He tore through the Holy Grail War, and you still call him a dragon?

To the crawling Shinshi (Dead Apostles), Norton didn't even bother a glance.

The King of Flames ignored their pitiful existence and moved deeper down the long corridor.

Compared to the upper levels, this new area was darker, more humid. Pale green lights illuminated two tidy rows of coffins. A foul, decaying stench leaked from their seams.

It felt like the restless dead within were trying to crawl out from the underworld.

Norton casually extended one finger and pressed down a corpse guardian that dared move. In the next second, it burned into dust, its soul scattered completely.

"...!"

Though slower than Shinshi, the recently awakened corpse guardians seemed to recognize Norton's overwhelming presence. They immediately retreated, obediently sealing their own coffins tight.

"...A refined corpse guardian refinement technique."

Norton commented briefly. He wasn't bullying the guardians for amusement.

From that one touch, he had confirmed traces of dragon-level alchemical craftsmanship impossible for humans to produce.

Was one of his siblings involved?

"Unclear. Let's see more."

At the end of the display chamber, an expansive hall appeared. It gleamed like a holy sanctuary made of pure white light, forbidding all intruders with solemn majesty.

There was no path forward. Only a silver-white ornate coffin sat on a jade-like stone platform.

"Such a boring trick." Norton instantly saw through the alchemical lock—it required the blood of a specific individual to activate a hidden elevator.

But he didn't need to follow such rules.

Norton dropped a bead of his own dragon blood onto a carved groove in the coffin. The blood slipped in, and the mechanism triggered. The coffin and the stone beneath it shook violently as mercury began spilling from its ornate carvings.

Mercury flowed over the coffin, spilling and swirling chaotically like infected matter, writhing and splashing without meaning.

Then Norton casually snapped his fingers.

Snap!

The wild mercury instantly froze, reversing its flow as if time moved backward. Within seconds, Norton seized control of the mechanism, revealing a hidden elevator switch atop the silver coffin.

He pressed it. The entire platform began slowly descending, taking Norton into deeper darkness.

This next layer opened to massive mechanical arrays, tanks filled with electrolyte solution, and sealed rooms behind reinforced glass.

Some doors bore plaques: "Biological Lab," "Equipment Maintenance Room," and the like.

Near the end, Norton saw a room labeled "Interrogation Room." Curious, he glanced inside.

Surgical torture devices stood where one might expect an operating table. Some logs were scattered nearby.

[Subject Frigg No.1 failed. Attempting to interfere with core soul of Zero leads to instability. Subject destroyed after berserk incident.]

[Frigg No.2 forcibly downgraded in physical specs. Cloning defect reduces soul compatibility. Still prone to berserk episodes. Excessive equipment damage. Budget unsustainable. Disposed.]

[New tech from Medical Association succeeded in extracting soul fragments from Zero to create Frigg No.3... After 46 execution cycles, No.3 remains stable. Perfect control of Frigg subjects now possible.]

"So these humans... tried combining their life science with dragon alchemy?"

Just from a few logs, Norton could deduce a high-ranking dragon had aided or deeply cooperated with these humans.

And their focus remained on the soul of Frigg Zero? What kind of soul would be worth all this?

Norton shut the door and looked to the final room. Its nameplate bore only one symbol:

"0"

No lock. No protection. He pushed the door open.

Inside, soft water trickled from circular channels along the walls. The alloy walls were seamless and smooth. Tiny hidden crevices between ceiling and walls released regular drops of water, forming thin, transparent curtains.

Water?

Norton sensed something off. Water, like mercury, was a crucial alchemical medium.

The room was completely open. At its center stood a crystal coffin. Within, faintly visible—flaming red hair.

That could only be Frigg Zero.

The coffin was tightly bound with black alchemical chains. Around it, elegant runes resembling Rūnmoji (Runes) and ancient dragon script formed concentric rings.

Layer upon layer of seals.

From their style, Norton could now identify who had supported the human experiments.

And for that dragon to desire Zero so much...

It meant Zero's soul was noble beyond comparison.

Then the truth of that soul's identity became clear—

Just as Norton placed his hand upon the sealing chain to unravel it, a sound came from behind.

The soft, rhythmic clopping of hooves behind the water curtain.

Warehouse District

The once-vast complex now resembled a battlefield struck by tactical missile carpet bombing. A massive, scorched crater had replaced buildings, roads, even the foundation itself.

Though it was still night, fire scattered across the ruins lit up the square and the entire area.

Thick smoke rolled skyward, reflecting the firelight and casting a terrifying glow. From the outer perimeter, the gathered heirs of the major clans watched in stunned silence.

The ignorant thought the Shu family had deployed heavy munitions for revenge, wiping the Chen family off the map... which would explain the joint blockade effort.

The informed clan leaders looked on with troubled faces. This was the terrifying force of a new system.

The Shu family had deliberately let them witness it.

The old belief that individual mixed-blood warriors could not challenge modern weaponry was starting to crumble.

Perhaps one day the other clans would wield such strength. But for now, the Shu family stood alone.

Unreachable.

(End of Chapter)

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