Chapter 175 : Chapter 175

Chapter 175 : The ultimate doll (4)

While the other Eight Demons moved between human bodies to carry on their will and mission, the Phantom Demon took a different path.

He rejected humans.

What he coveted was not dirty and trivial flesh and blood, but a fusion of human and machine.

Among them, a flawless vessel.

‘The ultimate doll.’

I recalled the brief moments I had encountered the Phantom Demon.

The first meeting was when he personally stepped forward to execute the Poison Demon.

—Poison Demon, you’re truly out of your mind. Are you now spouting even our True Names carelessly in front of humans?

—The sin of neglecting your duty, the sin of abandoning your mission, the sin of deceiving your brothers! As if that weren't enough, you now even beg for your life from a mere human! How much more patience do you expect from us?

—Child, do not be afraid. You will soon be at ease. Although you will forget everything and live again from the beginning, that too will have its own meaning.

From the beginning, he had bent and suppressed my head, as if he had no intention of even making eye contact with a mere human.

The unsettling voice, a mixture of genders, was consistently overbearing.

—This is history, Bihen Benkou.

That was the moment he spoke directly to me for the first time within the sorcery.

That one phrase summarized it.

The Phantom Demon was not a being that could be simply defeated with a sword.

He was an arrogant fiend who considered his mission to be sublime.

While I was briefly mulling over the Phantom Demon, the scene changed.

Like before, Manuan and the lord were standing facing each other in the study.

“Speak up! Why does Deiron know about our ‘ultimate doll’ project!”

“……I’m sorry, Manuan.”

The scene passed by like that.

Why did Manuan bother to insert this brief, two-line conversation?

Soon, a large round table emerged in the darkness.

“Today’s meeting is to unite everyone’s will and promptly execute the ultimate doll project.”

Starting with the lord’s solemn voice, the figures of those surrounding the round table slowly revealed themselves.

They were faces imbued with both dignity and madness.

“I agree. The doll is the key to supplementing human deficiencies and allowing us to be reborn as perfect beings. Now that the time has come, there is no reason to hesitate.”

“It is now time for the world to witness a new humanity. And they must also know the fact that their great creators are us, the Homunculi. We must not delay any longer.”

Most of those sitting at the round table nodded.

It seemed these were the Homunculi.

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

All eyes turned at once.

It was Manuan, sitting directly opposite the lord.

“The doll is not a substitute for humans! It is merely a high-dimensional companion that will benefit our human lives……, that will help humans and live alongside them!”

The atmosphere was just cold.

Some even openly scoffed as if it was ridiculous.

The lord raised his hand to settle things.

It seemed he didn’t want his old friend Manuan to be completely condemned.

“Manuan, are you suggesting we halt the ultimate doll project?”

“Not halt, but postpone. At least until we reach a level where we can perfectly control the automata.”

“Alright. Is there anyone who agrees with Manuan’s opinion?”

The alchemists glanced at each other, gauging the situation.

In the moment of silence, one person raised his hand.

“Manuan, is it because your pride is hurt? You don’t want to admit the fact that the halted project is being restarted by Deiron?”

He sneered with his chin propped on his hand.

In his other hand, he shook a flat glass bottle that looked like a pendant.

A thick, white liquid sloshed inside.

“Giuseppe! What are you trying to say?”

I thought he looked familiar.

‘Giuseppe di Pino.’

It was that guy, the director of the control unit.

He had said he was the thirty-ninth Homunculus and the fifth doll.

He, who had the appearance of someone my age, looked like an elderly middle-aged man at this time, as if time had been turned back.

“What I mean is, nothing changes. The ultimate doll project is merely an extension of the automata we are developing. Small changes gather to create a great leap, isn’t that the way of our alchemy?”

Giuseppe twisted one corner of his mouth.

“In the first place, you were the one who always persuaded us like that when you drew us into the Homunculi, Manuan.”

“…….”

“Whether it’s Deiron or whatever, the important thing is that this is our chance to leap into the mainstream of the magic world. Based on our results so far, this time it will be a groundbreaking…….”

“Shut up, Giuseppe!”

Kwang!

Manuan shot to his feet.

Surprisingly, most reactions were calm.

It seemed I was the only one surprised.

“It’s just empty wordplay! Results? Where are such things? The automata, the dolls, they only look decent on the outside! Are you trying to insist that these flawed things that don’t even meet their design intent and defy human commands are results?!”

“…….”

“We have to admit it. We failed to interpret free will. No, we didn’t understand it at all from the beginning. The automata we forcibly created while ignoring that fact can’t even control their destructive impulses, can they! You call it a mutation, but in reality, it’s not a mutation but a failure. Because not a single one is normal! Furthermore, the doll is far more complex and dangerous than the automata. No one knows what side effects it will produce, or where it will all end!”

Giuseppe leaned back and crossed his legs.

He smiled leisurely.

“Well, we have things prepared for such times, don’t we? They have already sufficiently proven their usefulness. In the end, they will solve all the problems.”

He held up the flat glass bottle in his hand.

The milky white liquid reflected the light.

“I’m talking about the first children we created.”

Giuseppe broke the glass bottle on the table.

Chaeng—!

In the pale puddle that spread across the table, something the size of a fingernail thrashed about as if swimming.

I unknowingly furrowed my brow.

Because I somehow felt like I knew what that was.

‘Grotesque creature.’

The ones I had encountered in Grimlok were all hideous and disgusting and yet, one or two parts that suddenly caught my eye were excessively human-like.

That small similarity stimulated a deeper disgust.

……Just like that small, wriggling something.

“Giu-Giuseppe—!”

Manuan’s scream continued for a long time.

The scream soon faded, as if echoing from the end of a distant cave.

Along with the sound, the scenery was also distorted.

The round table and even the people all scattered like dust and disappeared.

Ujeok, ujeok—

A chilling sound scratched at my eardrums.

Soon, a new scene filled my vision.

Giuseppe, sitting at a dining table, was tearing at the limbs of a grotesque creature, clutching them with both hands.

“…….”

“Chew, chew. What are you…… chew, looking at?”

Hideous flesh was crushed between his teeth.

A purplish fluid flowed down his chin and the back of his hand.

Giuseppe savored it, chewing with his mouth full.

A joy and ecstasy that surpassed the satisfaction of satiating hunger flashed across his face.

Manuan’s face, standing opposite and looking down at him, was distorted not just with gloom, but with devastation.

“……Didn’t I clearly warn you.”

“Hmm? Ahh. Are you talking about the side effects?”

Giuseppe spat out a finger-sized bone from his mouth, then sucked on his own greasy, glistening fingers.

He rested that arm on the dining table and stared up at Manuan.

“The transplant is perfect. There’s no rejection at all. The nerve bundle connections, as well as the circulation of blood flow and power, are stable. The spell formation circuit network is also seamless and smooth. I’d say it operates more precisely than a human brain, even.”

Every time he bent and straightened his arm, a metallic sound like scraping metal leaked out.

As he continued to speak, he nonchalantly used his tongue to clean the debris stuck between his teeth.

Manuan kept his lips firmly shut, as if at a loss for words.

“This satisfaction is, how should I put it, close to a feeling of omnipotence. Compared to that, this can’t even be called a side effect. Of course, I was flustered at first. Because no matter how much I ate, normal food wouldn’t satisfy my hunger.”

“…….”

“But now that I know the solution, it’s not a problem.”

Giuseppe picked up a piece of bone from which the flesh had been scraped clean and shook it lightly.

“Whether it’s a grotesque meal or a gourmet one, isn’t the difference ultimately in the attitude of acceptance, Manuan? Kekeke.”

“……You’ve become twisted.”

“Twisted? Hoo, an interesting thought. Let’s hear it.”

“You’ve become twisted not simply because you chewed and swallowed that hideous creature. The important thing is…… you broke down the forbidden wall yourself. A line once broken cannot be rebuilt. From now on, it will only collapse in a chain reaction.”

Manuan’s gaze deepened.

“Human deficiency is not incompleteness, but proof of being human itself. But since you’ve rationalized that you’ve surpassed that limit, your values and your beliefs as an alchemist are as good as broken. This isn’t just your problem. This entire Grimlok will soon fall ill. And that illness will spread throughout the Kingdom and bring about irreversible ruin.”

Manuan turned away.

“I will not stand by and watch that happen.”

The sound of Manuan’s footsteps as he turned and walked away echoed for a long time.

One step, then another.

The echo grew longer, as if being sucked into an endless darkness.

That echo seemed to represent not just a simple gap in time, but the depth of Manuan’s heavy anguish and a certain decision.

Footsteps, echo, pulse, and breath.

The boundary between me and Manuan gradually crumbled.

When I opened my eyes, I was…….

“You don’t look well, Manuan. Did something happen?”

I was seeing the lord through Manuan’s eyes.

“It’s nothing.”

I, no, Manuan answered, and my gaze moved on its own.

The lord’s hand.

The blue veins under his skin were glowing intermittently.

It was as if a galaxy was flowing inside his body.

If I hadn’t known, I would have been in awe.

Tuhk.

The lord gripped Manuan’s shoulder with that hand.

“Thanks to Deiron constantly supplying living beings, we’re never short of test subjects. Thanks to that, the ultimate doll project will also be able to bear fruit soon.”

“…….”

“Really, this is a revolution. Don’t you think so, Manuan?”

In the end, Manuan turned away without a word.

“About Rosaria’s matter…….”

“…….”

“……My condolences.”

As Manuan turned away again, the sight of the lord hiding his hands behind his back in embarrassment came into view.

Manuan watched him for a moment before opening his mouth.

“It’s fine. She didn’t die, she became a doll, so what’s the problem.”

“I-if you think of it that way…….”

“More importantly, wasn’t I able to save everyone in Grimlok in exchange for that? That is enough for me. Rosaria would feel the same.”

As if bidding farewell—

“With this, I have repaid all my debts to you.”

He grows distant.

I was sharing Manuan’s vision.

Because he had his eyes closed, all around was dark.

I could fathom the depth of his solitude.

When I opened my eyes again.

A large eyeball was visible.

What could be so special about an eyeball, but this was definitely the one I had faced before.

[You wanted to see me?]

The Phantom Demon.

“……Yes.”

Manuan replied.

[Your courage is commendable, Manuan Philippus. Good, I shall gladly oblige. A fellow like you is worthy of a conversation. Your contributions are great, and more importantly, you know how to use your head quite well compared to the other fools.]

The voice, a mixture of male and female, and the scornful tone were no different from before.

However, unlike when I heard it directly, the resonance was much deeper and greater.

Like the difference in the size of ripples spreading on the surface of water.

Manuan seemed to be struggling to fully bear the Phantom Demon’s voice.

His breathing gradually became heavier.

“Why do you wish to obtain the doll?”

Manuan said, looking the eyeball in the eye.

His gaze was firmly fixed.

“I know that you are a being close to omnipotence. Even without the doll, you could take whatever you wish. Why does someone like you treat me this way? With my narrow insight, I cannot possibly comprehend it.”

[Hahahahaha. Why do you torment me so, is that it?]

“……I won’t deny it.”

Manuan acknowledged that the Phantom Demon was a being that transcended humans.

But that didn't mean he offered unconditional worship or bowed in adoration.

[It is precisely because of that aspect of yours, Manuan Philippus.]

“That aspect of mine, what is it?”

The Phantom Demon’s laughter stopped.

[Arrogant and impudent.]

“……Pardon?”

[Think carefully, Manuan Philippus.]

The Phantom Demon’s voice wavered slightly.

[A human dares to create life? And an omnipotent being that serves and provides for them at that?]

Did he touch a nerve? A thick layer of ridicule and disgust oozed out.

[That is no different from the idea of imitating God, and furthermore, making even God serve humans. That arrogance is precisely what I cannot tolerate.]

“I-I was merely……!”

[I—! I have been involved in both the creation and destruction of this land. Even if you do not remember, my traces are imbued in your unconscious mind. The history and beliefs of the Kingdom, even the values you hold to be right, are not free from my touch. If I wish it, you will become an illusion, I will twist the era, and I will completely erase the boundary between truth and falsehood.]

The reason the Phantom Demon hated Manuan was simple.

It was because, as a foolish human, he dared to try to create an omnipotent tool through the doll and the automata.

Manuan and the Homunculi……, they could have perhaps been the pioneers of humanity.

But to the Phantom Demon, all the achievements of the Homunculi were nothing but arrogance.

An obsession to drag them down, to bind them once again in the place of humans, and furthermore, to make them submit under his own authority.

In the end, Manuan was targeted by the Phantom Demon for having gone too far ahead.

[That is why I treat you harshly. To expose your arrogance, and to make you witness the failure you brought upon yourself. So that the things you created with your own hands will ultimately be your judge.]

“…….”

[Look. Even now, you are dissecting my authority in your head. Why do you think you can imitate this too?]

How astounding.

While looking at the same eyeball, while Manuan was having such productive thoughts…….

[Do you think it will work? Impudent fool.]

A guy like me was simply captivated by the impulse to burst that thing's eyeball.

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