Chapter 22: Punishment

Merpo Mene.

He was a chimera creator and an elder of the Heavenly Church, but his life had not been smooth sailing from the beginning.

During the Empire’s huge chimera extermination campaign, he had barely managed to cling to life and became the sole survivor of his group.

Enraged at the fact that he alone had survived while leaving behind his comrades who bled and died beside him, Merpo came to regard the Empire as his mortal enemy and disappeared into hiding while sharpening his blade of vengeance.

Looking back, one could say it was the original sin of those who treated human lives as less than insects and continued their disgusting experiments. But wasn’t the world always like that? Where the ones who committed evil acts lived more shamelessly?

And so, while enduring humiliation and patiently biding his time in the shadows, continuing his research and preparing a sword of revenge against the Empire, Merpo was approached by a suspicious group.

A shady organization called the Heavenly Church.

At first, he doubted the offer of this group he had never heard of and tried to refuse. But in the end he gave in; he was swayed by their sweet words promising to help him carry out his revenge, and by the unfathomable depth of power possessed by their leader, whom they reverently called “Him”. And just like that, Merpo devoted himself to the Church.

Years passed since he had joined their ranks.

Now, having gained recognition for both his power and contributions, he had risen to the position of Elder. Yet lately, he was troubled by the stagnation of his research.

Chimeras were commonly thought to be creatures driven purely by instinct. That they were beings who existed only for destruction and slaughter. But that wasn’t the whole truth.

There were, in fact, different levels of chimeras: from the uncontrollable lowest class that lived solely for killing to superior beings that possessed both intelligence and strength.

Creating a creature that was simply strong and violent was easy enough. But how was he supposed to create a being that retained human intelligence?

If only the comrades he had once worked with, those who shared his goals, were still alive.

No… if even a single member of the former leadership had survived, he could have learned the sacred methods that held such eternal glory.

But with all records and data having been destroyed, he now had no choice but to discover that secret entirely through his own abilities.

Creating a chimera was no different from forcing a human and a dog to mate and produce offspring. It was an act of defying the natural order itself.

Naturally, there was no way a creature that conveniently possessed both the strengths of humans and monsters while being easy to control could ever be born.

Then, one day, while experimenting on a virgin kidnapped by the Church, he managed, however faintly, to create a creature that displayed signs of intelligence. This discovery ignited new momentum in his research.

If I use mages, those who can handle mana, as the medium — their intelligence can be preserved!

It had been a coincidence, but the results were extraordinary.

Ordinary people would lose their consciousness and sense of self during the fusion process with monsters. And then they would become chimeras driven purely by instinct and thirsting for blood.

But in the case of mages, the mana core within them instinctively protected their minds and suppressed the monster’s instincts from invading their consciousness.

Of course, perfect control was impossible, so it couldn’t completely prevent fusion…. but even so, they could be born retaining at least a shred of reason throughout the process.

And so, day after day, Merpo continued his research. Either by kidnapping nameless mages or luring them with deception to his underground laboratory, all with the Church’s support.

Then came the day when, following the Church’s orders to plunge the Academy into chaos, he lent them one of his experimental subjects…. and ended up encountering an unexpected connection.

The one who defeated the test subject chimera with a single blow. Lady Eus.

Sensing that his grand ambition might be fulfilled through the potential she possessed, Merpo immediately devised a plan to kidnap her.

Everything had gone smoothly and he was on the verge of realizing the grand cause he had always dreamed of.

“Gahaaagh!!”

But then in a single moment…. everything collapsed because of one unforeseen variable.

***

Drip—!

“Kuhup!!”

Th-This… this is impossible!

Merpo was deeply horrified by what had just happened to his own body.

What kind of body was this, after all?

He had been creating chimeras while simultaneously experimenting on his own body, replacing parts of it with those of monsters or chimeras.

Of course, since every piece he used came from monsters on par with master-level beings and not just any random creature….he believed there was nothing in this world that could overpower him by force.

And in truth, he was almost right.

But—

“H-How—! How dare someone like you leave a wound on my body!?”

The swing of the boy’s arm, who looked barely past his teenage years, had been simple and unimpressive. But the force contained within it was not something to be taken lightly.

Apparently, the boy was swinging his weapon rather halfheartedly, perhaps in an attempt to prevent the basement from collapsing. Yet the aura compressed to its extreme was tearing apart Merpo’s body. A body that could casually block even a master’s sword.

Just moments ago, the boy had effortlessly killed Jackal, one of the Numbered, and without hesitation, had immediately launched a kick at Merpo.

Merpo who was stunned by the incomprehensible scene had briefly lost sight of the boy’s movements, and that brief moment had led to his current predicament.

With a single kick, the boy had sent Merpo’s body which was harder than steel flying. Then, as if mocking him, the boy had even displayed a technique that released aura externally.

It seemed the wounds inflicted on Merpo’s arms and legs were intended for subduing him, but had the boy gone all out, his limbs would have been shattered to pieces.

Damn it, my ribs are broken. It’s going to take quite some time for the stab wounds on my abdomen and limbs to heal. Where the hell did a monster like him come from?!

Even though replacing his body with parts from monsters had drastically enhanced his durability and regenerative abilities, the wounds inflicted by the man before him showed no sign of healing easily.

Unlike chimeras whose minds and bodies were fused into one, Merpo’s body which was just grafted together with monster parts was somewhat less effective than a true chimera. Still, it possessed physical abilities that far surpassed those of an ordinary human.

It was thanks to this indomitable body that Merpo, a man closer to being a scientist, had risen to the rank of Elder within the Church.

For someone like him, being so helplessly overpowered was an unbearable shock and humiliation.

“Khk! Numbers! All of you, come out! Kill this bastard!!!”

Perhaps realizing that things couldn’t go on like this, he released the magical seals that had bound the Numbers all at once.

They were his secret weapons, carefully preserved for the purpose of toppling the Empire. But what meaning would any of that have if he died here and now?

As the chimeras burst through the stone chamber they had just passed and stormed into the laboratory, Merpo flashed a triumphant smile.

To put it mildly, the chimeras’ appearances were far from acceptable.

Every single one of them looked grotesque and disgusting, and their minds were already worn down to the limit by endless experiments and confinement, which only amplified their brutality.

“To think you’ve reached Aura Master at that age… you’re truly worth coveting. Even if I lose the Numbers, if I can capture you, it’ll be more than worth it.”

At Merpo’s mention of Aura Master, Selene who had been blankly watching the scene unfold turned to Mars in shock.

Mars was twenty years old. To think that he had reached the level of Aura Master at the same age as herself….it was a realm so difficult to reach that most would never reach it in their lifetime, and even the most experienced swordsmen were said to reach it in their forties or fifties. And yet he had achieved it at such a young age.

But despite his realm being exposed, Mars’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. This made Merpo click his tongue in annoyance.

“Seems like you’re at quite a high level even among Masters, but that’s as far as you go. Do you see these chimeras?”

Each one was a monster capable of destroying an entire city.

Though they weren’t perfectly controlled yet, they would no doubt relish and faithfully carry out a command as simple as killing a single person.

“They were created using Aura Experts and fifth-star mages as their base. It might not sound like much to you, but after becoming chimeras, their power has ascended to an entirely different dimension.”

Not only had their strength improved. Their intelligence had as well.

Though not comparable to humans, the creatures had developed intelligence on par with dolphins or chimpanzees. Enough cunning to coordinate with one another.

No matter how young he had been when he became a Master, there was no way he would escape the clutches of those chimeras.

“Restrain him! He’s a valuable specimen. Do not kill him!”

– Kieeeeeek!!!

– Kyaaaaack!!!

Brutish strength, speed too fast for the eye to follow, razor-sharp fangs and claws, and attacks laced with poison and fire.

The chimeras, each flaunting their own special abilities, charged at Mars all at once.

Or so they thought…

“……?”

“……?”

Huh?

Where had he gone?

There had only been a brief flash of light.

As that faint gleam traced across their vision from the sword gripped in the hand of the man surrounded by chimeras…

The chimeras that had lunged at him were suddenly nowhere to be seen.

…No, it wasn’t that they were gone.

It was swordsmanship so fast it defied the eye.

In that brief shimmer of light, how many strikes had there been? Tens? No, hundreds.

No… perhaps even thousands.

…Drip. Drip. Drip.

The sound of falling rain echoed, belatedly reaching their ears.

One might wonder how the sound of rain could be heard in the stillness of an underground room. But this was not rain falling from the clouds.

It was the sound of blood dripping. Blood shed from the bodies of monsters.

No… way.

He had cut them down.

The chimeras.

With countless slashes too fast for the eye to follow.

They were sliced apart completely. Into tiny, scattered pieces.

“I was planning to keep at least one of them alive and make them confess who they were and what they were doing.”

In an instant, the atmosphere changed.

The killing intent that had been faintly lingering since the moment they entered this laboratory now began to rise, thick enough to distort the air like a mirage.

“But it was just too noisy. All those screams, begging for death.”

Yet, not a single person had actually screamed.

Then whose screams had he heard?

Were they from the souls of the dead, now wandering as vengeful spirits? Or were they the final death cries of the souls trapped within those chimeras?

“There didn’t seem to be any reason to let them live. So I cut them down.”

Impossible.

Merpo had seen an Aura Master with his own eyes.

There was even a monster who had reached the edge of mastery among his fellow elders.

But even that one could never pull off something like this.

No ….no Master could ever display such skill. Because it was simply impossible.

Which could only mean one thing. A single, unthinkable hypothesis.

As absurd as it was, it was the only explanation that fit.

“No way…! You, you’re not a Master. You’re a Lo—!!!”

Slice.

But those words never had the chance to reach their end.

He had been cut down.

…No, had he been cut?

His mind remained conscious, but his body refused to move.

A cold, chilling sensation slowly ate away at his entire body.

The feeling of crumbling away, starting from the tips of his toes.

He barely managed to roll his eyes downward to look at himself, but strangely enough, his body was perfectly intact.

No wounds. No pain.

And yet, everything was fading.

The consciousness he had been desperately holding onto was beginning to blur.

Only then did he realize it.

Ah… what he cut down was…

He had cut down his soul.

So that he could not enter reincarnation. So that he could not even fall into hell.

He had severed the soul of the man he was and erased it for all eternity.

Soul Severance.

And so, the evil soul who had stolen away countless lives—

Without leaving behind so much as a final word, he was eternally and permanently erased from this world.