22 The Blood Codex...

Axel didn't want to take any unnecessary risks, so he ordered everyone to rest and regain their stamina. While a lot of the group was still more or less fine but there was no such thing as being overcautious, especially so when investigating an area that looks like a disaster happened.

After resting for a few hours, they prepared to set out again and investigate the laboratory.

Axel's approached the edge of the slope that looked down on their target. "Be on your guard. If you find anything, then use the communication amulet to let me know."

With that, Axel took the lead and surfed down the snowy slope.

When he reached the bottom, the laboratory loomed in front of him. It was a group of metallic buildings that were evenly spaced out. Upon further investigation, he saw pulsing black-lines that webbed out across the buildings.

He had never seen the metal the buildings were made out of. His job was to investigate, so he placed his hand on the building. The moment he touched the metal, he had a shock.

He could feel his strength draining at a noticeable pace. He immediately took his hand off like one would when they touched boiling water.

'Just what is this and why are the buildings made of this?'

After going through his memory for a minute, he recalled a rare metal used by blacksmiths; Runic soul-steel. It was a metal that sealed ones abilities and made them weaker than a newborn as long as they were touching it. It was used to hold beings that were unimaginably strong. He had never seen it in person, but one thing nagged at him.

'Why would all of the buildings be made of this?'

It served no purpose, it would only weaken the people working there and keep them out...

'Unless... It was for keeping something in...'

Raising his guard up a notch, he continued deeper into the premises.

Axel went to a building with a big "#5" on it. Taking a quick look around, he realized how they were able to use buildings. The floors were just made of stone so there was no effect from the Runic soul-steel. Entering building #5, the place looked like an explosive tornado had gone through.

There was blood splatters across the wall, one could tell that the owner of the blood had been killed quite violently. All of the equipment was broken and scattered about. Papers were thrown haphazardly as well.

Axel bent down to pick up a random paper at his feet. He quickly skimmed it, but from what he read he was horrified. He quickly grabbed all of the other papers. He needed to understand what this was. To sum it up, it was some inhumane-monstrous-burning-in-hell-for-all-of-eternity-level shit.

'The Frost King was right... This wasn't something that should have been done.'

The Blood Codex, a project that was run by the Agrius Kingdom. Its influence was vast, and its purpose was all the more terrifying. From what Axel could gather, it was a project to create an unbeatable combat force that was only loyal to the king of the Agrius Kingdom. This elite unit would be made up of seven individuals.

Axel couldn't find a whole lot of important details, but what he did find is that there was seven other labs each working towards one of the elite soldiers.

Axel progressed deeper into the building. One thing that he noticed was strange was that there was blood splatters everywhere, but no corpses. He eventually found a long hallway, but it was different than the others. It had only one door at the end. Axel slowly opened the door, prepared to jump back at the slightest danger. Through the slit he could see through, he had the urge to vomit. He had found the corpses, but the way they were was gruesome beyond words.

They were all hanging upside down from the ceiling and their veins had turned black to the point it looked like they were a fractured vase. Their expressions looked like they had died in agony, they had their eyes, which had turned pitch black, wide open and mouths agape like they were screeching.

However, that wasn't the most concerning thing, there were numerous chains broken apart and strewn about across the floor. Looking at a cuff link, it was about the same size fit for a human. Whatever had been there, had escaped...

In the next second, the communication amulet lit up.

The voice was Markus, "-Uhh, you might want to get over here quick. We found something important... Seriously, get over here! I'm in building #3-"

Axel immediately left for the third building. If even the aloof Markus was acting this serious, then this was no laughing matter.

Making his way to Markus, he met up with a few other of his teammates on the way.

Building Three was unlike the others, it was made of manatite as opposed to the runic soul-steel. It was also the most intact of the others. Markus was waiting outside, nervously tapping his foot. "Finally, you're here! Quick, come inside. There isn't any danger... I think."

Axel initially opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind. He would know once he saw what Markus called him over for.

The third building was just one large warehouse. Axel could see various recourse ranging from alchemy to food to blacksmithing. For some reason, all of the alcohol was missing... regardless though, It truly was a large store of resources. That wasn't what he was there for though, Markus kept guiding them towards the middle of the warehouse.

After a minute of walking, fleshy black-tendrils were ensnaring their surroundings. They stretched out across the shelves, the walls, the floor, not even the ceiling was spared. They pulsed like they were connected to a heart that had the breath of life. Upon contact, they would also feel a chilling sensation from the pulse. The deeper they got, the stronger the pulse and the more numerous the flesh like tendrils were.

After another minute of walking, they finally found what Markus meant. The tendrils stemmed out from a large dark-gray crystal. The crystal had red plumes contained within that looked eerily similar to blood. However, that wasn't the greatest shock. Inside the crystal, was three figures that were intertwined like a work of art. The current team of eleven recognized one of them. They had once again become twelve.

Inside the crystal was a black-haired female beast person. It was Tricia.

Axel was in disbelief, "H-How... She had died..."

Most of the group had tears well up in their eyes... They had witnessed a sword pierce her heart which was then followed by a magical bombardment. She should by all means be dead, yet, there she was, In one piece.

Axel wanted to know, he needed to know. "...Is she alive?"

The healer of the group stepped forward.

[Assess!]

The healer's eyes welled up with tears. She wasn't able to speak, so she just nodded her head in confirmation.

The group heaved a sigh of relief and joy.

Axel averted his eyes to the two other figures, but he was once again in shock. Axel didn't think that in his life that he would receive so many surprises and shocks as he would in one day alone, but he was clearly wrong. This new revelation took the cake, so much so that Axel doubted he would ever see something more surprising. The large crystal contained another crystal that was an opaque icosahedron where not one, but two mythical creatures were entwined with it.

(A/N: icosahedron = 20 sided 3d shape)

These two mythical creatures were long thought to have gone extinct. They were very ancient and very powerful, they were things of legend.

The first mythic was a legendary ice type dragon called a Kuraokami. It looked like a white scaled serpent that had an icy blue spine. The Kuraokami was known for its magical talent and was considered one of the best mana manipulators. It was coiled in a circular fashion around the opaque crystal.

The second mythic was equally as famed as the first. Known as Shadow Demons, they were beings that were, as the name implied, shadowy beings. They were difficult to kill due to their unique physique and overwhelming physical strength. The Shadow Demon had its hands out underneath the crystal and its wings were around it in a protective manner.

Tricia was in a similar position to the Shadow Demon, she was in a protective position to the opaque crystal. It seemed like the opaque black-crystal was important to the three of them.

Axel was truly perplexed, he wasn't high enough on the ladder to understand what was going on. He looked to his teammates who had now also noticed the other intriguing things, but they also shook their heads. Similar to Axel, they had no clue either.

Seeing that had no other options, Axel needed contacted his superior. He took a small stone square out of his pocket and threw it to the ground. Contrary to expectations, it didn't hit the floor but began to float.

A colorless outline of a figure began to materialize. It was a man who wore what looked like a strategist's apparel with four stripes on his sleeve and several badges on his chest. He was clearly a man of high ranking position.

Axel stepped forward towards the projection. "Gold ranked, Axel Bridge-ham, reporting!"

"-...Ah Axel, how is the mission? I presume because you have contacted me you have found something important, yes?...-"

"As expected of you, Sir. We have found something... Actually, I don't even have any words to describe it. It would be better for you to look at it yourself through the transmitter."

The man was normally calm and composed but after seeing the crystal with the beings inside, he was at a loss for words.

"-...What in the name of Dralos?!?...-"