Chapter 131: Vid's Lab

Nexus sighed. "You are ambitious as always. Do you really think he is just going to jump over to our side?"

"In all honesty, I still don't know our chances." Marcus dryly chuckled. "But, I do know that there is. That is enough for me to try this."

Nexus nodded. "Alright, there's no rush. It looks like he has no plans on leaving the lab."

"I want this to be over as quickly as possible." Marcus arrived in front of the wall.

"Is this enough?" Nexus asked. He didn't know the range of which Marcus can open a portal.

Marcus shook his head. "Too far, we need to get closer. I'll port us nearer to the house, and when we're there, I'm sure I can send us to the lab where Vid is."

"We need to be quick," Nexus was slightly worried about the Preparation Stage experts in the surrounding, and also about the fact that they are doing this in broad daylight

"Fine," Marcus opened a portal in front of him. Vermilion-colored sparks were seen dancing inside of it. 

"Go," Marcus gestured to Nexus.

Nexus complied and jumped into the portal. This wasn't his first portal jump.

Marcus followed.

As they landed, their feet touched the soft green grass. Well-trimmed bushes stood erect on the sides with a few flowers blossoming close to them. A few meters away from them was the main house and right now they were close to one of its windows.

"Open another one." Nexus scanned the surroundings, checking if any of the guards were alerted.

Marcus once again opened a portal in front of them, a vermilion-colored slit started to appear. It then grew larger and larger. He then opened a portal a few meters below the house.

---

Vid, the round leader of the Strongwald family, looked at the table where a man was strapped. He walked to the table with a book in hand, his brows scrunched. 

"The Octopi created powerful soldiers by letting them train in the forbidden arts, but they still have the chance to betray the organization they are in," Vid mumbled. His voice was low but it resounded throughout the room.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The man who was strapped on the blue metallic table glared at Vid. 

"My dear nephew, you should keep your mouth shut when I'm thinking. You should never interrupt my thoughts." Vid calmly spoke as walked towards the man whose arms and legs were tied to the table.

He continued. "Now, how do you think are the Octopi's Java soldiers loyal to their organization?"

Kin stayed silent. He didn't reply to Vid's question, as he knew that the round man wasn't really asking him. Vid was asking himself.

"Is it money, power, fame?" Vid sighed. "If I could just get my hands on one of those Java's and I'll be able to understand."

He placed the book down. On the top page was the word Java, below it was a drawing, a clear drawing of a monster.

It had dark brown slimy-looking skin, thin eyes, a wide mouth that's full of sharp teeth, wide-body, and two long arms, with long silver claws. It had backward bent satyr's legs that also had claws on the toe area.

"No that's not it." Vid once again talked to himself. "It can't be power, nor can it be fame and money."

"A goal?" A voice sounded from the entrance.

Vid furrowed his brows. He didn't hear the doors open, and he knew that no one was here but him and Vid.

"It can't be a goal, some of their soldiers were kidnapped." The voice continued.

Footsteps quietly sounded.

Soon the round man could see a teen who had vermilion colored hair and eyes.

----

Marcus and Nexus landed on a grey-colored flooring. The walls were painted with a light blue color and there were shelves on the side, filled with jars, cylinders, and tubes. All of which had something inside. 

They both made sure they were hidden. They didn't have to try hard as the room wasn't exactly well lit.

"This guy is insane." Nexus' mouth didn't move. He sent the message telepathically.

"This, this is our guy." Marcus enthusiastically said, telepathically.

The two continued to look around. They could see opened books laying around, pieces of paper on the floor, and a human strapped to a table. They also saw Vid who was quietly reading a book while standing up.

They both quietly listened as Vid began speaking.

'So this is where Kin was thrown off to, rough.' Marcus thought as he got a clearer look at the man on the table.

"So what we fought last time were Java's?" Nexus spoke, telepathically.

"In the hot springs, yes. It looks like the Octopi have their hands in a lot of places." Marcus answered.

"No that's not it." Vid once again talked to himself. "It can't be power, nor can it be fame and money."

As the two heard this, Nexus tapped Marcus and said. "Quick, say something smart and go in."

Marcus nodded. He then slowly walked over to Vid.

"A goal?" Marcus asked. He could see Vid looking in his direction.

Marcus continued. "It can't be a goal, some of their soldiers were kidnapped." 

He could see the slight shock in Vid's eyes, as the round man saw his face.

"How did you get in?" Vid spoke, his eyes narrowed. He, of course, knew who this person was.

"That doesn't matter, does it?" Marcus stopped a few meters away from Vid.

"I could trigger an alarm just by using my watch, or better yet, I'll just deal with you myself." Vid clenched his fists. He couldn't understand how this kid got here. His senses didn't catch anything and his doors didn't even open.

"I wouldn't be too hasty if I were you," Marcus smiled. He wasn't the least bit afraid of the round man in front of him.

Vid quietly looked at Marcus, he didn't say a word.

"You don't need to be envious of the Octopi soldiers. They are the reason why I found out about your family's plan, and how your family was the main culprit of the sea monster event that happened recently." Marcus chuckled.

"Your point?" Vid's brows were still furrowed.

"Wow, it is true. You really don't care about the Strongwald's." Marcus walked closer.

Vid was stupefied at how calm Marcus was. It was as if the vermilion-haired teen didn't see him as a threat.

"What if I tell you that there is a chance to make better soldiers. Soldiers that will not betray the master. Greed, lust, pride, and everything will be wiped out of their systems." Marcus now stood beside the blue table where Kin lay.

"You!" The man on the table, Kin, glared at Marcus.

"Quiet, the adults are talking." Marcus placed his left hand on the table. Lightning danced around his arm. It then slowly flowed to the table, electrocuting Kin.

Marcus turned his head to Vid, who was standing close to him. "Now, where were we? Oh, soldiers being loyal, yes." 

"What are you talking about?" Vid was enticed. This was one of the areas he had been researching on. 

"Hahaha," Marcus got a tube from his spatial ring. He held the top part of it with his right hand and showed it to Vid. There was a paper placed on the tube close to the top. And on that paper, there was something written. 

'Excitement'

The round man looked at the tube with a puzzled expression. He was wondering what the vermilion-colored mist inside was.

There was nothing else inside aside from the vermilion-colored mist floating around. There wasn't even liquid inside.

"What is that supposed to be?"  Vid asked. It was as if he had already forgotten that Marcus was an unwelcome visitor in his lab. 

Marcus placed the tube close to Kin's mouth who was now slightly weakened and very much angry. 

He took the round cover on top of the tube and made Kin inhale the vermilion-colored mist.

Kin had no strength left to move, he just lay there with his arms and legs bound to the table.

Vid carefully watched. He then noticed a figure standing beside him. 

He jumped back as he turned to face the figure.

"You don't need to jump like a cat, I'm here with Marcus." Nexus smiled as he looked at Vid. He then turned his back to Marcus who was still standing beside Kin, waiting for the chaos spell in a bottle to work.

Vid coughed. He too turned his head back. "I don't see any changes."

All he saw was Kin laying down, it was the same as before.

"You have to wait for a bit, It usually takes a few seconds for this to work." Marcus placed the tube back into his pocket dimension.

It didn't take long before they heard faint laughter coming out of Kin. The laughter gradually became louder and louder.