Chapter 14:

Chapter 13

A Bloody Methodology


The Foiyram child’s scream echoes across the dungeon, sending shivers down the other people inside cells. Their once rowdy screams of pain and agony were silenced upon hearing the shrill shriek of Veyrr. They were at the central room where there were tables lined up and Veyrr was bound to one of them. The severed portion of his left arm has stopped bleeding for the most part but started to bubble, as if it was boiling. The exposed muscles were sinking and a new layer of skin was forming on top of it until the wound was fully enclosed. Only a layer of skin remained on top.

Eiulj poured the same liquid on Veyrr as she had done on Illar’s wound and quickly sealed it. It hadn’t even taken half a minute and the opening was sealed. Eiulj gaped in surprise, unable to hide her smile. She enthusiastically writes something on a piece of paper, maybe the data of whatever she was researching on.

Behind her were the two other devils, Altafaigaman and Teiyninya. Altafaigaman, in particular, was shivering and sweating profusely while taking deep breaths. Teiyninya was trying to comfort him by rubbing his back. Eiulj had already spoken to him after they laid Veyrr on the table and before she poured the liquid on his hand.

Eiulj asked for a specific instruction of leaving the city after acquiring Veyrr and sending her a message. But it has been two days since they took Veyrr yet a message has yet to be sent. The two devils could only shiver and break into cold sweat when confronting Eiulj. But Altafaigaman had it worse as the question was directed at him and it was a specific order given to him, yet the order has not been carried out.

He answered Eiulj by explaining that there were soldiers who were keeping an eye on them, thus could not move as freely and had to arrange a carriage out of the city the proper way. But it failed yet again when their disguise had been dispelled by some magic cast by Veyrr. They had cast magic onto him to keep him asleep but he woke up rather unexpectedly while he was being bound. Then his horn casted a faint light and the magic around them disappeared, including their disguise. It was at that time the soldiers appeared and saw their forms.

He was lucky since Eiulj wasn’t all that furious as she was also under the watchful eye of Osar and the Count. So, she sighed and let everything be under the bridge. Her expression changed in the snap of a finger when she began her experiments on Veyrr.

“Lady Eiulj, may I ask what that liquid is?” Teiyninya asked curiously as she, too, was stunned by the effect it had on the severed hand of the child.

“It’s a special solution made from the Evealoras I’m cultivating.” Eiulj responded while writing on the paper.

“Evealoas? Those plants at that space are Evealoras?” She questioned twice to confirm if those were really the plants in question. “Evealoras are endemic only to zones with a high concentration of mana are they not?” She continued asking.

“Yes, they are.” Eiulj’s lips curled a bit more as she started explaining. “But that is why I’m conducting this research. Evealoras were never found in other areas because they were never propagated in the first place. No normal person or animal can enter those kinds of zones without prior preparation. And even if they did, the search for a single Evealora plant would take a considerable amount of time.”

Eiulj lightly explained to Teiyninya why she had started the research and why bother developing it if devils can even regenerate a lost limb given enough time.

“The foolishness of those ancient relic bastards. That’s the reason why devils lag behind in terms of scientific development even compared to beast-kins who only value physical strength above all.”

“Lady Eiulj! Disrespecting the elder council is far too much.”

“None of them would dabble in taboo for the sake of their people or for the greater good.” Eiulj ignored Teiyninya’s warning and continued speaking her thoughts.

“Humans are the weakest of all races. Weaker than majority of slimes. But they conducted experiments in secret that even out greatest spies could not discover. Now many of them could easily overpower devils like us. If it was not for the alliance with the beast-kin and humanoid races, us devil would be a slave to them for millennia.”

Teiyninya could not utter a single word. She opened her mouth but nothing came out from it, not even a single sound or moan.

“But my research is not solely for the devils. It’s for anyone and everyone. A little blood wouldn’t hurt. It may be misconstrued to my understanding and belief, but I believe this is what the humans meant when they say ‘kill the few to save the many’.”

“Then... is there a need to use all these corpses and torture?” Teiyninya only listened to Eiulj earlier, but now asked about her materials.

“Medicine is like poison. It may save one but kill another. It works differently on different people. How many races do you think are out there?”

“About... 50?”

“The beast-kin race, alone, comprises about 76 of the total. Then devils with 52. Add in those from the demi-human, humanoid, and human races, there are over 200 different races. And for my research to actually be successful and effective, I would need to understand their body structure, lifestyle, and other factors. Bones, muscles, veins, organs, diet, habitat, lifespan, conception, community and society, and many more. That is why I have a collection of corpses and anatomical bodies and diagrams everywhere.”

Teiyninya was in a daze while her eyes fixated on the face of Eiulj. One could see sparks and smoke coming out of her head if a closer look was taken.

“Basically, corpses are necessary for my research. That’s all you need to know.” Eiulj explained again in simple terms with a face of disbelief

Well, Teiyninya’s race isn’t known to be a particular smart race. Bird-brains as the humans say.

“Would corpses of monsters and livestock not be enough?” Teiyninya asked as a follow up.

“Animals have mana in them but its too weak that injecting a small portion of my mana into it would just destroy the body, bursting it into pieces even if it’s too much. Some monsters are fine if they are strong enough. So, the ideal seedbeds are corpses of people.” Eiulj tried explaining it as simply as possible enough for Teiyninya to understand.

After she replied back to her, Eiulj turned her back on them and faced Veyrr once again.

“Well, now that your hand’s wound is fully healed and sealed, it’s time I hire you to be a full-time assistant.” Eiulj moved closer to Veyrr while trying to keep her excessive panting to a minimum.

Veyrr only screamed as Eiulj inched closer.

“Mother Esia, why are you doing this?!” He was frightened. He was confused that his beloved mother was with the devils that kidnapped him and was doing awful things to him.

“Veyyr, I am not Esia. I have her face but that’s it. My name is Eiulj and am a devil myself.” She explained so Veyrr could differentiate their difference. “Remember that time you said to me you saw someone enter a wall? That was me.”

Veyrr twitched and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Foiyram, like you, keep your words and follow them to heart. If I said to keep it a secret and you agree, you will keep it a secret for the rest of your life. That is if you were born and raised in a Foiyram community.” Eiulj calmy tried to explain his situation and the reason why she has done all these.

“Since I don’t trust you to keep your word, I need to silence you. But killing you right away would be too suspicious so I had asked these two for help, trying to get closer to you so they could bring you away from the orphanage. Now that you’re here and not under the orphanage, you will be my assistant.”

“I... I don’t understand.. uhhh... uwhhhwww...” His eyes started to swell as tears formed on his eyelids. He understood why he was in the dungeon but couldn’t comprehend why he had to be there.

“Just think of it like this. A child that has done something he shouldn’t needs be scolded and punished.”

“But... but...” He could not continue speaking and just sobbed.

“Lady Eiulj, is it really necessary to use a child like him? Especially when devils have low fertility rates?” Teiyninya asked again from behind.

“You’re quite talkative, Ninya.” Teiyninya shuddered slightly when that fact has been pointed out. “Well, no matter. It also pains me to use him, but he has seen me entering the dungeon.” Eiulj glared at Veyrr as she spoke and he shrieked upon seeing her cold, dark expression.

“It would have been all right if he came from a Foiyram community or their culture be drilled top him, but that is not the case. Sooner or later, he may even reveal that entrance to authorities. So, removing him from the orphanage is the best choice I could come up with.”

Eiulj’s lips curled once more and the smile that was one her face reached from ear to ear, panting excitedly as she stared down on the table.

“I don’t select my assistants randomly. They all have a reason for being here. Criminals, soldiers from opposing factions, and even people who try to investigate and capture me are the usual assistants. Having a child, a Foiyram at that would be interesting.”

Teiyninya remembered the sight of the dungeon before reaching the room they were at. Bodies with plants growing from them, multiple bodies of bone, muscle, and skin of different species made into some kind of statue with different labels attached to them, a room with a single bed and many different tools from saws to nails and weird contraptions. Another corridor where screams and moans echo, a room with multiple torture devices, and a room with weird creatures in it that some of them had a head as some kind of shell or a creature that had multiple human arms as legs but the body is a large insect with wings. Ghastly, surreal, and frightening are words that cannot even properly explain that sight.

With what Eiulj said earlier, she can’t even begin to imagine what things would happen top Veyrr. She believed he would be terribly lucky if he dies a painless death and in an instant. But for now, all the she sees is a crying, bleeding, and thrashing Veyrr.

Her experiments on Veyrr and other ‘assistants’ would continue on for as long as the snow would fall.

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