-678- Matters that touched the taboo

Tampered with?

His chilling words sent shivers through everyone's hearts. Charl's voice even wavered as she asked, "What does that mean?"

However, the truth was unsettling.

:When I first saw Frey in the woods, I noticed something abnormal about her,' Rozen continued in a detached tone. 'Her magical energy circulation was highly unnatural. Although her magical energy was abundant, it felt as if it had been forcibly squeezed out from deep within her body, giving it a distinct, rigid flow.'

Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. There were two reasons for their shock. One was the unexpected revelation of the issues with Frey's body.

The other was the astonishing fact that Rozen could perceive such unnatural magical energy flow with his Spirit Vision.

Typically, even though magus could observe magical energy flow through Spirit Vision, they could, at best, merely observe it. Trying to discern subtle details like this was nearly impossible. Yet Rozen could detect this unnatural flow clearly, pointing to signs of deliberate manipulation.'

Rozen could only discover this because he had thoroughly perused all of Karyusai's collection within her residence.

As the foremost expert in the field of automata, Karyusai Shouko's knowledge and skills in crafting humanoid automatons were unrivaled. One could gauge the realism of the Setsugetsuka series of automatons to understand the depth of Karyusai Shouko's comprehension of the human body.

Moreover, her expertise extended to creating Banned Dolls from her own flesh and blood, which included comprehensive knowledge about adjusting the physical aspects of the body. It was through this knowledge that Rozen noticed the telltale signs of Frey's body being tampered with.

'All this artificially adjusted magical energy ultimately converges at one place,' Rozen stated coldly. 'That place is the heart.'

Yes, the heart.

Frey's magical energy flowed from her heart, which explained why it felt so unnatural. Since the unnatural source was the heart, it wasn't hard to deduce which part of Frey's body had been manipulated.

"Frey's heart has been fitted with magic circuits,"

Rozen stated, as if suffocating his own emotions.

"Her heart has been mechanized."

The utterance of these words sent a collective shiver through the audience.

'Presumably, it's a magic circuit designed to forcibly extract magical energy from the host and utilize it,' Rozen continued, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those present. 'Thanks to this modification, Frey's magical affinity was enhanced, the generation of magical energy was catalyzed, and even the magical energy circulation system was altered. This led to the unnatural flow of her magical energy, which we observed.'

As mentioned previously, interference with the magical energy circulation in the body would have consequences.

'It's likely that Frey's complexion has turned unnaturally pale, and her hair became that pearly color, all due to side effects.' Rozen stated with a mixture of mockery and anger.

"As for the abnormality witnessed during the Night Party, it was due to the removal of restrictions on the heart's magic circuit, resulting in increased output.

One can easily surmise that if the heart continuously operates at maximum capacity, relentlessly siphoning magical energy from the body, it won't take long for the host's heart to fail.

To avoid this dire outcome, the heart's output must be maintained at a relatively balanced high level, preventing it from causing substantial harm to the body.

However, when the host's emotions undergo severe fluctuations or when anomalies arise in the body, the restrictions on the heart are forcibly released.

At that moment, the output of the heart's magic circuit surges to its maximum, causing the host's blood and even flesh to be transformed into magical energy, explosively enhancing the host's power.

This is the very reason for the sudden anomaly displayed by Frey during the Night Party.

All of this is because her heart was artificially mechanized.

In other words,

'Frey is an experimental subject for human experiments.'

Rozen finally uttered these words, the most loathsome and hateful terms he had ever spoken in his entire life, addressing everyone present.

Perhaps, for those in attendance, Frey's strength might not be considered remarkable. She ranked at the bottom during the Night Party and posed no threat.

Not to mention Rozen himself, Charl and Hinowa, the duo, occupied the 6th and 8th places, respectively, making them the top candidates to win among the 'Thirteen,' whereas the 99th place was simply inconsequential.

Even Subaru and Mutsura were among the top 50 in terms of power, with one at 17th place and the other at 28th, and neither could be compared to Frey.

Yet, if you looked at it globally, for Frey to rank within the top hundred among over a thousand geniuses from around the world in an academy filled with excellent puppeteers, was it easy?

Of course, it wasn't.

Just as Susuka managed to become one of the 'Twelve Divine General' at such a young age, it was all thanks to her body being altered through forbidden techniques used by Dairenji Shidou.

And even Rozen's astonishing talent today was inextricably linked to his past experiences.

"Frey's current achievements, her current ranking, all owe themselves to human experiments. So..."

"So, I said it back then, didn't I?" Rozen's voice sounded calm and deep.

"Regardless of the world, there are always those scoundrels who care nothing for others' lives, doing whatever they please."

These were the words Rozen spoke when he first saw Frey in the forest and discovered her secret.

Charl, Subaru, and Mutsura were unaware of this situation, but Yaya, Charl, and Sigmund were well aware of it.

"So that's why you..."

Charl muttered quietly.

"Is that what it was all about?"

Sigmund's tone also felt rather heavy.

"Rozen..."

"Rozen-sama..."

Yaya and Hinowa looked at Rozen with some sadness.

As for Subaru and Mutsura, they raised objections.

"Perhaps you're thinking too harshly," Subaru said. "Even if she's an experimental subject, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing, right?"

"Right," Mutsura chimed in. "Frey might have volunteered to be an experimental subject to gain power, and that's a possibility, isn't it?"

And this made sense. Voluntarily becoming an experimental subject for the sake of acquiring power, if that were the case, it would be justifiable.

Otherwise...

"Otherwise, it would be quite a taboo, wouldn't it?"

A voice with remarkable abruptness chimed in, while laughing gently, resonating throughout the scene.

"Such matters, of course, are not something one can simply do, are they?" The voice exuded an elegant laugh.

This abrupt voice, with an elegant laugh, slowly reached everyone's ears."