The Demon King's First General
Chapter 173: Homunculus

Chapter 173: Homunculus

Countless containers filled with a strange, luminescent liquid, each of these contained a child around three to four years old. Their bodies curled like a ball, and their eyes were closed, as if they were not alive, even though there was this slight movement coming from their chest.

The sound of footsteps tapping on the cemented floor clanged. Its echoes broke the deafening silence, then a hushed giggle resonated in the large room.

An old man, along with another person, sauntered, their eyes roaming around, looking at the children inside the tubes.

"Is there any progress, Professor?" The man wearing a top hat asked.

The old man caressed his long white beard and pointed to one of the containers, which contained a young female with ash-colored hair.

"This one here assimilates better than the rest, but..." he paused and looked at the person beside him and continued. "I still can’t determine if she can inherit the blue flames, High Venerable."

Upon hearing his answer, the man nodded, then he moved his head sideways and glanced at the other containers.

"How about the rest?" He asked once again.

With a deep sigh, the professor shook his head and replied. "I’m afraid they can’t handle the genes of the demon king’s daughter."

Then he went and touched one of the containers.

"Like this one," he added.

And after a few seconds, the boy inside the tube trembled, his body convulsing as he grasped for air. Blood began to ooze out from his nose and ears then he exploded afterwards.

"The genetic code of a human, once mixed with a demon’s, resulted in a molecular destruction," the professor stated.

His statement was enough for the man to ponder; he stepped forward and looked at the old man.

"How about elves? What if we use their genes as the main component? Can we achieve results?" The man replied.

However, Professor Sid shook his head the moment he heard the suggestion.

"Elves should be a much better choice for this project, and I love experimen—" The old man was in the middle of saying something when he paused all of a sudden.

He caressed his beard, thinking, contemplating something. Then, he looked at the man beside him, and a wide grin flashed on his face.

"That would do! Please wait for this humble servant of yours, High Venerable," the professor expressed in a hurry.

Without wasting a single second, he stormed out of the room, and after a little while, he came back with a syringe in his hand. Its cylindrical barrel was filled with crimson blood.

Then he went towards the container with the girl with ash-colored hair. He opened its lid and injected the blood inside, mixing it along with the blue liquid.

"The human cells can’t stand the genes of a demon fox-vampire hybrid, but what if we put something capable of infinite regeneration, an elf’s blood for example?" Professor Sid explained, trying to convey his thoughts through demonstration.

The man with the top hat glanced at the old man, curious about what his goal really was. A minute had passed, and the two people were still there waiting for some reaction.

And after a few more seconds, the child’s body began to convulse, then her stomach swelled while her limbs started to inflate and exploded afterwards.

Blood painted the container red; organs and brain matter floated inside.

"Well, that’s not a result we wanted," the man with the top hat said, his expression laced with disappointment.

’I got excited for nothing,’ he thought.

Then, he tapped the shoulder of the old man who was still staring at the bloodied container. He didn’t wait for him to reply; he turned around and began to walk towards the door.

However, he came to a sudden halt when he heard the professor’s laughter.

"I did it! I did it!" He yelled in delight and satisfaction.

As soon as the man turned his head around, his eyes widened in surprise, as if time went into a reversal; the blood from the container along with the scattered organs disappeared.

"Is that even possible?" He asked while staring at the child inside, unscathed as if nothing happened.

. . . . .

The professor conducted more experiments mixing a human, a demon fox-vampire, and an elf’s genes, but he still couldn’t produce an entity that could harness blue flames.

They all failed to meet his standard, even the first product. Most of the abilities they got from the children were about regeneration; he even chose a human cell that was capable of producing fire, yet it still resulted in a failure.

"High Venerable, forgive my incompetence, but making a homunculus with the ability to harness blue flames is impossible for me," Professor Sid reported, his head touching the ground.

He was in a small room with a man sitting next to a window. Despite the sunlight coming from the outside, the place remained dark and unsettling.

"That’s fine; we just try our luck. No need to push any further," the man answered.

On his hand was a coupe glass filled with a red, sticky substance.

"I-Is that really alright?" Professor Sid replied.

He was a little surprised upon hearing the High Venerable’s statement. After all, it was a task he monitored in constant.

The man took a sip and answered. "Yes."

Then he stood up and faced the old man.

"Dispose of all homunculi, except for the first one. Give her an identity, train her, and polish her to be a fine warrior," he added.

Professor Sid felt even more amused upon hearing the command. It was the first time that he saw the man interested in someone.

Without wasting any more time, he lifted his head and stood up.

"I am honored to receive the High Venerable’s order," he stated and left.

. . . . .

A year had passed, and the room with a hundred containers from before was now a large playground for a little girl.

However, her toys were somewhat different from the other children around her age. Swords, knives, and even spears were scattered on the floor.

With a clacking sound of a door being opened, an old man entered the room. As soon as he stepped inside, he raised his hand and stopped the knife flying towards his head by pressing it between his two fingers.

"Oh my! Celestine, you’re getting more precise in throwing weapons," he said, smiling.

Then, he flicked the knife, sending it to where it came from.

"You’re getting faster as well," he added, upon seeing her dodge the small blade.

Afterward, the old man dashed towards the child, and as soon as the little girl saw him coming, she ran with her nimble feet. The two of them played tag in the room, but the little girl was caught right away after tripping into a shield.

"Now that I’ve got you, it’s time to give you your reward," the old man conveyed, and a smile wide enough to reach his ears spread on his face.

Afterward, he held the child on both her feet, a hand on each.

"No! Don’t!" The child pleaded, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Tears formed in the corner of her eyes, but the man ignored his wailing as he ripped her apart before tossing her on the cold ground.

The child’s body was split into two, organs and brain matter, even broken bones scattered on the floor.

The old man stared at the corpse soaked in its very own blood, and upon seeing it vanish at a slow pace, the grin on his face turned even wider.

’High Venerable is right; her ability to revert time even after her death is truly remarkable,’ Professor Sid thought.

Then, he looked at the child that appeared next to him and spoke. "You really live up to our expectations."

However, the young girl rolled her peach-colored eyes upon hearing his words.

"It still hurts! You damn old man!" She exclaimed, cursing.

This particular scene continued every day; there was not a single day that the child didn’t experience death. As her abilities became stronger, she learned how to accelerate time and managed to awaken her Legacy, which enabled her to pause everything inside a specific area. She even tried to revert back the time, but it only worked for herself.

Time flew by, and the child grew up. She became a fine young woman, and her beauty was enough to charm everyone, but due to countless torments she went through, her mentality was a little bit off.

She took killing as a mere hobby, and she listened to no one aside from the old professor and the High Venerable, living her life as an instrument of destruction.

. . . . .

Everyone was baffled, their minds puzzled. With their mouths partially opened, they stared at the giant pillar of blue flames, standing at the center of the city.

Its majestic color reminded them of someone, an entity they considered a calamity.

’Blue? How is the demon king’s flame burning up here?’ They all asked, trying to decipher the real meaning behind the scene right before their eyes.

And just a little while later, their questions were answered as the curtain of flames dissipated, revealing a majestic figure they had never seen before.

A woman with ash-colored hair with blue highlights, shell-like objects resembling fox ears were stuck out above her head while thin fur ran down a part of her shoulders all the way to her hands. She even had six blazing tails protruding, dancing at her back.

Her dress was made of blue flames, covering her privates, and there was a burning tiara at the top of her head.

With vertical slit cyan-colored eyes, she stared downward and pointed her hand to where her gaze was.

A black regalia of a crescent moon with a key penetrating on its side could be seen on her palm, but it disappeared as a giant ball of fire gathered at the tip of her fingers.

. . . . .