Chapter 189: Behind the rampage of the demons

Chapter 189: Behind the rampage of the demons

“What... What in the world is happening...?”

Time rewinds to the moment just before the appearance of the monstrosity. At that time, Karelvo was in a state of utter confusion. It was because the demons, his creations, and the foundation of his status within the empire had started running rampant throughout the imperial capital.

Karelvo, who was not a demon himself, couldn’t hear the disturbing sound that would drive demons mad. Therefore, the report that the demons had gone berserk came as an unexpected shock to him.

“Lord! Lord Karelvo! Are you listening?”

It was the military officers belonging to the Gnaeus faction who had come to report the demons’ rampage to Karelvo; they came rushing in to report the incident and were also eager to inquire about the cause and potential solutions.

However, the answer they desired never came. Karelvo was in a state of disbelief, as all he could do was gaze out of the window as the roar of demons echoed outside.

“So, as per our judgment, we’ll exterminate all the demons within the capital! Is that acceptable!?”

“Why... How...”

The military officer, fed up with Karelvo’s muttering of “why” like a mantra, shouted before making his exit. To them, demons were rampaging inside the city, and from the outside, Remus’s army was closing in. It was a situation that required urgent action, and there was no time to wait for him to snap out of his stupor. They hastily departed.

Alone in the room, Karelvo wasn’t pondering the cause of his creations going berserk or even searching for a way to stop them. His mind was consumed only by despair over the demise of his glory within the empire.

Since a young age, Karelvo has struggled with a sense of inferiority towards his brother Orvo. He had been determined to somehow outshine his cheeky younger sibling. However, no matter how much effort he put into his research, he couldn’t measure up, and that sense of defeat had twisted his personality.

As a result, Karelvo had gradually shifted his focus from research itself to promoting its results to someone else and obsessively seeking to gain social status. A researcher gifted enough to become a member of the “Seventh Pillar” had turned into a seeker of power and fame.

“How can I turn this around... What should I do...!”

“Well, well, are you clinging to a position gained through the power of others even in times like this? Not very becoming of a researcher.”

Karelvo was preoccupied with how he could maintain his standing within the empire. His thoughts were consumed by this concern, and he had failed to notice Larman, who had entered the room.

In his state of despondency, Karelvo seemed oblivious to Larman’s presence, but it appeared that his ears were finely tuned to the words of self-reproach. Karelvo turned around with bloodshot eyes, but when he laid his eyes on Larman, he regained a hint of composure. The reason was that Larman was dressed differently from his usual self.

He was dressed in sturdy fabric clothing, rugged boots, and a hooded cloak, looking as if he were preparing for a long journey.

“You... what in the world is that outfit?” Karelvo exclaimed.

“What do you mean? It’s quite obvious. I thought it was time to take some time off from here.”

“Time off...? Do you understand the current situation?”

“Of course, I do.”

Karelvo shouted in anger at Larman, who calmly declared his intention to leave. Even though he said he would escape from here, the demons were running amok in the capital, and Remus was attacking them from outside. It would be difficult to escape in such a situation.

However, the word “escape” held an alluring appeal to Karelvo. He had been so consumed by the current, unbelievable situation that he hadn’t considered other options. But as his mind regained its calm, he came to the realization that there was no alternative but to flee when contemplating the uncertain future ahead.

Karelvo wasn’t a military officer, so he didn’t understand the intricacies of the battle in the imperial capital. He had assumed that the capital’s superior numbers would ensure their victory. In fact, he believed that the demons’ activity in the capital would only increase their value, and by extension, his reputation would also increase.

Many of the creatures inside the cages barked or growled, particularly when they saw the demon with the grotesque right arm. Larman completely ignored them as he continued walking down the corridor lined with cages.

“Cough... What are you planning to do?”

“What else can one do here but make demons? We’ll use all the materials available.”

“You! You realize what will happen if you do such a thing! Don’t you!?!”

Karelvo screamed for what felt like the umpteenth time today. When using multiple creatures simultaneously to create demons, there was a high likelihood of the synthesized creature going insane. Even if they succeeded, the synthesized creature’s intelligence would almost certainly drop to a beastly level.

Karelvo had stamped those as failures and thrust them onto the special operations unit. Larman had been present during those experiments, so of course he knew the outcome. Yet he was proceeding with his plan fully aware of the results.

“To begin with, there are no human species to use as materials!” Karelvo said.

“...Huh? You still don’t understand? You’re one of the materials.”

“...Huh?”

Larman’s plan was to create a demon using Karelvo and all the creatures present here before taking advantage of the ensuing chaos to escape from the capital. The escape route had already been secured, and all that remained was to transform Karelvo into a demon.

On the other hand, Karelvo had no understanding of what would happen to him until this point. He believed that he held value as the one who could create demons and assumed that he wouldn’t be harmed. That’s why, after uttering a foolish statement, his face contorted with fear, and he started screaming.

“Stop! Don’t do this to me, turning me into a demon!? If you do that...”

“It will definitely fail. A demon created using everything here will undoubtedly become an uncontrollable abomination. There are too many materials, and the created being will likely become larger than this mansion. However, it won’t have a long life. Though it won’t be defeated, its lifespan will soon run out.”

Originally, the synthesis of demons was a delicate process that required selecting compatible creatures. The simplification of this process led to the issue of aggression among Karelvo-type demons. It was only natural that attempting to synthesize multiple creatures at once would result in failure.

So, what would happen if countless creatures were used for synthesis? Although conducting such an experiment was deemed risky, the outcome was predictable; an uncontrollable and enormous monster would be created.

“W-Why me? Can’t it be someone else?” Karelvo protested.

“No, it must be you. You’ll be labeled as the creator of the rampaging demon. When a monster appears in the heart of the capital, the people of the empire will blame you. You’ll be the scapegoat. In the chaos, I’ll escape, and you’ll have wreaked havoc on the capital... After everything is over, which one do you think the empire will prioritize in their search?”

The reason for turning Karelvo into a demon without killing him was to use him as bait even after his eventual demise. The uncontrollable Karelvo would die sooner or later. While the empire searched in vain for Karelvo, which they would never find no matter how hard they searched, Larman would be already gone.

While they were talking, Larman reached the deepest part of the underground dungeon. There, a large glass cylinder, crafted from rare material, stood in place. Inside the cylinder, which was filled with green liquid, chunks of pulsating flesh floated.

“Now, we’ll use this too. These are the materials I cultivated at your request... it includes the Fire Dragon’s cells.”

“Stop it! Please stooooooop!”

Karelvo’s screams echoed in the dark underground dungeon. However, no one came to his rescue upon hearing his agonizing cries. Just before the synthesis process began, Karelvo remembered the words his loathsome younger brother had once uttered: “You see, you won’t be able to inherit my research. Your ambition is too big for your stature, and it will lead to your downfall. That’s for sure.”

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TN: Man had a worse ending than his brother! Too bad for him, he most likely has no soul expert girlfriend dabbling in soul spiritual arts.

TN: Btw, I returned to chapter 62: Plunder to copy Orvo’s last words, at the same time I read “easykiln” comment and man ... I don’t know if you’re still reading, but kudos to you for analyzing and even predicting Orvo’s situation so far back in the novel.