Fran wagged her index finger, lightly passing by Anderson as if instructing a student, beginning to guide him step by step.
"First, there's the quartz that has already liquefied into glass, losing its crystalline characteristics. This is a standard containment vessel... Second, there's this."
She removed a rose-red, blood-like carnelian from the mouth of a deity statue, displaying it briefly in her hand.
"..." Anderson fell silent for a moment.
"There shouldn't be anything difficult to say, right? This isn't actually a secret in the eyes of director-level Secrets-Hunters. It's the legendary ultimate goal of alchemy, also the perfect medium capable of forcibly transmuting matter—the 'Philosopher's Stone.'"
Fran toyed with the mesmerizing rose-red carnelian, then fitted it back onto the deity statue's tongue.
"I don't understand what you're talking about, Doctor."
Anderson slightly rubbed his throbbing temples, trying to calm his increasingly uncontrollable emotions.
"Stubbornly clinging to meaningless arguments is not a good habit; your sophistry should be saved elsewhere. Your main temple's token is a Philosopher's Stone. As a 'Falling Sun Rider,' could you truly be unaware of this?"
Fran took out an exquisitely beautiful gemstone brooch from her white coat pocket, smiling as she handed it to Anderson.
When did she steal it? Anderson snatched the brooch back, narrowing his eyes slightly.
He hadn't noticed at all when Fran had stolen the brooch... This doctor before him was definitely no ordinary external personnel for the Secrets-Hunters...
"Hmph. Besides creating various castings, we also conduct research in alchemy. This so-called 'Philosopher's Stone' is just one of many by-products, not the perfect Fifth Element of legend at all."
He explained somewhat irritably, as if simply angry that a cult secret had been exposed.
"Mmm~" Fran patted her hands in satisfaction.
"After a little guidance, you've learned to 'sacrifice the pawn to save the chariot,' very practically applying your sophistry spirit. That's good. Coincidentally, I have prepared a surprise..."
As she spoke, she walked towards the central figure among the deity statues.
This maiden statue had no wings or halos representing "divinity" around her body, only bare feet and plain clothes. Unlike the fearful and apprehensive expressions of the others, its expression was serene and pious.
Fran rummaged through her small medical case, taking out a brand-new, shiny circular saw. As the blade began to emit the hum of high-speed rotation... she gradually cut open the statue's face, carved from gold.
"What are you doing! By the Forging Sun... Such blasphemy!"
Anderson immediately drew his own sword to stop her. A loud, clanging explosion sounded—a folding knife engraved with Secrets-Hunter prayers firmly intercepted it.
"Watch quietly until the end, Anderson."
Haida's cool, calm voice slowly came.
Anderson's face looked rather unpleasant.
That folding knife was just a light, one-handed weapon, yet it actually overpowered him in strength. She was clearly just the Mistress of Attendants of the Burial Court's attendants... Could she actually be the director of the Burial Court?
No, even a director shouldn't have such a gap. She was simply stronger than an Evil Spawn!
"Finished."
As the saw blade's fierce noise gradually subsided, Fran patted the metal dust from her hands.
Inside the gold-melted skin of that maiden statue was the face of a young girl covered in burn marks. Her brows and eyes were lowered, eerily calm; her curled, charred hair completely lacked its previous dazzling golden hue.
"Is it you... you've come back?" The moment Anderson saw the person inside the statue, he collapsed as if his spine had been pulled out.
Then he flew into a rage, realizing he had been deceived.
"Impossible! During the alchemy activation, the temperature inside the statue was over 1300 degrees! How could a corpse be preserved to this extent? There should only be ashes... What trick are you playing?"
"Oh, dear Mr. Anderson, you're finally being a bit more honest. Good, keep it up. I like patients who are willing to open up the most."
"The principle is also simple. After all, this statue is quite similar to a cast. I just need to fill it with some skin and meat to achieve high similarity..."
In the gap as Fran was speaking, Anderson suddenly drew his sword.
The straight sword engraved with rose-red gems instantly burst into flames, the blade glowing with scorching red heat. Sun-Forging system, Category Two, lower-tier secret art, [Scorching].
He made a horizontal slash aimed straight at Fran's throat, then felt an overwhelming, crushing force... Before he could even see the opponent's move, he was sent flying back, sword and all, heavily smashing into the wall.
"Ugh..." Anderson knelt by the wall, vomiting a pool of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
"Nun, let me ask again, are you really just the 'Mistress of Attendants'?"
Haida stepped forward silently in light steps, not responding. She hadn't used a weapon just now, just gave him a simple, unadorned punch... He probably wouldn't die.
Seeing the other's expression, Anderson spat in frustration, realizing he was being foolish.
"Forget it. Whoever you are doesn't matter... Malz!"
"Ah, finally... finally the moment has come to dedicate the remainder of my life to my faith, what an honor..."
Malz tremblingly took out a small ritual knife, curled up, and stabbed it into his own chest. His aged body exploded with a roar, the scattered fragments carrying the temperature and intense heat of molten magma, forming a burning wall.
"Sigrid! Do you see who the person inside that statue is? Don't you have any impression at all?"
Anderson, his face covered in blood, slowly stood up. His twisted features reflected under the blazing molten fire, revealing an abnormal madness.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Vivian continuously pulled the trigger, perfectly hitting the area of Anderson's upper body containing his internal organs, but he remained standing.
"Parts of his body have likely already been replaced with alchemical constructs."
Haida recalled the sensation from her earlier punch; she should have shattered Anderson's spine. An ordinary person would absolutely not retain mobility in such a condition.
And Sigrid had somehow already come before the maiden statue. She stroked its cut-open face, examining the face full of burn marks beneath the metal.
It was too similar. This young girl's brows, eyes, and features were nearly identical to her own.
"Is she... me? Is she the fake, or... am I the fake?"
For a moment, her rose-red eyes flickered slightly, a flash of understanding passing through.
"I am the one forged by alchemy, the false 'Sun'?"
Sigrid fell to her knees. Her original posture and form began to warp and peel away, transforming into a straight double-handed sword engraved with sun patterns amidst the molten fire.
The entire blade was almost entirely composed of pure sunlight, majestic, blinding, blazing gloriously, impossible to look at directly.
"Witnessing the sun before welcoming death shouldn't leave regrets, right? Even if she is a man-made 'False Sun.'"
Anderson laughed bitterly, picking up the sword Sigrid had become, and pointed it at Haida.
"Let's go again!"
"What on earth is going on..."
Vivian aimed her pistol tightly at Anderson, who had now merged with the scorching wind and molten fire, gritting her teeth.
Earlier, when Dr. Fran gave the early reveal, she had only shown the young girl inside the golden statue who looked exactly like Sigrid.
From that, she realized the Sigrid outside was the "fake" and was also highly likely to be the true culprit of this case.
But the current situation made the truth somewhat confusing. The librarian Malz directly sacrificed himself to block Sister Haida; the "Falling Sun Rider" Anderson clearly took on the posture of the mastermind; and Sigrid had directly turned into a sword...
"The truth isn't actually hard to understand, Agent Vivian."
Fran handed a bucket of popcorn coated in slightly warm caramel to Vivian, then took a piece from it and deftly tossed it into her mouth.
"None of the survivors are innocent. Malz and Anderson are both believers of the 'Primal Sun.' They were the ones who facilitated this forbidden alchemy. And the Sigrid before us is the alchemical creation obtained by sacrificing everyone in the Sun-Forging Spire—the 'False Sun.'"
"She possesses the real Sigrid's way of thinking and memories; perhaps it's even her soul driving the actions of this entire alchemical body..."
"Enough!"
Anderson had clearly heard enough of Fran's explanation. He swung the False Sun Sword in his hand, thrusting straight towards her.
The high temperature made the air passing the blade edge so scalding it was almost distorted. Haida once again drew her folding knife, firmly intercepting it.
But the red-hot metal was transmitted from the False Sun to her folding knife almost instantaneously. The engraved Secrets-Hunter prayers on it began to burn.
Haida had no choice but to withdraw and retreat. From just one contact, the blade edge of the folding knife was nearly melted, and the prayers were completely incinerated.
"Can you feel it? What true magnificence is! Even if only stealing a faint glimmer from its billions of fragments, such power can be displayed! Nun, the power you possess is nothing but fireflies in comparison..."
Anderson's expression was reverent and fanatical, gazing entranced at the double-handed straight sword in his hand, completely disregarding that his eyes were already bloodshot from the intense light.
Haida drew in a slightly hot breath, lowering her gaze slightly.
Anderson's bones and internal organs contained alchemical structures; ordinary external injuries would likely have a hard time rendering him immobile quickly.
Currently, the safest method was to destroy the structural integrity of his body—simply put... dismember him. But with such a large movement, it would be difficult for her to avoid the False Sun's blade edge.
But now the arrow was on the bowstring; it had to be released.
"Please wait a moment, Sister Haida. During the last house call, didn't I say I would give you a collection piece as a gift? I originally intended to process it myself first... but now it seems letting you try it might be better."
With Fran's voice, a broken, aged, yet extremely oppressive greatsword landed in front of Haida, its blade point thrusting straight into the ground.
"Alright."
There was no room for a moment's hesitation during a clash. Haida gripped the [Damaged Power Sword] with both hands, pulled it out, and met the False Sun sword releasing flares and scorching wind head-on.
In that instant, the dust and rust on this power sword, damaged for years, fell away. A cold light flashed suddenly, as if reborn anew.
The swords clashed once, then separated. The two returned to their original positions.
"Tsk, a sword-shaped relic?"
Anderson's hands now bore several deep, bone-revealing lacerations. Shattered metacarpal bones protruded from the skin; blood fell on the sword hilt, then boiled and evaporated.
As a battle-experienced "Falling Sun Rider," this was the first time Anderson had felt such a sense of defeat in combat. This nun before him was clearly so young, yet her combat experience was extremely seasoned, and her physical prowess was like that of a humanoid Evil Spawn.
She could even shatter the bones in his arm just from the force transmitted through the blade edge... Are you fucking even human?
Haida's condition wasn't great either. The flames on the "False Sun" posed too great a threat to her, making close combat completely impossible. Her arms now bore many burns, and her form-fitting nun's robes were gradually becoming tattered under the licking of the fire tongues.
The temperature inside the alchemy room was getting higher and higher.
Haida silently raised the Executioner Greatblade, adopting a classic greatsword stance.
The high temperature of the False Sun was spreading and transferring quickly; this place would gradually become the opponent's domain... Therefore, she had to decide the outcome, determine life and death, in the next strike.
"Not going to wait any longer? So impatient... What happened to the patience the Burial Court is so proud of?"
Anderson naturally sensed the obvious, sharp killing intent in Haida's eyes. He chuckled darkly, swinging his sword to bring forth a large area of flare-like light and flames that nearly enveloped the entire room.
The scope of the impact was so broad that Fran had to quickly evacuate the room with Vivian. The half-bucket of popcorn left mid-air also turned to ash.
Boom!
The golden doors slammed shut abruptly, instantly completely isolating the entire alchemy room from the outside.
"Even for a duel, he specifically creates a sealed arena? Mr. Anderson truly has a sense of ceremony."
Fran looked at the now red-hot doors, somewhat regretful she couldn't witness the conclusion of their battle.
"Dr. Fran, is this really the time for such talk? Sister Haida might be in danger..."
The situation was critical, Vivian had to remind her.
Although she knew Haida was among the top fighters of the Burial attendants, the False Sun Sword was, after all, a forbidden-level alchemical creation... She really had no confidence about who would win or lose.
"Have a little faith in Sister Haida. Even if there's an unexpected situation... I have a backup plan."
Fran's expression was relaxed, her pale, frost-like ear feathers slightly perked up, seeming not anxious at all.
A tremendous boom sounded. The golden doors burst open, releasing a high-pressure heatwave and billowing smoke.
"Hah..."
In the choking, scorching smoke, the figure of the person holding the False Sun Sword could vaguely be seen.
Vivian tensely raised her gun.
Then she saw Haida, covered in flames, coughing continuously as she walked out of the alchemy room. In one hand, she held the False Sun Sword; in the other, the Executioner Greatblade. Anderson's limp body was kicked out by her foot.
This "Falling Sun Rider's" neck was dislocated; the scene in his eyes was frozen at the moment Haida broke through the flare fire wave and swung her blade at him.
"Sister Haida... you won?"
Vivian's tone held disbelief. Though it was said the Burial Court was full of obsessives and madmen, was Sister Haida really this strong?
Haida's reliability rose sharply in Vivian's mind, almost equivalent to Jerry's big cousin.
"Yes. It's resolved."
With that, Haida put down the two double-handed straight swords in her hands. She slightly closed her eyes; a feeling of weakness surged up quickly. As she was about to collapse, Fran stepped forward and steadily caught her.
"Burns, inhalation of excessive harmful smoke from combustion, high temperature also induced acute heatstroke. Oh, possibly also radiation damage... After all, that sword clearly looks radiation-exceeding."
Fran placed her fingertips on Haida's neck, immediately feeling the powerful pumping of blood and an astonishing scalding heat.
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(T/N: Bonus chapters since I forgot to update yesterday.)
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL