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Chapter 64: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter. 64



Luke Aegis, a descendant of the great hero Aegis who protected countless people by subjugating the witch, had always wanted to be someone who could help others since he was young.


Thus, after discovering that he had a talent for healing magic, he steadily worked towards becoming a doctor.


However, after becoming a doctor, he realized that there were too many people he couldn't save with his healing magic, which he had been praised for since childhood.


Most of these were heroes who had to fight monsters directly in the border areas or outside the barrier.


These warriors, who risked their lives to protect others, often came with injuries that even the best doctors couldn't heal.


Every time these brave souls were carried out as cold corpses from the operating table, Luke felt powerless.


To save even a few more people, he obtained a doctorate in medicine and studied anything that might help, but despite his growing reputation, the number of people he couldn't save only increased.


Feeling the limits of medical science, he decided to take a break from work and attended a university reunion.


There, Luke met Sator again after a long time.


Though they weren't close friends, they were aware of each other since they were both considered once-in-a-century geniuses in their respective fields during their student days.


Perhaps it was because he wanted to talk to someone, Luke, who usually didn't drink, had some alcohol and got slightly drunk. He then grabbed the nearby Sator and started to share his troubles.


Sator listened to Luke for a while before speaking.


“I’ve been researching something recently, and if I complete it, I think it can achieve your goal. But I can’t do it alone; I need someone with your medical expertise. Would you be willing to help?”


When Luke nodded, Sator hesitated for a moment, then said in a cautious tone,


“The problem is, this is a very sensitive topic. I need to know how determined you are.”


Luke replied that he would do anything to save people.


Sator smiled and said,


“I hope you mean that.”


After the reunion, Luke followed Sator to a large research facility, having sworn not to reveal anything to anyone outside the project.


Sator triggered a hidden mechanism, and a secret space appeared behind a rotating wall.


As Luke stood in awe, Sator chuckled.


“This is just the beginning.”


In the hidden lab, Sator picked up a transparent jar containing what looked like black charcoal pieces.


Sator explained,


“You know Astra defeated the Witch of Fury, right? These are fragments of her heart, which Astra preserved. Don’t be too alarmed. Our investigations show that they still hold strong power but don’t seem to be harmful to people. Luke, have you ever wondered how powerful witches must be compared to monsters? That’s what I thought.”


Sator smiled, shaking the jar slightly to show the fragments inside, and asked Luke,


“What if we could create a powerful combat weapon with abilities like a witch using this? If such weapons could fight in place of humans, we could save many lives. What do you think? If you want to quit, now’s your chance.”


Although uneasy about using witch remains, Luke found the idea promising.


This was the moment Luke stepped into the 'Witch Weaponization Project.'


*


There are golems that can regenerate endlessly as long as their magic core remains intact, though they can't perform complex movements.


Sator once tried creating an experimental subject by himself. The photo in the data showed a golem made of metal.


“It was too slow and couldn’t harness the power of the core fragment. So I thought, maybe a human form would be more suitable. I made one, and it was better than the first, but ultimately it failed. I couldn’t improve it further due to my lack of medical knowledge.”


The photo of the second experimental subject that Sator showed was a golem with a human-like form made of flesh instead of metal.


Sator then asked Luke,


“I want to verify if the human form is suitable. Can you create a body more similar to a human?”


The third subject created to meet this requirement was a golem with a human-like adult male form.


“The problem is that golems can only follow simple commands.”


The third subject, moving awkwardly, was scrapped.


“Do you know about homunculi, which ancient wizards researched?”


Luke was aware of this. It was a study applied in modern times for cultivating artificial bodies to replace lost limbs.


Homunculi were artificial beings much harder to create than golems but capable of performing more complex tasks. In the past, they were sometimes used as assistants to wizards.


“This seems to be the right direction. However, their durability is too low to be used as weapons.”


Though they seemed to understand more complex commands than golems, the fourth and fifth subjects, made to test durability, often broke apart during simple tasks.


Subjects four and five failed durability tests and were scrapped.


Though no one had succeeded in cultivating superhuman artificial bodies, the two scholars managed to create a strong body with the help of some magic and pharmaceutical treatments.


This groundbreaking discovery was never announced to the academic world due to the nature of their research.


“Now that durability is solved, the fragments are problematic.”


The sixth subject, which passed the durability test, died from seizures, unable to withstand the energy from the fragments embedded near its heart.


“I thought placing the heart fragments in the heart would be right, but it seems too strong to handle. Let’s try distributing them.”


The seventh subject, with fragments placed in both hands, both feet, the head, heart, and abdomen, didn’t have seizures but couldn’t use the witch’s powers.


“It might be better if the form is similar to the witch. How about making it female?”


The eighth subject, the first to be female, showed slightly more strength but still couldn’t use the abilities, so it was scrapped.


“They say the Witch of Fury appeared as a girl with black hair and red eyes.”


When the 9th experimental subject was created with that appearance, it seemed slightly stronger but was ultimately scrapped for the same reasons.


Continued experiments and research led to improvements, including modifying the power source so that the body could move with magic instead of food, making it closer to a weapon. However, without the witch's abilities, it was just a slightly sturdier superhuman.


Amid ongoing failures, Sator proposed,


“...Luke, how about creating a homunculus with emotions?”


Even creating emotionless homunculi was becoming controversial due to ethical concerns in modern times. Creating one with emotions had long been strictly forbidden.


Luke knew this was something that should never be done.


However, he was exhausted.


He was tired of constantly treating the human-like experimental subjects, which he created, that ended up covered in blood due to durability tests.


He was tired of getting used to the acid smell of burning dead experimental subjects.


He was tired of doubting whether what he was doing was right.


Extreme stress can sometimes drive a person mad.


That day, Luke crossed the line he had drawn for himself.


Luke recalled a question he once asked Sator.


Why name the experimental subjects that way?


Sator answered that he took the name from a book about the Witch of Fury.


A homunculus with black hair and red eyes, having emotions.


Codename, Experimental Subject No. 10.


Formal name, Evangeline Decimus.


*


After school, Sylvia sent a message to her attendant waiting at the school gate.


[I'm going to stop by somewhere, so go ahead without me.]


The attendant would probably search for her for a while, wondering what was going on, but she was already walking down the street with Yoon Si-woo after leaving through the back gate.


Since she had impulsively submitted an application to Aegis Academy, this was the biggest act of rebellion for Sylvia, and her heart was pounding.


‘Anyway, is it a hospital visit?’


Sylvia glanced at Yoon Si-woo's worried face.


‘It's unsettling to leave such a scheming guy near Scarlet...’


Even worse, he was the one who tried to drive a wedge between her and Scarlet.


But he was the only one who knew about the hospital visit and had Scarlet's home address, so she had no choice but to go with him.


Matching Yoon Si-woo's hurried pace, Sylvia stealthily glared at him until she noticed something shiny on the ground in the distance.


Looking closely, she saw a familiar red ring.


If it was what she thought, it shouldn't be lying on the ground.


Quickly running past Yoon Si-woo to pick it up, Sylvia checked the inscription inside the ring.


The inscription was unique, likely only existing on this single pair of rings in the world.


What flashed through her mind was the image of Scarlet coldly removing the ring and tossing it aside.


‘That can't be!’


Shaking her head to dispel the bad thought, Sylvia noticed a dark red stain on the ring's decoration.


As a hero, she recognized it instantly.


It was blood.


Sylvia's heart beat with a sense of foreboding.


Scarlet, who was relatively strong.


However, she hadn't shown up at school without any notice today, and now this blood-stained ring was lying on the ground.


No good thoughts came to mind.


Suddenly, Sylvia recalled Yoon Si-woo's ability, which she had seen during field training.


‘He said it could track someone’s location if there was a clue like this...’


Handing the ring to Yoon Si-woo, who was looking puzzled at her sudden action, he seemed to realize something was wrong as he pulled out a dagger from thin air, his face turning serious.


And Sylvia knew that her bad feeling had been right when she saw Yoon Si-woo's expression change.


It was the first time his handsome face looked so menacing.


Yoon Si-woo spoke in a low voice.


“Scarlet is outside the barrier, tied up with chains on her limbs... It looks like she’s been kidnapped.”


Sylvia was sure her expression mirrored his.


Who would be crazy enough to kidnap a hero?


Normally, it would be right to report and wait in such situations.


But there was no guarantee that the heroes responding to the report would make it in time.


Fortunately, there were two people here who were said to be stronger than most active heroes.


Sylvia quietly met Yoon Si-woo's eyes.


He nodded, clearly thinking the same thing.


In the next moment, Yoon Si-woo lifted the slightly slower Sylvia onto his back and dashed off.



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Comments

  1. Noo scarlet stay safe

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the chapter!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Scarlet please get in fury and burn the lab again.
    Tho I don't think sator will be someone that would make the same mistake twice

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thx for the chapter

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's happening jus as i expected.
    What i'm wondering is, first, Sylvia's reaction, because of her family doing this, and also, about MC being an experiment.
    Second, stalker's guy reaction to learning all that.
    And third, if they're going to get there in time before shit hits the fan.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I wanted Sylvia to find out Scarlett's living conditions.
    To put into perspective just how much the mc was sacrificing paying for those macarons and why Si-woo took the step that he did.

    ReplyDelete

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