Former General Is Undead Knight

「AAA, URGH, OOO!」

Yellow specks appeared all over Djork’s body.

He started scratching his whole body with his remaining right hand while writhing in pain on the ground.

His whole body became unbearably itchy because of the poison from the homunculus frogs that exploded in his mouth a few moments ago.

「Rest assured, the poison in the homunculus frogs isn’t lethal.」

「Ogo, hogo! Nee… Wh-why… meeeeeeeeeee!」

Djork, who was too preoccupied with numerous frogs in his body, couldn’t speak properly.

He couldn’t hear Alante’s remark since he was too busy dealing with itchiness and pain that assailed his whole body, not to mention the fact that he was having a hard time breathing.

「But then, how did a weakling like you manage to enter our 『Angel of Death』? Oh well, that’s a trivial matter, I guess.」

Alante stooped over as he stepped on Djork’s head.

「Well then, let’s use this chance to do a small experiment. Come, Ruzk.」

A shining magic circle appeared as Alante spoke.

Ruzk was an 『Earth Eater』 with an appearance resembling a small red string.

「GO-GO-GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」

Numerous tumors swelled up all over Djork’s body.

And just as Djork’s body swelled in size, small Ruzk grew and came out of his body.

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」

Djork raised a painful wail as numerous Ruzk emerged from his body.

Soon enough, Djork’s face transformed into that of Ruzk.

The homunculus frog that released from his mouth—each of them held Ruzk in their mouths and slurped them as if they were eating noodles.

Soon enough, Djork’s bones, flesh, human shape, and most of his blood vanished. The only things left of him were strangely shaped entrails.

Numerous Ruzks and frogs were jumping around on top of Djork’s corpse.

That scene wasn’t something that a normal person would create.

「A-Alante… WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!」

One of the soldiers pointed his sword at Alante.

Alante calmly straightened his back, picked up one of the Ruzk on the ground, raised it to his face, and then took a bite.

An earthy-brown liquid spilt from the bitten part. The Ruzk resisted violently as its guts spilt from the bitten part.

「Yuck. It tastes like soil and human meat.」

Alante spat out Ruzk’s body next to the other half that was still resisting on the ground.

「O-OEEERGH!」

The soldier who pointed his sword at Alante dropped his sword, fell to his knees, and vomited immediately upon seeing that scene.

「Big… Brother?」

Elise asked with a ghastly pale face.

Hearing that, Alante’s head turned around, and he made a faint smile on his expressionless face.

「N-No… You’re not Big Brother… Who are you?」

「We’re the ones who govern 『Angel of Death』, the greatest alchemist in this world. Human, cower upon hearing my name as we are known as 『Spinner of the Truth』.」 [Note: Greatest alchemist (lmao). As explained in the previous act, the people who Lambert considers the greatest alchemists are those who failed to die by his hand, such as Guiref and Domiliune.]

「No way, even though you were still Big Brother till a while ago… W-when did you hijack his body! Wh-where’s the real Big Brother?!」

「Yeah! HAHAHAHAHAHA! ELISE, I WANTED SO BADLY TO SEE YOU MAKE SUCH AN EXPRESSION! THE REASON WHY I MADE YOU UNABLE TO WALK WITH UNNECESSARY DRUGS, SHOWING SOME KINDNESS—ALL OF THAT WAS JUST TO SEE YOU MAKE THAT KIND OF FACE!」

Elise’s face stiffened upon hearing Alante’s declaration, tears flowing from her eyes.

「L-lies… That’s… a lie…」

「YOU HAVE A SPECIAL KIND OF MANA THAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER LAB RATS! THUS, WE HAVE TO STUDY THAT! THERE ARE STILL MANY EXPERIMENTS WAITING FOR YOU, AND MANY RESULTS HAVE TO BE DISCOVERED! WE HAVE TO SAVE AS MUCH EXPERIMENTAL DATA AS POSSIBLE WHILE YOU’RE STILL ALIVE! AND THAT DATA WILL BECOME IMPORTANT RECORDS IN THE HISTORY OF SORCERY! I’M SURE OF THAT! THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES! WHERE YOU COME FROM, THE NATURE OF YOUR MANA, WHAT YOU EAT, HOW MUCH YOUR HAIR GROWS PER DAY, THE LENGTH OF YOUR NAIL! WE STILL LACK MANY IMPORTANT DETAILS! AND THEN, OF ALL THE SAVED DATA… Oops, it seems my bad habit is coming out again. SO THAT’S HOW YOU LOOK LIKE AFTER YOU’VE FOUND HOPE, AND THAT’S YOUR LOOK OF DESPAIR! MORE, MORE, I WANT TO KNOW MOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!」

Alante’s eyes opened wide as he kept talking like a madman.

They were the eyes of a madman with unquenched greed that knew no bounds.

「But maybe I went too far. At this rate, I guess they’ll soon send another batch of soldiers to Tetomburgh. But well, it’s not like we’re in a hurry to secure existing data. I was gifted with a good memory since I was a child, after all. I’ve memorized everything recorded in this research facility.」

Alante tapped his temple as he spoke with a smile that looked fake.

「But Elise! We’ve yet to finish the experiment with you. Now, let’s go back to the underground facility. Excluding the lethal experiments with long-lasting effects, there are still 1528 experiments waiting for you. How much can your body endure, I wonder? That’s it—even though you’ve shown such adorable expressions so far… I wonder how long you can endure the experiment?」

「No, noo… Big brother! BIG BROTHER ALANTE! GIVE BIG BROTHER ALANTE BACK!」

「AHAHAHA! YOU’VE TOLD US FROM THE VERY BEGINNING, RIGHT?! YOU’VE TOLD US THAT YOU WANTED TO DIE IN OUR HANDS!! NOW WE WILL GRANT THAT WISH! Or else, were you lying to me, Elise?」

Alante was walking closer to Elise, pushing her wheelchair from behind.

At that moment, neither the children nor the remaining soldiers could move.

「NOOOOOOOOOOOO! SAVE ME! SOMEONE, PLEASE SAVE ME! SAVE ME, BIG BROTHER ALANTEEEEEEE!」

「What is this? I thought you were a wise girl, and yet, don’t you realize your current situation? Or else, has your mind broken due to shock?」

「Y-YOU PERVERT!」

One of the soldiers clenched his fist as he shouted, raised the sword that was soiled by his own vomit, and then rushed at Alante. 𝒇𝒓eewe𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃𝒆𝚕.co𝘮

「Get lost. We’re not even interested in hearing your dirty voice.」

Alante’s eyes opened wide, glaring at the soldier.

The soldier who was exposed to the powerful killing intent suddenly recalled the ghastly spectacle caused by the Ruzks a while ago. Assailed by vertigo as if the contents of his stomach were overturned, he collapsed while grasping at his throat.

「U-uh, oe…」

He wasn’t even worthy to be glared at by the other party.

Because it wasn’t every day that a normal human was facing such strong revulsion and dread.

It was as if the one who stood before him wasn’t a human but a devil.

…As if the other party was a completely foreign creature from another world.

Thus, when Alante pushed Elise’s wheelchair, no one could stop him.