Veilbreaker! Oops I Bleed Again
Chapter 60: The Secret Room

Chapter 60: The Secret Room

"But I can only teleport one person at a time."

Deka, Bella, and Draven glanced at each other.

"We all need to go there," Deka said. "We must know the real purpose of why they are experimenting on the hybrids and the Verdants."

"Yes, we need to stop them!" Bella stood up.

"I know," Draven uttered. "And we will." Determination etched on his face.

Then he faced the teleporter.

"Take me first."

The teleporter nodded.

Then Draven turned to Deka.

"Stay here and watch over the Verdants for a while."

Deka nodded in understanding.

The armored teleporter placed a hand on Draven’s shoulder.

And in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

—

A heartbeat later, Draven reappeared inside a long tunnel.

It was the same passageway they had used when they traveled by cart.

Draven stretched his arms, cracking his neck.

"Damn. That’s convenient. Wish I had a skill like that." He smirked. "Too bad you’re not a Verdant."

The armored man remained silent.

Draven turned toward the large metal door ahead.

"There you are!"

This was where they had found the secret room.

A room that only a few can enter.

A room that holds the reason why this lab was created.

A room where Draven hoped to find a clue about ’him’, the one Dex mentioned before dying.

Draven glanced at the teleporter.

"Go bring Bella."

The man, without saying anything, instantly vanished.

Alone, Draven approached the sliding locked doors.

The door looked like normal sliding doors.

Draven crouched, jamming his fingers into the gap between them.

With a grunt of effort, he forced them apart.

The doors groaned, metal grinding against metal.

As they finally slid open, Bella and the teleporter reappeared behind him.

"Right on time," Draven muttered.

The moment the doors fully opened, a massive ancient machine greeted them.

Rusting gears. Pulsating tubes. Large and small mechanical structures.

Scattered across the room were glowing stones with different colors embedded into the metal framework.

Draven narrowed his eyes and turned to the teleporter.

"What are these stones?"

"Lumirite stones."

Draven raised a brow. "First time seeing them. What are they for?"

"Usually, Lumirite stones are much smaller. They’re embedded into weapons to enhance their power."

Draven frowned. "But these aren’t on weapons."

The teleporter ran a hand across the machine’s surface.

"This is my first time seeing Lumirite being used this way," he paused. "I think they power these machines."

"I see. Like electricity... a power source. A battery for a car."

Draven’s gaze shifted downward.

Scattered on the floor were dozens of dim, dead Lumirite stones.

Their glow had faded as if they were completely drained.

Draven crouched, picking one up.

"These things don’t last forever, I think."

"Lumirite is often found in Deep Ruins, especially in Layer 2. Adventurers mine them and sell them for a high price."

Draven tossed the stone back onto the pile.

"That means the dim stones we saw underground were probably Lumirites, too."

Bella nodded. "Most likely."

Draven stood and continued scanning the room.

His gaze landed on the center.

There, a massive glass capsule stood tall.

It was identical to the ones near the exit.

Except that this one was empty.

The metal clasps that once held something inside were hanging loose.

The runes etched along its surface flickered weakly, as if it had been used recently.

Draven took a step forward, eyes narrowing.

"This thing was opened not long ago."

His gaze dropped to the floor.

A small puddle of liquid was still dripping from the edges of the capsule.

His jaw was clenched.

’Something was taken from here. And I think it’s related to ’Him’.

"Hey, Draven, look at this."

Bella’s voice pulled his attention to another chamber.

Draven stepped inside and stopped.

The room was filled with spindly mechanical contraptions.

Thin, needle-like drills lined the walls, stained with fresh blood.

Draven ran a finger across one of the needles, rubbing the wet blood between his fingers.

"This is fresh."

Bella’s voice was quiet. "They just used these...."

Draven’s eyes darkened. "They used Dex to buy time for their escape."

Bella nodded.

A deep frustration settled in Draven’s chest.

"I was hoping to find a heart or a brain here," he muttered.

Bella looked at him. "You think this is where they experimented on them?"

Draven nodded. "That was my guess."

But something still wasn’t clear.

Why were they doing this?

How were they doing this?

And what were they trying to create?

The more he uncovered, the less sense it made.

But one thing was certain.

They weren’t just creating experiments.

They were creating something stronger.

Something designed for war.

Draven exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Anyway, we have no reason to stay here anymore."

He turned to Bella. "We retrieved the Verdants. Our job is done."

Bella didn’t reply, but she didn’t look convinced.

"Something about this place still feels unfinished," she muttered. "Aside from that, they’re using Verdants for their inhumane experiments..." Her jaw was clenched.

"I know. But we have to go back," Draven replied.

Draven saw what he needed to see.

And Deka and the villagers were still back at the ruins, unguarded.

---

A few minutes later, they returned.

The night was silent.

Everyone was still asleep, even Deka, who had eventually succumbed to exhaustion.

Draven let out a sigh, glancing at Bella.

"By the way, how long can you keep him under control?"

He gestured toward the armored teleporter.

Using a skill continuously consumed stamina, and Bella had been maintaining it for a while now.

Bella rolled her shoulders.

"I still feel fine."

Draven nodded. "Think you can hold it until tomorrow morning? We need him to teleport us straight to town."

Bella thought for a moment, then nodded.

"I should be able to keep it active until noon. Since I’m activating it for one person only, it’s not draining me too fast."

Draven smirked. "Good."

Bella crossed her arms. "What about the others?"

Draven exhaled, rubbing his chin.

"I’m still thinking. We could go to Akhabara first or let Bryan lead them there. I’ll give him our map."

He paused, then frowned.

"But... I know it’ll be tough for him. He has no real experience traveling through this forest."

Bella nodded. She understood the risk.

For now, the camp remained peaceful.

Draven walked over to Deka, shaking him gently.

"Wake up. Your turn to keep watch."

Deka groaned, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

Draven smirked.

Then, without another word, he lay down, finally allowing himself to sleep.