Chapter 107: The Avenger

"Are you saying that the moment you approached him, he saw right through your disguise?"

Inside the ordinary-looking residence, the white-haired man, who had been reading the newspaper, looked up in surprise at his sister. Her face, devoid of its previous flippancy, was now etched with gravity.

"Yes, he pointed out my disguise immediately. However, he wanted the Sun Stone. I probed him, suggesting he was a Radiant Knight, and he didn't deny it..."

The man frowned deeply.

"He wants the Sun Stone and doesn't deny being a Radiant Knight. Although the path of the Radiant Knight is highly mysterious—one of the hidden trumps of the Dierge Empire's royal family—given the energy and elemental composition of the Sun Stone, combined with the rumors surrounding Radiant Knights, its role should be to stabilize the power of existence in the primary stage..."

Chris immediately refuted this.

"Mulan Jonst cannot possibly be a primary-stage Radiant Knight. Otherwise, he couldn't have seen through me so instantly. Perhaps it's intended for his successor, or perhaps it's a gem to be offered to that beautiful Queen of Dierge."

"That possibility cannot be ruled out. In any case, his arrival is a good thing for us. Moreover, the Dierge Empire has always been formidable. Although they didn't achieve a total victory in the war, they won the confrontation in the mysterious world; otherwise, the other side wouldn't have agreed to peace talks."

Chris sat down opposite her brother, crossing her legs.

"But my dear brother, what if we fail? Do we abandon our comfortable life and flee?"

"Then perhaps we should just call it a day, let the auction proceed as planned, and make our escape?"

The white-haired man asked this with a smile, causing Chris’s expression to change instantly.

"Impossible. After they made us suffer so much, we must retaliate tenfold, a hundredfold. If once isn't enough, then twice; if twice isn't enough, then three times. Even if we can't kill him this time, we must get him on the Dierge wanted list!"

"Excellent, that's the spirit!"

The man took out a pair of scissors and clipped a small snippet from the newspaper. Looking closely at the table, one could see many of his newspapers were missing small pieces—all reports of local cases from recent times: missing persons, thefts, homicides, and the like.

"I've been saving these for over half a year. This should be sufficient!"

The man then grabbed the pile of fine newspaper scraps, crushed them into a ball, ground them into fine paper dust, and poured the contents into a ceramic bowl nearby.

He then pulled back his outer coat. Hidden in the inner pocket was a dense array of tiny vials and test tubes, all sealed with wooden stoppers. He retrieved one test tube and several bottles, twisted the stoppers with his fingers, and uncorked the tube.

A crystalline, transparent liquid was poured from the tube into the bowl. He stirred it continuously with a spoon. The newspaper powder seemed to dissolve into the liquid. Simultaneously, he added items from the small bottles, such as fingernails, hair, skin flakes, and bone fragments. Miraculously, the bowl soon contained a multicolored, gelatinous mass.

Finally, the man took out one last small bottle filled with glass-like shards.

"You're putting those in, too?"

Chris couldn't help but frown, and her brother explained, "This is the last batch of catalyst on hand. We must make the most of it. Adding the remnants of the previous generations of avengers should trigger a qualitative change!"

A look of mild excitement crossed the man's face. Without hesitation, he poured the crystals into the bowl, reached in to scoop out all the gelatinous material, and began kneading it in his hands like modeling clay. The multicolored goo shifted shapes until it was molded into a crude, humanoid figure.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Your craftsmanship is still as abysmal as ever."

Chris mocked her brother without mercy. He snorted coldly and shot her a look.

"Why don't you do it then?"

"Forget it, I'd make it even worse."

"At least you have some self-awareness!"

The white-haired man said no more, making minor adjustments to the appearance of the clay figure. He pulled two more test tubes from his coat; the liquid in the first was red. He poured it over the figure, and it seeped in entirely, as if the figure were made of sponge.

"Idiot, you forgot the facial features!"

"What's the rush? There's still time!"

The man retrieved a small carving knife and began to carve the contours of the face. But the moment the first cut was made, the figure let out a cry of pain.

"Ah..."

"I'm sorry! It's my fault. I should have carved your features from the start. I'll be gentler, just bear with it!"

The white-haired man soothed it continuously, stroking the figure's head with his index finger. Soon, the screaming stopped, though a faint whimpering persisted, as if someone were enduring great agony.

"There, it's done..."

Chris took one look at the figure's face and averted her gaze. Being carved with a knife was painful enough, but these features were truly ghastly.

The man shook his head, placed the figure on the floor, and uncorked the final test tube, pouring the liquid over its head. Just like the second tube, the liquid was fully absorbed.

The next moment, the figure on the floor began to expand and grow. From the size of a fist, it grew to the length of an arm, then as high as the tabletop, finally reaching a hulking stature of over two meters.

It was a massive, unclothed figure. Its lower body was bare and clearly genderless; its head was smooth, lacking hair, eyebrows, or other features. Its muscles were grotesque, its arms were of uneven length, its legs were lopsided, and its facial features were askew, yet it looked incredibly ferocious. At the very least, it appeared male.

Chris found some old clothes and a tattered cloak from somewhere and tossed them to the creature. The creature caught them, stared blankly for a few seconds, and then began to put them on.

Because of its massive frame, the clothes were tight and ill-fitting, but they went on. Finally, it donned the cloak and pulled up the hood, making it look halfway decent.

"I will help you find your enemy. Pour all your hatred and resentment onto him. Tear his body apart, devour his flesh, and you shall have the chance to be reborn!"

"Hhh... hhh..."

The creature breathed heavily and raggedly, its asymmetrical eyes flickering with fury and longing.

The white-haired man retrieved two more test tubes from his coat and handed them to the cloaked giant.

"I will purge your fear and grant you great power. Of course, besides revenge, you must also protect me and Chris."

"O-obey..."

The creature spoke with great difficulty, barely managing the word before tossing the two test tubes into its mouth.

*Crunch, crunch...*

It chewed them up along with the glass, swallowing everything mixed with the liquid inside.

"Will that puncture his intestines?"

"He doesn't even have those yet."

The man shrugged. Even if his doll-making skills were lacking, the effectiveness of the final product would certainly not be.

"That was the last of the materials. The Philosopher's Stone powder is exhausted, and I don't know if I'll be lucky enough to get more. But my touch was good today; it actually responded to my words. Amazing!"

"Amazing?"

The man raised his hand and pointed at himself.

"Yes, yes! You're amazing! If you succeed in your revenge, you'll be even more amazing! If you manage to devour his flesh, you might even become a real human!"

"Be... come... a... real... hu... man! Become, a, real, hu, man!"

The giant grew excited, repeating the words. Its already irregular face twisted unnaturally with excitement. Suddenly, it let out a roar toward the sky.

"ROAR—"

The sound was like thunder and the howling of a gale, startling the white-haired man and Chris. The roar rolled outward like a peal of thunder, as if half of the city of Solence could hear it.

The next moment, the floor beneath the giant exploded.

With a "bang," the hulking figure vanished from the spot, charging out into the night.

"Oh no! It's out of control!"

"You idiot, you dropped the ball at the critical moment!"

Chris stood up abruptly and chased after it.

...

"Roar..."

The roar drifted from afar. Mulan, who had been reading in his inn, set his book down. He could sense the excitement contained within the roar, but his demonic power also allowed him to perceive a profound and intense resentment lurking within the sound.