Chapter 54 - Hate

"Can we handle them?" Teresa asked.

Wain nodded, "Of course, they're nothing more than insects. We're lucky we'll be fighting in the corridor."

The next moment more than twenty mutants noticed Wain's presence and ran toward him. Teresa and Epta prepared for battle, but Wain paced relaxedly forward. 

He could fight these mutants for a long time by shredding them with Destruction Sword, but he could take advantage of the territorial advantage and kill them all at once.

When the distance between the mutants and Wain was reduced to ten meters, he stood as if he was preparing to run a marathon. Wain bent down and put one foot forward. Teresa and Epta looked at him puzzled, but then electric shocks began to appear across Wain's body.

Then Wain turned into blue lightning and flashed through the crowd of mutants. The force of the electrical discharge was enough to tear the mutants' bodies apart and flood the walls of the white corridor with scarlet blood.

In just one movement, Wain killed a huge number of mutants. Had they not been in the corridor, Wain would not have been able to do so. But since the mutants were attacking him from one direction, he decided to use the most appropriate skill for the situation.

Wain slowly made his way toward the massive, white door behind which were the other two mutants. Crimson blood dripped from his black cloak, leaving bloody trails behind him.

Teresa and Epta glanced at each other, then ran after him. They were ready for a fierce battle, but Wain handled everything quickly and efficiently.

"Epta, are you sure your friends are there?" Asked Wain pointing to the white door.

The girl nodded.

"Good," Wain answered briefly, and with all his might, punched the door with his fist. However, he could not kick it open. Moreover, there was hardly any damage left on the door.

"What kind of material is this? Even a shot from a tank couldn't penetrate this door." Wain said in amazement.

"I'll destroy it." Suddenly Teresa said and stood in front of the door.

Wain stepped aside and looked at Teresa curiously. He was curious to see what this girl was capable of. She had never used a skill before.

Teresa put the rapier in front of her and closed her eyes. She was focused, and Wain could feel her aura increase. Then Teresa's hand turned into a blur, and in a split second, the rapier's blade slammed into the door. Her attack wasn't very powerful, but it was incredibly fast.

"Not bad," Wain said briefly, watching as many cracks appeared on the door.

Teresa drew her weapon to the side and lightly struck the door as if knocking on it. At the same moment, the door shattered into many pieces, and the passage was opened.

Wain, Teresa, and Epta went inside. There they met the remaining mutant girls. Just as Epta had said, there were eleven of them and twelve with her.

"Number-07? Who's that?" One of them asked cautiously. Outwardly she was not much different from an ordinary girl, except for one important detail. She had a third eye, with a sharp pupil like a cat's.

Epta happily ran to her and hugged her.

"I was afraid I wouldn't see you again. This is Wain and Teresa, they helped me get here, and they also want to help you." Said Epta.

"What's your name?" Asked Wain turning to the girl with three eyes.

"Number-02." The girl answered cautiously. She had long, blue hair and green eyes.

"Now, your name is Dyo. Is there anyone else here besides you?" Wain asked.

He wasn't going to question these girls about what was done to them and what they had experienced. It was all obvious. Moreover, Wain assumed that each girl was treated differently.

Epta had monster-like hands and feet with sharp claws, Dyo had a third eye and yet unknown abilities to Wain. One of the girls had wings like an angel. 

Another had her whole body covered in thin scales like a snake. Some had sharp, blade-like growths growing out of their backs, some had several rows of sharp teeth. Each of the girls was unique in some way.

Dyo nodded and said, "No, all the girls are here, luckily we were able to survive, unlike the boys..."

Dyo didn't know what was happening behind the door, but she could see the tattered corpses lying behind Wain. She didn't blame Wain, as she understood that the boys had lost their minds and even tried to kill them.

Wain looked around and saw a passage to another room in the distance, but an energy barrier blocked it.

"What is in there? Why is the entrance blocked?" Wain asked.

Dyo and the other girls' faces darkened, and she said, "That's where they are... When the fighting started, they quickly ran into the most protected sector and hid there."

Wain nodded and headed toward that passageway. When he got fairly close, he focused on the energy of the World of Darkness.

'Most likely, that room is the last one in this lab, and it looks like that's where the spatial rift is. Anyway, I wanted to see the people who managed to turn people into mutants anyway.'

"Is there any way to destroy this barrier?" Wain asked.

Dyo shook her head, "We've tried, but it's too strong. What's more, it's plasma. If you touch it, your hand will turn to ash."

Then Dyo's third eye opened, and one of the boxes in the room flew into the energy barrier. Her ability was telekinesis.

"I totally forgot to ask, did you all get souls?"

The girls were surprised by his question but nodded. Wain nodded satisfactorily. He was glad that his theory was correct.

'I need to send these girls to Gisle, but to do that, they have to start trusting me, at least a little bit. All right, then, that's what we'll do.' Thought Wain.

"Epta, Dyo, and the rest of you, I just want to ask you one question." Wain then pointed his hand toward the energy barrier and smirked, "You want to tear these bastards to shreds and make them experience suffering that is forbidden even in hell?! I expect a simple answer from you!"

His voice was powerful and strong. From Wain came a clear intent to kill and a genuine desire to destroy everything around him.

This awakened a feeling in the girls concealed by fear. They once again felt a rush of hatred on an incredible scale, pure and merciless.

At that moment, Wain felt an eerie chill, but it came not from the girls but the corner of the room. It seemed to Wain that there was pitch-black darkness there. 

When he looked closely, he saw that a girl with short black hair and blue eyes was sitting there.

Outwardly she didn't look much different from a normal person, but below the elbows, her hands were dark, and strange energy emanated from them in a plume.

"Who are you?" Asked Wain turning to this girl.

"Number-00, what name will you give me?"

Wain approached the girl and looked intently into her azure eyes.

"You are special. Your hatred knows no bounds, and the darkness emanating from you is comparable to the emptiness of purgatory. Your name is now Zero!" Wain proclaimed.

"Will you kill them?" Asked Zero.

Wain smiled broadly and said, "They will beg for mercy, but the right to kill them, I will leave to you."

Zero nodded, and Wain headed for the energy barrier. He summoned the Destruction Sword and tried to cut through the barrier. But like Dyo had said, doing so was problematic.

The Dark Sword melted instantly, even though the material the sword consisted of was solid.

Wain nodded and stepped back. Usually, it would have been impossible to get through this barrier, but Wain had a different opinion. 

He looked in which direction the passageway went and then put his hand against the wall, after which he began to beat furiously at one point.

He didn't need to go through the barrier or disable it in order to go forward. He could simply use his inhuman strength and make a passageway in the wall. 

The materials this room consisted of were reinforced, but with enough strength, they could be broken through.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

With each blow of Wain, the room shook, and sturdy pieces of stone flew aside. Teresa and the mutant girls didn't think Wain would have such an unusual and primitive solution to the problem.

After about a minute, Wain slapped his palms together, shaking off the dust, and said, "Done!"

Teresa instantly headed after him. The mutant girls hesitated for a while, but when they saw Zero follow Wain, they decided and follow her.

Zero was the strongest of them all. Unlike the other girls, she was always dressed not in a white robe but black. This once again emphasized her high compatibility with darkness.

As they walked down the long corridor, she approached Wain and asked, "What do we need these souls for? What does it mean?"

"It's simple. Kill one monster, they are outside this lab, and you activate your Soul Altar and get your soul's ability and the corresponding effects. It's not complicated. You'll figure it out on your own."  Wain replied.

Zero just nodded silently. She was as confused as the others. Too many different things had happened in the last few hours. Moreover, unlike the people in the city, she and the other mutant girls do not yet know what happened to the world. 

However, they have been in this laboratory since birth. For them, the new world after the apocalypse would be the only one they have ever seen.

Wain asked, "Zero, what soul did you get, and what is it Rating?"