Chapter 287 - 286: Where Did They Come From

Chapter 287 - 286: Where Did They Come From

As one of the main executors of the former "Defiance Plan," Kamel was well-acquainted with the "Divine Evils" created by this plan, including the first generation and the last mutated Divine Evils completed under his watch. So when Tiel handed him a purified fragment of an aberrant corpse, he quickly noticed features that deeply unsettled him.

A few simple tests, some undeniable parameters, and his unease turned into fact.

"Although the lack of more professional equipment prevents me from determining the genetic sequence in the remains, the mutation results are enough to draw a conclusion: the aberration is a mutated product of the ’Divine Evils,’" Kamel said in a heavy tone. "The power of the chaotic wave covered the gene expression of the Divine Evils... Our plan from back then had a terrible flaw. We underestimated the extent of mutations that biomass would undergo when facing a chaotic wave. The genetic factors of the Divine Evils couldn’t withstand this level of mutation, causing carriers of the factors to become... monsters before they could adapt to the chaotic wave environment."

Kamel did his best to calm his emotions, yet Gawain could still sense the immense sorrow in this ancient mage’s heart. Such sorrow was imaginable—Kamel and his colleagues had sacrificed everything for this cause, a price beyond what humanity could bear, and yet the final outcome was a result more terrifying than failure. Their efforts not only failed to save those they intended to protect but transformed them into monsters... Even by putting himself in their shoes, Gawain thought he might not be as composed as Kamel in the face of such an impact.

However, he still had to ask his question: "Do you know what happened to the ’Divine Evils’ you researched after they were sent back to the Empire’s heartland?"

"My responsibility was limited to research, and I’m not familiar with the subsequent ’application’ phase, but while I’m unclear about the details, I can guess a rough outline," Kamel slowly said. "Didn’t you mention that there was never news of the chaotic wave in the outside world? So I guess it all happened in secret—after the ’Divine Evils’ were sent back to the imperial capital, the royal family should have gradually injected the genetic factors of the Divine Evils into all human bodies over three centuries through methods like mass immunization, making it a stable genetic factor among humans. Because our goal was to save everyone, every Gondor citizen had to become a carrier of the Divine Evil. That way... there’s the answer to the endless aberrations that emerged overnight after the chaotic wave arrived."

Gawain believed that what Kamel said was likely the truth.

Genetic modification isn’t something that happens overnight—Kamel and his colleagues could directly modify themselves with powerful magic, thereby becoming carriers of the Divine Evil, but for the tens of thousands of ordinary people of the Gondor Empire, such a degree of modification was unrealistic (not to mention keeping it secret). So at the time, the Gondor Royalty could only have taken a covert and gradual approach, like transferring the mutated substances to parent bodies, making their offspring natural Divine Evil carriers.

It would take more than one generation to enact this level of modification on the entire empire’s population. But from the completion of the Defiance Plan to the actual outbreak of the chaotic wave, there was a time gap of three hundred years—three hundred years during which, with the technological skill of the Gondor Empire at the time, such a vast plan could be completed.

"Putting it that way... I think I’m starting to remember something," Gawain scratched his chin, suddenly recalling some valuable information. "At the end of the Meteoric Era, the Empire indeed suddenly increased several mass immunization and newborn screening programs—the public explanation from the imperial capital then was to alleviate the increasingly severe elemental assimilation disease issue and select magic-power adaptors from the newborn stage... If I’m correct, this should have been the application phase of the ’Defiance’ Plan."

Kamel’s tone was somber: "In the end, it harmed everyone..."

"No, if my assumptions are true, then your plan might actually have been successful." Gawain suddenly became serious, looking at Kamel earnestly.

Kamel raised his head in surprise, not seeing any sign of deliberate comfort on Gawain’s face.

"I’m not comforting you," Gawain couldn’t see Kamel’s expression but could guess what he was thinking. "Your Defiance Plan should indeed have worked—it’s just that it didn’t save everyone. Kamel, have you forgotten—the four human kingdoms today were all established by Gondor survivors."

After saying this, Gawain felt enlightened—Kamel began to glow with energy.

The ancient mage spoke with a slightly more excited tone, "You mean..."

"Many people believed that seven hundred years ago, the Pioneer Legion—or the Gondor refugees—escaped the first wave of the chaotic tide and survived by taking shelter in safe zones before the second wave hit, but in reality, we went through the full first and second impacts," Gawain recounted while remembering. "When we gathered our forces, the natural environment around us was already starting to mutate. A large number of animals, plants, even inanimate soil and stones were changing before our eyes, and the high-energy clouds brought by chaotic magic gathered above us day and night. No one escaped the first impact—we ran through it facing its blunt force."

Kamel flickered, "No one mutated?"

"Many died, from malignant diseases or elemental poisoning, but no one mutated," Gawain said seriously. "And there’s another important clue—there weren’t only humans in the breakout team; many elves, dwarves, sea demons, and other races stranded within Gondor during the chaotic wave’s outbreak were mixed in with us. Those from other races had death rates several times higher than humans in the waves. Basically, besides the middle-ranked and powerful who survived seven to eight of ten cases, their lower-ranked members and ordinary folk mostly perished within the early months."

"So... the ’antibodies’ actually worked..." Kamel murmured to himself. "But why did everyone in the imperial heartland become aberrations?"

"Perhaps because of the Well of Deep Blue," Gawain shared his thought. "The Well of Deep Blue had an explosion a year before the chaotic wave erupted; back then, two of the main reaction towers exploded, releasing a huge amount of chaotic energy into the Empire’s central region. That energy acted like unstable fuel. When the chaotic magical energy suddenly exploded, the Well of Deep Blue’s energy had a catalytic effect... Maybe the Divine Evil’s genetic factors can indeed strengthen human resistance against the chaotic wave’s erosion, but its effect is evidently limited."

"If it really is like this..." Kamel’s tone calmed, "perhaps it is somewhat comforting."

Gawain couldn’t help but recall the identity verification device he’d found earlier in the mountain ruins (Defied Fortress). Back then, that device clearly identified all humans, including Gawain and Byron, as "safe and stable carriers," but when Amber tried to verify her identity, an alarm sounded. Gawain had initially thought it was due to a malfunction in the device, but now he guessed the true purpose of that device.

The device wasn’t malfunctioning at all — it correctly identified the safe and stable carriers; every human with ancestors from the Gondor Empire is a carrier of "divine evils."

Yet, even after understanding the origin of the aberrations, Gawain still harbored many doubts about those monsters.

"If the aberrations are mutations from humans carrying the genetic factor of divine evils, rather than chaotic creatures born from the magical wave, then many of their characteristics are completely inexplicable," Gawain said with puzzlement, "For instance— once the number of aberrations exceeds a certain threshold, they generate an environment of chaotic magical energy around them, and when the intensity and range of this environment reach a certain level, new aberrations will ’appear out of nowhere’ within the Chaos Power Field... How should this be explained?"

If aberrations are "chaotic creatures," life forms similar to certain elemental products, then their continuous spontaneous proliferation in a magical wave environment can be explained, but if aberrations are "regular life" mutated from humans, how can they, like elemental creatures, manage to "appear out of nowhere" when the environment is suitable?

Even Kamel couldn’t answer this question, as it surpassed the knowledge scope of this ancient Master Mage. He could only boldly speculate: "Maybe it’s the source of the divine evils — the power of the gods that comes into play? Although the divine evils only utilized the genetic material of Amoen, the Giant Stag, to the gods, stealing their flesh is equivalent to stealing their power. The power of the gods is difficult for humans to understand, but perhaps this power grants the aberrations certain... characteristics that regular creatures don’t possess."

"In any case, being able to ’appear out of nowhere’ is really hard to explain," Gawain shook his head and sighed, "Everything in the wasteland is unknown, and no one can guess what changes have occurred with those monsters."

After finishing the topic of aberrations, Kamel finally remembered the original purpose for which Gawain had sought him out. He queried curiously: "My lord, I heard you designed something?"

"It’s a weapon manufacturing plan, but I’m still not sure if it’s feasible," Gawain nodded, picked up the blueprint on the desk, and handed it to Kamel, "Although energy weapons have obvious advantages, they also have significant disadvantages against things like magic-resistant Shields. We still need solid ammunition weapons— it’s best to have both so we can maintain an advantage on complex battlefields."

This leader seemed approachable and magnanimous, but in fact, he was cautious and meticulous, never leaving the enemy any chance on the battlefield. Realizing what Gawain was doing, Kamel already understood this point, so he wasn’t surprised that Gawain retained the solid ammunition weapon plan — and he himself inclined toward the idea of using diverse weaponry to meet challenges, so he accepted the blueprint and soon became interested in it.

"Still using repulsion mechanisms... to form an acceleration track with a series of repulsion structures, you mentioned this before..." Kamel mumbled as he examined the detailed instructions on the blueprint, "But this time you plan to add a Hurricane Rune to the projectile?"

"It’s not just changes to the projectile; in fact, there are special designs for the acceleration track," Gawain explained, pointing at the blueprint, "I referenced Rebecca’s ’Amplifier’ concept, and added Magic Field Receivers and Load Balancers to the ends of two acceleration tracks. Additionally, this energy is channeled into the repulsion mechanisms using an extra set of magic symbols. This way, when the cannon is fired, all the repulsion mechanisms effectively enter an overload state, greatly boosting their propulsion — with reinforced acceleration tracks and the projectile’s auxiliary power, its range and power will fully meet my requirements — even greatly exceed them."

Kamel couldn’t help but express doubt: "Continuous overload? In this case, the lifespan of the magic circle might be cut in half..."

Gawain had anticipated this question, and he smiled slightly: "I think... many people, including a Master Mage like you, have fallen into a misconception regarding the field of industrialized magical devices."

"What misconception?"

"Industrial products are not afraid of being consumed — a meticulously crafted traditional magic ring can be passed down through generations as a family heirloom, perhaps lasting hundreds or even thousands of years, becoming a legendary family treasure. However, industrially manufactured items... from the start, they aren’t meant to be passed down through generations.

"They are consumables. As long as their lifespan meets or exceeds actual needs, then they are qualified industrial products. Though a longer lifespan is nice, it is merely icing on the cake, certainly not essential.

"If it can be used to fulfill its purpose, then it is qualified. If it can last until technological obsolescence, then it is a superior creation. If it can last for ages, passed down over generations... then it has impacted industrial processes and technological progress."

"Want to know why? The reason is simple: industrial products not only undergo mass production but also batch updates and replacements. As long as the industrial chain itself remains intact, this replacement speed will far surpass traditional magical and alchemical devices—new technologies and products will continuously replace the old, and be more usable, more practical. Instances where magic rings from hundreds of years ago remain endlessly powerful won’t exist in the new order I’m establishing. If we indeed create something, and it remains a mainstream product for decades or centuries, still integral to society, then that can only mean... the Cecil Clan’s magical industry has utterly failed."

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