetic medicine or the miracle drug that the researchers called X-0242, we had a small argument.

This guy was supposed to have seen countless secrets, conspiracies, and blood in his previous life, yet when it came to taking the drug himself now that it was manufactured, he stopped me from consuming it.

I didn't mind it as much but his attitude was beginning to tick me off again.

I wanted to ask him, 'Brother, if it was like that, then why did you even take me here', but before I could, he made a long dramatic speech, and consumed it himself.

I was exhausted by the antics of this guy.

After that, I took the drug as well and broke through to Grade-D.

Reincarnated freak reached D-grade as well. Next few weeks, we didn't go to the academy and kept visiting places that were hidden from the eyes of the world, some even outside the fortress and into the danger zones.

We didn't apply for the permit and left the fortress through a secret passage only he knew of.

By this time, both of us were already Grade-A magicians, but to become an S-grade, we couldn't rely on external potions.

I was still excited at the prospect of being a hero and saving humanity, even after knowing the veils of conspiracy surrounding everything.

After all, my strength was real, and it gave me confidence. We were still supposed to stay hidden though, but no, my 'brother' wasn't about to do that.

He suggested that we go back to the academy to avoid suspicion and maintain the appearance of normal kids just going to the academy.

I wanted to refuse, considering that we were already stronger than our teachers and could apply for a lot of secretive organizations that were righteous in nature. They would have helped cover for us as well but the freak only shook his head and refused to explain.

Since I was already indebted to him and was following his leadership for the last few weeks, I agreed.

The first day after we returned though, instead of holding back and continuing to pretend to be normal students, this idiot just incapacitated three kids that spoke something about his parents.

One of them was the son of the teacher and so when the teacher came, he ended up beating him too. After that, he ran straight to me and told me to escape along with him, as if saying that he would protect me.

I was dumbfounded, feeling the piercing states of the shocked spectators looking at the two of us.

There was just no way out. We ran away from the academy, fighting even more guards along the way.

With that, we attracted the attention of the big shots in one move, something that we were planning to avoid from the very beginning.

After that, instead of escaping to the danger zone where we would have a better chance of survival with our strength, this guy visited another one of his supposed friends from the future and relaxed at his place.

His friend was a Grade-B magician from the magic association too, a researcher that uncovered most of the secrets he knew of, and just as I had expected, at the first chance he got, we were betrayed and chased away again.

The freak made a grand emotional speech as he escaped, shouting the secrets of the association openly in the street. News covered it but it was soon suppressed by the conspirators, which made it all meaningless.

'I didn't expect it, I'm disappointed,' he said, annoying me further. There should be a limit to how idiotic and immature one can be.

Moreover, he wasn't even listening to my opinions, always making a secretive smile and telling me he had a plan.

I was irritated, yes, but I was even more indebted. I could only advise him and escape with him, like a rat in the sewers.

This time though, he took my advice, and after we shook off our pursuers, we ran off to the danger zone.

He led me to a ruin where we were supposed to uncover even more secrets but instead of the 'ruins' that we were expecting, the base was still functioning.

The sounds of various machines whirling came from all directions. Researchers draped in white and guards in black and red could be seen walking around everywhere.

This was a true secret base of operations of the conspirators, we had accidentally stumbled upon something too big for our current selves.

We lured a few guards outside the base and put them down, taking their clothes and identity tokens, covering our faces with a gas mask.

We knew this disguise wouldn't last long but in limited time, we were prepared to uncover as many shady dealings and secrets we could uncover before escaping somewhere far away.

Due to my 'brother's' grand speech, we were already two of the most wanted fugitives known to humanity.

First off, I suggested moving in different ways because I was afraid of losing my life because of another idiotic action of this guy.

Hence, we decided that I'll go to the medical center, while he would sneak around the more dangerous and unknown areas. It was because his combat experience was far richer than mine. As long as a few S-Grade magicians didn't surround him, he could shake everyone else off pretty quickly.

Some guards took another look at me but had masks were common in areas such as there. After all, there were a lot of researchers that needed to be near high-risk radiation infected areas for their experiments, and guards that wore protective apparatus as such were around to protect and monitor them.

Just as I was about to go inside the medical center, I saw someone who wasn't even mentioned by the future dude.

It was the female lecturer that was lecturing us when this guy had just reincarnated. I secretly followed her from far away, there were two guards constantly following her side. I couldn't sense their grades as magicians.

At first, I was following cautiously, but then the guards suddenly left her side as she moved in a narrow dimly metallic alleyway and pressed a button on the wall at the end of it.

The metallic wall was suddenly squeezed open as mist escaped from inside the dark chamber on the other side of it. It was a high-tech secretive hatch.

She stepped in and left the hatch open as if inviting me to follow her inside. The entire operation of ours was just... too easy until now.

As I moved closer to the hatch, with each step the sense of danger I was feeling within my heart amplified.

I was about to turn around and run away but behind me, I suddenly heard two pairs of footsteps. Most likely, they were the guards that had left her side a while ago.

I had no other choice now. I made a beeline towards the chamber our former lecturer just left and as soon as I stepped inside, the hatch closed in an instant.

In front of my eyes was a lady smiling at me, reclining on a giant screen that covered the entire wall.

"Welcome," she said.

"Who are you!?" I shouted, preparing to threaten her with force, but before I could, she made a mocking gesture and revealed her aura.

She was an SS-Grade magician.

I was completely suppressed as I lay flat on the floor without any energy to move. Alarm bells were ringing in my head as she began to speak in a calm voice,

"The X series drugs were indeed made from human experiments as you guessed, but unlike any vulnerable subjects like infants, old men, or civilians, we made use of magicians like you."

After saying that, she waved her hand, and the screen behind her lit up. I blinked my eyes to see it clearly but it was footage of a security camera.

My 'brother' was tied up like a ragdoll, gagged and wailing on a rectangular metallic bed. Beside him, 5 more metallic beds were lined up with people similarly wailing and sobbing.

I felt like I was thrown into the abyss, trying to make sense of it while falling.

The lecturer saw through me and started lecturing again as if I was simultaneously her student and test subject.

"X-9909 is the culmination of efforts of generations of methodical and systematic research, the purpose of which is fairly simple, hallucination and delusion.

But unlike its predecessors, this one is a finished product. It'll allow us to analyze our subject's hidden desires and ambitions and make changes according to them, which will lead to its effects amplifying making everything that you experience seem more real than the physical world itself."

Instead of clearing my doubts, her explanation was only served to confuse and frighten me further.

I was feeling nauseous and a splitting headache had begun to strike the back of my neck.

She looked at me and revealed a beautiful smile, "Do you remember professor Zephuire?"

As soon as I heard that name, my head blanked out as I unconsciously muttered, "...father?"

She nodded and with admiration in her eyes continued, "He was my senior. My hero. He took the existing X-9900 to this level, which allowed us to alter the physical reality itself.

I know you have any questions, especially the human form abyss beasts and the like.

My answer is...are you sure there is anything like abyss or abyss beasts?"

Her smile... broke me.