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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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“Welcome back, Young Master!”
“Indeed.”
After finishing the church’s business, I returned to my usual life.
Of course, not to the Duke’s mansion, but to the dormitory provided by the academy.
In any case, I had secured the church’s support, and with that incident having occurred, I had no desire to stay any longer.
“Young Master! Dinner is-”
“I’ll eat later, Ella.”
“Yes, sir.”
Of course, there was no time to rest.
I felt bad for Ella, who had been waiting for me, but I had more pressing matters to attend to.
The news that had reached me as soon as I returned to the academy:
The midterm evaluation results were out.
Having hunted an Mid-Rank monster, I was naturally ranked among the top students,
And that meant I had no more obstacles.
No more reasons to hesitate in using the [The Cursed Clockwork].
A magical tool said to grant control over souls.
Even just holding it, I felt a chilling energy gathering in my hand.
I hadn’t attempted the trial yet.
Even if I succeeded, it would be useless if I couldn’t control it, so I hadn’t bothered.
But now, it didn’t matter.
There was no one to stop me.
If I could control souls after passing the trial, there was something I had to do, immediately.
There was no reason to delay any longer.
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As the assimilation began, darkness enveloped me.
After a moment, a horizontal slit of light appeared in the darkness, like the inside of a dark box.
I saw an old, wrinkled hand.
And magical circuits, glowing and pulsing beneath the skin.
The white lab coat suggested it was a researcher, a scientist.
I looked up and saw a large glass container filled with a strange liquid.
And a little girl, no older than seven.
Attached to the girl’s right arm was a grotesque, fleshy mass, covered in dozens of mouths, wriggling and squirming against the glass like a slug.
I stared at the disturbing scene, questioning my own sanity, and then, memories, not my own, flooded my mind.
This body’s owner was a scientist conducting inhumane experiments, his goal was the domestication of monsters.
He abducted children from all over the country for his experiments.
And he had been doing this for three or four years.
The memories of his experiments, the horrors he had inflicted, filled my mind.
Tentacles, implanted into bodies, multiplying and spreading, bursting from a boy’s eyes,
A brother’s brain, extracted and implanted into a monstrous beast, then forced to watch as it devoured his younger sibling,
Experiments to determine if monsters, given human genitalia, would develop a sexual attraction to humans.
Children, his grandchildren’s age, screaming and pleading behind the glass, but his face remained impassive.
This man, who committed such unspeakable acts without hesitation, believed he was serving humanity.
He stood there, calmly observing, in a place where any normal person would be retching and fleeing.
I wanted to curse him, but I couldn’t.
My lips were sealed shut, as if bound by an invisible force, and then, I heard footsteps behind me.
“Doctor, experiment number 572 has been terminated.”
“Reason?”
Another researcher delivered the news, and my mouth, finally, opened.
My voice, cold and detached, betrayed no emotion.
“The subject experienced an immediate rejection response upon implantation. The monster invaded the circulatory system, causing reverse blood flow.”
“Death by blood clot?”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“A shame. Test subjects are becoming increasingly difficult to acquire these days.”
“…”
“Is this child the only… remotely successful experiment?”
He wasn’t remorseful, only annoyed at the difficulty of acquiring more test subjects.
And the emotions I felt now,
His genuine belief in the righteousness of his actions, disgusted me.
His convictions, his mindset, his thoughts, flooded my mind.
Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, my own sense of self began to fade, and then, a red warning light flashed on the ceiling.
And as it flashed, another researcher rushed in.
He dropped the files he was carrying, his urgency alarming the doctor.
“What is it?”
“D-Doctor!! The s-subjects-”
His words were cut short.
His head was crushed by a fleshy mass.
The mass, no longer bright red, but a darker, more sinister crimson, turned towards us, and a single eye emerged from its surface.
“D-Doctor, th-that…!”
“Is it… a success…?”
“Sir…?”
The first researcher trembled, but this body walked towards the fleshy mass.
There was no fear, only exhilaration.
“My experiment… it’s a success…! Humans… can control monsters… ha… haha!!”
“Y-you monster-”
The scene repeated itself.
The researcher’s headless body collapsed, and a single eye stared back at me.
“Ha… ha… haha!! Magnificent! Truly magnificent!!”
“…”
“Who should I tell? Who should I tell to regain their respect…?”
Before he could finish, a tentacle brushed against his cheek.
It silenced him,
And another tentacle, bright red, slithered past him,
Then settled behind him, as if in reverence.
A small, delicate foot stepped onto the tentacle.
“You… you…”
“…”
“You… were the successful one, after all!!”
It was the little girl.
The girl with the fleshy mass attached to her right arm.
She looked around, then, her delicate lips parted, her voice a soft question.
“Why…?”
“Hmm?”
“Why… did you do this… to us?”
Her lips formed the question, and her bright eyes held a deep resentment.
Her left hand trembled as she touched the crimson mass on her right arm, and then, her emotions flooded my mind.
A viscous, overwhelming resentment.
Could words even express the depth of her hatred?
And this body’s owner’s response…
Was, surprisingly, indifference.
“What are you talking about?”
“…?”
“I saved you from becoming societal outcasts, made you useful to humanity…”
“…Ha.”
His face, his mind, were filled with confusion.
He genuinely didn’t understand what he had done wrong.
Not a single shred of remorse.
And upon hearing his words, the girl’s resentment intensified.
His calm indifference, his insistence on his own righteousness, clashed with her pure, unadulterated hatred.
My mind reeled, overwhelmed by the conflicting emotions.
A burning inferno and a chilling void collided within me.
And then, a searing pain shot through my right arm.
The feeling of something being ripped apart.
And a voice.
“Huh…?”
“My right arm, first…”
“Gaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
The girl’s right arm moved, and the crimson mass behind her consumed my right arm.
Or rather, devoured it.
“Two eyes… Veron, wasn’t it…?”
“Gaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The girl didn’t stop.
She spoke another name, and my eyes were gone.
“I wonder if he even remembers Bern?”
“W-why… gurgle…”
“He was my friend, the one who died when tentacles burst from his eyes, thanks to you.”
“Aaaaagh!!”
She pressed the fleshy mass against the doctor’s empty eye sockets,
And after a moment, flowers bloomed.
Grotesque, writhing flowers, pulsating with a monstrous life.
I felt his pain,
Something taking root within my own eyes.
And her rage, though slightly subdued,
Burned even hotter.
“Why… why are you doing this?”
“…Why?”
“Y-yes! At least tell me why-”
My mouth wouldn’t open.
Something was blocking it.
“Why, why, why, why?!!!!”
“Gurgle…”
The rest was mundane.
Just pain.
The girl’s rage was so intense, it was almost devoid of emotion,
And the man, consumed by pain, had no capacity for anything else.
His stomach was sliced open, his organs pulled out, something wriggling within his intestines, but it eventually ended.
The man died first.
And then, the light faded.
A dark red cube appeared before me.
I knew, instinctively,
That this was the artifact’s core.
“Is it over?”
[…Yes.]
As I prepared to leave,
I heard its voice.
[…Do you… think I was wrong?]
“…”
[I… I…!!]
“Shut up and let me out.”
I cut it short, silencing its pathetic attempts at justification.
I had felt its convictions, its unwavering belief in its own righteousness, but that didn’t absolve it of its crimes.
Compared to the countless children it had tortured and killed, its death had been merciful.
At least it had died human.
As soon as the words left my lips, the cube vanished, and a blinding white light engulfed me,
And then, I was back, standing in my own body.
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≪The Cursed Clockwork≫
Ready for use.
This artifact contains the resentment of countless children.
Their hatred and despair have formed a viscous barrier.
These children, praying to even a nonexistent god, wished for escape from this hell.
They longed for an adult they could trust.
And having witnessed their suffering, having endured their pain, having suppressed your own emotions, you have earned their recognition.
With their power, you can see and control ghosts.
You can hear their voices,
And command their actions.
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