Hearing this, Lucas finally understood why he hadn't aged and why his body had been so perfectly compatible with Sucrose's alchemical arm, without a hint of rejection.
It was because he had been an alchemical creation all along!
Although when Lucas took on the role of the simulator, his emotions and personality would resonate with the character, he still retained his primary consciousness.
In other words, as shocking as this story was, to Lucas in the simulator's imrsive mode, it was still just that - a story.
"You seem pretty calm. I expected you to be more shaken," the Perfect Creation remarked, sowhat disappointed. "But after twenty years of observation, I've finally realised what I've been missing."
"Don't tell it's sothing like 'love'," Lucas replied coldly. "I might throw up."
"No, it's 'fulfilnt'," the Perfect Creation replied. "When you are satisfied with your life, you naturally reach a new evolution."
So that's what it was?
Indeed, the reason why Lucas had begun to age, and why Alice had been able to conceive, was because he had begun to live this 'strange' family life.
It was the gradual satisfaction of this happy life that allowed Lucas to beco truly "human".
"So the perpetrators of those bombings," Lucas suddenly realised, "were also alchemical beings created by you?"
"They were only part of what you saw. In truth, many people in Mondstadt have already been replaced by my alchemical beings, just as I have replaced you," the Perfect Creation said with a smug grin. "And now that I know how to evolve, I'm going to take over your lives. That way I can achieve the conditions for evolution as well."
"That's impossible," Lucas scoffed. "Do you think that simply taking my form will make my family trust you? Klee and Alice will never be fooled by you!"
"Klee is a lovely child. I like her very much and I'll keep her as my daughter," the Perfect Creation said indifferently. "As for Alice, do you know? I have just finished telling Klee the story from that picture book in your place. I even told her who killed her mother."
As he spoke, the Perfect Creation held the picture book in front of Lucas. All the pages had been torn out, leaving only the last one intact.
In the illustration, Klee was holding a bomb, and in front of her stood Alice, engulfed in flas.
"After hearing the story, Klee walked away with a grim expression. I suspect she's on her way to the hospital to find Alice," the Perfect Creation said with a mischievous grin. "Alice is at her weakest right now. If Klee attacks her, do you think... she'll survive?"
"You bastard!"
Lucas had no intention of continuing this exchange with the madman. He turned to leave imdiately, but before he could, a figure stepped out of the shadows and blocked the doorway.
"Sucrose?" Lucas was stunned. "Why are you here?"
Yes, it was Sucrose standing in front of him!
"Don't you understand yet? Why do you think I know so much about your life?" The Perfect Creation let out a maniacal laugh. "Sucrose is also an alchemical creation of mine. Her only purpose was to watch you."
"That's impossible!" Lucas retorted imdiately. "Alchemical creatures don't grow! I've lived with Sucrose for over a decade. I've seen every change she's gone through!"
But the Perfect Creation just laughed harder. "Who told you I only made one Sucrose?"
Lucas seed to realise sothing and muttered, "Could it be..."
"Exactly," the Perfect Creation spread his arms and smiled. "Ever since I sent Sucrose to your alchemy workshop, I've been replacing her with a new version from ti to ti, creating the illusion that she's growing. So, what do you think? Isn't my technique impeccable?"
Lucas looked at Sucrose, his expression complicated. "Sucrose... is what he says true?"
"I'm sorry," Sucrose walked slowly behind the Perfect Creation, bowing slightly. "As a creation, I cannot disobey the orders of my creator."
"No need to apologise, Sucrose. It's not your fault," Lucas shook his head and said, "Regardless of your intentions, I'm grateful for the ti we've spent together."
Sucrose's eyes widened in surprise and tears slowly trickled down her cheeks.
"How touching," the Perfect Creation sneered. "She's only an alchemical creation. You didn't actually develop feelings for her, did you? Pfft!"
As the Perfect Creation spoke, Sucrose quickly pulled a syringe from behind him and stabbed it directly into his neck.
Lucas recognised the syringe imdiately - it was fitted with a specially designed needle capable of piercing even the thickest hide of a boar. The dark purple liquid inside was the corrosive agent Sucrose had been researching.
The perfect creation never expected his own creation to betray him. As the corrosive liquid spread through his body, he began to convulse violently.
"Boss, this... is the only thing I can do for you..." Sucrose strained to inject the rest of the liquid, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "I've been waiting... for this mont!"
"Foolish!"
The Perfect Creation suddenly produced a small remote control from his hand. As he pressed the button, Sucrose's body began to emit smoke.
Realising what was happening, Sucrose turned to Lucas one last ti, smiling as tears stread down her face. "Thank you... I finally felt... what it's like to be human..."
Before she could finish her sentence, her body seized up, like a machine that had run out of power. Her golden eyes dimd and she collapsed to the floor with a soft thud.
"She knew I had a failsafe, yet she did this. It seems my creation wasn't as flawless as I thought," the Perfect Creation said, touching his neck with a frown. "How idiotic, to betray for you."
Anger surged through Lucas. He leapt forward and punched the Perfect Creation right in the face. The force of the blow twisted his head at an unnatural angle.
If he were a normal human, he'd be dead. But the Perfect Creation just smiled and retaliated with a powerful kick that sent Lucas flying through the window. Shards of glass embedded themselves in his body as he landed outside.
"Cough!"
Lucas spat out blood. In the simulator, he could only use the abilities of his simulated character. If he could use his real strength, the Perfect Creation wouldn't stand a chance.
At that mont, a series of explosions could be heard in the distance. Buildings in the city went up in flas, one after the other, as the night sky over Mondstadt lit up like daylight.
"Do you know why I've orchestrated so many bombings?" the Perfect Creation asked, slowly exiting the room. "My next goal is to replace every person in this city with alchemical puppets. But their numbers are too great, so I need to do so... cleansing first."
"What's the point of all this?" Lucas asked coldly. "If you want to rule over a bunch of alchemical beings, why go to such extres?"
"No, I want to create a paradise - one for and Klee," the Perfect Creation said, shaking his head. "Klee and I are Rhinedottir's most perfect creations. We will be the Adam and Eve of this new world!"
Adam and Eve? In this universe?
Lucas' expression beca complicated.
So the Perfect Creation was one of the two alchemical beings Rhinedottir made. But Klee, born in the warmth of Alice's love, had transcended the 'chalk' phase and beco a true being.
anwhile, the perfect creation, treated only as an "experint", had ultimately beco a failure.
"I see now," Lucas sneered. "I truly pity you. After all, you're nothing but Rhinedottir's defective product."
"Shut up!"
The Perfect Creation's face twisted with rage. His previously calm deanour vanished. He crouched down and grabbed Lucas by the throat, his expression vicious. "I... am the most perfect! Klee and I are made of the best materials!"
"How can you compare?" Lucas struggled to speak, fighting against suffocation. "Klee is my golden apple, and you... you're nothing but a pile of dog shit! You should call yourself the Defective Creation!"
"I will kill you!"
Enraged, the Perfect Creation prepared to strangle Lucas to death. But at that mont, Lucas' strength surged, allowing him to pry the Perfect Creation's hands off.
In the Perfect Creation's mont of surprise, Lucas flipped him over and pinned him to the ground. His arms swelled with muscle and his entire body exuded an intense pressure.
That's right - when he'd been thrown out of the window earlier, Lucas had injected himself with a body-strengthening serum he'd developed.
Although the serum carried significant risks, this wasn't the ti to worry about them.
After all, dying in the simulator wouldn't affect his real self. He had to deal with this madman once and for all.
"This punch is for Sucrose!"
With his strength and speed multiplied many tis over, Lucas unleashed a barrage of punches. Each blow landed on the Perfect Creation, leaving him unable to defend himself.
For a full minute, Lucas rained down blows. After over three or four hundred hits, the Perfect Creation's body was so battered that it no longer resembled anything human.
The side effects of the body-enhancing serum were far more severe than Lucas had expected. His entire body felt like it was on fire, and with a staggering step he collapsed to the floor.
"Is it over?"
In the distance, the sound of explosions still echoed through the night. Mondstadt was more chaotic than ever, surpassing even the celebrations of the Ludi Harpastum Festival.
Lying on the ground, Lucas let the heat spread through his body, feeling as if tiny bombs were exploding in his muscles, tearing them apart from the inside.
Was this what death felt like?
Even though he knew that dying in the simulator would do no real harm, Lucas couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
He wanted to ruffle Klee's hair once more.
He wanted to know if Alice's child would be a boy or a girl...
"Yo, is this really the end?"
Just as Lucas resigned himself to his fate and prepared to accept death, a grating voice rang out beside him.
The Perfect Creation stood over him, his face now grotesquely distorted by Lucas' earlier barrage of blows. His features were so distorted that he looked as if he'd fallen down a flight of stairs, his once perfect face now a twisted ss of dents and cracks.
Yet he was still alive.
"I told you I was perfect." The perfect creation lifted a foot and pressed it down on Lucas' chest, his voice cold and threatening. "You were created by . How could you ever be stronger than ?"
Lucas was stunned - this creature's vitality was far beyond what he had expected.
But it made sense. The perfect creation was made by Rhinedottir, the closest thing to a flawless work of alchemy. Lucas, on the other hand, was rely a creation born from a fraction of his materials.
"It's unfortunate," the perfect creation continued, his voice dripping with mockery. "You struck in the face, but my core is in my chest. Too bad you won't get another chance."
"Have you forgotten?" Lucas suddenly smiled despite the pain. "My greatest weapon isn't my enhanced body or even the serum... It's alchemy."
"Alchemy? Your alchemy is like a child's toy to ," the Perfect Creation scoffed. "And don't forget the principle of alchemy: equivalent exchange. You don't have any materials left for transmutation."
"Who says I don't?"
Lucas raised his right hand, a twisted grin spreading across his face. "My body is the best material of all. Alchemical armant!"
At his command, the alchemical arm Sucrose had created for him began to glow with an eerie light, shifting and transforming at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His arm turned into a long, thick barrel with two black muzzles forming at the knuckles. A flickering fla could be seen inside the barrel, preparing to ignite.
The Perfect Creation's smug expression faltered as he realised what was happening. He tried to flee, but the damage Lucas had inflicted earlier had slowed him down. His body, weakened by the relentless beating, was no longer able to move at full speed.
"Tis have changed, old man!"
With a loud bang, the weapon fired a barrage of makeshift 'ammunition' straight into the Perfect Creation's chest, creating dozens of small holes.
The ammunition wasn't standard bullets, but an improvised concoction of broken glass, pebbles, nails and screws, alchemically transmuted on the spot.
The special 'shotgun' blast didn't lose any of its lethality, especially at such close range. The Perfect Creation's chest now resembled a honeycomb, riddled with gaping holes.
His alchemical core, the heart of his existence, was now exposed, pulsing weakly in his chest.
For the first ti, the Perfect Creation's face showed pure fear and desperation.
"No... please..." he pleaded weakly. "I am your creator..."
"Bang!"
Lucas replied with another shot, right into the exposed core.
This ti, without the outer shell to protect it, the explosive force tore the core apart, shredding it to pieces.
The broken core flickered a few more tis before losing all light and finally ceasing to function.
With its core destroyed, the Perfect Creation collapsed to the ground like a lifeless puppet, its strings severed.
Two point-blank shots were enough to finish even the toughest of alchemical constructs. Even soone like the Raiden Shogun herself would have fallen with such direct hits.
Lucas, however, was completely drained. The side effects of the serum had already taken their toll on his body, and using alchemy on top of that had pushed him to the absolute limit. He could barely stand as he stumbled to his feet, every movent a struggle.
But he forced himself forward, his eyes set on the hospital.
"I have to stop Klee..."
Lucas' heart raced with fear - the thought of Klee being manipulated by the Perfect Creation into believing that Alice had killed her mother was terrifying. If Klee acted on that belief...
Though the Perfect Creation was dead, the chaos he had unleashed on Mondstadt continued. The alchemical dolls he had created had gone berserk, turning the night into a living nightmare for the city.
---
Author's Note: Hell yeah
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