Evil Goddess (5)

Deep inside the palace, inside the forbidden chamber that had been sealed for ages, flora sprawled imitating a lush jungle. In the dead trunk of a gigantic tree, a secret laboratory is hidden with its many curiosities. Looking at many misshapen trees around the lab, Axel Vanadis, the name of my Sister's lover, shuddered at the thought. What was the mad Princess researching here?

However, before he could ask a giant wolf leaped from the shadow, protecting the secret behind him. The man bewildered, he tried to pull his sword but his trembling hand betrayed him. Yet seeing me unarmed, he steeled himself and stood in front of me.

"P-Princess, when the time is right, run. I'll give you the sign," he whispered to me.

I chucked, "You have the same reaction as my sister," I said as I approached the wolf and caressed his cheek, "Don't worry, Kai is not an enemy. He's my cute little puppy!"

Axel baffled, "W-W-What the hell? Y-You serious? Since when you can have Anima as a pet?"

"No time to explain. Just think Kai is an oversized husky," I said while swiftly tying my hair back and donning a lab coat. Axel and Kai remained cautious of each other, and sensing the tension, I decided to send Kai away to guard the perimeter. After all, who knew what Axel would do if he found I actually kept twenty more Anima as pets.

"Hey, no time to waste! Since you've barged into my lab, you might as well put yourself to good use," I exclaimed, tossing a lab coat at Axel and pointing to the twin giant tubes in the corner. "Put that on and calibrate Epsilon. An honor student like you should know how to do that, right?"

Axel protested, "G-Geez, treating me like a slave. Fine!" Reluctantly, he donned the lab coat and approached Epsilon, studying the intricate device with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. Well of course he would, I was just playing tricks on him.

Epsilon was a must-have magical device to extract the Aether, the essence of living beings. Collecting enough Aether was a critical energy source to create magical substances. However, the conventional Epsilon required magic to operate it and as you might have known by now, I couldn't use magic. So, I made some modifications to make it self-sufficient, although not as efficient as the conventional model. How? It's a trade secret.

"Look at him, his eyes brimming with joy, just like in the novels. Boys like machines," I giggled after taking a glance at Axel.

Seeing how Axel was so preoccupied with my Epsilon, I was able to do my work faster. The work that would surely make him faint. It involved breaking the necks of Anima-infected mice, collecting their Magicore using scalpels, draining their blood, and storing everything in a barrel etcetera. It was a gruesome task for someone who was supposed to be a princess. Yet, it was the only way I knew to make more magical painkillers and antibiotics.

And also, hopefully, the cure of my Pale Moon... Malazymes.

"This Epsilon is weird," the man tried to play around the device, "No way, it uses magicore to work? But how? Fascinating!"He quickly grabbed his notebook and began scribbling down his observations, completely forgetting the task I had given him.

"Hey, snap out of your daydreaming and help me with this barrel. We need to put it inside Epsilon," I said, jutting my hips impatiently. I need to cook up the substances with Epsilon’s heat, while at the same time, harvesting Aether.

"Right away, Celli!"

With Axel's help, we carefully maneuvered the barrel filled with Magicore into position within Epsilon. The device hummed to life, its intricate mechanisms coming to motion as it began the process of extracting the potent Aether from the gathered samples.

As we waited for Epsilon to work its magic, Axel couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "Princess Celli, this is truly incredible. This concept replaced the need for godkin to operate magical device. Think about it. This new concept could reshape our entire world and bring about advancements never thought possible. I-I never thought you're such a brilliant inventor!"

Blushing, I brushed my hair back with a shy smile. "Oh, really?" It was the first time someone had complimented me like that, and I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. 

Emboldened, I asked, "Though it's just a simple mechanism, would you like to hear more about it?"

Axel nodded quickly and readied his note. W-Wow, I never thought he was such a dorky and geeky student. Guess you can't judge the book from its cover.

I cleared my throat, "The practice of magic, in simple terms, is a cycle of energy generated through the process of Mana conversion. This cycle is controlled by enzymes called Manazyme and Malazyme inside a god's body," I started explaining as I drew on the chalkboard.

"When someone uses magic, they activate Manazyme to convert Mana within their body into magical energy, with the waste product known as Mala. To replenish their Mana supply, the body then activates Malazyme to convert Mala back into Mana, but with the waste product of Superadicals, which can be highly toxic to the body. This cycle ensured a god's ability to use magic."

Axel listened intently, his eyes fixed on the chalkboard as he absorbed the information. "So, the process of using magic relies on the intricate balance between Manazyme and Malazyme, enabling the conversion of Mana and the expulsion of waste products. It sounds similar to how the human body processes glucose into ATP in the Krebs cycle. But then, humans dump the waste, the CO2 with lungs… How exactly do gods get rid of Superadicals from their bodies?"

I nodded, impressed by his quick grasp of the concept. "Great question! The answer iiiis they don't!"

"W-Whaat!? Then there is a limit on how much a god could use magic?"

I shook my head, "And that's when Anima comes in. You see, Anima is the natural decomposer for Superadical, as it is the only living being in this world who possesses Malazyme. Using energy from Mala conversion, an Anima could sustain its life, providing a symbiotic relationship with its host.

Although the relationship could turn into a parasitic one if the host weakened and the Anima grew uncontrollably inside its body. Once the host is dead, the Anima would use its host body to hunt for its survival, as it didn't have Manayme. Kinda ironic, isn't it? It was the same case with humans and any other beings. It has a tremendous amount of Mana, but can't use it because of the lack of Manazyme."

Axel grasped his hurting head and reluctantly asked, "W-Wait a minute, Celli. Are you saying that all gods… have Anima living inside them? That means… all Anima in the world was once a god?"

O-Oh damn, I-I forgot. What I told Axel was supposed to be The Forbidden Knowledge. Curing my Pale Moon had been my Magnum Opus for these past years. With direct observation on how Anima works, I tried to infect myself with Kai's cell, but it caused severe anaphylactic reaction that almost cost my life. However that reaction lead me to understand The Pale Moon, which was the rare occasion when one developed antibodies to Anima. Using that for my hypothesis, it was actually easy for me to deduce how Magic works.

"U-Uh, never mind. I-It's just a conspiracy theory. Yeah, it is!" I lied.

Axel shrugged and looked at Epsilon, "A conspiracy theory with a proof of concept, huh? I bet you used that theory to build a self-sustaining system that mimics the Manazyme-Malazyme cycle… Using a Magicore from Anima and Manazyme from your blood to create a machine that harnessed magical energy infinitely.”

H-He was sharp! Yes, Magicore was the crystallized form of Mana, produced by the Anima after hunting successfully. It was used by humans for ornaments or jewelry but never for practical uses. But, if you introduce god blood to it, you can use magic artificially.

I looked away, "W-Well, it's much more complicated than that… but essentially, yeah, 100 points for you. At its current state, it could only cast 'Ignis' and 'Havoc' magic relentlessly at 30% efficiency, denature the protein, and released Aether from– Oh, I get too technical, sorry," I paused a minute to look at my Epsilon and smiled with hope,

"But I believe we are closer to the day when everyone can use magic."

Axel stopped writing his note and approached the Epsilon, whispering faintly, "... Wow, that's.. actually amazing."

As our conversation progressed, Axel started jotting down notes furiously, eager to capture every detail. Together, we explored the potential applications of this technology, envisioning a future where magical substances could be readily available, where transportation and communication systems could be enhanced, and where everyday life could be enriched by the benefits of magic.

Time flew by as we delved deeper into our discussions, losing track of the outside world. Even though it was a dire time, I couldn't help to enjoy our time together. Is this what friendship feels like?

I smiled, in the alternate universe, where war doesn't exist and I could use magic, will I be able to enjoy this warm every day?