There was no philosopher's stone from the beginning.
Teslaon knew that he was not worthy of creating the Philosopher's Stone, and in fact, he never did.
But he thought he could fool Ivanna. He had fooled the townspeople, and he had fooled his benefactor, so he thought she would fall for it too.
But Ivanna had sensed Teslaon's lies. It was always like this. No matter how hard Teslaon struggled, he couldn't catch up to Ivanna.
Teslaon had always pretended to be one step ahead of Ivanna, but that was a lie. In fact, Teslaon had always been one step behind.
He still couldn't forget the first time he conducted research with Ivanna. She unfolded her argument in a clear voice. The moment he saw the knowledge pouring out like an unstoppable waterfall, Teslaon realized.
She is a genius.
Teslaon was a talented person who could be found anywhere, but Ivanna was on a different level. She was a genius who would take an era by storm. Ivanna had a brain that could not be caught up to, to the point where it was embarrassing to boast about how smart she was.
There was no way the Master could not have recognized Ivanna's talent. The Master said to Ivanna as if it were a habit.
"You really might be able to create the philosopher's stone."
In that situation, there was only one way for Teslaon to protect his pride: to steal Ivanna's talent.
Teslaon secretly stole Ivanna's research materials, making it seem like he was always one step ahead. He would slyly insult Ivanna and undermine her self-esteem. He wanted Ivanna to run away, but she held on until the end.
Lies have a long tail. Eventually, Teslaon was caught by his master. The master severely reprimanded Tesraon. However, because he was his beloved disciple, he gave him one last chance.
"Confess everything to Ivanna yourself and apologize. Ask her for forgiveness."
But how could that be? Instead of throwing away his pride and revealing the truth, Teslaon chose to fabricate a bigger, darker lie...
“Oh my, why can’t you say anything?”
Teslaon stopped thinking at the sound of the grumbling. Ivanna was looking at him and snickering. He was angry. An uncontrollable anger surged up at her and at himself for not being able to come up with an answer.
“If only you, if only you weren’t there...”
There should have been no Ivanna from the beginning. If only she had not existed, it would have been perfect. Then, Teslaon would not have lied, stolen, and murdered his master.
“If only you weren’t here!!”
Teslaon strangled Ivanna with a thunderous roar. Ivanna let out a groan of pain at the tight grip.
“Die! Die!!”
“Ugh...!”
Ivanna, whose body was tied with rope, could not resist. Teslaon, who was strangling Ivanna's neck with his eyes completely rolled back, suddenly stopped.
“No, no...”
He muttered, slowly releasing his hand.
“I must make sure that he meets an end worthy of an alchemist...”
It was a very disturbing statement. As Ivanna gasped, Teslaon spoke.
“I’ll turn you into a chimera.”
"What?"
Ivanna's face distorted at the word chimera.
“You, have you been continuing your research on chimeras?”
Chimera is a general term for something that is created by combining genetically different species to form one species.
Tesraon was very interested in chimeras, but his master was against his research. No matter how much alchemists experimented to obtain the truth, he considered it too much to go beyond simple animal experiments and create a second life form.
In particular, combining different animals into one body was extremely stressful for the animals. Combining them was difficult, but even when chimeras were created, they either committed suicide or went mad due to the stress. After sacrificing dozens of animals, he was finally able to create a single chimera that was driven mad.
Because it entailed too many sacrifices, the Master banned chimera research, and Ivanna thought that was the end of it. However, Teslaon continued his research in secret.
“That crazy guy...”
Ivanna swore, but Teslaon paid no attention.
“You’re a very good experimental subject, so you’ll become a smart chimera, right?”
Teslaon burst into laughter like crazy.
“I will make you neither alive nor dead.”
He shouted with his eyes blazing and his voice full of madness.
“Be the best chimera for me, Ivanna!”
And right in time with his shout, a loud bang echoed throughout the area.
“Eek!”
The surprised Teslaon looked back. The door to the laboratory was torn in half and was rolling on the floor. Then, three people stepped through the tattered door and entered. The affectionate blue eyes looked at Ivanna and said.
“A little late?”
Her heart was pounding. Ivanna couldn't hold back the emotion rising from the depths of her being and called out to her.
"Captain...!"
Elza said with an awkward smile.
“Sorry, has it been more than 5 minutes?”
The people Elze met when she opened the laboratory door were Tarkun and Rapine.
"Captain!"
They were so happy to see Elze's face that they didn't know what to do. They each said a word.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Ivanna?”
“There are no injuries. Ivanna is being held by Teslaon.”
Elze answered each question calmly and pointed to the children in the lab.
“The children in this laboratory are in a similar condition to the women in the basement of Duke Seraph’s mansion.”
"That..."
“Teslaon said he had a sponsor, and it seems to be Duke Seraph. I was thinking of taking the children out...”
Elze glanced at the children locked in the iron bars. The keys were nowhere to be seen. The children drugged and stretched out, seemed paralyzed. It would take a long time to find the keys and get them to a safe place.
But there was no way to know what would happen to Ivanna, who was left alone. There was no time to waste here. Elze, although a bit arrogant, was able to clearly distinguish what was more important to her. If she had to choose between Ivanna and the children, it would be Ivanna, of course.
“Let’s leave the lab for now and go to Ivanna.”
Tarkun and Rapine followed Elze's orders without question. The three of them searched the laboratory and quickly found another door. It was a door that led directly to the mansion.
The three of them ran down the hallway and stairs. The quiet mansion was silent. Occasionally, a blank-faced servant would look at them with empty pupils like a puppet.
Finding the room where Ivanna was wasn't easy. The doors lining the long hallway were all similar. She had no choice but to open any door she came across.
And every time they opened the door, Elze, Rapine, and Tarkun were startled. The normal room was only a small part of it.
Most of the rooms had large iron bars, and inside them were the unusually ferocious beasts seen in the underground, their eyes glaring. Some of the rooms even contained monsters that were a combination of the beasts Elze had seen.
The laboratory was like that, and there were doll-like children, strange beasts, and monsters... Elze gritted her teeth. In any case, it was a mansion that was unpleasant in many ways. If she ever met Teslaon, she felt like she had to punch him in the face at least once.
After a long time of running around and rushing through the rooms, she finally found the room where Ivanna was. In fact, she was a little lucky. She was able to find it faster thanks to Teslaon's screams that could be heard all the way down the hallway.
As soon as they reached the door, Tarkun and Rapine naturally stepped aside. Elze, who was in the middle, kicked the door with all her might. The solid wooden door split in half with a refreshing crash and fell down. The three stepped between the pieces of wood.
Ivanna and Teslaon appeared. Elze asked affectionately, feeling relieved that Ivanna was safe.
“A little late?”
Ivanna called Elze in a tearful voice.
"Captain..."
Elze said with an awkward smile.
“Sorry, has it been more than 5 minutes?”
Ivanna's face twisted as if she was going to cry, then she smiled brightly and greeted Elze.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Captain!”
But unlike her smiling lips, her eyes were filled with tears. Although she acted confidently in front of Teslaon, she was really scared inside. Seeing Ivanna laughing while crying made Elze feel sad for no reason.
Teslaon's mouth was wide open at Elze's sudden appearance. The face he had been shouting madly from just a moment ago was completely blank.
Tarkun ran to Ivanna first and untied the rope. Ivanna grimaced and groaned softly. It was because she had been tied up with rope for so long that her blood flow was cut off, and she felt a prickling sensation. Ivanna muttered, twisting her body.
“Oh my, I thought I was going to die...”
Tarkun quickly started to massage Ivanna's body, then muttered with a grim expression on his face.
“Your neck...”
There was a red handprint on Ivanna's neck. It was the mark where Teslaon had strangled her. Ivanna said as if it was nothing while rubbing her neck.
“I wouldn’t do what he wanted, so he strangled me.”
Ivanna did some light stretching to loosen up her body. Then she glanced at Teslaon. He was looking at Elze with blank eyes.
"How..."
Teslaon looked back at the place where Elze had been tied up earlier. Elze had been tied up with rope and fallen into a hole leading to the underground.
The Chimera in the basement was something he had created and barely managed to contain because he couldn't handle its madness and ferocity. But even after falling there, she survived. It was something that was beyond impossible, something that absolutely could not have happened. Teslaon asked Elxe a question.
“How did you get out of there?”
Ivanna, who was in Tarkun's arms, clicked her tongue in a pitiful tone and answered on his behalf.
“Oh my, you idiot. It’s Elijah’s Elze.”
Elze walked towards Teslaon without saying a word. She was planning to start by beating him up. However, there was someone faster than Elze.
“Crash!!”
With a loud thud, Teslaon's head turned. The one who struck Teslaon in the face with his fist was Tarkun.
It was clearly the sound of a jawbone breaking. Rapine stuck out his tongue at the sound. However, the sound of the thud that he thought would end with one continued several more times. This was because Tarkun had struck several more times in succession.
Teslaon's body convulsed and he coughed loudly. Broken teeth burst out of his mouth along with blood. But Tarkun's anger did not subside that much.
“This kid...!”
Tarkun glared at Teslaon with blazing eyes.
“Huk, huuuuk...”
Elze, who had been watching with her arms folded, asked him in a bright voice.
"It hurts?"
Teslaon looked at Elze with a face half-mad from pain. Elze placed a hand on Tarkun's shoulder.
“That’s all for now.”
At Elze's words, Tarkun held back his anger while grumbling and stepped back. Elze placed her foot lightly on Teslaon's thigh and slowly pushed it down with force. Elze spoke softly.
“When I think about what you’ve done, I wouldn’t feel satisfied even if I killed you right away...”
The way she pressed down with her feet, which were connected to her slender calves, seemed elegant at first glance. However, the strength contained therein was not elegant at all.
Teslaon trembled in pain as if his muscles were being torn apart. He eventually couldn't hold on any longer and rolled on the floor, clutching his thighs. Elze spoke coldly.
“Let’s keep him alive for now since we have something to dig up.”
It was true. There was still something for Teslaon to dig up. Something about the Philosopher's Stone, something about his relationship with Duke Seraph, who was supposedly his patron, something about this town, and so on.
As Elze glared at Teslaon with a desire to kill him right away, Ivanna, who had been holding her still, began to move.
Ivanna picked up the coat that was spread out messily on the desk. There were only a few glass bottles left inside the coat. It was because Tesla had taken them out without permission.
Putting aside the search for the glass bottle, Ivanna walked to the corner and pulled back the curtain. It was where Teslaon had piled up a large amount of gold earlier.
Ivanna picked up the gold in its raw state and looked around. Soon she found a pot with a strange plant in it. She took the pot and placed it on the table. Then she brought the gold to the pot and carefully scratched it.
"Ah..."
Ivanna sighed. The streak color (The color that appears when a mineral is powdered.) that appeared in the flower pot was a deep black. The streak color of gold was yellow-like gold. Ivanna muttered with a hollow smile.
“Fake’s gold...”
The Elijahs looked at Ivanna with a puzzled look. Ivanna threw down the gold she was holding in her hand and spoke bitterly.
“It looks very similar to gold, but it is a completely different mineral.”
The iron ore that Ivanna threw rolled with a rattling sound and stopped in front of Teslaon. Teslaon was bowing his head. Ivanna looked down at Teslaon and said.
“There is no philosopher’s stone. You have been lying to your benefactor and the townspeople with fake gold.”
Teslaon failed to create the Philosopher's Stone. Elze nodded proudly. Well then, how can there be anyone smarter than our Ivanna?
Ivanna quietly called Teslaon's name.
“Teslaon.”
“...”
Even though Ivanna called, Teslaon did not respond.
“What were you thinking when you did something like this?”
Teslaon, who had his head bowed, shook his shoulders. A strange sound of "keuheu" came out of him. Teslaon, who had been making the same sound when crying or laughing, spoke in a suppressed voice.
“...Just all together.”
Then he suddenly raised his head and shouted.
“We’re all going to die together!!”
Click, there was a sound of a button being pressed. At the same time, a rumble shook the mansion. The momentary shaking was enough to make everyone in Elijah stagger.
As the brief vibrations ceased, a faint clanking sound as if something was opening, followed. The sound of thumping footsteps and the cries of a hideous monster followed.
“Keeeeeek...!”
Elze suddenly remembered the countless beasts she had seen before arriving here. What if all the beasts locked in the cages were released at once?
“You little brat!!”
Tarkun, who had grasped the situation, grabbed Teslaon by the collar. However, Teslaon's eyes were already half-turned and he just chuckled.
“I am the King... I am the King...! I will end as a glorious King!”
Elze frowned. Right now, none of the Elijahs had proper weapons. At best, they had daggers. Ivanna had also lost most of her vials to Teslaon. Now, having to deal with dozens of beasts and monsters was going to be quite a struggle.
There was a loud crashing and collapsing sound outside. It wouldn't be long before monsters would invade this room. They had to figure out a way to escape.
Should I jump?
Elze opened the curtains where there might have been windows. After opening a few, she finally found a terrace. But the mansion was high, and there was nothing to absorb the impact below. If she jumped, she would have died.
In addition, monsters with giant bat wings were flying around the mansion, making shrill noises. They seemed to have been released just a moment ago.
Elze was chewing her lips in impatience. Beyond the darkness of the night, a dazzling torch appeared. Numerous torches were approaching the mansion, illuminating the sky as if it were daylight.
“...?”
Elze narrowed her eyes and looked toward the torches. Knights on horseback were galloping toward the mansion, swords and torches raised. Their furiously fluttering cloaks were embroidered with the black ravens of Targayel.
And Elze, who saw the person at the forefront leading the knights, sighed and smiled.
“It’s late...”
Elze called his name briefly.
“Shan.”
Did he hear Elze's call? Shan, who was riding his horse while trampling through the mansion's garden, raised his head slightly. Although there was quite a distance, it seemed as if his eyes met hers. Even among the crowd of people, he was clear. It was as if Shan had been the only one there from the beginning.
“...”
Shan's eyes drew a line. Elze could be sure that he had seen her too.
It felt like she was a Princess in a fairy tale, trapped in a high tower. The only difference was that Elze wasn't just waiting around quietly for the Prince to come to rescue her.
It would be convenient to wait until Shan came, but she had no idea how the mansion would turn into a mess in the meantime. Elze turned away from the window.
“Shan is leading the knights of Targayel towards the mansion. We are without proper weapons, so we will advance slowly while maintaining a safe line.”
At Elze's command, the Elijahs all nodded their heads. Then, a burst of laughter could be heard.
“Do you think you can get out alive?”
It was Teslaon. He muttered, his eyes sparkling.
“The chimeras that contain the culmination of my research... In the maze, you might have been lucky enough to survive since you had to deal with them one at a time, but now it’s impossible.”
Teslaon continued to speak, giggling even as blood flowed from his mouth.
“A lot of them will come from all directions, and the mansion is designed to explode after a certain amount of time! You will be buried in this mansion with me... Argh!”
But Teslaon's energetic declaration died down with a thud. This was because Rapine, who was standing next to him, struck him on the head. Rapine said with a smile.
“Your life or death will be decided by our leader from now on.”
Rapine's hands moved quickly. He checked to see if there was any poison hidden in Teslaon's mouth, then picked up a long piece of cloth.
Teslaon was gagged with a cloth in an instant. This was to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide. The fact that he was tied up with the same rope that had bound Ivanna was a bonus. Rapine finished tying the knot neatly and shook his hands.
“Should we do this for now?”
Rapine, who asked Elze with a gentle smile, seemed extremely kind. He didn't look like someone who had just been gagged and tied up with rope. Elze felt like applauding Rapine's actions.
“Excellent, Rapine.”
Elze looked back at Elijah and said.
“The mansion is exploding, so we’re changing our plan. Even if it’s a bit difficult, we’re going to try our best to break through.”
And she skillfully distributed the roles.
“Rapine will take charge of Teslaon and protect Ivanna. Tarkun and I will lead the way.”
Rapine lifted Teslaon onto his shoulder without saying a word and held hands with Ivanna. Ivanna fiddled with her coat. The light weight of the coat seemed unfamiliar.
All the precious research materials were lost. However, Teslaon's mansion was about to explode, and there was no time to recover the research materials. Ivanna bit her lower lip as she felt Elze's worried gaze, and then shouted cheerfully.
“Let’s go, Captain!”
But even though she said that Elze knew Ivanna's heart well. Gritting her teeth, Elze ordered Elijah not to leave the child of Teslaon alone.
“Then from now on...”
Elze said, fixing the dagger in her hand.
“Quickly, breakthrough.”
As soon as Shan escaped the maze, he headed to the campsite with Ilwooz to join the knights and sweep away the mansion.
Judging from the beasts and monsters that filled the basement of the mansion, it was judged that it would be difficult to completely subdue the mansion with just a small number of people. And then, leading the knights, they galloped through the village and entered the mansion.
A huge vibration was felt. The vibration that reverberated around the area like a thunderclap was brief. However, ominous things happened afterward.
There was a crashing and breaking sound throughout the mansion. At the same time, windows were shattered into pieces, and giant bat-winged birds soared into the air. The long howls of strange beasts resonated throughout the area.
“...What is this.”
Liv, who had been quietly guarding the campsite, hurriedly ran out with the knights following Shan who suddenly barged in, and looked at the mansion with bewildered eyes.
The galloping knights slowly slowed down as they entered the garden. Shan also narrowed his eyebrows and looked up at the mansion.
“...!”
A shadow loomed in the window of the mansion's top floor. It was hard to see because of the backlight, but Shan could tell just by the silhouette.
It was definitely Elze. They had only been a few hours apart, but she already felt like she had been gone for days. Shan smiled involuntarily, just looking at her silhouette.
Elze also saw Shan, and after looking down at her for a while, disappeared inside. He wanted to see Elze as soon as possible. Shan looked back at Liv and said.
“The mansion is full of monsters. The weak points of the hybrids are the joints.”
Shan explained the situation simply. Although Liv seemed distraught, she still understood Shan’s words as if she were a ghost.
Shan felt her waist with her hand. Elze's rapier and mangosh that she had brought from the campsite were hanging neatly there.
“Erzenes and Elijah are trapped inside the mansion. We’ll break through first.”
“But, Cirxus! It’s dangerous.”
Shan asked back at Liv's words with a crooked smile.
"Dangerous?"
“...!”
Liv realized her slip of the tongue immediately. The mansion was certainly dangerous. But that didn't apply to Shan Cirxus. And with his wife trapped inside the mansion, she shouldn't have tried to stop Shan. Liv lowered her eyes and answered.
“I’m sorry. I made a slip of the tongue.”
“No. I was just doing my part. I will lead the charge, and you will lead the knights and pursue behind. Kill every single beast and monster in the mansion.”
“Isn’t there a need to capture him for investigative purposes?”
"No."
Shan, who cut it cleanly and answered, said while thinking of Ivanna.
“We have people on our side who can easily create monsters as crude as that.”
At that moment, he felt a presence beside him. Shan stopped talking to Liv and glanced around. Ilwooz had quietly driven his horse and was sitting next to Shan. When their eyes met, Ilwooz smiled and spoke softly.
“Don’t get too excited, keep your composure...”
At first glance, it seemed like ordinary advice. But Shan and Ilwoos knew that it was not ordinary. Shan frowned and said to him,
“I am extremely calm. Don’t worry.”
Ilwooz answered with a smile.
“Then that’s fortunate...”
Shan raised an eyebrow at Ilwooz and ran towards the mansion. The knights followed Shan towards the mansion.
As they entered the mansion, the situation inside was like hell. Beasts and monsters were running wild, destroying everything they could get their hands on. The knights felt bewildered by the horrific sight.
Shan ran forward, leaving them behind. His goal was to quickly break through the beasts rather than kill them. Avoiding the attacks of the pouring beasts, Shan ran down the hallway and up the stairs. He cut down anything that got in his way. In his wake, only blood and corpses were left.
Within minutes of entering the mansion, Shan was able to locate Elze. Shan called her name as soon as he saw her.
“Elze!”
Elze, who had just climbed onto a huge beast and was cutting off its neck, opened her eyes wide and called out to Shan.
“Shan?”
Behind Elze, Elijah and the others were visible, but Shan's gaze was focused solely on Elze. Shan approached her and spoke.
“It’s too late.”
Elze approached him and said.
“What should I do if you come this late?”
Shan said with a smile.
“Leave some for me.”
Elze smiled back at him and answered.
“Don’t you know that the early bird gets the worm?”
And the two finally met. The moment they faced each other, their lips touched as if they had made a promise. The soft sensation was dizzying.
But the kiss was short. Elze slipped the hand that had been holding Shan and pulled out the rapier and mangosh hanging from his waist. She pulled away from his lips and looked up at Shan, smiling.
“I will gratefully accept the gift. Let’s finish the rest later outside the mansion.”
And Elze leaped forward without hesitation, soaring into the air. Her face lit up with joy as she held a sword in both hands.
When Elijah's Elze took up the rapier and the mangosh, everything was over. As the two swords glowed, the flesh of the monsters was cut, blood spurted out, and bones were shattered. Bright red blood spurted in all directions along the sword's trajectory. Elijah followed behind Elze and assisted, and it was the beginning of a real slaughter.
Shan swung his sword beside Elze. However, he only moved his hands mechanically to cut down the approaching monster, while all of Shan’s attention was focused on Elze.
Looking at her made his throat dry. Elze was the sexiest when she was swinging her rapier and mangosh. Her eyes sparkling with excitement from battle, and the sight of her declaring death to her enemies was one of Shan’s favorite scenes. So it was only natural that he felt hot inside when he saw Elze in front of him.
Shan, full of heat, opened her mouth slightly and let out a hot breath. He couldn’t take his eyes off the small red tongue visible inside her mouth. The small movement of her tongue licking her dry lips passed by slowly as if it were engraved in his eyes.
The short kiss only vaguely warmed up his body. That wasn't enough. He couldn't bear it any longer. Shan pulled Elze, who was just cutting down the beast, toward him and kissed her.
“Huh...?”
Elze, who was preparing for her next attack, opened her eyes wide at the sudden surprise attack. She frowned at the tongue digging in.
The hot heat mixed in. The body that was heated up from the battle was easily intoxicated by sexual excitement. Feeling Elze's waist shaking slightly, Shan happily ran his hand over her waist. Elze forced her lips apart and screamed.
“Hey, Shan Cirxus!”
Shan pulled away from Elze with a look of regret. Then, he whispered while wiping his hand over her flushed face.
“...Why are you so pretty?”
Elze's face turned red. She stammered with her face reddened.
“I said I’d go out and finish it! Right now, my life is at stake...!”
Shan was truly willing to do something a little more sticky with Elze here, but a little bit of reality and conscience woke up Shan's sense of reason.
Shan sighed and said as he cut the head of the beast that was attacking Elze from behind in two.
“Are you going to go out and do everything?”
Elze opened her mouth in bewilderment, then shut it tightly. She slid down next to Shan and answered, poking the monster's joint with a mangosh.
“Look at what you’re doing.”
How could the tips of her reddened ears be so pretty? Shan barely suppressed the urge to hug her tightly and bite her as he opened his mouth.
"Good."
Shan continued, swinging his longsword slowly.
“Then let’s go out quickly.”
Teslaon knew that he was not worthy of creating the Philosopher's Stone, and in fact, he never did.
But he thought he could fool Ivanna. He had fooled the townspeople, and he had fooled his benefactor, so he thought she would fall for it too.
But Ivanna had sensed Teslaon's lies. It was always like this. No matter how hard Teslaon struggled, he couldn't catch up to Ivanna.
Teslaon had always pretended to be one step ahead of Ivanna, but that was a lie. In fact, Teslaon had always been one step behind.
He still couldn't forget the first time he conducted research with Ivanna. She unfolded her argument in a clear voice. The moment he saw the knowledge pouring out like an unstoppable waterfall, Teslaon realized.
She is a genius.
Teslaon was a talented person who could be found anywhere, but Ivanna was on a different level. She was a genius who would take an era by storm. Ivanna had a brain that could not be caught up to, to the point where it was embarrassing to boast about how smart she was.
There was no way the Master could not have recognized Ivanna's talent. The Master said to Ivanna as if it were a habit.
"You really might be able to create the philosopher's stone."
In that situation, there was only one way for Teslaon to protect his pride: to steal Ivanna's talent.
Teslaon secretly stole Ivanna's research materials, making it seem like he was always one step ahead. He would slyly insult Ivanna and undermine her self-esteem. He wanted Ivanna to run away, but she held on until the end.
Lies have a long tail. Eventually, Teslaon was caught by his master. The master severely reprimanded Tesraon. However, because he was his beloved disciple, he gave him one last chance.
"Confess everything to Ivanna yourself and apologize. Ask her for forgiveness."
But how could that be? Instead of throwing away his pride and revealing the truth, Teslaon chose to fabricate a bigger, darker lie...
“Oh my, why can’t you say anything?”
Teslaon stopped thinking at the sound of the grumbling. Ivanna was looking at him and snickering. He was angry. An uncontrollable anger surged up at her and at himself for not being able to come up with an answer.
“If only you, if only you weren’t there...”
There should have been no Ivanna from the beginning. If only she had not existed, it would have been perfect. Then, Teslaon would not have lied, stolen, and murdered his master.
“If only you weren’t here!!”
Teslaon strangled Ivanna with a thunderous roar. Ivanna let out a groan of pain at the tight grip.
“Die! Die!!”
“Ugh...!”
Ivanna, whose body was tied with rope, could not resist. Teslaon, who was strangling Ivanna's neck with his eyes completely rolled back, suddenly stopped.
“No, no...”
He muttered, slowly releasing his hand.
“I must make sure that he meets an end worthy of an alchemist...”
It was a very disturbing statement. As Ivanna gasped, Teslaon spoke.
“I’ll turn you into a chimera.”
"What?"
Ivanna's face distorted at the word chimera.
“You, have you been continuing your research on chimeras?”
Chimera is a general term for something that is created by combining genetically different species to form one species.
Tesraon was very interested in chimeras, but his master was against his research. No matter how much alchemists experimented to obtain the truth, he considered it too much to go beyond simple animal experiments and create a second life form.
In particular, combining different animals into one body was extremely stressful for the animals. Combining them was difficult, but even when chimeras were created, they either committed suicide or went mad due to the stress. After sacrificing dozens of animals, he was finally able to create a single chimera that was driven mad.
Because it entailed too many sacrifices, the Master banned chimera research, and Ivanna thought that was the end of it. However, Teslaon continued his research in secret.
“That crazy guy...”
Ivanna swore, but Teslaon paid no attention.
“You’re a very good experimental subject, so you’ll become a smart chimera, right?”
Teslaon burst into laughter like crazy.
“I will make you neither alive nor dead.”
He shouted with his eyes blazing and his voice full of madness.
“Be the best chimera for me, Ivanna!”
And right in time with his shout, a loud bang echoed throughout the area.
“Eek!”
The surprised Teslaon looked back. The door to the laboratory was torn in half and was rolling on the floor. Then, three people stepped through the tattered door and entered. The affectionate blue eyes looked at Ivanna and said.
“A little late?”
Her heart was pounding. Ivanna couldn't hold back the emotion rising from the depths of her being and called out to her.
"Captain...!"
Elza said with an awkward smile.
“Sorry, has it been more than 5 minutes?”
***
The people Elze met when she opened the laboratory door were Tarkun and Rapine.
"Captain!"
They were so happy to see Elze's face that they didn't know what to do. They each said a word.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Ivanna?”
“There are no injuries. Ivanna is being held by Teslaon.”
Elze answered each question calmly and pointed to the children in the lab.
“The children in this laboratory are in a similar condition to the women in the basement of Duke Seraph’s mansion.”
"That..."
“Teslaon said he had a sponsor, and it seems to be Duke Seraph. I was thinking of taking the children out...”
Elze glanced at the children locked in the iron bars. The keys were nowhere to be seen. The children drugged and stretched out, seemed paralyzed. It would take a long time to find the keys and get them to a safe place.
But there was no way to know what would happen to Ivanna, who was left alone. There was no time to waste here. Elze, although a bit arrogant, was able to clearly distinguish what was more important to her. If she had to choose between Ivanna and the children, it would be Ivanna, of course.
“Let’s leave the lab for now and go to Ivanna.”
Tarkun and Rapine followed Elze's orders without question. The three of them searched the laboratory and quickly found another door. It was a door that led directly to the mansion.
The three of them ran down the hallway and stairs. The quiet mansion was silent. Occasionally, a blank-faced servant would look at them with empty pupils like a puppet.
Finding the room where Ivanna was wasn't easy. The doors lining the long hallway were all similar. She had no choice but to open any door she came across.
And every time they opened the door, Elze, Rapine, and Tarkun were startled. The normal room was only a small part of it.
Most of the rooms had large iron bars, and inside them were the unusually ferocious beasts seen in the underground, their eyes glaring. Some of the rooms even contained monsters that were a combination of the beasts Elze had seen.
The laboratory was like that, and there were doll-like children, strange beasts, and monsters... Elze gritted her teeth. In any case, it was a mansion that was unpleasant in many ways. If she ever met Teslaon, she felt like she had to punch him in the face at least once.
After a long time of running around and rushing through the rooms, she finally found the room where Ivanna was. In fact, she was a little lucky. She was able to find it faster thanks to Teslaon's screams that could be heard all the way down the hallway.
As soon as they reached the door, Tarkun and Rapine naturally stepped aside. Elze, who was in the middle, kicked the door with all her might. The solid wooden door split in half with a refreshing crash and fell down. The three stepped between the pieces of wood.
Ivanna and Teslaon appeared. Elze asked affectionately, feeling relieved that Ivanna was safe.
“A little late?”
Ivanna called Elze in a tearful voice.
"Captain..."
Elze said with an awkward smile.
“Sorry, has it been more than 5 minutes?”
Ivanna's face twisted as if she was going to cry, then she smiled brightly and greeted Elze.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Captain!”
But unlike her smiling lips, her eyes were filled with tears. Although she acted confidently in front of Teslaon, she was really scared inside. Seeing Ivanna laughing while crying made Elze feel sad for no reason.
Teslaon's mouth was wide open at Elze's sudden appearance. The face he had been shouting madly from just a moment ago was completely blank.
Tarkun ran to Ivanna first and untied the rope. Ivanna grimaced and groaned softly. It was because she had been tied up with rope for so long that her blood flow was cut off, and she felt a prickling sensation. Ivanna muttered, twisting her body.
“Oh my, I thought I was going to die...”
Tarkun quickly started to massage Ivanna's body, then muttered with a grim expression on his face.
“Your neck...”
There was a red handprint on Ivanna's neck. It was the mark where Teslaon had strangled her. Ivanna said as if it was nothing while rubbing her neck.
“I wouldn’t do what he wanted, so he strangled me.”
Ivanna did some light stretching to loosen up her body. Then she glanced at Teslaon. He was looking at Elze with blank eyes.
"How..."
Teslaon looked back at the place where Elze had been tied up earlier. Elze had been tied up with rope and fallen into a hole leading to the underground.
The Chimera in the basement was something he had created and barely managed to contain because he couldn't handle its madness and ferocity. But even after falling there, she survived. It was something that was beyond impossible, something that absolutely could not have happened. Teslaon asked Elxe a question.
“How did you get out of there?”
Ivanna, who was in Tarkun's arms, clicked her tongue in a pitiful tone and answered on his behalf.
“Oh my, you idiot. It’s Elijah’s Elze.”
Elze walked towards Teslaon without saying a word. She was planning to start by beating him up. However, there was someone faster than Elze.
“Crash!!”
With a loud thud, Teslaon's head turned. The one who struck Teslaon in the face with his fist was Tarkun.
It was clearly the sound of a jawbone breaking. Rapine stuck out his tongue at the sound. However, the sound of the thud that he thought would end with one continued several more times. This was because Tarkun had struck several more times in succession.
Teslaon's body convulsed and he coughed loudly. Broken teeth burst out of his mouth along with blood. But Tarkun's anger did not subside that much.
“This kid...!”
Tarkun glared at Teslaon with blazing eyes.
“Huk, huuuuk...”
Elze, who had been watching with her arms folded, asked him in a bright voice.
"It hurts?"
Teslaon looked at Elze with a face half-mad from pain. Elze placed a hand on Tarkun's shoulder.
“That’s all for now.”
At Elze's words, Tarkun held back his anger while grumbling and stepped back. Elze placed her foot lightly on Teslaon's thigh and slowly pushed it down with force. Elze spoke softly.
“When I think about what you’ve done, I wouldn’t feel satisfied even if I killed you right away...”
The way she pressed down with her feet, which were connected to her slender calves, seemed elegant at first glance. However, the strength contained therein was not elegant at all.
Teslaon trembled in pain as if his muscles were being torn apart. He eventually couldn't hold on any longer and rolled on the floor, clutching his thighs. Elze spoke coldly.
“Let’s keep him alive for now since we have something to dig up.”
It was true. There was still something for Teslaon to dig up. Something about the Philosopher's Stone, something about his relationship with Duke Seraph, who was supposedly his patron, something about this town, and so on.
As Elze glared at Teslaon with a desire to kill him right away, Ivanna, who had been holding her still, began to move.
Ivanna picked up the coat that was spread out messily on the desk. There were only a few glass bottles left inside the coat. It was because Tesla had taken them out without permission.
Putting aside the search for the glass bottle, Ivanna walked to the corner and pulled back the curtain. It was where Teslaon had piled up a large amount of gold earlier.
Ivanna picked up the gold in its raw state and looked around. Soon she found a pot with a strange plant in it. She took the pot and placed it on the table. Then she brought the gold to the pot and carefully scratched it.
"Ah..."
Ivanna sighed. The streak color (The color that appears when a mineral is powdered.) that appeared in the flower pot was a deep black. The streak color of gold was yellow-like gold. Ivanna muttered with a hollow smile.
“Fake’s gold...”
The Elijahs looked at Ivanna with a puzzled look. Ivanna threw down the gold she was holding in her hand and spoke bitterly.
“Pyrite.”
“Pyrite?”
The iron ore that Ivanna threw rolled with a rattling sound and stopped in front of Teslaon. Teslaon was bowing his head. Ivanna looked down at Teslaon and said.
“There is no philosopher’s stone. You have been lying to your benefactor and the townspeople with fake gold.”
Teslaon failed to create the Philosopher's Stone. Elze nodded proudly. Well then, how can there be anyone smarter than our Ivanna?
Ivanna quietly called Teslaon's name.
“Teslaon.”
“...”
Even though Ivanna called, Teslaon did not respond.
“What were you thinking when you did something like this?”
Teslaon, who had his head bowed, shook his shoulders. A strange sound of "keuheu" came out of him. Teslaon, who had been making the same sound when crying or laughing, spoke in a suppressed voice.
“...Just all together.”
Then he suddenly raised his head and shouted.
“We’re all going to die together!!”
Click, there was a sound of a button being pressed. At the same time, a rumble shook the mansion. The momentary shaking was enough to make everyone in Elijah stagger.
As the brief vibrations ceased, a faint clanking sound as if something was opening, followed. The sound of thumping footsteps and the cries of a hideous monster followed.
“Keeeeeek...!”
Elze suddenly remembered the countless beasts she had seen before arriving here. What if all the beasts locked in the cages were released at once?
“You little brat!!”
Tarkun, who had grasped the situation, grabbed Teslaon by the collar. However, Teslaon's eyes were already half-turned and he just chuckled.
“I am the King... I am the King...! I will end as a glorious King!”
Elze frowned. Right now, none of the Elijahs had proper weapons. At best, they had daggers. Ivanna had also lost most of her vials to Teslaon. Now, having to deal with dozens of beasts and monsters was going to be quite a struggle.
There was a loud crashing and collapsing sound outside. It wouldn't be long before monsters would invade this room. They had to figure out a way to escape.
Should I jump?
Elze opened the curtains where there might have been windows. After opening a few, she finally found a terrace. But the mansion was high, and there was nothing to absorb the impact below. If she jumped, she would have died.
In addition, monsters with giant bat wings were flying around the mansion, making shrill noises. They seemed to have been released just a moment ago.
Elze was chewing her lips in impatience. Beyond the darkness of the night, a dazzling torch appeared. Numerous torches were approaching the mansion, illuminating the sky as if it were daylight.
“...?”
Elze narrowed her eyes and looked toward the torches. Knights on horseback were galloping toward the mansion, swords and torches raised. Their furiously fluttering cloaks were embroidered with the black ravens of Targayel.
And Elze, who saw the person at the forefront leading the knights, sighed and smiled.
“It’s late...”
Elze called his name briefly.
“Shan.”
Did he hear Elze's call? Shan, who was riding his horse while trampling through the mansion's garden, raised his head slightly. Although there was quite a distance, it seemed as if his eyes met hers. Even among the crowd of people, he was clear. It was as if Shan had been the only one there from the beginning.
“...”
Shan's eyes drew a line. Elze could be sure that he had seen her too.
It felt like she was a Princess in a fairy tale, trapped in a high tower. The only difference was that Elze wasn't just waiting around quietly for the Prince to come to rescue her.
It would be convenient to wait until Shan came, but she had no idea how the mansion would turn into a mess in the meantime. Elze turned away from the window.
“Shan is leading the knights of Targayel towards the mansion. We are without proper weapons, so we will advance slowly while maintaining a safe line.”
At Elze's command, the Elijahs all nodded their heads. Then, a burst of laughter could be heard.
“Do you think you can get out alive?”
It was Teslaon. He muttered, his eyes sparkling.
“The chimeras that contain the culmination of my research... In the maze, you might have been lucky enough to survive since you had to deal with them one at a time, but now it’s impossible.”
Teslaon continued to speak, giggling even as blood flowed from his mouth.
“A lot of them will come from all directions, and the mansion is designed to explode after a certain amount of time! You will be buried in this mansion with me... Argh!”
But Teslaon's energetic declaration died down with a thud. This was because Rapine, who was standing next to him, struck him on the head. Rapine said with a smile.
“Your life or death will be decided by our leader from now on.”
Rapine's hands moved quickly. He checked to see if there was any poison hidden in Teslaon's mouth, then picked up a long piece of cloth.
Teslaon was gagged with a cloth in an instant. This was to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide. The fact that he was tied up with the same rope that had bound Ivanna was a bonus. Rapine finished tying the knot neatly and shook his hands.
“Should we do this for now?”
Rapine, who asked Elze with a gentle smile, seemed extremely kind. He didn't look like someone who had just been gagged and tied up with rope. Elze felt like applauding Rapine's actions.
“Excellent, Rapine.”
Elze looked back at Elijah and said.
“The mansion is exploding, so we’re changing our plan. Even if it’s a bit difficult, we’re going to try our best to break through.”
And she skillfully distributed the roles.
“Rapine will take charge of Teslaon and protect Ivanna. Tarkun and I will lead the way.”
Rapine lifted Teslaon onto his shoulder without saying a word and held hands with Ivanna. Ivanna fiddled with her coat. The light weight of the coat seemed unfamiliar.
All the precious research materials were lost. However, Teslaon's mansion was about to explode, and there was no time to recover the research materials. Ivanna bit her lower lip as she felt Elze's worried gaze, and then shouted cheerfully.
“Let’s go, Captain!”
But even though she said that Elze knew Ivanna's heart well. Gritting her teeth, Elze ordered Elijah not to leave the child of Teslaon alone.
“Then from now on...”
Elze said, fixing the dagger in her hand.
“Quickly, breakthrough.”
***
As soon as Shan escaped the maze, he headed to the campsite with Ilwooz to join the knights and sweep away the mansion.
Judging from the beasts and monsters that filled the basement of the mansion, it was judged that it would be difficult to completely subdue the mansion with just a small number of people. And then, leading the knights, they galloped through the village and entered the mansion.
A huge vibration was felt. The vibration that reverberated around the area like a thunderclap was brief. However, ominous things happened afterward.
There was a crashing and breaking sound throughout the mansion. At the same time, windows were shattered into pieces, and giant bat-winged birds soared into the air. The long howls of strange beasts resonated throughout the area.
“...What is this.”
Liv, who had been quietly guarding the campsite, hurriedly ran out with the knights following Shan who suddenly barged in, and looked at the mansion with bewildered eyes.
The galloping knights slowly slowed down as they entered the garden. Shan also narrowed his eyebrows and looked up at the mansion.
“...!”
A shadow loomed in the window of the mansion's top floor. It was hard to see because of the backlight, but Shan could tell just by the silhouette.
It was definitely Elze. They had only been a few hours apart, but she already felt like she had been gone for days. Shan smiled involuntarily, just looking at her silhouette.
Elze also saw Shan, and after looking down at her for a while, disappeared inside. He wanted to see Elze as soon as possible. Shan looked back at Liv and said.
“The mansion is full of monsters. The weak points of the hybrids are the joints.”
Shan explained the situation simply. Although Liv seemed distraught, she still understood Shan’s words as if she were a ghost.
Shan felt her waist with her hand. Elze's rapier and mangosh that she had brought from the campsite were hanging neatly there.
“Erzenes and Elijah are trapped inside the mansion. We’ll break through first.”
“But, Cirxus! It’s dangerous.”
Shan asked back at Liv's words with a crooked smile.
"Dangerous?"
“...!”
Liv realized her slip of the tongue immediately. The mansion was certainly dangerous. But that didn't apply to Shan Cirxus. And with his wife trapped inside the mansion, she shouldn't have tried to stop Shan. Liv lowered her eyes and answered.
“I’m sorry. I made a slip of the tongue.”
“No. I was just doing my part. I will lead the charge, and you will lead the knights and pursue behind. Kill every single beast and monster in the mansion.”
“Isn’t there a need to capture him for investigative purposes?”
"No."
Shan, who cut it cleanly and answered, said while thinking of Ivanna.
“We have people on our side who can easily create monsters as crude as that.”
At that moment, he felt a presence beside him. Shan stopped talking to Liv and glanced around. Ilwooz had quietly driven his horse and was sitting next to Shan. When their eyes met, Ilwooz smiled and spoke softly.
“Don’t get too excited, keep your composure...”
At first glance, it seemed like ordinary advice. But Shan and Ilwoos knew that it was not ordinary. Shan frowned and said to him,
“I am extremely calm. Don’t worry.”
Ilwooz answered with a smile.
“Then that’s fortunate...”
Shan raised an eyebrow at Ilwooz and ran towards the mansion. The knights followed Shan towards the mansion.
As they entered the mansion, the situation inside was like hell. Beasts and monsters were running wild, destroying everything they could get their hands on. The knights felt bewildered by the horrific sight.
Shan ran forward, leaving them behind. His goal was to quickly break through the beasts rather than kill them. Avoiding the attacks of the pouring beasts, Shan ran down the hallway and up the stairs. He cut down anything that got in his way. In his wake, only blood and corpses were left.
Within minutes of entering the mansion, Shan was able to locate Elze. Shan called her name as soon as he saw her.
“Elze!”
Elze, who had just climbed onto a huge beast and was cutting off its neck, opened her eyes wide and called out to Shan.
“Shan?”
Behind Elze, Elijah and the others were visible, but Shan's gaze was focused solely on Elze. Shan approached her and spoke.
“It’s too late.”
Elze approached him and said.
“What should I do if you come this late?”
Shan said with a smile.
“Leave some for me.”
Elze smiled back at him and answered.
“Don’t you know that the early bird gets the worm?”
And the two finally met. The moment they faced each other, their lips touched as if they had made a promise. The soft sensation was dizzying.
But the kiss was short. Elze slipped the hand that had been holding Shan and pulled out the rapier and mangosh hanging from his waist. She pulled away from his lips and looked up at Shan, smiling.
“I will gratefully accept the gift. Let’s finish the rest later outside the mansion.”
And Elze leaped forward without hesitation, soaring into the air. Her face lit up with joy as she held a sword in both hands.
When Elijah's Elze took up the rapier and the mangosh, everything was over. As the two swords glowed, the flesh of the monsters was cut, blood spurted out, and bones were shattered. Bright red blood spurted in all directions along the sword's trajectory. Elijah followed behind Elze and assisted, and it was the beginning of a real slaughter.
Shan swung his sword beside Elze. However, he only moved his hands mechanically to cut down the approaching monster, while all of Shan’s attention was focused on Elze.
Looking at her made his throat dry. Elze was the sexiest when she was swinging her rapier and mangosh. Her eyes sparkling with excitement from battle, and the sight of her declaring death to her enemies was one of Shan’s favorite scenes. So it was only natural that he felt hot inside when he saw Elze in front of him.
Shan, full of heat, opened her mouth slightly and let out a hot breath. He couldn’t take his eyes off the small red tongue visible inside her mouth. The small movement of her tongue licking her dry lips passed by slowly as if it were engraved in his eyes.
The short kiss only vaguely warmed up his body. That wasn't enough. He couldn't bear it any longer. Shan pulled Elze, who was just cutting down the beast, toward him and kissed her.
“Huh...?”
Elze, who was preparing for her next attack, opened her eyes wide at the sudden surprise attack. She frowned at the tongue digging in.
The hot heat mixed in. The body that was heated up from the battle was easily intoxicated by sexual excitement. Feeling Elze's waist shaking slightly, Shan happily ran his hand over her waist. Elze forced her lips apart and screamed.
“Hey, Shan Cirxus!”
Shan pulled away from Elze with a look of regret. Then, he whispered while wiping his hand over her flushed face.
“...Why are you so pretty?”
Elze's face turned red. She stammered with her face reddened.
“I said I’d go out and finish it! Right now, my life is at stake...!”
Shan was truly willing to do something a little more sticky with Elze here, but a little bit of reality and conscience woke up Shan's sense of reason.
Shan sighed and said as he cut the head of the beast that was attacking Elze from behind in two.
“Are you going to go out and do everything?”
Elze opened her mouth in bewilderment, then shut it tightly. She slid down next to Shan and answered, poking the monster's joint with a mangosh.
“Look at what you’re doing.”
How could the tips of her reddened ears be so pretty? Shan barely suppressed the urge to hug her tightly and bite her as he opened his mouth.
"Good."
Shan continued, swinging his longsword slowly.
“Then let’s go out quickly.”
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