The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Experiment That Should Not Exist

Aoda looked toward the collapsing chamber.

"We’re done here."

Valentine nodded, her gaze sweeping across the ruined laboratory.

"Then let’s get the survivors out before the rest of this place comes down."

They had barely begun moving when a deep metallic groan echoed from somewhere beneath the laboratory, followed by a tremor that traveled through the floor and made several broken pieces of equipment rattle against one another.

KRRRRRNNNG...

Aoda stopped.

Her eyes shifted toward the deeper section of the facility.

"That didn’t come from the structure."

Valentine’s expression changed.

"No. It came from below."

Behind them, one of the surviving researchers suddenly laughed.

It wasn’t the laughter of someone who had accepted defeat. There was something almost triumphant about it, as though the destruction surrounding him had somehow become irrelevant.

Aoda slowly turned toward him.

"You seem rather confident for someone whose entire facility is falling apart."

The researcher wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled.

"You really thought destroying this place meant you’d won?"

He stepped toward a damaged control panel.

"You’ve destroyed our research, eliminated our guards, and ruined years of work, but you still haven’t seen the most important thing we’ve created."

Valentine’s eyes narrowed.

"What did you do?"

The researcher placed his hand against the control panel.

CLANK.

Something beneath the laboratory unlocked.

A second mechanism followed.

Then another.

CLANK. CLANK. CLANK.

The entire chamber began to shake as a massive containment door at the far end slowly opened, releasing a thick white mist that spread across the floor.

Something moved inside.

The researchers backed away with anticipation.

Aoda’s hand tightened around her sword.

Then a massive hand emerged from the mist.

Another followed.

Something enormous stepped out of the containment chamber.

It stood several meters tall, its body resembling the remains of countless creatures forcibly fused together into a single living organism. Thick layers of muscle covered portions of its torso while dark scales, hardened flesh, exposed tissue, and unnatural bone growths covered the rest.

Several arms extended from its body, each slightly different from the others. Some looked disturbingly human, while others had elongated claws or thick, monstrous fingers. A horn protruded from one shoulder, another from its back, and several eyes were scattered across its upper body, each moving independently as they searched the chamber.

Its head was perhaps the worst of it.

Human features had been mixed with those of demons and monsters until nothing recognizable remained, while a second mouth had been embedded across its chest and opened slowly with a wet, unnatural sound.

The creature’s entire body pulsed with concentrated mana.

THUMP.

THUMP.

THUMP.

Each pulse caused the air around it to tremble.

Heavy restraints remained wrapped around its body, but the creature pulled once.

CLANG!

The chains snapped apart.

A distorted roar escaped its throat.

"GRAAAAAAAAH!"

The researchers began laughing.

"We finally did it!"

"After all those failures, the perfect specimen is finally complete!"

The senior researcher looked toward Aoda and Valentine with an expression of pride that bordered on obsession.

"You two may have defeated our guards, but this creature is different. It can regenerate damaged tissue almost instantly, including flesh, bones, and internal organs."

He gestured toward the monster.

"You can cut it apart, crush its body, tear it to pieces, and it will simply rebuild itself."

Valentine stared at the creature for several seconds before looking back at the researchers.

"You’re proud of this?"

"Of course."

Aoda’s expression slowly changed.

"This isn’t research."

She raised her sword.

"It’s the mutilation of living beings."

Valentine’s gaze hardened as she looked over the creature’s distorted body.

"Humans, monsters, demons... you used everything you could find and forced them into that thing."

Her fingers tightened around her weapon.

"That’s unforgivable."

The atmosphere inside the chamber changed.

The killing intent released by the two women spread through the laboratory with such weight that several researchers instinctively stepped backward.

The senior researcher swallowed.

But the creature had already moved.

BOOM!

Its enormous body surged forward with frightening speed.

Aoda stepped into its path, her sword moving in a single clean arc while Valentine attacked from the opposite side.

SHING!

Aoda severed its right arm.

SHING!

Valentine’s blade cut through the left.

THUD!

Both limbs struck the floor.

The creature staggered, but before it could fall, the wounds began changing.

Flesh crawled across the severed areas.

Muscle rapidly formed around newly growing bones, veins spread through the tissue, and within seconds, two completely restored arms emerged from the wounds.

Valentine’s eyes narrowed.

"It regenerated both arms."

The senior researcher burst into laughter.

"That’s right!"

His voice carried the excitement of someone watching years of research finally prove itself.

"This is the successful experiment! No matter how many times you cut it apart, it will continue rebuilding itself!"

He pointed toward the creature.

"Eventually your strength will run out, and when that happens, you’ll be the ones lying on the floor!"

The creature roared and charged again.

Aoda glanced toward Valentine.

Valentine met her gaze.

A faint smile appeared on both their faces.

The Eclipse Power surrounding Aoda’s sword began to condense, becoming so dense that the air around the blade visibly distorted.

At the same time, crimson light gathered around Valentine’s body, forming several glowing petals that drifted through the air.

The senior researcher stopped laughing.

"What are they doing?"

Aoda stepped forward.

The creature raised its claws.

Aoda swung.

"Eclipse Impact."

BOOOOOOM!

The concentrated force released from her sword struck the creature directly in the chest, sending its enormous body crashing through several containment structures before it struck the far wall.

CRASH!

Before it could recover, Valentine disappeared.

She reappeared above the creature, her crimson petals spreading throughout the chamber.

"Crimson Bloom."

SHING! SHING! SHING!

The petals descended from every direction, tearing through flesh and scales faster than the creature could regenerate.

"GRAAAAAAAAH!"

Its body was shredded beneath the barrage, yet the wounds began closing almost immediately.

One researcher stared at the readings.

"The regeneration is active!"

Another looked toward the battle in disbelief.

"Then why aren’t they slowing down?"

The senior researcher suddenly realized the answer.

His expression changed.

"They’re destroying it faster than it can recover."

Aoda raised her sword once more.

The creature forced itself upright.

Its movements were already slower.

Aoda’s eyes remained cold.

"Then let’s finish this."

The Eclipse Power surrounding her blade intensified.

She swung.

"Eclipse Impact."

BOOOOOOM!

The attack struck the creature with overwhelming force and drove its massive body straight into the floor.

CRASH!

A crater formed beneath it.

For several seconds, nothing moved.

Then the creature’s flesh began regenerating again.

But this time, the process was noticeably slower.

The senior researcher stared at the monitoring device.

"The regeneration rate..."

His fingers trembled.

"It’s dropping."

"That’s impossible."

"The damage is exceeding its recovery!"

"No..."

The senior researcher shook his head.

"The experiment was designed to regenerate indefinitely!"

The creature tried to rise.

Its limbs trembled.

The newly formed flesh struggled to stabilize.

Then its enormous body collapsed again.

Silence filled the chamber.

Valentine lowered her weapon.

"That should be enough."

Aoda nodded.

"It has reached its limit."

The researchers remained frozen.

Then one of them looked toward Aoda and Valentine.

The fear in his expression slowly changed into something else.

Greed.

"Their power..."

The senior researcher followed his gaze.

Another researcher stepped closer.

"If we could capture them..."

"We could examine their bodies."

"Their mana."

"The source of that power."

The senior researcher stared at them as though the defeated creature had suddenly become irrelevant.

"Forget the specimen."

His eyes widened with excitement.

"These two are far more valuable."

Another researcher laughed.

"If we could extract whatever gives them that strength..."

"We could reproduce it."

"Create stronger soldiers."

"Create bodies that don’t age."

The senior researcher clenched his hands.

"An artificial substance capable of granting overwhelming power and regeneration..."

His expression became almost feverish.

"We could create something that even death cannot easily claim."

Valentine looked at Aoda.

"They’re still thinking about experiments."

Aoda sighed.

"Apparently, destroying their masterpiece wasn’t enough."

The senior researcher slammed his hand against another control panel.

"Release the second specimen!"

Aoda’s eyes narrowed.

"Another one?"

The containment doors opened.

Something smaller stepped into the chamber.

Unlike the previous creature, this one possessed a compact, almost humanoid body. Its limbs were unnaturally long, its fingers ending in razor-sharp claws, while dark scales covered portions of its skin and veins pulsed beneath the surface with concentrated mana.

Its red eyes immediately locked onto Aoda and Valentine.

The restraints released.

For several seconds, it remained completely still.

Then—

WHOOSH!

It vanished.

Aoda’s eyes followed the distortion in the air.

The creature appeared beside her, its claws already descending.

SHING!

She twisted away just before the attack passed through the space where her head had been.

CRACK!

The claws struck the wall and tore through the stone.

Valentine’s expression sharpened.

"So it’s fast."

Aoda watched the creature closely.

"And its movements are difficult to predict."

The creature disappeared again.

This time it appeared behind Valentine.

SHING!

Valentine leaned forward as the claws passed over her shoulder, then immediately turned and struck with her blade.

CLANG!

The creature blocked the attack with its forearm, but the impact forced it several meters backward.

Aoda was already there.

BOOM!

Her sword struck its shoulder and sent it crashing across the chamber.

The creature rolled once before landing on all fours.

The wound began closing almost instantly.

Valentine glanced toward Aoda.

"Same regeneration."

Aoda nodded.

"But considerably faster."

The creature lowered its body.

Its red eyes focused on them.

Then it disappeared.

Aoda and Valentine moved simultaneously.

SHING!

Valentine’s blade cut across its side.

BOOM!

Aoda’s Eclipse-powered strike followed from the opposite direction, sending the creature flying through the air.

Yet instead of crashing helplessly, it twisted in midair, landed against the wall, and immediately launched itself back toward them.

The researchers watched in growing panic.

"Catch them!"

"Don’t kill them!"

The senior researcher shouted toward the creature.

"Bring those two women back alive!"

His voice shook with desperate excitement.

"We’ll take them to the other laboratory and begin the next stage!"

The creature attacked again.

Valentine slipped beneath its claws while Aoda deflected another strike with her sword.

The battle continued through the chamber, the creature constantly regenerating every wound the two women inflicted while relying on its speed to avoid being overwhelmed.

But despite its strength, it still couldn’t land a decisive attack.

Every time it closed the distance, Aoda and Valentine were already somewhere else.

And every time they counterattacked, another wound appeared across its body.

The senior researcher watched the battle with growing desperation.

"Why can’t it catch them?!"

One of the researchers clenched his fists.

"They’re too fast!"

"No."

The senior researcher stared at the two women.

"They’re not simply fast."

His voice had become quieter.

"They’re controlling the entire battle."

Before anyone could respond, a figure appeared at the entrance of the chamber.

One of the Eclipse elites stood there, his sword resting against his shoulder.

"Lady Aoda. Lady Valentine."

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