Leo's breathing had already become uneven.
His body was tied tightly to the metal table, wrists and ankles restrained by thick enchanted chains. The smell of blood and burned flesh filled the room so heavily that even breathing felt painful.
The assassin stood beside him calmly, writing notes into a small black notebook.
Leo forced himself to speak.
"How… do I regenerate?"
The assassin glanced at him.
"A good question."
He slowly pushed a syringe into a tray beside him.
"Normally, your regeneration is actually very slow. Painfully slow. So I injected a special drug into your body. It boosts magical energy production and accelerates regeneration."
He leaned closer, observing Leo's trembling body with fascination.
"But honestly… I'm impressed."
Leo's dry lips moved slightly.
"...What do you mean?"
The assassin smiled faintly.
"You're still mentally stable despite the side effects."
Leo's eyes narrowed weakly.
"Side effects…?"
"I don't think answering that is necessary."
The assassin picked up a long metal rod.
Leo's expression changed instantly.
The tip of the rod slowly began glowing red.
No fire magic.
No spell circle.
The metal simply heated itself until the tip became bright crimson.
The assassin stared at the burning rod with excitement.
"Now then… let's proceed to the next test."
His voice became quieter.
"I wonder what happens if I thrust this direct into your eyes."
Leo's face turned pale.
But he couldn't move.
Couldn't resist.
Couldn't even scream properly anymore.
The assassin grabbed Leo's head—
—and thrust the burning rod directly into his eye.
A horrifying scream echoed through the underground laboratory.
Pain exploded through Leo's skull.
It felt as if molten lava had been poured directly into his brain.
His body convulsed violently against the restraints while the smell of burning flesh spread through the room.
Then—
VRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!
A chainsaw roared behind the assassin.
Before he could react—
SCHKKK!!
His body split into two pieces.
Blood scattered across the room.
The assassin collapsed to his knees, barely alive long enough to look behind himself.
A shadow stood there silently.
The assassin smiled weakly.
"I knew it…"
His body slowly began turning into dust.
Leo's regeneration finally restored his destroyed eye.
His blurry vision returned little by little.
The restraints were gone.
The assassin's body was gone too.
Leo tried standing up—
—but immediately lost balance and collapsed onto the floor.
His limbs barely responded anymore.
Even his vision had started becoming distorted.
"I think… that drug…"
His sentence never finished.
His eyes closed.
But it wasn't because of the drug.
His phone battery had finally run out.
Leo had fallen asleep.
—
A few minutes later.
The assassin quietly stepped back into the room.
Completely unharmed.
He stared at the unconscious Leo silently.
"Tch."
He lifted Leo onto his shoulder.
"For now, I can't afford to get caught."
Then he disappeared into the darkness.
—
At the same time.
Null and Lana finally arrived at the laboratory.
The first thing Lana noticed was the phone lying on the floor.
Covered in blood.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She quickly picked it up and pressed the button.
The screen stayed black.
"Why isn't it turning on…?"
Her voice trembled.
"Brother… is Leo okay?"
Null looked around the blood-covered room calmly.
"Yes."
Lana looked at him immediately.
"He's still alive."
Null's eyes narrowed slightly.
"To kill Leo permanently, his phone must be destroyed."
He pointed toward the silent device in Lana's hand.
"And this phone didn't teleport back into his pocket."
That meant only one thing.
"He's nearby."
The room looked like a slaughterhouse.
Blood covered the floor.
The walls.
Even the ceiling.
And both of them knew whose blood it was.
Leo's.
They searched the room carefully but found nothing except more blood stains and another large metal door hidden behind the laboratory.
Null opened it.
Beyond the door was a staircase descending deep underground.
Very deep.
Without hesitation, they began going down.
Step after step.
Until they finally reached the bottom.
A massive underground basement spread before them.
There were no rooms.
No cells.
Only a gigantic open space supported by enormous pillars disappearing into darkness.
Yet somehow—
both Null and Lana could see clearly.
Null scanned the underground area silently.
"For finding him, we need to split up."
Lana immediately frowned.
"But—"
"I'm going straight."
Null cut her off before she could finish.
"You go left."
Lana hesitated.
But eventually nodded.
"…Okay."
The two separated.
And the darkness swallowed them whole.
—
Meanwhile.
Deep within the underground basement—
the assassin carried the unconscious Leo over his shoulder.
Then—
A hand suddenly touched his other shoulder from behind.
The assassin instantly turned around.
And froze.
Leo stood behind him.
Completely unharmed.
No injuries.
No blood.
No missing flesh.
Perfectly normal.
But the real Leo was still unconscious on his shoulder.
The assassin narrowed his eyes.
Then—
BANG!!
Another figure suddenly appeared from the side and punched the standing Leo across the face.
The impact sent him crashing across the floor.
That attacker was—
That was the same assassin.
Without hesitation—
BANG!!
A bullet pierced the fake Leo's head.
The body immediately began turning into dust.
The assassin carrying Leo stared coldly at the disappearing remains.
"I know what you're doing."
Another assassin emerged from the darkness.
Then another.
Three assassins now surrounded the area completely.
"I just want to know how."
The original assassin threw unconscious Leo onto the ground.
All three pulled out their guns simultaneously.
BANG!!
BANG!!
BANG!!
BANG!!
Bullets rained endlessly into Leo's body.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Blood spread across the cold underground floor.
Then suddenly—
Leo's phone screen lit up.
Bright red.
And in the darkness of the underground basement—
something opened its eyes.