"Experiment-3486 concluded."
A man moved through the stretched tunnels, entering one of the high cellar rooms.
Standing at 5'7", he had white hair reaching his shoulders and greenish-blue eyes to complement his face.
He looked no more than forty years old.
Wearing a white coat, he looked like a researcher.
He was a researcher, just...
Not a normal one!
Alfred Symer, also known as the Mad Alchemist.
"Why haven't the new subjects been brought yet?"
Alfred's voice echoed without a change in his expression.
One could even argue whether his face was capable of change.
"It's getting increasingly difficult to get new people. The empires across the world have tightened their patrols, citing our previous actions."
The assistant sighed.
Talking to his boss was nerve-racking.
He was one of the very few people in the entire facility who could muster the courage to be this man's assistant.
Their fears weren't unfounded either.
One wrong word, one wrong move, and—
You wouldn't even know when your body ends up as the new subject in the very rooms that you had always experimented in.
In the blink of a moment, you could be turned from a researcher to a specimen.
And honestly, no one wanted to end up as some sort of hybrid—a mixed creature made of different races or living organisms.
He was called No. 1.
The one directly below their boss.
Every member of Alfred's research facilities was referred to by numbers, depending on their role and importance in the organization.
Though his position was desirable by everyone in their dreams…
No one wanted to make it a reality!
Being in his position meant having the highest possibility of fates far worse than death.
But with such risk came greater rewards.
No. 1's words were equal to Alfred's words. His voice had weight and power.
He had the authority to command all of Alfred's forces without Alfred's explicit permission.
And these forces were strong enough to challenge the might of a small dukedom.
"What does patrol have to do with our work? We are just doing some research for the betterment of all."
Even No. 1 was confused by the world's response toward them. They were simply carrying out some research and needed some live subjects for it.
What was so difficult about letting them borrow a few thousand people?
Still, he had to sound reliable before his idol.
Yes, all the researchers worshipped Alfred more than they feared him.
For them, Alfred was some sort of God, who had blessed their lands with his wisdom.
They believed he could change this world and make it a better place—
For them.
"I will try to think of some solutions, boss."
Alfred nodded.
He didn't really care for these minor things.
If he desperately needed more live subjects, he could just borrow them from the people working here.
After all, it would be an honor for them to become part of something that could usher a new era for this outdated world.
They were currently inside the control room that oversaw the operations across all their bases.
Alfred had many allies across the world.
Allies in the sense of like-minded individuals who thought like him.
His experiments spanned all lands, including every type of living creature that inhabited them.
Still, he preferred this base, carved in the mountains, the most.
The reason wasn't anything fancy.
He liked it because he felt he liked it.
There was no emotion in his taste. Just pure coincidence.
Alfred always came to the control room once in a while to check the progress at the other facilities.
A video call was being connected to the other heads.
Each of these individuals was a genius in their respective fields. Constrained by the moral rules of the world, all of them had banded together with Alfred to help evolve their love for nature.
Their personalities and desire to uncover the hidden secrets of nature were what drove them to unite despite their opposing and psychotic tendencies.
It was a given that none of these people were sane by normal standards.
They would just dissect a person to compare the quality of their meat with that of an animal or a monster.
For them, it was educational.
For the world, it was disastrous.
Millions had died under their cruelty, but these monsters still roamed free, adding new sins to their already filled crime diary.
As the video call connected, various faces could be seen on the screen.
Some were men in their late twenties to old people in their seventies and eighties.
There were even some women, though their numbers were relatively small.
"Base 34 reporting."
"Base 86 reporting."
"Base 103 reporting."
"Base 836 reporting."
Similar to the members of this 'research organization,' the bases too were differentiated on the basis of their numbers.
These numbers weren't just for show.
Each number signified the strength and research potential of the base.
The lower the number, the stronger the base.
Alfred's base, being the main base, was ranked 0, the same as Alfred himself.
Each head could be seen through a holographic image of them standing in their own control rooms, similar to the main base.
As the reporting ended, all the heads stood silent for a moment and then…
"Hail Lonatu!"
Shouting in unison, they tapped their fists onto their chests with rhythmic beats.
This research organization was called Lonatu.
Every member who was part of this group saw themselves as a lover of nature.
The one who would protect nature by uncovering its secrets and help the world develop collectively.
They considered themselves as protectors of wisdom.
For them, test subjects were people blessed by the god of wisdom, having been granted the privilege to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
Every member of Lonatu devotedly believed in their twisted ideology.
The people who opposed them were seen as spawns of the Devil.
Lunatics.
The only term that could remotely describe these madmen.
But their fates today weren't meant to discuss their victories…
Mere seconds after the meeting began, emergency alarms sounded across the entire headquarters of Lonatu.
The base was invaded!