NOVEL NEXT Chapter 136: Ch 136: Floot 8- Part 2
The guard didn't make another sound after Fenrir let him go.
Smart.
He straightened his uniform with trembling fingers, avoiding eye contact as he tapped furiously on his wrist panel.
Within seconds, a low chime rang out and a green glow passed over Fenrir's body.
"Y-You've been registered. Welcome to Central Mana Facility 8B."
The guard stammered.
Fenrir didn't respond.
He walked past the checkpoint, boots echoing against smooth, clean flooring. Mana lights traced the walls.
Unlike the wreck of the last facility, this place operated with order, precision, and just enough arrogance to annoy him.
Still, he moved quietly, unbothered. The facility wasn't massive, but it had levels, wings, and corridors that curved in deliberate ways to confuse strangers.
He checked his system screen — no helpful pings. No exits marked. Just one vague prompt at the top of his display:
[Observation active. Do not interfere.]
He snorted.
"Like I've ever listened to that."
Fenrir explored for hours. Automated doors opened as he approached, security orbs occasionally floated by, but no one challenged him. Word must've spread.
Yet no matter how far he walked — cafeteria, dorm levels, control centers — no sign of a gate or a lift to Floor 9. No stairwells labeled "Transfer Chamber." Not even a loading dock.
Nothing.
By late evening, frustration began to crawl beneath his skin. He moved quieter now, blending into shadows, listening for something — anything — worth his time.
And that's when he heard them.
Two guards, standing near a rear window, looking out over the crater where the old facility once stood. One had a sandwich in hand, the other a datapad. They spoke in hushed tones, unaware they were being overheard.
"That whole place... just gone. One blast."
"Yeah, the readings fried all our satellites. No backup either. Mana overflow scrambled half the tower's lower sensors."
"We're lucky it didn't trigger a full floor collapse. But now we've got a bigger issue."
"What, the cleanup?"
"No. The monster."
The man sighed.
The sandwich paused halfway to the other's mouth.
"Floor 9?"
"Yeah. Without the flow from Facility A, we can't feed it mana. That thing's going to wake up hungry."
Fenrir's eyes narrowed.
The guards went silent for a second. Then one of them muttered.
"They're probably gonna lock down Floor 8 soon. Seal it from both ends. I heard Command already wants to restrict movement."
"Then we better finish patrol and head back. Can't get stuck down here."
'There it is. They know where the exit is.'
Fenrir thought.
He kept his distance and began to follow.
They left the overlook and headed deeper into the east wing, muttering about shift rotations and patrol timing.
Fenrir didn't need to catch every word — he just needed to see where they went. He moved in silence, using the dim evening light and narrow hallways to his advantage.
An hour passed.
Still nothing.
They walked in loops, taking detours, checking gates — and not once did they approach anything resembling a floor gate or exit chamber. It wasn't random. They were either covering something up… or deliberately avoiding it.
Fenrir's patience wore thin.
He watched them stop at a corner near the supply wing, splitting up briefly — one heading inside, the other staying outside to log something on his panel. That was his chance.
The one who stayed behind was the smaller, nervous one. Always glancing over his shoulder. Sweat even in the air-conditioned hall.
Fenrir stepped out of the shadow like smoke.
The man barely had time to blink before a strong arm snaked around his throat, pulling him back into the dark.
"Mmf—!"
"Shhh. If you scream, I'll pop your jaw out of your face."
Fenrir whispered next to his ear.
The man froze, panic flooding his eyes. He struggled for half a second — just enough to test Fenrir's hold.
Useless effort.
The grip tightened. His body went limp.
"I don't care about your rank. I don't care who you report to. But I've been wandering this floor too long, and your people talk too much without saying anything useful."
Fenrir said calmly.
The man trembled in his grip.
"So here's how it goes. You tell me what I want to know — everything — or I start taking fingers until you remember."
"I-I'll talk! I'll tell you everything, I swear!"
The guard squeaked.
Fenrir loosened his hold just slightly.
"Where's the gate to Floor 9?"
"There's… there's a restricted access lift in Subsection C — behind the main generator rooms. No signs, just a panel lock. Only higher-clearance guards can open it—"
Fenrir leaned in.
"Can you?"
"I—I can try! I don't have full clearance, but I can override the alert if no one's watching. Just… just don't kill me."
Fenrir released him fully, watching the man drop to his knees, coughing and wheezing.
"Good. Then get up."
Fenrir muttered.
The guard stared up, eyes wide.
Fenrir cracked his knuckles.
"We're going for a walk."
The guard led Fenrir through dimly lit back corridors, avoiding patrols and security drones.
After several turns and a climb down a narrow maintenance shaft, they reached a heavy steel door embedded in the concrete wall. A small biometric panel blinked red beside it.
"This is it. But it's useless. The gate's been sealed—no mana flow, no system access, and even command-level keys don't work anymore. You're wasting your—"
The guard whispered, nervously glancing over his shoulder.
Fenrir raised a hand to silence him. He opened his system interface with a flick of his wrist.
A quiet hum filled the space as glowing runes flickered into life on the sealed gate. Fenrir's eyes narrowed slightly, fingers dancing across a menu only he could see.
With a single mental command, he accessed the system's override controls.
[Release All Gates – Floor 8: Confirm?]
He confirmed.
A deep pulse rolled through the entire facility. All over the floor, doors that had remained sealed for years unlocked at once.
Emergency sirens flared to life. Distant shouting echoed as the chaos began to unfold.
The guard stumbled back, face pale with shock.
"What did you just do?!"
Fenrir didn't answer right away. He turned toward the gate as it let out a loud mechanical groan and began to slide open.
He looked back over his shoulder.
"Good luck dealing with that."
He said with a smirk.
And without another word, Fenrir stepped through the gate into Floor 9.
The door sealed shut behind him, leaving the stunned guard surrounded by alarms and panic.
The mess wasn't Fenrir's problem.
It never was.
The guard remained frozen, still staring at the now-closed gate as distant explosions and frantic voices echoed behind him.
Alarms blared across the facility—containment doors releasing, mana conduits rupturing, prisoners and monsters alike flooding out of locked zones.
He had no idea how Fenrir had overridden the entire floor's system with a flick of his hand. That level of control was supposed to be impossible.
"What the hell was he…?"
Somewhere above, security drones screamed to life. Gunfire erupted. The facility descended into madness.
Meanwhile, Fenrir walked calmly through the dim corridor of Floor 9. The temperature dropped noticeably, and the air was dense with wild mana.
His system adjusted instantly, rebalancing his body's resistance. He stretched his fingers, feeling the unfamiliar weight of the floor pressing against him.
So this was the place they were all so afraid of.
The place where a monster waited.
He grinned slightly, shadows twisting around his feet like they welcomed him.