BXBX NOVEL Chapter 48 - Anne’s Diary (4)
Chapter 48 - Anne’s Diary (4)
“...”
I looked down at the fox nestled in my arms.
She was crying, her face buried in my chest, her red hair a mess.
I gently patted her trembling back with a steady hand.
Though she looked exhausted, there were no signs of injuries or evidence that she had been experimented on.
It seemed I had made it just in time to save her.
I quietly held her cold body in my arms.
Even with the little warmth I could offer, I hoped it would help her regain her peace of mind.
‘She must have gone through so much.’
Bergen Belsen.
How much pain had she endured in this laboratory?
In the real world, only a day had passed, but in this warped dimension, an entire week had gone by.
It was more than enough time to break her spirit.
[EP6. Bergen Belsen]
—The Lost Girl, The Monster That Can’t Cry—
This was one of the darkest episodes in the original story.
Its eerie and unpleasant atmosphere had made it one of the most polarizing storylines among players.
After all, it was inspired by a real historical tragedy.
It wasn’t the kind of content you could enjoy with a light heart.
‘I should have come sooner.’
It had been difficult to find, as this location wasn’t marked on any map.
Plus, it was situated beyond the Empire’s borders.
Luckily, the clues I’d gathered from the "Abandoned Laboratory" helped me track down this facility’s location.
That had been the only fortunate part.
“This was my fault.”
I hadn’t expected Irene to get caught up in this.
She wasn’t originally connected to this episode at all.
I thought everything would be fine as long as I prevented Regia’s kidnapping, but an entirely unforeseen problem had emerged.
I sighed quietly to myself.
“Miss Irene.”
“...Yeah.”
“By any chance, did you meet a girl named Anne while you were here?”
“...”
Her expression instantly froze.
As her black eyes welled up with fresh tears, I knew for sure.
‘So they met, after all.’
It was just that the character who experienced the episode had changed, but the details of the story seemed to have stayed the same.
In the original, the protagonist had also met Anne, marking the start of that storyline.
Irene gripped the sleeve of my robe with trembling hands.
She looked as though she was trapped in a terrible nightmare.
I quietly comforted her.
As I soothed her through her tears, a voice called from behind me.
“Captain.”
It was Neria.
She had stepped out to take care of the surrounding cleanup, and now she stood at attention, having completed her task.
The corpses of the guards were scattered throughout the corridor.
The other members were standing by as well.
They each stood in position, waiting for the next command.
It was time to move.
I whispered softly.
“Miss Irene, we’re going to clean out this lab now.”
“...”
“I’d like to tell you to rest, but... I have to ask. Would you like to come with us?”
“...I’ll go with you.”
“It won’t be something you want to see.”
“I know. But still.”
The fox slowly pulled away from my embrace.
Though her face was a mess from all the crying, the light in her eyes had not yet died.
Her gaze was filled with a transparent sorrow.
“There’s something I need to see for myself.”
Perhaps it was a lingering hope.
It seemed the girl couldn’t quite bring herself to let go of it.
“I respect your decision.”
I nodded.
This was her choice.
It wasn’t something I could force her to do.
I was nothing more than an extra who had shown up late, so I simply turned away and gave the order.
“Well then… let’s get started.”
As my white robe fluttered behind me, I walked toward the sealed door, the sound of the members’ footsteps neatly following behind.
The thick, oppressive bloodlust filled the corridor.
I murmured quietly.
“It’s time to fell some trees.”
It was time to chop down the evil that had taken root.
***
Bergen Belsen.
A laboratory where all kinds of inhumane experiments were conducted.
It was one of the main bases of the cult group Baob, and every year it was the site of countless massacres.
This facility was a pillar of the organization.
Its location was also a nightmare to deal with.
A wasteland surrounded it on all sides.
The terrain was not just rugged—it was brutal. It was a land no one would willingly set foot in.
Countless gorges cut through the landscape, and the lab was buried deep underground in one of the deepest of these canyons.
Because of this, no outsider could ever set foot in the facility.
Only those with permission could teleport in and out.
—If Belsen ever falls, it will surely be on the day the world meets its end.
It was an impregnable fortress.
The importance of Belsen was unparalleled.
Thanks to its warped time axis, it could produce results far more efficiently than any other research center, so there was no reason for the headquarters not to support it.
As a result, many personnel had gathered, despite the small size of the facility.
—This place holds enough power to easily crush a count’s family.
—If the research continues steadily like this... soon we’ll be able to bring a magnificent hell to the mortal world.
That was how the head researcher had evaluated it.
Over 300 elite personnel were stationed at the facility.
It was a level of force unmatched by any other branch of similar size.
No one imagined that Belsen would ever fall.
Everyone believed it would continue forever.
But…
“We’re under attack!! Unknown intruders have breached the facility...!”
“Shit!! How the hell did they get in?!”
“Gather the experimental data!!”
“Kyaaah!!”
In the end, a tree is just a tree.
It can only fall helplessly before a raised axe.
The facility was being butchered without mercy.
“Where are the guards?!”
“They’re all dead!! We’ve lost everything up to Lab 17!!”
“Who the hell are these people?!”
“Stay calm! Get ready to cast the defensive spells!”
“Damn it! Die!!”
White robes fluttered gracefully through the air.
The intruders, dressed in white, moved through the facility with practiced precision, ‘cleaning’ it as they went.
It wasn’t their first time.
Their movements were like a choreographed dance.
They dodged attacks with fluid grace.
With every sharp arc of a blade, the heads of the cultists fell, severed cleanly from their bodies.
They were wiped out without resistance.
“Those bastards, it’s like they can read our moves… Guh!!”
“Aaagh!!”
“The chief of staff has fallen!!”
“Contact... get in touch with Lab 83 and request backup!!”
“The signal’s not getting through! I think they’ve been taken out too!!”
“Dammit all!!!”
The scene resembled a massacre.
Corpses littered the floor.
And through this blood-soaked battleground, the intruders moved with calm, measured steps.
Thud, thud—
Their lofty figures were like white angels.
Their silver blades judged the wicked.
“This is insane... how is this happening…?”
“We can’t even fight back!!”
“Release the chimeras from the lab!”
“Fall back for now! Hold them off until the director gets here!”
Belsen’s reputation was in ruins.
At this moment, they were nothing more than cockroaches being stomped into the ground.
The black magicians retreated, abandoning the frontlines.
The news of the intruders eventually reached the demon.
“What did you just say?”
“I said it appears we have intruders in the facility, sir.”
“Intruders…?”
Yosef Cramer, the head of the research lab.
The man known as the Demon of Belsen murmured, as if the very idea were ridiculous.
With a dazed look on his face, the director let out a chuckle.
“Haha! Quite bold, aren’t they?”
“...”
“Where are the intruders now?”
“The last report said they passed Lab 37. They’re heading toward the lower levels.”
“Hm, toward the failures, huh?”
The director murmured with amusement.
The lowest level of Belsen. By coincidence, that was where his ‘masterpieces’ were kept.
Could they know that?
A wicked smile spread across the director’s face.
Whoooosh—!
As he clenched his fist, a dark red aura surged around him.
The energy of black magic tainted the air, thick and suffocating.
It was powerful enough to destroy the entire facility if he wished.
“We can’t let the rats run free, can we?”
The man rose from his seat.
His body pulsed with explosive power as he prepared to greet his guests.
His twisted grin stretched grotesquely wide.
“I hope this turns into a delightful work of art.”
The demon began to move.
***
Meanwhile.
Irene was racing down a flight of stairs.
“Haa, haa...!”
Her breathing was ragged.
The breath burning in her lungs felt like fire.
“Ugh...!”
Her vision blurred for a moment.
It was the result of the exhaustion she had accumulated over the past few days.
It felt like she could collapse at any moment, but each time she bit her lip and forced herself to keep going.
Her slender legs wobbled precariously.
All she held was a single sword.
For some reason, it felt heavier than usual today.
She fought off the dizziness pounding in her head, and then a voice she had overheard a few days ago echoed in her ears.
—What do you want to do with today’s failed experiments?
—Move them to the lowest level.
—Understood.
She had to go to the lowest level.
There was someone she needed to find.
If yesterday’s experiment had finished as expected, then the girl would be there.
Irene dashed down the stairs.
“Damn it, it’s an intruder!!”
“Stop her from getting down there!”
Occasionally, obstacles blocked her path.
Without hesitation, Irene swung her sword.
Sching! Crack—!
Her blade danced like a fierce whirlwind.
Even in her weakened state, her senses had become sharper in response to the danger.
Her eyes gleamed with deadly determination.
She pressed forward, stepping over lives that stood in her way.
Shhk—!
Once again, she cut down an enemy.
As the crisp sound of a clean cut echoed behind her, a tremor ran through her fingers.
Her vision flickered.
“Ugh, haa…!”
But Irene didn’t stop.
She kept slashing.
When an opponent was too strong for her to handle, the boy beside her stepped in.
“Well now… we’re a bit busy at the moment!”
Snap—!
With a snap of his fingers, the guard in their path vanished.
He crumbled into a pile of ash.
For a long while, the fox’s desperate sprint continued.
And finally.
“...”
Irene reached the lowest level.
A vast space opened before her.
Rows of iron bars lined the area, reminding her of the underground slave pens where countless beastfolk had been held.
—Sniff, hehe... Your hands are warm, Sis.
Here.
There was someone she had to find.
Thud—!
Irene rushed through the rows of iron bars.
The air was cold in the underground space.
What lay behind the bars were none other than the ‘failures.’
<Kiiiik—!>
<Krrk, krrr—?>
<Aah… ughhh…>
They had once been human, but could no longer be called such.
They were the twisted byproducts of grotesque desires.
Irene desperately scanned her surroundings.
She hoped to find what she was looking for.
And yet, at the same time, she wished she wouldn’t find it here.
It was a sorrowful contradiction.
<Krrruuuk!>
<Hellohellohellohellohellohellohello?>
<Kyaaaah!!>
And then.
After wandering for a while longer, Irene finally found it.
A body lying in one of the cells.
“...Anne.”
She murmured the name.
But it felt ridiculous.
What lay beyond the bars was no longer the girl she had known.
Irene silently stared at the ground.
<Krrk… krik>
The lump of flesh that lay there.
It resembled a slime, but the reality was even more grotesque than words could convey.
Irene didn’t have the courage to describe what she saw.
“...”
Thud—
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.
The scene she had so desperately wanted to deny had become reality.
<Krrk…?>
The writhing figure of Anne.
Even though she had become a monster, it seemed her gentle nature hadn’t been lost.
She showed no hostility toward anyone.
And that only made Irene’s heart ache more.
“...Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
Her vision blurred.
Tears streamed down her cheeks, falling steadily.
It was a cruel despair.
“This is… just too much…”
She had known.
She had known this would happen.
It had been a tragedy waiting to unfold from the moment they were trapped in this hell.
But…
—Still, sometimes... isn’t it okay to hope for a miracle?
The words Anne had spoken to her had stayed with her.
And for a brief moment, Irene had wanted to believe in that same hope.
“Miss Irene.”
“I was… too late, wasn’t I?”
“You did your best.”
“What could a girl like her possibly have done to deserve this…?”
The world is unfair.
And it is cruel.
Each person is bound to the fate they were given, mere puppets dancing on the grand stage of life.
Sometimes, it made you wonder if life had any meaning at all.
“Miss Irene.”
But…
Even so, the reason people search for hope is—
“It’s not too late yet.”
Because sometimes, it’s okay for a miracle to happen.
“It’s too soon to be crying.”
“...What?”
Irene looked up at the boy, bewildered by his words.
There he stood, his narrow eyes smiling softly.
The serpent hummed in a low voice, as if singing.
“I’ve always liked happy endings.”
Thud, thud—
The boy walked toward the iron bars.
Before Irene could stop him, the serpent placed his hand on the slimy mass that was Anne’s body.
He muttered softly.
“Shatter.”
Shhhnk—!
A sound like glass breaking rang out.
At the same time, shadows curled around the girl’s body, quickly engulfing her.
“What are you…?!”
“Shh, quiet.”
Crrrk, crrk—
A strange noise echoed.
The silhouette hidden behind the shadows twitched and writhed.
After what felt like an eternity, the shadows crumbled into dust.
Irene couldn’t believe her eyes.
“A-Anne…?”
Inside the cell, a girl was sitting.
The girl she had so desperately been searching for.
The name she had held onto for the past few days sat there, unharmed.
Anne yawned softly.
“Yaaawn…”
Her eyes blinked sleepily, as if she had just woken up.
Rubbing at her eyes as if she were drowsy, the girl’s gaze met Irene’s.
“Huh? Fox Sis?”
“Anne…!”
Irene pulled the small girl into her arms.
The warmth of her body filled her embrace.
As the reality of her survival sank in, Irene’s tears began to fall once again, this time from the overwhelming emotion of it all.
Her cheeks flushed with the heat of her feelings.
“Hehe.”
The serpent watched the scene unfold quietly.
A wistful expression crossed his face.
Even though life may seem like one long tragedy.
Sometimes, even tragedies can be erased by a miracle.
And.
“Today, it seems I’m your miracle.”
For these two girls, that moment had finally arrived.