Chapter 106: Countermeasure

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Countermeasure

The heavy iron gates of Acheron Deep slammed shut behind Felix. He walked down the quiet corridor, fixing his coat and thinking over his session with Vesper.

Leaving the plastic chessboard had definitely been a gamble. Not because she hated it, but because she took losing so personally.

He could already picture her alone in that cell, staring at the pieces, replaying every turn, desperate to find a way to crush him.

A faint smile crossed his lips. "She’s definitely gunning for my queen next time."

His communicator buzzed. He pulled it out:

*Director Elena Voss*

"Director?"

"Felix, where are you right now?"

"Just walking out of Acheron."

"Good. Get over to the advanced testing bunker immediately."

"Now?"

"Yes. We’re running a live trial."

"On what?"

"I’ll explain on-site," she said, pausing briefly. "Bring your medical kit."

Felix’s eyes sharpened. "Did someone get hurt?"

"Not yet."

"On my way."

Twenty minutes later, Felix arrived at the underground facility on the edge of the city.

Built under tons of bedrock, it was designed specifically for high-risk magic testing. The main arena had thick mana-resistant walls, blast-proof glass observation rooms, and ceiling-mounted suppression cannons.

Elena was standing by the primary console alongside Gideon, who had his arms crossed over his chest.

Evelyn was typing rapidly on a digital tablet, speaking with two senior researchers. Standing off to the side was a woman in standard Association strike armor, looking calm and focused.

"A hero?" Felix asked, walking up.

"Right on time, Felix," Elena said, turning around. "This is Seren."

The woman nodded politely. "A-rank. Sound affinity."

Felix raised an eyebrow. "Sound? Don’t see that every day."

"Most people ask for a demonstration," Seren remarked dryly.

"I’ll take your word for it."

The clinking of heavy metal chains echoed from the far gate. Four armored handlers dragged out a massive beast shaped like a hulking, four-legged bear.

Dark crimson scales armored its thick hide, two curved horns jutted from its brow, and hot sparks hissed between its fangs. Heavy mana-dampening bands clamped its thick limbs.

"B-rank Flameclaw?" Felix observed.

"Yes," Elena said. "Our test subject."

She popped open a foam-lined steel case, revealing a single, matte-black pill no bigger than a bean.

"Fresh out of the lab?" Felix asked, leaning in.

"We’ve spent every waking hour dissecting the chemical samples recovered from the dark elf dungeon," Elena explained.

"We couldn’t replicate their exact method," Gideon grunted.

"But we reverse-engineered the core mechanism," Evelyn chimed in, holding up her tablet. "This is our working prototype. It mimics the forced-growth effect of the pills the elf’s used."

"A forced breakthrough?"

"An artificial spike," Evelyn corrected. "It destabilizes the beast’s core and violently pumps its mana output far beyond natural limits. The original pills used crushed, hyper-concentrated elemental cores from higher-tier monsters."

"Raw energy from higher ranks," Felix murmured.

"Exactly. But raw core material is like dynamite, it blows the body apart immediately. So the original creators mixed in a stabilizing poison."

"A suppression agent," Felix deduced.

Evelyn nodded. "A processed herb that dampens mana. It doesn’t halt the surge; it just holds the beast’s internal circuits together long enough to keep it from exploding on turn one."

"So it’s controlled self-destruction," Felix said. "Massive power, but you burn through your engine."

"Right. The body burns itself out in minutes," Elena said. "Which brings us to the real reason you’re here."

She reached back into the case and picked up a glowing blue vial and a matching blue pill.

"The countermeasure," Felix said.

"We built two versions: a drinkable serum and an ingestible pill," Evelyn explained, pulling up a split mana diagram. "The black booster doesn’t just raise raw strength, it weaves a foreign energy stream straight into the host’s normal mana flow. This blue formula allows a hunter’s mana to tell the host’s natural mana apart from the foreign parasite energy."

"And then?"

"And then the hunter’s mana can slice that foreign thread directly out of the circuit," Evelyn said. "Severing the booster instantly."

"How long does the serum last in a hunter’s body?"

"Thirty minutes," Evelyn said. "Within that half-hour, the hunter has to strike, inject their mana into the wound, and sever the foreign link."

Felix looked at Seren. "Meaning you have to trade blows at point-blank range."

Seren cracked her knuckles, unimpressed. "Nothing new."

"You haven’t seen an artificially boosted monster yet," Gideon reminded her grimly.

Elena set the blue pill back down. "The pill version is for injection directly into the beast if our hunters can’t drink the serum in time."

Felix folded his arms. "You built a working countermeasure in four days?"

Evelyn gave an exhausted laugh. "When thousands of heroes die in a single morning, researchers don’t sleep."

"Good work," Felix said, looking toward the glass. "And my job?"

"Standard safety protocol," Elena said. "If this prototype melts her mana channels, you keep her alive."

"Understood."

Seren walked into the reinforced chamber, the heavy blast doors sealing behind her.

Across the arena, two guards used long mechanical tongs to load the black pill into an automated pneumatic injector.

The chamber hissed, liquifying the pill into a jet-black fluid, and drove the needle directly into the Flameclaw’s thick neck.

For two seconds, nothing moved.

Then the beast let out an ear-splitting shriek.

ROOOAAARRR!

Its body violently arched. Thick veins pulsed beneath its crimson scales, swelling its muscles to twice their normal mass. Jagged spikes ruptured through the hide along its spine. Pure, corrupted fire gushed from its jaws, and its eyes flared a blinding blood-red.

Its aura didn’t just climb, it detonated. B-rank. High B. Peak B. Then it blasted clean through the ceiling into solid A-rank territory.

SNAP! CLANG!

The heavy steel chains sheared like wet paper.

"Containment broken!" Gideon barked, throwing his gravity aura across the inner doorway just in case.

The Flameclaw lunged like a missile.

Seren stepped forward, golden mana flashing across her hands and boots.

BOOM!

She vanished, reappearing directly in front of the monster. A compressed golden soundwave detonated off her fist, slamming square into the beast’s chest.

The shockwave blew the creature back ten meters, its claws tearing deep trenches into the reinforced concrete floor.

It didn’t drop. It didn’t even slow down.

The monster opened its maw and unleashed a roaring torrent of dark, violet-tinged fire. Seren kicked off the ground, vaulting over the flame jet as the heat warped the air beneath her boots.

She landed lightly, muttering, "A lot hotter than standard B-rank fire."

The beast pivoted instantly, charging with frantic speed. Seren smashed her fist into the deck, sending a sonic tremor rippling through the floor to throw off its footing. But the beast shook its head, barely stumbling, its boosted muscles shrugging off the concussive force.

"Her attacks aren’t digging in," Felix observed through the glass. "The booster is reinforcing its internal mana skin."

The Flameclaw swung a massive tail, sweeping across the arena. Seren raised her forearms to guard.

CRACK!

The sheer blunt force launched her across the arena floor, sliding back twenty feet before digging her heels in.

"She can’t win a war of attrition against an artificial A-rank," Felix muttered.

"Time for phase two," Elena said into the comms. "Seren. Drink it."

Seren ripped the blue vial off her tactical belt, downed the liquid in one swallow, and tossed the empty glass aside.

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