Mechanical Alchemist

What is a battle between madmen like?

It's reckless!

They recklessly attack each other for hundreds of rounds.

Both use their bodies in a state of overload brought about by explosive hormone levels, achieving a speed and strength that most ordinary third-order individuals could only dream of.

It must be said, Gerald was the kind of person who perfected an art to its utmost extreme.

He was a "forensic doctor", with an intimate understanding of human anatomy.

He was not only familiar with the functional aspects of human limbs, muscles, meridians, nerves, and so on...

He even utilized these functions in combat.

Beyond the tactics of "limb confusion" and "hormonal disruption", he could also use his fingernails transformed into blades to precisely sever certain key points of meridians, blocking the flow of energy in the body.

This was somewhat similar to the concept of "acupuncture points" from Su Lun's previous life.

When a magician casts almost any spell, they need to coordinate with the dark spiritual power inside their body. This strike could immediately disrupt their spellcasting under normal circumstances, and in severe cases, even cause backlash.

This technical manner of fighting often produces tenfold the effectiveness with just one part of the effort.

It was fortunate that Su Lun's [Vajra] was at the third order, also containing the incomplete rules of the fourth and fifth orders within condensed gold elements, rendering him nearly invulnerable.

Otherwise, if it were any other third-order professional, even if they knew this Vajra technique, facing Gerald's surgical blades would likely result in being pierced, and the technique easily broken in an instant.

This leader of the Umbrella Organization was one of the strongest professionals Su Lun had encountered, aside from those from the Mirror Organization—at least, several times trickier than the previously deceased "Thunder Sword King" Nero Redgrave.

But the stronger the enemy, the better Su Lun himself was.

With the [Vajra] technique, he was already indomitable.

Within the [Puppet Theater], the dense web of threads acted like the hairs on his body, allowing him to precisely sense Gerard's position within the theater. Any slight mistake from the enemy could trap them.

At this moment, hundreds of puppet arms bearing sharp blades hovered around Su Lun.

These high-level runes and enchanted daggers stabbed chaotically around Su Lun like a torrential downpour.

Although Gerard's means of killing were strong and unique, his professional focus was still that of an assassin. Strong in attack, explosive, but weak in defense, and he had to engage in close combat.

Even with agile movements, the coverage of the daggers meant that at least some would penetrate him.

....

Shadows flitted around the dark golden figure, with the intensity of the battle escalating wave by wave.

Just then, the sound of a bell "thudded" heavily.

Gerald hit Su Lun with a flying cleave, smashing him on the shoulder with a ferocious kick.

Su Lun anchored his energy, channeling a massive force from his shoulder down through his legs, shattering the hard stone on ground into powder. The force continued unabated until his feet broke a foot deep into the ground before stopping.

Su Lun's combat skills had reached "master level", and this technique of energy discharging had become instinctive.

It was difficult to beat him on the level of technique.

Yet, even as he took the blow, Su Lun manipulated the threads in the air and pulled, resulting in dozens of knives stabbing downward. Gerard dodged many, but still got hit by some.

He retreated rapidly, pulling back dozens of meters.

Both men stopped fighting simultaneously.

Gerald glanced at the cut on his right forearm and exhaled a turbid breath.

Although a high secretion of hormones could hasten wound healing, this level of recovery efficiency couldn't outweigh the formation of new injuries.

Blood-eyed Su Lun found this grand battle exhilarating, showing a blood-streaked grin, and slowed his attacks. An unusual state triggered a crow-like eerie laugh from his throat, "Mr. Gerald, with your red-faced clown status, you can't kill me..."

"Indeed,"

Gerald nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, and rolled up the sleeves scattered during the fight.

His fingernails were sharp as blades, rolled up meticulously.

Having fought to this point, he also discerned what Su Lun was planning.

Turning his head, he asked, "You intend to use spiritual power to breakthrough the brain domain?"

Blood-eyed Su Lun twisted his stiff neck from the kick, which cracked audibly, and responded, "Yes."

He too had learned of this ancient method from "Lady Seraya" in the fifth level of the prison.

Some "uniquely gifted" ancient magicians, before learning the secret techniques of spiritual power, could try to use the release of violent spiritual power to shock their brain's development.

This could give them an additional chance at a "spiritual advancement" compared to others.

Otherwise, once spiritual power was bound by constraints, the precious gift would be wasted.

Su Lun belonged to that rare case of "uniquely gifted" individuals, with strong initial spiritual power, yet he hadn't gone mad.

Hearing this, Gerald revealed a calm expression as expected, and calmly asked, "Can you use this spatial rule to kill me?"

He had already sized up the opponent's strength; to him, that black scythe was not a fatal threat.

If the opponent was confident, then this was the only possibility.

Su Lun didn't hide it, "Yes."

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Gerald's emotions showed no fluctuations.

From the moment he had been pulled into the cursed space, he had guessed that he would die today.

At the life's final juncture, the leader of the Umbrella organization, neither afraid nor sad, suddenly asked calmly, "How much longer can you last?"

If others heard this, they would probably find it puzzling.

But for the two of them at this moment, each could guess the purpose of the other's question.

Su Lun said, "At most four minutes."

Stimulating hormone secretion to overload wasn't without a cost.

Amid the intensity, muscle fibers also frayed bit by bit, and the burden on various organs and bones was tremendous. A normal person using this method to fight would have died from rupture long ago.

Su Lun, relying on the super cell vitality from the "X serum" transformation, hadn't fallen dead on the spot.

He didn't think a normal human body could withstand such an exaggerated overload.

Su Lun himself was like this, and so should Gerald.

Even if he couldn't be defeated, from the moment they entered, the outcome had already been sealed.

This meant that within four minutes, the two must determine life or death.

No, Gerald must die.

"Hmm... then as you wish."

Gerald was well aware of this fact.

Speaking, he seemed to have made a decision and added, "You are the second person to see my 'Black Clown,' but I hope I won't have to kill you. Otherwise, it would be a pity."

True peers are rare,

Since death cannot be avoided,

then face it openly,

unleashing the most dazzling flare at the last moment of life,

Such an ending is also quite good.

The two patients with reddened eyes began to talk as if they were not mortal enemies but old friends sharing good words.

They also understood simultaneously that it was not that they couldn't communicate in this mad frenzy.

It was, rather, that other people couldn't communicate.

Both found an unprecedented sense of recognition.

Upon hearing this, a twisted and insane smile appeared on Su Lun's face, his red eyes brimming with intense combat spirits.

He licked his lips, "Tsk tsk, I am honored..."

...

Gerald did not say much more, didn't bother to straighten his shirt, but just ripped it apart.

A "swish" of fabric tearing.

The middle-aged man revealed his muscular upper body, wrapped in bandages.

His body shook, and the bandages burst instantly.

But what was shocking was that Gerald's back had a centipede-like suture mark. The shape of the suture was a hexagram array!

This stitched piece of flesh was distinctly different in color from the rest of the body.
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It was pitch black, emitting a faint black mist, as if a piece of dead flesh was stitched onto the normal flesh!

Seeing this, the All-knowing Eye already discerned the origin of that flesh, and Su Lun muttered, "So it's stitched with the flesh of a different creature to withstand the overload of battle, I see..."

This was not synthetic gear; it was simply another piece of flesh, probably taken from some corpse, stitched onto his own flesh.

But seeing the inflammation and swollen redness of the wound, it seemed the human body strongly rejected that black flesh.

This guy actually forcibly used alchemy to stitch it into his own body.

True to being a 'forensic doctor'."

"Just a small experiment. Be careful,"

Gerald responded indifferently, clapped his hands, and uttered a low shout, "Flesh Alchemy - Release!"

The moment the sorcerer's seals were undone, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The stitched hexagram array mark gleamed for a moment, and the piece of "dead flesh" on his back came to life, wriggling as the black pigment spread rapidly over his body. His muscles seemed to come alive, pulsating in bundles, as if countless snakes were squirming under his skin.

Even the deep blue ［Non-Attendance］ cold flames engulfing Gerald shifted to bright purple. The temperature remained unchanged, but it struck a chilling coldness into the soul.

And his clown face mask also turned pitch black in a "swish." The smile, shaped like a crescent moon, had a menacing edge that made one's hair stand on end.

The most powerful "Black Clown" state... appeared!

With this transformation,

Gerald seemed to bear no light burden,

"Puh-ch!" a sound emerged,

as he bent over and spewed a mouthful of dirty blood.

His chest heaved violently.

His muscles, overloaded, generated a great amount of heat; the high temperature evaporated the moisture in his body, expelling a visible white mist from his mouth and nose, accompanied by the breathing sounds of a wild beast.

"Huff-huff~"

"Huff-huff~"

"..."

Gerald stooped, looking up at Su Lun.

In that moment, the Black Clown's eyes showed no trace of rationality, having completely transformed into a monstrous beast driven solely by the need to kill!

In the instant of their gaze meeting, the Black Clown raised a clawed hand, and in the dim light of the prison, a cold blade sliced through the void, casting five icy trails of afterimages. It was as if one could hear the sharp tear through the air, a "clang" in an instant.

What was even more astonishing was that this clawing gesture had flung away the purple flames he was concentrating in his hand!

Su Lun's pupils sharply constricted, and instinctively, he twisted his body to dodge.

The purple flames did not touch his body, but exploded into a cluster of purple flames a foot away with a "pop".

Even though he was also clad in cold flames, this burning sent a shiver through his soul, leaving him slightly dazed.

Upon looking again, the silhouette of the Black Clown had already dissipated on the spot.

Even though Su Lun's eyes caught the incoming figure, his body couldn't react in time.

It was simply too fast,

the figure's speed had doubled compared to before!

As the figure swept past, Su Lun could only see a claw of sharp, icy light suddenly brightening in the air.

All that filled his ears were the grating metallic sounds of "screech, screech" tearing through the air.

A claw raked across his chest, and before he could react, another claw struck his lower back...

One claw followed by another,

before his eyes, a blur of sharp luminescent claw lights filled his vision,

Gerald's form had completely become like a ghost.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

In that moment of reaction, Su Lun was hit four times!

And unlike the previous skin-grazing attacks, this time, each swipe tore a finger-deep gash into his pure gold-like skin, locally even exposing the crimson blood beneath.

Just as Su Lun was about to gather threads to completely bind himself, that pair of claws flashed out of thin air, slamming heavily into his chest.

With a "thud" like an iron block hitting the ground, a seemingly light slap exploded with the force of thunder.

The chest burst up a visible ripple of shockwave, which directly flung Su Lun out of the Puppet Theater's bounds.

The entire person flew backwards a hundred meters, crashing through a thick wall and falling into a prison cell.

Su Lun couldn't hold back a large gush of blood.

....

In his "Black Clown" state, Gerald's combat power had multiplied several times.

Just from this one encounter, Su Lun had already been wounded.

But the red-eyed Su Lun was undaunted, instead sneering with great delight, his heart overjoyed, "Hahaha... so strong! So strong! So strong!"

The stronger the opponent, the more excited his spirit became, and the greater the development in his brain.

His current feeling was extremely peculiar; previously his consciousness was like a lone island in a vast sea, surrounded by fog.

He isolated himself on the island, unable to escape.

Now unfettered, drifting with the waves, he saw a brand new world.

In this moment, as the opponent fought desperately, Su Lun did not hesitate to fight desperately as well!

Emotions fueled a rapid and crazy secretion, to a potentially fatal degree.

Without pushing to the limit, how could he know where his potential boundary lay!

Fully unleashing his bodily potential allowed him, for a brief period, to possess strength close to a fourth level.

Gerald used the same method, using this "alien species meat fast" to bear the pressure that now needed to be endured.

But this was just an increase at the level of strength; technically, he was still at the third level.

But Su Lun was different; he truly understood part of the fourth level, even fifth level power rules!

Moreover,

While Gerald endured the pressure in combat,

Su Lun was releasing it,

Unleashed like a dam breach,

Shattering everything effortlessly!

"Twice as strong, then let's double the increase again!"

Su Lun shot up from the ruins, his face contorted fiercely.

Rationality couldn't suppress the intense desire to fight,

The fear of death couldn't suppress the ultimate enjoyment of reckless emotions,

He hesitated not a second to choose "battle"!

He clenched his fist violently, and his muscles visibly swelled. His body, too, became steaming hot due to the overload of energy conversion.

Hormones secreted, potential reached its limit, and the body also reached its limit, muscles began to tear apart extensively...

This state, his body on the verge of collapse at any moment.

However...

Death?

No, that was never a reason for him to back down.

At this moment, controlling the power felt extremely joyous to Su Lun, he greedily sucked in the air, feeling as though the whole world had slowed down, and his body finally caught up with his reactions.

And just then, the Black Clown rushed towards him at almost teleportation speed, Su Lun faced it head-on without any fear!

In both their red eyes, there was no sign of any human emotion, completely transformed into two humanoid beasts.

One reached for the chest,

Another punched the shoulder,

Limbs fricting the air, the visible wave of air from the punch.

The speed of both was so fast it baffled onlookers,

Striking each other almost simultaneously.

A bloody hole appeared in Su Lun's chest, hearing the "sizzle" of tissue penetration.

But at the same time, a clear sound of bone cracking also rose.

His own punch completely shattered Gerald's right arm and shoulder into a mess of splattered flesh, the entire arm flew off!

Both were seriously injured.

Both figures flew backwards simultaneously, crashing onto the ground breaking the bluestones, rolling dozens of times before stopping.

However, the next instant, Gerald, despite his broken arm, stood up first and instantly appeared right in front of him.

"Hehehe..."

Su Lun snarled fearlessly, still eager to fight.

But as soon as he thought of moving, he realized his body had reached its limit and suddenly "crashed."

No, to put it precisely, he was stopped by an external force, involuntarily.

Consciousness cleared for a moment,

He knew,

It was the Madame "Sereyah" who had been watching the fight all along.

"Didn't win, huh? What a pity..."

Su Lun took deep breaths, slowly closed his eyes, the tide of crazed emotions receding.

But in a haze, it seemed like he instinctively tapped into something.

'Acquired "Servis Gerard's" memory fragments*7'

'You have gained a piece of information: "The Duke suspects that Miss Teresa has been invaded by an evil entity, keep a close eye... A secret team has come from outside the tower, probably people from the Riga land family, although they avoided the umbrella, I still discovered their tracks, probably here for the lady's situation..."'

'You have gained an obsession: "Why can't there be a perfect life form if Alchemy could create one... the physical body of an Alchemist is too weak, and the mechanical body is too clumsy..."'

'You have acquired a great amount of "biological dissection knowledge"'

'You have discerned the Flesh Alchemy Secrets[Hormonal Rampage]'

'You have mastered some Necromancy Techniques'

'You have acquired some [No Servant] skill fragments'

'You have acquired ample "knowledge on stitching different species' limbs, biological corpse recognition +99"'

'Combat experience +155'

'Spiritual Power +4.8'

"So, she made her move..."

As consciousness was fading, this was the last thought that flashed through Su Lun's mind.

His entire world of consciousness suddenly plunged into darkness.