Chapter 309 - 307 : The Product Demonstration

Chapter 309: Chapter 307 : The Product Demonstration

The slap echoed through the hallway.

Arthur’s head remained turned for a moment. Heat spread across his cheek, and beneath the borrowed face of Albert Valentino, his jaw tightened.

He tasted blood.

The horned man stood before him, looking down with an expression of undisguised contempt.

"How dare you?"

His voice was low, but it carried to every corner of the reception area.

"Lowly creatures at the bottom of the food chain, and you think you can keep someone like me waiting?"

Arthur slowly turned his head back.

He did not raise a hand to his face or reach for a weapon. But beneath the loose sleeves of his robe, his fingers had curled into fists.

’Remember why you are here.’

His gaze moved briefly toward Jessica. She stood beside the sofa, her face difficult to read.

Then Rose stepped forward.

"How dare you slap our chief?"

Salina’s eyes widened.

Arthur looked at Rose. For one fleeting moment, he wondered whether she possessed more courage than sense.

Then she continued.

"Do you have any idea how valuable his intellect is? What if you damaged some of his brain cells?"

Salina covered her face with one hand.

The hallway fell silent. Even the guards seemed uncertain how to react.

"Rose," Salina said through clenched teeth. "Stop talking."

"But—"

"Now."

Rose pressed her lips together, though her expression remained furious.

Salina lowered her hand and faced the horned man.

"Lord Veldrova."

Her voice was controlled, but the anger beneath it was unmistakable.

"Please refrain from using violence against our chief."

Veldrova’s eyes narrowed.

Salina continued before he could interrupt.

"Lord Raphael holds Sir Albert in very high regard."

The change was small. A tightening around Veldrova’s mouth. A brief hesitation in his eyes.

But Arthur noticed it.

’Raphael.’

He stored the reaction away.

"If he learns what happened here," Salina continued, "this matter may not end with the cancellation of our agreement."

For a heartbeat, Veldrova said nothing.

Then he gave a short, artificial cough.

"There is no need to turn a misunderstanding into an incident."

Rose looked as though she had several objections to that description, but Salina did not let her speak.

Veldrova turned back to Arthur.

"Albert, was it?"

Arthur met his gaze.

"Yes."

The man lifted a hand.

Arthur forced himself not to react.

Veldrova patted the top of his head.

Once.

Then again.

"I will forgive you for making me wait, tiny man."

Arthur’s expression remained still.

The humiliation was deliberate. So was the attempt to pretend the apology should come from him.

Salina drew a breath, but Arthur spoke first.

"It is fine, Salina."

She looked at him.

"Lord Veldrova is our client. We are here to conduct business."

His voice was even.

"And I did keep him waiting."

Veldrova smiled.

Arthur held his gaze.

’I’ll remember this.’

Beside them, Rose’s shoulders stiffened. Salina studied Arthur for a moment before inclining her head.

"As you wish, Chief."

Veldrova returned to the sofa and sat down with his earlier ease, crossing one leg over the other.

"I like you, tiny man."

His hand settled against the armrest.

"You know your place."

Arthur said nothing.

Veldrova gestured toward the seats opposite him.

"Now, let us discuss business."

───────────────

Arthur remained standing while Rose and Salina took their places beside him. The guards resumed their watch along the walls, and Jessica stayed near Veldrova.

She was close enough to intervene if necessary. Close enough that Arthur could see the tension in her fingers.

He kept his attention on the client.

"We have already fulfilled most of your requirements," Veldrova said.

His tone suggested he expected gratitude.

"One hundred dragonkin, delivered as Lord Raphael requested."

Arthur’s thoughts sharpened.

’One hundred.’

The pods below.

The missing people.

The children taken from the slums.

He allowed none of it to reach his face.

"The remaining conditions will be met once you demonstrate the product and explain precisely how it works."

Veldrova leaned back.

"So?"

Arthur remained silent.

He had no idea what Albert had promised this creature, what results he was expected to present, or what would happen if he gave the wrong answer.

Rose glanced toward him, followed by Salina.

Veldrova’s expression soured.

"Did that slap frighten you so badly that you have forgotten how to speak?"

Arthur looked at him.

"I asked about your product."

A second passed.

Then Arthur took a gamble.

"Rather than describe it, we should show you."

He turned slightly.

"Salina. Proceed with the demonstration."

For one dangerous instant, he waited.

Then Salina straightened.

"Of course, Chief."

Arthur gave a small nod.

Inside, he exhaled.

’Good.’

Salina reached into her storage ring, and a small crimson box appeared in her hands.

It was plain, without elaborate carvings or visible enchantments. Nothing about it suggested that it contained something worth arranging a meeting between the Church and a dragon.

Veldrova glanced at it.

"Ordinary packaging."

Salina smiled politely.

"Appearances can be misleading, my lord."

She glanced toward Arthur, waiting for his approval.

He nodded again.

Salina’s smile became a little more confident.

’Finally.’

She had prepared the material, checked the samples, and rehearsed the presentation. Now, the chief was allowing her to speak.

Perhaps he had noticed her work after all.

Perhaps this was her opportunity to prove she deserved more responsibility.

She turned toward the nearest guard.

"Bring in the test subject."

The guards returned within a minute, escorting a child between them.

A dragonkin boy.

Small horns protruded from beneath his tangled hair. Patches of scales covered his arms and neck, but many were cracked or missing.

He could barely walk.

His feet dragged across the polished floor as one guard held him by the upper arm. The other grew impatient when his knees buckled.

"Move."

The boy tried.

His legs failed again.

The guards dragged him the remaining distance and dropped him before the seating area.

He struck the floor on one shoulder.

Arthur watched without changing his expression, but his attention had narrowed to the child’s breathing.

It was thin, uneven, and frightened.

The boy pushed himself onto one elbow. His eyes moved from the guards to Veldrova, then to Salina as she crouched before him.

"Do not be afraid."

Her voice softened.

The change was almost worse than her earlier professionalism.

"No one is going to hurt you."

She opened the crimson box.

Inside rested a small, dark-red pill. It looked ordinary enough to be mistaken for medicine.

Salina held it out.

"Eat this. It will help."

The boy stared at her hand, then at the guards.

One of them shifted his weight.

The child flinched.

Slowly, he took the pill.

Arthur watched his fingers close around it. For a brief moment, the boy hesitated.

Then he put it in his mouth and swallowed.

Salina stood and stepped back.

That movement told Arthur more than her reassuring words had.

’You know what comes next.’

The child drew a sudden breath and clutched his chest.

A tremor passed through his body.

Then another.

The cracked scales along his arm began to mend. Bruises faded, and the shallow wounds around his neck closed.

Arthur felt the change in his mana.

It was rising.

Quickly.

Far too quickly.

The boy looked down at his hands as his fingers lengthened and his shoulders broadened. His clothes tightened as his body grew, and the fabric began to strain against his expanding frame.

Childhood vanished in seconds.

His limbs stretched, and muscle gathered beneath his skin.

He cried out and bent forward, both hands striking the floor.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed.

The change did not stop.

Two shapes pushed against the back of the boy’s shirt.

The material tore.

Wings unfolded.

Small at first.

Then larger.

The guards moved away while Salina watched with intense concentration.

The dragonkin’s scales spread across his body. His spine arched, and his hands transformed into claws.

The sound that emerged from his throat deepened until it was no longer recognizably human.

Furniture scraped across the floor as the guards hurried to clear the surrounding space.

Within moments, a small dragon crouched where the child had fallen.

Its wings shuddered, and its claws scraped against the polished stone.

Then it lifted its head and roared.

The sound filled the reception hall.

Arthur stood motionless.

Across from him, Veldrova leaned forward.

For the first time, his arrogance had given way to genuine astonishment.

Dragonkin were not true dragons. They possessed traces of draconic ancestry, which could manifest as horns, scales, and sometimes tails. They were also naturally stronger and faster than many other races.

But their bloodlines were diluted.

The distinction was one Veldrova plainly valued.

A dragonkin did not simply become a dragon.

Yet one crouched before him.

Small.

Unsteady.

Terrified.

But unmistakably transformed.

Veldrova’s astonishment slowly became a smile.

"This will work."

He rose slightly from his seat, examining the creature.

"This is more than I expected from a human creation."

The dragon turned toward his voice, its wings spreading in alarm.

Veldrova released his aura.

Arthur felt the pressure sweep across the room.

Ancient dominance.

Draconic.

Absolute.

The transformed child collapsed.

Its roar died in its throat.

For a moment, the dragon lay trembling against the floor.

Then its body began to contract.

Its wings folded inward, its scales receded, and its claws shortened.

The transformation reversed until the boy lay unconscious amid the remnants of his clothes.

He looked small again.

Painfully small.

Salina approached, checked his pulse, and nodded to a guard.

"The demonstration was successful."

Veldrova looked at her.

"Yes, my lord," she continued. "It causes the forced evolution and increase in strength you requested."

She closed the crimson box.

"However, the effect is temporary. The enhancement lasts only a few days."

"And afterward?"

"The subject dies."

She delivered the words without hesitation.

Arthur’s gaze settled on her.

Salina continued as though she were explaining a storage requirement.

"The duration varies according to the recipient’s condition and constitution. One week is the upper limit for survival after administration."

Veldrova looked down at the unconscious child.

Then shrugged.

"That does not matter."

Rose nodded eagerly.

"As long as they are deployed within the effective period—"

"They will be," Veldrova interrupted.

He smiled again.

"If these insects can finally become useful, a few days will be sufficient."

Arthur’s hands remained loose at his sides.

Only because he forced them to stay that way.

Veldrova turned toward him.

"How did you make it?"

Arthur met his gaze.

"What I just witnessed should have been impossible."

Before Arthur needed to answer, Rose stepped forward.

"All credit belongs to our chief."

There was pride in her voice.

Uncomplicated.

Sincere.

"He discovered a way to extract and concentrate life force from living beings."

Arthur listened.

"The body is more than flesh," Rose continued. "It is a vessel containing vitality, mana, and, in certain individuals, the remnants of inherited bloodlines."

She gestured toward the unconscious boy.

"Our chief found a way to use those vessels as raw material."

Something inside Arthur went very still.

Rose did not notice.

"Through processing, the bodies can be reduced and refined into a much smaller form."

She indicated the box.

"A pill."

The dream returned.

Bodies covering a dark floor.

Max’s broken crescent.

The little girl who had held a piece of fruit.

’Do not let them be eaten.’

Arthur understood.

Not all of it.

Not every stage of the process.

But enough.

The missing children.

The disappearances.

The baptisms held inside a forbidden temple.

Enough.

Rose continued speaking.

"The accumulated vitality forces the recipient beyond their natural limits. In humans, that can manifest as a temporary rise in rank."

Her eyes moved toward Veldrova’s horns.

"In those with diluted bloodlines, it can stimulate traits that would otherwise remain inaccessible."

Salina added, "The result is not stable. The recipient’s body cannot sustain the change."

"Which is why it eventually fails," Rose said.

She sounded pleased that they had reached the important qualification.

"But for a client seeking expendable soldiers, the limitations are manageable."

Arthur looked at the child on the floor.

Expendable.

The word seemed to remain in the air long after Rose had finished speaking.

Veldrova leaned back.

For several seconds, he studied Arthur with a different kind of interest.

Then he laughed.

"Tiny human."

Arthur lifted his eyes.

"In some ways, you are more dangerous than dragons."

Veldrova shook his head slowly.

"You have turned the consumption of your own kind into a method of advancement."

His mouth curved.

"Humans eating humans to become stronger."

Rose accepted the observation as though it were praise.

Salina remained composed.

Veldrova looked at Arthur.

"Your species disgusts me."

A pause.

"And astonishes me."

Arthur barely heard the final words.

His attention had shifted to Jessica.

She had not moved from her place beside the sofa, but her expression had changed.

The composed mask was gone.

Her eyes were fixed on the unconscious boy, her jaw tight and one hand curled into a fist at her side.

Arthur watched her carefully.

She looked furious.