Chapter 74: Changing Daily Life (3)

"Lord Caron, this is..."

"Yes, the information seems to be correct. Someone is undergoing a body graft."

From then on, it was a continuous and tedious pursuit.

By the seventh day, the number of disappearing rat corpses had sharply increased.

They had chosen to fight rather than continue fleeing from the relentless pursuit.

Or rather, they had no choice but to do so.

And now, Caron confirmed the death of another rat.

Caron stripped off its clothes and examined its condition.

All its organs, skin, and even each finger were intact.

This meant they were being pursued so relentlessly that they didn't even have the strength to handle the corpses.

'Almost there.'

Caron immediately took action.

He had been pursuing them without eating or sleeping for four days.

Finally, Caron found what he was looking for.

'To think such a vast space exists here.'

A shabby house where a brother and sister lived.

A passage leading underground from there.

As he walked along the passage, an incredibly vast space appeared.

He sent a raven to signal the location and then entered.

And there he faced it, something that could drive one mad just by looking at it.

A black mage emitting a terrifying aura.

"Hehehe! What? How did an ordinary human get here..."

Kagak!

"Ah, right, a killing move. You don't even want to talk? Like extracting information while keeping them alive..."

Kwak!

"Kyaah!"

Without a word, Caron initiated the battle.

Caron's dagger pierced the black mage's shoulder.

Or rather,

'Something bit it?'

Caron hastily let go of the dagger.

Then,

Crunch!

The dagger broke. More precisely,

Crunch, crunch.

The black mage's shoulder began to chew on the dagger.

Through the hole in the robe, Caron saw it.

A demon's mouth attached to the shoulder.

"Hehe! Not suitable as prey? At least you should have given me a hand."

"..."

"Ah, wait. I've seen this face somewhere? Hehe, if I remember you, you must be quite something."

Click, click.

Grind, grind.

Rumble.

Kiyaaah!!

The black mage, wearing a robe, emitted an unknown sound from his body.

Caron understood. The demon's body was grafted onto him.

"Ah, thank you for telling me. Caron! That's right, that's your name! The empire's rat! I heard you were a remarkable rat among so many, right?"

"Who are you?"

"Ah! Finally, you're willing to talk? Hehe, just stay still! You're losing your mind!"

A madman.

Caron thought a single word wasn't enough to describe him.

Not only did he graft demons onto his body, but he even talked.

He was truly a madman.

"Introduce yourself! I am Lucius Black! The one who will recreate this world!"

"..."

"What? Who says a madman reveals his real name? What? Lizveld gave me a nickname? What? What if I say Lizveld's name?"

Caron recorded the information in his mind.

Recreating the world, Lucius Black, Lizveld.

The madman was spilling out information, probably because he was truly mad.

If he had known this, he should have started talking earlier.

He could have extracted more information.

"Yes! I am a genius creator! What? Not a genius but a mad creator? That's right. I am the mad creator who will change the world!"

The black mage panted and closed his mouth.

Finally, his introduction was over.

"Caron. The one who will tear you apart."

"Right. Nice to meet you, Caron! But I'm a bit busy! Hmm, right! Our compatibility isn't good either. The demons are trying to run away! What a cowardly friend!"

Who said he would let him go?

Caron crossed his hands, each holding a dagger.

A black sword aura shot up from them.

Caron's fifth original technique.

Black Tooth Seize (黑牙奪劌).

Zing! Clank!

A strike before the black mage could even prepare.

But Caron was shocked.

'What is this? The sword aura didn't penetrate?'

A sword aura that only a 9th-class knight could use.

He blocked it with his bare body.

Soon, Caron understood the reason.

The demon flesh wriggling through the torn clothes.

It was definitely what blocked the attack.

Then,

The unknown flesh rapidly contracted.

At the same time, blood spurted from the black mage's body.

Kyaah!

Of course, not all attacks were blocked.

Strikes from all directions.

Whatever it was, it was clear that it couldn't protect the entire body.

"Hehe! Two of my friends are gone! It's okay! I can just get more friends! I have to go now!"

Amazingly, the black mage was unharmed.

Despite the blood spurt that was almost fatal.

'I must have cut the demon's body.'

The scream was definitely from the demon.

What kind of body was this?

Caron adjusted his grip on the dagger and took a stance.

"Will you let me go?"

"Hehehe! The experiment was a success! Now, only time remains! That's enough."

Boom!

Suddenly, the wall beside him exploded, and something burst out.

A 'something' that grafted humans and demons.

"Look! This is the new being that will change the world! From now on, I will call you Chimera!"

Roar!!

A shockwave filled with dark energy.

He had to bow his head and draw mana to protect his body.

But Caron chose to charge.

The mad creator, Sirius Black.

He couldn't let him escape.

'I've got you!'

When Caron's dagger reached his neck.

Boom!!

An explosion near his neck.

The recoil slammed Caron into the wall.

"Hehe! What do you think of my work! A human body has too many weaknesses! That's why I attached demon friends! What do you think! Isn't it amazing?"

Caron used an artifact to extinguish the fire on his body and heal his wounds.

This created a momentary gap.

"I want to play more, but I have to run. The rats are coming. Haha! See you later, Caron friend!"

Thus, the mad creator left.

With a mad laugh.

* * *

The mad creator disappeared like the wind.

Caron, who had been watching his back, turned his gaze.

'They grafted demons onto the legs and thighs too.'

With his injuries, he couldn't keep up.

Even if he tried, it would be problematic.

He had no confidence in defeating that madman.

'If he dies without giving me information... that would lead to even worse consequences.'

Information was power and a weapon.

So, Caron decided to focus on the present.

The human-demon hybrid left behind by the mad creator.

'Chimera?'

A body over 3 meters tall but slightly thin.

It seemed to walk on two legs, but with human limbs attached to its arms, legs, and torso, it couldn't be called bipedal.

'How many humans did they graft onto this body?'

Caron took a potion from his pocket and threw it at the creature.

Holy water filled with divine power.

Clang!

Sizzle.

The flesh burned, but that was it.

The Chimera didn't scream, show pain, or even attack.

It reacted as if water had been poured on it.

Yes, it was ineffective.

Caron frowned.

'The worst.'

Perhaps he hadn't been found in the darkness.

The Chimera only moved slightly, without any special actions.

Maybe it was because of the inconvenience.

With human heads, torsos, arms, and legs attached to its body, it was impossible to move properly.

Caron continued to observe the Chimera.

He needed information on its activities.

'...What is this feeling of strangeness?'

Suddenly, Caron felt a sense of strangeness.

The failed experiments he encountered while tracking the mad creator.

They were similar but different.

'The essence of this strangeness...'

It was the clue to reveal what the Chimera was.

Caron instinctively felt it.

"Please, save me..."

Mad brat.

Caron muttered to himself.

Many of the humans attached to the Chimera's body were speaking.

They had grafted living humans onto the demon's body.

'Wait, what did I just say?'

Caron looked at the Chimera again.

Humans living and breathing on the demon's body.

Only then did Caron realize. This was.

Not grafting demons onto a human body.

But grafting humans onto a demon's body.

'All the experiments I've seen so far were based on humans. But this one is centered on a demon!'

That's why he felt the strangeness.

Why did he suddenly change the base to a demon and immediately succeed?

'What benefit is there in grafting a weak human body onto a demon's body?'

Caron's mind raced.

The clue from Zero, the black mage's research, humans, demons, divine power, and.

'Heart.'

Caron finally understood.

'They move the demon with human blood. That's why divine power doesn't work!'

They drained the demon's blood and replaced it with human blood, using a human heart to circulate it.

Thus, they maintained the demon's powerful body while making it immune to divine power.

The difference in strength between a demon's heart and a human's heart was enormous.

They overcame it with quantity.

By grafting dozens of humans onto the demon's body!

'It doesn't end there.'

If they could remove the cumbersome human heads, torsos, arms, and legs.

And only graft human hearts into the demon's body?

The Chimera would become the ultimate killing tool.

'Damn.'

He understood what the Chimera was and how it was intended to be used.

Now, he just needed to confirm if his hypothesis was correct.

'Is the investigation team here yet?'

If possible, it would be better to keep it alive for investigation.

Diet, reproduction, range of activity, behavior, strengths, weaknesses, etc.

He could observe various reactions.

It was practically an experiment.

While Caron was silently waiting for the investigation team.

"Please, save me..."

The voice of a human attached to the Chimera.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. Saving them was impossible.

He would wait for the investigation team to arrive and then conduct the experiment.

It would be a great help to humanity.

They were making a noble sacrifice for humanity.

"No..."

Then, he spoke again.

Save me, no.

"Kill me."

...!

Caron, dagger in hand, charged like lightning.

Pierce!

'How can I conduct experiments on a human who has already been turned into an experiment? Are you in your right mind?'

Caron began to kill the Chimera, or rather.

The humans attached to its body.

The Chimera started to resist.

Each attack was fierce.

It even used demonic powers to pressure Caron.

But Caron had no intention of backing down.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five, six, seven, eight...!

Thud!

The Chimera fell. At the same time, Caron muttered.

"Twenty-two."

That was the number of humans Caron had just killed.

It felt disgusting.

'To make humans kill other humans.'

The Chimera's power was one thing, but the revulsion was overwhelming.

Even for someone accustomed to killing, it was this intense, so it would be a tremendous pressure for ordinary people.

"What a terrifying creation."

It was no different from creating despair.

Creating a mad being that brings more despair.

"Lord Caron!"

"Are you alright?"

"Secure this place until the investigation team arrives. Leave a minimum number of people and search the area."

The exploration of the cave began.

They moved cautiously, as there might be more Chimeras.

And soon, they reached it.

True despair.