Shadows Behind the Scenes

"I'm stuffed."

Amid the swirling purple mist, Lu Minghao swallowed the concentrated liquid left after dissolving the last Shadow Rat. His body, which had originally been only the size of a basketball, had now expanded several times over. With just a light jump, Lu Minghao felt as though the food in his stomach might come spilling back out.

"What a waste. There's still so much left."

Looking at the food around him, at least half of which remained, Lu Minghao felt reluctant to leave it behind. Even so, he turned and hopped toward the sewer exit. Ever since he had slaughtered every Giant Rat in the sewer, the ominous feeling in his heart had grown increasingly distinct.

Even while devouring those Shadow Rats, Lu Minghao had sensed substantial gazes from the darkness. Now he was absolutely certain that some existence was watching this place. However, for some reason, those hidden beings had not appeared. They merely watched everything Lu Minghao did in silence.

I need to leave quickly. I also have to pretend I haven't noticed them. I need to buy as much time as possible.

Before long, sensing that the magic power in his body had recovered more than halfway under the nourishment of the abundant nutrients, Lu Minghao directly merged into the shadow beneath him and sped away from the area.

Less than a minute after Lu Minghao left, several figures appeared there without a sound. One of them placed a hand on the spot where Lu Minghao had disappeared, sensing something. A few seconds later, the figure stood up and nodded at the other two.

"Have you found that slime?"

A man in a white lab coat and glasses spoke. A cold, lifeless gleam shone through his lenses, as though life were nothing more than a string of cold experimental figures in his eyes.

"Lord Charles, I've confirmed that slime's location. However, it's fleeing at high speed and will soon leave the range of my perception."

The figure shrouded in a black robe spoke while kneeling on one knee. Through the gaps in the robe, a pair of blood-red beast eyes and skin covered in scales could vaguely be seen.

"Number Four, go bring that slime back. Remember, take it alive. I have a feeling it will be a precious experimental material."

"Yes!"

After speaking, Number Four tore apart the black robe covering his body. A bizarre being appeared in its place, with beast horns growing from its head, black scales covering its entire body, and limbs resembling tentacles. Its body then turned into a blurred shadow and gave chase in the direction Lu Minghao had fled.

"Number Three, clean up the traces left behind. The experiment continues."

Charles glanced at Number Four as he left, then gave his order and took out a test tube to collect the remnants of the purple mist. Although he was genuinely interested in that special slime, the most important thing for now was the experiment he had spent more than a decade preparing.

Once the experiment succeeded, his results would receive the attention of the entire empire. By then—

"Lord Charles, everything has been cleaned up."

At that moment, Number Three returned to Charles's side after clearing away every trace. After reporting, he stood there like a machine, waiting for a new command.

"Return to the laboratory first."

"Yes."

Number Three nodded and placed a hand on Charles's shoulder. A blue Magic Circle unfolded beneath their feet, and with a flash of light, the two vanished from the spot. The pitch-black sewer returned to its former state. The only difference was that the tens of thousands of Giant Rats that had once lived there had completely disappeared, reduced to puddles of concentrated liquid.

The howling wind sweeping through the sewer seemed to be telling a story, like the wails of the tens of thousands of Giant Rats crying out from beyond the grave.

Several hundred miles from the town of Elirila stood a massive mountain. Its interior had been completely hollowed out and converted into all kinds of laboratories. Constant screams, roars, and cries of agony echoed through the facility, while figures in white lab coats walked one after another along the steel-forged corridors beneath the pale lights.

Click!

Suddenly, the door of one laboratory opened. Charles walked out with Number Three. Cold light reflected from his lenses. The passing researchers gave Charles slight bows before continuing with their work.

"Lord Charles, how is Experiment Number One progressing?"

At that moment, a mild-mannered man walked up to Charles and asked with a faint smile on his face. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong with that smile, but after looking at it closely for a few seconds, one would find it painfully fake—fake enough to make the heart turn cold.

"There were some minor problems, but I also made a new discovery. I found a slime that would make excellent experimental material."

Charles turned his head and glanced at the smiling man beside him with a trace of disgust. However, considering that the other man was one of the people in charge of this laboratory, he had no choice but to take a test tube containing a small amount of purple mist from his coat and speak slowly.

"Oh~ An excellent slime. It seems Lord Charles really does like Lesser Demons!"

"Hmph!"

Hearing the mockery hidden in that fake smile, Charles snorted coldly. He led Number Three straight past the man and toward his own laboratory. After all, the two had entirely different experimental philosophies. Charles used all kinds of Lesser Demons as the basis for his modifications, while the other man believed that Lesser Demons had no value as modification subjects.

He believed that only powerful demons combined with the genetic bloodline of humanity's ancient heroes could create the strongest monsters.

Charles, however, insisted on modifying Lesser Demons. Modifying high-level demons required massive amounts of resources and humans. If he could prove that Lesser Demons possessed modification value, their low modification costs would greatly increase the strength of the empire's demon army. By then, his own status would rise accordingly, allowing him to participate in even more advanced experiments.

Before long, Charles led Number Three into his private laboratory. Several large screens inside displayed everything in the Giant Rat Kingdom, including Dikas, who was devouring Diri's blood to adapt his body, and Diri, who lay on a bed silently recovering his strength.

More than a decade ago, Dikas had actually been deliberately released from the laboratory by Charles. Charles had also deliberately guided Dikas to the town of Elirila. All these years, every move Dikas made had remained under Charles's surveillance.

During that time, Charles had secretly collected all kinds of physical data on Dikas and custom-modified Diri, a possessor of the Bloodline of Ancient Heroes, for him. Then, just as he had done more than a decade ago, Charles released Diri from the laboratory once again.

Everything went exactly as Charles had predicted. After sensing the attraction from the human Bloodline of Ancient Heroes within Diri, Dikas secretly guided Diri toward Elirila and captured him.

Everything proceeded perfectly according to Charles's plan. The only unexpected variable had been the appearance of a peculiar slime. However, it had not affected the overall plan. In fact, Charles was even about to acquire another excellent experimental material.

"Number One, you'd better work hard! I've already sacrificed too much for you!"

Inside the laboratory, Charles stared coldly at Dicks on the screen as he gradually adapted to the human Bloodline of Ancient Heroes. The aura around him grew increasingly sinister, like a venomous snake hiding in the darkness and waiting for its prey to deliver itself to him.