Rhodes Island does not exist.

"I see," the professor thought to himself.

“No one wants to kill their own people, especially when you know those people aren’t actually bad, but are driven to madness and have no choice but to kill them,” Skadi shook her head. “But if you don’t do it, no one else can.”

"So ever since the Great Quiet, you've been doing this...work?"

If this can be called a job.

“No.” Skadi shook her head again, her gaze drifting to the distant seashore. “I don’t know how long I’ve been doing this, but long before the Great Tranquility, I’ve already picked up that greatsword and thrown it into endless slaughter.”

"Also, to kill the mad Agor?" the doctor asked.

“Occasionally,” Skadi replied, “but most of the time, it’s about eliminating the deep-sea creatures that surface—at those times, they are the primary threat.”

"Family?" The professor heard a new term.

“Close relatives of the Agors.” Skadi sighed. “The only difference between them and the Agors is that they did not choose to go ashore, but have always lived in the sea.”

"By the way, because these kin were constantly rushing from the sea to the shore day and night, there were quite a few people besides me who were responsible for dealing with the threat of these kin." Skadi shrugged. "Those Iberians even gave us a name, something like Deep Sea Hunters."

"That sounds good; I think it's a form of recognition." The doctor nodded slightly.

“Maybe, but now I’m the only Deepsea Hunter left.” Skadi’s voice remained calm as she spoke of this. “As for my other colleagues… they probably all died on the day of the Great Quiet.”

"So after that, you've carried this responsibility alone until today?" The doctor stared into her blood-red eyes.

"That's pretty much it."

Two streaks of crimson shimmered alone in the night, like precious jade.

Chapter 110, Chapter 109: Deep Sea Tales, Chapter 43: Like Dew and Lightning

As a close neighbor of Iberia, Lateran would naturally get involved in managing these anomalies.

The papal knights stationed in the city are the best proof of this.

But the PhD student had no idea to what extent this management had been implemented.

However, some mysteries will be revealed tonight.

“You may not have a clear idea of ​​what this is, but the situation we’re facing right now is actually one of the most troublesome,” Skadi said to the doctor, standing at the edge of the seaside cordon.

“The enemy that should have been eliminated has seized the supreme authority of the Iberian Papacy and is using that authority to destroy us.” She looked toward the direction of the Cathedral of Afterglow. “All the aid we could count on has now become weapons and swords pointed at us.”

"And they themselves are completely unaware, and may not even know the truth until the moment of their death," the doctor said.

“That’s what makes the deep sea and Agor so terrifying… So I think you inland people should actually thank us for keeping this filth at bay on the coastline.” Skadi shook her head helplessly. “But if this matter isn’t resolved tonight, I can’t guarantee what Iberia will become in the future.”

"If it fails, will Agor's whispers spread outwards directly from Iberia as a relay point?" the doctor asked with some concern.

“No, but Iberia might be wiped off Terra’s map entirely.” Skadi held up her right hand, making a gesture of annihilation.

“Latland borders Iberia not for ease of communication or simply for aesthetic reasons.” Skadi looked up at the lonely moon, her tone slightly indifferent. “If Iberia were to fall because of the deep sea, Lateran’s crisis management plan would surely be activated immediately.”

"But when the time comes, it won't just be the Agors who will be wiped out, but the entire Iberia."

She spoke of a rather serious matter in a rather nonchalant tone.

"Did Laterano make a move during the Great Tranquility?" the Doctor asked.

“Of course,” Skadi said. “They’ve really gone all out.”

"For example, an entire Papal Knights?"

“No, that’s like throwing two huge boxes of cash directly into the water.” Skadi shook her head. “It may seem abrupt, but have you ever heard of the chimera experiment?”

"What?" The doctor never imagined that he would hear this term from a deep-sea hunter in Iberia.

“The chimera experiment is roughly about fusing two or more biological individuals together to combine their individual strengths into another complete individual,” Skadi explained. “I know you’re a doctor, so don’t rush to criticize this practice.”

"What are you trying to say?" The doctor sensed that the waters of Iberia were far deeper than he had imagined.

“The cooperation between Lateran and Iberia is not limited to religion and politics… although there is practically no difference between the two in both places,” Skati said. “Beyond religion, Lateran also has scientific research cooperation with Iberia.”

"Doing scientific research?" The PhD student was stunned for a moment. "A country that relies on religious beliefs, how can they cooperate on scientific research?"

“These two things are not contradictory.” Skadi shook her head. “In short, you need to know one thing: the scientists in Lateran and Iberia once planned to mass-produce Deepsea Hunters.”

"You mean, mass-producing people like you who can smash through a prison wall with one punch?" The doctor was dumbfounded.

If they could really train a fully-fledged army of deep-sea hunters, they probably wouldn't even need to worry about Ursus.

perhaps?

Okay, maybe a 50/50 split is possible.

“They did plan that,” Skadi nodded. “And they did do it.”

"How did you do that?" the doctor asked in surprise. "I mean, how did you mass-produce it?"

“Do you remember what I said?” Skadi looked towards the sea. “Before the Great Calm, the Familias would rise to the surface.”

"Ah."

“The government officials of Iberia and Lateran would send people to collect the corpses or prisoners of the Familia and take them back to their research institutions for study. Occasionally, they would also take some of our Deepsea Hunters’ blood,” Skadi said slowly. “Then, they would inject the blood of those Familia or our blood into the bodies of Agor’s newborns or children under eight years old, and nurture them using their unique Originium Arts and potions… In short, it was not a clean process.”

"Wait a minute, isn't this blatant human experimentation?" the doctor exclaimed angrily.

“Of course,” Skadi nodded. “But this is Iberia. Any action that benefits the church can be forgiven. Some families even voluntarily offer their children as sacrifices, just like the stories in those ancient texts… It’s so great it’s astonishing.”

"Then, what about the success rate of the experiment?" After thinking for a moment, the doctor finally asked.

“Not high,” Skadi sighed. “It’s not so much that it’s not high, but rather that it’s terrifyingly low. However, most of the children who failed the experiment were simply declared unsuitable for this kind of experiment, and it wasn’t necessarily fatal. But a small number of the subjects are said to have had some things that are not convenient to disclose.”

“According to insiders, after one of the accidents, they spent an entire day just cleaning the lab, and it wasn’t even completely clean yet,” Skadi shook her head.

"What must have happened to make this happen..." The doctor's expression was filled with pity.

“But there are also quite a few successful cases.” Skadi skipped over the previous topic and continued, “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have continued this experimental project.”

"So it's true that a considerable number of hybrid warriors have been successfully created through postnatal intervention?" the doctor asked.

“Yes.” Skadi nodded. “And this is what I mentioned before, Laterano’s big move.”

“That makes sense. After all, Deepsea Hunters were born to hunt down their Kin, so using them as a contingency plan for the Great Tranquility is reasonable.” The Doctor said thoughtfully, “So, in the end, they all went to the front lines when the Great Tranquility occurred?”

"Yes, it caused us a lot of trouble," Skadi sighed, as if she had just experienced that catastrophe yesterday.

"To cause trouble, you mean..." The Doctor felt he could guess what had happened.

“All the mixed-blood Agor who went to the front lines at that time were corrupted and eroded by the whispers of the deep sea the moment they came into contact with their Familias, and became their allies.” Skadi shook her head and smiled bitterly. “In other words, all the efforts that Lateran and Iberia had made were reduced to nothing at that moment.”

Chapter 111, Chapter 110: Deep Sea Tales, Chapter 44 (Untitled)

“So since then, Lateran and Iberia have never conducted similar research again.” Skadi shrugged. “All the research institutes related to that have been sealed up.”

“After all, nobody wants to use their money and energy to create an enemy.” The doctor nodded.

-

A knock on the door interrupted the doctor's narration.

"Please come in." The Doctor looked toward the door, and in doing so, also drew Amiya's gaze to the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I disturb you?" It was Doberman who entered the room.

On Rhodes Island, she was always among the first to get up.

"No, it's nothing." The doctor shook his head slightly. "So, Instructor Dobermann, is there something important you need to discuss with me so early in the morning?"

"Yes, it's about Columbia." Dobermann held up a tablet and turned the screen towards the Doctor. "Doctor, please take a look."

The screen displayed three slightly childish faces, and to their right were their names and information.

“Beagle, Finn, Klose…” the doctor nodded. “Are these the three people you mentioned who sent their resumes directly?”

“Yes,” Doberman replied, “I have some thoughts after reviewing their resumes, and I think I can share them with you.”

"Please speak," the doctor gestured.

“Although these three have combat experience, they are still young kids, so I think we can recruit them into Rhodes Island first and then train them into qualified frontline operators,” Dobermann said to the Doctor.

"Have you spoken to Kal'tsit?" The Doctor asked after a moment's thought.

“It’s not convenient to disturb Dr. Kal’tsit.” Dobermann shook his head. “She just finished a surgery that lasted a day and a night and is resting now.”

"Hmm?" The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Is she overworking herself again?"

Amiya, standing nearby, noticed a hint of mild anger in the Doctor's subtle expression.

“I tried to persuade her, but as you know, she’s Dr. Kal’tsit. If persuasion alone worked, she wouldn’t be herself,” Dobermann sighed. “Then… she said she gave herself an injection, so she was fine.”

"Never mind, so who did she operate on?" the doctor sighed, then asked.

“He’s a child we rescued from the last town where we stopped for supplies,” Doberman replied. “Because he was infected and abused, his physical condition was extremely poor. He had to stay in the intensive care unit for several days before his vital signs were barely stabilized before he underwent surgery.”

"Understood. I'll talk to Kal'tsit about this when she wakes up," the Doctor nodded.

"So, about these three children, Doctor?" Dobermann asked.

“Go ahead and do it,” the doctor agreed. “In this respect, I don’t think I should have any doubts about you.”

“Then I am grateful for your trust. I apologize for interrupting your conversation with Amiya.” Dobermann gave the Doctor a Bolivar salute, then quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.

As the door gradually closed, the professor leaned back in his chair and stretched his shoulders.

"Where was I?" he asked, turning his gaze to Amiya.

“It was about what Miss Skadi told you about Lateran and Iberia creating the hybrid Agor,” Amiya recalled.

“Oh right, then I’ll continue.” The professor cleared his throat.

"Wait a minute," Amiya suddenly interrupted the Doctor, "I have a question to ask."

“Ask away,” the doctor said, looking at her.

"What you mentioned about human experimentation... is it true?" Amiya hesitated for a long time before finally asking.

"Why do you care about this?" the doctor asked.

"Because this matter violates the dignity that should be shown to living beings, Dr. Kal'tsit said that although we are a pharmaceutical company, we should not..."

"Don't say that." The Doctor shook his head, looking at Amiya. "Say what you really want to say."

“I…I’m just worried about the children.” Amiya lowered her head. “I’m thinking, it’s so pitiful if they have to be forced to endure those things at such a young age…”

“Amiya.” The Doctor sighed.

He looked like a wise and earnest old teacher.

"PhD."

“Perhaps Kal'tsit and I have both told you that you don’t always use the way of speaking that you learned from others, and you don’t always say things that others might say.” The Doctor looked at Amiya and said, “Indeed, your Originium Arts are inevitably affected because you often sense the feelings and thoughts of others, but that’s precisely why Kal'tsit and I hope that you can just be yourself.”

“So,” the doctor paused, then continued, “if next time you have something you want to say but are too embarrassed to say it, think about what I just said, and remember—even if you choose to remain silent, we don’t want you to force yourself to imitate others.”

“Okay… Doctor, I understand.” Amiya nodded, her rabbit ears drooping slightly, looking adorable and endearing.

“Then I’ll tell you the answer to your question—” The doctor nodded, continuing the previous topic, “—From the very first word I told you, there was no falsehood in this journey of the past; everything that happened was real.”

"So Iberia and Lateran really did do these things?" Amiya's expression turned bitter.

“Amiya,” the doctor shook his head, “compassion should not be lacking, but it should not be excessive.”

"Doctor?" Amiya asked, puzzled.

“The land of Terra is filled with too many people we want to save but are powerless to help, and too many injustices that we cannot change,” the doctor said. “But we cannot focus our attention on these things that are beyond our reach; instead, we should focus on what we can do.”

“Because at least, within our sight and reach, there are still many things we can do and that are worth doing.” The Doctor looked up at the ceiling and murmured, “like Kal'tsit, who just came off the operating table to rest.”

"You've never heard Dr. Kal'tsit talk about this before, have you?" the doctor asked.

“That’s true.” Amiya thought for a moment and nodded.

"Because she knows that her energy shouldn't be wasted on meaningless things."

Chapter 112, Chapter 111: Deep Sea Tales, Chapter 45: Surrounded by Enemies

Desire breeds temptation, and faith breeds obsession.

Fairness breeds selfishness, and kindness breeds doubt.

Hard work breeds greed, and kindness breeds injustice.

Honesty and integrity breed hatred; close relationships lead to separation.

-

Iberians are known for their simple and honest nature. Most people here are accustomed to going to bed early and getting up early, so even though it's not even nine o'clock yet, most of the city lights are already off, with only the streetlights flickering in the darkness.