The God of Jesters
Chapter 201 - 3.15.6 The family matters.

Chapter 201: 3.15.6 The family matters.

The "Last Key", was the name given to the youngest member of the group, who also happened to be the oldest.

The old dwarf’s name was Olfa Kanthil, a man who once belonged to a prestigious family of protectors who had protected the lands of dwarves for a century at this point.

A family started by his father, who in a bid to create a clan on the same level as the Ancient ones, did the unthinkable and stooped so low as to marry more than one wife in his life.

A fact that is highly looked down upon in the dwarven society. As for them, they usually mate for life. Either by love or by arranged marriage, once married, a dwarf never falls in love once again or marries another wife.

But Olfa’s father didn’t care for such a tradition. The shame can be washed through achievements, it was only temporary. But a greater family that may go down in history was more important to him.

He wished to be remembered and hence had done his best to spread his seeds as much as he could.

Olfa was the result of that action, he was the 17th son of the family but unlike others, not as talented. Whether it was fate or just bad luck, Olfa was never good at anything, the most he could do was create a little bit of Knight’s Vital energy that strengthened his body, but that was it.

He was never able to become a proper knight. And in a family that is obsessed with prestige and power, he was sidelined from the family. His lack of talent was a stain on their bloodline, and if the word were to get out, the prestige their family had gained after such a long-time effort would be wasted.

So when no one was looking, he was turned into a cripple, his left hand cut before being thrown into the alleyways. The only thing his family left him was. "If you ever come to this city, the next time we take is your life."

Olfa ran from his home country three decades ago, going straight to the only place that would accept him without any persecution, The Republic of Yethel, of course, at that moment it used to go by a different name.

This was why Olfa also changed his name and went by a different name while joining a small cult that promised him food for his services.

But you must be wondering why I just told you the story of the guy who died not too long ago.

Well you see, there is a reason.

While Olfa was in my friend’s hometown, he never forgot the humiliation and the anger he had felt from the people he once called family.

They were not any better than him, beside their father, none of the sons were ever able to enter the rank of Master, all of them were merely at the cusp of adept. But for some reason, he was the only one that was treated this way.

They treated him worse than a servant, worse than a rat even.

So he turned into a rat filled with hate toward his family, toward the father who let all of this happen, without caring one bit for him.

There was a time when Olfa even wondered if his father even remembered him.

And today, his question was answered. The man he had called father for decades, had just now turned him into a bloodmist without batting an eye or caring for him.

There was no emotion behind that attack, it gave him a sleek and fast death. This was the most peaceful death Olfa’s father would give to his son, although completely ignorant of his identity.

"You should have at least heard what your son was saying." Karp put his hand on his face and couldn’t help but laugh at the foolishness of the father that just killed his son.

Making Droloth Kanthil pause for a bit, confused over what these intruders were speaking about.

But soon, he felt it. From the pieces of flesh of what once made up the body of Olfa, a curse welled up. "??"

"What is this?" Droloth panicked as he saw a phantom rose from the killed flesh, with countless chains surrounding its body. A Phantom that

"The curse has taken effect... neutralization of the last wall successful."

"You... what have you done?"

"Why ask us? Ask the very son you killed." The curse is fueled by a human’s negative emotions, it was a common tactic for curse users to implant a weak curse in the body of a human and let it feed on the carrier.

The very same technique that was used on Soros Bloodheart, making him a giant bomb in human skin.

As for the current case? This curse was even more potent. Boosted by the targeted anger and the bloodline sacrifice. The useless son who was forgotten by his father had finally given his father a taste of his own medicine.

The chains of the phantom, who looked awfully a bit like Droloth, pierced his flesh one by one, sealing his body and causing him immense pain.

The chains were incorporeal, unable to harm his physical body. But the Droloth’s soul was a different matter altogether.

Each time the chains would pierce his body and roll around him, Droloth would recall a forgotten memory.

Memory was followed by pain that was getting worse with each round of the chains.

******

In the room, Ivankov watched all of it through his special surveillance screen, made with the conjunction of magic and technology, made to mimic the "TV" that Venkatraman spoke about. They already had a theory, so recreating it in the world of magic was not that hard.

The only problem was the price.

But I am getting distracted.

"Where did this rat come from?" He looked at me surprised, before blowing me up with a small gun in his hand. Unaware that my little minions had already breached deeper into this place.

But that was just a momentary distraction, he kept his eyes on the screen, seeing the actions of the intruders as well as focusing on the tools these men used.

"So he is alive," Ivankov said, tightening his fist as anger surged on his face.

The chemical bombs and fire sticks. All of these were something only "he" could make. "Is this revenge?... That bastard stooped so low to harm my child?"

The face of an old dwarf appeared in his mind.

Although the memory was still fuzzy, he could still recall the events of that day, without an error.

He recalls how the body of that old dwarf was burned, right in front of him. He had checked the vitals and even made sure that it was truly an "organic" body. So seeing his creations see the light of day and being used against him, gave Ivankov Letzer a great shock.

’Did he have an apprentice? Family?... or did someone get his hidden blueprints?’

’Even if he did, it’s not a coincidence that the new owners of those things would raid this facility.’

"N0101, purge all the records."

There are no other choices left than to escape this place.

Ivankov was not a fighter even if he had some strength brought through the modification he had done on his body. And from the looks of things that he saw on the screen, his opponents had planned everything from the start. They were aware of how the defenses worked here.

Including the entire blueprint of the facility, which gave them an advantage while ambushing their enemies.

Not to mention, while being a team that mostly consists of Adept level Knights and a curse master. They were able to take out a Grand Master level Knight using someone even weaker and feeble.

So leaving was the best choice for him. An escape while following the scorch earth method. He was going to burn everything in this place. Destroy all the specimens, whether they were successful or not.

And only bring the most valuable things with him.

Which was the knowledge gained through all these experiments.

With enough data, he would be able to produce similar results in a few months time. There was no need to stay here and die.

"Doctor, what should we do, they will be here in no time."

"The escape car... use it to escape to the outer city. And remember to keep the data secure, it’s the most valuable thing in our research." Ivankov ordered his fellow researchers while he handed them a key and directions to follow, sending the four men in his crew to their deaths.

As for why he thought so?

It was simple, in his mind, he had already considered all routes to be compromised. So using any escape routes that were present during the reign of that man would be stupid.

But the new ones that were developed later?

Now that is another story altogether.

"N0101, when you are done purging the data, go and bring the army to hold the intruders back."

N0101 was the name given to another one of the victims whose skin was brought here to be processed and turned into homunculi. Not knowing her past, she was nothing more than a puppet that followed Ivankov’s order.

One of the many, but due to the special nature of the derived product. She was capable of using curse energies.

It was why Ivankov always kept her by his side and even left her to protect his family not too long ago.

A good choice on his path, as he can only imagine the kind of cruelty his son might have had to experience due to his actions.

And yes, you thought right.

N0101 was the very being that cursed Max, being the only one to drag him closer to death.

The very girl that Max is looking for.