In the medical room at Rhodes Island, Kaltsit put down the report on Ifrit and rubbed her furrowed brow.
"Those lunatics at Rhine Lab actually came up with such a plan. They really are a bunch of madmen."
A flash of anger appeared in Kaltsit's calm eyes, but it vanished without a trace immediately after.
"The degree of cellular fusion is a bit unexpected."
Kaltsit looked at the report on Ifrit's cellular and originium fusion rate, completely baffled. Ifrit's data exceeded Kaltsit's expectations—not because it was too high, but because it was too low. According to the experiments Rhine Lab performed on Ifrit as provided by Silence, Ifrit's current cellular and originium fusion rate should not be the 10% detected now; it should be higher.
Moreover, logically speaking, the fusion rate between Ifrit's cells and originium should increase with the passage of time. However, in Kaltsit's examination of Ifrit, she discovered that Ifrit's cells and the originium within her had actually stopped fusing—this was completely contrary to common sense.
oripathy is a disease caused by originium, carrying a 100% mortality rate. Those afflicted with oripathy are known as the Infected. Once someone becomes Infected, they are effectively branded with a death sentence. Over time, the Infected fuse with the originium within their bodies. Once the fusion rate with the internal originium becomes too high, it signifies the end of the Infected's life. As of now, there is no cure for oripathy in the entire Terra Continent; the most that can be done is to suppress the onset of oripathy and extend one's life.
Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical, represented by Kaltsit, is known as one of the most research-oriented pharmaceutical companies regarding oripathy. As a veteran of Rhodes Island, Kaltsit's research into oripathy is almost unparalleled, yet even she cannot understand what has happened to Ifrit.
"What exactly is the reason that caused the cells and originium to stop fusing?" Kaltsit frowned again and muttered, "This is fundamentally impossible. If the cells and originium stopped fusing—while I can't understand it—if the fusion has stopped, it means Ifrit's condition is safe. If that's the case, why did Silence bring Ifrit to Rhodes Island?"
Wait! Wouldn't it be easier if I just asked her directly!
Thinking of this, Kaltsit suddenly realized, gave a helpless smile, took Ifrit's report, and turned to leave.
On the other side, at Umbrella.
Watching the three people whose eyes had lost focus, Fujino couldn't help but laugh out loud, though this level was still within her expectations.
She clapped her hands, the crisp sound causing the three to immediately snap out of it. She smiled at them and asked, "How does it feel?"
The three responded with Silence; they really didn't know what to say. After following O11 to visit all of Umbrella's research achievements to date, their hearts were overwhelmed by endless shock.
Treatment plans for oripathy, the power to control originium—things that countless people in the Terra Continent could not accomplish and dared not imagine were already obsolete gadgets in Umbrella's hands.
Nano-armor, artificial intelligence, artificial life, floating continents—these things they had never imagined all had finished products in Umbrella's hands.
As they followed in O11's footsteps, the three witnessed the massive floating continent, the nano-armor, the miraculous artificial intelligence, and after O11 admitted in front of them that the armor was an artificial life form created by Lady Fujino, the three were stunned by an indescribable emotion in their hearts.
At that moment, the three had even given up on thinking; everything about Umbrella had completely transcended what they could comprehend.
Looking at the trio's appearance, Fujino couldn't help but shake her head helplessly.
She had no choice but to use some extraordinary measures.
Snap!
Fujino snapped her fingers, using her psychic power to forcibly bring the three back to their senses.
This time, the three finally woke up.
"What are your thoughts?" Fujino asked with a smile. She came to Saria and Ptilopsis, squeezed between the two, placed her hands on their shoulders, and asked with a smile, "Don't you have anything to say?"
"I don't even know what to say anymore," Saria smiled bitterly. "I thought I knew you well enough, but I didn't expect... sigh."
The smile on Fujino's face grew even brighter. She chuckled, "Everyone has things or secrets unknown to others. You think you know a person, but how do you know that the person you understand isn't just showing you what she wants you to know?"
"Are you talking about yourself?" Saria turned her head to look at Fujino, who was leaning on her. "And could you stop touching my horns?!"
"Stingy." Fujino muttered, then continued, "I am who I am, and I've never intentionally deceived you. Besides, no one would tell an outsider all their secrets, right?"
"Query." Ptilopsis said from the side. "Why?"
"Why not bring out the cure for oripathy to save those Infected, right?" Fujino picked up on Ptilopsis's question.
She stood up and walked to the window of the lounge, looking at the scenery outside, and chuckled, "Why should I help them?"
Fujino turned around and looked at the three. "You saw that research achievement just now, didn't you?"
"Are you talking about the power brought by controlling originium?" Saria said in a deep voice, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. At first, when she followed O11 to see this research project, her reaction was, 'Is this even possible?'
When Saria saw the results of this project, she got her answer: it is possible!
oripathy, which was originally regarded as a disaster, had turned into a powerful force. It was like a miracle.
"Do you remember the serum I injected into Ifrit when you brought Silence and Ifrit to Umbrella for help back then?"
Fujino watched Saria's changing expression and said indifferently, "I lied to you and Silence at that time. I told you it was a serum to suppress oripathy, but that wasn't the case."
"Then what was it?!" Saria clenched her fists, her body trembling, but she forced herself to restrain it.
"Don't worry, I like Ifrit very much; I wouldn't harm that child." Fujino said. "Although it wasn't a serum to suppress oripathy, you saw it at the time, didn't you? Ifrit's cells completely stopped fusing with the originium, right?"
"Then what exactly was it?" Saria calmed down. It was indeed as Fujino said; Fujino's affection for Ifrit was genuine, and Fujino had no reason to harm Ifrit.
"Is it a serum to help Ifrit master the power within her?" Ptilopsis suddenly said.
"That's right." Fujino came to Ptilopsis and stroked her soft, silk-like hair, and the latter revealed an expression of enjoyment.
"Saria, you've lost your cool. You wouldn't have failed to think of this in the past."
"I see." Saria took a deep breath. "Continue."
"Just as Ptilopsis said, the serum back then was to allow Ifrit to master the power within her. Ifrit's current cellular and originium fusion rate has been stuck at 10%, right? That is the effect of the serum. Stabilizing the fusion of cells and originium is just one of its insignificant effects. The most important thing is to change Ifrit's body so she can absorb the originium within her and turn it into her own power."
"Then why has Ifrit's condition become worse? Recently, Ifrit's hallucinations have become increasingly severe, and even the originium on her body surface has increased significantly. Except for the unchanged fusion rate between originium and cells, everything else is developing in a bad direction." Saria said in a deep voice. "Because Silence and I couldn't control this situation, and we couldn't even find the source, Rhine Lab's upper management believed Ifrit had lost her value and wanted to extract Ifrit's serum to mass-produce artificial humans based on Ifrit to squeeze out her final value. That is why I suggested to Silence that we leave Rhine Lab, but I came to you, and Silence went to Rhodes Island."
"Because the balance was lost, after you and Silence took Ifrit back, you still followed the original plan and gave Ifrit the serum to suppress originium growth, right."
"Yes." Saria nodded, having already guessed something.
"The reason Ifrit is like this is because of that reagent. To master the power of originium, she needs to absorb it, not suppress it. By using suppressive reagents, you have disrupted the balance between Ifrit's body and the originium. Her body needs to absorb it, but you are suppressing it instead, much like someone struggling with addiction. More importantly, you have damaged the relationship between her body and the originium, which is the reason why Ifrit's body is acting up. This situation would have happened later, but Ifrit's own innate talent accelerated the process," Fujino said.
"Actually, you just need to give Ifrit a piece of originium to absorb. As for the increase in crystals on her skin, that is just a sign of the impurities of the originium within her being expelled. As long as you provide a continuous supply of originium for Ifrit to absorb, it won't be a problem at all."
"So that's how it is." Saria looked at Fujino with resentment. "Why didn't you say so sooner? You let Ifrit suffer all this."
Fujino shrugged helplessly. "If I had said anything back then, do you think Ifrit would still be in your hands? You know perfectly well what kind of lunatics those people at Rhine Lab are."
Saria fell silent. She was well aware of what the higher-ups at Rhine Lab were like. However, she was still somewhat dissatisfied with Fujino's concealment at the time, though ultimately, no one could clearly say whose fault this entire matter was.
"I'm going to Rhodes Island right now," Saria said, standing up. "I'll bring Ifrit over. Since there's a solution, I should bring her over as soon as possible—no, she should integrate the power of the originium as soon as possible."
"There's no rush for that now. I've already sent someone to stabilize Ifrit's condition. Wouldn't it be better to wait for Silence to bring Ifrit over herself? You know the position Silence holds in Ifrit's heart. You might be able to take Ifrit away, but the same can't be said for Silence. You know her better than I do."
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.