Chapter 24:The Birth of an Artificial Mage
Alexander let out a long, exhausted sigh as he dropped the metal pole—now frozen over into what he jokingly called an ice staff—onto the cold floor. He sank down beside it, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
In front of him sat rows of ice-formed containers, each one holding a different severed body part.
They were, of course, the remains of the scientists Amon had slaughtered.
"Why did I have to do this anyway?" Alex muttered aloud. "If we were just getting rid of the bodies, wouldn't it be easier to burn them?" His voice carried a note of irritation.
A short distance away, a certain mad scientist rummaged through debris.
James.
Lifting a chunk of shattered concrete, he hauled it over to a growing mound of broken equipment before dropping it with a dull thud.
"Remember, Alex," James called back, "there are always people willing to pay good money for other people's organs."
He walked to another section of the wreckage, this one filled with twisted metal and shattered machines. Bending down, he picked up a ruined monitor.
"Arms, legs, hearts, lungs, every piece has value," James continued. "I know plenty of dark mages who'd kill for these. We can sell them on the black market for a very comfortable profit."
Grunting, he carried the broken monitor over and tossed it onto the pile.
"How else do you think we make money?" he asked sarcastically as he turned, spotting Alex sitting on the floor with a tired frown.
Seeing the wide grin on James's face, Alex narrowed his eyes. "What's got you in such a good mood?"
Still smiling far too brightly, James began strolling toward him.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he said lightly. "Sure, the lab's a wreck, but time can fix that."
"Time… and money, of course."
Alex watched silently as James walked past him. The scientist's steps slowed until he came to a stop before one of the large containers.
He raised a hand and gently rested it on the glass.
"Besides…" James murmured, a grin stretching from ear to ear. "How could I not be excited? I'm about to witness the birth of an artificial mage."
Inside the tank, suspended helplessly in a pool of strange purple liquid, floated a small boy.
The pod was embedded into the wall, swallowed by a mess of wires, tubes, and machinery. His once wavy raven-black hair was now stark snow-white. His malnourished body had shifted into something new, still small and delicate, but unnaturally balanced, almost sculpted, unlike any child his age.
His bodysuit had been shredded during his fight with James, leaving him shirtless and wearing only ragged pants.
His skin remained pale, but his figure now resembled that of a three- or four-year-old child despite being five.
Amon.
Hearing James's words, a deep frown pulled at Alexander's face. Something ugly twisted in his chest.
jealousy.
"Do you remember the day we met?" Alex asked suddenly. "Because I remember it perfectly."
James didn't look away from the container. "The orphanage you grew up in? I believe it was called Black Stone Children's Home. Quite run-down, if I recall."
Alex nodded slowly. "I remember how you came there one day and adopted me. Give me the surname Redmaere. You gave me a life, father. You helped me understand the future I wanted. For that, I'm grateful."
"Do not thank me, Alexander," James replied, finally turning. His tone softened, almost fatherly, yet unsettling. "Thank yourself."
Stepping closer, James knelt in front of him, a gentle, yet chilling, smile spreading across his face.
"Thank you for living up to my expectations. Thank you for surviving my experiments. Thank you… for becoming my son."
He reached out, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"I truly am grateful to have a son like you."
"Father…"
At the sound of James's words, a warm sensation bloomed in Alexander's chest. It was unfamiliar—but not unpleasant.
They embraced, resting their heads against each other's shoulders.
Behind Alexander's back, however, a warped, grotesque smile twisted across James's face.
'Thank you… thank you for being so damn stupid', he laughed silently.
'You? My son? You're nothing more than property. One of my possessions.'
'You, the scientist, this facility, Amon, everything here belongs to me.'
'I want it all. Money. Influence. Knowledge. Lacrima.'
'Every last thing this world has to offer!'
James's body trembled faintly, the motion subtle but unmistakable.
Alexander frowned. "Father? Is something wrong?" he asked, pulling back slightly.
James withdrew as well, meeting Alexander's gaze. "no. Of course," he said smoothly. "Everything is fine."
The warmth in his smile was practiced. Hollow.
Rising to his feet, James offered a hand and helped Alexander up as well.
"Would you take care of that for me?" James asked, gesturing toward the heap of shattered machinery nearby. "My arms are rather tired."
"Of course!" Alexander replied, smiling brightly.
Without moving from his spot, he raised two fingers and pointed them toward the debris.
"Earth Magic: Liquid Ground."
The floor around Alexander softened, its solid surface melting into loose, churning mud.
James observed in silence.
'Just like Amon', he thought. 'Another successful product of Project Requiem.'
'Alexander was implanted with an Earth Lacrima—an Elemental Lacrima.'
'A crystallized mass of pure Magic Power. When implanted into the body, it acts as an artificial magical core, granting the wielder full access to Earth Magic.'
Formed by condensing immense quantities of Ethernano into a stabilized, earth-aligned crystal.
'After implantation, the Lacrima fused directly with Alexander's Ethernano circulation system, reshaping his body to accommodate it. Over time, the magic began to flow as naturally as it would within a true Earth Mage.'
'Eleven attempts', James recalled. 'Eleven failures before this one finally survived.'
The liquefied ground surged forward in a straight line, reaching the pile of broken machinery.
With a simple motion of his fingers, Alexander caused the earth to rise in rolling waves, swallowing the debris whole as though it were sinking into quicksand.
"All done," Alexander said cheerfully, lowering his hand and resting it on his hip.
He turned, only to find James staring off into nothing, his expression distant, unreadable.
He was completely lost in his thoughts.
'More than four hundred years ago, dragons ruled this world as its undisputed apex predators,' James thought.
Images surfaced in his mind—massive reptilian beasts with long, powerful tails, razor-sharp claws and fangs, and vast, webbed wings that blotted out the sky.
Creatures that looked less like animals and more like living disasters.
Dragons.
'To them, humans were nothing more than livestock, barely worth acknowledging beyond the value of our flesh.'
'But time devours even the mightiest.'
For reasons still buried beneath centuries of lost history, the dragons vanished. Their extinction was so absolute that modern fools questioned whether they had ever existed at all.
'To most people, dragons are bedtime stories. Half-forgotten legends told to children.'
"Father…?" Alexander called.
James didn't respond.
'I have spent my entire life studying magic, every discipline, every record, every myth.'
'And even so, I know painfully little about dragons as a race.'
That, in itself, spoke volumes.
"Father?" Alexander tried again, louder this time.
'However… there is one undeniable truth.'
'In the northern continent of Guiltina, there exist humans powerful enough to defeat dragons.'
Figures emerged within James's thoughts, each cloaked in shadow.
'Not monsters. Not gods'
One stood tall and broad, wrapped in crackling lightning. Though his face was obscured, a jagged, lightning-bolt-shaped scar ran down the right side of it. His presence alone felt violent.
'Humans'
'Humans who wield Dragon Slayer Magic'
Another appeared, leaner, but no less dangerous. A scale-patterned scarf hung loosely around his neck, flames rolling endlessly around his body like a living inferno.
'A unique class of mage feared for their overwhelming strength.'
Then came the third.
Snow-white hair. Blood-red eyes. Younger than the others.
'They are capable of turning a dragon's own power against it'
Unlike flame or lightning, his aura was different, dense, viscous, elemental in a way that felt disturbingly alive, like blood given form.
One by one, the images faded.
The white-haired figure vanished last.
'Recently, one such Dragon Slayer proved their legend.'
'An unknown Dragon Slayer killed a dragon.'
'Its heart was sold and processed into a Lacrima, here in Ishgar
"James!"
The shout snapped him back to reality.
James blinked and turned toward Alexander. "Why are you yelling?" he asked mildly. "I'm right here."
"I've been calling you for a while," Alexander sighed. "You were spacing out."
"I was simply lost in thought," James replied, smiling faintly, his vacant brown eyes lingering on Alexander a moment too long.
"Dragon Lacrima," James said suddenly.
Alexander frowned. "Dragon… Lacrima?"
"Unlike standard Lacrima, which merely stores magic," James explained, "Dragon Lacrima preserves an entire magical attribute system."
He turned fully now, gesturing as he spoke.
"They are forged from the hearts of dragons themselves. Highly concentrated Ethernano, aligned perfectly to a dragon's element. In simpler terms…"
He stopped in front of the container.
"They contain the 'magical DNA' of a dragon."
Alexander stiffened. "So that means…"
"Dragon Slayer Magic," James confirmed.
"High-grade artificial Lacrima. Designed to replicate what would happen if a dragon personally trained a human."
"What kind of magic even is that?" Alexander asked. "I've never heard of it."
"I don't know," James admitted calmly.
Alexander stiffened. "You don't know? You're a scientist."
"It is a Lost Magic," he continued. "Ancient, originating over four hundred years ago. A Caster-Type spell system once taught directly by dragons themselves."
He placed his palm gently against the glass.
"But that is exactly why I am interested"
His fingers curled slightly, reverent, possessive.
"The first of his kind," James murmured, eyes gleaming.
"An artificial Dragon Slayer."
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoed through the laboratory.
James and Alexander turned at the same time.
"Hey there, did you two miss me?"
A man stepped into view.
He stood at five foot eight, golden-blonde hair falling down his back, loose and slightly unkempt. Sapphire-blue eyes caught the light as he smiled, casual as if he hadn't just walked back from the dead.
Dark bruises stained his clothes and marked exposed skin, fresh, ugly, and numerous. Whatever had happened to him, he clearly wasn't in a hurry to explain.
Shock flashed across both James and Alexander's faces.
"I thought you said you dealt with him," James said sharply, his tone demanding an answer.
"I—I did!" Alexander shouted, his voice cracking. "I froze him solid! He should be a statue by now!"
He waved his arms frantically. "How are you alive? Answer me, Rex!"
Rex blinked.
"Uh… that's simple," he said, shrugging. "I broke out of the ice."
He tilted his head, looking at Alexander like he'd just said something stupid.
"What are you, an idiot?"
Rex's gaze drifted across the laboratory until it landed on the container embedded in the wall.
A low groan slipped from him.
"…Guess he lost, huh?"
He scratched the back of his head.
"Part of me was kinda hoping he'd take you down. Then again… probably a good thing I held back earlier. Wouldn't wanna burn through too much magic."
His eyes returned to James and Alexander.
"Does that answer your question from before?"
Alexander didn't respond.
Rex noticed his stare and followed it downward,to his own feet.
"Oh."
A metal pole lay there.
Rex bent down and picked it up.
"Earlier, you were using this as a conductor, right?" he said casually. "Smart move. Temporary weapon, but still a weapon."
He squeezed.
The metal crumpled in his grip like foil, snapping cleanly in half. The pieces hit the floor with a dull clang.
Alexander barely reacted. His thoughts raced instead.
'How does he know so much about magic?
And his hand-to-hand skill… Did he have a master?'
"Why didn't you run?" James asked suddenly.
He stepped forward, stopping beside Alexander.
"Any regular person would've fled," James continued calmly. "Yet you stayed. For what? That same boy you failed to protect earlier?"
A thin smile curved his lips."Doesn't that strike you as… idiotic?"
Rex didn't bristle.
He rested a hand against his chin, genuinely thinking.
"Why didn't I run?"
He exhaled slowly.
"Honestly… I don't know."
"Two years ago, I wouldn't even have hesitated. I would've vanished. No second thoughts."
His expression hardened.
"I know what it's like to have no one. No family. No friends. No one who expects anything from you."
"I know what it's like to have nothing—
to live in a world swallowed by darkness."
His voice didn't rise, but its weight did.
"I know I could've run. Don't kid yourself, I know that."
He tugged his shirt over his head, tossing it aside, revealing a lean but well-defined upper body etched with old scars.
"But this isn't about winning or losing."
His eyes locked onto James.
"It's about doing what's right."
"It's about being a hero for people who don't have one."
"You filled that boy's world with darkness."
A sharp grin spread across his face.
"So I'll take it."
"I'll devour it."
"And I'll turn it into light."
Rex stepped forward, feet planting firmly into a fighting stance.
"This is me standing here."
"This is me taking you on—right here and right now."
Alexander scoffed. "Talk about arrogance!" he snapped. "You couldn't even beat me earlier. You seriously think you can take us both?"
Rex sneered.
"You talk a lot for a dog," he said coldly. "All bark, running after your master's leash."
He rolled his shoulders, drawing a slow breath.
"Don't pray to what's above."
"Don't hide behind what's below."
"And your black hound won't save you."
Rex's blue eyes burned.
"Come at me."
"Both of you."