What interested Kaden the most was if there was a way to enter places no one else could. That is to use the codes he had picked up. The problem being, the outside entrance was open. There was no need for the codes to enter the remnant.

Inside was pretty similar. There were doors, but they were not something that would block the way. They had not clearly been designed to protect something valuable or prevent entry to such places. They, as far as Kaden could tell, easy to just open, even if they were indestructible.

The codes were for emergency use. One could then use logic to determine places it would give access. An outside explorer should be able to use them to get access to basically anywhere. Perhaps unlock some security station to do so? Kaden had not noted any on the way. He needed to proceed further.

He and Emina did so. They didn't want to take part in unneccessary fights. Some larger fights had started in more open areas. Sacronan on one side and saints on other. Why? Kaden could not say. Possibly just because they happened to run into each other. That would be complete and utter waste of time and effort.

Luckily considering how the insides of the remnant was structured, if one encountered a blocked path, be it due to fighting or anything else, there were usually other ways to go.

Kaden and Emina took care to avoid any unneccessary blockages and went to other available paths. Not that they were much better choices as they found out.

They had gone to a path that had a door which closed behind them.

"Its no use", Kaden said. "The door might as well be invulnerable."

Emina was standing a bit further listening.

"The only way forward right now is that way", she said with some concern. "Yet, it stinks of blood and I hear screams."

"We have no choice", Kaden casually replied and walked towards that direction. "No point worrying, if you can't change it."

Emina didn't bother trying to say anything to Kaden.

Kaden probably should have been more concerned when floor and walls seemed to be covered in fresh flowing blood and a bit further the entire pathway was either made out of pulsating flesh or at least covered by it. Tiny tendrils wriggled everywhere like worms.

When Kaden tried to damage the wall, it did get damaged, but that flesh and its tendrils quickly replaced it. What he had been able to see under it was white material that Kaden determined to be bone.

"It seems this area is... alive", Kaden said.

"Be careful, the screams and shouts are louder", Emina replied. "It is at least small group of people."

"They are fighting, I think", Kaden confirmed the matter. "And losing, it seems."

Not long after there was somehow an opening on the fleshy wall and there was a text on it. It read "Artificial meat production".

"How interesting", Emina muttered. "If you are going to sit in a bunker like this for years while you hide from mana storms and monsters outside, you might want a source of food such as meat. They made it for themselves. No need to go out hunting or have cattle."

"And its gone haywire with all the mana", Kaden pointed out. "I think rather than people eating it, its eating people."

So far, despite their discoveries, they went in through nearby entrance. All the screams and shouts were coming from there. Hopefully it wasn't dead end or they would have to find a way to get the doors open.

Problem was what was happening inside. It was some saint soldiers or at least what was left of them. Some people had been clearly torn apart while others were still fighting against some flesh tentacles. Kaden happened to notice some transparent containers on the other side. It seemed the people that the tentacles had not killed were put inside and cut into thin slices and spread elsewhere to grow into more flesh.

In fact, Kaden noticed in one container there was a head with basically only its eyes left. They were still moving even as more and more slices were cut off from its bottom. Whoever that had been, was still apprently alive. The eyes were full of terror.

Death was better option, it seemed, rather than being collected by the tentacles and to be made grow more flesh.

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"There is exit on the other side", Emina quietly said as they tried to not attract attention. There was no telling, if the flesh could tell they were there, but at least for the time being it ignored them. As for helping the saints? That just wasn't a concern to either Kaden nor Emina. "I think these saints tried to get there too. I recommend we attempt to do so while this... living room is concentrating on them."

"I agree", Kaden replied. Emina's plan was very good. The saints could act as a bait.

Kaden and Emina ignored the pleas for help from the saints and tried to pass without being noticed by the flesh. Whether it was the shouting or that it already knew, tentacles formed in front of Kaden and Emina blocking their path.

"We better open a way quickly", Emina told Kaden and blasted some kind of sound towards the tentacles that sounded like tearing something apart. The effect was also matching.

The tentacles were torn to pieces opening a path, but they seemed to start reforming quickly, not to mention more of similar tentacles starting to grow nearby. Kaden rushed forward and released Fire Blast. This seemed to have greater effect as the flesh burned. It didn't seem to be able to reform while it was on fire.

From somewhere echoed a scream. It wasn't the saints or any people. Kaden determined it was probably the flesh room.

It was clearly angry. Tentacles started to multiply while Kaden did his best to destroy them with fire.

All would have been fine, but by the time Kaden and Emina reached the door, they found it did not open. It was different this time. It seemed active and working, but there was a mechanism on it that didn't seem to unlock as the other doors before.

Around at this time the tentacles started to gather together. Kaden could not deal enough harm to them to stop them completely and eventually they started to twist around each other and formed muscle like flesh. It then began to form into shape with arms and legs, but no other features. It was basically meat creature made out of muscle. It even was able to resist more of the fire that Kaden tried to use against it while it was still forming.

Kaden frowned. This new opponent looked like trouble.

"Emina! Get the door open quickly", Kaden shouted to Emina as he prepared to fight a creature. "That is unless you want to fight it?"

In fact, if there was any other exits, Kaden might have tried to get Emina fight it while he ran away, but there were none and he expected Emina to know more of the ancient tech.

"Hold on", Emina said as she was trying to pull off some of the flesh from around the door. "There is something under it."

Kaden could no longer stop the flesh creature from forming. He decided to go full power if needed. Emina could be killed later to prevent her from telling the truth about him to anyone. Yet, time for that was not yet.

The flesh creature separated itself from the mass on floor and walls and then it lurched towards Kaden at surprising speed despite its size. Kaden did not dare to get hit by it directly, but instead he kept dodging around it and damage it as much as possible. This also seemed to keep its interest on him.

"Its an emergency exit!" Emina shouted as she managed to pull off some flesh. "There also a screen underneath. It says the door has been sealed due to ... contamination?"

Kaden barely avoided a strike from the muscular flesh creature. Its fist struck the floor, where the meat parted and thick blood splattered as it turned to mush, but then quickly everything started to gather in again as if nothing had happened. Had it hit Kaden, he probably would have been crushed in similar manner.

"I believe the codes we have will help here!" Emina continued. "I should be able to input it and override this seal."

Kaden didn't have the time to rejoice. It looked like the codes finally started to be useful.

The flesh creature was going into greater frenzy as moments passed and Kaden was grazed slightly. He could feel enormous force connect, but not go directly at him. The earlier concerns about getting hit became even more pressing concerns. He had barely avoided being heavily wounded.

Then there was sound behind him. The door had opened! Kaden didn't waste time and rushed through just after Emina.

The flesh creature roared even without a mouth and leaped towards, but just as it was going to come through too, Emina pressed a button near the door and it closed. Despite the force behind the flesh creature, the door didn't suffer the slightest damage. Even better, the flesh growth had not spread to the area. In fact, the area just behind the door was completely unlike anything they had seen in the remnant so far.

Crazy? Something odd? None of that. By saying "anything unlike they had seen before", it meant this time that the area seemed completely normal. At least on the first glance.

"The door will hold, but where is this?" Kaden said as he looked around. There was dust everywhere and some stairs. "There seems to be nothing strange here. I don't see any space distortions or anything unusual. It seems we may have entered a new separate section of the remnant."

Emina went to the stairs and looked up and down. "It seems normal here too".

Yet, the ever present dense mana was still around. It just didn't seem to have caused anything noticeable.

"You said this is an emergency exit", Kaden said and decided to ignore the matter of the place being too normal. "How far do you think this goes?"

"It should go near the surface", Emina said as she looked up. "As for down... hard to say, but this might serve as a shortcut to deeper levels. There is no telling if anyone else has found this way. We at least got in with the codes."

She walked back towards the door behind which they could still hear the creature beating the door in futile manner. There was an interface on their side too. Emina started to use it.

"I can see some maintenance information from here, it is not just a door lock", Emina told Kaden. "According to this everything in this place is still functional. Despite the ages passing and its internal space completely distorted and strange effects from mana. All I can see is that some doors have been sealed just like this one was."

"That doesn't matter", Kaden pointed out. "We have codes to bypass them. This stairwell goes deep. I say we use it. This place seems calm too."

Emina had nothing against that so she merely nodded. The pair started to walk down the stairs.