Chapter 299 – Adrian (1)
The unidentified examiner sent by the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
The unofficial test subject, whose mind had been controlled by a forced magic circle, collapsed. Lying on the ground, he exhaled faint breaths.
His face looked more at peace than when awake.
"..."
Verden calmed his mana circuits.
From Wells Town to here.
A considerable amount of magic power and concentration had been consumed due to several large-scale spells. Especially since the large-scale
He adjusted his breathing, feeling a certain degree of fatigue.
The beasts and demi-humans that had inhabited the area had long since fled. In the dawn, where a gentle winter wind stirred, silence prevailed.
At that moment, magic power was sensed from above. A familiar presence.
Soon, Ethan and Rebecca landed on the ground, their vision taking in the desolated area. No matter where they looked, the former landscape was nowhere to be seen.
Ethan swallowed as he gazed at Verden.
As if it were natural, he had not a single wound. Without asking, one could tell it had been a one-sided, overwhelming flow.
Ethan approached and lowered his head slightly.
"You have worked hard, Sir Asher. I am relieved that you are safe."
At the same time, his gaze shifted.
It landed on the unconscious examiner.
"…He does not look well, yet still alive. To survive such a fierce battle, he must not be an ordinary man."
It was not mere admiration.
He was indirectly asking if there was a particular reason he had been kept alive.
Verden replied with a question.
"Have you perhaps learned any emergency treatment?"
"Eh? Treatment… Rebecca would be more suitable than me."
"Uh, me? I did learn a long time ago, but…"
Rebecca tilted her head and blinked.
Realizing the implication, she flinched and waved her hands frantically.
"W-wait a second! You don't mean for me to treat that lunatic, right?"
"Exactly."
"What, why should I treat that murderer…! And wouldn't it be far better to leave this to a priest?"
"I'd prefer if this stayed out of outside eyes."
Verden looked at the situation from Balrog's perspective.
His goal was the elimination of the forces in the East Continent hostile to the Bohemirn Magic Tower.
In other words, the heads of the two tower branches, the governor of the territory, and the eradication of Kendras group.
'Then, after carrying out those orders, how would he handle the aftermath?'
The answer was self-destruction.
By the command of the forced magic circle, the examiner would erase himself without a trace. Leaving behind not a single witness.
Then, after striking back at the territory lord and the two towers, their backer would not be discovered. Thinking that way, it made sense why they had even tried to kill unrelated children.
'But a variable has occurred.'
Because of Verden, the test subject who should have vanished without a trace had survived.
If this fact were to be revealed, the Bohemirn Magic Tower… especially Balrog Bessias, would not sit still.
He might use spatial teleportation to the East Continent immediately.
The man would never tolerate failure regarding his completed achievement.
'To face him now is premature.'
Therefore, the survival of the test subject must be hidden as much as possible. That was precisely why he avoided borrowing the holy power of the Luas Church for now.
"I ask this of you, Rebecca."
"Ah."
At the sudden words, Rebecca flinched.
As she hesitated, Ethan gave her a sharp look.
It meant: quietly accept. And since he had even phrased it as a request, she could not firmly refuse.
"C-clear my throat. Fine. If you put it that way…"
***
When he fell asleep, he dreamed the same dream over and over again. Its content was always the same.
Himself staring blankly at the past and the long years spread out before him. There was no joy, no anger, no sorrow.
He gazed at the dark laboratory.
It was a scene he had already seen hundreds of times.
Adrian, bound, and an old man, crippled.
The two were confined, separated by a transparent wall. The old man's appearance was terribly withered, yet it was not hard to recognize him.
Even without eyes, his presence was clearly felt.
'Master.'
He whispered the name.
Then, the old man beyond the wall raised his head, speaking in a hushed voice.
───Rise, Adrian.
Suddenly, the light receded.
Consciousness floated up from the pitch-black darkness.
***
Srrrk.
Adrian slowly opened his eyes.
With gradually sharpening vision, a warm and cozy space came into view.
'A cave…?'
Indeed. A small cave.
Clear traces of human handiwork, devoid of natural marks.
Nearby burned a crackling campfire, and Adrian himself was lying in a rather soft sleeping bag.
His body was filled with the scent of herbs.
His right arm was tightly bandaged with a firm dressing.
Where was this place?
Perhaps because he had only just awoken, a sharp throbbing pulsed inside his head, leaving his mind hazy.
"You are awake."
"…!"
At that moment, a voice was heard.
His gaze moved diagonally upward.
A man with ashen hair and blue-gray eyes, a rare appearance in the world, sat on a chair of hardened earth, warming himself by the fire.
He looked somehow familiar.
It felt as though he had seen him before.
Forcing his blurred consciousness, he tried to rise.
"Khk…?!"
A violent pain struck his nerves.
It felt like a blade was tearing through him. He could not even dare to move a single finger.
The man, Verden, spoke.
"Do not strain yourself. Your insides are a wreck from forcing your arts. You cannot even be treated with a potion recklessly."
The greater the potion's effect, the greater the burden.
If used carelessly on a weakened patient, it could cause the opposite effect. In the worst case, it could result in immediate death.
Thus, alchemy was chosen.
Ethan had gone back and forth from Wells Town and the forest to gather necessary ingredients, while Verden and Rebecca prepared medicine to aid recovery.
The effect was mild, but better than nothing.
As for his broken right arm, Rebecca herself had bound it tightly with bandages and a splint. Measures were taken so that not a single fragment of bone would shift.
She had more skill in emergency treatment than she admitted.
Meanwhile, Verden had sealed the sinkhole in Wells Town's plaza. Ethan was organizing the townsfolk nearby.
For the three of them, it had been a rather intense stretch of time.
Adrian listened quietly.
Then, his sky-colored eyes fixed firmly on Verden.
"You… are… who…?"
His voice was slurred.
He barely managed to hold onto consciousness that threatened to slip away again.
"Well, how should I introduce myself."
The hesitation was short.
"If I said, experiment subject number 77… would you understand?"
"7…7…?"
"What number were you?"
An abrupt question about a number.
Anyone else would not have understood, nor even guessed at what he meant.
But Adrian knew better than anyone what that meant.
Instinctively, a number surfaced in his mind. Adrian slowly moved his lips.
"89… 89… Adrian… Chambers."
"Number 89, is it. Then that means the mind-control experiments began less than nine years ago."
Number 77 and number 89.
Verden felt an unfamiliar sense of kinship.
"Come to think of it, you called out to your master in your sleep."
"..."
"Adrian Chambers, what did Balrog Bessias do to you?"
"Bal… rog…"
Adrian blinked slowly.
The shadows of the firelight on the ceiling flickered violently.
"I…"
His mind was still hazy.
But his voice gradually grew clearer. So too did memories he had briefly forgotten.
The past began to resurface.
At the same time, countless suppressed emotions surged up. Soon after, Adrian spoke clearly.
"I killed my master."
***
Captured by Balrog, Adrian was confined in a dark and empty place.
And as soon as he awoke, he felt a mysterious headache, and a mage who approached him gave him the number 89.
At first, he did not know what it meant, but he soon had no choice but to understand.
───First experiment.
It began with drugs.
Mages of unknown identity came, and with Adrian's arms and legs bound by a magic circle, they plunged a mysterious syringe into him.
───Ugh…?!
The chill coursing through his veins, the searing burn burrowing into his muscles.
The existing headache grew worse, until it felt as if his skull would split open, as though struck by an axe.
Still, he had to endure.
Because he had to find his master, who surely had been captured along with him.
With only that thought, he bore it all.
As the experiments accumulated in number, he held tightly to his mind, seeking any means of escape.
"A few days, a few weeks passed that way, until the passage of time became blurred, and then Balrog came. With him was one of the elders, the one who had taken my master's arm."
The gaze that looked down upon Adrian.
It was the clear gaze of one distinguishing between the strong and the weak.
───Bal… rog…!!
───As reported, still intact. So this is the so-called top four of the Central Continent. Rumor had it you wouldn't flinch even against 5th-tier curse magic, and indeed, your mental strength is far superior to what I had expected.
A gleam of interest filled his eyes.
It was not the gaze of one looking at a human.
───Where… is my master…?
───You worry for your master more than yourself. Truly moving. Hm, very well. Answer my question, and I shall tell you.
Balrog smiled faintly and gestured.
From behind, one of the elders of the Bohemirn Magic Tower, Angelo, approached and raised a single finger.
───Number 89, how many fingers do you see?
A question without meaning.
Was it mockery? Suddenly, a stab of headache twisted Adrian's face, and he bit out the word.
───…One.
───As expected. Then it is my turn.
Balrog snapped his fingers.
At once, mana suffused the space, and the wall before him became transparent.
On the other side stood a man.
An old man missing his right arm and left leg, his remaining left arm and right leg bound by chains of mana.
An unforgettable silhouette.
───…Master?
───Adri… an…
His master trembled as he lifted his head.
A figure so wretched it made one sick to look at.
Hollow eyes, gaunt from not having eaten properly. In the corner, Adrian's sword lay in slumber.
Feeling something snap inside, Adrian cried out.
───What did you do to my master!!
───The same experiment as you. Even most abnormal species could not endure such an amount of drug infusion, yet befitting your master, he held out quite well. Unlike you, however, he seems less and less able to withstand it.
Balrog stroked his beard.
Once more, the mana dissipated, and the wall became opaque. His master's image and voice disappeared in an instant.
───Number 89, are you not curious? When you meet again, what state will your master be in? How long he will last?
An unforgettable whisper.
Tears welled in Adrian's bloodshot eyes. Rage, hatred, and helplessness.
He barely suppressed his emotions and forced out words.
───Why, why are you doing this to us…?
───I already told you. I required suitable material for the next experiment, and you were chosen. That old swordsman is just collateral.
───That's not what I asked!!
───I know. You mean the purpose of the experiment.
Balrog sneered.
───That answer is far too generous for a mere experiment subject.
Balrog and Angelo left.
Their presence faded, and once again darkness fell.
Verden asked.
"After that, the experiments continued."
"Yes. And apart from that, irregularly, they let me see the other side. Each time, I saw my master in ever more miserable condition."
Sometimes, only the sound was given.
His master's screams echoed in his ears.
Sometimes, only the sight was given.
Silent screams burned into his eyes.
As Adrian spoke of the past, he stared straight up at the ceiling.
Reciting his memories seemed to sharpen his hazy consciousness. Even without Verden saying a word, the story continued.
"Then, one day, an elder came."
───Number 89, how many fingers do you see?
It was a question they sometimes asked.
With murderous intent to tear him apart, Adrian replied.
───Thirteen.
───I see.
And once again, he was left alone.
Something felt strange, but there was no time to dwell on it.
He had to escape.
Otherwise, his master might die at any moment.
But many restraining magic circles bound his body. Desperately, he tried again and again to break them, to find a way.
Since there was only one chance, he waited cautiously for the right time.
"And then, that chance came."
Nearly a hundred drug experiments.
That day, there were only three mages present to conduct it.
As always, he searched for an opening, and suddenly, he sensed the magic circle binding his right arm had weakened.
"I did not doubt it."
Instinct was faster than reason.
───Crack!
"I should have doubted it."
Adrian let out a hollow laugh.
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