And after hours and hours of walking in the destroyed city, they went to an abandoned park. The park was filled with thick trees, and dried ponds. The walls were cracked, and the road was destroyed. They found a building surrounded with an electric fence and a guard tower. As they approached, the guard on front of the gate stopped them.
"Halt! Do you know this area is off limits..."
"It's me, Clint and Roger. We're with our new friends here." Clint said.
"Ah Clint! You better hurry! Rooney and Yi is waiting."
The guard opened the fence gate so they could enter. Layla was resting on the shoulders of Clint and Gusion, as she was still tired after a long drive. Alucard parked his motorcycle on the nearby lot. The building stood three storeys high, and extended more floors underground. They climbed the stairs and went up the metal door.
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PLEASE CONFIRM YOUR IDENTITY
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Clint put his pointing finger on the scanner, and the metal door opened, as smoke slowly came out.
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ACCESS GRANTED:
WELCOME CLINT NOIR
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"This place is amazing." Ruby said. "Is this some sort of research facility?"
"This is a laboratory. A mad scientist runs this place." Claude replied.
"Let's go now guys." Clint said.
As they entered, the door behind them closed automatically. They saw a large hallway with red carpets. There were paintings on the wall and flower vases on the tables.
"S-So, this is the laboratory?" Gusion asked
"No. It's downstairs." Roger replied. "The elevator is right there."
They approached the elevator, which was spacious and tall. A hologram appeared before them as thedoor went shut.
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3F
2F
1F- You are here
1G
2G
3G
4G
5G
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Clint clicked on the 2F, the second floor upstairs. As they reached 2F, they saw a guy relaxing at the sofa near a heater. It was Dr. Rooney, reading an astronomy book. The room was quite dark. There were no windows or lights, only the fire lighting the entire room. The ceiling, floor and walls were brown, made of cement.
"Doctor. The guests are here." Clint said.
Dr. Rooney was wearing his lab coat in and glasses. He got off the sofa to talk to them.
"Oh! Why hello there, I'm Dr. Rooney!" he said.
"I'm Gusion Paxley."
"Ruby Wolfhart."
"I'm Lesley Vance."
"Harith Leonin."
"Alucard Leonin, the Demon Hunter."
"Nick Granger."
"Layla Malefic."
They shook hands with each other. Claude took off his sweaty trench coat, and tied it up on the metal clothesline. Dr. Rooney led them to a corridor with many doors. The floor and the doors were made of metal, each having a number with it.
"There's your rooms if you want to rest. You can leave your bags there."
"Finally, I can sleep." Alucard said.
"Me too. I'm beat." Roger said.
Gusion, Layla, Ruby and Clint stayed on the living room while the rest went to the rooms. Claude remained on a table, cleaning his guns with Dexter.
"Have a seat, heroes."
They sat on the dark red sofa. Ruby rested her head on Gusion's lap, as her cat ears wiggled. Her tail curled onto his arm, as Gusion rubbed her head as she slept.
"So Clint, this is the Layla you were talking about right?" Rooney asked.
"Yeah." he replied. "It's been a while since I last saw her."
"So you're the Malefic Gunner right? One of the top students both here in the city of Scholars and the Mage Academy. The daughter of Roderick Malefic."
"Yes." she replied. "You know my father?"
"We were close friends. There's been a lot of history between us."
"I see."
"And you're Paxley right? The guy who left the most prestigious magic family and dominated tournaments held in Moniya."
"That's me." Gusion said. "Runner up of MPL #15."
"I saw your magic performance. A combination of speed and strength. You have that Twilight Orb right?"
"Y-Yeah. How did you know?"
"Hayabusa told me when he arrived here."
"H-Hayabusa?! That ninja guy is here?!"