(Arin's POV)
The cold glow of the magical operating lamps illuminated the warehouse ceiling, casting a harsh light on a sturdy iron chair bolted dead to the concrete floor.
The atmosphere inside my private laboratory felt far more gripping than a morgue. There was no laughter, no casual joking. There was only the sharp clinking of metal instruments I was preparing on a silver tray.
Clink. Clink. Clack.
I picked up a small silver hammer. It was the type typically used by jewelry craftsmen to shape fine details, yet heavy enough to crack a bone if swung with an infusion of Aura. Beside it lay a gigantic syringe filled with a thick, metallic silver fluid swirling slowly inside the glass tube.
Silver Wolf Bone Enzyme Extract.
"Arin..." Kars's voice sounded remarkably shaky.
The young man sat on the execution chair, or rather, the operating chair. He was bare-chested, revealing well-trained muscles now tense with cold sweat. Both his hands and legs were strapped tightly to the chair's armrests and legs using thick leather belts.
"Are you absolutely sure this is safe?" asked Kars. His eyes were glued in horror to the giant syringe in my hand. "That thing looks like it could kill a Golem."
"Safe is a very relative word, Kars," I answered calmly while flicking the syringe tube to expel trapped air bubbles. "Theoretically, this will succeed ninety percent of the time. As for the remaining ten percent, well, your bones might melt and you will become an amoeba for the rest of your life."
"An amoeba?!" shrieked Kars hysterically. "Let me go! I changed my mind! I want to go home!"
Kars struggled wildly, but the restraints were far too strong. Furthermore, Celia Alphine stood right beside him, placing her heavy iron hand on his shoulder to force him to stay seated.
"Be quiet, Benzzi," said Celia coldly, though her eyes betrayed a hint of worry she hid incredibly well. "Do you want to defeat your brother or not? Do you want to be a Duke or remain a loser forever?"
That single question silenced Kars instantly. His breathing was ragged, but he stopped struggling. His ambition successfully conquered his fear.
In the corners of the room, the spectators of this execution waited with mixed reactions.
Rose sat casually on a workbench, swinging her legs while eating an apple, a bad habit clearly caught from Instructor Brook. Her eyes sparkled with intense curiosity, as if she were watching a highly entertaining circus act.
Erika stood near the door. Her face was pale and she covered half of her eyes with her hands. "Arin, please do not kill him, okay? We still desperately need his casino money."
Elena Rhyms stood beside Erika with her arms crossed over her chest. Her beautiful face remained stoic, but her foot tapped the floor restlessly.
"Arin," called Elena sharply. "Make certain your calculations are flawless. Kars is a vital political asset to the Rhyms Family right now. If you break him, my father will be furious."
"Relax, Miss Investor," I replied while tying a surgical mask over my face. "I have calculated everything perfectly. Kars's fundamental problem is that his engine is far too strong for his chassis. His Old Blood muscles generate torque that wildly exceeds the tolerance limits of human bones. The solution is simple. We upgrade his frame."
I turned to Doctor Edna, who stood on the other side of the chair, her hands already glowing with readiness for healing magic.
"Ready, Doc?"
Edna snorted roughly while adjusting her glasses. "You are a genuine psychopath, Arin. I am only here to keep his heart beating. The agonizing pain is entirely your department."
"Excellent. Pain is the absolute best catalyst for the Old Blood," I stated.
I walked closer to Kars.
"Listen to me, Kars. This procedure is called Bone-Metal Infusion. I am going to inject this enzyme directly into your bone marrow. This enzyme will completely reprogram your blood factory to absorb metal particles and condense them solidly into your bone structure."
I raised the silver hammer in my right hand.
"However, for the enzyme to seep perfectly into the dense bone matrix, I need to create access pathways."
Kars's eyes widened in sheer horror looking at the hammer. "You mean...?"
"I have to crack your bones. Thousands of micro-fractures. From the tips of your toes to the tips of your fingers."
"Wait! No anesthesia?!"
"Impossible," I answered coldly. "You must remain fully conscious. You have to activate your Old Blood the exact moment the fractures occur so the regeneration and fusion process runs instantly. If you sleep, you die."
"Arin, you are a demon!"
Stab!
Without any countdown, I plunged the massive needle straight through his skin, through his flesh, and drove it deep into the humerus bone of Kars's upper arm.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"
Kars's agonizing scream shattered the silence of the warehouse, forcing Erika to cover her ears tightly.
The silver fluid entered his system. The reaction was instantaneous. The veins in Kars's neck bulged thickly, their color shifting to an unnatural metallic gray.
"Hold him down, Celia!"
Celia pressed Kars's shoulders with all her might to prevent him from thrashing around.
"Now, for the artistic part."
I channeled my Senior Aura into the silver hammer in my hand. Pure focus, extreme precision, and absolute cruelty.
Clack!
I struck Kars's shinbone. It was not a heavy blow meant to shatter it completely, but a high-frequency tap designed to crack its internal structure.
"GAAAHHH!"
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
I worked like a deranged sculptor. My hammer danced rapidly over Kars's arms, legs, and collarbones. Every single tap created a micro-fracture. The injected silver enzyme immediately seeped into those microscopic cracks, filling the bone cavities with liquid metal minerals.
"It hurts! It burns! Just kill me!" roared Kars. Tears and snot mixed on his tortured face. His eyes began to turn crimson red, a clear sign his Old Blood was actively responding to the extreme trauma.
"Good! Keep getting angry, Kars! Use that pain!" I shouted over his screams. "Do not pass out! If you pass out, the entire process fails!"
Edna worked frantically beside me. Her hands glowed vibrantly green, channeling partial healing magic. She was not healing the fractured bones; she was merely ensuring Kars did not die from neurogenic shock.
"Heart rate one hundred and eighty! He is critical!" reported Edna urgently.
"Keep going!"
I moved to his left arm. The rhythmic clack-clack-clack of the hammer striking bone sounded horrific, exactly like the noise of a construction site located in the depths of hell.
Elena turned her face away, unable to bear the gruesome sight. "This is barbaric..." she whispered.
"This is science, Elena," Rose corrected her, her eyes not blinking even once. "Look at his skin."
It was true. Beneath Kars's flushed skin, fueled by his Berserker state, shimmering silver webs began to surface. His bones were actively mutating. His natural calcium was being forcibly replaced by a vastly denser semi-metallic structure.
Fifteen excruciating minutes passed. Fifteen minutes that felt like an eternity of torment for Kars.
Finally, I dropped the silver hammer onto the metal tray.
Clang.
"Done."
Kars was no longer screaming. He was merely gasping heavily, his mouth hanging wide open, his bloodshot eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. Hot steam billowed aggressively from his entire body.
The iron chair he was sitting on creaked strangely.
Creeeak...
"Release his bindings, Celia. Slowly," I ordered.
Celia unbuckled the thick leather belts.
The moment the restraints were undone, Kars slumped forward heavily.
CRASH!
The sturdy iron chair broke apart. Its thick legs bent outward and snapped, utterly unable to support the drastically increased weight of Kars's body. Kars fell to the concrete floor, and the solid concrete noticeably cracked right beneath his knees.
"So heavy..." mumbled Celia in shock. She tried to help Kars stand, but she felt a highly unnatural weight. "Kars, how much do you weigh right now?"
Kars attempted to stand upright. His legs wobbled unsteadily, not because of weakness, but because he had not yet adapted to his entirely new center of gravity. Every movement he made was slow and incredibly weighty.
"It feels..." Kars looked down at his own two hands.
His knuckles were now a metallic gray hue. The skin around his elbows appeared visibly thicker and tougher.
Kars slowly clenched his fist.
Creeeak.
The sound of his joints grinding together sounded exactly like a heavy iron door being pushed shut.
"It feels like I am wearing a full suit of plate armor directly under my skin," whispered Kars in awe.
I smiled with immense satisfaction while wiping the sweat from my forehead. "Welcome to the heavy world, Kars. Your bone density has increased by three hundred percent. You are now a human Juggernaut."
"Field test," said Rose, hopping down from the table enthusiastically. "We will not know the true results until we test it out."
We moved to the backyard of the laboratory, the very place where I usually beat the black iron post for my own physical conditioning.
The sun had completely set, replaced by the glow of the garden's magic lamps. The freezing night air welcomed Kars's skin, which was still radiating intense heat.
Kars stood directly in front of the black iron post, which was as thick as an adult's thigh. It was the exact same post that had shattered my hands countless times.
"Recoil test," I commanded. "Punch that post using the absolute full power of your Old Blood. Do not hold back."
Kars hesitated for a brief moment. Normally, striking an object that hard with full force would instantly shatter his wrist bones. That trauma was still deeply ingrained in his mind.
"Just do it, Kars!" exclaimed Elena, who now looked genuinely curious about the results.
Kars took a deep breath. His eyes burned bright red once again. His muscles visibly expanded.
"Haaaaah!"
Kars swung his fist. There was no specific technique, no mace required. Just a pure, raw, unadulterated punch.
KABOOOOM!
The resulting sound was deafening, echoing like a giant temple bell being struck.
The solid iron post did not merely dent. The thick pillar bent backward to a full forty-five-degree angle.
But the most shocking part was Kars himself.
He did not bounce backward. His hand did not tremble in the slightest. He stood perfectly solid in his place, his feet firmly planted like deep roots into the earth. The repulsive recoil force that would usually destroy his arm was absorbed flawlessly by his new metallic skeleton and channeled harmlessly straight down into the ground.
Kars stared at his bare hand. There were no wounds. There was absolutely no pain. There was only a very slight numbness.
"It does not hurt..." whispered Kars. His eyes sparkled in total disbelief. He began to laugh, a slightly deranged and euphoric laugh. "Hahaha! It really does not hurt!"
"Now for the durability test," stated Celia. She stepped forward while twirling her heavy Halberd. "Block this."
Celia did not use the sharp axe blade; she used the iron-coated wooden handle. She swung it with all her formidable strength directly at Kars's blocking arm.
CLANG!
The sound was not like striking soft flesh. It sounded exactly like a heavy bat striking a solid telephone pole.
The handle of Celia's spear violently bounced back. Kars only took a meager half-step backward from the heavy impact.
"Incredibly hard," commented Celia, her eyes widening in sheer admiration. "It feels exactly like hitting a high-tier Golem."
Erika stepped closer, poking Kars's thick arm with her index finger. "Wow, it is so hard. Kars, you have literally become an iron man!"
"This is extraordinary," said Kars while clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly. "I feel a bit slow, but entirely unstoppable."
"That is exactly the primary weakness," I interjected, tossing him a glass bottle filled with a thick green liquid that smelled incredibly fishy.
"What is this?" Kars caught it with an expression of pure disgust.
"Lubricant," I answered casually. "A special blend of slime mucus and concentrated cod liver oil. Your newly metallic bones desperately need lubrication so the joints do not rust and lock up completely. You must drink this every single morning."
"You have got to be kidding me..." Kars stared at the foul liquid in horror. "This will surely taste like Goblin vomit."
"Drink it right now or you will stiffen into a useless statue during your next fight," threatened Edna from the side.
Kars pinched his nose tight and downed the concoction in one painful gulp.
"Ughhh!"
We all laughed loudly watching Kars's tormented expression. The tense atmosphere melted away entirely. A sweet scent of victory lingered in the air. We were growing stronger by the day. I with my dual hearts, Kars with his unbreakable iron bones, Erika with her devastating stacked magic, Elena with her stable circuits, and Rose, well, Rose was already a natural-born monster.
"With this..." Kars wiped his mouth roughly. His eyes flashed with brimming confidence. "...I am absolutely ready to take over the Benzzi family completely."
"Indeed," said Elena, smiling with deep satisfaction. "Our core team is finally complete."
However, our joyful laughter did not last very long.
The sound of hurried, panicked, and stumbling footsteps echoed loudly from the direction of the warehouse's front gate.
"Arin! Kars!"
The shout sounded incredibly desperate.
The heavy wooden door to the backyard was forced open violently.
Tom Garius appeared there.
His appearance was a complete wreck. His expensive cloak was torn at the shoulders, his face was heavily bruised, and fresh blood poured from a clearly broken nose. He panted heavily, clutching his stomach tightly as if he had just run a grueling marathon while being repeatedly beaten.
"Tom?!" Kars immediately rushed over to him, catching Tom's collapsing body just before he hit the ground. "What happened to you?!"
We all went on high alert instantly. Rose drew her sharp dagger, and Elena raised her glowing magic staff.
"Who attacked you?" I asked, walking briskly toward them.
Tom gripped Kars's arm with violently trembling hands. His eyes were wild, filled with absolute terror.
"He... he returned..." babbled Tom incoherently, his breath ragged. "He got out..."
"Who, Tom?! Speak clearly!" snapped Celia impatiently.
Tom swallowed a mouthful of his own blood. He looked up at Kars with a gaze of pure horror.
"Karl..." whispered Tom.
That single name caused the temperature in the backyard to plummet below freezing instantly. Kars's face turned deathly pale in a second.
"Karl?" repeated Kars softly. "He... he is in rehabilitation. He is locked up securely."
"Not anymore," Tom shook his head weakly, tears mixing with the blood on his cheek. "He got out this afternoon. Someone bailed him out. Someone highly influential from the Central Council."
Tom coughed harshly, spitting more blood onto the concrete floor.
"He... he returned to the Class B Dormitory this evening. He gathered everyone. He... he..."
"He did what, Tom?!" I pressed urgently.
"He conducted a bloody purge, Arin," sobbed Tom miserably. "Every single student who had started siding with Kars, everyone who supported our takeover of the casino... Karl beat them down one by one. He snapped Jhon's arm cleanly. He burned Lianne's room to the ground. And he... he left a specific message for you, Kars."
Kars froze entirely. His jaw hardened like stone.
"What is his message?"
Tom looked at Kars with a deeply pitiful gaze.
"He said, 'Little brother, playtime is over. Return my crown, or I will take it from your corpse tonight'."
Tom slumped completely into Kars's embrace. "I ran... I ran as fast as I could to warn you all, but his hounds were chasing me..."
Kars looked up slowly. In his eyes, there was no longer any laughter or pride regarding his newly forged bones. There was only the terrifying childhood fear returning to haunt his soul, violently mixing with a brand new, boiling rage.
"He did not even wait for the tournament," whispered Elena, her beautiful face deadly serious. "He is starting a civil war tonight."
I clenched my fists tight. The newly reinforced bones in my hands cracked sharply in response.
"He truly thinks he is still the absolute King," I growled softly into the night air. "He thinks he can just walk right back in and take everything back just like that."
I stared at Kars, who was still standing as still as a statue.
"Kars," I called out firmly.
Kars turned his head very slowly. His face was remarkably hard, as hard as the very metal I had just implanted into his marrow.
"What are you going to do?" I asked him directly. "Run away? Or use that brand new body?"
Kars gently released Tom, allowing Erika and Edna to quickly treat his severe wounds. He stood up perfectly straight. He reached down and grabbed his Black Mace resting against the stone wall.
"He hurt my people," Kars's voice sounded incredibly heavy, vibrating slightly from the metallic resonance deep within his chest. "He destroyed what I painstakingly built."
Kars stared toward the distant silhouette of the academy dormitories, toward the exact place where his older brother was currently rampaging. "Rose, is there a Greatsword available in the Carlos Dormitory armory? I want to borrow it for tonight."
"A Greatsword? Of course we have plenty." Rose smirked sharply, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. "A Greatsword will suit your new massive body perfectly."
Kars nodded silently without turning his head. His eyes burned a brilliant crimson red, his Old Blood reacting fiercely to his boiling anger. "Tonight, only one Benzzi rules."
I smiled thinly, despite the undeniably dire situation we were facing. I slowly drew my Adamantium sword from its sheath.
"Then, let us go welcome him properly," I stated coldly. "The party has just begun."