Legendary Body Modifier King

"Apothecary."

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

"No."

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

"...No."

"Hey. You're not going to drill me with the Pain Pear either, are you?"

"..."

The other party didn't answer, only a very sharp inhale and exhale came through.

"...If you insist."

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

"Oh, right!"

"Apothecary, you're not going to take my genes, make a clone, and then do something weird to it, are you?"

Thump!

"Ow!"

A clear sound of a hammer strike.

Followed by another scream.

"Quiet down."

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

She punched the incessant chatterbox with extreme impatience, then turned her gaze back to the experimental readings extracted on the screen beside her.

Kasgar never thought he'd end up on Old Doctor's operating table one day.

Of course, this Melusine could 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 assumed he'd receive his modifications inside the Imperial Palace, but Melusine suddenly found him and informed him that some of his non-classified modifications could already proceed.

And so, nervous, he was led to the operating table.

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

Diligent in her work, not one to recklessly mutilate patients.

Probably.

Right?

But looking at her cold, unfeeling eyes, plus those eerie mechanical limbs behind her...

It made Kasgar's heart tremble a little.

Was this the pressure of the Legendary Body Modifier King?

Melusine didn't seem to care what Kasgar was thinking.

His words were far too normal compared to his physical data.

All his body's readings were maintained at the level of a twenty-year-old young man.

Melusine had heard this legend from Fulgrim before, but she'd never taken it seriously.

After all, taking "Love! It's all because of love! Because the power of love keeps Kasgar from ever aging!" seriously was a bit difficult.

But still, he'd spent thirty years with Fulgrim on Chemos, and in the end, he was only twenty?

A geezer-turned-kid?

This kind of eternal appearance wasn't entirely impossible.

Perpetuals were like that.

Just like the God-Emperor of Mankind and Malcador—both were incredibly powerful human Perpetuals.

Unless deliberately controlled, their bodies wouldn't age with time.

But the problem was, according to the Psychic Power analysis of his blood, Kasgar wasn't a Perpetual.

He was simply stuck at a certain age.

Aside from that, all other physical indicators were extremely normal.

Or rather, too normal.

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

Seeing this data, the eyes beneath Melusine's heavy dark circles suddenly lit up.

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

If Kasgar weren't a Primarch's spouse, she'd really want to clone a few for use as dissection specimens.

But seriously, are these really numbers a normal human should have?

Kasgar.

Melusine turned her head, looking at Kasgar, who was blinking back with an innocent expression.

He wasn't so much a human.

As he was more likely some kind of being beyond human comprehension, shaped into a monster that barely passed for human.

Just like her.

"Apothecary, I have another question."

"Ask."

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

"..."

"Apothecary?"

"No, because we've never seen you as a father figure."

"Huh? Then how do you see me?"

"Hmm."

Melusine didn't turn around, just kept her back to him as she selected different reagents.

"Primarch Fulgrim's kept man, what else?"

Tch.

Kasgar wanted to argue, but for a moment, he really couldn't find a good counter.

Seeing the usually rowdy Kasgar fall silent, Melusine felt a bit uneasy herself.

Was that too harsh?

She glanced at the medical data again—the dense calluses around his pelvis from healed fractures.

All of them were marks of his pelvis being repeatedly shattered by Fulgrim, a testament to his suffering.

He hadn't had it easy either.

Besides, even if he was a bit obnoxious now, it was because his mentality had always stayed stuck in his youth—that wasn't his fault.

A wave of genuine pity and guilt washed over Melusine's heart.

"Melusine, I never thought... that no one in the Third Legion would truly be willing to call me father."

"I thought that day of leave I secured for everyone on Chemos would have let us trust each other."

Kasgar's gaze turned incredibly gentle.

Like an aging father speaking his final heartfelt words to his rebellious daughter.

After all, a man on the verge of change speaks with kindness.

"Forget it, forget it."

"If you really can't bring yourselves to say 'father,' you can call me—"

"☆Mother☆Fucker☆"

Thump!

A louder, duller hammer strike rang out from the operating table.

"Ow! Urgh—ah!"

One heavy blow completed the final anesthetic procedure.

Physical anesthesia was still a form of anesthesia, after all.

Sigh.

Kasgar, you bastard.

Every time I try to give you a shred of respect, you open your mouth.

Melusine thought sourly.

"Surgery begins."

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

"The batch of Chemos recruits we brought this time—their initial modifications are complete."

"As for Kasgar, his situation is special; he's currently asleep in a Stasis Field."

"The next phase of modification will need to be transferred to the deep labs within the Imperial Palace."

Fulgrim calmly directed the two before her.

"Even counting the new recruits, the Sons of the Emperor only number just over five hundred. It's still too early for formal military deployment."

"The Third Legion's next three months of recruit training and cultural exchange will be your responsibility."

Phoenix Daughter Sword Saint Aqua, and Sage Rylanor.

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

"Yes."

The two knelt on one knee, lightly tapping their chest plates with their hands.

"My Lord, where are you going?"

Aqua looked up and asked.

Transporting a single person wouldn't require three months.

"To fetch something."

A flicker of amusement passed through her eyes as she pointed toward the large forge at the foot of the Ural Mountains on Terra.

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