Beto

It was the sight of the vehicles entering the Zaila Research Institute, and the one who soon welcomed Ian was Director Dubein, the person in charge of this research complex. He spread both arms wide and greeted Ian with great delight.

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

“It has been a while since I last saw you.”

“Haha, indeed. I had been waiting for the day I would see you again. You have finally come.”

“I had been busy for a while. And only now have I come like this.”

“Indeed. In any case, we have results that should more than satisfy Your Highness’s expectations, so you may look forward to them.”

“That sounds promising.”

Ian nodded and moved at once. Naturally, the place he was heading to was the underground security facility where the White Crystal was being kept. Just as when he had come before, he went down underground through a place guarded by soldiers in a separate building, and soon he was able to see the researchers stationed there.

All of them bowed their heads toward Ian in greeting, and amidst such sights Ian was soon able to enter another space where the White Crystal was being kept. There stood a circular metal device that seemed to have been made somewhat larger than before.

Meanwhile, he could see that the White Crystal had been set in place as though it was prepared. At that sight, Ian could not help but swallow unconsciously.

‘Haah, who could understand this feeling of mine? That there is such an appetizing food right in front of me, one I could eat at once if I wanted, yet cannot eat.’

Ian, smacking his lips(?) as he looked at the White Crystal making its presence known, then looked at the researchers. Among them, he was able to exchange greetings with Dr. Billeor, who could be called a genius of biotechnology. Besides him, he could see that the faces of the other researchers were also highly flushed with excitement.

They were probably looking forward to finally being able to present the results of their research to the king. Telling them as well that they had worked hard for quite some time, he spoke with anticipation for what sort of result they had produced.

“What exactly are you planning to show me? Did you not ask me to come quickly and see it?”

Come to think of it, around the end of 1916, though it had been basic, they had created an uncontrollable monster using a small animal. Thinking of the situation back then, he felt that by now, more than a year later, they had certainly made something more advanced.

“You may look forward to it without concern.”

Judging by how confidently Dr. Billeor was saying that, they had clearly produced something beyond expectations. Thinking that, he grew even more curious. Before long, he could see the White Crystal being mounted into the device.

“Then we shall begin the experiment.”

“Begin.”

At Ian’s words, he saw someone take hold of the lever and pull it down. At that, crack! crackle—! The sound of electricity flowing could be heard. He could see a pure white light gradually being generated from the device. Now that he thought about it, he had not seen what was inside that device.

‘Did they deliberately not show it to me?’

At the moment he thought that, he could see the intensity of the light gradually weakening. It reminded him of the time before, when the altered thing inside had kept giving off light. Thinking of that, he recalled that creatures born under the influence of the White Crystal were more susceptible to his Mental Manipulation ability.

“Your Highness, it is ready now.”

“What is inside?”

“Yes, if you see it, you will be quite surprised. However…”

At the moment he said however, thump! thump! sounds could be heard. At that, Ian thought, Has it started? He figured that some monster-like thing inside was going wild. Dr. Billeor then spoke as if to confirm it.

“The awakened one still cannot be controlled.”

“So it seems. This one is quite lively as well.”

“Haha, it has too much vigor, which is the problem. Shall we first take a look at what kind of creature it is?”

“Let us.”

As I said that, I stepped closer, and soon through a small glass window my eyes met those of one creature. It was like a four-legged beast. Like Grow, the Magnia Empire’s biological weapon, it had a single eyeball, and naturally its body was pure white. As I examined it, the moment our eyes met, it showed hostility toward me.

Crash! Thump thump!

“It is still tremendously hostile.”

“Yes. The moment it encounters a human, it lunges without regard for anything else. And please wait just a moment.”

Saying that, Dr. Billeor soon looked toward one of the researchers at the side and nodded. Soon, in response to that signal, he could see one button being pressed at once. With a humming sound, he could see the creature, which had been rampaging, come to a halt. Before long, it no longer moved at all and remained still.

“Hm? How did it suddenly stop moving?”

“We forced it into a kind of suspended state.”

“A suspended state?”

“If we transmit a special wavelength, it enters a suspended state and remains still for months if necessary. In such a state, it seems it can endure indefinitely without eating or drinking. The Magnia Empire must also have used its biological weapons and deployed them through this method.”

“I see. More importantly, how do you wake it?”

“It wakes again if it is given even a small electrical signal. Then it runs wild again.”

“I see. So that is how the Magnia Empire made use of its biological weapons.”

Only now could he understand how the Magnia Empire had been using its biological weapons. Realizing that, Ian felt that now they, too, would be able to make use of biological weapons. Then he soon found himself wondering why it was beast-shaped.

“By the way, why does it take the form of a beast?”

“That is because Your Highness told us not to conduct experiments on the human body.”

“Ah, I did say that.”

He remembered that previously, no matter how important the research was, he had said they must never carry out experiments on humans.

“So we proceeded with experiments using animals whenever possible, and because of that, the appearance of the biological weapon had no choice but to become closer to a beast form.”

“You did well. Honestly, what importance does its outward form have? More importantly, it is not that large, is it?”

“It is still an early form, so its size is no different from that of a dog. If we continue improving it over time, later on it will become a biological weapon much larger than even a large dog.”

Just by looking, it seemed to weigh around 30 kilograms and be of that sort of size. At that sight, he thought it still was not yet at a level where it could be used on the battlefield. Of course, that might differ depending on how it was used, but even so, as an early form, it was not yet a satisfactorily large size. Still, this level of progress was an absurd speed.

“Still, you produced results faster than I expected. To reach this level of completion so quickly.”

“To our embarrassment, I can only say it was possible because there were those who had already gone ahead. Since we separately obtained the biological weapon Grow and made this with reference to it, it was possible to produce results quickly.”

He was saying that it had only been possible because they had secretly stolen and utilized one of the dead creatures used in the last great war. At that, Ian nodded. Certainly, since there had been something ahead of them to follow, he felt results would have come faster than in a situation where there had been nothing at all.

“When do you think you will be able to deploy that on the battlefield?”

“In effect, it is possible even right now. Though it looks like that, it can easily withstand ordinary bullets. Moreover, in mobility it is far faster than a humanoid form.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“However, since it cannot be controlled, it could quickly turn back toward our own side and become dangerous, so great caution would be needed in using it.”

“Control, hm. So if control alone is made certain, it can be put to use as much as we like.”

“Yes. However, we have absolutely been unable to find a method. I believe that even the Magnia Empire has surely failed to discover any means of control either.”

The biological weapon made using the White Crystal could not be controlled by any means. They had tried electrical signals, magic, and even drugs. They had even secretly brought in an animal trainer and tried to train it, but the uncomfortable result was that it had almost killed the trainer instead.

‘We truly have no idea how to control it.’

Rather than developing and creating the biological weapon itself, it felt far more difficult to find a means of controlling it. At the moment Dr. Billeor was thinking that, Ian instead felt that control was far too easy a problem, was it not?

‘Wouldn’t my Mental Manipulation ability solve it? The problem is that once the numbers become too many, there would be no answer.’

“If it can be controlled, there would be no problem at all?”

“Of course. If it could only be controlled, a biological weapon of unparalleled usefulness would likely be born.”

“It is not that there is no method of controlling it. There is a separate method.”

“Is that truly so?!”

“Of course, I cannot control large numbers. Therefore, what is needed is a finest elite biological weapon in very small numbers.”

“Please do not worry! If it can only be controlled, we can develop that Beto as much as we please.”

“Beto?”

“That is the name we gave it arbitrarily, but if it does not please you, you may give it another name.”

“The name Beto is fine as well. Let us call it that from now on. In any case, what we should pursue is not mass production, but biological weapons with much stronger power, even if in small numbers.”

“If that is what you mean, then please do not worry. In fact, we have imposed limits for the sake of mass production, but if what you desire is a biological weapon with powerful strength without such limits, we can complete it in a short time.”

The reason they had so far developed small beast-type biological weapons was because of the danger involved. If they developed a much sturdier form of protective device and created them that way, they would be able to stimulate the White Crystal using vast amounts of power and develop biological weapons as much as they wanted.

If it could simply be used without limitation, they were confident they could create an incredible being in a short period of time. Of course, the reason Dr. Billeor could be so confident was because, in biotechnology, he could truly be called a genius.

Ian never used Mental Manipulation on researchers. Though it could show tremendous abilities in other areas, it might produce results that harmed their creativity, so he had not been utilizing them by going so far as to apply Mental Manipulation.

“More importantly, that thing. If production begins now, how many could you make within one month?”

“If we produce them using the cultivation facilities inside the laboratory, we should be able to produce roughly around one hundred per month.”

“That is acceptable. Then begin production at once starting today. Did you not say that if they are placed in a suspended state at the same time as production, they are also easy to store?”

“T-that is correct. But for what purpose do you intend to use them?”

“Well, naturally, should they not be used according to the purpose for which they were made?”

At those words, Dr. Billeor could not help but tremble. Those words meant they would use that thing and deploy it in battle. But was the Polia Kingdom currently even at war with any country? He could not help thinking that. Because he kept remaining down here underground, he did not know the situation outside and so felt puzzled.

‘The shock from their outward appearance alone will probably be considerable as well.’

Ian was thinking of releasing the biological weapon Beto, which would be under his control, onto Dairam Island. He felt that it would probably deal a considerable shock. Naturally, since it would be under his control, it would not carry out indiscriminate slaughter. He intended to use it together with the soldiers deployed there.

‘If a biological weapon with defensive power enough to block even bullets to some extent rampages through the city, it should be worth seeing.’

Through this opportunity, he intended to show just how terrifying a being he was. He was merciful, but at the same time, to those who dared rise against him, he needed to become a terrifying existence. And since he could make use of the biological weapon at just the right time, he would be able to instill enormous fear into them.

‘Shall I issue a warning first?’

Though no one knew it, he intended to send a strong warning to those who had even gone so far as to commit assassination terrorism against him. Naturally, the time limit would be until the moment the biological weapons were completed, and considering transportation as well, he thought that only after two months had passed would he be able to unveil them properly.

‘Independence, is it? That absolutely cannot be tolerated.’

It seemed the Dairam people were even considering independence because of this incident, but he had absolutely no intention of tolerating it. Except for the colonies, he no longer intended to allow any territory to be torn away from this nation. Since it was, at the very least, an island close to the mainland, it was all the more impossible to grant it independence.

‘I do not wish to act harshly either, but since you are acting so extremely, I have no choice but to respond strongly.’

Thinking that, Ian did not spare his praise toward Dr. Billeor and the other researchers. The very fact that they had produced such results in a short period of time could be said to be due to their efforts. Since they had produced such results, he could not refrain from rewarding them, and said he would give them the reward they desired.

If they wanted money, he would give them much money, and if they wanted to meet their families, he intended to let them meet their families. Of course, he would need to consider the possibility of secrets leaking during this process, so he was also thinking of secretly proceeding with wiretapping.

In any case, after confirming these results, Ian was able to return to the royal palace in a highly satisfied state. Queen Adrina, who greeted him, showed a greatly relieved expression, and because of that he could not help but feel sorry for no reason.

Two days later, February 27.

[The Dairam people have made many attempts at terrorism until now, and among them they had even tried to carry out terrorism using homemade bombs. However, our proud intelligence department, ‘Mauter,’ detected this in advance and was able to stop it, and as a result many lives were able to be saved. They are now demanding independence while going so far as to engage in such actions. I cannot endure their outrages, but I, in my generosity, will still give them a chance. If by April 20 they withdraw their demand for independence and hand over those involved in the terrorism, I shall forgive them. But if even after that no action is taken, I declare that I shall no longer forgive them.]

Ian’s voice spread across the nation, and at that the people of the Polia Kingdom responded with great approval. Rather, there were even extreme voices saying that no chance should be given and that the Dairam people should be dealt with immediately.