Chapter 21: The Contamination Room

We ended up in a room, sealing off every possible opening to keep the purple gas from getting inside.

Everyone was catching their breath, trying to refill their lungs with clean air.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

The silence said enough.

"So, in conclusion… the purple gas makes people go berserk," I muttered, thinking back. "Those dead players we found earlier—they didn’t get ambushed. They killed each other under its effects."

Katarina stayed by my side, her hands glowing faintly as she healed me. Still, the damage lingered. The headache from earlier hadn’t gone away. It felt like something was rattling in the back of my skull.

After a moment, Katarina stood. "I need to check on the others. Stay still, alright?"

I nodded, and she walked off. I stayed seated on a rough slab of stone, letting the silence press in again.

Then I heard footsteps.

Aster.

She walked up, arms crossed. "What did you see?"

I blinked up at her. "What?"

"You saw something that made you go berserk. Didn’t you?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

She sighed. "The gas… it triggers your worst memories. Makes you relive them. I know because I was hit by it too. And if it wasn’t for my brother holding me down, I would’ve attacked someone."

She looked straight at me. "And I know your deepest regret, you know, Daisy?."

I stared back, not with anger, just surprise. She remembered? After everything that happened between us? After the way we ended?

Still not looking at me, she said, "Yeah. I remember what you told me back when we were dating. I don’t know all of it… not enough to understand why it would make you lose control like that. But I remember the pieces."

I exhaled slowly. "So… the gas showed you something too? Something that pushed you over the edge?"

She paused. Looked at me, then away again. "Yes."

I didn’t press. Whatever she saw was hers to carry, just like mine was mine.

She shifted her stance. "Listen… we’re not in great terms. I get that. But now’s not the time to bicker. Especially not on my end. Things are getting insane, and we need to stay focused if we want to get out of here."

I gave a faint smile. "I miss our civil conversations."

She snorted. "Keep dreaming."

There was a brief pause. Then I asked, "This regret or fear you saw… was it something you mentioned to me before?"

She hesitated. Her voice was quieter this time. "No… it was something I never told you. But sometimes I wonder if it was my fault."

I nodded slowly. I wasn’t sure what to say to that.

Instead, I shifted the conversation. "The only way out of here is to beat the boss."

"How many are there?" Aster asked, straightening up.

I was about to answer, when a loud BANG slammed against one of the doors, shaking the walls.

The room had four doors. One of them was leaking purple gas, but the banging sound was coming from a different door entirely.

Dennis glanced nervously toward the source of the noise. "Should we just, uh… leave that door closed? In case it’s the monster?"

Terrence rolled his eyes and snapped, "What kind of dumbass monster knocks first, huh? If I were that [BEEP], I’d bust the damn thing down and eat your ugly face off without a warning!"

Then, we heard voices, shouting, calling for help.

I froze. I recognized some of them.

Terrence’s ears perked up. "That’s them. That’s our squad!" He and Dennis rushed toward the door, ready to open it, but the rest of us hesitated.

We didn’t know enough about the Goryguari. We knew it had three extended heads, could shoot out the gas that triggers killing intent… and possibly even mimic human voices

They could be real. Or not.

We needed confirmation.

I quickly pulled up the mini-map. Fourteen life signals were registering behind that door, it matched the number of two of the four groups we separated from. It could be the others.

I turned to the others. "Weapons ready. Just in case. But… I don’t think it’s the monster."

Dennis slowly opened the door. I stood close behind, Dangatana drawn and pointed.

As the door swung open—

It wasn’t the monster.

It was them.

Benson, Barnaby, Michael, Weiss Shi, Serana… and the rest of the knights.

Barnaby stepped in first, his brow furrowed. "Why the hell didn’t you open the door sooner?"

Terrence barked back, "Why the hell did you knock like you were the IRS?! You made it sound like some monster was trying to play with our heads!"

Barnaby shot back, louder, "You want that freakin’ monkey to hear us and come murder us?!"

"Monkey?" I asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Benson stepped forward. "We ran into the boss. Thing calls itself Baba Kong."

Terrence and Dennis burst out laughing.

"Baba Kong?!" Dennis wheezed. "That’s the dumbest [BEEP] name I’ve ever heard!"

Terrence nodded, still laughing. "Swear to God, that ain’t it. The monster we ran into? It’s called a Goryguari."

The two groups started arguing, Dennis and Terrence on one side, Barnaby, Benson, and Michael on the other. The back-and-forth got loud fast, and I could feel my headache pulsing again.

So I turned to the only two who weren’t shouting.

"Weiss. Serana," I said firmly. "Can you clarify?"

Weiss Shi nodded coolly. "They’re not lying. We engaged the boss. It was strong. Too strong."

Serana crossed her arms. "It wasn’t like any monster we’ve faced before."

Katarina looked confused. "But… we also fought the boss. And it definitely wasn’t a monkey."

I stared at the floor, thinking.

Two bosses in the same dungeon? Was that even possible? If they were both real… did they count as one entity?

"We need to gather intel, now," I said urgently.

Suddenly, another knock. But this time, it came from a different door.

The one we entered from.
The one still leaking traces of purple gas.

I immediately pulled up the mini-map.

A red dot.

A monster.

Whether it was the Goryguari or that so-called Baba Kong, I didn’t know. But one thing was clea, it wasn’t friendly.

Everyone drew their weapons. The air in the room tensed, the silence like a taut string about to snap.

Then, I opened the door—

It wasn’t a monster.

It was Adrian.

Badly wounded, staggering forward with a hand clutching his shoulder, blood dripping through his fingers.

Katarina rushed to him without hesitation. The other knights followed, catching him before he collapsed.

We shut the door and sealed it again behind us. But something wasn’t adding up.

How the hell had Adrian survived the purple gas?

Avoiding inhalation wasn’t enough. We all knew that. The gas infiltrated through any opening—mouth, nostrils, ears… even open wounds. It forced its way inside.

I knew that because I felt it.

While Katarina was treating him, I crouched beside Adrian.

"What happened to the others?" I asked quietly.

He looked at me for a moment. His eyes were distant. Then he finally spoke.

"They… they killed each other. After breathing in the gas."

I didn’t reply. Just gave a small nod.

Then he reached into his satchel and pulled out a gas mask—an old, cracked model from the War Games era.

"Found it on one of the bodies," he muttered. "Didn’t think it’d work, but…"

I took it and checked its status in the HUD.

Condition: Broken.

I refreshed the display. Again:

Broken.

Something wasn’t right.

I glanced back at the mini-map.

Adrian’s icon… it had turned yellow now.

But just minutes ago—it was red.

I stared at him, still breathing heavily on the ground.

Something wasn’t right.

Is he…
… who he think he is?