Awakening (2)

"Chubby, I need you to contact the client. Inform him that the reanimation process is underway, and I'll require an advance payment to proceed with the final steps," Victor instructed. At the same time, he looked for his regular Tamer's contact info.

"Sure thing, Doc. I'll get right on it," Chubby replied with his typical cackling voice. 

As much as Victor hated employing his 'sons' into his business, they had a way of dealing with customers and could negotiate prices relatively well. 

While it might not seem like it after their interaction with Victor, they only bowed before him because of their relationship. For anyone else, they never gave up, and as a result, Victor always paid them quite well as their commission. 

"Since Chubby would deal with the customer, I should go ahead and call Braco," Victor mumbled as he called the Tamer. 

Unfortunately, the call didn't connect, and after trying for the seventh time, Victor gave up. Braco was probably on some other quest and, hence, wasn't answering his phone. 

Braco's absence meant it would take a while before he'd be there to form a slave contract with the Chimaera. But Victor couldn't let the Chimaera be like that, nor could he call another tamer in Braco's stead.

Firstly, calling someone else might cause trouble for Victor as he was doing illegal work by procuring corpses of his experiment through illicit means. The revelation could get him into trouble with the Salvation Church and the Nexarian military.

Finally, using another tamer might sour his business relationship with Braco, and who knows how the mentally sick bastard would retaliate? 

For someone like Victor, certainty was everything; even the tiniest bit of uncertainty frustrated him beyond anything. 

"I should have booked Braco's services in advance, but what can I say?" Victor sighed as he headed back towards the operating room. "For now, I should chain Subject-17 and wait for Braco's reply."

Victor continued down the corridor, his mind already calculating the potential profits from his venture. But as he neared the operating room, he heard something.

A faint sound of walking could be heard from within the operating room. But the sound only confused Victor. The Chimaera couldn't have woken up on its own, not till the elixir transfer was completed. 

"The drip should have lasted for another hour or so..." Victor mumbled as he contemplated what to do. 

While contemplating the possibility of an early awakening, a stray thought hit him. Could someone have sneaked into the workshop without him noticing?

While the possibility of such an event was low, the probability of an early awakening was even lower. Clouded with doubts, Victor approached cautiously, unlocking the door and entering the chamber.

At first glance, everything in the room seemed in place until Victor's eyes fell on the operating table. The corpse was nowhere to be seen!

Before Victor could process the sight before him, he heard the taping sound again. His attention went to the far corner of the room, where a naked figure was standing, fidgeting with his tools. Adrian's once lifeless body was now moving. 

"What in the name of science is going on here?" Victor mumbled under his breath. 

Even though his voice was as quiet as possible, it turned out to be the worst decision on his part. Subject-17 heard his voice and turned towards him like a lightning whip. 

As soon as the Chimaera turned to face Victor, the first thing he noticed was Subject-17's eyes. Those white eyes and red iris never seemed as threatening as they did at that moment. 

But Victor's attention slowly shifted towards Subject-17's overall appearance. The elixir seemed to have done an outstanding job. Subject-17 was showing exceptional muscle growth compared to his previous frail appearance, as well as good reflexes. 

However, Victor realised it wasn't the time to marvel at his creation. A Chimaera had woken up prematurely, which meant there was a chance that it had retained memories from its past life, and given the circumstances of its passing, it would be angry... very angry. 

It wasn't the first time it had happened to Victor, and as usual, he had prepared for the situation. The only issue was the so-called solution, anaesthesia, was in the hands of the subject. 

'Fuck! First, I forgot to chain him, and now this! What's wrong with me tonight?'

While the subject stared him down, an idea struck Victor. The Operating room was strong enough to hold the Chimaera in place. As long as he managed to get out of the chamber and lock it, the Chimaera wouldn't pose a threat to him.

'Once I'm out, I can contact those moron sons of mine to deal with this mess,' Victor thought and, with a plan made, began taking little steps backwards. 

Victor took a step back, his gloved hands trembling. But it seemed the creature wasn't as stupid as Victor thought as it lunged towards Victor.

Victor barely had time to react as Subject-17's fingers slashed through the air, narrowly missing him. But the attack made him stumble backwards, knocking over surgical instruments.

Victor grabbed a handful of tools and began throwing them towards the Chimaera, hoping it would be enough to stop it. However, the Ogre skin he had grafted over the subject ensured no harm came to Subject-17. 

In a desperate move, Victor reached for a nearby shelf, grabbing a vial of potent acid from a Toxic Spitter, a venomous plant found in the wetlands of Nexaria. However, Victor hesitated to use acid in his creation. 

The acid was one of the most corrosive substances found across Nexaria. As such, it would undoubtedly cause a lot of damage to the Chimaera. This meant not only would Victor lose out on the acid, but he would also have to fix the damage it would cause to the subject. 

"Fuck it! I can create a lot more Chimaeras if I live through this!" Victor decided, but the hesitation from before would cost him dearly. 

Sensing Victor's hesitation, the Chimaera seized the opportunity and pounced on him. Victor, now cornered, had no choice but to defend himself. He raised the vial, and with a swift motion, he splashed the acid onto the Chimaera's face.

The acid had the expected effect. The Chimaera convulsed, its movements becoming erratic as it howled in pain. At the same time, Victor, momentarily relieved, slowly retreated his steps, hoping to lock the Chimaera inside.

But the relief was short-lived as his face burned the next moment as if it were on fire. Victor furiously rubbed his face, but it was a mistake as his hands went through the same pain. 

At that time, the illusion was over, and Victor realised the Chimaera had cast illusion magic on him when he stared into those Kitsune eyes. 

"HOW!!!" Victor screamed in pain as his face slowly melted away. "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME!"

The Chimaera remained exceptionally quiet as it retrieved a fallen amputation knife and walked towards Victor, who was blindly running around the room. 

Before Victor could realise what was happening, Subject-17 grabbed his head by his hair and sliced his throat, killing him. 

"As I thought," Adrian mumbled, emotionlessly watching Victor as he choked on his blood. "I feel nothing."