System Mission: Seduce the Strongest S-Class Hunters or Die Trying! Chapter 207: [BRINGING UP ORION]

"A lab... made by a human..."

The mont the words left Eli’s mouth, the room erupted.

Not shouting—but the sharp, overlapping murmur of disbelief.

"A lab made by a human?"

"How are you sure it was human-made?"

"That’s impossible."

"Could it have been an illusion?"

"What kind of lab was it?"

"How do you know it wasn’t just another dungeon construct?"

Eli didn’t speak over them.

He knew better.

This wasn’t small information—it was the kind that shattered assumptions. He waited as the room buzzed with confusion and speculation, heart pounding while the weight of countless eyes bore down on him.

’They’re not wrong... it sounds insane.’

When the noise began to settle, Eli glanced toward Midas. Even the Chairman seed montarily stunned—his expression carefully composed, but clearly shaken beneath the surface.

That alone told Eli just how serious this revelation was.

He took a steady breath.

"To answer everyone’s questions—yes," he said. "I’m certain it was a human-made lab."

The room quieted again.

"When I was taken there, I had ti to look around. There were machines—real machinery. Tubes. Containers filled with strange liquids. Equipnt arranged like soone had actually worked there, like experints had taken place." He paused briefly. "But it was abandoned. Everything was worn down... aged. Dust-coated, corroded—like it had been untouched for a very long ti."

His gaze flicked toward Caelen and Kairo.

Caelen gave a faint nod—they had seen the place too, even if they hadn’t had ti to process it properly before the dungeon’s exit had appeared.

Kairo remained motionless, but his eyes were on Eli—focused. Quietly intense.

"We can assu the lab was experinting on the monsters," Eli continued. "Or... creating them. I don’t know the thod, but it may explain why so of the creatures resembled Aerth animals."

His hand drifted unconsciously to his wrist—where Wormy remained hidden beneath his sleeve.

’And maybe why you exist too...’

Swallowing, he forced himself to go on.

"And the reason I know it belonged to a human is because..." Eli’s fingers curled into tight fists.

"...I found a photograph."

The word sent a ripple through the room.

"I wasn’t able to bring it today, but the picture showed a scientist. He looked human. Pale skin, normal features... except he had white hair, which was unusual." Eli hesitated. "But nothing about him appeared monstrous or magical."

He lifted his eyes fully now.

"He looked like a person from Aerth."

The room felt heavier.

Like a truth settling slowly into place.

"And I believe..." Eli added quietly, "he was the one who owned that lab."

"You never told us about a photograph," Kairo murmured quietly at Eli’s side.

"I was too busy being traumatized," Eli whispered back without looking at him.

Kairo blinked, clearly unsure if that was a joke or not.

’I’m not joking. I’m just not going to elaborate either.’

The bitterness curled in Eli’s chest despite himself. He knew, logically, that it wasn’t fair to resent them for how everything unfolded—they hadn’t known what he knew. They hadn’t felt what he felt.

But it still stung.

Because that dungeon had been traumatizing.

And the mont Caelen and Kairo arrived, all they did was fight—their power tearing through the battlefield like Eli wasn’t even there.

Now he knew why.

Brothers.

Of course they were.

And not once did either of them bother to ntion it.

So why should Eli bare every fragile piece of information to them when they hadn’t shared anything either?

’You wouldn’t have...’

His thought cut off when Midas’ voice ca through the microphone again.

"Can you bring that photograph to us? For analysis purposes," he asked. "I’m quite curious—and this may prove groundbreaking for our research."

Eli nodded once. "Of course. I’ll bring it as soon as I can."It would be safer in the hands of the Hunter Association than anywhere else.

A mont later, another hand rose.

Samantha Park.

"Yes, Samantha?" Midas acknowledged.

Her gaze was sharp as she spoke. "Is it even possible? If this dungeon really had a human-made lab with a living—or forrly living—human inside, wouldn’t that normally cause an imdiate collapse or explosion?"

The room shifted.

"As far as we know," Samantha continued, "anything—or anyone—not native to the dungeon destabilizes it when left inside. That destabilization caused the tears in Korenea. And whatever remained in Lion’s Fang’s S-Class dungeon led to a massive explosion—"

"Oh hoho," Zacharias cut in sharply, rising halfway from his seat. "Are you seriously bringing that up now?"

Samantha turned her glare toward him. "It has been part of this discussion the entire ti. I’m just using it as a clear example."

"Or," Zacharias snapped, "you just want to keep rubbing our guild’s mistake in our faces."

"Mistake?" Samantha shot back. "There are still dinsional tears appearing and monsters pouring into our world. That’s not a mistake, that’s a catastrophe—"

"Enough."

Midas’ voice cracked through the rising argunt like a whip.

Both Samantha and Zacharias stiffened, imdiately falling silent as their attention snapped to him.

The tension lingered thick in the room.

Eli let out a slow breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

’They’re still thinking of fighting in this situation...?’

Surrounded by legends and heroes, Eli couldn’t help thinking that sotis, even the strongest people were still just... people.

’I swear, these are grown adults.’

And grown adults, apparently, never stopped being ssy.

"I understand your concerns," Midas said calmly, his voice carrying the quiet authority that instantly settled the room. "But I believe whatever has been happening... has already gone far beyond what we currently understand."

He paused, then turned his gaze toward Eli.

"There is no reason not to believe Elione."

Eli’s eyes widened slightly.

The tension coiled in his chest loosened for the first ti since stepping up to the podium.

He hadn’t realized how badly he needed soone—anyone—to take him seriously until it finally happened.

’He... fully believes . No hesitation. No doubt. Wow.’

Eli found himself smiling back without even aning to.

Midas continued, turning to the crowd. "At present, this is the most substantial lead we possess. The presence of a human-made lab could explain not only what we are seeing—but possibly how, or why, Caelen and his team gained sudden access to that dungeon."

His attention shifted to Caelen.

"According to their reports... the gate simply appeared. There was no summoning attempt, no ritual activity, no trigger event."

Caelen gave a short nod in confirmation.

"They were not doing anything out of the ordinary."

Midas moved on smoothly. "And there is no reason for them to lie." His eyes swept briefly across the room. "The available footage from the room they occupied prior to the gate appearing corroborates their statents completely."

The murmurs dwindled again.

"This case is riddled with anomalies," Midas said. "And at this stage, all information—no matter how strange—is valuable."

Eli let out a careful breath.

There was still one piece of information he hadn’t told them.

One detail that lingered like a thorn in his mind—sothing that could actually help, especially if they were trying to trace the scientist’s identity... to figure out whether he truly ca from Aerth.

A na.

A na that haunted his mories even when he wasn’t thinking about it.

The na the serpent had hissed with its dying breath.

The na printed beneath the photograph of the man in the lab coat.

Before he could stop himself—

"Orion," Eli murmured under his breath.

The word slipped free like he hadn’t even chosen to say it.

His eyes widened instantly.

’What—why did I say that?’

"Pardon?" Midas asked gently. "Did you say sothing else, Elione?"

"Oh—no. I—I—did I?" Eli stamred, heat climbing up his neck. "I—"

He cut himself off, heart suddenly racing for reasons he couldn’t explain.

Because sothing deep inside him scread that he shouldn’t say that na aloud.

’Don’t. Don’t say it. Don’t let anyone hear it.’

But he didn’t know why.

He didn’t understand where that instinct ca from, or why it felt so urgent—so desperate—as if crossing that invisible line would change everything.

What made it worse was the irony of it all.

His body was the one that betrayed him first.

And now that sa body was telling him to shut up.

Eli swallowed hard, fingers tightening against the podium until his knuckles nearly ached.

’Why can’t I say it?’

He had the na.

He had more information—pieces that could matter, pieces that could connect everything.

He should say it.

So why did his chest feel like it was being squeezed shut every ti he tried?

A sudden sound broke the silence beside him.

"Ah."

Eli turned his head.

It was Caelen.

Caelen’s eyes were wide—not mischievous, not smug—but strangely alert, as if sothing had just clicked in his head. Recognition.

He lifted his gaze toward Midas.

The room followed his movent effortlessly.

"Orion," Caelen said.

The na rang through the air like a dropped blade.

Eli tensed instantly.

’Oh, co on.’

"The serpent—the SS-Class boss..." Caelen continued, voice steady but carrying an edge he didn’t usually show. "It spoke a word. Just one. The word was ’Orion.’ I didn’t think it was relevant at the ti, but then I rembered that—"

He stopped.

Mid-suggest, mid-thought—

Just stopped.

Too clean.

Too sudden.

Like soone had slamd a ntal door shut.

For a heartbeat, he remained frozen there, mouth slightly open... staring straight at Midas.

Midas stared back.

Expressionless.

Silent.

The kind of stillness that felt deliberate.

Then, without another word, Caelen turned away from the podium and faced the crowd again—completely composed, as if he hadn’t spoken at all.

As if nothing had happened.

Eli’s brows furrowed.

’What... just happened?’

The mont felt wrong.

Too wrong.

Caelen wasn’t the type to hesitate. He never cut himself off. Ever. And now he had looked like soone yanked a mory—or a sentence—right out of him.

Eli’s stomach churned.

’Did... sothing stop him?’