Chapter 280
"Do it quickly. We used electricity, so the core shouldn't be damaged at all. Make sure he doesn't wake up too soon."
"Ah, yes."
"You weren't hurt, were you?"
"Of course not. I was properly shielded."
‘Ah… you sons of bitches…’
Why? Why does this keep happening? What karma did I accumulate? Not even half a day has passed since I tried to drink human blood and threw it all up, and now this….
Drowsiness washed over . Soone was pressing my forehead to the floor. A faint divine power to detect life signs entered and spread through my body. The lighting ca on, as if my location had changed, and I was now on a floor covered with sound-absorbing material. The texture against my face was unpleasantly rough. My neck stiffened, and the world blurred and swayed as my gaze quickly scanned my surroundings. There was no monitoring equipnt used for anesthesia.
‘…Assuming they plan to kill … there's too much to lose in this situation. This wasn't planned with murder in mind…’
My consciousness faded. When I opened my eyes again, I was trying to continue the thought I had before. To keep from dying, they would probably plan to administer small doses of a magic potion anesthetic at intervals. This ant that while I would lose consciousness for a short while when they administered a new dose, I would mostly remain in a drowsy state, aning I would retain so level of consciousness.
Unfamiliar magic power continued to flow into my wrist and seep into my veins. Soon, a sharp, needle-like sting spread up the inside of my forearm. A voice full of dissatisfaction ca from above.
"Why isn't it working? We're doing this because we have a suspicion, this isn't a situation to cause trouble for nothing."
"But as you can see, it's not working. Only a normal shock reaction is appearing."
"Hmph…."
"Didn't they conclude there were no problems in Bavaria either… Honestly, I'm not very confident."
No one spoke after that.
The sound of soone dragging their feet impatiently was heard a couple of tis. Andreas Friedman spoke in a voice thick with displeasure.
"Wrong. The attack for the core examination was too weak."
"What? Ack!"
Along with the sound of soone being startled and moving back, I heard the crackling of magic clashing. I couldn't even lift my head or open my eyes, so I could only tell what was happening by the sound.
Andreas Friedman said to the other person.
"Does an attack of this level make you want to devour soone?"
"What? What did you say?! Of course not. Why are you suddenly…."
"Humans cannot easily kill other humans. For a healthy human to kill another human without getting sick and maintaining a normal brain, they need external help, whether it's the mass hallucination of a crowd or a hallucinogen, but this individual is alone. An individual with a defective brain might be able to kill their own kind with ease, but they would have been disposed of long ago, so such a uniquely inferior New Human cannot be alive."
No answer ca from the other person. He must have answered with a non-verbal expression. Andreas Friedman spoke with a voice full of conviction.
"Even if there were so problems, how could this individual have co this far without being disposed of or isolated from society? This individual is fundantally a normal New Human, no different from us. Do you understand what I'm saying now?"
"Yes, I understand."
"A diocre attack won't do. Try everything you can. That's how we'll trigger his survival instinct, isn't it?"
He pierced the essence of it. Leo's experint results and the words from his mouth were fundantally similar. Since I don't absorb others' magic power when I'm in my right mind, isn't he saying to push to the brink of death? He thought that by doing so, I might show so abnormal behavior like sucking up others' magic power or drinking blood.
Soone grabbed my arm and gave another injection. I seed to have regained consciousness a little while after that. I don't know what they did while I was unconscious. I have to get up right away. But my body was still stuck to the floor and showed no sign of moving. The floor felt like the ceiling. It also felt like a wall, and I also felt like I was standing up.
There were no noticeable changes, so they probably hadn't done anything particularly dangerous. As part of their 'attempt,' they seed to be planning to use the anesthetic to make feel a threat to my life, but rather than a threat to my life, only an irresistible drowsiness washed over . Soon, they too would realize its futility and change their thod.
‘…I need to move to the Extra Chapter…’
Should I? I probably should.
But what would that change?
I will turn back ti, and when I do, they will co for again. It was my brother's request, so it's difficult to refuse the hospital visit outright. Why should I do sothing that could raise my brother's suspicions?
I had one piece of good news. They found no problems with during the examination. This ans that in the next tiline, if I can prevent this incident, I will achieve optimal efficiency. To do that, I have to silently watch this preview. Whether this is really a preview when I'm experiencing it directly, I don't know….
It would be nice if I could know the future as vividly as if I were experiencing it myself, without having to go through it. Am I not given the ability of foresight? It's about ti….
When I opened my eyes again with that thought, I wasn't facing the floor. I was lying on a bed, looking at the ceiling, and soone was pointing the end of a dical staff at my heart. Of all the cheap tricks for a doctor to be using magic. Such a 21st-century Old Human thought ca to mind.
I closed my eyes again, opened them, and fell asleep again. That was all.
‘Persistent….’
How long are these bastards going to do this? The next ti I opened my eyes, I couldn't breathe well. I had lost count of how many tis I had woken up. I felt like my head was turning completely white. While I was gasping for breath, soone sent magic power into my arm and wiped the sweat from my forehead with a gloved hand.
"...It's not working. No thod is working, Deputy Director. I think our hypothesis was wrong. We should wrap it up at this point…."
"Not working? Then just destroy the core."
"Destroy it! The consequences will be unmanageable. Besides, as a doctor, I can't go that far…."
"Deputy Director. The strength is extraordinary, so we can't destroy it with the tools we have now. It seems difficult even with our magic power. To be honest, I'm scared to even be in this room. Putting aside the aftermath, we don't know when His Excellency will wake up."
Another doctor interrupted and answered.
I almost laughed at that. So now they can't even destroy it. I understood well why Adrian Askanian had tried so desperately to kill . How could he win without stomping on soone with such a future in advance?
Andreas Friedman, who seed thoroughly enraged, began to speak as if chewing his words.
"Then try to destroy it."
“……”
"Isn't there a way to activate the temperant? Wasn't it activated in the first place? How was it possible for him to kill soone at the age of five? We can turn it back to that core. Push him further!"
The doctor hesitated for a long ti before calling the nurses. Two nurses, a New Human and an Old Human, touched the IV and stretched a strap across the bed.
"It must be that we haven't found a test thod to detect this core's property yet. If the magic power is fully charged, bring the machine we brought this morning."
"That now? Didn't you say you would save it as much as possible?"
"——…."
“…!”
Kwaang—
It seems I lost consciousness again. When I opened my eyes again, it was right after an electric current had passed through my body. I tried to sit up abruptly, but the strap stretched across the bed pressed down. As soon's my magic power started to spark despite the restraints, the doctor standing next to hurriedly swung his wand and blocked my hand with his magic power. Soone's magic power pressed down on my neck.
“Keok…”
Are they really planning to burn my brain? Before, my brain was bleached because sleep was overwhelming my will, and now it's being bleached because of anger. It might be because of the electricity, but the fact that I couldn't hold on to my reason was the sa as before.
‘He said he would attack the core… why the electricity again…’
My head turned on its own, still beyond my control, so I moved my eyes to look up at those standing around .
The doctors' expressions were different from before.
‘…Why.’
I felt a chill run down my spine as I looked at them through my half-closed eyes. A machine I had never seen before, no, a machine I had never felt before, was placed on my forearm. The silver wrapped around my arm was embedded in my wrist. I felt the magic power in my wrist being sucked into this artifact.
‘Wait.’
Wait! Not only the magic power in my arm, but also all the magic power remaining in the extremities of my body was being sucked into this artifact. It might be my delusion. Is it really a delusion? I'm probably thinking in a way that benefits . A chilling sensation ca over , and a shiver ran through my whole body. I broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn't as drastic a reaction as in the cathedral, but my whole body's temperature was dropping as if my blood sugar had hit rock bottom. Drowsiness washed over not because of the drug, but because of the emptiness. But I couldn't sleep either. The pain from the emptiness was even disturbing my sleep.
Then, magic power rushed in again. This ti, it wasn't mine. Leo's magic power, which had barely clung around the core without being swept away, entered the core first, and an unfamiliar magic power, which soone must have stored in the machine, was instantly sucked in together. My arm hurt as if it were on fire. My body twisted on its own.
“…!”
"It worked, Deputy Director! It's not the direction we expected, but…!"
“……”
It worked. No answer ca. Did my ears block the sound? Maybe so….
[Good, since we succeeded, just erase his mory and make it look like he went berserk.]
I feel like laughing. They finally succeeded in capturing the unique aspect of my temperant. Right, I was waiting for this mont. This is how I get to go back to the past. I need to check all the cards the enemy holds so I can go back and rewrite the future to my satisfaction.
—Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it….
The doctor who could use divine power was pressing my forehead.
“…!”
Sothing unexpected happened. The divine power was being sucked into my core.
This is a chance. Just then, I heard a clattering sound. The weight on my limbs was lifted. Now we will warp back to the Imperial Central Hospital, and they will give false testimony that I went berserk. The doctor's cold hand touched my forehead again.
—Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction…. through it….
The doctor's words gradually faded, and his expression changed. His eyebrows twitched in bewildernt.
Of course. I moved my soundless mouth.
Kwaaang—!
I flew off the bed and swung my fist at the doctor. The magic power of three mages ca at . As expected, they were fast. Annoyingly so. One doctor shouted with a horrified face.
"What, why isn't it working!"
—Unless Yahweh, unless Yahweh keeps the city, the watchman's wakefulness is in vain!
“……”
Magic power is seeping into my core. The magic power is hitting so hard that it's difficult to even stand, but the intensity of the pain is not that severe compared to what they did earlier. I didn't particularly want to find out the extent of my abilities like this.
Standing there, blocking the front with both arms to keep from being pushed back, I swung my hand. Nothing ca into my hand, not the wand that should have returned to by now, or anything else. They must have broken the wand in two. No choice. I kicked off the ground and rushed at one of the wands.
Kwaang—!!
"Aaaargh!"
The doctor whose hand I grabbed scread. I bent his wrist backwards and threw him against the wall. The annoying scream continued. I twirled the wand in my hand and turned it into a staff. The crude-looking dical staff conducted magic power well, fitting its purpose. It was an optimal tool, unexpectedly.
"Ah, no, wa—!"
—Enter through the narrow gate.
Kuung—
When I slamd the staff down, light spread out. There's no ti to waste on adapting. I closed my eyes. I could feel the violent movents of the magic masses in this space stop. Magic power seeped into , and my skin tingled.
—I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgnt is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent .
When I finished the incantation, the light faded. It was the first ti I used this thod, and it was successful. Now they cannot disobey my words.
"You cannot go anywhere."
I muttered and stood in front of the doctor who had slumped down in front of the wall.
This is the man. The one who contacted , who led to the hospital, and who ordered my core to be destroyed. He is looking up at with dazed eyes, half under the influence of the mind-control magic. I can read the fear in his heavily trembling eyes.
Andreas Friedman
Favorability 0* [Conquerable (1/5)]
Title: —
Health: 4
ntal Strength: 4
Magic Power: 3
Skills: 7
Impression: 6
Luck: 1
Traits: —
Favorability is 0. If it's the midpoint between -10 and 10, he doesn't hate that much. He can do such an inhuman thing to even without having a strong personal grudge…. It's strange.
I understand his motive for the cri that well. This man didn't do this because he hated enough to kill personally. What makes a human do such a thing to another human?
Was it because he had no choice, as this incident was my brother's plan?
Wrong.
This isn't my brother's doing in the first place.
I smiled and grabbed his collar.
"My brother would be truly lantable if he knew."
My brother would have really requested only a clean examination. It's just that I infringed on Andreas Friedman's own interests, so he caused this incident.
I guess, if I beco the Duke of Anhalt, they would have a lot to lose.
"Why, why…."
"If such a stupid follower trips him up, he can't kill him, so what can he do? Isn't that a given?"
Confusion filled the other person's eyes. I pushed divine power into the floor and continued to mutter.
"If you're going to do it, you should have done it properly. You're all disappointing…."
The problem occurred in the sa way as with Stefan Traut. A follower of my brother, for his own benefit, and also for my brother's benefit in his own way, simply made what he thought was the best decision. This is their best. They are showing a dismal level of decision-making that is not even worth dealing with.
Who causes trouble right away at a place ntioned in a letter? Is he saying, "Co and get "? He even brought a divine power mage to erase my mory, what a sha. Even if I had fallen for their sche and gone berserk in front of the Prussian people, my brother would never have welcod it. Right after sending a letter saying, 'I will send soone from the Imperial Central Hospital' to his brother who beca a national hero after the terror attack, a problem suddenly occurs there? Especially when it's known that he was just treated at the Bavarian dical Center right before? I'm really curious about my brother's expression in this route. It's a sha I can't see it directly. That perfectionist is not soone who would handle problems so sloppily.
There's no need to tell them what the problem is. It will only hurt my mouth. This is not the ti to waste on useless things, but the ti to achieve the purpose I have been waiting for. What I will find out from now on is the information I truly need in the next tiline.
I pulled my jacket, which they had taken off and thrown aside, with magic power. In the inner pocket was a small elixir bottle, the size of a fingertip. Yes, it would still be an elixir. No one noticed. Even if I drink this, it will look to others like I'm drinking an elixir.
The blue liquid in the bottle sloshed with even a slight shake, unlike blood. A taste that couldn't co from an elixir touched my tongue. The condensed magic power dissolved in the blood spread throughout my body.
The soft magic power clung strongly to my core and blood vessels. The magic power rotated through my body even faster. What I hadn't felt before because I spat it out, I could now feel clearly. In fact, I felt even stronger than before I drank the blood. The magic power from Leo's artifact, which my core had been absorbing, began to settle back into place. I could feel my magic power flowing outside my body. The color drained from Andreas Friedman's face.
“……”
I looked down at my hands and slowly blinked.
It seems the king's words that he didn't evaluate this ability negatively were not a lie. My body feels so light, as if I've been reborn. What combat-type mage would view this negatively? An ability that everyone but would want, it would have been fine if it hadn't co to .
—If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another who testifies about , and I know that his testimony about is true.
While I was chanting, a white light spread in the air. I grabbed Andreas Friedman by the collar and dragged him to the machine that had sucked my magic power earlier. I slamd him down on the machine and said.
"Let's try again."
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