Chapter 22 Mansion of Horror

Chapter 22 Mansion of Horror
A few moments later, at an elite residential area filled with mansion-class houses spaced far apart from one another, Nina asked, "Are you sure this is the address?"

"Yeah," Nolan answered from the front while checking the GPS on his smartphone.

"Wow... the forest is really thick, isn't it?" Nadine muttered.

Before them stood a massive, high fence with a dense jungle inside and only a single driveway leading in. Without delay, Nolan took Nina and Nadine’s hands, and in an instant, they were inside the gate. After that, the three of them walked along the driveway, taking a shortcut. The atmosphere was dead silent, exactly like trekking through a pitch-black wilderness without a single light in sight.

Feeling something behind him, Nolan turned around and was shocked to see a black tower that looked like a hologram standing tall in front of the gate outside the complex, with a massive moon beside it in the sky. He turned to look at Nadine.

"Nadine, did you bring your tower?" Nolan asked.

Nadine looked back to see the black tower behind them, then turned back to Nolan.

"Um... I don't know, it just appeared on its own," Nadine replied, looking forward again.

"Hmm... I don't know about you guys, but if I’m being honest, I have a bad feeling," Nina said.

"It’s probably just your head playing tricks on you, maybe you're just caught up in the mood. Honestly, this forest is pretty creepy," Nolan replied.

"Not really, maybe that’s why my tower appeared," Nadine said.

"What do you feel, then?" Nolan asked.

"I don't feel anything... except my love for you," Nadine said, turning to look at Nolan with a smile.

"I regret asking," Nolan replied.

They continued walking until they finally saw a roundabout with a circular fountain in the center, brightly lit and glowing. Behind the fountain stood a sprawling mansion that looked incredibly wide—two stories tall with a dome on top, pillars stretching neatly from left to right, and a massive entrance. But the mansion looked dark, with only a few lights flickering inside.

"Let’s go inside," Nolan urged.

"Wait, Nolan... we have company," Nina said, immediately dropping into a combat stance.

Nolan instantly went on high alert. "Grr," a low growl echoed around them. Nolan, Nina, and Nadine stood back-to-back, assuming their stances and scanning the surroundings. "Crack," the sound of trees collapsing rang out. The shadow of a giant dog, roughly 13 feet tall, emerged from the forest. But as the shadow stepped into the light, the eyes of Nolan, Nina, and Nadine widened. It wasn't a dog; it was a giant human with arms and legs like a bulldog, a muscular body covered in cracks that looked like veins filled with lava, three horrific heads, and bound in chains. It was clear that the monster was a human mutation—whether from an Orb experiment or an accident—and it possessed the fire element.

"Graaaaaah," the monster’s three heads roared.

But Nolan’s face froze in shock. He recognized those three heads, which were covered in iron but laced with lava-filled veins; it was as if one head had split into three to accommodate new faces.

"Tigra?" Nolan muttered, stunned.

"Tigra? That’s him?" Nadine asked, pointing at the monster before them.

"Huh... who’s Tigra?" Nina asked.

"The gladiator who lost to me at the Coliseum... why did he turn into that?" Nolan answered, horrified.

"Because he cost me a fortune. That is his punishment."

Suddenly, a man’s voice echoed around them. The three of them instantly turned toward the mansion, but there was no one to be seen, neither at the house nor behind them.

"Who are you?" Nolan shouted.

"Hey... hey... you’re the ones barging into my home, so why are you the ones asking? Shouldn't I be the one asking the questions?" the echoing voice replied.

"Harold," Nina muttered through gritted teeth, her body instantly erupting in flames.

"Hoho... interesting. You have fire powers, I see. Well then, it looks like playing around with you three will be fun enough. Let the games begin," the voice said.

"Where are you? Come out!" Nolan shouted in a rage.

But instead of an answer, a "click" echoed. "Whoaaah!" Suddenly, the floor beneath them dropped open, and the three of them plummeted into the hole. Reacting instantly, Nolan grabbed Nina's hand and pulled her into a tight embrace, then hooked his arm around Nadine’s waist and drew her close. He immediately teleported into the darkness, leaping through space repeatedly until they finally landed at the base of the incredibly deep pit. Nolan looked up; the opening they had fallen through looked like a tiny speck of light, convincing him they were deep underground. He scanned the area and realized they were in a dead-end tunnel, either unfinished or long since sealed off.

"Um... Nolan, could you let go of me?" Nina asked.

"Me too, though I’m enjoying this," Nadine added.

Nolan looked down and saw he was still hugging Nina to his side while holding Nadine firmly by the waist. He immediately let them both go.

"Sorry," Nolan replied.

"Huh... why are you saying sorry? You've already explored my body," Nina said.

"Hehe... yeah, exactly. Just act normal, no need for sorries," Nadine added as she stood up.

"Whatever... let’s head that way... it's the only path we have," Nolan said, pointing toward the end of the tunnel where an opening led to a glimmer of light.

They navigated the tunnel until they finally emerged. All three stopped dead, taking in their surroundings. The exit opened into a vast chamber with a soaring, arched ceiling that resembled a cathedral. Surrounding them were hundreds of human-sized tanks, stacked five columns high and stretching ten rows deep into the unseeable darkness of the room. The tanks were filled with a glowing yellow liquid, but the contents were a nightmare.

Inside each tank was a creature that looked part-human and part-reptile, resembling a massive Komodo dragon with large, fly-like eyes. Long, curved sword-like spikes protruded from their elbows. Their knee joints were inverted, bending backward in an unnatural, broken-looking way, with additional spikes emerging from the backs of their feet. Their faces remained partially human, though they lacked noses and ended in muzzles. In the center of each chest sat an Orb shaped like a heart, pulsing with terrifying, prominent veins. The most horrifying part was that every single one of those hundreds of tanks contained the exact same creature.

"W... what is this? It's horrible," Nadine muttered, pressing closer to Nolan.

"Insane... that man is experimenting to create mutants like these," Nolan said, his voice trembling with rage.

Suddenly, Nina let go of Nolan’s hand and walked toward a tank on the right. She stood before it, looking up, as the tank was much larger than her—as was the creature inside. Nolan and Nadine followed her. Inside the tank was the same creature, clearly male, with a broader chest than the smaller female in the tank next to it, which had visible breasts. As Nina stared at the creature, she began to shake. Nolan noticed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What is it, Nina?" Nolan asked.

"This creature... I recognize the tattoo on his neck... he’s... he’s the uncle who owned the vegetable shop in my small town," Nina answered, her voice trembling.

"Huh," Nolan looked closer, and it was true—there was a tattoo of a heart pierced by an arrow on the neck of the creature, which appeared to be sleeping inside the tank. Nolan immediately scanned all the other creatures in the surrounding tanks, then turned back to Nina.

"So... these creatures," Nolan muttered, looking at the tanks.

"Yes... they’re the people from my town," Nina replied fiercely, her fists clenching as flames erupted around them.

Nolan was speechless. He could only look around, feeling the weight of Nina’s rage as she took in the sight before them. Beside them, Nadine remained silent, her face expressionless as she stared at the rows of tanks with eyes that seemed deep, dark, and hollow.