A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special

Pureus was exuberantly talking to someone else in the musty basement.

“Now that we’ve got our hands on the hardest material to obtain, it won’t take us too long to reach our goal.”

An archaic piece of magical paraphernalia lit up the basement.

[“This marks the end of the long, long period of time we have spent on this research.”]

The voice heard through the magic equipment was so loud and heavily distorted that it was barely discernible. However, considering the distance between the two was so large, the sound quality could be considered very good.

“It’s all because you have done your best to assist me. I didn’t receive this much support, even when I served as a professor. I never imagined I could perform this kind of experiment.”

[“How do you feel about going against God’s will?”]

“It’s refreshing.”

Pureus smiled as his face exuded unbridled joy.

“I feel so refreshed! It doesn’t even feel like my feet are on the ground right now. It’s as if I’m flying! Of course, it’s not because the long period of hard work I have poured into this research has finally been rewarded. And it’s certainly not from some naive sense of pride in achieving the desire of all great alchemists. It’s because of the ecstasy of revenge! I can now finally crush the prideful Alchemy Society!”

[“Don’t relax just yet. Do your best until you have completed this research, oh Great Seeker of Eternal Life, Pureus.”]

The voice conveyed its intentions slowly but clearly.

[“As promised, your research will be published under your name across the Kingdom. You will be the best alchemist on the continent. Every alchemist in the world. No. Every human in the world, will look up to you.”]

“It’s a great honor.”

The communication was terminated.

“Hihihi.”

Pureus giggled before closing his eyes. He couldn’t suppress the rapturous smile that crept onto his face.

‘I am closer than anyone else to the most essential truth.’

He grinned. Just the thought of it made his heart burn blazing hot.

Eternal Life.

The unobtainable, sought after by the kings and philosophers of legend; a life that continues forever.

An act contrary to the natural providence set by nature, and an ability that has proved capable of eluding even the greatest of minds.

“It’s almost over. I’m almost there.”

How many years have I invested in this research? It was not enough to describe it as a lifetime after entering alchemy.

Achieving my wish is just around the corner. There was no possibility of failure now. It was theoretically perfect.

I only need just a little bit of material to complete my research nicely. Just an ever so small amount.

‘A little bit from some Wizards.’

It was a material that he couldn’t lay his hands on for such a long time. The location he had setup in was well placed to avoid the eyes of investigators, due to its remoteness. On the other hand, discovering talented wizards to use had been more difficult than plucking a star from the sky.

The discovery of a human being who possesses even just one magical circle was an utterly fortuitous event. Most of the talented wizards left early for the Empire’s Hebrion Academy or other such prestigious institutions.

‘I’m so lucky. The materials came to me by themselves.’

Wizards that have reached the Third-Circle are typically wizards with the potential to still grow further. At first he was convinced that they were investigators, so he was very wary of them. However, that turned out to be nothing more than a delusion of his.

Pureus almost cheered as he watched them accepting his favor without doubt. He wanted to capture them right away and use them as materials, but he held himself back again and again. He could not afford to ruin this golden opportunity.

After waiting for them to fall asleep, Pureus released the Chimera to hunt them down.

‘They will be used as honored material vital in approaching greater truths.’

They would be happy to serve a greater purpose. He truly felt this from the bottom of his heart. Just as he thought that this was the end…

[Chimera Unit 1 has been destroyed]

Alarms sounded from the sensor attuned to the biometrics of the Chimeras.

“What?”

Unit 1 was a Chimera he had poured his heart and soul into making. Even though it was one of the first Chimeras he had made, and thus one of the weakest, it was strong enough to easily slaughter Third-Circle wizards. He had sent this Chimera to retrieve the valuable samples from the male mage.

This immediately raised some questions. How did the male wizard react to this raid when he should have been fast asleep?

There was only one answer.

‘He was on guard.’

[Chimera Unit 2 has been destroyed]

Even the second one sent to the woman’s bedroom had been destroyed. And not long after, Unit 3, the perfect Chimera, had also been destroyed.

“…”

Unit 3 was the most powerful Chimera he had ever produced. A very powerful Chimera made as a result of several coincidences. It was a Chimera that had power comparable to a knight of the Empire.

What was supposed to be simple prey had instead proved capable of easily slaughtering even his perfect Chimera, like plucking weeds from a garden. Pureus couldn’t believe the situation he found himself in.

Rather, he remained skeptical of the situation he found himself in. The fact that his Chimera had been destroyed by wizards at the Third-Circle was something that his pride could not handle.

But reality would not suffer anyone’s delusions of grandeur. Now that even the third Chimera, his magnum opus, had been destroyed, there were no Chimeras able to stop them.

[Chimera Unit 4 has been destroyed]

[“Shit!”]

Pureus slammed his desk. A flask near the edge of it fell on to the floor.

“Chimeras aren’t disposable like pawns!”

He prepared these Chimeras with his heart and soul, to fight back in the event investigators decided to march troops on his laboratory. They were not supposed to be consumed in vain.

“No, I should not panic just yet.”

If he wanted to judge the situation objectively, he needed to swallow his pride.

He knew they were mercenaries at the commerce organization, but he wrote off their potential as threats due to their age. He hated to admit it, but he misjudged their skills completely. They were some of the most talented people he had ever seen.

He had a strong sense of foreboding that something had gone wrong. It felt like he had touched something that he shouldn’t have.

The two were approaching his own lab at a normal walking pace, hardly slowed down by the Chimeras that were supposed to kill them. The situation had been completely overturned, and he was now in the position of the hunted instead of the hunter.

“This is dangerous. Really dangerous.”

Pureus began to bite his nails. It was a bad habit of his that reared its head when he was nervous.

His happiness from finally completing his research had been completely shattered. His eyes had even begun trembling as he looked at his trump card. He didn’t dare play it… but he was starting to feel a bit desperate.

Pureus sighed. Although it was incomplete, there was nothing else he could think of to regain control of this situation now.

He decided to play his last card.

* * *

“It’s not easy, dealing with two at the same time.”

Desir and Romantica, who had just killed the two Chimeras guarding the lab, opened the door and entered the room.

The lab was cold and dark.

[Light]

The spell light illuminated their surroundings.

There was no sign of Pureus. Desir spoke, as if already expecting this turn of events.

“There must be a secret passage. Romantica, use magic to search for any crevices with airflow.”

For wizards specializing in wind magic, like Romantica, finding hidden passageways was something like an inherent trait.

*Whoosh*

A gust of wind swept through the lab, and Romantica pointed at the closet.

“It’s down here.”

A simple security device was installed, but Desir dispelled it within the blink of an eye. As Desir brushed the security system to the side and pushed the closet out of his way, stairs that descended into darkness were revealed.

They walked down the stairs. Romantica and Desir were alert and ready to use magic at any sign of danger.

They soon entered an open room that was incredibly spacious and dreary. Even Desir wasn’t expecting there to be this much space in the basement of the mansion.

Even more surprising was that the underground facilities he could see were of such superior quality that they could not be thought of as being from a lab built 100 years ago. They did not lag behind modern facilities in the slightest.

As they looked around, a voice emanated from somewhere close.

“… Who-Who’s there… ?”

There was a mixture of fear in the man’s trembling voice. Desir judged that he was not an enemy.

“We’re the wizards who came here to kill the alchemist.”

“You’re here to slay the fucking alchemist!?”

Hearing Desir’s motive, the man shouted desperately.

“Please save me! I’m over here!”

The voice was heard from inside a black glass wall that lined both sides of the corridor.

“Are you in the glass wall?”

“Yes. There’s a button on the wall. When you press it, a glass door will open.”

Just as he said it would, the glass door opened after Desir pressed the button. What then appeared was a man tied to a clamp.

“… !”

Romantica let out a small scream out of shock.

The man was in terrible shape.

His arms were blackened like coal, half of his face was covered with severe wrinkles.

Seemingly undernourished, the body was severely thin. He was barely alive.

Desir checked for traps in the room with detection magic before approaching the man.

[Ice Cutter]

The blade made of ice broke the iron bars and cut off the shackles that bound the limbs of the man.

“Thank you very much. I thought I’d die like this.”

Tears streamed from the man’s eyes.

“It’s okay now.”

Romantica and Desir closely inspected the wounds on his body, comforting the man.

“Desir, this is… ”

Although his skin was terribly disfigured, some of the wounds adorning his body looked like small puncture marks left by syringes. It was fairly obvious that the man had been turned into a human test dummy, pumped full of various alchemical fluids and subjected to all kinds of harm.

“Were human experiments conducted here?”

Desir asked in a heavy voice.

Judging from the condition of the man’s body and his mental state, he’d clearly been through extensive physical abuse.

“Yes, I went to the mansion to see the lord, but at one point I suddenly passed out. When I opened my eyes and I found myself here. I’ve had a hell of a life since that day.”

The man quivered, recalling what had happened.

“The Alchemist injected us with drugs and observed us. He’s the devil incarnate.”

“Us?”

Romantica’s face turned pale.

“Are you saying there are more people in here?”

“I don’t know how many people there are, but with all the screaming I heard, quite a few people must have been captured like me.”

“…”

Desir thought for a moment before turning towards Romantica.

“Romantica, take this man and the rest of the survivors to the surface. In the meantime, I’ll deal with the Alchemist.”

“Desir!”

Romantica tried to stop Desir, but Desir had decided on the best course of action and would not be easily dissuaded.

“We need to divide our roles. There’s a Chimera out there that we haven’t dealt with yet, and we need someone to protect the survivors from it. Besides, if the Chimera comes in here, I’ll be in trouble.”

“Let’s do it together.”

“We are not yet sure what Pureus will do in the meantime. I’ll stop him, so kill the Chimera as soon as possible and come help me. Is that okay?”

Someone had to do it.

“… Okay.”

She had no choice. Romantica supported the man and left to find the remaining survivors.

After Romantica left, Desir walked down the hallway and looked at the writing someone had handwritten on the glass wall with some kind of pen.

Woman in her 40s. X

Man in his 40s. X

Woman in her 50s. X

Man in his 50s. X

… …

…

Inside one of the rooms marked with an X, a dead and dissected body was visible on the lab table.

Des1r realized what the X sign means.

It was a sign of death.

They had been cruelly treated as test subjects and then died miserably.

—-