Man on the ark, forced to become king

"maybe."

The absolution master, whose horn was covered in a layer of blood, shook his head slightly, not caring much.

"Whether they are strong or weak, it has nothing to do with us, and we don't need to clash with them. We should just do our own thing. This opportunity is indeed very rare, and our plans need to be adjusted. Since our Demon King intends to create conditions for us, we must not waste it."

“That’s right, that’s what I think too.”

The absolutioner of the White Horn raised his staff, and a faint gray-white mist rose from the surroundings, enveloping him.

"I will pass the word down and get our people moving. It's time to bring forward the plan and give His Majesty the Demon King a big surprise. This country is about to welcome its true master, and the Sarkaz will surely be reunited."

"..."

As he watched his colleague disappear into the mist, the pardoner suddenly felt a bad premonition.

Mentioning the name Golden Tree always evokes a sense of inexplicable crisis in him.

'Is it just my imagination? Or is it really true...?'

After much deliberation, considering the working styles of his colleagues, the pardoner decided to take a step back and wait.

After all, they were going to assassinate the Demon King, not to die with him.

If achieving their goal comes at the cost of heavy losses for them, then it's not worth it, and Theresis will probably be laughing all the way to the bank.

Chapter 150 Your Highness, Your Convertible is Ready

"Kal'tsit isn't here. Are you sure you want to do this?"

The doctor stood with his hands in his pockets, almost swallowed up by the shadows in the corridor, like a lurking evil spirit.

This is the secret laboratory of the Tower of Babel, and only four people are qualified to approach it.

Now that Kal'tsit has left, only the Doctor, Theresa, and Ascalon, the Demon King's personal bodyguard, are able to approach this laboratory with the highest level of secrecy.

Strictly speaking, this place can no longer be considered a laboratory, as all its facilities and layouts were completely rearranged and replaced months ago in preparation for the operation of a single project.

"Are you trying to stop me?"

Theresa, abandoning her usual gentle demeanor and the warm smile that once graced her face, placed her palm expressionlessly against the completely sealed protective door. The locked system, composed of dual encryption from electronic devices and Originium magic, unlocked layer by layer as she operated it.

The Chimera Project—the most secretive experimental project in the Tower of Babel, known only to three people. Even Kal'tsit, the head of the medical department, has only heard the general outline and knows nothing about the core details.

In Kal'tsit's understanding, the so-called Chimera Project was Theresia's last resort to use on herself, to gather the power of multiple Sarkaz races and concentrate it on the Demon Lord, so as to become a 'Chimera' that integrates the characteristics of all races, thereby achieving a change in the essence of life.

Legend has it that the Chimera's powerful vitality was enough to reverse the burden brought by the Demon King's power, allowing Theresa to be reborn from the brink of despair.

This sounds utterly absurd. Rather than an experiment, the so-called chimera experiment is more like a ridiculous gamble with an extremely slim chance of winning.

From an academic and rational perspective, Kal'tsit would definitely lock the person who proposed this ridiculous plan in a lab and dissect their brain immediately, but she can't do that because the person who proposed the plan is Theresa herself, and the assistant is the Doctor.

The doctor—he is the one who holds the decisive position.

He was like a ghost wandering the earth, knowledgeable and omnipotent. Kal'tsit had never seen a creature that could surpass the Doctor in intelligence, so when the Doctor joined the project, she instinctively felt that the plan was feasible.

No matter how absurd it sounds, when people who know the doctor learn that he will join, they can't help but think one thing: maybe it's not that the plan is bad, it's that I'm bad.

From a researcher's perspective, a PhD holds this status.

However, what Kal'tsit didn't know was that the Chimera Project, initiated by Theresa from the very beginning, was never intended to create a 'perfect individual that combines all the power of the Sarkaz'.

That kind of thing is just a hoax. Theresa never even considered that possibility; she herself thought the excuse was ridiculous.

The true purpose of this plan is to create an individual with the self-control of a 'Chimera' who will inherit the power of the Demon King, inherit Theresa's wishes, and forge a new path.

Kal'tsit might have had this suspicion, but she never thought about it in depth. The reason was simple: if she wanted to find a successor, it would be much more reliable to look among the higher-ups of Babel. The vast majority of them were Sarkaz and absolutely trustworthy. There was no need to waste energy on Chimeras.

Therefore, she was more inclined to believe that Theresa was trying to prolong her life in this way than that possibility.

"...No, I won't. I will grant your wishes, all your wishes."

The doctor emerged from the shadows and stood behind Theresa, as the alloy protective door in front of them quietly slid open to the sides.

"If this is your final choice, then I will make it happen for you."

"Yes, I can always trust you."

In the pure white corridor, Theresa walked ahead, her pace slowing slightly. The last isolation door opened, revealing a somewhat empty laboratory behind it—more like the site of a large-scale magical ritual than a laboratory.

If we had to pinpoint exactly what we're talking about, the only things that could be considered a laboratory are the hospital bed in the very center and the robotic arm extending from the roof. Everything else seems more akin to magic.

Mysterious crimson runes, resembling some kind of religious ritual, densely covered most of the ground, surrounding the hospital bed in the center. The petite little girl, Carter, lay on the bed, looking only about eight or nine years old, her eyes closed.

Am I disgusting?

Suddenly, Theresa stopped and stared at the petite girl, as if asking a question, or perhaps talking to herself.

"They say they don't want to see sacrifices, yet they selfishly impose the responsibility on such a young child. She could have had a carefree childhood, and perhaps even a happy life, but now she has to bear shackles at such a young age and live under heavy pressure."

"Perhaps, but it was Amiya's own choice."

The doctor was completely hidden under his trench coat and mask, making it impossible to tell whether he was just being perfunctory or genuinely believed it.

Theresa leans towards the former.

Choice sounds nice, but does Amiya really have a choice?

She was adopted by the Doctor and brought back to Belta from Rembiton, where she grew up under the care of many.

She is a gentle child who desperately wants to help, so she will never refuse. Perhaps she doesn't even understand what she has promised, it's just simple trust.

The more this happened, the more Teresa felt guilty.

But she had to do it. For the sake of the majority of Babel’s inhabitants, for the sake of everyone’s future, it was a necessary sacrifice.

She once loathed the word, but now she has to pick it up herself—how ironic.

"So, I am Amiya..."

Pain and struggle flickered in her eyes, and Theresa's face paled even more. Her body swayed slightly, but she forcibly suppressed it with extreme self-control.

The pressure of survival had overwhelmed her, and every breath required an immense effort.

She no longer has time; she can no longer hold on until she finds another person as outstanding as Amiya.

This child's bloodline and talent are irreplaceable to this day.

Choosing her was both a last resort and an inevitability.

"Shall we begin now?"

The doctor spoke, but did not ask any questions. As he spoke, he skillfully put on medical gloves.

Clearly, he was ready to make his move.

"let's start."

Theresa's eyes dimmed for a moment, but quickly hardened again. She raised her arm, and the mysterious magical runes set up in the laboratory seemed to respond to the Demon King's will, lighting up layer by layer and spreading a faint glow.

Once the spell begins, the Doctor will implant the key item that Kal'tsit brought from the ruins into Amiya's body, causing her bloodline to transform into 'Chimera'. This process will last for several hours until her body becomes the perfect vessel.

Amiya cannot leave until that day arrives; she can only wait in silence.

As Theresa dies, the Demon King's power will be gathered from its disintegration and collected into her body through the magic, making her a true chimera who has inherited the Demon King's power.

This was Theresa's final insurance policy for herself and for the Tower of Babel.

With the Demon King dead, Babel lost its value as a target, and they could leave Kazdel alive, at the cost of the King's life.

————————————————————

As a faint blush rose on the horizon, the two, who had not slept all night, returned to the Tower of Babel, stepping through the morning dew, neither of them showing any intention of resting.

Theresa had no time to waste resting. Her health was deteriorating, forcing her to make the most of every waking moment to complete her plans.

Doctors, on the other hand, do not need to rest.

If needed, he could work for more than ten days straight without sleep, and solve his hunger problem by eating instant noodles directly in his mouth with boiling water, making him even more monstrous than a monster.

It was precisely because of his unusual behavior that he was often used by Kal'tsit to punish him severely.

With Kal'tsit gone, the Doctor's life has become much more comfortable—the most significant change is that he can now mix a super-thick coffee that looks like melted chocolate to his liking, and he can also pour instant noodles directly into his mouth, which would likely get him a lecture for half a day if he were seen doing so.

"How long can you hold on?"

As was his habit, the doctor made himself a cup of coffee, adding what was arguably a lethal dose of instant coffee powder and icing sugar. He placed the unusually-looking liquid on his desk, looked up, and asked a question.

"I can still... at least come back from the Golden Tree."

When talking about her life countdown, Theresa remained remarkably calm, as if she were discussing someone unrelated, without even a change in expression.

"Maybe Kal'tsit's blessing of the golden tree really works, and if that's the case, I can hold out for a longer period of time."

"Didn't you ever consider that the blessing might be more effective than you imagined?"

"I haven't dreamed in a long time."

Theresa shook her head gently, a warm smile playing on her lips, and said softly, "Don't worry, I won't fall now. This is the last thing I can do, and I have to do it well. That way, you can gain a powerful enough ally whose protection will be enough for everyone to leave safely."

dong dong dong~

A knock on the door interrupted Theresa's whisper. The princess looked up, slightly bewildered, and paused for a moment before reacting.

"Come in."

"Your Highness."