Chapter 36 Prey Still Breathing
Envy walked a few steps ahead of Kimblee, hands clasped behind his back, adopting a carefree posture that sharply contrasted with the gravity of what he was about to say. His boots echoed softly along the outer corridor of the prison, already far from the cells, where the air felt different—less dense… but no freer.
"We let a few escape," Envy began casually. "Human chimeras. One hundred percent functional."
Kimblee tilted his head, intrigued.
"Escape is the right word?" he asked with a crooked smile. "That sounds careless, even for you."
Envy laughed.
"Let's say it was… intentional. We needed to see what they would do."
He stopped and glanced at Kimblee over his shoulder.
"They can think. They retain memory, language, obedience. They respond to the military… or at least, they believe they do." His eyes gleamed. "Now it's time to capture them."
Kimblee clicked his tongue.
"Capture them? How disappointing. I thought this was going to be louder."
"And eliminate them," Envy added. "Along with the place where they're hiding. No evidence. Nothing that indicates what was done to them, or what they really were."
Kimblee's smile returned, wide and genuine.
"Ah… now we're speaking the same language."
They kept walking. Outside, the sky was blanketed by low clouds, as if the world itself sensed that something was about to be erased from its surface. Kimblee inhaled deeply, savoring the feeling of being outside the prison. Every step was a reminder that the cage had never been entirely real.
"So," he said, "how many are there?"
"Two confirmed," Envy replied. "One eagle chimera and one armadillo chimera. There were more, but those no longer matter."
Kimblee nodded slowly.
"And the location?"
"A small town near Central City. Insignificant enough to disappear without raising suspicion."
Kimblee stopped for a moment.
"That's it?" he asked. "You don't have anything for me?"
Envy looked at him, pretending not to understand.
"Anything?"
"An incentive," Kimblee clarified. "A gift. An extra explosion. Something fun."
Envy shook his head.
"This time I don't need you to destroy a city, Kimblee." He smiled with a crooked grin. "I need precision. Clean captures. Then you destroy the place."
Kimblee let out a low laugh.
"How ironic. Asking me for moderation."
"Don't get too excited," Envy continued. "This isn't just a mission. It's a test."
Kimblee glanced at him sidelong, but said nothing.
Internally, Envy was watching every movement. Every breath. He had felt something strange that time—when he had "absorbed" the Philosopher's Stone. Something incomplete. Something that didn't quite fit. And Kimblee… Kimblee was a constant anomaly. A man who never truly fit into any plan.
This mission had a second purpose.
To see whether he still possessed the stone.
Kimblee didn't need to read Envy's mind to sense it. He knew. He always knew. And it didn't bother him. On the contrary, the distrust amused him. It was a sign of respect.
Hours later, Kimblee was already on the move.
The prison was behind him—the inmate's uniform, even the notion of being watched. Now he was dressed like any other traveler: discreet, ordinary. In his hands he carried an envelope with photographs—two faces, two false identities, two mistakes that needed to be corrected.
The eagle chimera: a fair-haired man with restless eyes. He worked as a messenger. Always watching the sky, always choosing elevated paths.
The armadillo chimera: bulkier, heavier in movement. The town's blacksmith. Hard to injure, even harder to kill.
Both hid among humans, pretending to be one of them. Playing at normality.
Kimblee walked along the path leading to the town, calmly observing the landscape. Wooden houses, dirt streets, children playing, women talking. A living place. For now.
"How fragile everything is," he murmured.
He knew Envy was watching him from a distance, hidden among unfamiliar faces—perhaps even among the townspeople themselves. He didn't care. If they wanted a show, they would get one. But on his terms.
First, the capture.
He located the eagle chimera at dusk. He followed him without hurry, studying his habits, his routes. When they were far enough from the town, Kimblee acted. There was no explosion. Just a precise strike—a minimal transmutation that destabilized the ground beneath his feet. The man fell, stunned, before he could react.
"Easy," Kimblee said, leaning over him. "This will only hurt a little… before it ends."
The armadillo chimera was more complicated. His resilience was real. When Kimblee confronted him in the forge, the impact of the first attack barely forced him back. Metal vibrated. The ground cracked.
"Interesting," Kimblee admitted. "They did a good job with you."
In the end, he fell. Not by brute force, but by ingenuity.
Both bodies were taken outside the town, far from curious eyes.
Then came the second part.
Kimblee returned alone.
The town slept.
He stopped at the center, inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes. For a moment, he remembered the prison—the walls, the forced patience. He smiled.
"Now then," he whispered. "Time to clean up."
The explosion was perfect. Controlled. Absolute.
From a distance, Envy watched as the place vanished in a dance of fire and dust. He felt the vibration in the air. And for a brief instant, he thought he sensed something else. Something ancient. Something familiar.
Kimblee walked out of the smoke, unscathed, calm.
There was no evidence.
Only silence.
(End of the chapter)