Chapter 569
"Heh... I wonder what everyone thinks of me..."
Looking at Antirianus, who was clearly showing signs of discontent, Lucinil frowned.
"Antirianus, I think I'm more nervous because I believe you know something worse than the truth."
"Ah... That's... true?!"
Hearing Lucinil's words, Harriet could not help but gain new insights.
That mad old man probably knows something more cruel and terrible than what the Empire is currently doing, which makes him even scarier.
In fact, Eleris had been pale, almost turning blue before even hearing anything.
Harriet wondered if it would be better not to hear what Antirianus had to say.
Wouldn't it be better not to know what bizarre and horrifying possibilities are being presented from the abyss?
"Perhaps, it would be best if the Lord of Saturday doesn't say anything..."
Harriet grew more fearful, thinking that a story worse than reality would unfold.
"Alchemy... The previous Lord of Saturday did try to create the Philosopher's Stone."
Upon hearing that, the expressions of the other four Lords changed.
Antirianus's predecessor, the previous Lord of Saturday, had undoubtedly pursued it.
"The Philosopher's Stone?"
At Harriet's question, Antirianus nodded.
"I thought it was a legend similar to dragons."
A legend on par with dragons.
In other words, it meant a futile story.
"In fact, that's true. The previous Lord failed to create the Philosopher's Stone."
It was difficult to guess the truth about the previous Lord of Saturday from Antirianus's ambiguous expression.
However, the important conversation now was not about the Philosopher's Stone.
"Of course, my research was slightly different from the previous Lord's."
"What kind of research was it?"
"For example, studying convergent evolution of species..."
"...Convergent evolution?"
"Yes, scribe."
Harriet felt like she wanted to plug her ears.
"There are quite a few cases where different species acquire similar functions, right? For example, like how demons and humans have discovered their own ways of handling mana, albeit differently."
"Ah, yes..."
"That was my research. What would humans become if they continued to evolve like this? What would demons become if they continued to evolve like this? As they evolve, they gradually acquire similar functions and might become completely identical beings, despite having different roots. I've researched under such assumptions."
"...So, what did you do?"
"I failed."
Everyone, including Harriet and the other Lords, was dumbfounded by the extremely disappointing conclusion.
However, the following statement was enough to shock everyone.
"To begin with, both humans and demons needed their growth rates to be much faster, allowing for frequent generational changes. But failing to modify both species like that, I couldn't see the end, could I?"
If it had been someone else, they might not have understood what Antirianus was talking about, but everyone present was a mage.
They knew the meaning of Antirianus's words.
Lucinil stared at Antirianus with a trembling expression.
"…So, you tried to improve the species itself, then?"
"Yes, that's right."
The plan was to accelerate the generation replacement of humans and demons to observe the evolution of their species, but it failed.
In short, it involved biological experimentation. It goes without saying that living humans and demons were used for this.
Harriet's face turned pale.
The story Antirianus told was a dreadful one.
All the other lords present seemed to react with an indifferent "Oh, I see," upon hearing the tale.
Even Eleris seemed slightly taken aback, though not outwardly shocked.
Everyone at the gathering was an ancient being and a mage, so they considered such events to be relatively normal.
This applied to both Antirianus and the other Vampire Lords.
Harriet shuddered to think what her father, who rejected impure and blasphemous powers, would say if he knew she was in the company of such beings.
With a trembling expression, Harriet asked,
"So… why did you conduct such experiments in the first place? Did you want to become such a being yourself… or something like that?"
"I was curious, with plenty of time and nothing to do. Is there any other reason?"
"Ah."
"So, I tried it, and if I could modify the species with my own hands, it would be unnatural in the first place, and it would be pointless to find an endpoint in such a way. Besides, evolution doesn't always flow in the direction of progress, so it was a meaningless experiment from the start."
In the end, Vampire Lords were immortal mages.
Living for so long made them curious about unnecessary things, leading them to conduct strange experiments without any significant reason.
Antirianus went on to list several other alchemical experiments he had conducted.
He had attempted to create winged humans by combining harpies and humans or artificially imprint magic circuits on animals to make beasts capable of using magic.
"I also tried an experiment to transplant the brain of one creature into another."
"…You've done every weird thing possible, haven't you?"
"Well, it failed with different species, but it succeeded with the same species."
"…Really? It succeeded?"
There were shocking success stories, like the time they transplanted the brains of two different humans and they were still able to move.
"Of course, even with success, they rarely survived more than a day."
There were failed experiments, half-successful ones, and quite a few successful ones.
In conclusion, Antirianus was a deranged mage.
A mage who had dipped his toes into bizarre and terrifying deeds.
That was Antirianus.
And none of this was particularly surprising to anyone. Everyone nodded as if to say, "It's just like Antirianus," and Harriet was no exception.
It was only natural for a person like him to do such things.
He had committed countless heinous acts that would warrant being burned at the stake.
Antirianus's statement that alchemy and dark magic were inseparable was true.
The experiments themselves were hardly different from dark magic, and it was a fact that he almost always employed dark magical means to achieve success.
"Of course, I've also tried experiments to create beings like Lord of Wednesday."
Antirianus looked at Lucinil with a cold smile and said,
"…A plague."
"You don't seem surprised."
"I thought you'd do something like this. No, it would be strange if you didn't."
"I am grateful that you recognize my fondness for the Lord of Wednesday…"
"Enough."
Lucinil stuck out her tongue, as if she hadn't expected him not to do it.
Harriet knew as well.
Lucinil was originally one of the products of the Homunculus experiment, a forbidden art among alchemy.
When Harriet first found out that Lucinil was a Homunculus, she was shocked.
Not only that, but she was also a vampire.
The fact that one could be both a Homunculus and a vampire was already a miracle in itself.
"Ultimately, what I'm trying to say is that alchemy being a magic that deals with potions and elixirs is a misconception and prejudice from the start."
"…"
"The alchemy practiced by alchemists in the world is nothing but coarse magic."
Hearing Antirianus's explanation, Harriet couldn't help but understand what he meant.
Elixirs and potions.
Alchemy was never that kind of magic to begin with.
Only a level of alchemy that could be accepted by society was allowed, so the original meaning of alchemy was greatly diminished and faded.
"Originally, alchemy primarily dealt with forbidden arts concerning life."
Even the word "alchemy" itself overly restricts the essence of the magic.
Life experiments.
In other words, Chimeras.
And Homunculus.
That was closer to the essence of alchemy.
So, it was only natural for an alchemist to be involved in the magic of dealing with the dead, according to Antirianus.
Alchemy was a magic that dealt with life.
"You approach alchemy in that way, so you say it's normal. But Antirianus's words are true."
Lucinil nodded in agreement.
"Alchemy is a magic discipline that is even closer to black magic than black magic itself."
Alchemy is closer to forbidden arts in essence. Dealing with potions and elixirs is extremely limited and specific in the system of alchemy, and it has overly narrowed alchemy down.
"So, you're saying that it's highly likely that the forbidden arts, including Chimeras and Homunculi, are involved in what the Empire is doing now?"
"It would inevitably be so."
Strictly speaking, the undead also belong to the category of things that move and live.
So, it was highly likely that the field of alchemy was being applied.
"So, do you know or not what the Empire is doing now?"
At Lucinil's question, Antirianus laughed and shrugged his shoulders.
"How could I know when I haven't seen it with my own eyes? I just meant to tell you that it's not strange for an alchemist to be involved."
The question of why an alchemist is involved itself was already wrong.
There was nothing strange about being involved.
However, they're back to square one. Although it's not strange for them to be involved, they still don't know what they're doing.
"But it seems certain that the Empire is up to something."
"Lord… That's obvious, isn't it?"
To begin with, there was no one in the room who didn't know that the Empire was up to something.
Thus, despite her fear of Antirianus, Harriet's frustration with his words almost reached its breaking point, as she had returned to square one.
"Scribe, did you not hear what I said?"
"Lord of Saturday... he's done... a great number of terrifying things..."
Although she had imagined as much, hearing the actual stories made her stomach churn and her spine shiver, as there were countless instances of horrifying experiments.
"Scribe, my point is not that I've conducted so many experiments. What I wanted to convey was that I've 'failed' in so many of them."
"Ah..."
Antirianus did not recount these events to flaunt his cruelty and madness anew.
Although they were all beings of some capability and not to be taken lightly, the other Vampire Lords merely reacted with a knowing nod.
In fact, Harriet was the only one in the room who was genuinely shocked by Antirianus's stories of his experiments.
"Chimera and homunculus experiments generally fail. This is because life is such a precise and intricate system that it's difficult to approach even with magic."
Antirianus had not been recounting his tales to show off, but rather to share his many stories of failure in detail.
"Right. As Antirianus mentioned, I've researched and experimented with creating homunculi similar to myself for much longer than that fellow. Of course, all of them ended in failure."
Lucinil nodded in agreement.
Harriet couldn't help but wonder who had created Lucinil and what had become of them, but that was not the important topic at hand.
Chimera and homunculus.
These were not only taboo, but also an extremely difficult branch of magic, because they involve life.
Harriet pondered silently.
Antirianus had lived for a very long time, and Lucinil even longer.
Both of them had conducted chimera and homunculus research on various subjects, and while there might have been some successes, the majority had failed.
They were now at war.
There was no reason to invest resources and manpower into something uncertain.
The Titan Project had been a gamble, but it had a solid foundation.
The same would likely be true for this endeavor.
"So, they're not conducting research or experiments, but rather a specific 'operation'... Is that what you're saying?"
"Indeed."
There was a definite 'method' to be employed, and the Empire was undertaking the task.
It was an effort that could lead to a significant increase in their military power.
But this had already been stated repetitively.
Of course, the project was ongoing because there was a viable method in place.
"However, it's strange. The Empire, and human lands alike, are very strict about the taboo related to dark magic."
"Yes... that's true."
Taboos weren't just in place for no reason.
While individual mages might not be entirely exempt, those who studied forbidden magic were naturally sentenced to the most severe penalties.
"Moreover, the Empire has not conducted its own research into taboos. It was a nation with a commendable perception of magic, applying that understanding even to itself."
It was an ironic situation for someone who had dabbled in forbidden research and experiments to discuss propriety, but the Empire was not a nation that secretly meddled in the taboo.
"A matter involving a taboo, knowledge of it."
Antirianus laughed chillingly.
The Empire, which had never delved too deeply into dark magic and alchemy, was now involved in a magic operation requiring knowledge of a highly advanced taboo.
Naturally, they were engaging in it because they believed they could succeed.
"Isn't the source of that knowledge more important?"
While the research itself was important, the origin of the research was even more so.
Harriet stared blankly at Antirianus, her mouth agape.
Forbidden magic.
Two groups possessed vast knowledge about it.
One was Cantus Magna.
The other one.
"Don't tell me... The Empire has joined forces with the Black Order... Is that what you're saying?"
Antirianus laughed at Harriet's suspicion.
"It would be strange if that wasn't the case."
The suspicion related to the undead went beyond the truth of the suspicion itself and suggested a completely unexpected possibility.
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