Melsa's Secret
Far beneath Melsa's mansion, the wicked alchemist was free to conduct her abhorrent experiments.
The underground lab was tidy yet it gave off that dingey ambience as they two were surrounded by medical tables and large test tubes that housed plenty of unborn chimeras. From lab grown werewolves, artificial goblins, and even insectoids.
The place was enough to give anyone the shivers.
Vicious watched, leaning on the wall with both arms crossed as Melsa worked on a ' _patient_' laying dead at the operating table. If Melsa does her job right, the patient won't remain dead for long.
Sowing together its parts, its right hand was a crab claw. Its left, a powerful werewolf's. Its legs those of an orc, muscular and green. Its body was that of a buff human.
And for the final piece, Melsa attached its head, a Lizard folk's.
Using a special thread made by Alchemy, Melsa made sure that the body parts are all stitched tightly. The flesh will mend later on, but such precaution was important to make sure that they wouldn't fall off during the process of the subject thrashed around so much.
Wiping the sweat off her brow, Melsa smiled at her creation.
To anyone else, what she had produced was a freak of nature, a blasphemous amalgamation.
To Melsa, it was breath taking. Cutting apart a feature from each of the five races, combining them into one deadly creature. A Perfect Chimera.
"Vicious, come and see!"
The enthusiasm exhibited by her master put a smile on Vicious' stoic face as she approached the operating table.
"Well, that looks like one of your best ones so far."
To Vicious, the experiment looked weak. Unlike her whose strength was rooted in being a werewolf, the creature would surely be at odds on where it should draw its might from. But, Vicious could never marr the smile off of Melsa's face.
Melsa was so happy by how her experiment turned out, she embraced the grey woman by the waist, "Let's give _that_ a test run, shall we?"
Vicious chuckled, "Already, you just finished making that, are we even sure its stable?"
Melsa pouted with her arms coiled, "Are you doubting me?"
"Of course not, I'll go strap it, go and prepare the electric rune."
The two separated, while Melsa was on stand by, ready to socket an hexagon electric rune into its socket, a machine with two wires that led directly to the operating table.
With the mishmashed corpse strapped on the table, Vicious rolled it into a gigantic barred cell.
Her movements quick, Vicious made sure to immediately vacate the cell. Perhaps due to the fear of being electrocuted?
Vicious once again stood by her master's side, sharing Melsa's joy of bringing the abomination to life.
A single pull of a lever was all it took to activate the Electric rune safety, conducting a channeled stream of electricity as if it was the very lightning from the heavens that flowed through the cables and into the operating table.
The transmutation circle underneath the operating table glowed red, imbuing the corpse with consciousness while the deadly voltage coursing through its body with a sizzle, revitalized its organs.
A freakish roar escaped from its lizard jaws, heralding its tormented rebirth. As the artificial soul was now imparted to the Chimera, the creature used its powerful right claw to break free from the straps, and the same could be said of its left hairy arm.
The lever now off, Melsa made sure to not tamper with the lizard head and skip imprinting it with absolute obedience to her.
Meaning that the Chimera was free to witness the atrocity that it had now become, free to resent Melsa for what she had done.
The Chimera sensed the perpetrator from beyond the cell, using its muscular legs, it lunged into the metal bar. Its crustacean claws and werewolf muscles were no match against the dwarven made metal bars, imbibed with dwarven smithing magic.
"How do you think it would perform?" Vicious asked.
"We'll see soon enough, I hope it puts up a fight against that, at least."
"You sounded happy after you made it, why do you seem so unsure of it right now?"
"I was merely happy to finally provide _that_ a chew toy."
The words uttered by Melsa became a malediction for the creature, as from behind rose a different chimera, one of colossal size. Hidden by the shadows, _it_ was swept up in one bite and held up into the air.
The chimera tried to prevent the gigantic jaws of death from closing around it, finding itself once again at the brink of death, mere moments after his resurrection.
The Crustacean claws cracked, while its left arm bent despite its immense strength. The jaws of the gargantuan predator crushed its prey, its blood sputtering all over the prison cage.
Fully consuming the lesser Chimera, the beast hidden in the shadows let loose a blood curdling howl.
From behind the two, the blinding light that flashed made Vicious coil her hand around Melsa, a gesture indicating that Vicious would shield Melsa no matter what danger appeared.
"Making more abominations, Melsa?" The aged voice belonged to none other than Caduceus.
"It's you." Vicious raised her guard even more. Was The Guild Master about to retaliate because Vicious had exposed him in front of the paladin? But that was over one year ago, does that mean that The Grand Wizard is a spiteful fellow?
Like the light from Caduceus' teleportation, Melsa's cheerful demeanor she wore mere seconds ago now faded.
"They're not abominations, you old fart, my Chimeras is the pinnacle of Alchemy combined with art!"
Caduceus truly loved being around and messing with Melsa, it feels good sometimes to not be the cuckoo one.
"Sure, Sure. Is Selma here?"
"No, she's not. Sister already went back to her domain along with the great leader. It took more than a year but we've finally devised a plan for a vessel suited to contain the great leader's full strength."
Booming laughter echoed throughout the underground lab. Like Caduceus had just witnessed the act of a talented jester, in this case, Caduceus heard the words of one.
"You are aware that even though Helel is not a deity, even the power of a fallen angel like her can shatter out very reality, are you not?"
Typical. Did Caduceus think Melsa and her twin are clueless to the fallen angel's real power?
"If you came here to ask dumb questions then I suggest you leave." Melsa said.
Feigning hurt, Caduceus clutched his chest, "Ah, you treat the man bearing important news about your safety like this?"
"W-what the fuck are you on about, you stupid wizard!?"
"The intelligence I have gathered relayed to me about a plot to assassinate you."
"What, but how!?" Melsa was surprised. On the outside she had made sure her link to the First Fallen cult would be untraceable. The kind alchemist who would sell quality potions, unless they knew about Melsa's hidden side, the side that would gladly sew body parts together to form a Chimera, only then would they have a reason to kill her.
While Melsa was still struggling as to how her secret got out, a Vicious' fierce glare could only mean that she was ready to transform at any moment.
"It's you. You're the one who leaked Melsa's secret."
With the grin of a cunning old bastard, Caduceus spoke, "I would never dare. Our enemies are getting more and more resourceful these days, would you believe that SOMEONE informed a guild member of mine about my affiliations to the fallen angel, goodness gracious!"
"If you fucking endanger Melsa's life I swear my claws will rip your intestines out and feed it to you!"
"Like I said, it was not me! As a sign of good faith, I will dispatch one of my best adventurers to guard Melsa's life until these assassins have been weeded out. It's Althea! She's already on her way, expect her to arrive tomorrow afternoon. Farewell!"
Another flash of light teleported Caduceus out from view.
"Good faith? Hmph. It's definitely him." Melsa was 100% sure.
"What should we do, Melsa, think it's time we inform your sister?"
"No. I don't know what game this Caduceus is planning, leaking my secret like that and then sending her daughter to protect me, but I'll get to the bottom of it, I'll take care of that troublesome wizard without my sister's aid."
Seeing Melsa overflowing with confidence, Vicious smiled, her hand brushed the back of Melsa's hair, Vicious flattered, "That's my Melsa."