Ch.280Solution (3)

“Creating an immortal race is not a simple task. Even my father barely managed to accomplish it.”

Though he bowed his head, the Prophet seemed to disagree with Llewellyn’s opinion.

“And now, to suddenly prepare for the procedure. I cannot guarantee the success rate, and in reality, there’s a high possibility of a terrible failure. Please reconsider…”

Considering his favorable reaction toward the Dragon King just moments ago, the real reason must lie elsewhere.

And in Llewellyn’s view, that reason was singular.

“I know you’re feeling sympathetic.”

The Prophet flinched. His expression was unbecoming of someone called a necromancer.

It was an expression of deep concern typically shown when worrying about others. Perhaps it was inappropriate for a necromancer who commands death and manipulates corpses as soldiers at will.

Llewellyn sent a glance toward such a Prophet.

“The Dragon King will also know that you’re sympathizing. But you’re conveniently ignoring that she is far more desperate than you think.”

“I’m not…”

“If you were asked to perform such a procedure on someone other than the Dragon King, you would hesitate briefly but would agree, saying it could be an excellent case study and there would be no burden to bear.”

The Prophet closed his mouth tightly. He lowered his eyes, lost in thought, and Llewellyn moved away from him.

The Dragon King was waiting.

“Let me ask in advance. Are you really sure about this?”

“…Yes.”

The Dragon King was waiting for the “Homunculus Procedure.”

“I’m asking again, but is this truly… truly your own will? This procedure cannot be reversed.”

“I’ll give you the same answer. It’s entirely my will.”

The Dragon King answered and maintained an expression as if nothing was wrong.

“If I had ulterior motives and intended to harm you with this procedure, there would be no hope left for the dragon people afterward. You might want to be a bit suspicious…”

“That would be irrational.”

Llewellyn raised an eyebrow at the unexpected response.

He had thought the Dragon King had never shown behavior associated with rationality.

So he had inwardly considered her an irrational person.

The Dragon King snorted at Llewellyn’s doubt.

“The fate of my race hangs in the balance. What reason would I have not to act rationally?”

That’s true. But Llewellyn thought this was the result of her learning.

She was one of the Three Powers, having lived a long time, though not as long as Valterok, and she had many enemies, including the Three Clans.

She must have seen bloodshed due to a lack of rationality, and probably had such experiences while leading her race.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. Llewellyn attributed it to his generous and manly attitude, his sincere approach, and his good personality that naturally earned people’s favor.

“Besides, if it fails, that would be due to inadequate preparation, and I haven’t heard that failure prevents subsequent procedures.”

Is that so? Llewellyn, not knowing, glanced back, and the Empress subtly nodded at his gaze.

So re-treatment is possible. He hadn’t really considered the possibility of failure from the beginning.

That was reasonable, considering how many years had passed since his father’s time.

“That won’t happen. Once should be enough.”

The Empress, the Court Earl, and the Prophet.

Among the three, the Prophet seemed quite uncertain, but Llewellyn didn’t actually think the outcome would be that bad.

The Three Clans are fundamentally beings with exceptional curiosity.

Would such beings not have studied themselves, created beings?

They who even created the remarkable race of homunculi?

Llewellyn believed they would have. There was already one successful case, and countless failures.

Hadn’t Llewellyn seen one of them first when he fell to this land?

Llewellyn still remembered the “kindred” who died before him.

He mourned the “suicide” of the magician who had raised her like his own daughter.

So this had to succeed. The Three Clans were too capable to render all those failures meaningless.

“Your Majesty, we are ready.”

As their conversation ended, the Court Earl arrived.

He bowed his head and said so, then led Llewellyn.

Llewellyn walked with the Dragon King. The room they entered was an unfamiliar space.

It was a laboratory that showed signs of once being actively used. But from the style of the laboratory, Llewellyn felt a very familiar sensation.

“…Is this Ortemilia’s laboratory?”

“Yes, it is.”

The Court Earl agreed, and Llewellyn saw Ortemilia naturally present in such a laboratory.

A small girl who seemed somewhat tense before the three leaders of the Three Clans.

She wore her usual white robe, with the typically long sleeves neatly tied up.

Her tiny, snow-white hands were busy adjusting various things.

“So this is where homunculi were created.”

“Indeed.”

This time, Ortemilia herself answered. She glanced at Llewellyn and then briefly examined the Dragon King.

“It’s been a while since I returned. I didn’t think I would be able to come back…”

Her incredulous, fleeting smile was impressive. It was clear she felt deeply moved to have returned to the Three Clans despite everything that had happened.

Llewellyn observed Ortemilia and then looked at the Prophet and the Empress who were assisting on either side of her.

“Is everything prepared?”

“Adjustment, calibration, maintenance. All done.”

“The facility’s management condition is perfect, so there’s nothing that needs to be touched.”

The somewhat sullen Prophet and the Empress, who wore a clear smile despite her veil, were each busy with different tasks.

Something Llewellyn didn’t understand. He waited quietly, and the Dragon King approached the bed following the Empress’s seductive smile and beckoning gesture.

That bed had a unique structure that anyone could see. Structurally, it reminded him of when he received the injection of the completely decomposed holy blood due to the fake Nerilmeius.

In other words, it had a “dungeon-like” structure. Meaning it was a creation of the Three Clans.

Something magical and engineering-based that ordinary humans wouldn’t understand, perhaps even Llewellyn with his modern background couldn’t comprehend the principles.

But not magical engineering, rather a complex fusion of the two fields.

Just like Lorian’s prosthetic arm, Llewellyn knew he couldn’t understand it.

And there was no need to understand.

Llewellyn simply stared at the equipment that combined a coffin, an iron maiden, and a research table, then watched as the Dragon King lay down on it.

“I’ll say it again, if you wish, we can stop the procedure. We could experiment on someone else, or start after some verification.”

“No need. If I don’t do it, who will confirm the compatibility with the dragon people?”

The Dragon King’s attitude was somewhat different from when she first appeared.

At that time, she seemed to have the perception that she might need to teach Llewellyn, but not now.

Perhaps because she realized that Llewellyn was skilled enough at dragon slaying and didn’t need anyone’s guidance.

She stopped pretending to be an awkward teacher and regarded Llewellyn as an equal.

“If something goes wrong and you die…”

“That’s what you said earlier. There’s no reason for that, and I don’t think there will be mistakes. Those who created the dragon people so perfectly that they cursed them wouldn’t suddenly make mistakes in a place like this.”

The Prophet’s shoulders flinched. Perhaps he had played a major role in creating the dragon people.

This action might be a rare display of debt or guilt. Llewellyn thought this as he found a suitable place to sit.

The Court Earl stood behind Llewellyn with his hands behind his back. Ready to respond if any interference or variables appeared.

“…Once the procedure begins, many things will change. From the race itself to basic physical abilities and metabolic capabilities. Many things will change.”

“Will it be life-threatening?”

“On the contrary. You’ll be able to maintain life without breathing, and even if your heart stops, there won’t be a burden on maintaining life. Moreover, instead of blood, magic power will flow directly through your body.”

And that’s not all. Llewellyn knew what a homunculus with magic power was like.

There were the examples shown by his sister, Lucilla, the Magic Eye and Annihilation.

Lucilla’s “Death of a Star” had different firepower each time she used it. Not in a bad way, but accelerating in a good way.

Llewellyn had asked about the principle.

‘Death of a Star is a decisive technique that puts all magic power into one explosion. Normally, when using such a large technique, the blood vessels can’t withstand the magic power and burst, but Lucilla is a homunculus. She’s not a fragile human who dies when blood vessels burst. Rather, each time, the emptied blood vessels become stronger, and as they become stronger, more magic power flows through them. The total amount of magic power itself increases.’

That’s how Ortemilia answered.

In short, Death of a Star is a technique that gets stronger each time it’s used.

“In other words, she will have a body that can handle the powerful magic power coming from the dragon’s heart.”

“…And that solves the problem?”

“If the calculations are correct.”

And if this procedure is completed for all dragon people in the long term, Llewellyn knew that the Three Clans would become Four Clans, and the subordinates supporting him, the master of the Pantheon, would become four.

Llewellyn was witnessing the first baptism and the birth of the first member of the fourth clan.

After the adjustment of the equipment that had been fiddled with for a long time was completed, and after the process that Llewellyn didn’t understand well was finished.

What remained was something like a large serum.

“What’s that?”

“A kind of… drug. One of the five processes.”

Five processes. Llewellyn recognized that drug.

It was also written in the detailed background setting of homunculi; homunculi have their bodies composed of that, giving them superior physical durability and strength compared to ordinary humans.

In a way, it might have been a hint at the existence of Ortemilia, the alchemist.

“This will reconstruct your body. Five drugs will be used, and each time, your body will change.”

The five drugs were connected to the experimental table in different colors.

A drug that dissolves and recreates the entire body, a drug that recreates the blood vessels, a drug that recreates the heart.

And a drug that strengthens the nervous system and brain. The culmination of magic and the technology possessed by the Three Clans, created in ways and principles Llewellyn didn’t understand well.

“Finally, we’ll bless you with divinity to complete your body. So… if you want to stop, now is…”

“No.”

The Dragon King shook her head at the Prophet’s words.

She fastened the restraints of the experimental table as if nothing was wrong, and took a long, deep breath.

“Do it.”

After the Court Earl fastened the last restraint and rechecked the equipment for drug injection, she closed her eyes.

Despite seeing the Dragon King’s determination, Ortemilia and the Prophet couldn’t hesitate. The Empress wouldn’t have waited anyway.

When Ortemilia pressed the button, the drug flowed fiercely into her.

What Llewellyn saw afterward was a sight that made him think, ‘If I was created through this process, it would be quite disturbing.’

The body twisting, breaking, screams emerging, flesh and scales melting away.

The screams that felt like an eternity stopped much later, after she lost consciousness and all the mutations were complete.

The first drug was one that changed the body’s skeleton, skin, and muscles.

After the drug was administered, Llewellyn faced the Dragon King who had lost all her scales and taken on a human form like himself.

Though she was unconscious and naked on the experimental table, so her appearance wasn’t good.

The difference was that she still had some scattered scales, a tail, and horns.

The first of the fourth clan and a close aide to the new “father,” the Dragon King.

Llewellyn pondered what to call them as he nodded to the Empress who was reaching for the button to inject the second drug.

At least it’s not me who’s in pain. Though it’s a bit hard to watch.

As they say, strike while the iron is hot. Llewellyn watched as the drugs were sequentially injected into the unconscious Dragon King.