Chapter 545:Divine Modification Factor, Linlin Wakes Up!
After Morgans ended the call, Ryuunosuke stood at the bow in silence, his mind turning like a gear that refused to stop.
What did Vegapunk really want?
For years, the World Government had kept him under tight control, calling it imprisonment.
Looking back now, that cage might have been exactly what Vegapunk wanted.
With the power he had shown, if he truly wanted to leave, who could have stopped him?
Now he had made his move without warning, and it was not some small experiment. It was a massive operation, and it came from the Infinite Continent.
That meant Vegapunk had likely been there. Not just once, but for a long time.
These Aragami were probably the results of his research up there.
So what did he create after returning to the sea?
Even without knowing the details, one thing was obvious.
Whatever came next would be far more dangerous than the Aragami.
And when Ryuunosuke connected that thought to the special combat members who once served the World Government, the answer became even uglier.
That way of fighting. That unnatural growth. That feeling of something no longer human.
Thinking about it now, it was almost like facing a humanoid Aragami.
Carmel and others.
Those people were likely from the same organization.
Their research paths might differ, but the similarities were impossible to ignore.
"Captain!"
A voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Judge stepped forward, holding a test tube, his eyes shining with the kind of hunger only scientists understood.
"The analysis is nearly complete."
"These Aragami have all been exposed to bloodline factors."
"And we extracted a special substance from their bodies."
"We cannot confirm what it truly is yet, but Dr. Acier and I will temporarily name it the Divine Modification Factor."
"Divine Modification Factor?"
Ryuunosuke glanced at the test tube, then back at Judge.
"What does that have to do with lineage factors?"
Science was not his world. He only knew the basics, that lineage factors were the foundation of creation itself, the kind of thing that could make the impossible real.
Judge's expression grew serious.
"I cannot say it has a direct relationship, but I can say this."
"The Divine Modification Factor matches with bloodline factors almost perfectly."
"And after they merge, something special is produced."
"That product is the key to turning people into Aragami."
That was all they could get for now.
Time was limited, and even Judge's pride could not invent results.
"I understand," Ryuunosuke said.
"Continue the research. Report immediately if you find anything new."
Judge nodded and turned back toward the laboratory without hesitation.
To him and his team, these Aragami were priceless.
They had never encountered anything like this before.
As for Dr. Acier, he was already buried in the work.
For a researcher, there was no bait more irresistible than a mystery like this.
"Captain, she is awake."
Merlin appeared in front of Ryuunosuke, sweat running down her face. Mario stood behind her.
Merlin had forced Charlotte Linlin awake, and judging by her condition, that might have taken more effort than fighting a battle.
Maybe even more.
Her magic was supposed to be limitless, yet she was drenched and breathing hard.
That alone explained how brutal the process had been.
"Take me to her," Ryuunosuke said.
He grabbed Merlin's hand, and with a thought, the two vanished.
In the next instant, they appeared inside Merlin's research room.
Charlotte Linlin was awake.
She looked weak, her posture slumped, her breathing shallow, but her eyes were open.
Ryuunosuke also noticed something else immediately.
Merlin's magic was wrapped around Linlin's body like a net.
It was that magic holding her together, giving her a temporary chance to speak.
"Captain, ask what you need," Merlin said weakly, lowering herself to the side.
"My magic cannot stay away from my body for too long."
So it was true.
She had pulled her infinite magic out of herself and poured it into Linlin.
Ryuunosuke did not waste a second.
"Charlotte Linlin," he said calmly, "you have something to tell me, do you not?"
Linlin's voice was faint, and even forming words seemed to cost her.
"Captain Ryuunosuke… what do you want to know?"
Ryuunosuke's gaze stayed fixed on her.
"Everything you can tell me."
In the end, it depended on how much Linlin was willing to reveal.
Linlin swallowed, her throat working as if it hurt.
"About Adam…"
"I might have been scammed."
"But I cannot pull the soul power out of my body anymore."
"Because it has already seeped into my soul."
Even after saying that, her face loosened slightly, as if admitting it lifted a weight.
Ryuunosuke's expression sharpened.
"You were deceived?"
That only raised more questions.
If Linlin had been tricked into swallowing something like that, then someone should have come for her.
Yet Katakuri and the others had traveled from Morbig, and for all this time, nobody had bothered them.
Did the one behind this not care about the soul power inside Linlin at all?
Linlin's eyelids trembled.
Then she forced herself to speak again.
"Captain Ryuunosuke… if possible…"
"Kill me."
"Let me, with this soul, vanish from this world."
"This is the last act of resistance I can manage now."
After saying that, she closed her eyes, as if she had already spent everything she had left.
Whoever had arranged this, Linlin clearly did not want to name them.
Ryuunosuke turned slightly.
"Merlin, is there a way?"
Merlin's's breathing was still heavy, but she answered immediately.
"It is not difficult to extract the soul from her body."
"But we need a suitable host."
"And right now… the only suitable host has already been taken by Gaino."
So that was the core of it.
The soul power Linlin had devoured was backfiring.
The Soul Soul Fruit was powerful, but it was not a cure for everything.
Under this pressure, even Linlin could not endure.
Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed.
"A host body?"
"No host body."
"Release the power of your soul."
He spoke the last words with complete certainty, like a captain deciding the direction of a storm.
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