Chương 37: The truth

Far in the distance, hidden among the rooftops, Hogsthawts watched the aftermath in silence. His eyes remained fixed on Mochi, Ace and Amelia.

"So... those three managed to defeat Soren even while he was under the influence of Zee." He smiled faintly.

"Hmm..." He folded his arms, thinking.

"I learned quite a lot from spectating this battle." His eyes narrowed with interest.

"With this information, I can perfect Zee." He paused.

"A substance capable of boosting one's physical abilities..." A quiet smile crossed his face.

"Without the drawback of turning the user into a rampaging brute." Hogsthawts looked back toward the ruined battlefield.

"The Hollow Seven may have been defeated..." He turned away.

"But their efforts were not in vain." His figure slowly disappeared into the shadows.

"After all... every experiment teaches me something." And then he vanished. - As the three walked through the deserted streets, Mochi suddenly spoke.

"So, I realized something..." Ace glanced at him.

"What?"

"Where do you think all the civilians went?" Ace shrugged.

"They probably evacuated. Maybe there's some kind of underground bunker where they can stay until this whole mess with Hogsthawts and the Hollow Seven is over." Mochi nodded.

"Ah, that makes sense. I guess if I was a normal person, I wouldn't wanna stick around here either." Amelia looked around at the empty streets.

"Hmm..." She narrowed her eyes.

"There has to be somewhere Hogsthawts is hiding." She paused.

"We can't sense his magic, so he must have some way of masking it." They continued walking. Mochi suddenly tripped over something. Ace sighed.

"C'mon, can't you walk on your own two feet?" Mochi sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, there was something there!" He looked down.

"A button?" Ace and Amelia crouched beside him.

"What the heck is that?" Ace asked. Amelia examined it.

"I don't know..." She pressed it. A mechanical voice suddenly spoke.

"Activating lift." All three froze. Mochi's eyes widened.

"Uh..." Ace looked around.

"What did it say?" Before anyone could react, the ground beneath them began descending.

"WHOA!" Mochi grabbed onto the railing.

"Where are we going?!" Ace held on tightly.

"Beats me! I'm asking the same thing!" Amelia looked down.

"We're going deeper underground..." The lift continued descending. Eventually, it came to a stop. The voice spoke again.

"Welcome to the laboratory." The doors opened. Mochi stared into the enormous underground facility.

"Wait a minute..." He looked at Ace. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Is this Hogsthawts' lab?!" Ace stared in disbelief.

"If it is... this place is huge." He looked at Mochi.

"I can't believe you discovered it by accident." Mochi chuckled.

"Hey, I'll take it." Amelia suddenly raised a finger to her lips.

"Shh." She looked deeper into the laboratory.

"We may not be alone." Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"We should try to make as little noise as possible." Mochi and Ace exchanged glances. Then both quietly nodded. The three stepped into the laboratory and began their investigation. The three moved deeper into the laboratory, keeping their voices low. The facility was enormous. Metal walkways stretched across the room, connecting different sections of the lab. Pipes ran along the walls and ceiling, with strange tubes filled with glowing liquids running through them.

Several machines were still operating despite nobody being around, their screens displaying unfamiliar symbols and readings. Mochi looked around.

"This place is creepy..." Amelia nodded.

"It's definitely a laboratory. And judging by how advanced this equipment is, Hogsthawts has been working on this for a long time." Ace suddenly stopped.

"Guys..." He pointed toward a row of enormous glass tanks. Inside were human-like bodies floating in thick liquid. Their bodies were horribly mutated. Some had enlarged limbs, others had strange growths across their skin, while some appeared to be only partially transformed. Mochi stared.

"Hey... doesn't this remind you guys of something?" Amelia's expression darkened.

"Yeah..." She looked at the tanks.

"That Soren guy from the Hollow Seven." She stepped closer.

"These must be incomplete versions." Ace clenched his fist.

"How could he do this?" He stared at the bodies.

"These are most likely innocent people..." Mochi looked around the laboratory.

"It must have something to do with his plan for world domination or something." He pointed toward the tanks.

"As we saw with Soren, their magic power seems to increase exponentially after taking whatever that stuff is." Ace looked at him.

"How do you even know the word exponentially?" Mochi folded his arms.

"Hey, I ain't an idiot, you know." Ace rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." Mochi looked around.

"Is there anything here that tells us what this drug is called?" They began searching through the laboratory. Ace checked the computers while Mochi searched the shelves and Amelia looked through cabinets and drawers.

"Nothing here."

"Same."

"Keep looking." After several minutes, Amelia opened another drawer. She suddenly froze.

"Guys..." Mochi and Ace turned toward her.

"I think I found something." She pulled out several notes.

"What does it say?" Mochi asked. Amelia began reading.

"It's called... Zee." She continued.

"A chemical used to enhance one's physical power and magic power." Ace stepped closer.

"Keep going."

"There are three types of Zee." Amelia scanned the page.

"Incomplete Zee. The easiest form of Zee to produce, but it comes with many drawbacks." She looked at the tanks.

"The user can transform into a monster and lose their sense of mind." Ace's expression hardened.

"That's most likely what Soren had." He looked away.

"He lost his mind... and his human form." Amelia nodded before continuing.

"Next is Semi-Complete Zee. This version is much harder to produce, but unlike Incomplete Zee, the user retains their sense of mind while still transforming into a monster." Mochi frowned.

"So there's an even stronger version?"

"Yeah, seems so..." Amelia turned the page.

"Last is Complete Zee." She paused.

"This is the variant the doctor has yet to successfully produce." Ace leaned closer.

"And what does it do?" Amelia read the final section.

"It has none of the drawbacks. It simply enhances the user's physical and magical abilities without transforming them or affecting their mind." The three fell silent. Mochi frowned.

"That's bad." He scratched his head.

"I mean, Complete Zee is good, but the process he's going through to make it is bad..." Amelia continued reading.

"There's more..." She looked confused.

"I built Robogenex to be able to continue my experiments even long after I cannot." Mochi blinked.

"Robogenex?" Amelia nodded.

"It says he had to build it in the form of three vessels which will fuse into Robogenex once they've absorbed enough magic energy." Mochi's expression changed.

"That sounds really bad." He looked around the laboratory.

"Where are they now?" Amelia checked the notes again.

"It doesn't say." She looked around.

"And we've pretty much cleared the entire lab out. There isn't a single robot in sight." Ace frowned.

"So they're somewhere else then?" Amelia slowly folded the notes.

"We need to tell Thomas about this." She looked toward the exit.

"If those three vessels are still out there and they're absorbing magic energy..." Mochi finished her thought.

"Then whatever Robogenex becomes could be insanely strong." Amelia nodded.

"And if Hogsthawts gets Complete Zee working too..." Ace clenched his fist.

"We can't let either happen." Mochi nodded.

"Then let's get out of here and tell everyone what we found."

"You won't be telling anyone." Everyone froze. A figure stepped out from the darkness of the laboratory. Hogsthawts. He adjusted his glasses as he looked around at the three of them.

"Well, well, well... look who's been snooping around my laboratory." Everyone tensed.

"Hogsthawts..." Amelia muttered. Hogsthawts grinned.

"So you actually found my lab. I have no idea how you managed that, but I suppose it doesn't matter." He looked toward the tanks.

"And judging by those notes, you've discovered quite a bit." Mochi tightened his fist.

"You were testing Zee on innocent people?" Hogsthawts shrugged.

"Duh. Who else would I test on? Certainly not myself." He chuckled.

"And if I asked nicely, nobody would volunteer. You see the problem?" Ace glared at him.

"Why do you even want Zee in the first place? Why are you so hungry for power?" Hogsthawts was silent. For a moment, his grin disappeared. Then he smiled again.

"I usually tell everyone it's for world domination." He paused.

"But to be honest... I have a completely different goal." His eyes narrowed.

"Revenge."

"Revenge?" Ace asked.

"Against the Dough Demons." Ace's expression changed.

"Dough Demons..." He looked toward Mochi.

"I know them. They're a race of killing machines. They look human, but you can usually identify them by their horns growing from their jawline and the crimson scar etched along one side of their face." Ace continued.

"And they have a weird love for sweet treats too." He stared at Mochi.

"You know... minus the facial features, all of that sounds exactly like you." Mochi's expression became uneasy. Amelia looked at him.

"Mochi... is it true?" Mochi remained silent. Hogsthawts stared directly at him. Mochi finally lowered his head.

"... Yes." Amelia's eyes widened.

"I am a Dough Demon." Ace looked at him.

"I see..." He paused.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mochi clenched his fists.

"Well... Dough Demons don't exactly have the best reputation, do they?" He looked away.

"I couldn't just go around telling everyone what I was." Amelia frowned.

"But Ace mentioned the horns and scar. They don't match you.. or the killing machine part either..." Mochi nodded.

"Because those features are part of a transformation." He looked at his hands.

"It increases their power.. Dough Demons are born looking like that, so my current form what you're seeing right now is basically a suppressed state." Ace's eyes narrowed.

"So why haven't you ever used that form?"

"It would've gotten you out of some situations much more easier..." Mochi went quiet. His expression darkened.

"Because I don't want to become that monster again." He looked at Ace.

"I'm not the same person I was back then."

"And I never want to go back!" Hogsthawts suddenly pulled a strange weapon from his coat. A laser fired directly at Mochi.

"Die, filthy Dough Demon!" Ace instantly drew his blades. He deflected the blast away. Then turned towards Mochi..

"We can talk about all that later." Ace positioned himself between Mochi and Hogsthawts.

"Right now, the three of us need to focus on defeating him." Mochi nodded.

"Yeah, okay..." Hogsthawts sighed.

"As much as I'd love to kill you right here, Dough Demon..." He looked around his laboratory.

"I'd rather not have my lab destroyed in the process." He raised one hand.

"Magic Skill: Portal Transfer." A portal suddenly opened beneath the group.

"What the?!" In an instant, the entire group disappeared. They reappeared above ground in a vast, desolate wasteland. Amelia looked around.

"Where are we?" Hogsthawts stood several meters away.

"This is just some random desolate location." He stretched his arms.

"No civilians. No buildings. Nothing for you to accidentally destroy." He grinned.

"Now we can fight at full power." Hogsthawts raised his hand.

"So come on." His grin widened.

"Show me what you've got."