Homunculus
Kasian Valerius unwittingly spat out the cursed name.
Homunculus.
Magic's "transcendence" meant reaching the realm of gods with a human body.
So, what was the most straightforward way to reach the 9th Circle?
Some fool came up with an idea.
—If God created humans, then creating pure humans ourselves should make us gods, right?
That line of magical theory met alchemy and took physical form. The resulting artificial lifeforms were called homunculi.
But the outcome was disastrous.
These artificial beings didn't revere their creators. The moment they escaped control, they attacked. After devouring a 6th Circle mage from the Council and a 1st-grade certified alchemist from the alchemy city of Kalshtein, they inherited their powers and turned an entire city to ruins.
After that, creating artificial humans became taboo in both magic and alchemy.
No wonder the forbidden tome Cardiac Structures: On the Composition of Humanity, containing those secrets, was banned across the continent.
And yet, here were homunculi in this quantity. In perfect human forms, no less?
Worse, one of them was Lucia.
Kasian, who had spent even a short time with her, hadn't sensed anything off about the tiny girl.
"In 500 years... does that mean a perfect homunculus was created...?!?"
Even Kasian Valerius, veteran of countless battles, felt chills down his spine.
The problem was the largest test tube in the center—completely shattered.
It was probably the culprit that forced open this sealed facility.
'A completed homunculus. If it's the work of someone who reached the divine realm... it should have at least 7th Circle-level power.'
For the first time since falling into this world, Kasian felt real tension.
He decided to explore this mysterious facility further.
Uncover the facility's true nature
Uncover someone's true identity
The facility was enormous.
There, he secured several key pieces of evidence.
First: The facility was managed by the Council.
The Council and the Imperial Family maintained a delicate balance of checks. During the Great War, the Council broke neutrality to side with the Empire, but they didn't support the current Iron-Blooded Emperor. These days, they could even be seen as outright opposed.
'If they're really attempting homunculus production, that's leverage in itself.'
No wonder mages spread all sorts of wild rumors.
'I heard Archmage Arkythia doesn't get along with the Council much. That explains it.' Kasian Valerius downgraded the threat level of Arkythia and her disciple, Yujin Feltro. Once he escaped this world, he might even apologize for intimidating them. After all, they'd handed him dirt on the Council's scandals—scandals he, as an Imperial agent, could exploit.
Uncover the facility's true nature
And second—
"......"
Just like when he'd seen the countless girls culturing in the test tubes, Kasian was left speechless.
On the desk lay a paper with a familiar face sketched on it.
Ash-gray hair, like Lucy's.
Blue eyes that gazed at hope even in the darkness.
Female form / Body age fixed at 15 years.
Artificially created sperm and egg synthesized into a zygote for cultivation. Forced implantation into the womb of human female (Incubator NO.41) who passed compatibility tests. Natural birth process induced.
*Biological mother disposed of due to nutrient depletion during birth.
Growth accelerated to target form metrics. Successfully mimicked 100% of human physical structure and biological cycles.
Failure / Subject for disposal. Replicated unnecessary human emotions like fear, sorrow, helplessness, depression, etc., but failed to achieve ascension goal. Incomplete due to lack of internal mana circuits. Ascension target must be elevated: Not a perfect human, but a perfect mage.
No research value. Crushed for recycling into subsequent specimens.
"Damn it all."
Kasian clutched his head. The conversation with Mary from the previous night echoed relentlessly in his ears.
—My parents are probably long gone. They're just living with kids from the neighborhood in the same boat as me.
—Lucy? She's my blood sister, right? Well, actually, neither of us remembers our parents. How we survived those five years is a mystery too.
—It's fine. Why do you think it's called the Day of Loss? Everyone lost something big—I'm not the only one.
Back then, he'd just thought it was a pitiful situation. But of course she had no memories. They were homunculi. Artificial lifeforms wouldn't have parents to remember.
"...Mary." Even a 7th Circle mage and Imperial hero like him couldn't fathom where it had all gone wrong.
Uncover someone's true identity
***
"We've reclaimed the sector!!!"
"This'll hold 'em off longer! Long live Captain Phaeton!"
"Long live Captain Phaeton!! Eternal Sanctuary!!"
Returning from the expedition, they were greeted by the residents' grand welcome.
Of course, knowing 90% of the operation's success came from some mage who dropped from the sky, they couldn't celebrate purely.
"Sir Kasian, I have something to discuss about the Council."
"Sorry, not in the mood to hear requests right now. Tell me tomorrow."
"Ah, yes... Understood. You must be exhausted. If you're still at that lodging, we could offer you a special suite in headquarters."
"No need."
Kasian brushed off the fidgety Phaeton and headed to Mary's house.
His mind was a mess.
He still hadn't decided how to handle them.
Homunculi were a stain on the Empire—no, on all humanity.
Beings that shouldn't exist in this world.
Yet thinking of Mary, Lucy, and the innocent young children living with them stirred indescribable emotions in Kasian.
'Is it right to heap another tragedy on lives already steeped in misery? I'm just a stranger here anyway.'
The silver lining: He still had time.
Yujin Feltro, Arkythia's librarian, had said he had one day in reality—eight days here. Only three had passed.
Five days left. A blessing.
It meant he could postpone his decision.
As he sorted his tangled thoughts and arrived at Mary's, a twenty-year-old girl with ash-gray hair and seven children waiting outside welcomed him.
"It's the mage gramps!"
After just one dinner and a magic show, the kids had closed the distance in a flash.
He had no choice but to shelve his worries for now.
"Alright, wanna see what I brought?"
"Whoa!! What's this!?"
"Steam robot model!"
"Machine Princess set too! Weeheehee!"
In toy-less Sanctuary, the kids squealed with delight, clutching their huge gifts as they dashed inside.
"But mister, where's Lucy's? You didn't forget, right?"
"Ah, Lucy's is..."
What do you give a homunculus? Artificial culture fluid?
In the end, he'd settled on a small strawberry shortcake.
Remembering how she'd buried her face in the plate last night, food seemed fitting.
High-end ingredients like cream and strawberries from the scavenger bosses, recreated from memories of baking with Claudia long ago.
"Eat it secretly, away from the others."
"......!!!!"
Her disappointed eyes sparkled.
"Th-thank you, gramps!"
After handing out the last gift to Lucy, Kasian finally faced Mary, who smiled sweetly at him.
"Good work. Heard you pulled off something flashy?"
"Told you, no need to worry."
"I wasn't worried at all!"
Her ears flushed red with embarrassment, drawing a silly laugh from Kasian.
"Haha, and here's your gift."
"Eek?!"
Mary took the obviously luxurious weapon case, peeked inside, looked at Kasian, peeked again...
And ended up in tears.
"Ugh... seriously, mister, what are you...? Showing up out of nowhere, making people cry..."
"Why cry? Gift that good?"
"No, it's my first time getting one... Feels like meeting the dad I always missed. Even without memories."
"...Dad, huh."
A pang stabbed his chest.
Kasian bit his lip to hold back his own surge of emotion.
"Sniff, ahem, uh... Hey, mister. Wanna have meat today?"
"Ahem, y-yeah! Sounds good. Meat around here?"
"They raise it in the inner dairy sector. Crazy expensive... but with my savings, maybe two chickens if we're lucky."
"Two's plenty. I'll whip up something amazing."
Just like that, the two shared joyful laughs and entered the shabby house.
That was enough.
With the Council in ruins and the city fallen, what did it matter if he spent his days with innocent homunculi? They were victims of cruel experiments, nothing more.
He was an otherworlder who'd crossed dimensions. As long as he wrapped things up properly at the end.
Yes. As long as they all parted with smiles...
The next day. Sanctuary fell to a colossal monster.