Chương 7: Hemogaster

The final butterfly became a dried corpse after the 73 rd ampoule was shattered. The entire central square quieted down before loud cheers broke the silence. Kayzen took a deep breath and looked down on the pile of squashed corpses. The burnt sidewalk near the tower was now full of broken wings and poisonous dust. He stepped back into the lab and turned on the ward. He'd earned a great victory, but the fight was far from over. There were still multitudes of monsters to deal with.

'I'll leave them to Ms Dullar and others.' One had to remember that it wasn't just Kayzen who had gained access to akashic records. Greenford had the capital to survive now that the biggest threat was taken care of.

'Well, not the biggest.' Kayzen leaned back on his chair and recalled the pair of eyes he had seen in the river. There was no doubt in his mind that there was a fiend class hiding somewhere in this town. Whether it was waiting for a better opportunity or was scared of something else, neither scenario was good for humans.

'Regardless, what I have to do remains unchanged.' Kayzen pulled new gloves on both hands and fastened the plague mask. Caution was needed since he was about to work on the remains of a fiend class, one that had an unknown origin. He moved back and forth and placed the materials according to his needs. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his head as Kayzen recalled the scene of portal opening in the sky. In all honesty he wanted nothing more than to leave this town and explore the outside world.

The prerequisite for that was having enough strength. Kayzen picked up tongs in both hands and dipped them into the tub containing the fiend's stomach. The reason he chose this part was due to the fact that it possessed the highest concentration of Ether after the core.

"Ugh, this fucker was blessed by Gaia or what," no matter how hard he tried, Kayzen failed to lift the stomach. It was just a sack-like chunk of flesh no bigger than his torso, and yet, he couldn't even lift it an inch.

"I think it's you who's gotten delusional after getting that pain resistance," Mike snickered and placed the stomach on the counter with one hand.

"Ahem. When did you get back?"

"Just now. Had to check when someone killed the majority of bugs and drove the rest away." Mike shrugged and threw away the leather glove he was wearing. Kayzen raised his eyebrows at the remark. Only after hearing Mike's recounting did he realize that after his slaughter of the butterflies, the remaining monsters were forced back bit by bit. Mike continued, "What's there to be surprised about? What you did wasn't just some warlock stuff in people's eyes. It gave them courage to stop hiding and fight back."

"I'm flattered. But you didn't come back just for that, right?" Kayzen was all too aware of Mike's behaviour. There was only one thing which would make a magi like him run around in the middle of their experiment.

"You don't have much use for those tusks, right? Since you deal with blood and all."

"Can't say for sure, stay for a bit," Kayzen started working on the stomach while he listened to Mike talking about his progress in improving the trebuchets. What surprised him more than anything was that the old man Rakh'ar hadn't made a single move. Even if his job was to protect Kayzen, there was no way someone employed by the Ashbourne would ignore the people's plight.

"Put on the mask, it's n---" Kayzen was unable to finish his sentence since he, along with the chair he was sitting on, were hauled back to the other side. The culprit being the torrent of blood flowing out from the fiend's organ.

"Damn! Smells like copper," Mike cursed and wiped his face with a cotton roll. He had it worse off as he was drowned in blood from head to toe. His oblong face looked surprisingly good even now.

"Haha, marvelous!" Kayzen ignored the blood on the ground and rushed back towards the stomach. He wasn't worried about hemotoxins since the blood that came out of the stomach didn't belong to the fiend.

"Did your personality change after becoming a warlock?"

"It's revolutionary, Mike, revolutionary! I know how to gut a monster. Do you know why this mess happened? It's because this thing has no guts. And that's not all," Kayzen picked up the titration stand and inserted it right into the fist-sized opening at the top. In front of Mike's widened eyes the entire stand disappeared into the stomach. The same thing happened for two other stands and a can of distilled water.

"You see? It had an external space inside its stomach. It's an unbelievable ability for a mere fiend class. In fact we should name it now. Let's call it Hemogaster."

"That's amazing! Let me see," Mike also walked over and experimented by placing this and that inside the stomach. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Kayzen on the other hand couldn't wait to check out its DNA, but it was unfortunate that the materials he had prepared were doused with blood as well. He had no choice but to put that aside for the time being. First of all he had to clean this mess.

"Sir KayzenAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The poor squire who had come to the lab screamed his lungs out and almost fell off the stairs. Think about it, you open the door and see the floor covered in blood. Worse, there were two blood red men laughing while they played with organs. If this was any other day then the squire might've fainted then and there.

"Relax, relax, it was an accident." Kayzen tried to reassure the young man, but his approach only made the latter shudder even more.

"T-the mayor is calling a m-meeting at noon."

"Alright, we'll be there. Tell him to prepare a room for me. A big one." Kayzen waved off the squire and removed his Apron. The lab had become a total mess, and since he planned to leave the town soon; he decided to pack his things and move out. It was time to put his new fleshy storage bag to use. … Harsh rays from the midday suns tore through the broken ceiling and fell on the dining table.

The wheel of cheese blessed with the golden light was melting with a mouth-watering aroma, yet none had the leisure to enjoy the meal.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please," the mayor pushed forward his mahogany chair and urged everyone to begin their lunch. It was a basic aristocratic courtesy to host a proper feast when inviting someone at the mayor's hall, and it was maintained even after the recent attacks. Kayzen picked up the silver platters and couldn't help but be impressed. The food was hastily prepared judging from the unevenly shaped steaks and raw almonds that were placed on old pastry.

Still, it was thoughtful of the mayor to prepare something to everyone's liking. He took a small chunk of cheese and little bit of everything on the menu. In his eyes there was no need to remain modest or follow etiquette when the whole realm was crumbling apart.

"Hahaha… master Kayzen is as carefree as always." The mayor picked up the wine bottle and chugged it down as if it was cheap rum served in the taverns. The image of a prim and proper mayor drinking like a mercenary was what made everyone relax. Apart from Kayzen and the mayor, there were four others who were attending this meeting. Ms Dullar, the captain of town's guard who hadn't bothered to remove his armour, a merchant who Kayzen didn't recognize, and lastly, the local head of the Mage Tower.

It was a group who represented different powers of Greenford, with the exception of Kayzen. There was no doubt that the fate of this town would be determined on this table.

"I hope the meal is to your liking. Without wasting any more time on pleasantries, let's get straight to the heart of the matter."

"Go ahead."

"Indeed." Everyone agreed with the mayor. A butler came right on cue and replaced the cheese wheel with the sand replica of Greenford. The model glistening under sunlight was different from what they were used to. The Mayor continued, "As you can see, we have suffered a lot of damage. Commoner's district in the west is all but demolished. The school and barracks near the gates are on the verge of collapse. Only the merchant district and the northern side are less affected."

As for the rest, there was no need to mention it. The shrine and the mage tower were unharmed while the central district was safe due to Ms Dullar and Kayzen.

"I've quelled the chaos for now, but I'm not sure we can survive the night," the guard captain rubbed his beard and pointed at the area near the town, "It's safe to assume that the monsters originated from creatures which had evolved within the town. The sudden attacks on school and barracks were due to there being more bugs. What about the jungle then?" No one had an answer to that, so they all looked at Kayzen.

The head of the mage tower was no exception since when it came to knowledge on biology; he accepted his inferiority towards the young man.

"We need to take the initiative," Kayzen replied without hesitation.

"How so? We're in no position to move out. I'm sure Ms. Dullar and Magi Alexus are in a similar predicament." The words of the captain earned nods from all on the table. Indeed, after losing manpower in earlier fights they had too few hands left. Those who had awakened the power to use Ether were still untrained to face the wild.

"You misunderstood. What I mean is here," Kayzen pointed at the river flowing through the town and narrated his theory. The changes in DNA, his theory on mutation, and lastly, the red eyes of fiend he had seen near the bridge. The one who was shocked most was the Magi Alexus. He didn't even wipe the crumbs on his mouth and spoke the words that were nagging at him since earlier, "This goes against everything we know, doesn't it? The bugs that attacked today didn't have cores.

What separates animals from the fiend class is exactly that. And if they're not fiends, then why would they be so strong?"

"In my opinion it's not that difficult to guess," Kayzen waited till all eyes were on him and continued, "What are the monsters in the first place? Why do they, us, and everyone else on Erde fight?

"The answer is resources. Unlike humans, plants and animals are closer to nature. It is easier for them to use Ether and obtain various abilities. The plants accumulate quintessence and refine elemental power which is an easy-to-understand system. Monsters, like us humans, have a more structured hierarchy.

"Animals attain the power to use Ether by consuming the abovementioned plants or some rare resources, igniting their bloodline. Or just random evolution. Either way, the step that turns them into fiends is the formation of the core, an organ that is capable of harnessing the power of Ether. I believe this is something that has not changed." The people gathered at this table were all capable in their fields. The hint Kayzen gave them was enough for them to arrive at the crux of the issue.

Rather than saying that the bugs who attacked earlier were becoming fiends, it would be more apt to say that the base strength of all animals had increased. It was in line with all humans being able to use Ether if they desired. Kayzen continued, "I'm sure you understand the gravity of this situation. It took us eons to reach where we are today; to build a society where one doesn't need to worry about wild animals. But now, that has changed. The cards have been reshuffled.

Those who adapt the fastest would become the new rulers of this land.

"I believe the town is being attacked due to the Ether node. If my guess is correct, then the fiend in the river should be attracted by it as well." What Kayzen didn't mention was that even after all the progress, none of the humans knew how vast Erde was. It was a common consensus that what they had explored was barely a fraction of this realm. What would happen if those from the unknown lands came knocking on their doors?

"Master Kayzen has given a good analogy. If we go along that line of thought then what we have to do is indeed simple: We shall follow the footsteps of our ancestors and conquer this land!" The mayor stood up and took out the sword that was hanging on the wall as decoration. It was time to hunt.