The effects of Aria's vial had not fully faded when Lucian woke the next morning. Every fiber of his body seemed to vibrate with heightened sensitivity, as if his nerves were exposed, catching air currents and ground vibrations with supernatural precision. Beside him, Aria was still asleep, her red hair spread across the pillow like a pool of fresh blood, a predatory smile lingering on her lips.
He rose carefully, avoiding waking her. The system flickered before his eyes.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[RESIDUAL EFFECT: HYPER-ACUTE SENSES (DURATION: 4 HOURS)]
[CLASS QUEST: THE SECRETS OF VALERIUS]
[OBJECTIVE: INFILTRATE THE UNDERGROUND LABORATORY AND RECOVER "SYNTHETIC BLOOD" SAMPLES]
Lucian didn't need to wake Aria to know she would follow the moment he crossed the threshold. But before that, he had an appointment.
The meeting point was an abandoned greenhouse at the edge of the Academy's botanical gardens. Shizuka was waiting for him, dressed in lightweight black leather combat gear that left no doubt about her intentions. She was no longer wearing her student uniform, but the armor of a hunter.
"You're late, Lucian," she said without turning around. "You still smell like that woman. It's… disgusting. And fascinating."
"We're not here to talk about my private life, Shizuka. Do you have the plans?"
She pulled a scroll from her boot.
"Valerius doesn't answer only to the Academy. He's funded by a radical faction of the Church of Light. They're trying to create 'Artificial Saints' by injecting blood from shadow creatures into orphans. They call it the Pure Plasma Project."
Lucian clenched his fists. So that was it. The same experiment that had broken him—now on an industrial scale.
"The entrance is hidden beneath the morgue of the alchemy department," Shizuka continued. "But there's a problem. The guards aren't human. They're soulless homunculi. They don't feel pain, and they explode when defeated."
"Then we won't defeat them," a voice said behind them. "We'll erase them."
Aria appeared, stepping out of the shadow of a withered rosebush. She fixed Shizuka with undisguised contempt.
"Why does the Master burden himself with a little human who talks too much?"
"Because that human knows the security codes," Shizuka shot back, drawing her katana. "Something your brute force can't bypass."
"Enough," Lucian cut in. "We move. Aria, you handle the shadows. Shizuka, you clear the way. I'll deal with Valerius."
The infiltration began in icy silence. Using the skill [Shadow Call], the trio slipped past the first defensive lines without alerting the homunculi. The catacombs formed a labyrinth of damp stone and copper piping, through which a fluorescent liquid flowed.
As they descended deeper, the stench became unbearable. This was no longer blood, but a corrupted, chemical imitation—an insult to life itself.
They finally stopped before a massive circular door of cold iron.
"This is it," Shizuka whispered. "The central laboratory is behind it."
With a sharp motion, Aria drove her claws into the door's mechanism and crushed it. The metal groaned before giving way. Inside, the sight surpassed horror. Dozens of glass tanks held the bodies of children and young adults, floating in amber fluid. Cables were connected to their veins, siphoning their essence toward a central collector.
At the center of the room stood Valerius, facing a tank larger than all the others. Inside, a winged silhouette—half-formed—twitched restlessly.
"Ah, Mister Kurogane!" Valerius exclaimed without turning around. "I knew your curiosity would be your undoing. Or perhaps it's your blood calling to you?"
"What is this abomination?" Lucian spat.
"Perfection, my boy! A creature with the power of a vampire, the resilience of a demon, and the devotion of an angel. It lacks only one thing… a primordial catalyst."
Valerius turned, an alchemical pistol in his hand.
"Your blood, Lucian. Your single drop burned out my crystal, but it also revealed its unique frequency. You are the Origin. You are the missing piece."
"Die, old man!" Shizuka shouted, launching herself at him.
Before she could reach him, four massive homunculi dropped from the ceiling, interposing themselves between her and the alchemist. The fight erupted instantly. Shizuka became a whirlwind of steel, severing artificial limbs with cold fury, while Aria unleashed herself, tearing out the guards' mana-hearts with gleeful cruelty.
Lucian focused on Valerius.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: BLOOD CHAINS]
Crimson bindings burst from the ground, wrapping around the alchemist's legs. Valerius laughed and pressed a button on a console. A force field activated, repelling the chains.
"You don't understand, Lucian! I'm not alone! The Blackwoods paid me for this project! Your father wanted to know if he could use your 'remains' to make Alistair invincible!"
The mention of his father was the final spark. Lucian's rage detonated, releasing an aura so dense that the glass tanks began to crack.
[SYSTEM ALERT: "BLOOD BERSERKER" MODE ACTIVATED]
[MANA CONSUMPTION: 50 PER SECOND]
[STRENGTH AND AGILITY DOUBLED]
Lucian didn't run—he teleported. He appeared in front of Valerius, passing through the force field by the sheer pressure of his primordial presence. He seized the alchemist by the throat and lifted him.
"My father will get nothing," Lucian murmured, his eyes turning pitch black. "And neither will you."
With a sharp motion, he activated [Domination]. He didn't merely kill Valerius; he began draining his mana directly, reversing the process of the tanks. The alchemist screamed as his skin withered, his knowledge and power ripped from him by the Monarch.
[ABSORPTION SUCCESSFUL: +2000 XP]
[ALCHEMICAL KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED: RANK B]
[LEVEL UP! LEVEL 13]
As Valerius collapsed into dust, the central tank exploded. The winged creature—unfinished and maddened by pain—burst free, unleashing a shrill scream that made Shizuka's ears bleed.
"Master!" Aria cried, throwing herself in front of Lucian to intercept the creature's attack. "It's unstable! It's going to blow everything up!"
"Not if I claim it," Lucian said.
He stepped toward the fallen angel crawling across the floor, its wings smeared with synthetic blood. He placed his hand on its forehead.
[TAMING ATTEMPT…]
[BLOOD COMPATIBILITY: HIGH]
[CONSUME OR SPARE?]
Lucian looked at the creature. It was a parody of life—a victim, just like him.
"Spare. And bind."
A new chain, thinner and golden, linked Lucian's heart to the creature's. It calmed instantly, its features smoothing into the face of a young girl of ethereal, melancholic beauty. She closed her eyes and collapsed into Lucian's arms.
Aria approached, her eyes blazing with fierce jealousy.
"Another one? You saved another one?"
Shizuka, wiping blood from her forehead, stepped closer and sheathed her blade.
"She's powerful. And she owes you her life. Looks like your 'harem' is growing, Kurogane. But don't forget… I'm the one with the escape plans."
The laboratory began to collapse. Lucian lifted the new arrival—whom he silently named Selene—and nodded to the other two.
"We're leaving. This was only the first branch of the conspiracy. Now, we go for the root."