— Father!
— Son… close your eyes.
— Father, why…?
— I told you to close your eyes.
— Fatherr!!!
Hoshigaki was watching the outside world from his palace balcony, but the only thing he constantly thought about was the dialogue that passed between them when his father was on the gallows. It was a trauma for him.
In the room, Akabane woke up with a yawn from her bed. She was slightly surprised not to see Hoshigaki next to her and looked around. Seeing Hoshigaki on the balcony, he yawned again.
— Hey, Hoshigaki. What are you thinking about now?
— Nothing…
— Are you sure?
— Absolutely.
Akabane sat up in his bed and began rubbing her eyes.
— Anyway, what did you do about that assignment?
— Raiga Draven?
— Yes, the guy who claimed to have defeated a Volgrath single-handedly.
Hoshigaki slowly turned his back.
— He wasn't lying. He has an incredible physique.
Akabane began to laugh.
— That's astonishing…
— He's the biggest fish we've caught so far.
Akabane got angry.
— You're the one who let Valtherion escape and enter a brat's body, so we did have a bigger fish.
— The fish that Mira and my father brought in…
— That may be true, but still, he was genuinely powerful.
Hoshigaki brought his hand to his chin.
— I think this one is stronger than Valtherion.
Akabane's eyes widened.
— Are you serious?
— Yes, we sedated him when he arrived at the lab and began the experiments by restraining him. The test reports are unbelievable; some of our machines even broke down.
— Machines broke down? The ones Mira produced?
— I didn't believe it either until I saw it, but now we have a weapon like Akira in our hands.
— Then we need to urgently wipe his memory, reconstruct it from scratch, and use him as a weapon.
Hoshigaki's face adopted a serious expression.
— His body can handle more.
Akabane frowned.
— More? That would be greed…
— But Mira's unfinished research was about constant regeneration. We've made new progress, and his body is the only one we can perform this experiment on.
— What if the experiments fail and he dies? You know we can't use Valen as a test subject, don't you?
— No, I'm sure he won't die.
— How can you be so certain?
Hoshigaki clenched his fists.
— I'd even put my life on the line for this.
— You're exaggerating, Hoshigaki, this is just an experiment… or are you still unable to forget your bastard father?
Hoshigaki smiled.
— I've long forgotten that bastard. Besides, this lab is important to me, and most importantly, this is a significant development for you.
— That's true… I apologize for doubting your abilities, I trust you.
— Thank you.
— Come here, next to me.
Hoshigaki walked off the balcony toward the door of his room.
— I'm sorry, but I need to go to the lab.
Akabane lay back down on his bed.
— Fine, suit yourself. I'll go back to sleep.
Hoshigaki left his palace and began walking toward the laboratory, a cold expression on his face. In his mind, there were only his studies.
When he arrived at the laboratory, the soldiers saw him and bowed their heads. Hoshigaki opened the large door and went inside. The interior looked like a normal laboratory; there was nothing suspicious. After greeting his staff, Hoshigaki opened the door at the very back of the lab. Inside, there were a few more doors. After passing all the doors and entering the codes, a spacious laboratory room appeared before him. Blood was everywhere, and a man was inside a tank in the middle of the room. Hoshigaki went to one of the work desks.
— Hello, Amelia.
The woman with long black hair, glasses, and a lab coat immediately stood up and bowed her head.
— Hello, Lord Hoshigaki.
Hoshigaki raised the woman's head.
— How many times do I have to tell you? When I arrive, you don't need to bow or call me "Lord."
— Yes, sir!
Hoshigaki sighed.
— You really never learn. How are you, by the way?
— I'm well, sir, thank you for asking. How are you?
— I wouldn't say very well, or rather, you will determine if I am well or not.
Amelia didn't understand.
— How so?
— The experiment results.
Amelia handed the documents on her desk to Hoshigaki.
— The work since yesterday has been going well. Since the engineers are here to renew the machines, we can quickly continue the experiments no matter how much they break down. So far, out of 16 different machines, 2 have not broken down at all, 5 have broken down once, 6 twice, and 3 have broken down three times.
Hoshigaki started examining the documents.
— I don't care about the machines. Tell me about the studies.
— Of course, sir! According to the research conducted by my team, the power potential is almost at full scale, and this is an incredible power… The body potential exceeds his power, meaning he is an unbelievably perfect subject.
Hoshigaki saw the text "Regeneration Postponed" in the documents.
— If the subject is so good, why was regeneration postponed?
Amelia's face fell.
— Because this research is incomplete… Logically, it's possible, but it goes against most scientific principles and is definitely very risky. Also, this person's body has a strange mechanism that rejects external powers.
— What did you test this with?
— My teammates and I implanted an energy stone into him, but his body rejected the external energy and repelled it. If we hadn't stopped it at the last minute, the entire laboratory could have exploded…
Hoshigaki's eyes widened.
— Why did you do this without asking me?
Amelia bowed her head.
— I apologize. I thought it wasn't an important matter.
— Anyway, is he asleep now?
— Yes, we gave him strong sedatives. We took a short break because his body was very exhausted.
Hoshigaki began to walk with heavy steps toward the tank. Amelia followed.
— Lord Hoshigaki, where are you going?
Hoshigaki pressed one of the large buttons in front of Raiga.
Amelia was surprised.
— Lord Hoshigaki, what are you doing?
— Let's wake him up.
— But why?
— We are going to load him with power. You said his body could handle it.
Amelia's eyes grew wide.
— B-but this is too risky!
Raiga Draven, restrained inside a massive tank, woke up screaming. He didn't know what he was tied to, but something was holding him very tightly. He tensed his muscles, trying to break free; the laboratory shook.
Hoshigaki began to laugh.
— Unfortunately, Mr. Draven, you can't get out of here.
Raiga glared fiercely at Hoshigaki.
— You tricked me!
— No, we didn't trick you. The lab called you, and you came.
Raiga shouted.
— You didn't tell me this would happen!
Hoshigaki sighed.
— You are just a Velmoryan citizen. The lab doesn't have to tell you anything… Besides, you are not even aware of how powerful you are.
— I don't care! Let me go, or I will kill all of you!
— That's impossible. Right now, you are our guinea pig. Once our studies are complete, we will, of course, leave you alone.
Raiga screamed, trying to get out; the floor shook, but he couldn't move an inch. He slowly began to calm down.
— My wife and child are waiting for me. If you let me go now, I won't tell anyone anything.
Hoshigaki began to think.
— Well, what if we bring your wife and child to you, to the laboratory?
Raiga began to clench his fists and grind his teeth.
— I will kill you all!
Hoshigaki ignored him and turned to Amelia.
— Let's load him with power and see what happens.
Amelia objected.
— This would work on a normal person, but this body rejects external power…
— Just try it.
No matter how much Amelia protested, Hoshigaki was the owner of the laboratory, so she eventually did as he said, and she and her teammates prepared the system. Before Amelia began to lower the lever, she looked at Hoshigaki to be sure. Hoshigaki nodded his head in approval and slowly began to lower the lever.
A dark energy began to enter Raiga's body. Raiga couldn't understand what was happening.
— What's going on, what are you doing?
— An experiment.
When the dark energy started passing through Raiga's veins, he suddenly felt as if all his veins were about to burst. It hurt immensely; he cried out in pain.
Amelia realized the experiment was going badly and started raising the lever, but Hoshigaki stopped her from lowering it.
— Increase the power.
Amelia was shocked.
— B-but his body can't handle it… He's in pain, this isn't right!
Hoshigaki began to laugh.
— What do you think we are doing here, Amelia? A normal laboratory experiment?
— I know, but this is too much for me!
— Then leave the laboratory.
Seriousness shrouded Hoshigaki's face.
— But when you leave, I'll have to kill you…
Amelia was scared; she wanted to stop this, but her own life was at stake.
— Fine, Lord Hoshigaki, as you wish.
She pulled the lever all the way down. Blood started pouring from Raiga's body as he screamed in agony. His screams echoed throughout the laboratory. Hoshigaki, uncaring, headed for the exit. He looked at Amelia one last time.
— I have some work to do. I will be back this evening. Until then, continue to load him with power. When he is on the verge of dying from blood loss, give him blood. Don't kill him.
— Yes, sir!