Legendary Body Modifier King

"Apothecary."

"After I drink this, weird tentacles won't grow out of my head, right?"

"They won't."

"And during the modification, you won't turn my vocal cords into some kind of weapon, will you?"

". . . You won't."

"And... you won't chisel me with the Pain Pear, right?"

". . ."

The other party did not answer. All he heard was an extremely forceful series of inhalations and exhalations.

". . . If you insist."

"No, no, forget it, forget it."

"Ah, right!"

"Apothecary, you're not going to use my genes to make clones, then do strange things to them, are you?"

Bang!

"Ah!"

There was an unmistakable sound of a hammer striking.

Followed by another scream.

"Quiet."

The surgical tools behind Melusine's white coat unfolded like a spider's limbs.

With extreme impatience, she punched the chatterbox, then turned back to the experimental readings extracted on the display beside her.

Kasgar had never expected that one day, he would still end up on Old Doctor's operating table.

Of course, this Melusine could probably only be considered a "young doctor."

Now, the Pride of the Emperor had completed its Warp voyage and arrived in the Solar System.

Kasgar had thought he would not undergo modification until reaching the Imperial Palace, but unexpectedly, Melusine suddenly sought him out and informed him that the non-classified portions of his modifications could now begin.

And so, he was anxiously led onto the operating table.

Logically speaking, Melusine should still count as a good person at this point.

She was conscientious about her work and would not casually turn her patients into bizarre creations.

Probably not.

Right?

Yet when he saw her cold, utterly unsympathetic gaze, together with those several creepy mechanical limbs behind her—

Kasgar could not help feeling a little intimidated.

Was this the oppressive aura of the Legendary Body Modifier King?

Melusine did not seem to care what Kasgar was thinking.

Compared to his physical data, Kasgar's words seemed far more normal.

Every reading from his body remained at the level expected of a twenty-year-old male.

Melusine had heard Fulgrim mention this legend before, but she had never taken it seriously.

After all, it was indeed difficult to believe something like, "Love! It was all because of love! The power of love kept Kasgar from ever aging!"

But no matter what, he had spent thirty years on Chemos with Fulgrim, yet in the end he was only twenty years old?

Had an old child become younger?

Cases of retaining one's appearance forever were not actually impossible.

That was how Perpetuals were.

Like the God-Emperor of Mankind and Malcador, both were extraordinarily powerful human Perpetuals.

Unless they deliberately controlled it, their bodies would not age with the passage of time.

But the problem was that, according to the Psychic Power analysis of his blood, Kasgar was not a Perpetual.

His age had simply stopped advancing.

Apart from that, every other physical indicator was perfectly normal.

Rather, they were too normal.

"All organ and secretion values are at the average level for a twenty-year-old male."

At the sight of this data, a faint light instantly gleamed in Melusine's eyes beneath her heavy dark circles.

He was exactly like the most standard anatomical template in a textbook!

If Kasgar had not been the Primarch's spouse, she truly would have wanted to clone a few of him for use as dissection specimens.

But honestly, were these really values a normal human should have?

Kasgar.

Melusine turned her head and looked at Kasgar, who was blinking innocently at her.

Rather than a human—

He was more likely some monster, almost indistinguishable from a human, fashioned by an existence beyond human comprehension.

Just like her.

"Apothecary, I have another question."

"Ask."

"If I use Fulgrim's Gene-seed for the modification and end up becoming her offspring, wouldn't that create some, you know, ethical issues?"

". . ."

"Apothecary?"

"It wouldn't, because we have never regarded you as a father."

"Huh? Then how do you see me?"

"Mm."

Without turning around, Melusine selected different medicines with her back to him.

"Primarch Fulgrim's male concubine. What else?"

Tch.

Kasgar wanted to argue, but for the moment, he genuinely could not find a good argument.

Seeing the usually boisterous Kasgar fall silent, Melusine felt somewhat uneasy as well.

Had that been a little too hurtful?

Then she looked again at the dense patches of healed fracture calluses around his pelvis in the examination data.

They were all signs that Fulgrim had repeatedly shattered his pelvis, leaving it battered and tormented.

It had not been easy for him either.

Besides, while he was indeed a bit jumpy now, that was because his mentality had forever remained in adolescence. It was not his fault.

A heartfelt sense of pity and guilt instantly seeped into Melusine's heart.

"Melusine, I never expected that... there truly was no one in the Third Legion willing to honor me as their father."

"I thought that the day of leave I secured for everyone on Chemos had allowed us to trust one another..."

Kasgar's gaze became exceptionally gentle.

Like an elderly father facing his rebellious daughter as he spoke his final heartfelt words.

After all, when a man was about to be modified, his words were kind.

"Forget it, forget it."

"If you truly cannot bring yourselves to call me 'Father,' then you can call me—"

"☆Mother☆Fucker☆"

Bang!

An even louder and duller hammer blow rang out from the operating table.

"Ah! Urgh—ah..."

One heavy hammer strike completed the final anesthetic procedure.

Physical anesthesia was anesthesia too.

Sigh.

Kasgar, you bastard...

Whenever I tried to give you even a little respect, you opened your mouth.

Melusine thought irritably.

"Operation begins."

The Pride of the Emperor was safely docked at the Starport in the Solar System.

"The initial modifications for this batch of Chemos recruits have been completed."

"As for Kasgar, his situation is rather special. He is currently asleep in a Stasis Field."

"The remaining modifications will need to be transferred to the deep laboratories within the Imperial Palace for completion."

Fulgrim calmly gave instructions to the two people before her.

"Even including the recruits, the Sons of the Emperor currently have only a little over five hundred members. It is still too early for formal military operations."

"The Third Legion's recruit training and cultural exchange over the next roughly three months will be entrusted to you."

Phoenix Daughter Sword Saint Aqua and the Sage Rylanor.

Both were highly respected elders among the Sons of the Emperor.

"Yes."

The two knelt on one knee and struck their breastplates lightly with their fists.

"My lord, where are you going?"

Aqua raised her head and asked.

Transporting one person did not require three months.

"To procure something."

A hint of amusement flashed through her eyes as she pointed toward the massive forge at the foot of the Ural Mountains on Terra.

"It is time to prepare a little gift for that sleepy little one."