Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 287 - 286: Where Did They Come From

As one of the main executors of the former ”Defiance Plan,” Kamel was well-acquainted with the ”Divine Evils” created by this plan, including the first generation and the last mutated Divine Evils completed under his watch. So when Tiel handed him a purified fragment of an aberrant corpse, he quickly noticed features that deeply unsettled him.

A few simple tests, some undeniable parameters, and his unease turned into fact.

”Although the lack of more professional equipment prevents me from determining the genetic sequence in the remains, the mutation results are enough to draw a conclusion: the aberration is a mutated product of the ’Divine Evils,’” Kamel said in a heavy tone. ”The power of the chaotic wave covered the gene expression of the Divine Evils... Our plan from back then had a terrible flaw. We underestimated the extent of mutations that biomass would undergo when facing a chaotic wave. The genetic factors of the Divine Evils couldn’t withstand this level of mutation, causing carriers of the factors to become... monsters before they could adapt to the chaotic wave environment.”

Kamel did his best to calm his emotions, yet Gawain could still sense the immense sorrow in this ancient mage’s heart. Such sorrow was imaginable—Kamel and his colleagues had sacrificed everything for this cause, a price beyond what humanity could bear, and yet the final outcome was a result more terrifying than failure. Their efforts not only failed to save those they intended to protect but transformed them into monsters... Even by putting himself in their shoes, Gawain thought he might not be as composed as Kamel in the face of such an impact.

However, he still had to ask his question: ”Do you know what happened to the ’Divine Evils’ you researched after they were sent back to the Empire’s heartland?”

”My responsibility was limited to research, and I’m not familiar with the subsequent ’application’ phase, but while I’m unclear about the details, I can guess a rough outline,” Kamel slowly said. ”Didn’t you mention that there was never news of the chaotic wave in the outside world? So I guess it all happened in secret—after the ’Divine Evils’ were sent back to the imperial capital, the royal family should have gradually injected the genetic factors of the Divine Evils into all human bodies over three centuries through methods like mass immunization, making it a stable genetic factor among humans. Because our goal was to save everyone, every Gondor citizen had to become a carrier of the Divine Evil. That way... there’s the answer to the endless aberrations that emerged overnight after the chaotic wave arrived.”

Gawain believed that what Kamel said was likely the truth.

Genetic modification isn’t something that happens overnight—Kamel and his colleagues could directly modify themselves with powerful magic, thereby becoming carriers of the Divine Evil, but for the tens of thousands of ordinary people of the Gondor Empire, such a degree of modification was unrealistic (not to mention keeping it secret). So at the time, the Gondor Royalty could only have taken a covert and gradual approach, like transferring the mutated substances to parent bodies, making their offspring natural Divine Evil carriers.

It would take more than one generation to enact this level of modification on the entire empire’s population. But from the completion of the Defiance Plan to the actual outbreak of the chaotic wave, there was a time gap of three hundred years—three hundred years during which, with the technological skill of the Gondor Empire at the time, such a vast plan could be completed.

”Putting it that way... I think I’m starting to remember something,” Gawain scratched his chin, suddenly recalling some valuable information. ”At the end of the Meteoric Era, the Empire indeed suddenly increased several mass immunization and newborn screening programs—the public explanation from the imperial capital then was to alleviate the increasingly severe elemental assimilation disease issue and select magic-power adaptors from the newborn stage... If I’m correct, this should have been the application phase of the ’Defiance’ Plan.”

Kamel’s tone was somber: ”In the end, it harmed everyone...”

”No, if my assumptions are true, then your plan might actually have been successful.” Gawain suddenly became serious, looking at Kamel earnestly.

Kamel raised his head in surprise, not seeing any sign of deliberate comfort on Gawain’s face.