“…”
Desir turned around and returned to the hallway before heading deeper into the laboratory.
The age of experimental subjects increased as he went further inside, before stopping after reaching the 60s. Subsequent subjects were classified by constitution rather than age.
The glass doors listed subjects by various traits including: unique blood types, a man who had survived a previous alchemical experiment and even a man that had reached the First-Circle.
There were no survivors. However, amongst those names, there was a new demarcation on two doors. It read “unsecured.”
Teenage woman at the Third-Circle, unsecured.
Teenage man at the Third-Circle, unsecured.
‘…’
For a moment Desir’s heart beat violently. He felt as if his blood was literally boiling. He could never forgive Pureus.
Desir continued down the hallway before reaching the end of it. The hallway terminated in a large circular room.
There was a monitor that kept track of the status of the human experiments, a freezer and a coffin full of various test material, as well as a man boldly standing in the middle of the room.
There was a dim smile on his lips.
“Ahahahaha, good. I’ll admit it. I didn’t think you’d be able to make it all the way here, but I’ll be washing my hands of you now. You are insanely amazing.”
Of course, it was the Alchemist, Pureus Niftion.
“I am also impressed.”
Desir spoke solemnly, but with a firm tone.
“Only a face like yours could utter such trash so confidently. You shouldn’t even be able to hold your head high after throwing your humanity away.”
“Please, do I really deserve such harsh words? In order for progress to be made, sacrifices must be made as well. I’ve furthered alchemy through my utter dedication to the craft! I have reached the sublime truth!”
“All these wasted lives, and you want praise for your dedication?”
“Yes. Progress requires noble sacrifice. The experimental data gained from sacrifice formed the basis of my research. Without them, I never would have been able to revolutionize Alchemy! Revolutionize the world!”
He spoke fervently to Desir while pointing his finger at him.
“Now I am approaching the precipice. Only one more sacrifice needs to be made. With a Third-Circle wizard, I can finally finish my research! One of the greatest truths that mankind has pursued for so long can finally be revealed! Don’t you want to be witness to this moment? As a wizard who has dedicated their life to unveiling the truth, can you really say you aren’t interested?”
“… ”
Desir didn’t feel this question was worth answering, instead he aimed a spell at him with a face filled with disgust.
Pureus screamed in desperation.
“How come! Why don’t you chase the great truth?! Why aren’t you praising my great achievements! I am the closest to uncovering the truth! More than anyone in the world!”
“I try not to make a hobby of being pleased with the deeds of a manic murderer.”
Pureus exploded in a fit of rage.
“Human experiments are an inevitable factor in exploring life.”
“I’m only going to ask you one question.”
Desir killing intent began to leak out.
“Was there anyone who agreed to your delusion and participated in the experiment willingly?”
“What?”
“Did anyone ever join you in the pursuit of your great ‘truth,’ Pureus? Did anyone ever enthusiastically agree to those painful experiments, with the same fervor as you conducted them? I’ll put it plainly: has anyone willingly thrown away their life?”
“You are pathetic. In the pursuit of the truth, such questions are irrelevant! They should be thanking me for using their humble bodies in a manner useful for the advancement of human civilization.”
“… ”
Desir regretted even starting a conversation with the deranged Pureus. His delusion was not on a level that could be solved through conversation.
“What a shame. You, after all, are no different than the close-minded simpletons in the Academy. Well, that’s it.”
When Pureus finished speaking, as if to confirm that he’d made up his mind, a notification sounded.
[Rare Hero Pureus Niftion’s evil deeds were detected]
[Your reputation with Pureus has dropped to ‘Hostile.’]
[Pureus’s research will bring numerous advances to human civilization in the future, but his research required numerous victims.]
[Pureus is a person who will do anything for his own research. You are an important experiment subject for his research. He intends to use his trump card to make you an experimental subject.]
[ – Defeat Pureus Niftion.]
Pureus sighed before addressing Desir for the last time.
“It’s unfortunate. I never thought I could convince you, but I didn’t want it to end this way.”
It was as he said. No further conversation was necessary. Pureus wanted to catch him and make him an experimental subject, and Desir had to defeat Pureus to progress the quest.
Desir immediately unleashed a spell, hoping to defeat Pureus before he had a chance to unleash the trump card the Shadow Dungeon had warned him about.
[Charged Bolt]
Desir lifted his hand and fired an electrical spell at Pureus. It was magic that would stun the target on hit.
*Hiss*
At that moment, the coffin at the center of the lab opened and the creature inside it reached out and blocked the magic. The lightning scattered.
“… Ooh, this is my completed body. This is a body most satisfactory for living an eternity within.”
It was ‘something’ in the form of a human that was able to stop the magic. The skin was blue and the whole body seemed to be covered with fish scales.
It looked at Desir. Its eyes were blank, completely void of any emotion or signs of life. That is until they slowly began to fill with hostility towards Desir.
[ – Encountered the pinnacle of alchemy: a Homunculus]
[This is the answer that Pureus Niftion has reached after spending so long exploring the mysteries of alchemy in search of eternal life.]
[Novel and pure, it is a true lifeform just like that of a human.]
[It has recognized you as an enemy who has attacked it.]
Desir was astonished.
“He must have failed… ”
Pureus’s study had clearly failed. If the research had been successful, it would have eventually been uncovered and recorded in the history books.
Desir was somewhat embarrassed by the fact that the history of this Shadow World reflected a major difference from reality.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t I say that I was about to complete it? Even though I couldn’t obtain the right wizard material to properly finish it, it should still be enough to deal with you.”
The Homunculus struck the ground. The basement laboratory was quite large so the distance between it and Desir was quite large, but that quickly changed before Desir had time to react.
Its speed was far superior to that of the Chimera he had dealt with before.
“Kieeaeek!”
The Homunculus swung its arm at Desir. It was a simple swing without any skill, but its speed and power exceeded the Rook class, and in terms of its pure power, was at the level of a Bishop class attack.
Desir hastily unleashed magic to strengthen his body.
[Balance Adjustment]
[Strengthen Muscle Strength]
[Enhance Dynamic Visual Acuity]
[Acceleration]
Even though he managed to invoke four different body strengthening spells, he had only just managed to buy himself enough time to react. Even with this strengthening magic, Desir was no match for the Homunculus, so he began arranging Third-Circle defensive spells one after another.
[Sigh of Kizard]
[Fire Shield]
Whenever the defensive magic and Homunculus hit each other, a heavy clash rang out and dust fell from the ceiling.
The fierce battle continued. Desir, who had crossed numerous life-or-death crises in the past, had never experienced battling against an enemy with this level of physical abilities while on his own.
However, the Homunculus had a decisive difference from the typical enemy Desir had encountered.
‘Its attacks are very monotonous.’
The attack pattern was dead simple.
The Homunculus continued to attack only in the form of swinging its arms or biting. It felt as if a newborn baby had taken over a monstrous adult’s body.
It also seemed to be unable to control its power and accurately gauge the distance between itself and its target. These defects manifested in it hitting its own body or bouncing off walls that it charged into due to inertia.
No matter how powerful the creature was, it was a useless creation without a wizard able to control it.
For Desir, who had experienced numerous battlefields, this battle had turned into a piece of cake.
Desir read its pattern and began to move in earnest. When the Homunculus charged forward again, Desir did not avoid it and instead unleashed [Sigh of Kizard] in its face.
*Baaam*
The [Sigh of Kizard] spell couldn’t withstand the shock and shattered. The Homunculus maintained its trajectory and hit Desir head-on. Since the momentum was greatly reduced by the defensive magic, Desir took no serious damage.
Desir held his ground and grabbed the Homunculus’s head. He then started to arrange a spell.
[Gravity Control]
As the gravity started to increase, Desir kicked Homunculus’s head to the ground.
*Smash*
It was such a large impact that cracks appeared on the stone floor. Desir wasn’t yet done, however. Another attack shortly followed up.
*Burst*
Dozens of fireballs formed in the air and crashed into the Homunculus’s body. As the fireballs rained down, a smoke cloud formed.
“Kiaaaaaaah!”
Homunculus flailed its fist around to escape from Desir’s attack but was blocked by Desir’s defensive magic.
The initiative of this battle had long been seized by Desir.
Desir calmly responded to the attack of the Homunculus and sealed its movement.
[Bind]
[lce Crown]
“Kiee-aeek!”
A scream burst out.
The Homunculus was pummeled by Desir.
An utterly ruthless pummeling.
Despite being hit with so much magic, based on the screams, it still managed to hang onto life. The strength of its body was definitely incredible.
‘Of course, it won’t last much longer.’
While pummeling the Homunculus, Des1r couldn’t help but ponder the implications this event raised.
—-
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