The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 268 Pseudo-cloning

The creation of the Heart of Pure Life was merely a byproduct of the research conducted by alchemists led by Ferdinand; their true goal never changed: to create real humans through alchemy.

On the way here, the breakthrough that the alchemy apprentice Fred mentioned also referred to was in this aspect.

"Over the past year, we have experimented with countless alchemical materials, studied various combinations, and created life forms that are becoming more and more like real humans... Except for the lack of consciousness, they look almost indistinguishable from real people."

Ferdinand's face showed a mixture of pride and regret. "There's no point in saying more. Mr. Eric, you should come and see for yourself."

On the way to the alchemy laboratory on the other side, Natalia asked in a low voice, "What did he mean by creating humans?"

“It means exactly what it says,” Eric replied.

Natalia looked at him.

“Let’s see,” Eric continued. “I don’t know how far they’ve come yet.”

"Eric made them do this?"

“No, I just happened to notice their research and then gave them some money to sponsor it,” Eric explained.

Natalia took a slow breath. "The Church probably wouldn't allow the creation of life, would it?"

“It’s not just forbidden; if the church finds out today, they could drag me to the Holy City Square and burn me to death tomorrow.”

"..."

“We’re here.” Eric gestured with his chin toward the front, and Natalia didn’t say anything more for the time being.

Reaching the deepest part of the laboratory, Ferdinand pulled open a cabinet that emitted a plume of cold air and said, "Please prepare yourselves."

With a whoosh, he shoved the cabinet door to the other side, then turned to look at the expressions on the three people's faces.

"..."

A chill ran through the room, and inside the cabinet stood a dozen or so figures, all with their eyes closed and motionless.

The three of them looked on, their faces expressionless.

Natalia and Kasha were mostly obliviously calm, while Eric was genuinely shocked.

"These……"

Eric stepped closer and looked at Ferdinand. "You created all of this."

Ferdinand nodded emphatically, "This is an unprecedented breakthrough in the history of alchemy!"

Natalia and Kasha followed, and when they saw the face of one of the bodies in the drifting cold air, Natalia tensed up instantly.

Following her gaze, Eric also saw the face clearly and felt a chill run down his spine.

—That's Ferdinand's face.

"Damn, cloning..."

“What did Mr. Eric say?” Ferdinand asked.

“What’s going on?” Eric pointed to the body that looked almost exactly like his.

Ferdinand walked up to the body, reached through the cold mist, and clasped his hand with that of his other self, his face showing a mixture of pride and regret.

"If we don't make a breakthrough from the perspective of the soul, this is probably the limit of our research."

According to Ferdinand, this body, which resembles a clone, was created by him using his own blood and a combination of many rare alchemical materials, based on their latest research. In appearance, it is almost indistinguishable from his own.

Ferdinand said he had dissected early experimental subjects, and they were fully equipped with all the necessary organs. Therefore, although he couldn't bring himself to dissect "himself," he estimated that the body's internal structure was the same as his own.

"But he has no consciousness, no life... he's just another body created just like me."

Ferdinand sighed deeply. "Actually, this is no longer in the same direction as creating Chaos, because Chaos is a living being."

Eric walked over and took a closer look. "So that's why ice magic is needed to cool down the body and prevent it from decaying?"

Ferdinand nodded.

“So… these are actually all corpses,” Natalia said.

Ferdinand looked at her, and after a brief silence, shook his head.

"It doesn't even qualify as a corpse."

"Ok?"

"Miss, what is your concept of a corpse?"

Natalia frowned, glanced at him, then looked at Eric, "Aren't people dead just..."

Halfway through her speech, she suddenly realized what Ferdinand really meant.

“Yes.” Ferdinand nodded. “He never had any life from beginning to end, so how can he be considered a corpse?”

A chill spread out in front of her, and Natalia rubbed her arms.

"Did it not even exist for a second?" Eric asked.

Ferdinand nodded. "So our current research focuses on how to give life to such creations. Even something like Cairo, which has no consciousness whatsoever, as long as it can breathe, has a heartbeat, and its blood flows on its own, that would be a groundbreaking breakthrough capable of overturning the world..."

Eric didn't know how to comment.

Because of the existence of healing magic from various religious sects, the development of medicine in this world is still in a rather primitive stage. Otherwise, this kind of cloning-like technology would really have a lot of potential, such as organ transplantation.

Now...

Aside from serving as substitutes for those who have faked their deaths, Eric couldn't think of any other use for these lifeless "clones."

“Mr. Eric, if you need, we can create such a body for you, you just need to leave a little blood,” Ferdinand suddenly said.

"..."

Eric was somewhat surprised that his first reaction was not to refuse.

“What use is such a body to me?” he asked.

Ferdinand was silent for a few seconds, then muttered to himself, "Yes, what's the use... no soul, no life."

"but……"

Eric drew his longsword and gripped it with his other hand, saying, "Maybe I really will need it someday."

"Your Highness!" Natalia blurted out in her haste.

Because of his two lifetimes and the prospect of organ transplantation, Eric himself was quite open-minded about such things, but Natalia found it horrifying.

She absolutely could not accept the existence of another version of herself that was exactly the same as her, even if she had no life and no consciousness.

The emergence of another Eric would also be difficult for her to accept.

“If someone gets hold of that corpse… body, just using it to spread rumors, like throwing it in Lutia and saying you’re dead, would be a huge problem,” Natalia said.

“Provided that someone like that can get this body.” Eric reassured her, then looked at Ferdinand.

Ferdinand immediately stated, "Without Mr. Eric's permission, I will at most retain your blood, and will not take any further action."

"That body won't have any effect on me, will it?" Eric asked. "Like, it can curse me or something."

“I swear in the name of the God of Nature, I absolutely will not.” Ferdinand shook his head firmly. “I wish he could, but in reality, you have zero connection with that body beyond its physical form.”

Eric nodded, then had Ferdinand bring a glass vial containing a potion. With a flick of his longsword, he poured in about half a vial of blood.

A divine light swept across the wound, and Eric's palm healed rapidly.

As he handed the small vial of blood to Ferdinand, Natalia's face still betrayed her worry, but in the end she didn't say anything more.

Eric wiped the blood off his longsword and sheathed it. "Have you tried placing the Heart of Pure Life into these bodies?"

Ferdinand nodded. "That was almost our first thought after we realized we couldn't bring these bodies to life, but..."

He sighed.

"No response?" Eric asked.

Ferdinand shook his head. "It's too much of a reaction."

He asked Eric for a pure life heart, then dragged a body out of the freezer, placed it on the lab table, and stuffed the gem into its mouth.

Almost the instant it came into contact with the pure heart of life, the body began to grow flesh-colored tentacles like nerve synapses, spreading outwards continuously. At first, it was the limbs, and then tentacles also emerged from the skin, extending east and west haphazardly, quickly covering the entire experimental table.

Eric and Natalia were horrified, and Kasha stared wide-eyed, taking two steps back as well.

"As you can see... aside from producing these tentacles, the Pure Heart of Life cannot substantially give them life."

Ferdinand stood by the experimental table the whole time, his body covered in tentacles, but he didn't seem to care. He asked Eric if he wanted to continue.

“Stop.” Eric took a step back as he watched the tentacles reaching towards his calf. “If they keep growing like this, you won’t have to worry about dinner this month.”

"..." Natalia, who was standing next to her, seemed to have made a connection to something, and her face suddenly turned ugly. She covered her mouth, turned around, and ran away.

"Kasha, go and see her."

"it is good."

Kasha went out with Natalia.

Ferdinand groped around among the tentacles for a while before finally finding the pure heart of life and pulling it out with force.

Without the nourishment of the pure heart of life, the tentacles that had been spreading outwards instantly lost their vitality, drooped down, and withered at a visible speed, like seedlings that had lost their moisture.

Eric stepped on it, and the creatures felt like rotten flesh that had fallen from the undead; they collapsed under his foot.

"Here you go."

Ferdinand returned the pure heart of life that he had plucked from the mouth of the body that was no longer human to Eric.

He stared at it for a couple of seconds, but still didn't reach out. "You can keep it for research."

Yes, Fred!

Ferdinand called his apprentice, and the two of them moved the body and the tentacles growing on it onto a cart, which the apprentice then dragged away.

"Where are we sending it?" Eric asked.

“A giant underground cave,” Ferdinand replied. “Just throw it in there as nourishment to cultivate a pure heart of life.”

Eric nodded, listened to him talk for a while about the overall progress of the current research, and asked, "So, you still haven't made any breakthroughs in the area of ​​the soul?"

Ferdinand nodded, each nod heavy. “There are so few scholars who study the soul. Apart from Rusdy, it’s hard to find another person who is even remotely famous.”

Eric looked at him. "Has Rusdy still not been heard from in the past year?"

"Yes."

"Is it the same in the last few months?"

Ferdinand glanced at him and nodded. "We've never given up looking for him, Mr. Eric. Have you heard something?"

"In fact, I came to Castelfeld this time specifically for him."

"Rusdy has appeared?" Ferdinand exclaimed excitedly.

"No. We just have a clue, but haven't confirmed it yet." Eric then casually asked, "By the way, do you know where Bardo's Hut is?"

“Bardo’s Cottage…Bardo,” Ferdinand repeated twice. “I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.”

“This name should be related to the former Imperial High Priest Simago and Rusdy,” Eric reminded him.

“Sinmaggu? I know where to look for it... I'll go flip through a few books.”

Following Ferdinand, Eric left the laboratory and headed towards the other side of the mage tower. On the way, he passed a doorway and saw Natalia and Kasha standing outside, with the latter gently patting the former on the back.

He stopped and went over to check on Natalia's condition.

"Natalia?"

She turned around, holding a torn scroll in her hand, with a large puddle of water on the ground and traces of washing still on her face.

"I'm sorry, I said something I shouldn't have."

Natalia shook her head, took out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth. "I lost my composure."

She resolved not to think about those bizarre and disgusting beings, and simply asked him how much longer he planned to stay there.

“Ferdinand might have clues about the Bardo cabin; we’re investigating now,” Eric said.

Natalia nodded. "I'll wait outside."

Eric didn't say much and went back inside.

When they found Ferdinand, there were several books in front of him, and he was carefully searching through one of them.

"Found it. This book records the lives of some famous monks and people related to them, but it's mostly hearsay and may not be accurate."

Ferdinand spread the book out on the table. “Bardo, a mage and alchemist of little renown in Castelfel, but decades ago he took in the homeless Sinmagus and often hung out with another alchemist named Nelson. Mr. Nelson was much more famous, not only for his outstanding contributions to alchemy, but also for being Rusdy’s teacher.”

That's Molly's advisor...

Eric thought to himself.

“But they parted ways after only a few years… Well, according to this book, Bardo died more than thirty years ago, and that's why the high priest was adopted by the church priests and joined the church,” Ferdinand said, pushing the book towards him.

Eric looked at it and realized that he had already read aloud most of what was written in the book.

In other words, this Bado was the starting point for Xinmagu's journey to becoming a Dharma Master.
“However, it still doesn’t say where Bardo’s Hut might be,” Eric said.

“Let me look again…” Ferdinand flipped through a few more books.

Eric thought for a moment, "This Bado hut should be the house where he lived when he was hanging out with that alchemist named Nelson. It should be easier to find him by following Nelson's trail."

“You’re right.” Ferdinand had an idea, so he changed the name and started searching. After a while, he got the results.

“Found it. ‘From 695 to 699, Nelson stayed at Castle McPhee in Castelfel, where he studied alchemy with his friends and took in his apprentice Rusdy… You mean, Rusdy is in this place now?”

McPheeburg, Eric remembered the name, "Only possibly. Where is McPheeburg?"

“It’s not far north of Xingyuan Academy; it should take less than a day to get there on horseback,” Ferdinand replied.

Eric nodded. "Okay, I'll go check it out tomorrow."

Ferdinand hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"You want me to bring him back?" Eric understood his meaning.

“I dare not ask for more.” Ferdinand lowered his head. “But if you are certain that Rusdy is there, please let me know, and I will go to see Rusdy in person.”

Eric agreed, even though he wouldn't actually allow Rusdy to remain in Castelfeld.

"I'm going back. Wait for my news."

"You're leaving now?" Ferdinand asked in surprise. "It's already dark."

“I live in a monastery here, it’s only a ten-minute ride away,” Eric said.

The alchemists watched the three leave, hoping he would bring back the good news they had been longing for.

Walking at night in Castelfel is dangerous, but because so many people keep this in mind, those who could pose a danger lose their target. Apart from certain main roads, there are basically no bandits lying in wait on other roads.

Eric and his two companions rode back to the monastery, without seeing a single ghost along the way.

"Has Your Highness found any clues?" Back at the monastery, Natalia's complexion had improved considerably, and she inquired about his findings from his private conversation with Ferdinand.

Eric told her about the information he had received and his plans for tomorrow.

"Since the demons may have already gone there first, I won't be taking you with me."

Natalia expressed her understanding and then told Eric about her plans.

"I need to go back to Xingyuan Academy to take a look and start making arrangements for recruiting mages and alchemists."

“Be careful with everything,” Eric cautioned.

Natalia nodded. "I understand."

“I will send two of my most elite knights with you,” Eric added.

"And what about Your Highness?"

“I will bring some people with me. But as I said before, more people means more attention, so I need to keep my presence as concealed as possible until I figure out the situation here.”

Natalia looked at him and reminded him in his own words, "Be careful with everything."

Eric smiled. "I understand."

Kasha, of course, had to stay as well. Whether she stayed at the monastery or went with Natalia was up to her.

The next morning, after asking the church for directions to Mephisto, Eric set off with five knights.

After nearly a day of travel, they arrived at a town that was not small in size, located north of Xingyuan Academy.

This place is named after an old castle in the town, but it has long been abandoned and no longer has a lord. The town is only slightly safer than the wilderness.

Eric stopped at a roadside tavern and asked the owner about the existence of Bado's Hut.

"Of course I know. Why are you asking about that place?" the tavern owner retorted.

Eric pulled out a few gold coins and lined them up on the table, his smile as dazzling as the coins themselves. "An old friend wrote to me asking me to come over."

(End of this chapter)