This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange-Chapter 573: An Old Enemy?

"Are you still stable?" she asked. "Last time, in the ruins, you almost turned into someone unrecognizable. That energy you absorbed back in the ruins—"

"I'm fine," he cut in, perhaps a little too quickly. Then, gentler: "It was a one-time thing."

She didn't respond. Who would believe that was 'just a one time thing' and take his word for it?

He sighed. "I'm not lying. That incident… I lost control, yeah. But it's different now. I've adapted. Whatever that energy did to me, I've learned to live with it."

Her gaze didn't soften. "Be real Kain. You don't know much about that energy or your own gift. How can you even guarantee that awakening a ton of others won't trigger it again?"

He hesitated. Of course she'd worry. She'd seen him at his worst. And without knowing about the System—without understanding what really helped him stabilize—there was only so much he could say.

"…It won't," he said finally. "I've been careful. No backlash so far. And besides—there's another reason I'm doing this."

He moved across the room, gesturing toward the used ink, needles and pen used to tattoo the array—a process Serena was familiar with since she'd helped him to develop it. "Everyone who awakens using this method ends up more resistant to Abyssal corruption. I don't know why yet, but it's real. I've tested it."

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Her expression didn't change, but something in her posture eased.

"Considering what's coming," Kain added, "I'd be wasting something precious if I didn't make more of them."

Serena looked away, thoughtful. Not convinced—but no longer openly opposing it.

A small grin tugged at Kain's lips. "If you're that worried I'll snap and go on a rampage… you could always just stick next to me."

That made her pause. She tilted her head slightly, brows drawn in quiet thought.

Kain blinked, surprised at the long silence. "…You're actually considering it?"

She didn't answer.

He cleared his throat and moved on before things got weird. "Anyway. Since you're here, I figured I could share some information recently collected with you."

He pulled out a worn space ring—the one handed over by Darius that he'd unlocked while waiting for Serena to arrive—and a small vial labelled SA32

"Some of the others I've awakened—you don't know them— have been working under the radar to help me deal with some shady businesses making counterfeit spiritual beer."

Serena's eyes grew slightly colder and she glared at him, "I thought this 'network' was to deal with Abyssals not corporate subterfuge?"

"Ahem. It is…it is! Really!" Kain hurriedly showed the vial of swirling liquid "Anyways, that part's not important. SA32 means Series A: Variant 32. Does that remind you of anything?"

Kain immediately continued, lest she refused to change the subject and get stuck on that minor detail about him using something he'd explained as an army against the Abyss to get rid of competing knockoff businesses.

Unfortunately, she just glared at him.

"This is a drug laced with something called Somnum's Lament. Manufactured and distributed by the Black Vine Consortium working with what was described as a 'mysterious' organization. The drug causes euphoria, enhancement to strength… and after long-term usage—mutation. Mutants that are then collected to be experimented on. Seriously, does this ring any bells?"

'Please stop glaring at me like you know I'm trying to change the topic and just let me change the topic…!'

Thankfully, the topic Kain brought up was too significant to ignore and she took the bait. "Are they the same ones that experimented on Gabriel before? Their MO has changed?"

"Not necessarily. Remember in their research notes there were several research divisions. Or what they liked to call 'series'. Series E, which Gabriel and the other kids belonged to, aimed to turn ordinary individuals with no natural affinity into beast-tamers. Based on the label of this drug, those behind this belong to Series A, whose goal was…" Kain's voice faded as he tried to remember, unfortunately, it had been too long and he hadn't paid much attention to the other divisions' research since it was unrelated to helping Gabriel.

"Gifts?" Serena eventually broke the silence. "Series A's experiments aimed at forcefully implanting gifts into test subjects without any. Unfortunately, from what I remember in the notes, the result so far had been mostly poor—while some gained extraordinary gifts, the majority faced physical collapse or violent rejection due to incompatibility or an inability to control the gifts they didn't awaken naturally."

At the reminder, Kain and Serena looked at the seemingly mundane looking vial. How could this substance help people to awaken gifts?