“Mmm.”
A groan echoed through the cave being used as a laboratory—its source, Goltche the Butcher, the notorious Biotech Specialist.
“I’ve finished everything… sort of.”
“Let me see.”
Beatrice narrowed her eyes as she looked at the anatomical diagram Goltche had placed on the desk.
“It looks like he’s sturdier than most humans, but I don’t see any clue that would help him overcome the sealing circles.”
“Well, of course not.”
Goltche answered with a slightly flustered expression.
“No matter how remarkable he is, I didn’t have the actual body to work with. I could only rely on the memories you implanted in me.”
“Are you saying the memories I gave you were inaccurate?”
“No, not inaccurate exactly…”
Goltche quickly waved his hands in denial.
“The memories were a bit vague.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“It’s different!”
Goltche quickly clarified the details.
“Because of the sealing circle, he can’t properly use his divine power. And yet… his heart was beating just fine.”
“Isn’t that normal?”
“That’s exactly what makes it strange,” Goltche said with a sigh. “You really don’t understand human anatomy, do you?”
“What was that?”
Beatrice shot him a frosty glare. Goltche, avoiding her gaze, drew a human figure and a heart on a new sheet of parchment.
“The flow of divine power in him is disrupted. Even if you partially restored the channels, it’s only a temporary fix.”
“I know that much already.”
“But here’s the weird part. A regular human wouldn’t last long with such a disruption. Their organs would start failing quickly—especially the heart. Blood would clot or pool, and it’d fail in no time.”
He tapped the sketch with a bony finger.
“But this guy? His heart’s beating normally. That alone makes him an anomaly.”
After finishing his explanation, Goltche let out a faint chuckle.
“If the memories you gave me are accurate, then like it or not, he’s hiding something. Something eerie.”
“Don’t get dramatic. It’s not that eerie.”
Beatrice tapped her chin with a finger, completely calm.
“He came back from the dead. That alone makes him anything but ordinary. I already assumed there’d be a reason behind it.”
“I see…”
Goltche had hoped to surprise her, but her reaction disappointed him. Still, he wasn’t finished.
“In any case, if we want real answers, I’ll need his physical body.”
He picked up his bone saw again, eyes glittering with a mad glint.
“I’ll dissect, reassemble, dissect again—all while keeping him alive and—”
“……”
“…That’s… how I used to treat humans during torture sessions. Right.”
Goltche cleared his throat, shifting gears.
“If I had his body, I wouldn’t need to cut him open to learn a lot. Just look over there.”
He pointed to a coffin-sized contraption beside the desk.
“It’s something I cobbled together with artifacts. A magical resonance imaging device.”
“Magical… resonance imaging?”
“Heh. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained. It measures the body’s internal responses using magical fields and resonance.”
Using information gleaned from years of dissecting humans, war spoils from the chaotic battles between demons and mankind, and ancient relics, Goltche had truly earned the title of Biotech Specialist.
“I don’t just stitch bodies together. I have real knowledge.”
“Obviously.”
“You came to me because you knew that, didn’t you?”
Beatrice didn’t reply right away. Then she nodded slowly, “Right. Whether it was fame or infamy, your name was well-known among the Demon King’s army.”
“There’s no one with my skills among us.”
“Fine,” She gave a small nod, “I’ll arrange a meeting with Clay.”
“Really?”
“But not here.”
This place didn’t suit someone who would become the next Demon King.
“I’m taking you with me.”
“What?”
“And all your equipment too.”
“W-Wait!”
Goltche raised his hands in protest.
“This is my lair! I built it myself! I can’t just abandon it—”
Rumble… rumble…
Beatrice’s aura flared red, and the cave began to tremble.
『You mean this lair that’s about to collapse?』
CRACK! CRASH!
Stalactites rained down from the ceiling. One narrowly missed impaling Goltche, who screamed out.
“You mad woman!”
『That’s right.』
Beatrice grinned, showing her fangs.
『Didn’t they once call me the Mad Dragon?』
At last, Goltche realized.
“Damn it…”
Just whose hands had he fallen into?
♧
“So you really brought him.”
At the gates of Barungenia, the hidden Demon King’s Castle, Clay murmured in disbelief.
“This guy?”
The so-called Biotech Specialist.
Clay had been told about him, but the creature before him looked like anything but a scientist.
Stitches ran across his massive frame, madness gleamed in his eyes, and he held a saw in one hand.
A monster, plain and simple.
“Don’t judge by appearances. He’s competent,” Beatrice said.
Goltche’s eyes twitched as if to say, ‘Coming from you?’
“Granted, he’s not much to look at, but you’ll get used to him.”
“Ha! You’ve got the nerve,” Goltche scoffed, “I’ll ignore the insults. I am Goltche, Biotech Specialist.”
He extended his saw like a handshake. Clearly provocation, but Clay didn’t react.
He had already expected challengers. This was hardly threatening.
“Goltche.”
Clay stepped forward.
“Lin says you’re not likely to be of any real use.”
“…What?”
“She said her knowledge of magic was enough to fix me. That she didn’t need you.”
At the made-up claim, Goltche’s face twisted.
“Hah! That little brat has no grasp of your biology. She’ll just end up damaging your body.”
“Then what about you?”
Clay was now standing right before him.
“Can you do your job?”
“My job?”
“I don’t keep useless people around.”
For a moment, silence fell.
Then Goltche began to chuckle.
“Shouldn’t you be trying to recruit as many subordinates as possible? Are you in any position to be picky?”
“I am.”
Thud.
Clay suddenly jammed the hilt of his sword into one of Goltche’s stitches, splitting it open.
“Gah!”
The seam ripped, and the hilt drove into the monster’s chest.
“Goltche. Do you know how I defeated the demons?”
Clay pressed harder.
Goltche, staggered and unbalanced, could only groan.
“Information.”
Information about the demons—how to fight them, how to exploit their weaknesses.
“There were plenty of ways to subdue them, even without overwhelming strength. Including you, Goltche.”
“S-Stop…”
“But…” Clay’s voice dropped, “You know nothing about me.”
Demons had never seen him as an enemy, so they knew only surface-level information about him.
“You know nothing of what I’m capable of.”
“Guh…! Just pull it out already…!”
“If I do, it means you’re admitting defeat.”
Clay said it without a flicker of emotion.
“Are you really going to yield after just one blow?”
Goltche gritted his teeth. He could retaliate with his saw—but…
‘Interesting.’
Despite his weakened state, this human didn’t act like prey.
‘He’s worth dissecting.’
“I yield.”
Goltche grinned.
“I acknowledge defeat, future Demon King.”
Clay tilted his head.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“What a shame.”
Thud!
“Guh?!”
“I wanted to see what I could do now.”
Clay pulled back the sword hilt with a shrug.
“You're crazy.”
“You don’t know unless you try,” Clay looked straight at him, “I always tried. That’s why I made it to the end.”
Such foolishness.
And yet, perhaps only someone like that could aspire to become the Demon King.
“Now that I’ve accepted your offer, I should report something.”
“What is it?”
Goltche chuckled.
“Yuru attacked Marfane.”
“I know.”
“…You do?”
Goltche stared at him.
“How?”
“The watchtower the former Demon King left behind,” Clay answered easily, “I sent a gargoyle afterward to dig deeper.”
“You saw her? With the watchtower?” Beatrice stepped in, “You saw Yuru?”
She sounded worried. Clay smiled faintly.
“It’s fine. Whatever she does has nothing to do with me.”
“You could’ve waited until I got back…”
Watching them, Goltche frowned.
‘So it’s true.’
Beatrice genuinely cared for Clay. It wasn’t just curiosity.
‘The Mad Dragon… is emotionally attached?’
It baffled him.
“Beatrice!”
Lin came running out from the castle.
“What the—! You actually brought this monster!”
“Heh.”
Goltche swung his saw.
“Watch your mouth, brat. I was part of the Demon King’s army too. I belong here.”
“I’m still working on Clay’s formula! What if you ruin everything?!”
“You want to get dissected?”
The tension rose until—
“What? She kidnapped the crown prince?!”
Beatrice gasped as Clay finished updating her.
“…The prince of Krata?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re going to start fighting among themselves.”
For Clay, it was nothing more than an opportunity.
“And when they do… we’ll make Yuru look like a pawn of the demons.”
To pour more fuel onto the fire.
(End of Chapter)