Zzzzt! Sparks of Inheritance
Zzzzt. No wonder Emma didn't leave right away. Not just that—she's staring right through me like she's drilling holes with her eyes?
Ugh... Something's off. I thought Emma had no reason to pay attention to me anymore, but if she keeps staring like that, it's embarrassing and I can't even move.
I need to install a virus on the computer behind the doctor's back and swing by the ampoule room to snag one of those discarded ampoules!
No way...! This might be surveillance. The doctor must've figured out my evil plan and ordered Emma to keep an eye on me. What persistence! Does he still can't let go of his obsession with me?!
Just as I reached that firm conclusion in my head, Emma suddenly turned her head away.
Huh? She's just leaving? I figured she'd be on watch all night...
Whatever, fine. I respect whatever Emma does!
Emma's footsteps faded into the distance. As the surrounding noises quieted, a sly smile crept across my face.
Just thinking about it sends tingles down my spine. Tortuga teacher's power passed down to me? So what does that mean for me? Spewing lightning? Or running at lightning speed? According to special relativity, I might even become someone who can time travel! Sure, not to the past—just skipping a bit ahead into the future!
Who cares? I thought I'd live my whole life as a fire wizard, but expanding into a new realm this quickly? Fire's powerful, but it's kinda common in this world. Any decently strong Cadaver just breathes it out of their mouths.
But lightning! Honestly, that zzzt from Tortuga teacher's plasma cannon the first time I saw it still haunts my dreams. And now I get to wield that power. Truly moving.
I glanced around. No Emma, no visible researchers. Perfect! Time to go grab it!
After years here, I knew the way without getting lost.
Just follow the path right, and I could recite the doctor's routine with my eyes closed.
Right now, he'd be lost in gooey love with the freak he created.
So-called "do not disturb!" And it applies to me too.
Because everyone zones out like there's a blackout! He seems to like quiet spots for research. Emma's a minor exception. Someone's gotta handle his paperwork, even on holidays.
Poor Emma. Getting exploited more because of her high resistance to brainwashing. Might've been easier if her brain got fully taken over like the other researchers.
I reached the ampoule room quickly. The old blood stench used to make me gag at first, but now it's familiar.
Of course, familiar doesn't mean appetizing. My heart races every time I come here, but that doesn't make raw meat tasty!
I scanned around with practiced hands.
Ampoules had indecipherable symbols. I can read, but deciphering that script is another level. Anyway, I only care about one spot.
The discarded ampoule storage! They're contaminated with P.V. virus, even if called ampoules.
Can't just toss them down the sewer. Not that it'd instantly doom the Sector to pandemic, but still.
They follow proper procedures for dangerous viruses. I question the doctor's research ethics, but he's thorough here. So much so that aside from me, there's hardly any evidence of his experiments. Suspicious, but no solid proof.
Growing up watching Emma here, I could guess there were countless test subjects before her. Or rather, I knew it before I was born!
Most were kids without IDs. Rescued strays with no records, lured in under various pretexts and turned into guinea pigs.
Even with the Defense Bureau watching closely, they can't monitor everything outside the Sector. Not everyone's on the same side anyway.
Point is, diligent guy, flaws and all! Anyone watching would nod.
Click.
I picked up an ampoule and examined the contents closely. Just dark red liquid, no obvious traits. Not about looks—use the Linker's ability to sense the virus power inside.
Even from dead creatures, the P.V. virus that modified them lingers dormant. But sensing it isn't easy; without nutrients, it goes inactive, unlike in living hosts.
Viruses are like that—machine-like yet mimicking cell replication.
Luckily, the first one was Tortuga teacher's legacy. The zzzt in my head confirms it!
Heh, knew it. Coming at this hour means fresh discards! Samples work too, but processed ampoules are way more efficient. One might turn me into a superconductor Cadaver?!
I popped the lid without hesitation.
Opened wide and gulped it down. Taste? Same rotten corpse funk—bitter, toxic... you know. Like herbal medicine, kinda bearable.
"Urk."
Stuck out my tongue instinctively. Ugh, gonna puke... Smell's fine now, but the taste never gets better.
Better injected with a syringe, but that leaves traces. Unlike blood-stained tools, a bloody syringe screams suspicious. Can't just wipe the inside.
Anyway, my body's optimized for absorption, so efficiency's negligible. That's why the doctor obsesses. But I use tools for one reason: taste sucks! Not about efficiency.
Like using the auto-light robot "little sister" for mental health.
Caught my breath. Wanted sweet juice, but only doctor's omija tea or red ginseng—equally vile.
How much time passed? Nausea fading, I raised my hand.
About time! Veins warming up—fully absorbing now. Ooh, new power awakening!
Thump thump.
Heart racing. Veins felt like flowing flames with tingles mixed in.
Now!
Thrust both hands forward!
Crackle!
Whoa. Actual static. Need more time for full electricity control.
Didn't expect much. P.V. speeds evolution, but not instant species change.
Static in minutes is impressive! Other Cadavers would take a week. Size difference, though—theirs would be real shocks!
Goal achieved. Static zaps blew away my gloom.
Back to rest now.
"Perfect."
Dr. Licht murmured in admiration, gazing at the creature beyond the glass.
The Guardian Project. His long-cherished dream.
It should've succeeded sooner, but a fatal flaw intervened...
Even now, thinking of that failure boiled rage deep inside. Black, as it unified all virus powers. Hence the name Nera.
Everything started smoothly.
Tricking naive Lily with promises of a new humanity resistant to any P.V. variant. While she obsessed over her swollen belly, subjugating researchers one by one. All seamless.
Origin—a cell harboring an unknown virus origin, present since humanity built the first Sector. He used it.
Origin was unique among P.V. viruses. Normal ones remodel hosts per blueprint. Origin adapted the blueprint to the host.
He combined Origin's ability with human embryonic stem cells.
Universal blueprint for anything + universal cells for differentiation. High P.V. compatibility was ideal—Lily was perfect luck.
Infinite + infinite. Even he couldn't predict the result. Not just form—a true calamity could doom the Sector.
The unknown entity's growth was smooth, but monitoring every change took superhuman effort.
Suppress. Suppress. Suppress. Crush endless possibilities and defiance.
Days passed. Lily's screams never ceased, oblivious to her handlers' brainwashing amid pain and fetal focus.
The child was surprisingly ordinary.
Expected distinguishing traits, but just a normal human baby. Red eyes only—impure mark of prolonged P.V. resistance, a fleeting scar.
No big issue. Half-virus lifeform looking human was odd, but great for deception.
Where did it go wrong?
Locking possibilities too tightly? Infinite mutations halted.
Once 100% adaptable to any virus, now unresponsive.
Fate's joke. His deception to Lily became reality.
Not absorbing all—repelling all. White. He laughed madly all day.
Further efforts futile. Infinite potential now ignored and blocked him.
Fate cruel, even now.
But no matter.
Beyond glass: Guardian. No—now Hydra, mythic beast. Massive body stirred.
No amorphous tentacles. Eight heads, each with heart and brain. Flames could raze hundreds of meters.
And fully under his control.
"Yes, humans advance through failure."
All thanks to Nera. Observed P.V. creation and mutation firsthand.
Now, he could induce mutations in one person as desired. Creating desired beings was easy.
Brainwave-controlled parasitic Cadaver from start. Hydra: two beings.
Body renovation simpler. Injected youthful vigor into decaying flesh. Overflowing power, sleepless nights no issue.
Past failure elevated him.
How could he not marvel?