Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Villain and Black Flame
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The Cherubim had completely surrounded Everlin. Beneath their skin, circuits pulsed with blue light like a heartbeat. The glow coursing through their veins grew ever more intense until it finally burst forth from their bodies.
Kikik-
A sharp metallic screech rang out. The Cherubim's arms deformed and reconfigured into various weapon forms.
"The fifth element that transcends the four elements. Behold this infinite energy. It marks a new horizon for our Hermetic Order. A world apart from the incomplete Cherubim of before."
Everlin silently raised her hand. Black flames blazed even more fiercely from her fingertips.
"Eliminate the worthless asset. Minimize data collection if needed."
At Lazar's command, the Cherubim moved in unison.
The first Cherubim, equipped with blades, charged at Everlin. Its blade, shrouded in blue ether, sliced through the air toward her.
Everlin dodged the attack with a single step. The blade grazed the tips of her hair as it passed.
In that instant, the black flame blooming from her fingertips brushed the Cherubim's shoulder.
Kwaaaak!
The black flames spread from the point of contact throughout its entire body. The Cherubim screamed as it turned to ash in an instant.
"The destructive power of the black flame remains as potent as ever. But it's merely a fluke. A phenomenon that can't be replicated is no science—it's superstition."
Everlin leaped into the air and climbed up a pillar. She quickly assessed her surroundings.
The steel beams of the ceiling, the positions of the pillars, the deployment of the enemies, and the glass vials and metal tanks scattered throughout the factory corners. Lazar had clearly set up a makeshift lab.
"Avir Epher, the legendary Hermetic agent active for centuries. But in the end, you're just expendable for a higher purpose. No more research value left. Not even worth collecting anymore—like a useless outdated toy."
Lazar gestured. Two Cherubim wielding hand cannons attacked simultaneously. Blue ether beams shot toward Everlin.
Everlin ducked low, kicked off the floor, and rolled forward. The beams pierced the spot where she had stood, smashing into the lab equipment behind her.
Glass beakers shattered, spilling red and golden liquids across the floor. Containers of alchemical catalysts boiled and melted away.
"You stupid vermin! Do you have any idea how precious that was? A single drop of catalyst is worth hundreds of times more than you lot!"
"You order it yourself and then blame them? What an incompetent commander."
Everlin didn't miss the chaos. She condensed black flame between her index and middle fingers. In an instant, the black energy sharpened into a dagger form.
She hurled the black flame dagger at the Cherubim holding the hand cannon. The black blade sliced through the air, piercing the glowing blue Cherubim's wrist precisely.
"Kuuuaak!"
With the Cherubim's scream, its ether-surging arm crumbled into ash.
Next, a massive ether shield-wielding Cherubim charged at her.
Instead of a frontal clash, Everlin targeted the side. She aimed her finger at the one-centimeter gap between the shield and the Cherubim's body, condensing black flame into a single point and forcing it into that tiny crevice.
The Cherubim melted from the inside out. Even ether was useless against black flame concentrated to such density.
"Hoo..."
Everlin caught her breath for a moment.
"Already tired, Alpha? Disappointing. I need to record this pathetic sight. Seeing it will make those Great Sage fools realize just how monumental my progress is."
"I'm just in a hurry to return to Master."
"Using black flame like that will destroy your body. And now there's no one left to maintain you? Back then, the research team would regenerate you down to the cellular level after missions. Your continued existence was solely thanks to me."
Lazar's words were true. The flames that burned everything spared no one—not even the user.
"It doesn't matter. For Master, I would."
"Touching. But sentimentality is always the refuge of the weak."
Everlin threw a black flame dagger at the halberd-wielding Cherubim.
As it staggered back, Everlin seized the opening to drop down and target the alchemical equipment.
The Cherubim began rapidly encircling Everlin.
'Now!'
Everlin instantly drew black flame to its limit in both hands, focusing it on the chemical tanks.
The factory interior plunged into complete darkness, then was dyed in the ominous glow of black flame.
Kwaaaang—!
The flames erupted outward like an explosion, setting the Cherubim ablaze.
Several pillars collapsed from the blast's force, and parts of the factory began crumbling.
In the smoke-filled space, Everlin searched for Lazar.
He had weathered the explosion using two Cherubim as human shields.
Everlin didn't let the opportunity slip.
She wove through the fallen Cherubim, closing in on Lazar.
In a flash, her dagger gleamed, piercing straight through Lazar's upper body.
Kang—!
"...?"
An unexpected cold metallic clang echoed. Not the sound of flesh parting, but of striking something hard.
Lazar's lab coat tore open, revealing what lay beneath.
Red muscle grotesquely fused with blue circuits. His sternum was reinforced with titanium alloy, and where his heart should have been pulsed a glowing blue ether tank.
A hybrid of human flesh and machine. Over half his body had been replaced with machinery.
"Surprised? This is evolution. Transcendence beyond limits. I've replaced frail human meat with mechanical perfection."
He slowly pointed to the center of his chest. Embedded there was a red gem. Ether began emanating from it.
"Ars Magna."
Shuuung—
Golden chains extended from Lazar's body.
"Solomon's Chains!"
The Hermetic Order's supreme binding incantation. An ancient relic that sealed all abilities.
She tried to evade, but it was too late. The golden chains wrapped around Everlin's body.
The moment they bound her, the black flames flickered out. It felt like all her power was draining away.
"Behold! Even restraint artifacts that once required massive rituals are now integrated into my body!"
"Krut..."
The golden chains dug into her skin, tightening further. Everlin gritted her teeth, but she couldn't hide the pain.
"Solomon's Chains seal all mysteries. No ability can defy it. How does it feel, Alpha? Back to square one?"
"What... do you plan to do?"
Lazar approached her slowly, unhurried.
"You were once perfect. No emotions, no doubts, no hesitation. Existing solely for pure purpose. I'll restore that purity to you."
Kiiik-
A chilling sound came from his back as six mechanical tentacles extended. Each tip bore needles, barbs, and small electrodes.
"Emotions, memories, attachments... I'll free you from all errors. Everything that made you delusionally think you're 'human'... and your loyalty to that Experiment Omega too."
The tentacles slowly advanced toward Everlin's head. Blue liquid dripped from the barbs.
"The Hermetic Order is the tide and end of the era! Alpha-001! Everything you knew will vanish. You'll be reborn—as a more perfect tool!"
The device was now nearly touching Everlin's head.
Pfft-
Everlin's face, dominated by helplessness, shifted to a calm sneer. The faint smile at her lips was barely perceptible, but it didn't escape Lazar's mechanized eyes.
"What's so funny, Alpha?"
Lazar narrowed his mechanical eyes as he asked.
"You still don't get the Hermetic Order? You could never become one of the Great Sages."
Confusion flashed across Lazar's face. A faint spark flickered from his mechanized parts.
"There are only seven seats for the Great Sages. You integrated Solomon's Chains into your body? That's precisely your problem. A true alchemist transcends the flesh, not replaces it with machines."
"What nonsense..."
"They sent you here to dispose of you. Now that you're obsolete. I told you from the start—if they really wanted to capture Master, they would've sent Metatron."
Lazar's face twisted. His human flesh contorted in rage while the mechanical parts remained fixed, expressing emotions in discord.
"You bitch... How dare you...! Lies...! I was their finest researcher! I produced more results than anyone!"
"But now that they know Master is the true King, no more experiments are needed."
"I surpassed them all. I completed Omega! I am the true intellect of the Hermetic Order!"
Everlin didn't respond.
Instead, a thin, faint black flame flickered to life at her fingertips.
"Impossible! Solomon's Chains should seal all abilities!"
Hwaruk-!
The black flames began to grow.
"Trying to kill yourself? Foolish! Forcing black flame now will only make you vanish first!"
Despite Lazar's warning, Everlin's expression remained serene.
The black flames began enveloping Solomon's Chains. The golden links slowly—but surely—started to melt away.