Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

30. Wager With The Devil

"Hello, dear felines," a man in a lab coat greeted us with a small smile on his face. There was something about him that didn't sit right with me.

I blinked again, unable to believe my eyes were seeing what they were seeing. The group of ladies who were supposed to have been kidnapped was here...wearing lab coats with cat ears and tails and walking about the facility. Aside from that, we saw that there were capsules containing ogres and robots, which explained why the ones we battled outdoors were a lot more powerful than the usual ogres. They were really being modified. But that is not the point! A large banner with the words "cat paradise" and a pair of hearts hangs over the entrance.

I fixed my gaze on the guy in front of me. He looked beautiful, on par with Blake and Dylan in terms of appearance. He didn't seem to be as creepy as I had imagined him to be. But he exuded strength and grace, and I was taken aback by his presence. What took me by surprise more is his fetish for cats, though. Aside from the fact that there was a gorgeous man in front of me, everything around me was too much for me to comprehend. He was pretty...and that was the only thing that I could understand. But what in the world is this...?

"Please allow me to introduce myself, mademoiselle..." he trailed off as he smirked at me. "Kalix Davis, the future proprietor of Artemia."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

This man continues to astound and amaze me! First and foremost, the cats and his whole laboratory! Now he claims to be the owner of this realm in the future? My mouth dropped as I glanced at him, but he quickly closed it with a chuckle. What the hell is going on with this guy?! He seems to be in decent shape, but I get the impression that he is missing a screw in his head. Because of the way he was behaving, I'm beginning to forget about his physical appearance.

I sighed as I shook my head, finally snapping out of my reverie. "I don't f*****g understand a word you say."

He chuckled as he brushed what I said off. "I've been looking forward to seeing the four of you," Kalix began as he smiled at me.

"You're talking about the four of us, but you're only looking at our leader here," Dylan pointed out with a blank expression.

"You what? How the f**k did you know about us, and why the hell are you waiting for us? You're not one of the three kings, are you?" Blake asked, sounding hostile.

Kalix displayed a disgusted expression on his face. "That's so f*****g disgusting, you jerk. Please don't put me in with the losers of the world."

"Losers? Is it appropriate for you to say that? Isn't it possible that they'll kick you out?" I asked, my voice filled with concern.

He had a sly grin on his face. "I've already kicked myself out of the system."

"Wait, what?!"

"Please allow me to explain this whole scenario to you," he said, an arrogant grin pasted on his face. "We are not participating in a game. This location is physically in another dimension. In other words, we're in a parallel dimension to the one we are in. But the participants were bound by a spell that gave them the impression that they were still in virtual reality, which they were not. Because of my superior intellect, I was able to release myself from the said spell."

"How is it even possible?" I asked.

Kalix looked up, pretending to think about what he was about to say. "First and foremost, I've come here in the hopes of destroying the system that has been believed to be capable of locking the awareness of gamers inside it. You may wonder why. For the simple reason that it is intriguing. And then I found myself trapped here, so I set out to discover a means to get out as quickly as possible."

"And what did you find...?" I asked because he stopped talking.

"Just a little research. Unbeknownst to everybody, there was a prison underneath the dungeon that the kings had mistakenly neglected. You'll find information about the history of Artemia, old spells, and how to remove certain curses and spells there."

"And you discovered something that they had missed..." I whispered under my breath.

Kalix smiled as he held my chin, his face close to mine. "As I've already said, I'm a genius. Now I want the four of you to work together to bring those rulers to justice. They must be humbled. I want the four of you to bring them down to their knees."

Even after hearing a few protests from behind me, I didn't back down or retreat. It seemed like my ego was on the line. Even though Kalix's attractive face was directly in front of me, I resisted the temptation to get distracted by it. I can see how amused he was because of my refusal to back down. Boy, he even tried to go closer. I didn't move because I didn't want to seem weak in the face of his overwhelming amount of power. He chuckled and stood properly as he fixed his coat.

"f*****g hell..." I heard Blake mumble.

"You said that you want the four of us to humble the kings, right? So, you've been waiting for us so that you can use us as weapons?"

He made a chuckling sound. "Please excuse my impudence, Your Highness."

Shiro snarled at him, and it was then that I realized what this man was up to. I hushed Shiro and placed him on my lap to calm him down. We may be able to take advantage of Kalix's offer in order to reach the top. If he is aware of Artemia's background, we will be able to exploit him to our advantage. He's free to do the same, but I'll make sure he understands where he belongs.

My understanding of what occurred with Artemia a few decades ago is beginning to form, but I want to double-check everything myself. If Kalix can do it, then I must be able to do it as well. If I could do that, I'd be able to confront the kings without hesitation. But I can't stand by and let him take advantage of us without receiving something in return. We'll work on convincing him to put his faith in us for the time being.

"However..."Kalix murmured as he turned his back on us. "First and foremost, I must prove my allegiance. I believe that if we are to build an alliance, we must first demonstrate that we are trustworthy, don't you think?"

I shot a brow upward in amusement at the absurdity of this situation. "Mm-hmm, you're absolutely right."

"Ivory..." Shiro called out my name as if it were a warning.

I flashed a sly smile, which he didn't like. "Believe me..." I whispered.

"All right, them," Kalix replied as he beckoned for us to look at the capsules. "These...are prototypes in the making. The ogres of Artemia are something I've been attempting to recreate with these objects. But I was running low on personnel, so I ordered them to kidnap the ladies of that town. Following the completion of my tests, I'll return them to the village."

"You f*****g liar," I replied with an empty chuckle.

"All right, I wanted a harem," he admitted at long last.

"Dude, what are you on to...?" Blake asked, his face contorted with disgust.

"Do not give me that expression while you are plainly fantasizing about your leader right here," Kalix replied with a blank expression.

I glanced at Blake to see if it was true. I was able to ascertain that he was telling the truth since he glanced away. This jerk! I looked at Kalix with furrowed brows, confused as to how he knew what Blake was thinking. What the hell? Don't that he has been keeping an eye on us all this time? Or maybe he has been doing such a thing. He probably knows everything by now.

Kalix went on to describe what he was attempting to accomplish by creating a laboratory under the mountain in any case. Yuki seems to have constructed a barrier between this mountain and the one behind it, which appears to be protecting them. It was intended to keep the kings at bay, and it was established as soon as Yuki died away. When Kalix realized this, he took advantage of the situation by establishing a hideout here.

"After the kings issued the order, hundreds of assassins went in pursuit of me. It was a terrifying experience. But anything or anybody who had anything to do with those three was barred from entering this place. Because this is the ogres' natural home, it was child's play for me to employ them as test subjects for my studies. I have no intention of leaving this place until the three idiots are dead in their sleep. That's all I desire. I couldn't care less about the game or the prize. If you'd like, I can assist you in breaking the magic that has bound the participants."

I gave it a lot of consideration. They granted me permission to remain quiet until I've decided whether or not to accept the offer. But I thought that if this were to occur, we might not be able to return to Earth, where our physical bodies are located. Everyone has been working really hard to achieve victory, and I don't believe I will be able to stomp on their efforts. Even though I'd prefer everyone to be able to return to Earth...

Kalix spoke again just as I was thinking. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I won't advocate that you upset the equilibrium."

"Asshole. Why did you suggest it in the first place?" I asked, annoyed.

He shrugged. "Well, it was a way for me to be able to do something for you in return."

"Ivory," Dylan called, so I turned to him. "Your stream of thinking might be twisted right now as a result of the shock. Don't make a decision for the time being. You can always ask him for a favor, especially given how eager he is to go to any length to ensure that we reach our goal."

Yes, it is something I observed as well. The other two looked at me as though they were trusting me to take care of things. It made me feel more pressure than I was already feeling! Despite this, I can't hold it against them. I'm the leader, so I have to do whatever a leader is supposed to do. Alright, then.

"I'll hold off on returning the favor for now. But your goal is to assist us in learning more about Artemia, so I'd want to ask you to expound a little more on that."

Kalix cracked a grin. "Unfortunately, I'm not able to just tell you about it. That would make everything very boring!"

I sighed as I caressed the bridge of my nose, realizing that I was starting to lose patience with myself. "Then, what do you want us to do?"

"Calm down, Your Highness," he said jokingly.

If only I could punch his gorgeous face, I would have done it long ago. He's been putting my patience to the test since earlier, and I'm not sure I'll be able to take it much longer. I looked at his face as I took a long breath, trying to decipher what was going on in his head. Shiro has never been this aggressive towards anybody. Thus, I have my doubts about his motives for doing this. If he does not trust Kalix, we cannot be certain that he will not do anything behind our backs.

"What I know is that there is a quest that will enable you to learn everything that has transpired here in Artemia. If you complete this mission, I can promise that it will definitely answer all the questions inside your head, but it may also end your lives," he rambled on, trying to tease me again. Although it was a half-meant joke.

"It doesn't make a difference to us."

"Alright, then. I'll go on to discuss the quest in more detail..." He fixed his gaze on one of the ladies working in the laboratory. "Tiffany! Locate the golden scroll on the third shelf and bring it here."

Tiffany rushed up to him and handed him the item. "Here, master."

Master...?

"Here is a map that will take you to the location where the quest is located. These holograms are not reliable this time around since they are created by the kings themselves. Because they were not permitted to enter, they could not create a map of the area. This scroll is the only road map that will get you there in the end. But if you get into any conflicts, it will not be of any use to you. You are tasked with tracking down the black panther that used to serve as Yuki's bodyguard. He is looking forward to seeing you. But even if you manage to recover his memories, he would not recognize you as the one who saved his life. You have no option except to kill him."

My mouth was hanging open. "I'm meant to assassinate Yuki's bodyguard? Isn't that too much?"

"Ivory, you're not going to murder him, I promise you. You are responsible for rescuing him from his predicament. He's been defending the only thing Yuki has left in this world for the past decades. If you are successful in obtaining it, all of his efforts will have been fruitful, and he will finally be at peace..." Shiro went into detail.

I gazed at him with sadness in my eyes. "I've already murdered two of Yuki's pals..."

"You are far too sentimental, Miss Ivory. You must let go of those sentiments in order to achieve your objectives."

"Right..." I whispered as I looked down, clenching my teeth out of stress.

"Now, choose. Will you save yourselves and go for a prolonged investigation, which will likely take you to a dead-end, or will you wager with the devil and risk your lives?"

"The latter, Ivory..." the three members who were standing behind me said.

Ah, I see now. Everyone is eager to go to any length to gain access to this very important knowledge. I glanced at Kalix, who seemed to be satisfied with what my team members had shared with him. Of course, it works to his advantage the most! But if I act displeased by the fact that he's getting more benefits, he'd find the situation more amusing...and I refuse to give him that.

I smiled and reached out to shake his hand. "Fine, but you'll have to make sure we have everything we'll need."