Chapter 422: Experimenting On Vladimir Like A True Mad Scientist (Willheim Would Be Proud)

-----

After walking past all of that, they entered a small room where several Mutants were waiting. Three large mechanical arms lay on a table.

One was yellow, the second red, and the third blue.

Vladimir went straight to the table, looking from one arm to the next. Seeing the parts outside had been interesting, but these were already assembled. He leaned closer to check the hands, then followed each arm up to where it would attach to his body. They were bigger than he’d expected, and he was already wondering how each one would feel when he moved it.

He wanted to pick one up, but Solder stepped beside the table before he could. Fine, he could wait for the explanation. As long as it wasn’t another lesson about cells.

"These are the models we’ve managed to create for your slave, Divine Lord," Solder said. "We’ve used the flesh, blood, and bone samples you sent to make them adjustable and capable of fusing with his cells at a molecular level. With this setup, he’ll also be able to switch between them whenever he wishes."

"Huh? Wait, do I get all three of them?!" Vladimir couldn’t believe it. They looked so cool that he’d been expecting to have to choose just one.

He looked at Riven to make sure he’d heard that correctly. Three arms, and he could change them whenever he wanted? He’d come here hoping for a replacement, not several options. For a moment, he forgot about Solder calling him a slave and all the annoying explanations they’d gone through. He was too busy looking at the arms again, trying to decide which one he’d want to try first.

"Well, yeah. If I make you choose, what are we going to do with the other two?" Riven asked. "We can’t just throw them away, so this is the next best solution. Now sit down. We’re going to install something on that stump."

Vladimir’s grin disappeared. Install something? He glanced at his missing arm, then at the Mutants waiting around the room. He’d been so busy looking at the finished models that he hadn’t paid much attention to what the others were doing. Now several of them were coming toward him, and Solder had picked up a separate metal piece.

He started to ask whether they could explain that part first, but the Mutants were already reaching for him. Apparently, Riven telling him to sit down had been enough for them to get started. Vladimir pulled his remaining hand away from the table, suddenly much less interested in choosing a color.

"Huh? Ahhhhh!"

Vladimir, who already wasn’t particularly fond of insects, screamed as dozens of cockroaches grabbed him and pulled him down into a seat. Solder brought the special metal piece to the stump of his missing arm and began opening the tissue around the attachment site, exposing flesh, blood, and bone.

"RIVEN! YOU BASTARD!"

Vladimir could’ve freed himself easily, but Riven used his psychic power to hold him in place, leaving him no chance to escape the Mutants.

He tried to pull his remaining hand free, only to find that it wouldn’t move either. The cockroaches weren’t the problem. He could’ve shaken them off, but Riven had apparently decided that helping meant making sure he couldn’t get out of the seat.

Vladimir glared at him. A few moments ago, he’d been excited about getting three new arms. Now he wanted to grab Riven with the one he still had and make him explain why he hadn’t warned him before they started. That would’ve been useful information to have before sitting down.

"Let go of me!" he snapped, trying again despite knowing who was keeping him there.

"It was always going to hurt."

"You could’ve at least used anesthesia, couldn’t you?!"

"It doesn’t work on Hunters. Trust me."

Trust him? Vladimir stared at him like he’d just said something incredibly stupid. Riven could make all kinds of things when he wanted to, but apparently doing something about the pain was where his abilities stopped being useful. How convenient.

He looked toward the Mutants, hoping one of them might have a different answer. They were still busy with the installation and didn’t seem interested in arguing with their Divine Lord. Of course they weren’t. Riven had told them to get started, and as far as they were concerned, that was probably all they needed.

"BASTARD, YOU CAN CONCOCT ANY POISON! I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!"

Riven smiled and said nothing else. In truth, he sometimes enjoyed hearing Vladimir scream and complain, even though he’d gotten over his grudge against him a while ago.

But every now and then, he liked reminding Vladimir that he’d once been a terrible person and hadn’t earned the kindness he was being given. As far as Riven was concerned, it helped keep him humble.

Vladimir didn’t care what that smile was supposed to mean. He wanted the work finished so he could stand up and stop being held there like some troublesome kid. He turned his head away from Riven and tried to see what Solder was doing, but having the Mutants gathered around him made that difficult. All he could tell was that they were still working.

"AAAGH!"

Vladimir screamed as the little that remained of his arm, just below his shoulder, fused with a large metal piece.

He clenched his remaining hand and waited for the pain to ease enough to look at it properly. That wasn’t one of the arms on the table. It was a separate piece, and now it was attached to him. He remembered Riven saying they needed to install something, but that didn’t tell him what it actually did.

Could they have explained that before starting? Apparently not. He’d had to listen to a whole lesson about cells, but when it came to the thing they were putting on his own body, he was supposed to wait and find out.

"What is this, anyway?!" he demanded, glaring at the metal piece, his red eyes full of anger.

-----