Translator: SumTLMan
Sabel’s body had returned to normal, bringing a sigh of relief to the researchers.
“The restoration of his body is also one sign of successful Sinful Monster suppression,” one researcher whispered to another. “Once Knight Sabel awakens, we’ll be able to tell if the operation was truly successful.”
These murmured conversations reached Angel’s ears. For the researchers, there was still an air of uncertainty surrounding Sabel’s condition. However, Angel could confirm through the Power Tree that the Sinful Monster within Sabel had been successfully suppressed.
Nonetheless, Angel continued to await Sabel’s awakening. Although the Sinful Monster had been suppressed, the real questions remained: how much of its power could Sabel harness? Could he maintain his true self amidst its temptations? These were questions that still required testing.
Sabel remained unconscious for an entire day.
When he finally woke up, it was already the afternoon of the following day.
Upon opening his eyes from the darkness, Sabel felt a humming sound enveloping him. After carefully pondering, he realized that the sound seemed to emanate not from his surroundings but from within his own body.
However, the humming lasted only a few seconds. As Sabel fully awoke, the sound vanished.
Sabel propped himself up to sit, and it was only then that he noticed something odd — his body felt more responsive, easier to control?
Sabel stared at his hand, his expression tinged with hesitation. After a moment’s contemplation, he threw a punch forward.
Boom——
A predictable sonic boom resounded through the confined space, underlining the unforeseen changes that had taken place.
In the past, Sabel could generate the sound of breaking the air with a punch, but that required exertion of force. However, he had just lightly swung a fist and achieved a similar sound as when he used to give it his all.
Does this mean he wasn’t under any illusions? Has his body indeed become easier to control, and has his strength also increased?
At this moment, a series of glass-tapping noises reached Sabel’s ears.
Lifting his head, he only then realized that he was still in an observation room. A group of researchers was watching him from beyond the glass wall of the chamber.
The person tapping on the glass was a young researcher wearing glasses.
“Knight Sabel, how are you feeling right now?”
Sabel looked around; the dark mist had dissipated, and the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower had also vanished. Considering that his body had become more robust, he immediately grasped the situation.
——Clearly, he had successfully integrated with the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower. The fact that his thought processes were still functioning normally indicated that the integration was a success.
“Knight Sabel?” The puzzled voice came again from outside, “Are you alright?”
A sheepish expression appeared on Sabel’s face as he looked up and said, “I apologize, I was lost in thought. I feel quite peculiar right now; my body feels entirely unfamiliar, but not in a bad way. It’s as if every joint in my body has undergone a transformation, and a ceaseless surge of power is emanating from within.”
The researchers’ faces lit up with joy. It seemed that Sabel’s cognitive function was intact, and his words also indicated that the integration had likely not failed.
“So, can you fully control your body now?”
“Of course.” Sabel clenched his fist, expressing his affirmation with certainty.
“Next, we’ll send a team to record data on your physical condition. We hope that Knight Sabel will not resist.”
It wasn’t long before a team entered the observation chamber.
Leading the pack was a man wearing a horned helmet and brandishing a curved sickle on his left foot. This was none other than Tulas, who had had some emotional disagreements with Knight Sabel in the past.
Accompanied by six researchers, Tulas approached Sabel. The closer he got, the more palpable he found the surge of power emanating from Sabel. A flicker of envy crossed his eyes, though his expression remained inscrutable.
“Try not to make any sudden moves. These researchers are as skittish as a cat on a hot tin roof. Just the prospect of examining you has them quaking in their boots,” Tulas quipped, casting a glance at the visibly trembling legs of the researchers behind him.
The purpose of Tulas’s presence was to offer protection to these researchers… or more accurately, to bolster their courage.
After all, they had witnessed Sabel’s terrifying transformation. Even though Sabel appeared to have returned to normal, who could say whether he might relapse?
Knight Sabel seemed to understand the researchers’ apprehensions and sat motionless in his chair, allowing them to carry out their tests.
During the examination, a bespectacled researcher named——Coleus questioned him.
The questions were basic, but they delved into Sabel’s own memories and past deeds.
This was a diagnostic evaluation of Sabel’s cognitive logic and mental memory.
Although Angel and Freud were quite certain that Knight Sabel had not changed, the experiment needed to adhere to a set procedure. This protocol served not only for documentation but also to help these researchers shake off their trepidation.
Coleus posed close to fifty questions in rapid succession, and the answers aligned perfectly with their most optimistic expectations.
That is to say, at least in terms of mental consciousness, the Knight Sabel in front of them should be no different from before.
At this point, the researchers responsible for recording physical data also completed their tasks. They nodded to Coleus and then stepped back to give him space.
Coleus then asked the most crucial question: “Knight Sabel, can you currently sense the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower? Or to put it another way, can you harness its power now?”
Sabel hesitated briefly: “Let me try.”
With his eyes closed, Sabel’s thoughts gradually sank into an abyss of darkness. As he reached a state of utter stillness, he heard once more the faint “humming” sound that had momentarily resurfaced when he had awakened.
Following the trajectory of this sound, Sabel felt his consciousness gradually arrive in a peculiar space.
It seemed to be a cavern, at the center of which lay an enormous creature.
And this creature, emitting the humming sound, was none other than the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower.
Standing in front of the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower, Sabel’s conscious form felt insignificantly small, like a baby in the presence of a giant. A single tentacle from the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower could easily shatter Sabel’s consciousness.
However, the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower remained motionless. Not because it didn’t wish to move, but because it was utterly incapable of doing so. A force as grand and imposing as divine might was binding it completely.
The only thing it could do was emit a humming sound.
Sabel could sense the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower’s pervasive unease and fear. Clearly, it was deeply frightened by this binding force that restrained it.
“Once the Sinful Demon is sealed within you, you can harness its power,” Sabel recalled Freud once saying this.
Now that the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower had been sealed within him, could he actually tap into its power?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Sabel immediately felt an unprecedented surge of strength, like a torrent breaking free, gushing from the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower within him.
Sabel withdrew from the dark realm of sealing and abruptly opened his eyes.
An overwhelming aura instantly emanated from him.
The surrounding researchers were so startled that their legs went weak; the only one still standing was Tulas. Even so, a look of astonishment filled Tulas’s eyes.
In the past, the difference in abilities between Tulas and Sabel had been marginal at best. One could even say that if Tulas could rein in his temperament, he would be stronger than Sabel.
But now, Tulas clearly felt the gap widening.
Facing Sabel at this moment, the sheer power emanating from him was palpably oppressive.
As Sabel released the power of the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower, both the whites and irises of his eyes turned pitch-black.
“Knight Sabel, can you… can you still hear me?” Colares was visibly shaken.
Sabel nodded, “Don’t worry, I’m fine now. However…”
He paused for a moment, then continued slowly, “Along with the Newfound Strength, I also sense the consciousness of the Sharp-Toothed Sunflower.”