In the Military State, no one is exempt from the law. Not even ordinary citizens, nor even the highest-ranking officers. It doesn’t matter if someone is the head of a major conglomerate.

If anyone used their power and position to fulfill personal desires, draining the lifeblood of citizens while enriching themselves—then, during the nights they celebrate on their piles of wealth, an uninvited guest would arrive.

The Public Safety Department, the Military State’s executioners, wield the authority to mobilize the Military Police.

Once Jiekhrund—known as Ziekhrund—pays a visit, it’s over. All the evidence will have already been gathered, and their rank and wealth erased. Even the hyenas who normally pretend to be so loyal will cower in fear, withdrawing at the mere whisper of Public Safety's warnings.

It is said that a master’s swordsmanship is so profound that the opponent doesn't even realize they’ve been cut. Something similar happens here. By the time someone realizes that Public Safety is watching them, their limbs have already been severed.

Resistance? Useless. Their opponent is none other than the Six-Star General, a peak of both strength and authority. No officer could stand against his blade. The only emotion a criminal is allowed to feel in the Military State is regret for having committed a crime.

But there’s one thing no one knows.

Before Public Safety comes knocking, the criminal has already been visited once by Ziekhrund. Although, at that time, he wouldn’t have appeared as Ziekhrund.

Pressured to move quickly, Carrafald led us deeper into the refinery. It was an enormous factory. The outer walls were made of thick concrete, and from the massive chimneys, white smoke billowed out like a volcano. Despite the building’s size, no windows were visible from the outside. Instead, dozens of vents and a single large steel door ominously lined the exterior. When the heavy door opened, a wave of scorching heat hit us.

We finally saw the inside of the Alchemic Steel Refinery.

“This refinery is a vast facility where combustible materials are converted into alchemic steel. The process is divided into three stages: decomposition, separation, and refinement. First, the decomposition process breaks down combustible materials through Diarche—a structural transformation. During this process…”

Carrafald began explaining in an attempt to assert his usefulness, but his words didn’t register. Everyone was too shocked by the impossible scene unfolding before their eyes.

Clang. Clang.

Humans, chained, walked along the rails. With their left arms limp over their shoulders, they were dragged along by hooks, following wherever the chains pulled them. Their faces were devoid of expression or life. They didn’t even have the strength to glance at the intruders, trudging toward their assigned positions. They stood at the edge of the rails, where molten red steel flowed like a river.

Then, the chains clanked, yanking them forward. The ends of the chains were connected to bio-terminals, devices hooked deep into their flesh like the barbed hooks that pierce a fish's mouth. These terminals, embedded inside them, controlled their bodies with the unrelenting force of chronic pain.

"Urgh…”

A thin cry escaped one of the laborers, who was forced to reach out toward the half-melted alchemic iron in front of them. It was still steaming with heat, and the hook pulled the laborer's hand toward it as if it were a child throwing a tantrum.

For a moment, the laborer hesitated. Their instincts, as a living being, warned them not to approach the glowing metal. But…

“Aaaaah!”

The chain yanked harder, the hook straining against the flesh. The skin bunched up, red and taut as the hook forced the laborer's hand closer to the molten metal. It was as though the human body was no different from a piece of clothing, pulled and torn by external forces.

Unable to resist, the laborer extended their hand toward the blazing molten steel.

The flesh sizzled. If they didn’t want to be turned into a lump of charred meat, they would have to use alchemy.

“Set! Ri, Di, Diarche! Diarcheee...!”

From all around came screams born of this horrifying process—the agony of creating the alchemic steel that supplied the entire Military State.

Somewhere, someone must have failed in their alchemy. The scent of burning flesh filled the air, along with the sound of a harrowing scream. White steam, mingled with bodily fluids, rose toward the ceiling, only to drift away on the wind, disappearing from sight.

This place exploited survival and pain to the fullest extent. No, it squeezed every last drop from those trapped within. The Alchemic Steel Refinery was a blasphemy, mocking morality and justice atop the shattered remnants of common sense.

“This… this is impossible…”

The Princess spoke slowly, her reaction delayed as it took time for her to fully grasp the scale of the system. She trembled with shock and horror.

“H-How could this happen? What kind of terrible crime did these people commit to deserve this? No, even if they were guilty! This is…!”

The Regressor, more accustomed to such sights, merely grimaced.

“This is why I didn’t want to come here. Ugh, it’s so nauseating.”

[...Even the human farms my followers managed weren't as bad as this. Sometimes, humans show themselves to be more monstrous than vampires.]

For even Tyr, a vampire, to say such a thing, this scene must be utterly atrocious.

‘When faced with a different spectacle, humans show different reactions. Humans are essentially like boxes—sealed, with no way to know what’s inside unless you peer through their eyes and ears. Unless you're a god, it’s impossible to know for sure. But with enough observation, you can imitate their reactions.’

As if testing us, Carrafald was closely observing each person's response.

‘Reaction confirmed. No dangerous individuals. Familiarity detected. Has this one visited the refinery before? That could explain the negative sentiment toward the Military State. Ancestral vampire Tyrkanzaka, impressed…? Disdain? One thing is certain—they’ve experienced worse slaughterhouses. And then.’

After briefly scanning the Regressor and Tyr, Carrafald shifted his focus squarely onto me.

“What about you, Huey?”

‘The Pied Piper of Hamelin. What’s your reaction?’

Carrafald seemed pleased with himself for having infiltrated such a perilous place. However, this was all just a performance to justify his role. Inside, he was coldly observing me.

Why? With so many dangerous individuals here, why was he so focused on me?

‘Information insufficient. Power unspecified. Carrafald explained that this one has no exceptional talents, but to survive in Tantalos and outshine the Six-Star General… It would be unsatisfying to dismiss him as ordinary.’

Seems like I attract all sorts of strange attention.

In the Military State, all information passes through Jiekhrund. He has the right to review reports first and even has a dedicated communication hub to assist him.

It’s because of this constant information gathering that someone like me, who exists in the blind spots of intel, piqued his interest.

‘I made even the musketeers betray the Military State and forced the ancestral vampire to leave her coffin. Could it really be a coincidence, or is it due to your abilities? Come on, show me, Pied Piper. How did you manage to manipulate these formidable figures? How important is the role you’re playing...?’

Fine. If that’s what you want.

I’ll show you.

A completely different side of me than what you’ve seen so far.

“This is madness… What the hell does this place think humans are?! How can they treat people as mere tools?!”

I shouted, letting my emotions rise as if I were genuinely outraged by the trampling of human rights in the Military State. The Princess, who shared similar feelings, nodded in agreement, but the Regressor gave me a quizzical look instead.

“Huh? What’s with you? Did you suddenly develop a conscience?”

“There’s a time and place for jokes, and this is definitely not it! How can you look at this scene and feel nothing, Shay?!”

“Huh? No, I mean... It’s just that you seem a bit more emotional than usual…”

It’s to fool Jiekhrund, idiot! Just keep quiet!

‘Righteousness? Does this dangerous person rebel against the Military State out of some naive sense of justice? Hmm. Judging by their reactions, it’s still uncertain. Perhaps I should test them a bit more.’

Feigning innocence, Carrafald added a comment.

“Well, this isn’t the worst place…”

A perfectly calculated statement. Careless enough for Carrafald, yet carefully laid as a trap.

I was inwardly delighted. The fact that he set a trap meant he now saw me as prey.

So, I played my role as the prey. I stepped right into his trap.

“What do you mean, Carrafald? If this place isn’t the worst, then what’s next? What else is there?”

“The people handling the decomposition process are the intellectuals. They know institutional magic and can perform alchemy, so they’ve been assigned relatively easier tasks.”

“And what about the next stage?”

When I pressed, Carrafald answered nonchalantly.

“The next stage is for those who don’t know any alchemy at all.”

A contradiction. Alchemic steel is the result of alchemy. How could those who don’t know alchemy refine alchemic steel? But Carrafald stopped there, leaving the rest for me to figure out.

‘He hasn’t displayed any significant martial strength so far. Is he playing the role of a strategist? Well then, let’s test his abilities.’

Sorry, but I already have all the answers to your test. With you holding the key, there are no unknown questions for me.

“How could they perform alchemy without knowing it? That doesn’t make sense…”

Actually, there is one way to perform alchemy without knowing it. Every adult citizen of the Military State possesses one—a device that, when inserted into their clothing packet, adjusts to their body and activates alchemy. It’s one of the seven great inventions of the Military State.

I already knew the answer from reading his mind, but I acted as if I had struggled to come up with it, displaying a look of disbelief as I delivered my answer.

“Bio-terminals…?”

‘Correct.’

“They’re using human bodies as molds and pouring molten steel into them…”

‘To gather scattered bits of information and deduce that… He’s more than just a simple genius. It’s more accurate to see him as the strategist of this group.’

Carrafald raised his evaluation of me, nodding slightly.

“Tsk, you already knew. Well, for someone who graduated at the top of every class, I suppose it was an easy question.”

Alchemy is the process of converting materials into more useful forms. In reality, life itself is a complex form of alchemy. Every living creature continuously burns food for heat and refines waste into blood and flesh, distributing it throughout the body.

Life is the most intricate alchemical process in the world.

“Your answer is correct, Huey. Life is the primary element of alchemy… So, yes, it’s possible to use life itself as a tool for alchemy.”

Beyond this door lies a cramped space filled with people, packed in like chickens in a coop. Their left arms, fitted with bio-terminals, will be extended outside their cages, where they will continuously be infused with molten steel.

Unlike here, they won’t have even a speck of freedom. After all, they don’t need freedom to keep working.

I uttered a single phrase under my breath.

“This is utterly insane.”

This time, it was genuine.

This refinery wasn’t built out of malice. Although it caused immense suffering, that was just a side effect.

The Military State created this refinery because it was necessary. In order to maintain enough alchemic resources to sustain the nation, they had to exploit vast numbers of humans to produce alchemic steel.

I looked at the laborers, screaming in pain. Their clothes were clean, their bodies still carrying the flesh they had gained despite the stress that had stripped away their skin and hair. The chains binding them were clean, without a trace of rust. After all, it wouldn’t do for the workers producing the Military State’s alchemic steel to die too quickly—that would be a loss for the nation.

There was no malice, no corruption, no hatred here. It was pure, cold logic that drove these people into suffering.

Now, I understood why Carrafald was able to infiltrate such an important facility. No sane officer would willingly work as a supervisor in this hellhole, so they had to recruit external personnel.

That’s how Carrafald ended up working here after being caught by Jiekhrund.

I shouted.

“I'll beat him right now!”