Chapter 16: Blue Beard (4)

The name of the Assassin King is never taken lightly.

To assassins, he is a legend, and to those who lived in the same era, he reigned as a figure of terror.

As an alchemist from the same generation, it wasn’t strange to fear him.

But isn’t this a bit much?

“Please, spare my life!”

Count Blue Beard, Jildre.

Just moments ago, he had carried himself with confidence, but now, as if it were all a lie, he bowed his head, pleading desperately to be spared.

All because of a single letter!

Seriously, what did I even do?

Evan suddenly felt a pang of injustice.

If he had known it would come to this, he wouldn’t have shown the letter!

Even if I say it’s a misunderstanding now, he won’t believe me, will he?

If Evan were in Jildre’s shoes, he probably wouldn’t believe it either.

The man was trembling so much—would any excuse even get through?

“I’m not here to harm you. I only came to acquire some materials.”

“I-I’ll give you everything!”

See?

It didn’t work.

Ugh, forget it!

Just get what you need and leave quickly.

With that resolve, Evan spoke up.

“Do you happen to have any Full Moon Phantom Grass?”

“Yes! Of course! I’ll guide you right away!”

Count Jildre sprang to his feet and began leading the way.

Evan followed behind him.

“Hmm.”

At that moment, Lapis cautiously tugged at Evan’s sleeve.

“Evan, Evan.”

“?”

Lapis leaned in and whispered softly in Evan’s ear.

“That man… he reeks of evil.”

“…Reeks?”

“My instincts are telling me. Probably…”

The intuition of the Sin of Wrath.

“He feels like he’s planning to betray you, Evan.”

A chill ran through Evan’s body.

Instead of responding, he fixed his gaze on Jildre’s back.

Yes.

The reason Count Jildre was conducting human experiments.

It came to him.

***

Count Blue Beard.

Real name: Jildre.

An alchemist who had lived for over a century.

As he climbed the stairs to guide Evan, he briefly lost himself in memories.

A long life.

Countless meetings and partings.

Among them was the farewell to his master.

“Master.”

“Hoho, you could call me Father.”

Jildre’s father and master.

In a tradition where only one successor is chosen to inherit everything, he had passed down all his knowledge, the only guide in Jildre’s life.

Yet, despite extending his lifespan through blood, his master had ultimately met death.

“Suppress your cruel nature and live. You must not live according to your true self…”

His master had earnestly warned him.

“Never attempt something like reviving me… Wait for a noble person to come…”

But children often defy their parents.

The only person who truly understood Jildre, and who, due to the cost of lifespan extension, had become nearly infertile.

All that remained was his father and master.

He continued his research on lifespan extension, focusing on reviving the dead.

[Resurrection].

A forbidden act that must never be attempted.

As long as he was bound to the Alchemist’s Tower, it was something he could never defy.

So, he turned his attention elsewhere.

To homunculi.

Artificial lifeforms.

Living golems.

Though information on golems was lost and hard to find, he managed to make progress somehow.

“Hoh. Not resurrection, you say? Reviving by placing a soul in an artificial body… Intriguing.”

The Assassin King, whom he met along the way, took a liking to the idea.

“I like it. When the time comes, I’ll give you something useful.”

Count Jildre waited patiently, gathering the necessary materials.

The most crucial ingredient was “human life.”

Ordinary lives wouldn’t suffice.

He needed a woman with strong vitality, capable of passing it on to a robust child.

So, he took wives.

Concealing his actions wasn’t difficult.

It was common for noblewomen to die.

Especially the wives of a count like him.

After all, weren’t they mere commoners?

With no family to protect or power to wield, their deaths were expected.

Pretending they were accidents, he killed his wives one by one.

Then, he heard a rumor.

The youngest alchemist, Evan Alkart.

The wastrel born to the Alkart Ducal Family.

“His mother died, so he started learning alchemy?”

“That’s…”

“For resurrection.”

“Tch. Poor thing. That’s an impossible feat.”

“A pitiful situation. We don’t judge.”

The limit for resurrection is twenty years.

If the soul isn’t revived within that time, it leaves this world entirely.

Even fifty years of mastery wouldn’t be enough to perform such a forbidden act.

In other words, it’s impossible.

So, the members of the Alchemist’s Tower lost interest, but Count Jildre was different.

It’s possible.

But the truth was, he was still lacking.

The body to serve as the base for the homunculus was insufficient.

There was only one way to make up for it.

He needed a body with exceptional talent in alchemy.

And just then, news came that Evan Alkart was showing absurd growth.

Crafting a high-grade potion in just half a year?

It normally takes a decade to achieve such a feat.

His talent was proven.

All that remained was to lure him to the territory.

So, even when strange rumors spread, Jildre let them fester and even encouraged them.

To make Evan come to him.

And today.

The Assassin King finally fulfilled his promise.

Tap.

“We’ve arrived, Master Evan.”

The sixth floor.

The highest floor, a room entirely remodeled.

Count Jildre stepped aside from the door.

“Inside, you’ll find everything I’ve collected so far. I hope it’s to your liking…”

The knowledge, items, and essence accumulated by an alchemist.

No alchemist could resist such temptation.

Moreover, there were items obtained through deals with heretics who had fled from Arthur.

He’ll definitely take the bait.

Just one step left.

Until the day he could see his master again.

Evan looked down at the back of Jildre’s head.

What he was trying to do.

In simple terms, resurrection.

It may have started with lifespan extension, but it ended with an attempt to defy the law of death itself.

In the original story, it naturally ended in failure.

The first reason.

His knowledge and skill were insufficient to create a homunculus.

A homunculus is an artificial lifeform, an artificial body—a type of golem.

Naturally, he needed to be proficient with golems.

The second reason.

Since it was a near-forbidden act, it required an equivalent exchange.

Five women weren’t enough.

Not even ten.

Even sacrificing his own life might not guarantee success, so how could this work?

“Count.”

Evan spoke calmly.

“Yes, young master.”

“How about you take your hand out of your pocket?”

He was caught.

Count Jildre instinctively realized it.

His eyes gleamed with fierce determination.

There was only one thing for an alchemist whose goal was exposed to do.

Forceful execution.

To push forward no matter what!

Thud!

He touched the wall, activating transmutation.

[Comprehension], then [Decomposition].

The door, which should never have opened, disintegrated, revealing the room’s contents.

At that moment.

A foul stench assaulted them.

Five skeletal corpses strewn across the room, dried blood clinging to the floor, the stench emanating from insects devouring rotten flesh.

And at the same time, smoke billowing from an empty skull.

A cursed artifact spewing smoke laced with a paralyzing curse.

The smoke, mixed with the scent, enveloped them.

“Ugh?!”

Dolph screamed, covering his nose with both hands.

His body seemed to freeze, his eyes blinking rapidly.

Evan, beside him, was quiet.

It seemed to have affected him too.

“Got you, you brat.”

Grin!

Count Jildre flashed a cold smile.

He reached into his pocket.

A glass stone he had kept hidden.

Low in strength but sharp enough to slit a throat perfectly.

Through transmutation, the glass stone was sharpened and shot toward Evan’s legs.

At that moment.

Clang!

“…Clang?”

Something blocked it.

A startled Jildre.

Only then did he notice the leather armor Evan was wearing.

The leather armor had somehow protected his legs.

No way.

Is that a golem?

That armor?

Swish!

The living golem instantly transformed.

Full-body armor.

All that was visible were Evan’s eyes.

Boom!

“Open the antidote.”

The mansion’s wall shattered as a long arm reached in.

It was a golem’s arm.

The golem, breaking through the wall, tossed an antidote, and the curse vanished instantly.

“…!”

A high-grade antidote at the very least!

One specifically targeting a “curse.”

Why would he carry something like that?

Did he anticipate betrayal from the start?

A chill ran through Jildre’s body.

Twitch!

“!!”

He instinctively ducked his head.

Something ominous wriggled in the shadows.

Before Jildre could react.

Thwack!

A golem surged from the shadows, striking Jildre’s jaw.

A liquid-like golem.

Number Two.

A golem hidden in the shadows, existing solely to protect its master.

“Urk…”

Thud!

Count Jildre collapsed, his eyes rolling back.

Lapis looked down at him.

Naturally, Lapis was unaffected by the paralyzing curse.

Her body, bound by the far greater curse of fate, wasn’t fazed by something like this.

But.

…He’s not too angry, is he?

Even Lapis, born with the fate of the Sin of Wrath, was made to control her anger by one person.

She was only worried about Evan’s anger.

As Lapis cautiously gauged Evan’s mood.

Phew, I survived!

A cowardly, safety-first guy.

Evan was simply relieved inside.

I thought my heart was going to stop from the shock!

Thank goodness he was prepared.

Otherwise, he would’ve been done for here.

Good thing I knew in advance.

In the original story, Count Jildre targeted women’s bodies.

Because they were needed as materials, right?

He said men weren’t necessary.

But the reason he targeted them.

Perhaps it was for the “homunculus” he was trying to create?

The reason he didn’t squash the rumors… was it because of this?

What was needed to create a homunculus?

Could it be…

An incredibly handsome appearance?

Was appearance the criterion?

Evan pondered seriously, then realized this wasn’t the time.

It was almost too easy, and he nearly forgot.

“Lapis, Dolph, are you okay?”

“Cough, cough! Yeah, I’m fine!”

“I’m fine too, Evan. Um…”

Lapis glanced at him cautiously and asked.

“You’re not… angry, are you?”

Me?

Why would I be angry?

It was annoying, sure.

But seeing him subdued so pathetically… he didn’t feel much either.

“I’m not angry.”

“Really…? I’m sorry I didn’t handle it sooner…”

The scarier one was Lapis.

Is Lapis angry?

Lapis, the Sin of Wrath.

If she awakened her anger now?

This entire territory would be obliterated.

“You warning me in advance was enough.”

Evan gently patted Lapis’s head.

“I’m just glad you’re unharmed, Lapis. You did well.”

“Hehe.”

Did she feel something in his touch?

Finally reassured, she smiled brightly.

“So, what do we do now? Kill him?”

“Don’t say such brutal things, Lapis. It makes you seem cruel.”

It’s chilling, so let’s not talk like that.

“What now?”

“Hmm.”

What to do?

Wait until he wakes up?

Eh, why bother?

Evan was just a cautious guy, not a pushover.

Getting backstabbed like this?

He’d take what he could.

“Let’s take what we can. We deserve compensation for the trouble.”

“Should I go get it?”

“Stay here, it’s dangerous.”

Tap, tap.

Evan tapped the floor with his staff.

The staff in his hand disintegrated, splitting into several small golems.

Wriggle, wriggle.

The golems gathered, looking up at him.

Evan pointed to the room.

“Take everything.”

Nod!

The golems rushed inside.

Lapis showed interest in the unfamiliar golem form.

“What are those…?”

“Small golems. I split them up to carry things.”

“They can do that?”

“Yes, of course.”

The golems used to deal with Count Jildre were only two.

They weren’t his full strength.

Thud, thud!

Click, click!

The small golems began sorting and stacking useful items.

Evan turned his head and met eyes with the count’s wife.

“Oh, right.”

“Eek!”

She looked utterly terrified.

Hmm, did he scare her too much?

Evan looked at her for a moment, then placed a finger to his lips, signaling her to stay quiet and live peacefully.

Meanwhile, the small golems dragged Count Jildre away.

It was bothersome to deal with him while moving things.

It was like witnessing a crime scene being cleaned up.

Nod, nod, nod!

The wife, terrified, kept nodding her head.

Why is she so scared?

Puzzled, Evan began collecting everything worth taking.