I stared down into the hole in the floor.
“Yikes... it goes straight through to the basement.”
I really believed that if I hadn't been on the front lines, we would have had casualties. It only ended as a gag because it was me.
Below us, the basement—a level that had been inaccessible via any other route—was now clearly visible. I had initially suspected there might be some kind of device on the upper floors, but instead, a physical entrance had practically made itself. It was widely believed that the source producing the pollutants would be located in the basement.
How did I know? Simple: the process of elimination. The device hadn't been on any of the other floors.
Despite the facility's complexity, there wasn't a single map to be found. It was likely operated by a very small staff. There was probably little turnover, and even fewer visitors from the outside. That was just the kind of place this was.
“Should we head down for now?”
“Right,” Melissa agreed, and the others followed suit.
There was no need to linger here. Besides, I had no idea when the rest of the floor might give way. I wanted to get down quickly.
We navigated the crumbling stairs toward the lower level. Along the way, several Imperial Guard Knights tripped. The moment the young disciples from Melissa's family dojo—her personal guards—tried to descend, their footing collapsed.
“Dwaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
They tumbled down the flight in a heap, taking the rest of Melissa’s Personal Guard Knight Order with them. It was a slapstick stair-tumbling routine—a truly pathetic punchline.
“You guys alive down there?” Melissa called out.
“S-barely... Ow, ow, ow, ow, owwwww!”
And so, I received word of the annihilation of Melissa’s personal guard. It looked like they had broken some bones. They began treatment with military nanomachines, but... well, a break is a break. Even with pain mitigation, a fracture makes you sluggish. They could technically move, but they were retiring from the mission here. Several others caught in the pile-up also suffered fractures. It was a mandatory retirement by doctor stop.
Kevin and his team would handle the medical care.
“Those idiots... I want to be angry, but...” Melissa sighed. “I feel like because you’re here, Commander, the knights who were destined to die if they went any further were winnowed out in advance.”
The same thought had crossed my mind. After all, it was only those with relatively immature skills who were sidelined by accidents. In Claire’s unit, the newly hired Chronosian apprentice knights were out with food poisoning. However, the Ogre God Nation members hired through the Pro-Wrestling Research Club connection were perfectly fine. Ren’s group was unscathed because they were all powerful members of the Beast Race. Isono’s Pro-Wrestling Class Group was also doing well. But the locally enlisted group had already been removed from the board by injuries or mishaps.
As for my own knights, since Katori-sensei had taken a liking to them, they were all deployed in high spirits.
“We should probably have the ones who retired this time go through retraining,” I suggested.
“Maybe I’ll have a word with Katori-sensei...”
Meanwhile, Eddy’s unit had zero absences. That might have been the Suematsu-san effect.
We reached the first floor and descended through the hole in the collapsed ceiling. We lowered ropes, secured them with anchors, and slid down smoothly. Below, the androids that had been caught in the ceiling collapse were reduced to scrap.
The basement was a space filled with industrial piping, looking like a chemical plant. I just hoped it was only pollutants leaking out.
Before proceeding, we checked each other’s chemical warfare equipment for any tears. All clear.
As we moved deeper into the basement, we emerged into a vast open space. There, I saw a giant version of the containment cases used for the specimens.
“LEAVE.”
No. A voice spoke directly into my mind. This was definitely a dangerous one—on par with the Fairy.
“Did you just think of something rude?” the Fairy asked.
“Nothing at all. I was just thinking about how you’re always adorable, Fairy-san.”
“Is that so? Hehe! ♪”
It was the truth. We were already coexisting with a terrifying entity capable of driving the Empire to ruin. What was there left to fear?
“LEAVE.”
The voice echoed in my head again. I shouted back.
“If we leave now, the only thing that happens next is the total demolition of this facility!”
“KILL.”
“Try it if you can. We have battleships and humanoid fighters on standby. We could burn this entire planet to a cinder with missiles if we had to.”
In the first place, this thing likely wasn't an individual of abnormal strength like Zork Mother. If it were, it would have come to kill us before we ever touched down on the planet.
“Are you in the mood to talk now?”
“COME.”
I approached the massive case. It was the size of a giant aquarium tank meant for schools of fish. Inside, a massive hunk of flesh was floating. I spoke to the meat.
“Yo. I’m Leo Kamishiro. I’m the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Chronos. Who are you?”
“NO NAME... MAT... YOU, ARE MAT...”
“Dunno about that. Do you even know where you came from, or what kind of creature you are?”
“I... HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE...”
“I figured. Hey, did you know? I might be what you call a 'Mat,' but I’m a naturally born individual. Not a specimen. We reproduced on our own.”
“NATURAL...?”
“Don't you want to see the outside world?”
“SPECIMEN... NO FREEDOM...”
“Among my companions are the descendants of specimens just like you. There are Zorks and Proones. Everyone is free.”
The Crabs had mostly gone into hibernation under One-oh-one’s order to be free, and a tiny few were active on the planet One-oh-one had given them. We had told them they were free to do as they pleased as long as they didn't cause trouble.
“THE SKY... I WANT TO SEE IT...”
“Alright. Let’s go together. I’ll figure out a way to move you, so just wait for a bit.”
“UNDERSTOOD...”
And just like that, the negotiation was settled.
Melissa and Claire were trembling beside me. Ren, however, looked delighted. “As expected of my husband,” she chirped.
“...What?” I asked.
“Y-you just resolved that with a conversation?”
“Well, there’s no reason to fight. It wasn’t an enemy to begin with.”
It had simply been trying to intimidate us. If strangers suddenly barged into your house, you’d be on guard, too. If it had attacked without warning, I would have had to kill it, but that wasn't how this went. There’s always room for a chat.
Melissa shuddered. “T-this is... a truly powerful person... They really do exist...” She looked strangely entranced for some reason. I didn't really get it, so I ignored her. Claire was also acting odd.
“S-too strong...”
What was with them? Oh well.
I turned back to the specimen. “Anyway, putting aside how to move you for a moment, do you know how to stop the pollutants?”
“DEEPER... HE IS THERE... DEFEAT HIM...”
“So there is a boss. And the source of the device is past him? By the way, who is ‘he’?”
“THE SHADOW OF ONE'S FORMER SELF.”
A Shadow of One's Former Self, huh? That doesn't sound very pleasant. If it’s just some worker who was left behind, that’s going to be heart-wrenching. I won't have the heart to fight.
“HE... CREATED ME...”
Alright, now I’m motivated.
“In that case, I’ll go take him down real quick.”
Time to get to work.