Chapter 44: Confession |
Beside him, Nels, who had previously broken down, now stood back up with his sword in hand, swinging it toward Jacques.
Driven mad by despair, Jacques had absolutely no will to resist.
What right did an experiment built upon the sacrifices of loved ones have to live in this world?
However, at that moment, Nels directed his blade at the approaching non-human creatures, granting them a swift release.
"Didn''t you despise me?" Nels shouted, fiercely rebuking Jacques.
"Even I had the courage to climb back up and report to the Church."
"What right do you have to look down on me when you''re just standing here waiting to die?!"
Nels''s barrage of questions pierced through Jacques''s ashen heart.
"Are you going to give up just like this?"
The faces of the Old Priest, the elders of the Dartmenerly family, and the patriarch flashed through Jacques''s mind.
A single spark reignited, and his previously dead heart began to beat once more.
"I won''t die like this...!" Jacques roared, swinging his sword.
A surge of power seemed to erupt from within his body, channeling through his blade to cleave apart the surrounding darkness.
Yet, as the darkness was split, no light flooded in. It remained pitch black.
Only then did Jacques realize his true situation.
He was also bound to a rack.
Coarse black hair had sprouted all over his body.
Upon closer inspection, however, one would realize that these black hairs were actually incredibly thin blood vessels.
The Old Priest stood on the other side with his back to him, tinkering with something on the table in front of him.
"Do not worry. Those black vessels on your body are the finest tools for bloodline manipulation, obtained through my research on Nest Beasts."
"It is truly ironic. The dangerous creatures around Sky Spring City were largely exterminated, so I had never actually seen a Nest Beast with my own eyes before."
"Only after I came to this village and treated a Nest Beast parasite for the first time did I realize what an exquisite tool their hair could be."
The Old Priest turned around, holding a potion. The gentle expression on his face had not faded, but now, that so-called gentleness was utterly horrifying.
"Can you understand that feeling? Thinking everything had failed, only to discover something that could drastically increase the success rate." The Old Priest rambled with the particular chattiness of the elderly.
Perhaps these matters had been buried in his heart for far too long over the years. Having finally found a listener, the Old Priest poured everything out to Jacques.
"That recreation of your past experiences was merely a setup to stimulate your mind-spirit and excavate the potential of the Saint''s Bone." The furious, encouraging words Nels had spoken in the illusion were all manufactured under the Old Priest''s control.
Everything was orchestrated by the Old Priest.
"You''re insane!" Jacques struggled with all his might, but he could not break free.
These black vessels pierced deep into his body, suppressing his strength. As the Old Priest walked over, they even burrowed into Jacques''s cheeks, forcing his mouth open.
"Yes, exactly. I went mad a long time ago." The Old Priest frankly admitted in response to Jacques''s accusation.
"Back then, the Church assigned the research mission for the Holy Blood and the Saint Child Project. I began the research with my apprentice."
"Rowan Dartmenerly."
"You might not know him, but you certainly know his son. Yes, Nels." When speaking of Rowan, the Old Priest''s eyes filled with nostalgia and guilt.
He had no children of his own, and his apprentice, Rowan, had been like a son to him.
He originally thought everything would be completed smoothly, allowing him to use the Holy Blood research to advance to the Golden Rank. However, the experiment spiraled further and further out of control. They invested more and more, but the results were negligible.
From using prohibited Floating Whale materials to secure results, to using innocent people with potential as test subjects, they hadn''t held out for long.
By the time the experiment was halted due to a lack of funding and the subjects were sealed away, they finally came to their senses. By then, their hands were already stained with so much blood that it could never be washed clean.
"Rowan couldn''t accept all this and chose to atone. He tried to kill his wife, who had also participated in the experiment."
"Nels''s mother was gravely injured as a result. Rowan''s suicide attempt failed, and I saved him."
"Then they were taken back by the Dartmenerly family."
"Gradually, word of them faded, and I chose to return to the small village of my birth to seek redemption."
The Old Priest continued speaking as he fed the potion to Jacques.
"It wasn''t until the news of Nels reporting his family arrived that I learned what had happened."
"Guilt toward my disciple made me protect Nels."
"Then, I saw the traces of the modifications Rowan had made to Nels, and I realized Rowan hadn''t resigned himself to failure either."
"It''s fortunate that you didn''t leave, otherwise I truly couldn''t bear to continue using Nels as a test subject." Despite saying this, before discovering Jacques, the Old Priest had already been making preparations for the experiment.
Having been forcefully fed the potion, Jacques felt his entire body—especially his bones—burning with a feverish heat.
"It''s getting hot, isn''t it? That''s right." The Old Priest watched Jacques''s changes with a fanatical expression. "Our research was actually on the verge of success back then. We were just missing a little bit, just a tiny bit!!"
"As long as I supplement this final dose of elements, I can complete the Saint Child Project."
"Then I will finally be able to atone for my sins!!!"
Jacques could feel a surge of power overflowing from his bones, rapidly filling every part of his body. He felt his attribute value soaring alongside his inherent Number.
This power propelled Jacques to evolve from the Black Iron Rank toward the Iron Rank.
However, Jacques soon felt the intense heat within his bones vanish.
"As expected, it failed. The Whale Element is too scarce." The Old Priest had now returned to "normal," possessing the calm demeanor a researcher should have.
Yet, this calmness rapidly evaporated moments later.
"Do you know, Jacques? I was originally planning to give up because I couldn''t obtain enough Floating Whale oil."
"But Fate set everything in motion, and Shen guided me."
"At that exact time, Whale Transformation Sickness appeared in the village."
"Everything was so perfectly timed."
"Opper and the others have already set out. I believe they will bring back the materials I need very soon."
"When the time comes, I''ll have to trouble you to test my potion for the Saint Child. Don''t worry, the experiment absolutely will not fail."
"You will also gain immense benefits from this. Because the knowledge the Dartmenerly family stole from Rowan was incomplete, your Saint''s Bone is flawed."
"My potion can complete it, turning you into a Saint Body comparable to a direct descendant of the Dartmenerly family''s progenitor."
Saying this, the Old Priest turned and walked away.
Jacques struggled, trying to say something, but he could no longer speak.
Bound tightly by the massive web of black blood vessels, his vision went dark, and he fainted.