[Note: Long Chapter]

The game called it the Diary of Blood, and Azel could see why… well, because Drake was dabbling in some bloody shit, probably.

The office smelled like iron and rot.

It wasn't the kind of place anyone should breathe in for long, but Azel didn't even flinch.

The smell of blood didn't bother him anymore.

He lifted up the diary from the table, the cover slick with dried red stains that hadn't been cleaned properly.

It wasn't just a journal.

It was similar to a record of insanity.

He flipped it open and found a section with messy handwriting, lines scribbled with half-smudged ink and drops that looked too dark to be ink.

The blood sample from the Mynes clone was too little to copy her enchantment abilities, so I found another use for it before I killed it… Apparently, she can suck really good.

Azel almost felt the need to go back and slam that guy's head into the wall again.

"Bastard…" he muttered under his breath.

He closed that page with a snap, suppressing the urge to rip it apart, and opened it from the beginning.

…

[Day 1]

I have begun collecting blood samples from volunteer students. The process is simple enough… a single drop stored under a preservation enchantment. I only feel slightly uneasy… perhaps because I know what I intend to do next.

Still, knowledge has always come at a cost. I must not waver.

[Day 3]

The samples decay faster than expected. The mana within the blood fades within hours, leaving behind only the scent of iron.

I attempted to keep them in a containment seal, but it failed to sustain resonance.

Need to refine the stabilizing circle. Maybe use silver dust next time.

[Day 5]

Silver dust improved mana retention by 18%. However, the blood turns black when left under high mana density. I am unsure if it's contamination or adaptation but the blood … It pulsated once.

My imagination? Possibly.

[Day 8]

Collected more samples. I told them it was for a harmless mana study. None questioned me. How trusting they are.

Each student's blood hums differently. I can hear it now.

Like separate songs.

If I can isolate those tones, I might… shape them.

[Day 10]

Ran comparative tests between first-year and third-year blood. Third-years hold denser mana traces, likely due to extended exposure to channeling.

Note: when combined, the mixture reacts violently, trying to consume itself. It's almost… alive.

I've started wearing gloves when handling it. My hands still itch.

[Day 12]

Found a promising result.

By using condensed ether instead of natural mana, I can sustain the sample for several hours. The blood remains warm. This is the first step. If it remains stable overnight, replication may be possible.

[Day 14]

Stability lasted 9 hours and 42 minutes. Then total collapse. The blood evaporated with a burning scent.

The room reeked of ash and copper.

I think it screamed.

No… How could it scream?

The seal just reacted… I'll need to reinforce it.

[Day 17]

Two new formulas prepared. One dissolved instantly. The other... moved slightly toward the source of mana.

It moved.

I repeated the test and it bore the same result.

Why would blood need to move?

[Day 20]

Loss of appetite. Haven't left the lab. The motion has grown more defined and it reacts to touch, to warmth.

When exposed to my mana directly, it moves in a living rhythm.

It recognizes me.

[Day 22]

I have  improved the containment circle by using a triple layering spell.

The blood maintains its pulse even when separated from external mana sources.

There's pattern in it now. The flow aligns with human heartbeat intervals… it moves at an average of seventy-two per minute.

Coincidence? I doubt it.

[Day 24]

I tried binding the sample to a mana core fragment. The experiment was a partial success… a structure formed, resembling fibrous muscle strands.

But it could not hold it for long and collapsed within minutes.

Still… form is possible.

It can be shaped.

[Day 26]

Repeated the process with adjustments. The structure now lasts twelve minutes before degradation.

It twitches on command if I direct mana through a linked conduit and it obeys simple commands.

[Day 28]

s...slept 2 two hrs maybe? dnt know.

Doesn't… doesnt matter.

need... meds… head… hurts.

huhh my head hurts so bad it buzzes… constant constant buzz,

this project…

can't see straight. words melt, slide off.

exp— exposure… too much

left my head a m— me— mess.

I need medicines now to keep my head in shape but as of today, the movement is more natural now.

When I use blood with higher mana saturation, the construct lasts longer.

I've started labeling them by origin: "S1," "S2," etc.

S2 (Subject 2) lasted forty-one minutes. Progress.

[Day 30]

My head hurts… I've changed the formula again and dded a trace of my own blood for resonance calibration.

Immediate results.

Stability increased dramatically. S3 lasted nearly three hours. Skin-like texture forming over surface. It was repulsive, but remarkable.

[Day 31]

The lab reeks.

S3 deteriorated but left behind residue unlike blood or ash, it was translucent and gelatinous.

When burned, it emits a faint mana signature similar to mine.

I think my blood altered the link.

The samples respond faster to my presence now.

Need to test on others.

[Day 33]

Began large-scale synthesis using mixed samples. Ten vials prepared, each containing at least 40% mana-saturated blood.

Results varied.

Some evaporated.

Some bubbled violently.

But Two stabilized.

Two.

Both retained structure for over five hours. I couldn't stop staring. They weren't perfect but they were real.

[Day 34]

The headache gets even worse but the meds help calm them down… My hands shake and there are ink stains everywhere.

I tried replicating stability formula and failed thrice.

I need cleaner samples.

As for the contamination? Maybe emotional state interferes.

I must stay calm.

I can't stop thinking about how the blood hums. Every vial hums differently now.

Together they sound… harmonious.

[Day 35]

I've made the final adjustment and gotten better meds, my head no longer hurts.

I've added refined etheric catalyst. Structure maintained overnight. Nearly twenty-four hours of stability!

It's unbelievable.

The tissue holds shape even without a container.

I should feel fear.

I don't.

Only awe.

Tomorrow I'll attempt full replication sequence.

[Day 36]

it... it wurked... hah mana f-flow a-align'd perfctly wth the syn... synth—synthetik fraem…

the blud follw'd e-every c-command frm th... the circle— shape/// tensh... tenshun... rhy rhythmnn.

it f-formed... musc... muscl fiberrs... hh—

lukz... humann frm d-distnce... hollo insi-de but it mo... moves… moves lik a pupp't strrng—

no thought no think no will only re… reacctttion good good GOOD means pure means clean means…

refin... refine it... mk it cleener strngr obe beedi... obedient—

END of tdayz entry... ha—handz crampin... so sore... need— rest... maybe... later... jus' one... one more…

one mo…

…

The rest of the diary wasn't much better after those ones, blood completely doused some pages and he swore he saw some flesh… whatever this man was doing needed to be stopped immediately.

Some of the pages were even burned halfway through, as if Drake himself had tried to erase evidence.

Azel closed the diary and exhaled through his nose.

'Should I kill him?' he thought to himself.

He really contemplated it.

Men like Drake didn't deserve mercy. He was just like Xebli — that disgusting excuse of a human being.

There were truly too many like them in the world, too many who smiled in daylight and hid their rot beneath expensive robes.

Oh, speaking of Xebli… Azel's mouth twitched slightly.

The bastard had reported to the academy about that "face-slamming incident" five days ago.

The result?

Azel had been pardoned.

Why? Since Esme was his "girlfriend." and she claimed Xebli tried to force her, he was in the right.

Even now, he didn't understand why she hadn't cleared that up.

He turned toward the professor lying unconscious on the ground, the flickering office lights casting shadows across his disheveled face.

Azel turned to Lorraine, who stood by the corner table, scanning through a row of scattered notes.

"There's enough evidence in this place to incriminate him," Azel said flatly, "but there's nothing about how to stop these clones without killing them."

He spoke calmly, though his patience had already thinned.

Of course, it wasn't his idea to look for another way — this was all Silas's doing.

Apparently, as strong as the bastard was, Silas hated killing.

Azel didn't like wasting time… It was simple, this was Fall Of Ares, either you prevented it or you killed it.

But there couldn't be a DNA splicer just laying around somewhere, right?

Even if they had one, these clones were already contaminated, their minds were fractured.

The only way to stop them was to kill them.

The earlier Silas and Lorraine accepted that, the earlier they could clean up the mess.

"We can ask him," Lorraine said suddenly.

Before Azel could reply, she lifted her leg and without a word of warning drove her heel straight into the professor's chin.

The sound was ugly… a deep crack followed by a strangled groan.

Drake's head jerked back, and his body convulsed violently, saliva and blood flying from his mouth.

"Wh-what?!" he coughed, choking on his own spit as he blinked wildly, trying to make sense of where he was. "Where… where am I…?"

His eyes darted around, and when he tried to move, he realized the chains biting into his wrists.

He tried to summon his magic.

The faint glow of mana flickered across his body for an instant but then it died out, crushed by the runic seals etched into the cuffs.

He froze.

"What did you do to me?"

"For an almighty professor, you seem to be slow on the uptake," Lorraine said, folding her arms with a smirk that didn't reach her eyes. "You've been caught. And we have enough evidence to prove you guilty."

Drake's face twitched. "I see…" he rasped and gripped his chains tightly.

His fingers trembled with suppressed rage. "In the end… who will the council believe, me or yo—"

"Well, we have your diary," Azel interrupted, lifting the bloodstained book and flashing it in front of his face. "And this office reeks of blood, test tubes, and dead experiments. You seemed like you wanted to get caught."

Drake's mouth opened, but no words came out.

"How dare—!" he finally spat, but Lorraine's glare cut him off.

"That isn't the point right now," Azel continued, stepping closer, his shadow falling over the man. "I want to know… is there any way to differentiate the clones from the real ones? Aside from the fact that they're trying to assault women openly."

It was very hard to differentiate clone from the original.

Drake's eyes showed fear.

Azel's tone didn't change, but the disgust in his eyes said everything.

He could be wrong, but he was totally sure that this was some kind of Reinhardt fetish…

He was sure of it.

"Even if there was," Drake said weakly, blood dripping from his lip, "I wouldn't—"

Lorraine raised her hand, and a spark ignited at her palm.

A small flame, orange at first, then brighter and hotter until it hummed with mana, turning white-blue at its center.

The air in the room grew hotter.

Drake flinched, his breath catching in his throat.

"Right now," Lorraine said, voice calm but terrifying, "with those shackles, you're nothing more than a mundane man. If I release this fireball, you'll die."

Drake stared at her, sweat trailing down his temple. "Try me."

There was no hesitation.

Lorraine's hand flicked forward.

The fireball shot across the air and hit his leg.

The explosion was sharp, echoing off the walls. Flesh burned instantly, the smell of it mingling with the chemical stench of the lab.

Drake screamed.

A high, piercing wail that ripped through the silence of the office.

He thrashed, his chains clattering as he tried to move and crawl away.

The flames devoured the fabric of his pants, blackening his fair skin and tears burst from his eyes as he choked on his own screams.

"Please… No more… I'll talk… I'll talk…"

His voice broke into a sob, and the last of his pride shattered.

The fire dimmed slowly from Lorraine's hand, and she let it fade. He trembled uncontrollably, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"You should've started with that." Azel said.

Drake didn't answer.

He couldn't.

His body was shaking too violently to form words.

'Pathetic.'

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