Subjugation of the New Species Beast (4)

"This... is...?"

Staring at the dagger embedded in her chest, Elenoa gazed at Eunhyeon with a bewildered expression, unable to comprehend why she felt no pain.

But in an instant, the form of the dagger in her chest grew faint, its blade vanishing until only the hilt remained—and that was when the agony began.

"Ahhh!"

Overwhelmed by excruciating pain that engulfed her entire body, Elenoa clutched her arms around herself and dropped to her knees on the ground.

Somehow, the dagger Eunhyeon had plunged into her chest had vanished without a trace. She'd felt an eerie sensation at the lack of pain despite the sword in her chest, but now she gritted her teeth against the torment that felt like her whole body was being incinerated, glaring at Eunhyeon—the cause of it all.

"What... the hell did you do to my body?!"

"Right now, Lady Elenoa's body is filled with an overwhelming amount of holy power that she can't handle."

The dagger Eunhyeon had embedded in Elenoa's chest was a sacred relic he'd personally crafted in his new home, the Dungeon House, to elevate her priestess abilities to the next level.

As an Apostle blessed by the goddess and always in her presence, Eunhyeon could draw divine power from Verdandi herself. Using that, he'd created a relic infused with an immense quantity of holy power.

Though the holy power of the continent's Vesta goddess differed in nature from the divine power Verdandi granted Eunhyeon, both stemmed from the same divine origin.

To explain the difference: Verdandi bestowed her power directly upon her Apostle Eunhyeon in the form of authority, whereas holy power was diluted to a low concentration that an indeterminate number of people on the continent could wield—like water thinned from pure divine essence for human use.

"From now on, I'm going to forcibly expand the limits of your holy power capacity."

"Hah... hah... As if that's... possible... ugh!"

Eunhyeon had immediately thrust the dagger into Elenoa's chest, injecting the colossal amount of holy power contained within its blade directly into her body.

She'd been his recovery shuttle and all-purpose tool for a while, and he'd felt a bit grateful deep down, so he'd devised a way to boost her priestess powers. With Verdandi's permission, he'd succeeded in crafting it—but he'd been inwardly agonizing over when to give it to her. This crisis presented the perfect opportunity.

"Circulate the holy power through your body like mana, adapting to it bit by bit. We don't have much time."

"Urgh...!"

Letting out a groan, Elenoa followed Eunhyeon's instructions, moving the holy power little by little.

Her current state was like a vessel overflowing with far more water than it could hold, flooding everywhere.

Forcing in holy power beyond her limits to expand the vessel wasn't going to be easy. One wrong move, and the vessel containing the holy power might shatter.

"Good. You're doing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠well."

Despite the agony that felt like her body was ablaze, Elenoa focused on Eunhyeon's words, forcibly manipulating the holy power.

"Take a deep breath in and out. Do some big, deep breaths."

"Hooo... "

With each deep exhale, the fire-like heat in Elenoa's body began to stabilize bit by bit.

"Good. Seems like you're calming down now."

Eunhyeon checked her condition—sweat no longer beading on her forehead, stability returning—and nodded in satisfaction.

He'd given Riod a five-minute limit, but if she'd failed, he planned to intervene directly in her body to assist the expansion. Fortunately, following his advice alone, she'd managed it without issue.

No one could rival her among mid-tier priestesses now. If she went to the temple, she might even aim for high-tier status, Eunhyeon thought to himself.

As the expansion completed, Elenoa snapped her eyes wide and yelled at Eunhyeon.

"If you were going to do something like this, you should've warned me first! I really thought I was dying!"

"I told you, there wasn't time."

"Why drag me all the way here to inject the holy power? You could've done it successfully back there and then come here..."

"Ah, well, I figured your escort knights would interfere."

"You knew just fine. If they'd seen a sword in my chest, they'd have put one to your throat on the spot."

"That's why I brought you here separately like this."

"Brought me? You treated me like luggage!"

"No time, Lady Elenoa. I'm dropping the barrier—please start the prayer of purification right away."

"When this expedition ends... I'm not letting you off easy this time."

Eunhyeon smirked at Elenoa's resentful glare and gritted teeth.

Her attitude and tone—treating him so roughly—infuriated him to no end, but the moment she sensed the holy power swirling in her body now, Elenoa's expression turned to shock.

'My holy power, which was completely depleted just moments ago, is filled to the brim in an instant... And not just more quantity, but better quality too... My rank really has improved...?'

Advancing from mid-tier priestess to high-tier required years of devoted practice, an opportunity few ever seized. Many ended their priestly lives stuck at mid-tier despite lifelong service.

Mid-tier priestesses were already respected in adventurer guilds and expeditions, eagerly sought after everywhere. Yet the quantity and quality of holy power now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in Elenoa's body clearly transcended that realm.

'What the hell is this guy?'

Unaware that he'd used power procured directly from the goddess to mass-produce high-grade holy power, Elenoa couldn't help but feel bewildered.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"Dropping the barrier."

Eunhyeon pulled the sword from the ground, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dispelling the barrier. The battlefield's horrors reappeared.

Choking dust and the stench of blood assaulted her nostrils, the clash of weapons against beasts boomed, and expedition members dragged their wounded bodies to fight on—sending prickles across ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Elenoa's skin, stimulating her senses.

BOOM!

Startled by the massive explosion, Elenoa jolted, then quickly regained her composure and began reciting the prayer of purification.

In sync with Elenoa's prayer, Eunhyeon tossed a gem from his pocket into the air, releasing the mana stored within.

The turquoise glow floating in the air once more merged with Elenoa's purification, enveloping the area.

The chimeric beasts affected by the purification halted mid-battle with the expedition members, standing motionless. Then, like puppets with cut strings, they collapsed limply one by one. Those fighting them were left utterly perplexed.

In the midst of the chaos, one chimeric beast began shambling slowly and heavily toward Elenoa.

"Where do you think—!"

"It's fine."

An adventurer moved to attack the chimera, but Eunhyeon stopped him.

Puzzled why he wasn't blocking the beast's approach, the adventurer scowled deeply. Yet, having witnessed Eunhyeon's prowess in this battle, he felt no urge to defy the man's calm, assured mutter.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The beast resembled a very young boy, but the massive, thick troll arms—two on each side—turned Elenoa's face pale.

Larger than the boy's height and grotesquely thick, the chimera used a pair of arms as legs instead of its short boyish ones, its central body hovering unnaturally in the air. The form was freakishly malformed.

Yet, remarkably, there was no hostility from the beast. It simply approached Elenoa slowly.

Eunhyeon, Elenoa, and everyone nearby stared blankly at the boy-like chimeric beast.

Reaching Elenoa, it bent the arms serving as legs, lowering its body to meet her gaze.

"Eek..."

Elenoa involuntarily turned her head away from the boy's twisted, grotesquely distorted face.

"Thank... you..."

"What...?"

At the boy's strained, childlike voice, Elenoa whipped back to stare directly at his warped face in shock.

"For... saving... us... Truly... thank... you..."

The boy, who had dragged himself here just to offer thanks amid the light of purification without ascending, couldn't finish his words before passing on. Elenoa was struck speechless, as if hammered on the head.

Thanks to Elenoa's efforts, the battle ended with zero fatalities.

Riod's declaration that no one would die on this expedition had come true.

The expedition's morale soared to its peak after triumphing over the grotesque chimeras without a single casualty.

At the center were, naturally, Riod and 'Fernin's Flower,' Elenoa—no one could deny their starring roles.

Her final act, standing at the battlefield's heart and purifying the beasts with a single prayer, was magnificent.

Afterward, Riod moved to a spot away from the fierce fighting to set up base camp. Elenoa busied herself classifying the severely and lightly wounded with other priests, tending to the expedition members.

"So, those beasts really are a type of 'synthetic beast' created through bio-alchemy?"

"...Unfortunately, yes. I was wrong. There's clear evidence of success right here."

In the command tent after base camp was established, Riod swallowed a groan upon hearing Cecilia's report.

Previously, Cecilia had insisted to Riod that fusing humans and beasts was impossible, and she'd joined this expedition precisely to verify these beasts' existence.

Now, her scholarly pride was bruised. As an alchemy expert teaching at Aiter, having her claims disproven felt like a personal defeat.

"How did you reach that conclusion?"

"This gentleman will explain."

"Ah, sorry. A bit late."

"...Can't you do something about that smell?"

Cecilia, who hadn't even properly analyzed due to the revolting stench, stared in dismay at Eunhyeon, who entered casually after dissecting chimera corpses.

The rotten corpse odor wafting from him after cutting up dozens filled the tent, making Riod grimace.

"Given the gravity, Riod—can you believe what I'm about to say?"

"Doesn't sound like the first time you've implied I doubt you. Speak."

"Remember what I said back then? Why humans and beasts can't be fused."

"Contaminated mana. Even if fused, rejection occurs, turning it into a beast."

That wouldn't be human-beast fusion anymore—just beast-beast.

"I mentioned it then: If someone found a way for a human to harbor contaminated mana without beastification progressing..."

"I remember you saying it might be possible."

"Is that... feasible?"

"Looks like the creator did find a way. A truly vile one."

Eunhyeon grimaced openly, not hiding his disgust. Riod rarely saw such blatant negativity from him—it was surprising.

"What method?"

"Kill people, then fuse their corpses with beasts."

"What...?"

"When people die, their mana dissipates, leaving an empty shell. Fuse beast parts—no mana left to contaminate, no beastification from a dead body."

"Ha, but... how does it move? The base human body is dead too—a corpse fused with beast parts is still just a corpse."

"That's where this comes in, Professor. This world has forbidden dark magic: black magic."

"I... know that."

It was the very black magic that caused the recent uproar with Elvin Hersha.

"Magic has varieties; black magic does too. Among them... necromancy, forcing souls into dead bodies to enslave them eternally."

"Human corpses as slaves... You don't mean...!"

"You're thinking right, Professor. Riod, this involves at least three groups."

"...Explain."

"First: Alchemists who can fuse beasts and humans. Second: Necromancers controlling the chimeric beasts based on human corpses. Third: Probably bandits procuring the bodies. Get it?"

Their goal remained unclear—no jumping to conclusions.

But fusing beast traits onto truly dead human bodies to create powerful chimeras, then turning those into undead legions under necromancer control...

Imagining the impact on Pernias Kingdom wasn't hard.