Confession

Nearby, Nigel, who had originally collapsed, now rose to his feet with a sword in hand and swung it at Jacques.

But Jacques, driven from despair into madness, had no will to resist at all.

What right did an experiment built upon the sacrifice of his dearest family have to live in this world?

Yet Nigel's sword swept directly toward the inhuman creatures crawling over, granting them release.

"Didn't you despise me?" Nigel shouted his rebuke at Jacques.

"Even I had the courage to get back up and report The Church."

"And you, standing here waiting to die, what right do you have to despise me?!"

Nigel's repeated questions struck at Jacques's heart, which had been like dead ash.

"Are you going to give up just like this?"

"Die carrying all your shame, while letting the real culprits walk free?!"

The Old Priest's face appeared in Jacques's mind, followed by the faces of the Dartmenly Family's elders and patriarch.

A spark reignited, and his heart, once like dead ash, began to beat again.

"I won't die like this...!" Jacques shouted, swinging the sword in his hand.

It was as though a force erupted from within his body, flowing through his sword as he slashed. The darkness around him was cleaved apart.

Yet when the darkness split open, no light appeared around him. There was still only darkness.

Only then did Jacques realize his situation.

He too had been bound to a frame.

Black hair had grown all over his body.

But upon closer inspection, one would see that the black hairs were incredibly fine blood vessels.

The Old Priest stood with his back to Jacques, operating on something atop the table before him.

"Don't worry. The black blood vessels on your body are the finest bloodline manipulation tool I obtained through researching Nest Beasts."

"It's truly laughable. The dangerous creatures around Gas Spring City had mostly been cleared away, so I had never truly seen a Nest Beast before."

"Only after I came to this village and treated Nest Beast parasites firsthand for the first time did I discover just what an exceptional tool their fur was."

The Old Priest turned around with a vial of medicine in hand. The gentleness on his face had not faded, but that so-called gentleness now looked horrifying.

"Do you understand that feeling? Everything has already failed, only for you to discover something that could greatly increase the success rate." The Old Priest rambled with the particular long-windedness of the elderly.

Perhaps these matters had been buried in his heart for too many years. Having finally found someone to confide in, the Old Priest poured everything out to Jacques.

"The replay of your past experiences was merely something I arranged to stir your mind and uncover the potential of your Holy Bone." In the illusion, Nigel's furious words that had spurred him on had all been spoken under the Old Priest's control.

Everything had been under the Old Priest's control.

"You're insane!" Jacques struggled with all his strength, but he could not break free.

The black blood vessels pierced into his body and suppressed his strength. As the Old Priest approached, they even pierced his cheeks, forcing his mouth open.

"Yes, that's right. I went insane long ago." The Old Priest readily admitted it in response to Jacques's words.

"Back then, the research assignment for Holy Blood and the Holy Son was issued by The Church. I began the research with my disciple."

"Ron Dartmenly."

"You may not know him, but you certainly know his son. That's right, Nigel." When the Old Priest spoke of Ron, his eyes were filled with memories and guilt.

He had been childless all his life, and his disciple Ron had been like a son to him.

He had thought everything would proceed smoothly, and that his research into Holy Blood would allow him to advance into a Golden Breed.

Yet the experiment gradually spiraled out of control. More and more was invested, while the results became fewer and fewer.

From using prohibited Sky Whale materials for the sake of results to using innocent but promising people as test subjects, they had not held out for long.

By the time the experiment was suspended due to insufficient funding and the test subjects were sealed away, they finally came to their senses. By then, their hands were covered in blood that could never be washed clean.

"Ron could not accept it all and chose atonement. He wanted to kill his wife, who had also participated in the experiment."

"Nigel's mother was severely injured because of it. Ron's suicide attempt also failed, and I saved him."

"Then they were taken back by the Dartmenly Family."

"Gradually, news of them ceased, and I chose to return to the small village where I was born to atone."

As he spoke, the Old Priest fed the medicine to Jacques.

"Only when news came that Nigel had reported his family did I learn what had happened."

"My guilt toward my disciple made me save Nigel."

"Then I saw traces of Ron modifying Nigel's body, and only then did I understand that Ron had been unwilling to give up as well."

"It's fortunate you didn't leave. Otherwise, I truly couldn't bear to keep using Nigel as a test subject." Though he said that, before discovering Jacques, the Old Priest had still been preparing for an experiment.

Having been force-fed the medicine, Jacques felt heat spreading throughout his body, especially in his bones.

"You feel hot, don't you? That's right." The Old Priest watched Jacques's changes with fanatical eyes. "Our research was actually on the verge of succeeding back then. We were only short by a little, just a little!!"

"As long as I complete this final dose of element, I'll be able to finish the Son of God Project."

"Then I'll be able to atone!!!"

Jacques could feel a force overflowing from his bones and rapidly filling every part of his body. He felt his stats rise swiftly, along with his own number.

That force pushed Jacques to evolve from a Black Stone Breed toward a Steel Breed.

But very soon, Jacques felt the heat in his bones disappear.

"Just as expected, it won't work. The Whale Element is far too scarce." At this moment, the Old Priest returned to "normal," possessing the composure expected of a researcher.

Yet that composure soon vanished once more.

"Jacques, do you know? I had originally planned to give up because I couldn't obtain enough Sky Whale Oil."

"But fate pushed everything forward. God guided me."

"At that time, Whale-ification Disease appeared in the village."

"Everything fell into place so perfectly."

"Otto and the others have already set out. I trust they'll soon bring back the materials I need."

"When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you to taste my medicine for the Holy Son. Don't worry, the experiment definitely won't fail."

"You will gain tremendous benefits from it as well. Your Holy Bone is incomplete because the knowledge Dartmenly stole from Ron was incomplete."

"My medicine can complete it, allowing you to become a Saint Body like the direct descendants personally taught by the ancestor of your Dartmenly Family."

With that, the Old Priest turned and walked away.

Jacques struggled to say something, but he could no longer speak.

Bound by countless black blood vessels, his vision went dark, and he fainted.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.