𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔𝟕: 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 3
“God. . . you have given me a peculiar specimen. Personally. . . I am not a fan of loquacious test subjects. . . . They take forever to silence.”
Count Saint-Germain lifted his deep-set, emerald eyes to meet Siwoo’s.
Had he encountered him under any other circumstance or backdrop, he might have mistaken the man for a decadent matinee idol from an old French film.
His gaunt cheeks, accentuated by sharp cheekbones and piercing eyes, were framed by a tall, lanky physique clad in a tailored suit.
Of course, to Siwoo, he was nothing more than a handsome madman.
“Oh? I’m not much of a talker myself. So I usually just punch them in the mouth. That usually shuts them up.”
“You and I. . . we would not get along. But that. . . does not matter. For a mere test subject, you see. . . . is meant to be judged by me, an apostle of God, and utilized for your sinful flesh as I see fit.”
“Oh, is that right? Well, tell your God I’m sending one of his own to join him right now.”
Siwoo said, pointing the Muramasa he had taken from Yuto at him.
Whereas Balmung was characterized by its refined, hardened edge, the Muramasa possessed a more volatile a
“All things happen in God’s providence. . . even your death. He has prepared all, and. . . the process has been bestowed upon me, his herald and apostle.”
Saint-Germain retrieved several syringes from within his coat.
“I trust you. . . are somewhat familiar with my work.”
Count Saint-Germain of France.
A world-renowned alchemist and an equally accomplished magitech engineer.
He was also known for his lack of interest in monster subjugation or hunting, as he was a man obsessed with his research.
A man rarely seen outside, known to seclude himself in his studies, occasionally publishing papers, one would never have imagined him to be in 〈Pandemonium〉 performing human experiments.
“I know the gist. I’m terrible with faces, but I remember magic circuits and spell formulas. I never could remember ‘Misteltein’s’ face, only his traits.”
“I see. . . I shall. . . demonstrate what happens when an alchemist delves into the human body and toys with forbidden knowledge.”
With that, Saint-Germain plunged the syringes into his abdomen.
Injected with a spring-loaded mechanism, their contents were automatically released into his body.
“Kyaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!”
A look of ecstasy washed over Saint-Germain’s face, and he threw his head back in laughter.
His skin began to turn a deep crimson, and with a sickening tear at his sides, he sprouted two more arms.
A surge in magic power and demonic energy.
His appearance, now grotesque and inhuman, was completed by glowing scarlet eyes.
“God is laughing at meeeeeeeee—God is laughing at meeeeeeeee—God is laughing at meeeeeeeee—God is laughing at meeeeeeeee—God is laughing at meeeeeeeee—”
Gripping four scalpels in his hands, Saint-Germain lunged at Siwoo, digging his heels into the ground.
Clack-clack-clack!
His eyes blazing, Siwoo imbued the Muramasa with magic power and swung it forward.
Zheeeeeeeeeng!!!!!
Despite having merely parried the attack, his wrist throbbed, and the surge of demonic energy caused his stomach to churn.
It wasn’t a matter of speed; it felt as if he were witnessing an explosion of flames.
Had he not intuitively swung the Muramasa, his shoulder would have been cleanly sliced off.
Before Siwoo could catch his breath, Saint-Germain’s attacks came again.
Each of the four scalpels was surrounded by demonic energy, making them comparable in size to regular swords, and the coordination of his four arms was impressive.
Kwang! Kwang!
A deafening roar echoed through the air, and sparks flew as the Muramasa, imbued with magic power, clashed with the scalpels, surrounded by demonic energy.
Siwoo gritted his teeth against the demonic energy that was wreaking havoc on his stomach and abdomen.
Using the Muramasa to deflect his opponent’s blade, he conjured the shotgun in his other hand and fired at his head.
Kwang! Kwang!
However, Saint-Germain crossed his four arms to form a shield, blocking all the bullets.
This shotgun fired magic bullets that could never be blocked by a normal body, but his body had transcended the realm of humanity, making it possible.
No matter, the shotgun was merely a distraction.
Beneath Siwoo’s feet, thousands of letters, symbols, and figures filled a giant circle.
The constructed formula emitted a dark aura as the skill was invoked.
[Iron Song: Iron-Scaled Dragon]
A gargantuan, obsidian dragon, its scales capable of flaying flesh, materialized and charged towards Saint-Germain, its maw agape.
Clang!
The Iron-Scaled Dragon clamped its jaws around Saint-Germain, who screamed and stabbed at the dragon’s face with his scalpels, demonic energy pouring from his wounds.
The laboratory quickly descended into chaos as the two monsters engaged in a fierce battle.
However, the duel was decided in an instant.
The Iron-Scaled Dragon was torn to shreds and reverted to magic particles, and Saint-Germain approached Siwoo with a malicious glint in his crimson eyes.
“For a test subject. . . you possess quite a diverse range of abilities. Swordsmanship, marksmanship, and now magic. . . . Do you possess any other talents?”
“Well, my specialty is actually hand-to-hand combat.”
“How amusing. I shall have to sample your fists next time.”
“Why next time? Why not just get it over with now?”
“Alas. . . God calls me away. And. . . His commands are absolute.”
“I don’t recall giving you permission to leave?”
“Hehehe. . . . Indeed.”
Saint-Germain began to cast a formula.
Dozens of magic circles manifested simultaneously throughout the spacious laboratory, and the corpses began to rise and move.
-Kuwaaaaaaaaaaah!!
━Grooooooooowl. . .!!
━Kuhahahaha! Kuhahahaha!
They were all heavily imbued with demonic energy, and their bodies were deformed, suggesting they had been modified in some way.
Siwoo swung the Muramasa at Saint-Germain with the speed of lightning.
━━━Zheeeeeeng!!!
However, Saint-Germain merely smirked as the Muramasa’s azure blade struck him.
“My, oh my. . . I am immortal. . . I cannot be killed so easily. Consider this a parting gift. . . . May it serve you well. And may God’s favor be with you. . . .”
With those words, he stepped into a disposable portal that had been created in one corner of the laboratory and vanished.
“Damn it.”
Siwoo cursed at the retreating figure.
He had never expected to kill ‘Misteltein’ the first time he encountered him.
Especially since this was his laboratory, where he held all the cards, and it was deep within his stronghold, making it difficult to go all out.
If he made a mistake, the entire laboratory could collapse, killing or injuring other Hunters in the other dimensions.
Furthermore, after meeting Loki and Gandharva, Siwoo realized that ‘Misteltein’ was on a different level.
Not in the sense that he was an insurmountable wall, but that Siwoo needed to be prepared to face him at some point.
‘𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯, 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘢 𝘠𝘢𝘨𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵-𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 〈𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮〉. 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?’
Siwoo sensed that a considerable amount of power had shifted to the demon race.
“I don’t know what promises you made or betrayed, but you’re going to pay the price.”
He said, aiming his shotgun at the ‘test subjects’ that Saint-Germain had left behind.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
Hikatan, a subordinate of the Demon King of the 2nd Realm.
His purple skin rippled as he paced back and forth in the room, his massive body shaking.
“Hikatan! Sit still, you restless devil! Sit! Sit!”
Solaso, another subordinate of the Demon King of the 2nd Realm, shouted at him.
“S-s-s-shut up! I-i-it’s been m-m-months s-s-since I’ve, I’ve been with a w-w-woman, and I-I-I’m g-g-getting f-f-frustrated!”
“You forced yourself on slaves anyway! When new slaves come in, do it then! Do it then! Do it then!”
“S-s-s-shut up! Do, do you e-e-even know my p-p-pain?!”
“What pain! You can’t even control such cheap sexual urges, how can you be an underling! How! How! How!”
Hikatan glared at Solaso out of the corner of his eye.
A thick cloud of demonic energy rose from his body like a mist, and Solaso, not to be outdone, also summoned his aura.
The situation was on the brink of chaos.
“Kekekeke. Don’t just pretend to fight all the time, why don’t you really fight to show who’s stronger?”
A man in a white suit, perched on the windowsill, said mockingly.
Tatar, a subordinate of the Demon King of the 3rd Realm.
“What the hell, man?! Why did you come into someone else’s territory without permission and start meddling! Meddling! Meddling!”
“Th-th-that’s r-r-right! G-g-get out of h-h-here! I’ll k-k-kill you!”
“You’re such a nuisance.”
Tatar strode inside, sat down on a chair, and propped his feet up on the table.
“What do you want? A fight? Is that it? Is that it?”
“No. I’ve come to form an alliance with you.”
“A-a-a-alliance?! Y-y-you? W-w-with us?!”
“Yes, so sit down and listen, you imbeciles.”
Solaso and Hikatan exchanged glances before sitting down opposite Tatar.
“Who do you think is the most successful subordinate right now?
“Kr-kr-Kraken-nim?”
Hikatan replied when Tatar asked.
“Kraken-nim and Bablehner.”
Kraken, a subordinate of the Demon King of the 1st Realm, and Bablehner, a subordinate of the Demon King of the 4th Realm.
“We’re the worst, don’t you know? We have the worst reputation, you bastards.”
“Why are we the worst? Worst? Worst?”
“Hey, Solaso, Hikatan. Only your and my subordinates have failed. Don’t you remember?”
Solaso’s underling, pyromancer Kaise, Tatar’s underling, Ruslana, and Hikatan’s subordinate, Sakun, were all either killed or broken by Siwoo.
“If this goes on, we’re screwed. Kraken-nim is strong, so he’ll be fine, but if we’re not careful, we’ll be overtaken by Bablehner and end up as laughingstocks.”
“Th, th, that’s, that’s absurd! Ba, Bablehner is. . . a, a greenhorn who’s not even, even ten ye, years old!”
“Solaso, what do you think?”
Tatar asked.
In truth, there were four Demon Kings and their subordinates from the 1st Realm to the 4th Realm, but that meant that the demon race was divided into four factions.
The demon race was more social and organized than devils, but that was only within their own factions.
They never united unless they served the same Demon King.
The Demon King’s subordinates existed to make their Demon King the ultimate ‘king’.
Right now, they were not fighting each other because of their shared goal of conquering humanity, but once humanity was in their grasp, the Demon Kings would undoubtedly go to war with each other.
“Tatar, what kind of alliance are you talking about? Talking about? Talking about?”
Solaso asked with a serious expression.
The alliance itself was not important.
What was more important was the purpose of the alliance.
Tatar finally smiled, as if the conversation had finally reached a point.
“Let us join forces and make the Demon King of the 2nd Realm and the Demon King of the 3rd Realm the candidates for the final ‘king’.”
“Wh-wh-what are y-y-you s-s-saying?”
“Let’s get rid of Kraken and Bablehner.”
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