The next morning, Haruki and Esdeath rode slowly up to the entrance of the Empire's scientific research department.
As a talented scientist and a user of a research-type Teigu, Dr. Stylish had long been stationed here, which was why Haruki came to find him.
"Greetings, General Esdeath, Minister Haruki!"
Seeing two of the Empire's most famous figures arrive at such a rarely visited location, the gatekeeper was stunned at first, then quickly dropped to one knee in salute.
The research department operated almost directly under military oversight, meaning Esdeath could technically be considered Dr. Stylish's superior. That was exactly why Haruki had brought her along.
"Stand up. We're here to see Dr. Stylish. Is he in?"
Haruki asked calmly.
"Yes, sir. Dr. Stylish is currently conducting research inside. I'll go inform him. Please wait here for a moment."
Hearing that they were looking for Dr. Stylish, the gatekeeper looked a little puzzled. After all, in his eyes...
"No need. Just take us to him."
Haruki, curious about Dr. Stylish's lab, cut him off without hesitation.
"This... Alright then. Please, follow me."
The guard hesitated for a moment, but seeing the increasingly impatient expressions on Haruki and Esdeath's faces, he quickly complied.
As the lab's gatekeeper, he knew well what went on inside. Human experiments were conducted around the clock. In his opinion, Esdeath could probably handle it, but Haruki—being a pampered noble—might not. If he were shocked or disturbed, the blame could easily fall on him.
"Ahh...!"
Even before they reached the lab, blood-curdling screams echoed toward them. Despite being used to it, the guard involuntarily shuddered.
"Oh? Interesting."
Esdeath's eyes lit up with interest rather than fear. Torture happened to be one of her favorite pastimes, so she was anything but unfamiliar with those kinds of sounds.
"Alright, I've got the location. You're dismissed."
Haruki had already pinpointed the lab's location from the direction of the screams. There was no need for the gatekeeper to see what came next, so he waved him off.
"Yes, understood."
Relieved, the guard bowed and quickly left. Even though he passed this place often, the atmosphere always made him uneasy.
Once he was gone, Haruki and Esdeath walked directly to the lab's entrance.
...
Creak... ROAR!
To their surprise, the moment Haruki opened the door, a thunderous roar like that of a Danger Beast erupted from within. A grotesque creature, neither fully human nor beast, lunged straight at them.
Slash! Splurt!
As expected, Esdeath reacted instantly. With a swing of an ice blade she conjured midair, she cleanly decapitated the monster, blood spraying high.
Yet, not a single drop touched them. The blood was blocked by an invisible barrier, splattering harmlessly against the air around them.
"Tsk, why did it fail again?"
Before Haruki or Esdeath could speak, a voice muttering in frustration echoed from deeper inside. It was clearly Dr. Stylish—the very person Haruki had come to see.
Dr. Stylish had been conducting an experiment to transform humans into Danger Beasts. If successful, it would greatly boost the Empire's military strength—after all, Danger Beasts far outclassed humans in combat.
But judging from the result, although he had managed to mutate a human into a beast, the creature lacked any consciousness. It was clearly a failure.
At the same time, the experiment revealed just how mad Dr. Stylish really was. He was using live humans for his tests. Most were death row inmates from Imperial prisons, but inevitably, there were also innocent victims.
Even so, Haruki showed no intention of stopping him. After living through a millennium, he had seen far too many horrors like this to be fazed.