Chapter 102: Clinic Underground (1)
Reinhard stood frozen behind his column, those words echoing through his mind with terrible familiarity. Doing unsavory things and joining despicable groups to generate enough gold to take care of your family.
His eyes closed involuntarily before images surfaced that were unwanted but undeniable. He saw himself standing in rooms where people were tied to chairs with pools of blood down below.
He recalled chasing targets through night streets, knowing what awaited them when caught.
Watching people smash stores apart while flames consumed the wreckage, all for territory disputes or revenge that had nothing to do with justice.
He has been through a lot for gold, for survival, for Anna and Klein. These teenagers were doing the same. Even with the different circumstances and different methods, it was the same fundamental desperation.
His eyes opened, refocusing on the present.
The silence broke. "Wait, it’s 9:40... Shouldn’t the person down below have come up to switch?"
A sigh. "They probably fell asleep. I’ll go get them."
Footsteps approached Reinhard’s position, then passed, and headed down a hallway. The sound gradually faded, becoming fainter until barely audible.
Now it’s the time.
Drasil Step.
Time slowed down again as Reinhard moved immediately, rushing from behind the column. He crossed the waiting area in silence, passing through the middle of the frozen teenagers without disturbing the air around them.
The hallway ahead stretched empty.
Reinhard spotted the person who’d left, a young man wearing black shoes, dress pants, a beige short-sleeved shirt, and a cap pulled low. He was frozen mid-stride, one foot raised, and his posture casual.
He moved past the young man, finding a recessed doorway that would provide cover. He positioned himself there before time returned to normal as three seconds fully passed.
The young man continued walking, completely unaware he’d been passed, and his footsteps echoed off the hallway walls.
Reinhard followed at a distance, keeping to shadows and doorways that would break his silhouette if the man happened to glance back. But the teenager never looked as his attention focused forward while he kept his hand in his pocket.
The young man turned with Reinhard following to see the hallway, revealing another corridor lined with doors. Most were labeled, such as Examination Room 3, Storage, and Staff Break Room. But one door at the corridor’s end bore no label, distinguished only by being slightly larger than the others.
The young man stopped at that door and then took out a key. He put the key inside before opening, and then he pushed open the door as he walked inside. Reinhard moved immediately to the door, pressing his ear against its surface. He heard the sound of the elevator mechanism, metal cables moving through channels, gears engaging, and the hum of descent.
Drasil Step.
Reinhard opened the door in slow time, revealing a small room containing only an elevator shaft. The elevator itself was already descending, visible perhaps six feet below the threshold. Its roof showed a maintenance hatch that was currently closed but designed for access.
Reinhard didn’t hesitate as he rushed forward and dropped through the shaft opening. The frozen time meant no sensation of falling, just deliberate movement through space. His boots contacted the elevator’s roof with a silent impact.
The maintenance hatch had a simple latch. He opened it carefully, revealing the hole into the elevator’s interior below. The young man stood inside, frozen mid-motion as he pressed the button for whatever floor awaited below.
Reinhard positioned himself above the opening and released Drasil Step, and time returned to normal.
The elevator continued its descent with smoothness. The young man inside muttered to himself, completely unaware of the passenger on the roof above.
"These night shifts always suck. Why couldn’t Lord Phineas just do these things in the Bolner Storage buildings or Mekhko Research Centers..."
The complaint trailed off into grumbling as the elevator continued descending for what felt like far longer than a single floor should require. Twenty seconds, and then thirty passed as the clinic apparently had extensive underground facilities.
Finally, the elevator slowed and stopped with a slight jolt. Doors opened, and the young man stepped out with his footsteps receding.
Reinhard dropped silently through the maintenance hatch and landed in a crouch. He slipped through the closing elevator doors with inches to spare, then pressed himself against the wall.
The underground space opened before him, which was far larger than the clinic’s above. There were gas lamps down here that illuminated everything in gold.
And then Reinhard blinked as he saw cages.
Dozens upon dozens of cages were in front of him.
Reinhard’s blank stare swept across the scene, his mind struggling to process the scope. Each cage was perhaps ten feet square, constructed of thick metal bars that looked reinforced beyond normal necessity.
Inside the cages were Phantasm Beasts sleeping.
Reinhard saw the Werefangs with their fur skin, the Bear Terror with their armored hides, and the Tonothus that he and the others had encountered in the Monster Zone. Others he didn’t recognize, such as the reptilian forms, insectoids, and other things that defied easy classification.
They were all here sleeping and captive.
And this was just from this angle.
The space extended beyond his current view, suggesting even more cages, more creatures.
One thought appeared in Reinhard’s mind with absolute clarity. What the hell is Phineas planning?
Reinhard furrowed his brows, his mind already calculating risks and options. The Phantasm Beasts before him represented both immediate danger and valuable intelligence about Phineas’s plans.
But staying meant exposure, and exposure meant complications he couldn’t afford. He began moving with his footsteps silent against the cobblestone floor. The cages stretched in rows throughout the vast underground space, creating natural corridors between them.
Sleeping Phantasm Beasts filled each one, some curled tight, others sprawled across cage floors, and all of them slumbered with no signs of waking up.
Another cage held a Bear-Terror, its massive bulk barely fitting within the enclosure. The armored hide covered its body in overlapping plates, while its breathing was slow, each exhale creating condensation in the cool underground air.
Reinhard continued deeper, navigating by the layout he’d glimpsed from the elevator, looking for anything resembling an administrative space.
Then his eyes widened as he saw a structure appear ahead. It had actual walls rather than bars, a door rather than a gate, and windows showing interior illumination.
An office.
Reinhard approached carefully, checking for guards or workers, but the area appeared empty, attention was likely focused elsewhere in the facility. He tested the door handle and raised a brow when he saw it was unlocked.
Either security down here relied on the location’s secrecy, or they simply didn’t expect anyone to infiltrate this deep.
He slipped inside, closing the door softly behind him.