Petu bnched when the one and only path she possessed any knowledge of ronounced unsafe by Daisuke. Along with the main path the man had taken to retreat deeper into the byrinth, it appeared that all the other routes were rigged with traps as well.

  Petu clutched her dress tightly with a frown of frustration. “Impossible. Why here… all of a sudden?”

  “They’re probably beiely trolled,” Daisuke informed in a monotone as the power of his eyes led him down a dark and narrow dead-end.

  Petu was evidently ed, but she held her tongue. A gasp did mao slip through her lips, however, when Daisuke didn’t show any signs of slowing, seemingly unfazed by the solid wall before him. She reached out instinctively, her fingers brushing against his garment, but before she could react—

  PHSSH~

  He vanished into the darkness, slipping through the wall like a ghost.

  “What?” she excimed in disbelief.

  Like the mountain path leading into the Mhaledictus’ hidden base, this passage was cleverly shrouded by a well-prepared magic circle. If not for the Eye of Verity, the route would’ve virtually been impossible to find.

  Fearing that she might antagonize him, Petu didn’t ask any questions; she simply followed close behind. The winding path eventually led to a dusty old chamber cluttered with ste crates, oversized scrolls, imposiallitraptions, and an array of other bizarre devices.

  Petu’s gaze darted nervously around the chamber, her mind rag with the grim possibilities of what the devices might have been used for. Meanwhile, Daisuke navigated the chamber like an arrow, the Eye of Verity already locked onto the target of a worthy interrogation.

  The dimly lit passage twisted deep into the earth, leading to a subterranean boratory cealed from the world above. The soft glow of crystals and flickering torchlight cast long, wavering shadows along the stone walls, lending an a and eerie atmosphere to the chamber.

  Shelves stretched across the walls, crammed with vats holding grotesque monster spes, their bodies suspended in murky, green-tinged liquids. Wooden tables were strewn with a grimoires, scrolls, and yellowed parts, their faded ink whisperis long fotten.

  At the ter of the room stood a raised ptform, carved with intricate runes and symbols. Withigs of a rge magic circle inscribed oform y a diminutive woman, her form still and pale against the dark stone.

  A grayed old man hovered nearby, jotting down notes onto a piece of part. “Are you the new assistant?” he asked by means of greeting, gng from the silver-haired boy to Petu whom he seemed to be acquainted with.

  “What happeo your previous assistant?” Daisuke interjected, smoothing out his temperament and his once hardened expression.

  Petu g him in surprise.

  The man sighed heavily, shaking his head as he gestured toward a bed stain on the wall in the shape of a man. “Ah, poor Waldo,” he mented. “He had a bad habit of toug or putting random things into his mouth. Poor kid. I hope he’s in a better pow.”

  “That’s horrible!” Petu recoiled in horror.

  Daisuke regarded the burn marks with indifference before returning his gaze to the man who was obviously some kind of stist. “I’ve heard remarkable things about your research,” he praised enthusiastically, assuming another persona simir to Julian Nathaniel Langley. “Could y me up to speed on your current project so that I better assist you?”

  The man tilted his head back with a warm blush, breathing in the pliment like a cool summer breeze. “My name is Tennyson Mzie, and I’m a neurolchemist.”

  The schor’s tale unfolded like a dark saga, ig his abdu from a remote magic tower over a year ago. He was forcibly taken to this underground base, where he was pelled to duct cruel experiments on i victims uhreat of violence.

  Neurolchemy was the study of alchemy, a runes, and their bined effects on the mind. At the magic tower, he was researg the anatomy of dungeoed monsters and how their mana core ied with them on a physiological level.

  “And how exactly is that research being applied here?” Daisuke asked. “What do these people hope to achieve?”

  Petu watched with anticipation, awaiting a response.

  Tennyson stepped closer to the motionless woman on the pedestal, the ected to his atling softly with each step. “Their objective… is to achieve total dominance over an individual’s mind through mental ditioning.”

  Daisuke’s eyebrows kogether in fusion. “…Mental ditioning?”

  Tennyson nodded solemnly. “To be precise,” he expined, his words measured, “…they seek to exert full trol over a woman’s sexual behavior.”

  Daisuke au stood in stunned silence.

  “Instead of relying on psychological methods that ate external stimuli and the scious cooperation of the subject, I took a different route,” Tennyson expined. “I devised an alchemical transmutation circle and augmehe formu with alphabets from the a rune nguage to create a unique magic circle.

  When activated, this circle gees and transmits a series of syic electrical and chemical signals to the brain. Initially, these artificial signals i with the cerebral cortex before targeting the hypothamus, which governs the indu aion of sexual desire.”

  Daisuke took a moment to carefully douse the fmes e that had rekindled in his chest. “And her,” he gestured towards the pink-haired woman on the pedestal. “Was she one of your experiments?”

  Tennyson nodded gravely, his eyes clouded with regret as he observed the woman. “Indeed,” he firmed with a heavy sigh. “She underwent the procedure, but unfortunately, she arrived in a weakeate. It appeared as though she had been strangled prior to her arrival. The strain of the experiment proved too much, and she succumbed to exhaustion shortly thereafter.”

  Petu cupped her mouth as tears pooled in her eyes, her heart heavy with sorrow and anger.

  Daisuke’s fists ched at his sides, his own anger an almost physical force among them. “Why the hell would anyone do this?” he seethed. “Who’s the mastermind behind this twisted operation?”

  “He’s just beyond that door,” Tennysoured toward the opposite side of the chamber. “Why don’t you go and ask him yourself?”

  Daisuke’s calm fa?ade crumbled, a murderous aura enveloping his body as his golden eyes veered in the dire of his arget.

  “How much progress have you made so far?” Daisuke asked in a monotone, his gaze still fixed oher side of the room. “Is the objective of this research genuinely achievable?”

  The old sage bowed his head, a shadow of remorse crossing his face. “Too much. And yes, given enough time, I believe we could indeed influen individual’s autonomy as previously described. But that’s merely the tip of the iceberg.”

  Petu’s eyes quivered with dread. “W-What do you mean?”

  Tennyson held her gaze. “Human beings are ily driven by three fual needs: sustenance, rest, and reprodu. The urge to procreate is deeply rooted in our essence as a species, serving as a meism for ensuring our tinued survival.

  If this research bears fruit, we might unwittingly open Pandora’s Box. By gaining trol over such a primal desire, we could potentially stumble upon the key to exert plete dominance over an individual’s psyche.”

  Petu’s disbelief morphed into horror. “In other words…”

  Daisuke finally turhe full brunt of his golden eyes onto the man, their iy akin to a smithy’s fe. “In order words, people would be turned into mindless puppets.”

  Petu stumbled back weakly, the color draining from her face.

  “And what’s your take on this?” Daisuke asked the pensive schor. “If you were given the ce to leave this pd return to the magic tower as a free man, would you take this research with you?”

  Tennyson held Daisuke’s unwavering gaze and found himself uo look away, trapped by their mysterious gravity. He was somehow being analyzed and observed on a spiritual level; he could feel it. He also knew he would be cut down if his reply held any falsehood.

  “I’ve always stood against oppression and dictatorship, as I believe they stifle humaivity and imagination,” he decred didly. “And this research embodies precisely that—trol.

  What our world truly needs is knowledge and innovation, which is why I was studying the anomalies within dungeons before being brought to this horrid pce. So, to answer your question, no, I have no desire of perpetuating this research if I mao escape.”

  Petu heaved a bittersweet smile.

  Tennyson finally breathed when Daisuke turned away, and then he said meekly. “You… You’re not here to bey assistant, are you?”

  SHINGG!

  Daisuke severed his before walking away.