34. Bygone Days (Monthly Votes, Please, at the Start of the Month~)

The Tiger King stood with one leg atop a fractured skull, her blood-stained fur billowing in the wind. Yet, she was not the protagonist of this battle; that role belonged to the young man who remained entirely untouched by the crimson gore.

Three Tier III ability users had fallen by his hand.

"Pioneers above," she murmured, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Marn. "You’re a goddamn angel of blood. Now, I actually believe you might succeed in leaving this place."

Marn gave a slight nod, offering no comment. "Nothing is stopping us from heading to the second basement level now, is it?"

She raised an eyebrow at the messenger standing in the corner.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of stopping you," the messenger quickly replied to both of them. "Regardless of how it happened, you have officially passed the trial."

Though the method was hardly conventional—and those old fossils on the second basement level might take issue with his actions—what did that matter to him now? He had witnessed the fate of those rulers with his own eyes.

"Let's go," Marn said to the young girl, then looked at the Tiger King. "If we have the chance, we shall meet again."

The Tiger King smiled at him. "If we do. But I hope I never see you again."

She meant she hoped not to see him in this place. Yet, in his mind, it was not an impossibility. A question had always lingered in the depths of his thoughts: why had his past self left a path to the Control Bureau here? Had he anticipated that he would forget how to return and expected to end up here again?

Marn did not think so. Furthermore, one thing was easy to grasp: for the beast-folk trapped here, the prospect of escape was an offer they could not refuse.

But none of that mattered now.

He led the girl toward the elevator, followed by the messenger. Although the messenger knew Ning Changkong should not be coming along, he suppressed the urge to speak. He closed his eyes.

The Tiger King stood behind them, unable to help herself. "I’ll come with you and have a look. If those bastards on the second level want to give you trouble, perhaps I can put in a word or two, or at least explain the situation. If it comes to the worst... if it comes to a fight, I can help. Consider it repaying the favor."

The messenger at the door pretended not to hear her.

The doors slowly slid open.

***

The scene on the other side was entirely unexpected for both Marn and the Tiger King.

Standing there were eight individuals with high levels of beast-morphing. Every one of them that the Tiger King could identify was a Tier III ability user, which made her tense her muscles.

Silence.

Then, the expressions of seven of them turned rigid, their emotions a mixture of confusion, resistance, respect, caution, and... fear.

"You..." the middle-aged man in the lead said. "You've returned?"

It was the turn of everyone on the elevator side to be at a loss. Including Marn himself.

Fortunately, it appeared they still held a sense of awe toward him. As long as he did not reveal that he lacked his past memories, he would be safe on the second basement level.

"Yes," he said, feigning normalcy. "I need to go to Ward 213."

Neither the messenger nor the Tiger King could fathom what was happening. Had Marn been a member of the second level before? If so, why would he do this? Was he actually a patient with severe beast-morphing who had now gone completely insane? And why did the others on the second level seem so wary, even fearful, of him?

Ning Changkong, however, had her own inklings. Since arriving on the second basement level, although Marn seemed to know nothing, he possessed an inexplicable calm, as if he knew for certain they would succeed in leaving. Still, there were pieces of this puzzle she could not yet fit together.

Seeing that Marn had not yet stepped forward, the man in the lead asked cautiously, "Would you like us to show you the way?"

Marn replied calmly, "If you are willing."

"Of course," the man said. "It has been about two or three years since you were last here, but why didn't you just take the stairs?"

Every member of the second level awaited his answer—this was a simple probe. They had all sensed something amiss, and behind it lay a staggering possibility.

"I don't remember the way," Marn said, stepping into the elevator. "By the way, I just killed the four rulers upstairs. That shouldn't be a problem, should it?"

His tone was remarkably calm. It was hard to tell if this was a friendly greeting or an expression of impatience—either interpretation was reasonable depending on who was listening.

***

This did more than just dispel their lingering doubts; it stirred up terrible memories.

"No," the leader hurriedly shook his head. "Of course not."

"Then lead the way," Marn said, watching the man’s face as it flickered with fear. "I’m in a hurry."

It was still the same Marn. They all remembered him now.

In silence, the man began to lead the way. The other ability users tentatively retreated a few steps, and seeing that Marn did not stop them, they remained where they were. The leader could only curse their cowardice in his heart.

While quietly observing, Marn realized that his past self might have been even stronger than he had imagined. The notes in his journal certainly didn't contain all the techniques he once possessed; after all, it hadn't taken long for him to "recall" how to fly at high speeds. He knew how powerful these techniques were. Without the "Disintegration" ability that could pulverize anything, he would have found these beast-folk very difficult to deal with, and might even have been defeated here.

The messenger, puzzled, pulled one of the seniors aside. "What is going on?"

The man waited until the elevator doors behind them had slowly closed before speaking.

"When you arrived, there were only eight Tier III ability users here. But before Marn first appeared, there were twenty-four. At the time, we all thought he was just a random intruder. We had a small skirmish, and the end result was that he chose to retreat on his own.

"But half a month later, several ability users who had conflicts with him vanished overnight. Before we could react, he had recruited two others to join him against us, leading to the current situation. That is why we sent you to participate in the trial; the previous overseer had already died by his hand, and we needed a new face to avoid raising suspicions from other levels.

"After he left, news arrived that the sixth level had become inaccessible, and there were no rumors of him appearing on any other floors. And this Marn... he was the one who walked out of the stairwell."

The messenger gulped.