[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 167: Pandemonium (2)

Azeth Hermes looked down at the East Asian girl and asked, “Is this the Vessel’s new owner?”

“In my assessment, she has the best compatibility of all the test subjects we’ve seen so far.”

“For even you to be this certain… now that’s exciting.”

Azeth Hermes was genuinely pleased by the young man’s words.

Since the founding of Aeon, countless magicians had been born. Some had power nearly equal to Azeth Hermes himself.

But none had ever proven as helpful as this particular young man.

“The soul wasn't depleted at all during the vessel implantation. It was like scooping lake water into a basin. Her soul is vast—immense, even.”

The young man was more attuned to souls than any other magician.

Given that the vessel’s fuel was the soul itself, he was the ideal person to conduct the experiment.

Perhaps it was because his specialty was curse magic—magic that taints the soul.

“With a soul this powerful, we’ll be able to try many things. I’m already looking forward to it.”

His eyes burned with the desire to discover.

“Very well. You’ll take full charge of this subject.”

“M-Me, sir?”

“I’ve been thinking this for a long time. When it comes to vessels, you surpass even me.”

Once the young man joined the project, the research progressed at an astonishing pace.

“I’ll be expecting excellent results.”

Azeth Hermes offered his encouragement, then left the lab.

As soon as Azeth Hermes was gone, the young man began the experiment. He was too excited to wait even a single second.

“Hello. This is our first time meeting face to face, isn’t it?”

The East Asian girl, now implanted with the vessel, showed no reaction to his words.

Her vacant eyes stared at the ground like a dead fish’s.

“I know you must be confused. Wondering what’s happened to you. Who these people are.”

Still, she gave no answer. Even so, the young man kept talking.

“We’re called Aeon—a group of magicians. Even if you’ve never heard of Aeon, you’ve at least heard of magic, right?”

Magicians were rare, but not entirely hidden from the public eye. They occasionally participated in dungeon expeditions alongside hunters.

“But this operation—no one knows about it. It’s that secret. And it must remain so.”

Aeon had always gone to great lengths to conceal their kidnappings.

If even a sliver of their crimes came to light, not only would the group’s future be in jeopardy, but the experiments would have to cease entirely.

“What we do… we’re trying to understand how to use the relics left behind by a higher being. But it’s no easy task.”

Since its founding, Aeon had been gathering information about the other dimension where demons originated.

Whenever they discovered a record among the relics, they’d pay any price to acquire it. When strange architecture appeared in a dungeon, they’d sneak in to investigate.

Among the knowledge they painstakingly acquired was information about the vessel.

But the data was all fragmented—nowhere near enough to form a complete understanding.

In the end, the only path forward was through direct experimentation.

“Think of it like this: A spaceship suddenly drops into a chimpanzee troop’s habitat. But the chimps can’t possibly understand what it is or how to use it.”

Through years of trial and error, Aeon had discovered a few ways to use the vessel.

But compared to the vessel’s full potential, those discoveries were nothing but crumbs.

“Still, we can’t just let such a marvelous artifact go unused.”

Even those crumbs had produced astonishing results. Aeon had managed to alter human abilities and even create special talents known as “Gifts.”

“Isn’t it exciting? To think of all the things the vessel might still be able to do. To wonder what the vessel really is. That’s why we need your help.”

His lengthy explanation came to an end. But the girl still showed no interest.

“Ah… Looks like she’s in shock.”

It wasn’t uncommon. Many subjects suffered mental collapse from the trauma of abduction.

“Well, that’s disappointing.”

The vessel responds to the soul. And the soul is driven by emotion.

No matter how compatible a subject was, if their emotions were dead, conducting experiments became very difficult.

“I can guess what happened to you.”

He hadn’t looked into her specific case. He didn’t need to. All subjects brought here had gone through similar horrors.

“Did your mother die first, or your father?”

The girl flinched.

“Oh, right. Of course it wasn’t your mother. She would’ve suffered before dying. All the mages in the abduction squad are perverts.”

The girl looked up at him. A flicker of emotion began to return to her lifeless eyes.

“If you were the only one taken, you must be an only child. Or maybe you had older siblings. Did you have a sister?”

He saw the emotions in her eyes grow stronger. Smiling darkly, he pressed further.

“I think you did have a sister… Poor thing. You saw two horrors then, didn’t you? So tell me—was it your mother who died first, or your sist—”

The girl screamed. A bloodcurdling scream that could drive someone insane.

But the young man looked delighted.

“Just as I thought—rage makes the soul surge.”

He could see it—her soul swelling in fury.

“We can move on to the next experiment now.”

He waved his hand. A metal chair on wheels rolled into the room.

A man was tightly strapped into it.

“Did you sleep well?” The young man whispered to him.

The man slowly opened his eyes.

“...Seeing your trash face again makes me want to puke.”

“Now, now. Try to get used to it. You’ll be seeing me a lot more.”

The man’s eyes quivered in rage.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

The young man grabbed the girl’s head.

He stirred her soul to issue a command to the vessel.

“Time to obtain the bloodline.”

Because he was manipulating her soul directly, he could see exactly what was happening to her.

‘???’ reacts to the Healthy Bloodline.

Acquiring True Healthy Bloodline.

The moment he saw the message, his grin stretched to his ears.

“Amazing! I’ve never seen a subject this perfect!”

Most subjects struggled just to absorb the origin of a bloodline. But she had absorbed it without issue.

“Well… not quite without issue.”

The girl let out a painful scream, collapsing to the floor in agony.

He observed her quietly.

“There’s nothing wrong with the vessel… Is her body just not fully matured? But I can’t experiment on adults—their souls aren’t pure enough.”

The bound man looked at him with utter disgust.

“You bastards. What the hell is all this for?!”

“Ugh, not this again. I explained it last time.”

What’s the simplest way for a chimpanzee to figure out how a spaceship works?

Press every button at random. It’s the only way they’ll learn anything.

That’s what this was.

With the vessel, Aeon could create Gifts—but not bloodlines. For some reason, the vessel couldn’t produce them on its own.

“But here’s the strange part. When you put a bloodline near the vessel, it absorbs it. And it always becomes a true bloodline.”

They didn’t know why. Just like chimps wouldn’t understand how a spaceship flies.

So they kept testing. It was the only way to make progress.

“Even if it kills the child?!”

“A noble sacrifice.”

“You monsters… You’ll face divine punishment someday.”

“Divine punishment?”

The young man turned sharply. He wagged a finger at the man.

“You really believe in something that vague? I didn’t take you for the emotional type.”

Slowly, he spread his arms.

“This experiment’s been going on for centuries. Not once has Aeon seen even a whisper of divine punishment. You know why?”

He pointed to the girl, still writhing in pain.

“Because what we have in our hands… is greater than God.”

Pride lit up his face. It was almost too much to bear—knowing that a god was before him, and he could control it however he pleased.

“So stop putting your faith in fairy tales and participate with a little more joy, would you?”

Suddenly, the intercom on the wall rang. The young man pressed the button.

“What is it?”

“S-Sir! We have a situation! An intru—Ah! Stop him! Don’t let him—Aaaaagh!”

A horrible scream rang out, then silence.

“...Hello? Hello?!”

The young man shouted in panic. But there was no reply.

“...Ah, can you hear me now?”

Then, a voice.

“Hi. Is this the Aeon branch? Our intel said it is, so I figured I’d check.”

The voice was young. Not someone who sounded old.

“...Who are you? Why are you interfering with Aeon?”

“Oh, so I was right. Then there’s no need to hold back.”

No need to hold back?

The moment he registered the words, a thunderous boom echoed through the building—again and again.

“What the hell is happening—”

Before he could finish, the door was blasted off its hinges. Even the wall was obliterated.

The shockwave flung the young man across the room.

“W-What the…”

Standing in the wreckage was a boy. His hands were drenched in blood.

“Hi. I’m the one who called earlier.”

He smiled innocently. But the young man couldn’t respond.

“G-Guards! Where are the guards?!”

“No use calling them. I already took care of them.”

The boy made a slashing gesture across his neck with his bloodied hand.

The young man’s face turned pale.

“W-Who are you?!”

“Me?”

The boy cleared his throat.

“I’m Kwon Cheon. I heard someone kidnapped my friend, so I came to get them back.”

The man tied to the chair let out a sigh.

“Took you long enough.”

Then, he sneered at the young man.

“I told you, didn’t I? Divine punishment was coming.”

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]