Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Nobles Dyed in Darkness (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The rebellion was over, but there were still plenty of loose ends to tie up.
The top priority was none other than the black mages.
The corrupted golems they'd created, along with those bizarre lumps of flesh.
And I was the one stuck handling them.
Alongside the Holy Kingdom's priests.
"...Why me, of all people?"
"Because I recommended you."
"Pretina..."
The woman standing beside me right now was the one who'd nominated me as the investigator.
For some reason, she thought I was perfect for the job.
Of course, it was true that the corrupted golems were based on the mass-produced models I'd designed.
"Even so, wouldn't House Apontuna's investigators be more reliable?"
"Oh? That's exactly why I called you. We're just using what House Apontuna has on hand."
Am I your property now?
It pissed me off, but I had no intention of defying House Apontuna over it.
Honestly, my best output came from them, so I couldn't complain.
Besides, Pretina had a subtle way of helping me out.
She'd assisted me with the improved engine, too.
Come to think of it, this was the first time we'd seen each other since then.
Seizing the chance to catch up after so long, we chatted about recent events.
She was intensely interested in the books I'd published and the recent reading marathon.
Especially Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
"I read it, but... do you harbor some grudge against the Goddess?"
"What kind of talk is that?"
"It doesn't view human nature from the divine perspective."
Pretina said that if I'd written it from God's point of view, it couldn't have turned out that way.
Human guilt or innocence is fundamentally defined by divine words, but my novel made it hard to see that angle.
Of course, I had my own counterargument.
"But Hyde is based on what we already judge as sin."
There were differences from Earth, but the basics were the same sins called out since ancient times.
In other words, it was built on what the gods declared as sin.
Good and evil had always been heavily influenced by religion.
"Exactly. That's why I like it."
...What's there to like about that?
Pretina smiled faintly and asked if I'd ever consider working for House Apontuna.
Naturally, I turned her down.
"Well, time's on our side."
Pretina didn't look disappointed in the slightest.
She probably figured she could make me hers whenever she wanted.
No wonder everyone makes such a fuss about House Apontuna.
Shaking my head, I headed toward the corrupted golems and the captured flesh lumps.
"Ugh, anyway, let's get this investigation started."
"Sure. Give it a shot."
No, why are you just standing there with your arms crossed?
I started to say something, then decided to just do it myself.
Pretina probably had no experience with this sort of thing anyway.
I didn't either, but I'd done plenty of similar work.
Recalling my grad school days, I examined the golem first.
It was so warped from the original that it was unrecognizable, steeped in black magic.
I called over one of the priests nearby.
He was an archbishop, but right now, he was just my assistant.
With Pretina here, it felt like I could boss him around a bit.
Was this what they called riding on coattails?
"Use holy power on this—"
"Got it."
He extended his hand, and holy power enveloped the golem.
The black magic vanished completely.
The altered form didn't revert, but the black magic aura was gone.
I was dumbfounded, while he smiled proudly, as if to say,
"How's that?"
"...Hey! What the hell? You just wiped it out?!"
He backed away with a flustered look as I snapped.
Damn it, we need to investigate—destroying the evidence like that!
I had a lot more I wanted to say, but I swallowed it down and waved him off.
Then I called over the next guy and instructed him.
"Okay, listen all the way through before you do anything. Got it?"
"Ahem. Understood."
Thankfully, this one was reasonable.
I approached the second golem and asked him to purify only specific parts, which he did perfectly.
He looked a bit pleased as his shoulders lifted slightly, then asked me,
"But what's the point of purifying it partially like this?"
"The first one lets us analyze the black magic. The second reveals vulnerabilities in the golem. And the third..."
I tapped the golem and pointed to the purified section.
"...tests if we can track the black mage with holy power."
"...Track them?"
"Yeah. But from what I see, tracking won't work. It's just powered by embedded mana crystals maintaining the black magic."
He stared at me with a strange expression.
It was the look undergrads give professors.
The content wasn't that complex, but...
"Anyway, I've got a rough idea of the black magic controlling the golems. It amplifies their strength, fuses them with mana crystals, and makes them ferocious. Considering golems are halfway to artificial life forms, it's surprisingly well-crafted black magic."
"...I have no idea what you're saying, but is it right to praise black magic in front of me, a vessel of the Goddess's will?"
"Ah, my bad. I'll be careful."
I'd slipped into pure scientist mode without thinking.
You have to watch out for religious folks here—or even on Earth.
With the golems fully examined, I told them they could do whatever they wanted now.
Next up were the flesh lumps.
He frowned at the humanoid masses of meat.
"These black mages are all insane. Turning people into this."
"These used to be human?"
"A lot's mixed in, but the base is human, yeah."
Good lord. I'd thought they were homunculi at first glance.
Black mages just do human experiments like it's nothing.
Of course, human rights aren't much of a concept in this world.
He looked disgusted but didn't charge in blindly like the first guy.
Thanks to that, I could examine them slowly. On the surface, it seemed like their muscles had hypertrophied massively, causing the flesh to sag.
But there were no stretch marks on the skin.
Meaning the skin had expanded along with it.
"Wow, that's intriguing."
First, I drew some blood. No syringes, so I made a cut and collected it in a bucket.
The lump thrashed during the process, but the knights held it down, and we got the sample safely.
A little while later, the wound healed.
Leaving a thick scar, though.
Troll-like regeneration. Should hold up for the next tests.
"Let's hit it with some magic."
Grinning, I cast various spells from scrolls.
Started with ice to test cold resistance, then fire to burn, and so on.
I ignored the priest's sharp glare throughout.
"These flesh lumps are tough as hell."
I'd needed aura just to cut for the blood, so no surprise.
How—and why—did they make these?
The tests so far didn't reveal much.
"Whew, last one left."
The bucket of blood I'd drawn earlier.
I approached it with a diagnostic scroll first.
This spell analyzes blood composition.
It was a rush job, so limited functions: checks if it's normal human blood, then detects magic, black magic, or holy power.
Black magic would obviously trigger, so I could examine its details.
Like what percentage infused the blood.
I infused mana and checked the reaction.
The scroll glowed once, displaying the blood analysis.
"...What the hell?"
90% human blood, 10% black magic.
In other words, barely any black magic involvement.
"No way, how?"
I stared back at the flesh lump in disbelief.
It looked nothing like a human—surely heavy black magic tampering.
Like rituals or ongoing modifications.
But the results showed it wasn't a prolonged process.
To be sure, I drew blood from a fresh one nearby.
The diagnostic showed even less black magic.
Tested a few more; highest was 80-20.
"What the actual fuck."
Instant transformation?
Or only bringing out the successes?
No clue. I tilted my head in confusion.
The watching priest patted my shoulder.
"Looks like it's our turn now."
"You guys? What're you gonna do?"
"Simple. Perform a few days of purification rituals and observe the progress."
Purification rituals. If they erased the black magic, maybe something would change.
I had no better ideas, so I agreed.
The priests gathered to discuss how to proceed.
I sidled up to Pretina and asked,
"Not doubting them or anything, but can we trust this? Never seen a ritual before."
"Trust or not, they have to pull it off. An archbishop of the Holy Kingdom—if they fail... well, they won't."
She seemed about to say something else.
Anyway, Pretina and I tidied up the golems while keeping an eye on the priests.
A few days later, they held a ritual with one flesh lump in the center.
Songs and offerings to the Goddess, prayers all converging.
The lump writhed in agony, but soon pure white light enveloped it.
The area lit up brilliantly. When the light faded, a stranger collapsed there—a human.
"Gasp! Wh-where am I?!"
He looked around in panic. I rushed over and blurted,
"I have questions. Who turned you into that monster? And how?"
I knew it was harsh to grill a freshly restored victim.
But my curiosity wouldn't let me hold back.
What a rotten curiosity I have.
Swallowing a wry smile, I waited for his answer.
He trembled at my words like a leaf.
"B-black mage! That bitch did it! F-fed me some weird potion...!"
"Potion?"
"Yeah! Said it was inspired by some book? A-ahh!"
He clutched his head and collapsed to the ground.
Did my words trigger trauma? He was hyperventilating in terror.
Meanwhile, hearing that, one ominous suspicion hit me.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?
I'd jokingly wondered before if someone was using it as a reference.
Nah, no way.
I hoped not. Desperately.