Damien's figure appeared on a rooftop far away from Audrey Price's lab. Despite the fact that he had the key, he still had to be cautious.
Surveillance was strictly forbidden within the labs for various reasons, but any areas attached to the lab would be heavily surveilled. It was almost impossible to sneak inside without being noticed.
And although Damien didn't have to worry about this problem as much due to his skill set, it didn't mean he was completely free from it.
His spatial abilities, at least in terms of travel, depended heavily on awareness.
His awareness was a medium by which the spatial layers could connect to him. His body became part of a circuit through which he could move with the utmost ease. Naturally, as his awareness spread further and his perception weakened, his accuracy in moving would also decrease.
This synergy with the spatial layers was the reason why Damien's awareness could span such a vast range when his strength and mental power hadn't yet reached that level.
But this method was also somewhat flawed. Because of the heavy security in the walls surrounding the lab, his awareness couldn't directly penetrate inside.
There was a reason why Evotech was so assured of its security.
'It's still possible, but I'll have to get in close to do so.'
Damien furrowed his brows and surveyed the area carefully, taking note of the positioning of every nearby camera. His goal was to find blind spots.
But of course, a massive corporation like Evotech wouldn't leave such an easy way out. Damien clicked his tongue when he realized it. 'Looks like I'll have to do this the hard way.'
His figure flashed away, his body swimming through the spatial layers with ease. All of a sudden, his finger moved, flickering with black lightning. Under his fine control, the lightning split into four strands that each moved in separate directions, still submerged in the spatial layers. Until…
Bzzt!
Damien removed his control, letting the lightning enter the Real Plane once more. The second it did, the four strands flew into four nearby cameras, sending a shock through them and temporarily stalling their circuits.
'It's convenient. They use a combination of electricity and mana, essentially being a far more evolved variant of earth. Because of this, old tricks still come in handy.'
As Damien thought, he exited the spatial layers directly outside the lab's wall. His body was only in view of four security cameras that had already been stalled. Knowing this, Damien put his hand up to the wall and concentrated.
What he was trying to do wasn't as related to spatial movement as his usual skills, but it was still somewhat related. The main player in this case, however, was vector control.
Damien connected himself to a new circuit. He sensed around him for the vectors relating to the wall. His senses went inward and located his personal vectors as well.
His goal? Vibration.
Through precision control of the surrounding vectors, Damien heavily vibrated the molecules in the wall, doing the same for his body as well. When their frequencies finally aligned, he plunged straight into the wall, rapidly swimming through it and coming out the other side.
"Fwah!" Damien let out the breath he'd been holding. The stunt he just attempted was far too terrifying even for him.
Though, once he was around halfway through the wall, his awareness was able to penetrate the rest, so he was guaranteed safety regardless.
After taking a few moments to steady his breathing and heart rate, Damien finally looked around the lab.
'As expected, there's nothing on the surface.'
Damien already expected it. That was half the reason he grabbed the access card after killing Aubrey Price.
As for the other half…
A red light coated the lab. An artificial voice began speaking nonsense about procedures. Before things could escalate, Damien swiped the access card through a nearby scanner, completely halting the ongoing emergency procedures.
Even if he hid his traces, he couldn't yet hide his presence completely. As long as he was physically present, a specialized system like this could notice him.
But that didn't matter anymore. As Damien scanned the access card, the floor of the lab opened horizontally, giving way to a descending staircase that looked ominous at just a single glance.
Without hesitation, Damien descended it. Regardless of the eerie atmosphere, this was exactly what he came to see.
***
"As expected, it's disgusting."
When Damien finally reached his intended destination, those were the first words out of his mouth.
It had to be known, after descending the staircase, he had to maneuver himself through what seemed to be an array of sewer tunnels before he could arrive at the large underground space that constituted the hidden lab.
If it wasn't for his All-Seeing Eyes' ability to see through all illusions, he'd have gotten lost in that sewer maze for eternity.
But now that he was here, frankly, he was underwhelmed. Because what he saw was exactly what he expected.
Countless rows and columns of 10-foot tall tubes filled with viscous liquid. Within that liquid were specimens of the experiment.
Some still retained some humanoid form, and some lost it entirely, becoming monsters. As for others, they were still comatose, yet to be used as experimental subjects.
"AHHHHHHHH! PLEASE STOP!"
A distant scream of terror and pain rang out. Damien's gaze followed it, locking onto a sturdy metal door at the end of the hallway.
Most likely, past there was where the actual experimentation was done.
Damien pondered on it. The only concealment skill he knew was the one he borrowed from Zara, but this place was filled with bright light despite its dreary appearance, to traverse shadows to enter that room was impossible.
But it wasn't like he didn't have any other means. It was just that he didn't want to deploy these means at all, or even consider them means in the first place.
Yet, in the current moment, he had no choice. He needed to understand what was happening in that room.
Damien sighed and connected his consciousness to the Sanctuary, forcefully teleporting out a few specific beings.
Kyu?!
Kyu! Kyu!
Kyuu~
A small group of flickering green lights appeared in front of Damien. Naturally, these were some of the wind elemental spirits that formed along with the Sanctuary.
Kyu?
They looked at Damien as a collective, curiously circling around him.
But even as they did, Damien was sweating.
These elemental spirits were incredibly obedient. They viewed him as their creator, and would even directly kill themselves if he desired.
However, that didn't mean anything. There was a hidden danger in utilizing the elemental spirits in dangerous situations.
Even now, perfectly prepared to give them the order, Damien couldn't help but hesitate.
Could he face the consequences if one of them died? It was his neck on the line if they were injured in any way!
The problem was quite simple, yet infinitely complicated at the same time.
After all, these elemental spirits were little Xue'er's children. If one of them was so much as slightly injured, he'd surely meet his doom to her wrath.
Because Xue'er's wrath…was truly terrifying.
