Bloodlust emanated from Seren. For a long ti, she had been investigating the White House in order to eliminate this cursed ability of hers. Finally, she found Cromwell and was able to capture him alive. All for the sake of living like a human being.
But he doesn't know how to solve it? From Seren's perspective, it felt like magma was boiling over in her chest.
"Are you kidding right now?"
Seren muttered as if she would devour him and brought an awl to Cromwell's throat. The sharp tip of the awl pierced into his skin. A stream of blood flowed down his throat.
Cromwell's expression remained the sa. Even though it was a mont when he might die if she applied just a little more force and pierced his throat, he looked peaceful.
"If you're thinking of mocking with lies..."
"It's not a lie."
Cromwell answered imdiately.
"If it were a power that could be erased or controlled from the beginning, there would have been other similar test subjects besides you. Serendipity. Don't you know it too? That you're the only person who possesses that ability."
"That can't be..."
"Even if we tried to remove that ability, we can't tear away a power that's already been imprinted deep within your body. Over the long years, you've beco one with that ability. It's impossible to get rid of it, and if we tried, you would die. It would essentially be like cutting out and exposing your heart while you're still alive."
Perhaps there might have been a way to control it in the early stages. At Cromwell's additional remark, Seren's body staggered.
"It's a aningless assumption. Even if that were the case, it might not have changed anything. Above all, didn't you yourself hate it the most?"
"Is there really no way?"
Osian asked.
"What I bestowed upon Serendipity was inspiration received from dinsional rifts that appeared at the ti. Dinsional experints conducted in areas that disappeared through baptism by fire, extraterrestrial beings that burst through those cracks. Although the site was completely burned down and disappeared at the ti, traces remained. I created test subjects using the experintal data from that ti."
Outer beings co through dinsional gaps. So Cromwell ca up with one hypothesis. If rifts or traces appear in dinsions, wouldn't it be possible to close open rifts again if one knew how to control them?
Osian's eyes lit up at those words. The dinsional sealing hypothesis that Cromwell spoke of was similar to the stellar veil worn by the Ascended.
Even if he had researched ancient beings, he wouldn't have known about the stellar veil. Yet the fact that he had thought this far ant that Cromwell's talent was outstanding. An individual had deduced a process that was built upon the accumulated experience and wisdom of ancestors.
'In addition to that, he tried to grant such dinsional power to humans and block the rifts.'
Osian gazed at Seren. She was the sole survivor of the experints at that ti. In a way, she could be called a success.
'But the power she cannot control is eating away at her.'
Seren had said that if she didn't concentrate, she would be drawn to dinsional gaps. That attraction was getting stronger over ti. This was why Seren was becoming more impatient and anxious.
Cromwell's explanation continued.
"She was the sole survivor, but also an escapee. With the ability to traverse dinsions, we couldn't keep her confined with the laboratory's facilities."
"She was trying to escape from suffering through inhumane experints!"
"Most of the pain you felt ca from the dinsional power not agreeing well with your body, appearing during the tuning process. Did you think we would want to carelessly treat the success that barely appeared?"
"Shut up. In the end, you're nothing more than a psychopath who dragged innocent people and forcibly conducted human experints on them. Look at what you've done. You casually modified people and used them as your hands and feet."
"Depending on one's perspective, it might look that way. I won't bother making excuses for that part."
Seren's eyebrows furrowed. Did he want to maintain his pride even in a mont like this? At that mont, a presence was felt from beyond the passage. When they looked to see who it was, it was the modified humans that Cromwell had been using.
The heavily ard modified humans hardened their expressions upon seeing Cromwell held hostage, then readjusted their weapons.
"Release the Doctor imdiately!"
"...Ha. How devoted you are."
Seren looked at them as if they were pathetic. The modified humans only followed Cromwell's orders. Since he was in danger, it was natural for them to try to save him even at the cost of their lives. As Seren was pondering how to deal with them, Osian stepped forward.
"Osian?"
"Wait. Let handle this."
Osian slowly approached the group of modified humans. The expressions of the modified humans who saw Osian hardened stiffly. They had recognized who Osian was.
So were trembling in fear. It was hard to believe that their emotions had been castrated.
Osian stopped at a certain distance.
"Stand down. I don't want to harm you."
"If you release the Doctor, we'll stand down."
"Cromwell was defeated in battle. We need to extract information from him."
"If you need data, we'll give you what's in the laboratory. So don't touch the Doctor."
"You speak your mind even while terrified. Is it because a command to protect Cromwell at all costs has been imprinted?"
At those words, the modified human who had spoken first shook his head.
"It's not like that. The reason we ca forward like this is a choice we made. It's not about orders or anything like that."
"Not orders?"
"We are modified humans, but we don't necessarily follow the Doctor's orders. There are those who do and those who don't, precisely divided."
What the modified human revealed was surprising.
"The Doctor made us, who were abandoned by society, useful. He made us live like human beings."
"Becoming completely different humans through experints ans living like human beings?"
"Because before that, we weren't even human. We were like sewer rats."
None of the modified humans denied those words. They were all nodding. They were definitely different from the modified humans encountered before.
'It's not deception or lies. They're really afraid of , and at the sa ti trying to protect Cromwell. Trying to protect the human who modified them. Is this even possible?'
It seed necessary to confirm this with the one in front of him.
"Explain what makes you different from other modified humans."
"I, no, we are people abandoned by society too. We were half-dead, not even treated as human beings. So had disabilities, so had incurable diseases, others lived lives contaminated by pollutants. It was the Doctor who saved us."
"You an he made you into modified humans. But is that salvation? Don't you think he's using that as an excuse to bind you?"
"That's not right. The choice was entirely ours. The Doctor asked for our opinions on what we thought, and only modified those who said they would do it. Everyone here."
Osian frowned. There was a contradiction in what those modified humans were saying.
"Then what about the modified humans whose egos were destroyed and move like puppets?"
"Those people are criminals."
"Criminals?"
"There are quite a few people who volunteer to participate in experints, but even more test subjects are filled with criminals. We regularly receive supplies of serious criminals from prisons and turn them into modified humans."
From the city governnt's perspective, it was good to reduce the increasing number of criminals each year, and Cromwell could conduct experints. It was a deal made in the darkness of Tirna.
Was the test subject who conveyed a ssage at the entrance and died also a criminal or a terminal human?
"Of course, not all experints are conducted under complete control. The White House isn't exclusively Dr. Cromwell's, and there are other doctors too. They're different from Dr. Cromwell. They're inhumane and even cruel."
"So Cromwell is different?"
"At least, he's different from other shaless scientists. Most of the experints you misunderstand are committed by other scientists."
"That's a convenient excuse. Regardless, aren't they people who conduct human experints? Do you really think you're truly innocent just because you pretend to be clean alone among them?"
"That's..."
When the modified human was trying to think of so rebuttal, soone spoke up. It was Cromwell, who had been listening to the conversation.
"He's right. Just because I act good alone doesn't really make a virtuous person."
"Doctor! But Doctor, to protect the world...!"
"Enough. Regardless of the purpose, I cannot deny that I didn't discriminate in my thods. And that's not due to so irresistible reason. It's the result of my choice to do so. So I must fully accept the responsibility for that. Even if it ans my death."
The modified humans reacted violently to the word death. They didn't want to let the doctor, who was their benefactor, die.
At that mont, Osian drew his starlight sword and split the ground. A deep groove was carved into the ground and the modified humans stepped back.
"Cross that line and you die. It's not just a threat. I keep my word."
The modified humans observed the situation. There was neither acceptance nor giving up in their deanor.
"Everyone stand down."
Instead, it was Cromwell who spoke. The modified humans trembled at those words.
"B-but Doctor."
"Don't disgrace any further."
"..."
When Cromwell spoke firmly, the modified humans stepped back. Osian closed his eyes tightly watching that scene. It would have been better if Cromwell had been a vicious bastard. If he had been just purely evil, he wouldn't have had such worries.
Cromwell is not a good person. What he had done could certainly be called evil. But there was a reason for his actions. There was a cause. To simply ignore and break that, Cromwell possessed too outstanding a talent.
Osian asked Cromwell.
"Tell . About the things you know. How can Seren's body be healed?"
"Didn't I say I don't know?"
"Does that an there's no way at all?"
"I'd need to research the details, but looking at the current state, it doesn't look easy."
Osian suddenly rembered one of the things Cromwell had said.
"You said there's soone in this city who knows everything. What exactly is that about?"
"..."
At those words, Cromwell closed his mouth for the first ti. There's sothing there. Osian could guess that from Cromwell's attitude.
"There does seem to be sothing. And seeing that you can't speak carelessly about it, does bringing up the story have so kind of effect on you?"
Cromwell closed his eyes for a mont, then opened them again with a sigh.
"Right. There's nothing more to hide. You're correct. There is soone in this city who knows everything."
"Who exactly is that?"
"The Wise King Solenon."
The Wise King? Osian fell into thought for a mont. It was a na he had heard sowhere before. Osian could recall it imdiately.
"Isn't that soone from the very distant past?"
The Wise King Solenon was one of the NPCs that existed during the ti when Osian was playing the ga. He was a king who led a human nation and was rumored to be the wisest.
Since there was usually no story connection with such NPCs, he was just a background elent in the story setting. Even Osian, who had been a hardcore player, could barely recall him due to his faint presence.
Why was that Wise King's na coming up?
"The Wise King Solenon didn't die. He's still alive and residing in this city."
"Wasn't he human?"
"Let ask you one thing. Who do you think I learned to handle ancient powers from?"
At Cromwell's words, Osian's expression hardened.
"It wasn't sothing you realized alone through experints?"
"There are so aspects like that. But the greatest influence was the knowledge that Solenon gave . Research on thods using ancient powers. It was he who taught that and gave permission."
Setting aside how a human from the distant past is still alive. The fact that he had handed over materials and information to Cromwell was unbelievable.
"An ancient Wise King is still alive."
Moreover, from what Cromwell was saying, he seed to occupy a very important position in this city called Tirna.
'Even Gaien didn't tell such facts. Since he wouldn't have remained silent while knowing, it ans the Wise King's existence is kept so secret that even Gaien doesn't know.'
Gaien had been with Tirna almost since its birth. That even he didn't know was truly surprising.
"Then does that Wise King know about Seren's treatnt thod?"
"Probably that's..."
Cromwell stopped speaking.
Suddenly, the sound of tal coming from the darkness interrupted his words. With clanking sounds, sothing approached this place.
What soon revealed itself was an automaton painted in jet black. The automaton's eyes glowed red.
[Cromwell. So it has co to this after all.]
Osian imdiately recognized who it was.
"The secretary of Mayor Deliphiros, the Puppeteer."
Why on earth had the Puppeteer appeared here? Osian had no choice but to realize the truth.
"Deliphiros. He too was related to the Wise King."
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