Chapter 823: You Don’t Want Wit to Be Cut Again, Do You, Madam?
“Vampire Fangs.”
“Cruel Demon’s Claw.”
“Inferno Eye.”
“Abyss Egg.”
“Fear Heart.”
…
Every ingredient had been specially treated, from size to weight, they needed to be precisely measured. The order of melting and the amount of mana injected were also significant, with each timing point requiring special rules.
Dark followed the rules, melting one by one, his mana consumption like a flood, soon depleting more than half.
Even with his massive mana far exceeding that of an adult Magus, he clearly could not sustain this preliminary melting. It was evident how high-quality these ingredients were.
If not for knowing the wonders of the Dungeon, Dark would have surely thought that this academy was raising demons!
That said, these ingredients were not easily available to the academy.
Many of them were actually war reserves.
Especially those used in the final step of melting; they were incredibly precious, enough for only four or five experiments.
Therefore, particular caution was required during this final step.
Dark clearly understood this.
He poured all his efforts into melting the ingredients, using his best state.
But when he had melted three-quarters of the ingredients except for the soul consciousness of 【Demon King One】, his mana was almost depleted.
Thus, he had no choice but to drink the mana-replenishing potion prepared by Professor Kazel—not the 【Phoenix Blood Potion】.
The 【Phoenix Blood Potion】 was prepared to break through the mana limit in a short time.
Before that, he needed to take other potions that were not as strong to support him.
Moreover, the consumption of potions must follow a layer-by-layer progression in intensity; otherwise, due to drug resistance, the effects would gradually decrease.
After another hour, Dark forcefully downed a stimulant potion, finally completing the melting of most of the ingredients except for the soul consciousness of 【Demon King One】. What remained was the part that needed to be melted together with the soul consciousness of 【Demon King One】.
“Professor, it’s time for the main course.”
His gaze was firm, without hesitation, picking up the 【Phoenix Blood Potion】 once again.
Professor Kazel hurriedly reminded Professor Harvey to bring up the “fish on the chopping board.”
The soul consciousness of 【Demon King One】 was similarly sealed within a 【Truth Ball】.
Dark gulped down the 【Phoenix Blood Potion】 in one go. Immediately, flames entered his throat, the scorching heat spreading throughout his body, making his blood boil, and mana surged out.
His face turned slightly red, but the golden light in his eyes grew even stronger.
Having continuously opened the 【Eye of Truth】 for a whole day, he was nearly at the final stage in this aspect.
At this moment, there was a hint of the effect of 【Return Light Reflection】.
Therefore, he was very clear that if any accident occurred during this final melting, today’s experiment would come to an end.
It took about ten seconds to suppress the surging mana, Dark reached out and grabbed the 【Truth Ball】, then muttered incantations. With his magic pen, he concentrated some mana on the 【Truth Ball】 and suddenly pulled outward, drawing a clear, water-like beam of light.
Even the soul of a 【Demon King】 became transparent and pure after being dissected.
However, the next moment, surging black waves came forth, swallowing the light.
Dark showed no surprise. With a flick of the magic pen, he guided it into the light array of the 【First Formation】 and began the melting!
“Hoo!”
Flames erupted from his body, mana surged like a tide, crazily pouring in, exerting an extremely powerful force to suppress the soul of 【Demon King One】, rendering it completely unable to resist.
Only three minutes.
These three minutes were the moments of death.
Firstly, it was crucial not to let the soul enter a “dead” state.
Therefore, during the melting process, he had to simultaneously drip in 【Paradise Bliss】 to protect its soul and consciousness.
In this regard, his experience was not extensive, but at least he was not a novice.
Three minutes felt like three years, pushing forward with difficulty.
The rate of consumption of mana, physical strength, and mental energy was terrifying.
But to the observers, three minutes remained just three minutes.
Eralganie had already put down her book, her eyes burning as she watched the center of the lab.
Wit Gold was also in a state of extreme tension.
He had long been informed of the reason he was called here.
He was very clear that if this experimental step went wrong and led to 【Demon King One】 entering a “dead” state, he would be the last line of defense.
He wasn’t afraid of being parasitized by the 【Demon King】 again, but he feared that a second separation would further damage his already fragile soul.
Yet, sometimes, the more you fear something, the more it comes!
…
When Dark used up two-thirds of the 【Paradise Bliss】 from the mind bottle, an unexpected event finally happened.
The consciousness of 【Demon King One】 suddenly woke up during the melting process!
It struggled out of its state of oblivion with its own will!
Dark immediately noticed this and poured the largest amount of mana he could muster into it, attempting to suppress its consciousness in that instant!
But at this critical moment, the three minutes had just passed, and he was too focused, losing sensitivity to the passage of time.
Mana fluctuated as it was about to run out, and the consciousness of 【Demon King One】 found a gap.
“Potion!”
Dark abruptly stretched out his hand, grabbing the second bottle of 【Phoenix Blood Potion】 passed by Professor Kazel, opening his mouth to pour it in directly.
Without waiting for new mana to regenerate, his eyes overflowed with golden light, his expression almost ferocious, fully outputting!
But the originally resilient soul of 【Demon King One】 suddenly became as soft as tofu.
His mana pressed down like a raging wave, crushing it into pieces!
“Ji ji ji!”
A triumphant and sinister laugh resounded as the soul suddenly collapsed, piercing into Dark’s brain.
Dark frowned, clenching his fingers, newly generated mana crushing down, cleanly grinding it into pieces.
“It’s dead.”
When he spoke, his face quickly regained calm.
Today’s entire experiment failed at this moment.
The precious materials consumed were worth a fortune.
The escape of 【Demon King One】 was inevitable.
But he showed no sign of tension.
“Understood.”
Professor Kazel raised his wand, and in the blink of an eye, hundreds of arrays lit up on the ground, overlapping and expanding, enveloping the entire lab in a glow.
Everyone’s faces reflected different colors.
Professor Kazel’s body floated up under the influence of mana.
Professor Steven Harvey also acted simultaneously, releasing a rapidly spinning array from a 【Magus Card】 in his palm, which was a densely engraved array disk.
Wit Gold, observing from behind the barrier, instantly reached his limit of tension. Ophelia Brad firmly grabbed his wrist, providing emotional support.
Professor Metia snapped her fingers, and the entire hidden place’s spell barrier activated simultaneously, nearly submerging this area into a completely independent domain.
Yet, after all these measures, they did not detect any trace of the dead 【Demon King One】.
It was as if it truly died, and died thoroughly, leaving no trace of soul or consciousness.
But everyone knew that it must have already been reborn somewhere!
“Huff.”
Professor Kazel exhaled, floating down from mid-air.
Then he lowered his wand and said, “Harvey, bring in 【Two】.”
They had previously found 【Demon King Two】 through 【Demon King One】, and now it was finally time to reverse the process.
But after the words fell, he walked to the barrier and asked the still-cold Eralganie, “Did you sense anything?”
…
Dark’s gaze also shifted to Eralganie.
How many times the 【Undying Demon King】 had repeatedly jumped between life and death, only the demon king himself knew.
But regardless of how many experiences it had, it had never faced such a situation before.
It had never played its “death and resurrection” trick in front of a True Deity.
Of course, at this moment, it had just been reborn, with its soul consciousness in an extremely weak state, unable to perceive its surroundings or think much.
It wouldn’t know that when it chose to “suicide and reincarnate” again, and to avoid immediate detection, chose a “hibernation-style” reincarnation, someone had pinpointed its location without a single breath escaping.
Eralganie extended her slender
Fingers pointed at Wit Gold.
“It’s already inside.”
She said this.
…
Thus, Wit Gold got back on the experimental table once again.
Professor Steven Harvey excitedly said, “Carrian, come help.”
Sister Carrian quickly came over, and by the time she reached the bedside, she was fully in her element.
They had long prepared for all possible failures of the experiment.
The current situation was undoubtedly one of the best.
The [Undying Demon King] predictably entered the cage they had prepared for it.
Although they had some inklings about why it entered this cage, it likely deviated from their expectations.
But as things stood, they could use this fact as a foundation to proceed with the next step of their plan—cutting off the piece of soul that had just begun to grow!
This method was far more violent compared to cutting it into pieces, then reassembling it.
However, given how small its reach was currently, this was the most effective choice that would cause the least damage to Wit’s soul.
The professors had a clear judgment on this point.
…
Dark took off his gloves, stepped out of the partition, and sat down on a chair.
Aurora hurriedly picked up the warm, damp towel and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.
His severely depleted mana, energy, and physical strength were slowly recovering.
It was not suitable to use magic or potions to recover at this moment; doing so would only exhaust his life force.
He needed to rely on his own recovery abilities to gradually return to a relatively better state.
On the other hand, Rose tugged at Diana’s sleeve, pulling her back from staring excitedly at the laboratory. She then glared at her.
Diana was confused, tilting her head in puzzlement.
“Did you eat all of Eralganie’s blessings?”
Rose covered her forehead, feeling exhausted.
…
Wit Gold’s soul surgery went very smoothly.
The newly born soul consciousness of [Demon King One] was cleanly removed, much like an appendix.
Professor Steven Harvey placed it back into the [Truth Ball], his expression somewhat amused.
Ophelia Brad hurriedly entered after seeing the experiment end, “Professor Harvey, how is Wit?”
“Wit is healthy,” Professor Steven Harvey smiled. “Don’t worry, the damage this time is less than one percent of what it was last time, basically negligible.”
“That’s good,” Ophelia Brad patted her chest, feeling relieved.
Professor Steven Harvey continued, “In about half an hour, Wit will wake up. Give him a dose of the previous potion to let him sleep well, and he’ll be fine tomorrow. Yes, the next experiment is tentatively scheduled for the day after tomorrow, so let him prepare in advance.”
Ophelia Brad’s expression darkened instantly.
…
For having to trouble Wit again, Dark felt slightly apologetic.
But he was also relieved that Wit indeed had a strong attraction to [Demon King One].
With this, he could go even further in the next experiment.
…
That night, after Dark had recovered somewhat, he discussed the day’s experiment with Professor Kazel and Professor Steven Harvey.
On Monday, he did not attend class.
On Tuesday, he had Eralganie take over the class.
Eralganie, for the first time as a professor rather than a teaching assistant, taught the first-year students.
Initially, the students were very resistant to this young-looking female teaching assistant, but later realized that their Professor Dark Demon was only a year older than them, making it easy to accept.
—Mainly because they couldn’t refuse!
Eralganie’s penalty methods were completely inherited from Dark, without any of Professor Kazel’s gentleness.
When the end-of-class bell rang, Eralganie left the classroom immediately, not staying an extra second.
Soon, she arrived at a hidden place behind the teacher’s dormitory.
Dark had been there for a while but had not started the experiment yet.
Because Wit was required for support, today’s experiment also needed Wit’s presence.
Dark spent the entire morning preparing, gaining more confidence for the afternoon’s experiment.
He estimated the time and began the experiment at exactly one o’clock in the afternoon.
The afternoon classes were from two to three-thirty.
After three-thirty, the [History of Magic] class would end, and Wit would arrive at the lab before four.
During the period from one to four, he wouldn’t be needed yet.
Once everything was ready, Dark put on gloves and started the experiment.
Today’s experiment, besides being supported by the data from March 1st, had another significant advantage: the [Demon King One], sealed within the [Truth Ball], was in a self-regulating [hibernation state]!
This was an unexpected blessing.
The soul consciousness of [Demon King One], which was weak at birth, chose to rely on self-hibernation during the initial phase.
Being cut off in this state and then sealed, it was completely unable to draw power from the outside world and couldn’t automatically awaken from hibernation.
Professor Steven Harvey didn’t even need to handle it; it was already neatly laid out on the chopping block.
But to prevent an accident from happening again like last time, the professors added new preventive measures, making it more submerged in the dream state.
By around three-forty, the afternoon classes ended, and Wit Gold finally arrived, still somewhat nervous.
Even though he hadn’t suffered last time when his appendix was removed (mistakenly), who knew what might happen next time?
Moreover, the more times it was cut, the higher the chance of something going wrong—perhaps even death!
A little later than Wit, Diana, Rose, and Aurora also came in.
This time, even Eve, who hadn’t been present before, managed to make it.
Thus, the original team was now complete, with even a +1.
And Dark’s experiment process gradually advanced to a critical stage.
He maintained long-term focus during the three-hour experiment, demonstrating an alarming level of stability.
This showed that he had mastered his condition to an extremely frightening degree.
A year and a half ago, he was still a pitiful figure prone to [Bliss+1].
…
Before five o’clock, Dark successfully advanced the experiment to the final refining step.
Although the list of materials used this time remained unchanged, each material’s individual differences required completely different adjustments during the refinement.
Dark relied on potions to support him, successfully advancing the experiment to the step of refining the soul consciousness of [Demon King One].
Then he drank a potion to stay alert and reached for the [Truth Ball], perceiving the [Demon King One] inside.
Refining souls was taboo, but most research in this world eventually touched upon souls.
This was an unavoidable hurdle for researchers.
Dark took a deep breath, poured another [Phoenix Blood Potion], and opened his [Eye of Truth].
Illusory flames suddenly rose, and golden light shone brightly in his eyes.
The experiment lasted nearly four hours, and his current energy was much higher than before.
Once he suppressed the agitation of his mana, he pulled the soul of [Demon King One] from the [Truth Ball] and infused it into the light array of the [First Formation Array], beginning the refinement.
Two and a half minutes later, he drank another [Phoenix Blood Potion] and continued the refinement.
Three and a half minutes later, he had already added thirty drops of [Paradise Bliss].
Four and a half minutes later, half of the second bottle of [Paradise Bliss] was used up.
Five minutes later, he drank a third [Phoenix Blood Potion].
Six and a half minutes later, he finished the second bottle of [Paradise Bliss], using a total of sixty points of [Paradise Bliss].
Relying on the vast mana provided by the three [Phoenix Blood Potions], he forcibly refined the soul consciousness of [Demon King One] within these six minutes.
The brilliance of the [First Formation Array] suddenly burst, shining blindingly bright.
Dark squinted sharply, continuing to control the output of mana until the light converged, the light array collapsed, and the table’s mana cards were enveloped, only then did he finally exhale and stop the mana output.
However, the reaction of the mana cards had not ceased; the light released from the cards gradually formed a massive light cocoon on the surface of the light array.
Inside the light cocoon, a dull heartbeat sound echoed, much like a heart.
…
Dark stared intently at the light cocoon, feeling his own heartbeat growing louder.
He knew he was getting nervous.
The experiment had progressed to this point, with incalculable costs, and he couldn’t even be sure if the next experiment would be as successful.
Professor Kazel
Professor Steven Harvey was also closely watching the light cocoon.
The success or failure of everything lies here.
But everything that could be done has been done.
Next, we can only see if the foundation laid in front will be enough to support the completion of this Mana Spirit Card.
If everything goes smoothly, it won’t be long before we know whether the plan to turn the [Demon King] into a Mana Spirit Card… will succeed!
…
The key point for the success of this plan lies in the absolute control a Magus has over the Mana Spirit.
Otherwise, even if [Demon King No. 1] is turned into a Mana Spirit, it could still enter a [Death] state by destroying its own Mana Spirit Card.
Moreover, deadly skills like the [Dual-Dimensional Burst Slash], which can directly destroy a Mana Spirit Card by attacking it, could cause it to die again.
Only with absolute control can a Magus issue a mandatory command such as “absolute prohibition on seeking death,” preventing [Demon King No. 1] from dying.
Once turned into a Mana Spirit, as long as one avoids those special skills, it won’t really die.
This can reduce the risk to the minimum.
…
In the plans they can currently implement, none have a higher success rate than this plan.
As for summoning the [Demon King] as a Mana Spirit, that is just talk for now.
At least for now, both Dark and the professors prefer to seal it away even if it is successfully created.
…
The lab became very quiet, so much so that everyone’s breathing became clearly audible.
Everyone was looking at the light cocoon on the experimental table, waiting for the result to be revealed.
Time ticked by, and the reaction within the light cocoon gradually intensified then calmed down, seemingly moving steadily towards success.
Five minutes, ten minutes, until fifteen minutes later.
After a long period of self-reaction, the aura inside the light cocoon finally settled completely.
“Huh—”
Dark exhaled, picked up a small mercury knife from the side.
“Let’s wait a bit more,” Professor Kazel reminded him.
Dark put the knife back down.
Sure enough, the fluctuations inside the light cocoon jumped twice more.
So he waited another five minutes before picking up the mercury knife again.
This time, Professor Kazel did not stop him.
Dark pressed the knife against the top of the light cocoon, applying slight pressure, then slid it backward, cutting open a slit.
He didn’t need to widen the slit; the energy sealed within the light cocoon squeezed out through it, shooting out dark, translucent light.
A burst of mana surged out instantly!
Dark felt a hint of alertness as he saw the light cocoon snap open, releasing corrosive black water.
He extended his hand, mana flowing out to stop the flowing black water.
Professor Kazel took a container from the side and guided the black water into it, temporarily sealing it.
Through these remnants of the mana spirit, many things could be detected.
Dark processed the black water according to his instructions.
Meanwhile, Professor Steven Harvey had already stretched out his arm, summoning a bone hand to retrieve the Mana Spirit Card from the black water and wash it clean.
Moments later, Dark collected all the black water, and Professor Harvey washed the Mana Spirit Card thoroughly.
Those waiting outside entered one by one after receiving permission from the professors.
Clearly, everyone wanted to see the final product right away.
…
“Will it succeed?” Wit looked nervous; he really didn’t want to suffer anymore.
“Of course it will succeed,” Ophelia Brad was quite confident, after all, she had personally experienced the wonders of [Bliss].
“On the third day of March, the Demon King Festival, it’s a good omen,” Professor Metia’s silver eyes sparkled, her expression radiant.
Professor Shylph walked quickly to the front and soon arrived behind Dark.
At this moment, Dark was taking the Mana Spirit Card from Professor Steven Harvey.
Professor Harvey had clearly seen the card’s face beforehand, but his expression management was impeccable, revealing nothing.
Professor Kazel waved his wand, floating himself up and standing with his hands clasped, looking at Dark’s hand.
Dark looked at the Mana Spirit Card in his hand; the first thing that caught his eye was the long string of stars!
“One, two, three, four, five… eleven, twelve… Twelve stars!”
He counted them one by one, his eyes shining.
Although this Mana Spirit Card was not entirely created by himself and benefited greatly from the exaggerated quality of the materials, being able to create a Mana Spirit Card with twelve stars by hand still made him feel incredibly excited.
The professors’ twelve-star Mana Spirits were something he had coveted for a long time!
This creation was not directed, so the final product could have any number of stars.
Twelve stars were considered extremely lucky.
Dark’s second glance was directed at the name of the Mana Spirit Card—this was obviously very important.
—[Demon King · Alastor]!
GG.
Dark’s expression fell.
With such an obvious card name, how could he summon it?
[Demon King · Alastor] and [Demon King · Arminster] were different.
Everyone knew that [Undying Demon King] was Alastor. Unless the world changed drastically, summoning it in a Mana Duel would bring nothing but trouble.
Moreover, the name itself was ominous.
He looked down at the card face of [Demon King · Alastor].
There, he saw the familiar visage of Alastair Aldridge!
“At least wear a white cloak as a disguise, Summoner · Alastor.”
Dark couldn’t help but comment.
The appearance of [Demon King · Alastor] was a tall and muscular demon.
Its skin was dark, muscles bulging, wearing a blood-red cloak with white edges, revealing a solid chest and stone-like abs.
Its eyes were bloodshot, its face wild, with long hair reaching its waist, black and lustrous, and horns standard for demons curling like ram horns on either side of its head.
Behind it, a pair of blood-red bat wings spread open, and a long tail like a lizard, but finer and longer, coiled around its waist.
Dark’s gaze shifted downward, meeting its eyes.
Those narrow eyes suddenly widened, emitting a fierce aura.
[Demon King · Alastor] grinned, revealing sharp vampire fangs, showing off its ferocity.
“Very well, very spirited.”
Dark said calmly, making [Demon King · Alastor]’s face even more terrifying.
But since he held the Mana Spirit Card, he had confirmed his absolute control over it.
Therefore, this creation, in terms of this goal, was extremely successful.
For a Mana Spirit under his complete control, there was no need to worry about its threat.
“How is it?”
Professor Kazel clearly saw the interaction between Dark and [Demon King · Alastor] and immediately asked.
Dark knew what he was asking and replied, “So far, my control over this Mana Spirit Card is very secure, but we need to summon it to know for sure. However, we should prepare for facing a twelve-star Mana Spirit.”
Professor Kazel nodded in understanding, “It seems this plan was quite successful?”
Dark said, “If it had ended up as a cat or dog, it would have been great, but alas… the one-in-a-million chance actually happened!”
Professor Kazel joked, “If you insist strongly, I can try adding some factors of Avian-beast Kin.”
Dark shrugged, “We can save this idea for the next experiment.”
Professor Kazel laughed, “That’s true, we still have another test subject, we can’t afford to slack off.”
Dark pointed to his head, saying, “No. 2’s memory is relatively intact, possibly increasing the uncertainty.”
Professor Kazel said, “But our experimental experience is also richer, we can handle it. However, without insurance, the risk does increase.”
As he spoke, he looked at Wit with a look of regret.
Wit: “???”
Little friend, you’ve been asking too many questions lately!
