Chapter 122
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Essence of Evil
Can't you tell us more about the forces of evil?
Oh, now that you've gotten a bit stronger, you're finally thinking of looking into it?
The Tower of Intellect's response strangely sounded like something his master would say, perhaps because of the process that had guided Rozelin to become a Transcendent.
If you want to know, there's no reason I can't tell you, is there?
It's true that we haven't thought much about the newcomers and have just been talking among ourselves.
The Subtle Scales and Naked Truth knew about it so naturally that it made it even worse.
But isn't it weirder that you don't know, even though you've been chosen by '0'?
'0' clearly called them enemies.
If you think about it that way, shouldn't we tell you more?
Knowing isn't difficult.
We can just tell you, like we're doing now.
I don't think it requires any particular price either...
A brief silence fell over the chat room.
Situations like this happened occasionally, where messages stopped flowing back and forth.
They were waiting to see if '0' had anything to say.
And if '0' stayed silent, they took it as tacit approval and proceeded.
No objections, then.
Ask away about whatever you're curious about.
We've only learned many of these facts recently ourselves, but we'll tell you as much as we can.
And so, for a while, the conversation continued with stories that satisfied Rozelin's curiosities.
'They said it was hidden around here.'
I had arrived near the forest controlled by the elves.
Of course, I had no intention of stepping foot inside their territory.
I'd promised not to.
Even near the spot where the Root of Understanding said it was hidden, I didn't go myself—I sent a clone instead.
If I had to describe it, a portable scouting clone.
It was something I'd thought of when the Tower of Intellect first found the oracle stele in the snowy mountains, while creating a verification clone.
A clone stripped of all unnecessary functions, specialized for finding and retrieving hidden objects.
I used the portable clone to locate the Essence of Evil hidden by the Root of Understanding, then grabbed it and immediately left the area.
I was disguised as Cedric, but there was no need to expose this form just yet. The Root of Understanding didn't seem the type to skulk around suspiciously verifying my identity.
I only stopped walking after putting sufficient distance between us.
I pulled out the container and examined the Essence of Evil.
The black slime writhed stickily, groping at the container walls as if alive.
Its unsettling appearance was as repulsive as ever.
This was the very thing that had been attached to Philip Deran's clone originally. The Essence of Evil that Ard hadn't recovered.
Which meant there was little chance they'd agonized over the clone itself.
Ard must have been in a frantic situation too. It was the moment his plan fell apart.
He probably hadn't expected the elves to strike first.
I settled in a remote forest far from the elves' territory.
Now it was time to meticulously craft a clone.
This clone's outward form would be modeled after Evanveil's rare breed.
The very Transcendent who had raided the banquet hall only to lose his life in an instant to Maron.
Being able to recreate him so precisely was thanks to my past research on Evanveil's rare breed.
Back in the early days when I could barely handle clones, while infiltrating the assembly as Philip Deran's clone, I'd observed the others' appearances one by one and then tried creating a new clone: that was Evanveil's rare breed.
I'd even asked Lina to procure a corpse for study.
After that, I hadn't needed new clones, so the research stopped.
But now, the opportunity to use that knowledge had come again.
I set the container aside and drew up my mana.
After putting effort into creating the clone, the moment arrived to have it ingest the Essence of Evil directly.
When I made Philip Deran, I'd basically just attached it to his spine.
Even that had its own effects.
I couldn't track its location precisely, but I could at least tell if it had been corrupted by evil.
And considering the moment the connection with Philip Deran was severed at the end, Ard very likely had the authority to control even the life and death of those who swallowed the Essence of Evil.
Very few would ingest it voluntarily if they knew that. Most would have been used without knowing the truth.
Gazing at the completed clone, it did look somewhat grotesque.
I'd made it with the front structure exposed like a dissection, to precisely observe how the Essence of Evil was absorbed.
"Ahem."
But there was no helping it if I wanted to see the effects clearly.
I lifted the container and seized the Essence of Evil with mana.
"Go on... enter."
I pried open the clone's mouth, guided it to swallow, and slowly pushed the Essence of Evil in.
What I'd expected was that, upon swallowing, it would stick to something like a circle and begin corroding.
The grimoire on the system of evil even described methods for refining the vessel.
But something different from my expectation happened.
The moment it entered the mouth, the Essence of Evil clung tightly to the throat area.
"...?"
I blanked out for a moment.
With Philip Deran's clone, I'd attached it directly to the spine.
This time I'd tried feeding it, but it clung just like before. This couldn't count as "ingesting" the Essence of Evil.
'...Is that it?'
Was this normal, or had something gone wrong?
Normally, being tainted by evil meant even the mana was dyed black, so I just needed to check.
The clone couldn't fully replicate handling natural mana, but it could circulate mana itself.
And ever since learning the primal patterns, I could have the clone use real magic without complex computations—just by engraving the mana pattern.
All I had to do was supply the mana.
So I had the clone cast an ice spell, but there was nothing unusual.
No trace of corrosion at all.
'No corrosion occurring?'
I immediately rifled through the grimoire on the system of evil in my mind, organizing my thoughts.
Taking the Essence of Evil meant skipping the process of corruption.
Taking it alone established the foundation to approach that system...
The methods for taking the Essence of Evil and refining the vessel were right there, after all.
Something was definitely wrong.
So what was the cause?
'Because of primal mana?'
No matter how perfectly I made the clone, its composition was ultimately derivative primal mana.
The very first Philip Deran clone was the same.
'Primal mana can't be corroded...?'
In a positive light, it could be an advantage.
It meant freedom from evil's corrosion when using primal mana.
But it derailed my goal.
I'd planned to make a clone that perfectly mimicked one who'd taken the Essence of Evil and infiltrate the forces of evil.
If it couldn't use the magic of their system, the risk of detection would be too high.
To truly make it perfect as I'd aimed...
The only way now was to examine a real vessel and replicate it exactly.
In other words, capture one of the forces of evil's members, analyze their biological structure, and precisely confirm how the Essence of Evil took root.
'I need to do vivisection experiments.'
It meant taking a long detour, but my core objective hadn't changed.
Using the clone as bait to lure out the forces of evil was still valid. I myself—Ivan—would be the bait.
To truly mimic me, the 'person,' the clone absolutely needed controllable natural mana from the surroundings. Without it, I couldn't fully replicate a perfect human form at this level.
So even if I made the clone, I'd have to hide my body nearby.
Of course, I'd blend seamlessly with the surroundings, invisible to others. It was a stealth method even Transcendents hadn't noticed.
The problem was distance. If they captured it and the distance between me and the clone grew, the clone's movements would quickly become awkward.
There was no avoiding that.
Still... panicking the moment it was caught was a natural reaction, so a bit of unnaturalness might even seem authentic.
Delay detection as long as possible.
I sat beside the meticulously crafted Evanveil rare breed clone and began the delicate work of creating another clone.