Chapter 670

"Those whose names are called, step forward."

Today was supposed to be a day of glory.

But not everyone was worthy of that glory.

After finishing her speech, Stephanie produced a short list containing twenty names selected from the five hundred recruits.

"Congratulate them. They will be the first among you to undergo Ascension."

The twenty chosen men and women stepped forward with their heads held high. They formed two neat rows, facing the others with barely contained pride and excitement.

They were going to be the pioneers of the Ascension Ritual.

What greater honor could there be?

They would be the ones to take the first step toward a transformation that would change Hydra’s history forever. They had dreamed of this glorious moment their entire lives.

On the other side of the monitors, Evenson watched the scene with a faint, almost sinister smile.

"Looks like our first batch of test subjects has been selected."

He glanced at Peggy.

"Seriously, though. How did you choose them?"

To an outsider, the obvious criteria would have been physical fitness, training performance, combat ability, and so on.

But Evenson knew those standards were meaningless here.

Hydra had already selected these people from among its best recruits. Their physical abilities were all well above average, and whatever minor differences existed between them would be corrected by the transformation anyway.

As for their training results...

Peggy’s training had pushed them hard enough to make them miserable, but compared to what they were about to undergo, it amounted to little more than a warm-up.

There wasn’t much point in judging them by it.

Peggy casually produced a pair of dice and shook them in her palm.

"I rolled for them."

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

"That’s certainly random."

"That’s the point."

Peggy shrugged.

"A selection process with no discernible pattern makes it harder for them to figure out what we’re doing."

She paused, then sighed.

"Although, don’t you think this is taking forever? Why not just convert all of them at once? I really don’t want to spend another six months around these people."

Evenson’s original plan was to conduct the conversion once a week, twenty people at a time.

At that rate, it would take twenty-five weeks to process the entire group.

More than half a year spent dealing with five hundred fanatical Hydra loyalists was enough to make even Peggy Carter’s patience wear thin.

"Where’s the fun in doing everything at once?" Evenson gave a cold smile. "Slowly cooking them is much more interesting."

Then his expression shifted.

"By the way, what about the one I told you to keep an eye on? Did you pick him out?"

"The one who’s all bark but no bite? Poor self-control under pressure?"

Peggy thought for a moment.

"Already selected."

"Move him toward the back of the line."

Evenson nodded.

"He could be... a fairly important piece."

"How far back?"

Peggy frowned.

"You keep saying to put him later, but how much later?"

"Until he’s almost at his breaking point."

Peggy immediately understood.

But she still looked concerned.

"And if he holds out? What if he makes it all the way to the final batch without breaking?"

"Doesn’t matter."

Evenson didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.

"I can give him a little push when the time comes."

Peggy knew Evenson well enough not to ask what that meant.

Clea, however, had been watching the conversation with increasing confusion.

"Evenson, would you mind explaining what exactly you’re planning to do to these people?"

She had only been brought into the operation recently. Half a day ago, she hadn’t even known it existed, and nobody had bothered to give her a proper explanation since.

She had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Heh."

Evenson smiled.

"You’ll understand when you see it."

Clea sniffed, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.

But since nobody seemed inclined to explain further, she turned back toward the monitors.

The twenty chosen recruits were escorted into an elevator amid congratulations from the others.

The elevator began moving.

There was no floor indicator.

Worse, the elevator seemed to alternate between ascending and descending, leaving the recruits completely unable to determine where they were being taken.

Eventually, the doors opened.

Following a series of indicator lights, the twenty recruits arrived in front of a wall.

They stared at it.

What was this?

Were they supposed to stand here and reflect before the ceremony?

That actually sounded plausible. Ascension meant leaving their ordinary selves behind. Surely they would need to clear their minds and abandon worldly distractions before beginning.

The twenty recruits obediently lined up in front of the wall.

They closed their eyes.

Then they felt a faint vibration.

The seamless wall in front of them suddenly began to move.

A mechanical voice came from somewhere overhead.

"Apologies. The equipment experienced a minor malfunction. The door jammed while opening."

The recruits opened their eyes.

They stared at one another.

Apparently, they’d been overthinking things.

The wall had simply been a door.

Once it opened, they found two identical rooms beyond it.

Both were constructed almost entirely from metal, with rows of surgical chairs arranged inside.

There was only one difference.

There were two separate rooms.

"You may decide among yourselves," the mechanical voice instructed. "Ten people enter the room on the right. The remaining ten enter the room on the left."

Nobody questioned the order.

They assumed each room simply had a capacity of ten.

With the discipline expected of Hydra’s elite, the group split into two lines almost instantly.

Ten entered each room.

Once everyone had taken a seat, the doors slowly closed behind them.

A series of heavy mechanical clicks followed.

Whatever was happening, the rooms were now thoroughly sealed.

"Personnel confirmed. Beginning restraint procedures."

The voice sounded different this time.

Colder.

More clinical.

Clack.

Mechanical restraints snapped into place.

Thick iron bands, roughly three centimeters thick, emerged from the surgical chairs and locked around the recruits’ wrists, ankles, and waists.

"Restraints secured. Initiating anesthesia."

Before anyone could react, a sharp pain shot through their backs.

At least four needles pierced directly into their spines.

Anesthetic flooded their bodies.

The drug was brutally effective.

Within seconds, all twenty recruits lost consciousness.

Evenson watched the monitors with satisfaction.

"That takes care of the preparation."

Then he narrowed his eyes.

He clicked his tongue.

"Although the anesthetic needs some refinement. It’s effective, but causing them to lose control of their bladders is going too far. Cleaning this place afterward is going to be disgusting."

"You’re not the one cleaning it."

Salorass rolled her eyes.

"Why are you worrying about it?"

She reached toward the control console.

"Now let’s get started."

She pressed a button.

The two rooms below immediately transformed.

The left room remained relatively unchanged. Two enormous mechanical arms descended from the ceiling above each restrained recruit.

The right room was far more dramatic.

The entire ceiling and sections of the walls folded and rotated in modular pieces, revealing another surface beneath.

Runes covered the newly exposed panels.

As the pieces shifted into position, the runes connected.

One after another, they formed complete magic circles.

A compartment suddenly opened in the control console.

A warning tone sounded.

"Preparations complete. Injecting operating power."

Salorass placed one hand inside the opening.

She closed her eyes.

Dark violet energy immediately began pouring from her hand into the console.

The energy traveled through conduits connected directly to the control system before flooding into the magic circles below.

"Power transfer complete. Magic circles operating normally."

The mechanical voice continued.

"Preparing for mass soul extraction."

A pause.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

"Soul extraction commencing."

The ten recruits in the right-hand chamber suddenly glowed from within.

Purple light burst from their chests.

The light condensed in midair, crystallizing into individual violet gems.

"Extraction complete. Target life signs terminated."

"Beginning recovery operation."

Circular black portals opened beneath all ten bodies simultaneously.

The surgical chairs abruptly flattened.

The restraints released.

The bodies slid downward, disappearing into the black holes beneath them.

One after another.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Far below, in another laboratory, Moira had apparently been waiting for quite some time.

She wore a surgical gown and looked thoroughly irritated.

Then ten corpses dropped through the recovery chute.

Her expression immediately softened into a small smile.

"Fresh experimental material."

Back in the control room, the mechanical voice continued.

"Recovery operation complete. Soul crystal quantity confirmed."

"Magic circle transformation commencing."

The modular sections of the walls rotated once more.

A completely different magic circle appeared.

"Magic circle transformation complete. Please inject operating power again."

This time, it was the high-ranking warlock Oleses who stepped up to the console.

She placed both hands into the openings.

Crimson energy immediately poured into the system.

"Energy injection confirmed."

"Beginning demon summoning ritual."

The soul crystals that had just been extracted began floating through the air.

They trembled.

A low humming filled the chamber.

Then, all at once, the crystals shattered into a series of glowing purple portals.

Voices boomed from within.

"Awaiting orders to kill!"

"We stand ready!"

Ten enormous figures emerged from the portals.

Several wielded massive two-handed axes and had physiques similar to Tare.

They were Felguards.

But the other demons were very different.

Their skin was gray and pale, their upper bodies bare except for heavy armor covering their heads, shoulders, and thighs.

Each carried a broad, long-handled weapon known as a Fel Reaver.

But the most distinctive feature was their feet.

They didn’t have hooves.

Instead, their feet were split like the claws of some enormous reptile.

There could be no mistaking what they were.

Wrathguards.

...