Chapter 61: Ch 61 : Hell
"Forgive my rudeness; let me introduce myself first. My name is Hughes. Welcome to the crossroads of Heaven and Hell, Nord Rutherford." The pale-faced, black-haired man gazed playfully at Nord, who had collapsed before him.
Nord lay on the ground, dressed in a white prison uniform, his hands bound by shackles.
These shackles weren't just for restraining movement—they possessed a special power that suppressed magic.
The moment they were locked onto him, Nord could feel his own magic being suppressed, making it completely impossible to use.
"The crossroads of Heaven and Hell..." Nord struggled to sit up, staring at the man in front of him. "What... do you mean by that?"
"You don't understand? Well, that's expected. After all, I haven't explained it yet." Hughes narrowed his eyes and smirked. "To those who love this place—people like me—this is Heaven. But to some others, this place is Hell, an eternal prison from which they can never escape."
Nord ignored Hughes' words and instead furrowed his brows. "Where is Lia?"
"Oh my, how touching," Hughes chuckled. "Even when you're trapped yourself, you're still worrying about your little sister? You really are an interesting one, Nord Rutherford. As for your sister... you'll see her someday—if you're still alive by then."
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Alright, time's up. Take him there." Hughes no longer paid attention to Nord's protests and instead gave an order to the two black-clad men standing behind him.
Upon hearing Hughes' command, the two men each grabbed one of Nord's arms and lifted him up.
"Let go of me! Damn it, let me go!" Nord struggled desperately, trying to break free from the grip of the black-clad men.
However, their strength was overwhelming, and—
"There's no need to waste your energy, Mr. Nord. You've noticed it too, haven't you?" Hughes walked ahead, leading the way down a dark underground passage as he spoke. "These guys… they don't even have life."
Nord's eyes widened in shock.
"They're all failures, you see," Hughes continued casually. "Well, I never really expected to create a perfected product with such garbage materials anyway. The fact that we even managed to make these things at all was already a surprising bonus…"
(Failures? Perfected product? What does that mean?)
A deep, bone-chilling dread surged through Nord's heart.
It felt as if some unspeakably evil presence had set its sights on him.
"We're here." Hughes suddenly stopped.
At that moment, a blinding light filled Nord's vision, forcing him to squint.
He instinctively counted to three before cautiously reopening his eyes—only to be met with a sight so horrifying that his heart nearly stopped.
It was a completely sealed room.
Aside from the passage Nord had just entered through, there were no windows, no other exits, nothing that connected to the outside world.
A few dim, isolated lights illuminated the space, revealing several individuals dressed similarly to Hughes, all busy working on something.
The room was unexpectedly large—about the size of a small plaza.
Its walls, floor, and ceiling were made entirely of black stone.
But none of that was the focus.
The true horror lay at the center of the room.
A massive pool of liquid occupied most of the floor.
A sinister, red pool.
The thick, blood-colored fluid gave off a heavy stench of iron, as though it were composed entirely of fresh blood.
Bubbles constantly surfaced, and each one grotesquely twisted into the shape of screaming, agonized faces before popping and vanishing.
The sheer sight of them was enough to send shivers down Nord's spine.
And floating within the pool—
Were scattered, unidentifiable red and white objects.
They looked like…
Organs. Flesh. The remains of some kind of creatures.
It was as if he had walked straight into a demonic ritual—an unholy sacrifice to some ancient, malevolent force.
If Hell truly existed in this world—
Then nothing could be closer to it than this.
"W-What… is this?" Nord's voice trembled, something that rarely happened.
Hughes turned his head and gave a sinister smile.
His usually pale face was now tinged with an unnatural flush, a sickly excitement gleaming in his eyes.
"I told you before, didn't I? This place is the boundary between heaven and hell. To those who love it, this is paradise. To those who despise it, it is the abyss of despair…" Hughes spread his arms, as if presenting a masterpiece.
"And this—this is the reason why. Look at it. Isn't it magnificent? It took the blood and souls of countless tens of thousands of people, gathered through an elaborate ritual, to forge this—a tool that defies all taboos."
"The blood and souls of… tens of thousands… a tool that defies taboos…" Nord's body trembled as he stared at the grotesque scene before him, murmuring in disbelief. "Why…? What could possibly be worth creating something like this? To go so far as to break the most forbidden laws…"
Hearing Nord's question, Hughes' expression turned satisfied, as if he had been waiting for this realization.
"Ah, so you've finally grasped the heart of the matter," he said with a chuckle.
"Breaking taboos is always a gamble. No one would risk it without something truly worth attaining. But… once this is completed, even breaking taboos will have been a price well worth paying."
"Complete what?"
A wicked smile spread across Hughes' face as he slowly enunciated each word: "We are going to create a God."
"What?!"
Nord's voice involuntarily rose in pitch.
This answer was so beyond his expectations that his mind struggled to process it.
"Hahaha! What do you think? Isn't that a goal worthy of breaking taboos for?"
"Impossible! How could humans possibly create a God? That's absurd!" After his initial shock, Nord forced himself to calm down and outright rejected Hughes' claim.
"Impossible?" Hughes sneered, looking at Nord with utter disdain.
"That's the excuse of mediocrities. The history of human progress is the history of turning the impossible into reality. The weak use 'impossible' as an excuse to flee from challenges, while true geniuses turn impossibilities into possibilities and become the driving force of the world's evolution."
"….."
Nord remained silent.
At least based on his understanding, this man, Hughes, was completely insane.
If he had to put it in words from his past life, this was the very definition of a mad scientist.
And against people like him, reasoning was utterly meaningless.
"Well then, shall we begin?" Hughes' gaze locked onto Nord.
"With your intelligence, you must have figured out why you were brought here, haven't you, Nord Rutherford?"
"I… I'm just another piece of your so-called 'material,' aren't I?"
Nord closed his eyes, but his fists clenched tightly.
The rage of being betrayed by his own father, the fear of what awaited him, and the overwhelming sense of helplessness all surged in his chest.
"Heh, you truly are an exceptional child. You managed to deduce our intentions with only a handful of clues. You are, after all, the experimental subject personally selected by the Elder Council—your father even voted in favor of it."
"Why me?" Nord's voice was low, carrying a slight tremor. "My bloodline may be pure, but there are others in the family with even purer blood. Why was I chosen?"
Hughes narrowed his eyes, bringing his face close to Nord's.
His next words drifted into Nord's ears like a whisper, sending a chilling sensation down his spine.
"You underestimate yourself, Nord. When your blood was tested at birth, we were astonished to discover that its purity was beyond anything we had ever seen—so high that even we found it unbelievable. You... are the Child of Fate."
"The Child of Fate... what does that even mean?!"
"You are far too special. You have no idea. Not only is your bloodline incomparably pure, but your appearance... it is almost identical to our ancient forebear. Uncannily so." Hughes' voice was slow and deliberate, almost reverent, as his cold fingers traced Nord's face, followed by a soft, eerie chuckle.
Nord fell silent, slowly unclenching his fists.
He realized his palms were already drenched in sweat.
"...One last question," he muttered. "If what you say is true—if I am the Child of Fate—then what about Lia? I should be enough as an experimental subject, right? What will happen to her?"
Hughes smiled faintly. "Who knows?"
"You—!"
"Take him away," Hughes ordered.
Following his command, the two black-clad enforcers ignored Nord's desperate struggles and dragged him toward the blood pool.
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