Ansu, who had originally intended to discuss a few things with Celia, found his curiosity piqued by her sudden burst of excitement.
"So, what is this new research?"
"It is exactly what I mentioned to you the other day!" Celia said hurriedly. "That incredibly forbidden, incredibly wondrous flesh magic!"
"Oh..." Ansu suddenly recalled the eerie sight from not long ago—Freya's head covered in tentacles, crawling around everywhere...
It was pure psychological pollution.
This sinister magic was likely the "new research" she was referring to...
"I think I will pass on seeing it. By the way, the reason I came over today..."
"No!" Celia grabbed Ansu's wrist and dragged him deep into the room.
"I have no one else to share such an interesting new magic with! You must watch it with me!"
Ansu looked helplessly at the radiant Celia, sensing that she truly loved researching magic.
Celia's room was indeed massive, filled with bookshelves and various magical materials. Ansu was pulled toward a row of shelves at the very back. Celia stepped forward and softly chanted an incantation.
Following that, the bookshelf slowly opened like an "Open Sesame" mechanism. A wave of cold air hit them, and a dark, eerie passage appeared directly ahead.
"Follow me~"
Under Celia's guidance, Ansu stepped into the darkness. The magical lights along the sides of the secret passage flickered on instantly.
It was a downward-sloping tunnel. After following Celia for about two minutes, the space ahead suddenly opened up. A circular altar covered in dense, twisted symbols appeared before his eyes.
"This is...?"
Ansu's attention was drawn to the object atop the altar, and his eyes widened.
Under the flickering glow of eerie blue flames, a bloated, deformed monster was pinned to the altar with iron chains and nails. The creature had four pairs of hairy, long legs grafted onto it, resembling those of a magic spider. Numerous twisted, thick tentacles swayed atop its head, giving off an indescribable sense of evil...
But what was most eye-catching, or rather, most unsettling...
Was a fat, swollen human face squeezed between several fleshy tumors, currently letting out low, beast-like growls...
Though the face was twisted and deformed, Ansu instinctively recognized its owner.
"Ms. Mary?"
"Exactly!" Celia nodded. "I just happened to be short on experimental materials that day, and this wretched traitor just happened to show up at my door! Naturally, I could not let the opportunity go to waste~"
"Tsk..." Ansu looked at Celia as she admired her own handiwork, feeling the wicked sense of humor of the witch.
"Why do you have that expression?" Celia blinked. "Is it not interesting?"
"It is interesting, quite interesting..." Ansu nodded silently.
He remembered that in the mid-to-late stages of the game, players would indeed encounter "grafted monsters" under the command of the World Ending Witch. These monsters had high stats and inherent pollution. He had not expected her to already be researching this at this point in time.
Celia excitedly began explaining the "excellence" of this experimental subject to Ansu.
The current Ms. Mary possessed a certain degree of physical and magic resistance, while also incorporating the advantages of various magical beasts. She was fast, agile, durable, and capable of launching ambushes...
"Your Excellency's new magic is indeed impressive..." Ansu studied Ms. Mary, who had long since lost her human reason, thinking that Ms. Mary was the true Master of Modification Resistance...
A tribute to the legendary Master of Modification Resistance, Ms. Mary.
"However, I feel that the overall creative effort is still a bit lacking." Ansu rubbed his chin and shook his head. "Your work lacks a bit of soul."
"Soul?" Celia's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"You have mastered such powerful flesh magic, yet the things you create still follow the same old pattern of rushing forward and pouncing to bite, do they not?" Ansu questioned Celia's scientific spirit.
"I feel it is no different from ordinary wild beasts or magical creatures. There is still plenty of room for optimization."
Celia had not expected Ansu to offer such a suggestion, so she excitedly pressed for more. "Then what are your thoughts? How do you think it should be modified?"
"Well, naturally..." Ansu chuckled.
Flesh is weak. Mechanics are the future!
"Since you do not have to worry about rejection reactions right now, you should install one of those common steam turbines from the factories onto it. Use the magic crystals developed by the academy as the power source! And then..."
Ansu let his imagination run wild; after all, technology was the primary driving force.
"I remember some magitech scholars have created long-range weapons powered by mana. You can modify the weapon into a turret and have her carry it on her back, then transplant the tentacles underneath. That way, an all-weather, all-terrain, mobile magitech field cannon is created."
By the time he finished speaking, Celia's expression was completely blank.
"This..."
"This is too cool!"
Celia's eyes widened, her amethyst-like pupils practically sparkling. "Everything you said is completely feasible, Ansu! You are simply a genius!!"
"Not at all, not at all..." Ansu replied modestly.
In truth, it was not entirely his own idea. After all, the thing he described was called a "tank" in another world.
Celia felt a sudden joy, as if their spirits were in resonance. She looked at Ansu, thinking that he was indeed the person she had chosen—the two of them were simply kindred spirits!
Thinking of this, she even felt a bit of lingering fear. Fortunately... she had forcibly bound Ansu to her side back then.
If such an outstanding talent were lost, it would be a massive loss. If he had fallen into the hands of the Empire or the Church, the consequences would be unthinkable...
"I need a design blueprint. I am going to create a brand-new magical rune structure!"
Ansu watched silently as the ecstatic Celia scribbled and drew on her desk according to his ideas.
He thought to himself...
If things continued like this, was he not accelerating the World Ending Crisis by a huge margin?
May the world be safe (hands folded in prayer).
...
After staying in that gloomy basement for a long time, the two finally returned upstairs.
Ansu watched Celia, who was already immersed in the Grand Extreme Modification Plan, and spoke up to remind her:
"I came over early today because I have something to report to you."
"Hmm?" Celia looked up. "What is it?"
Ansu honestly informed her, "I met the Church's Holy Maiden, Freya, today."
Celia furrowed her brows, her original good mood suddenly vanishing.
"Oh? And what did she say to you?"
"She investigated and found out that I was the one who wrote that note, so she met with me privately." Ansu naturally would not reveal the full truth, but he felt it was necessary to let her know about the meeting.
This was called reporting in advance.
Communicating with people from the Church behind Celia's back, especially with Holy Maiden Freya, was a major taboo.
But if he confessed voluntarily, based on Ansu's understanding of Celia... even if she was dissatisfied, she would likely just complain a bit or, at most, imprison him to prevent him from going out. There would not be any more severe consequences.
After all, betrayal was what she cared about most.
"You should know..." Celia's entire face darkened. "I do not want you in contact with people from the Church, especially her, right?"
"I know." Ansu nodded and said frankly:
"But since it has already happened, there is nothing I can do to change it. Once that note was sent out, it meant that subsequent developments were uncontrollable. Even if it was not today, it would have been tomorrow."
"You certainly have a sharp tongue!" Celia huffed coldly. "Fine! I know you had no choice, but do not let it happen again. Now, tell me the contents of your conversation."
Ansu was somewhat surprised. She had actually not used Hypnosis this time?
It seemed that in her vile witch form, she was indeed easier to talk to than in her mad witch form...
And she trusted him a bit more.
Rate on N.U.
