As the water from the table flowed to the floor, every drop brought a gentle tapping sound in the chilling silence, coming from the gray-haired boy who was glaring at Albert.
Both his hands were tightly clenched, nails dug into the palm as he tried to hide the black lightning that crackled under his skin.
The two of them stared at each other, the black glow in their eyes carrying almost the same determination. No, Cain could feel a slight, rather noticeable difference in the man.
Albert took back the terminal on the table. The man did not speak; he stared straight at the screen and used his finger to scroll through the data, acting as if nothing had happened.
'I don't like it!'
That's right, the difference in their determination lay in the calmness radiating from the man's gaze. Albert did not show the slightest ripple on his face. Or perhaps because he was already used to experiencing such horrible things, his feelings had become numb.
As for why Cain snapped after seeing the video, it was not because of the cruel experiments conducted on humans.
But it was something more primal, something deep inside human emotion when facing the unknown.
Cain felt fear for the first time, worse than when he encountered the Intelligence-rank virus beast before. He took a long breath to calm the tremor in his body. He leaned his back against the sofa, thinking back to what the man in front of him wanted to achieve.
His goal to create a cure for the deadly virus was a noble breakthrough and would surely be a bridge to the future for the survival of mankind. Regarding the trials conducted on people, somehow, Cain himself did not dwell on it too much.
Was this a sign that his sanity had been eroded since his arrival in this world?
From being just a teenager, desperate to survive to the point of sacrificing his memories, meeting comrades in arms, and fighting strong monsters.
It was impossible that those events did not bring a slight change to him. The boy was not aware of it because he was trying too hard to get through his days by breathing.
"What is the reason you called me again?"
Cain opened his mouth, making Albert raise his gaze forward and immediately hand over the terminal in his hand.
"I want you to see this?"
He was initially hesitant, but when he saw Albert's stiff expression, Cain took the tablet.
On the terminal screen, Cain saw a young man sitting on a bed, his expression beaming, his lips spread. But Cain's eyebrow twitched when he saw a red line etched on his hand.
"This!?"
The boy slid the screen and saw a row of relatively young people in a health facility, and all of them were infected with the cosmic virus.
Then his black eyes widened, witnessing a woman slightly older than him having half of her body black, decaying. The image did not stop there; he continued scrolling until he came to a picture of a beautiful woman lying on a luxurious bed.
Cain's breath halted, the woman's silver hair tugged a string in his heart, though he didn't know why. From her delicate hand, a crimson line crawled through her cheek.
"You've seen it, right. How critical is our current situation?"
Albert spoke in a low voice, giving a thick, gloomy impression. Cain put down the terminal and spoke.
"Yes, I didn't know there were so many people infected with the cosmic virus. But what does it have to do with me? Didn't I just get offered to test the latest battle simulation?"
The man was silent for a moment. His gaze lowered, and he joined both palms together, interlocking their fingers.
"That was indeed my goal, seeing your capacity as a reliable fighter. Because recently the soldiers out there sent new data about the virus beast species that are getting stronger day by day."
Albert raised his face and continued.
"However, I was unsure at first, but after watching it first hand. What I saw from you was something that has the potential to save many lives."
Cain's forehead furrowed, not quite understanding what the professor was talking about.
"Saving lives? What makes you so sure about that?"
The man swept his bangs back, and his other hand pointed towards his black eyes, twisted like a vortex.
"I have unusual eyes. Thanks to that, I can see something that other normal people can't."
Cain's breath stopped for a moment; his facial expression was flat and stiff when he heard the news. He leaned over, pretending to be ignorant of what the man said.
"What do you mean about that?"
When the sentence came out of the boy's mouth, Albert's lips lifted, showing a creepy smirk. Instantly, Cain took a cold breath, realizing the trap that the man had set.
'Damn it, me and my stupid mouth!'
If only Cain had remained silent and acted as if he were suspicious of what Albert said, he would have gained an advantage in this negotiation. However, because of his inadvertent question, Albert was now in control of this conversation.
The smile on Albert's face disappeared, replaced by a calm, cold expression with no emotion implied. He began to tell how he got that power.
It all happened because of a minor accident, where a black liquid from a virus beast accidentally dripped into his eyeball. Initially, the world became dark, and after receiving some treatment, his eyes returned to normal.
However, it came with a gift, or a curse?
From that moment on, Albert could see a person's aura and even particles in the atmosphere. It was like a supernatural power straight out of fantasy.
"Then during your first simulation test, did you realize? Although the amount is not too much, the system there is equipped with a bit of cosmic virus to conjure a similar experience of the environment outside and the enemies they have to face."
Cain's eyes widened. From that, he realized that the pungent smell that stung his nose during the simulation earlier came from the system itself. He narrowed his gaze; both his clenched hands wanted to hit the man's smirking face.
"Relax, I have calibrated the virus as tiny as possible so it won't infect anyone who enters it."
All of a sudden, Albert stood up, walked to the wall next to him, and took the neglected silver kettle. He offered Cain, but the boy shook his head, which made the man shrug his shoulders and take his fallen glass and fill it.
"When you were battling the monster, my eyes saw the cosmic virus described as black particles entering your body, yet the virus faded as if merging with you. It was starkly different from other people, who likely stored it in their bloodstream, and let the immune system in their body do the rest."
Cain swallowed, trying to wet his dry throat. He racked his brain, thinking that if the situation was like that, why didn't his Null Sequence show any signs at that time?
Because usually, a blue panel would appear if something happened to him.
Was it because Albert had calibrated the virus to the point that it became harmless, so the system did not consider it a threat and allowed it to dissolve in his body?
"I thought you had a body that was suitably immune for my latest simulation experiment. Why? Because the simulation in the experimental stage has a somewhat high accident rate, such as a virus cosmic leak due to data miscalibration."
The boy's black pupil shrank, his calm expression unable to withstand the twitch of blue veins on his temple.
'Such a bastard!'
Without knowing what was on the boy's mind, Albert continued. He sipped his drink in one go and flopped his back onto the soft cushion behind him.
"I thought, if you are equipped with an armor suit, you might be able to survive. But all of that changed when your friend came, bringing your body who's infected by the cosmic virus."
The man stared at the boy's face with sarcasm, the darkness in his eyes seeping out like black mud that trapped Cain's two feet and left him no room to escape.
"I saw it myself directly! Your body, which should have been infected with the initial stage contamination. Yet your body adapted to it and made the virus in your body disappear in a blink."
Cain let out a short sigh, his eyes shifted to the side at a panel that he called silently.
Everything Albert said was neither wrong nor entirely true, because his body was not adapting to the virus; it was storing it as a power reserve for his limit break release.
He kept his mouth shut and leaned back on the sofa; his attitude made the corner of the man's lips lift because he thought he had definitely won this conversation.
The boy glanced at Albert and opened his mouth.
"...Can I think about this further?"