Hours turned into days and into weeks as Denise continued her research. She meticulously documented her findings, and her excitement grew with each secret she uncovered.

Initially, she believed that if she used the bodies of the Time Manipulators as materials for her golems, it would be limited a lot because the Time Manipulator’s Spirits were just too weak. They could not be torn apart more than five times.

However, she realized that these future golems might be very loyal to her, but they would just be too weak. They would probably be incapable of fighting against a Dragon who had the ability to control a small domain where Time Spells just don’t work.

Because of that, she immediately changed her perspective on how she should approach this. Instead of limiting their potential by taking whatever was useful to them, she felt that strengthening these current Time Manipulators with her own method should be a lot better.

Denise liked this approach a lot.

The Time Manipulators’ bodies held the key to new realms of magic, and she was determined to explore them all.

Denise knew that Vale had entrusted her with this task for a reason, and she was determined not to disappoint him.

With patience and perseverance, she realized that the bodies of the Time Manipulators had incredible adaptability, and this was probably what set them apart as they could endure the ‘passage of time.’ The only problem was their Spirit.

They had a strong Soul that could control Time and perfect physique that could endure Time, but weak Spirits!

This was incredibly frustrating for Denise at first, but she felt that this was also her opportunity.

And so, in the quiet of her laboratory, Denise worked tirelessly, her mind focused on the task at hand. The future was uncertain, but one thing was clear-she was on the brink of a breakthrough, and she wouldn’t stop until she had achieved her goal.

Soon, she confirmed that turning these Time Manipulators into half-androids would be the best way to make them stronger and completely loyal to them, even without using Mind Control Spells.

After all, it was already quite taxing to Vale, who doesn’t really have a strong suit with Psychic Arts.

They should really find a way to make people follow them obediently and turning them into half-androids should be their best option…

However, this won’t be very easy.

After some hesitations, Denise found her communication crystal and contacted Vale…

“Hi Vale… Thank you for answering me. I hope that I’m not disturbing you… It’s been a while since you sent those Time Manipulators…” Denise said.

“Right… Magnus mentioned that you’re doing something about them.” Vale replied. He wasn’t really that inclined to extract them, so he didn’t mind if Denise had a use for them instead.

“Yes… I might be needing Sir Heinz’s assistance. Can I ask him to visit my laboratory?” Denise suddenly asked.

The name Heinz made Vale feel a bit nostalgic. That person was terrifying when he just had just entered this world.

Vale couldn’t help but smile after hearing this name.

He no longer bears a grudge against this old man.

According to Magnus’s reports, Heinz actually tried to make contact with their group when their castle was in trouble… However, because of some concerns of the Dark Arts Faction, he was blocked by the prominent clans under the Faction.

They seemed to be wary that Heinz would defect to Vale’s organization.

Heinz was one of the best Dark Alchemist after all. The only problem about him was that he was too unconventional and had decided to create a new Path for the Dark Arts instead of improving the current ones.

“Go ahead, Denise… You can ask for his help. You have all the authority to complete this project of yours. I’ll inform Magnus about this so he can also help you manage these small things.” Vale replied.

***

In the meantime, within the territory of the Dark Arts Faction, in a secret alchemy laboratory, the old Dark Alchemist Heinz stood before a row of containment cells.

Each cell held a Demon Saint, their bodies were also bound by powerful enchantments and

runes.

The Dark Arts Faction had captured these formidable beings, and now it was Heinz’s task to study them and extract their powers to control the Corrupted Divinity. To be exact, he was only one of 50 Dark Alchemists who were trying to accomplish this.

After all, Divinity was basically the peak of the Arcane Studies… Even if this was a Corrupted Divinity, it was still a power that was normally beyond their means.

They were incredibly lucky that many of these Demon Saints who were heavily injured by the Shadow Immortal many years ago had escaped through various means that would still land in their hands because of one of their Arcana…

Heinz’s laboratory was inside an underground complex where there were also other laboratories for other Dark Alchemists…

Anyway, his room was filled with arcane instruments and bubbling cauldrons. Shelves lined the walls, crammed with ancient tomes, rare ingredients, and mysterious artifacts.

The intensity of Dark Magic in this place was also strong as he was waiting for the potions he made to be completely finished. However, the most interesting part about his small laboratory was the intricate patterns etched into the stone floor.

If Vale was here, he would surely recognize this as the same Magic Circle inside the Animus Haven Hall…

“All of you, stop working… We will start the extraction,” Heinz suddenly said to several apprentices who were working in the laboratory.

They worked diligently, preparing reagents, maintaining the containment cells, and

recording data.

Each apprentice was handpicked by Heinz for their skill and loyalty, and they knew better than to question his methods.

As soon as they heard about the extraction… They knew that it would cause some disturbance

as the Demon Saint would try to fight back.

“Yes, Sir Heinz!” The apprentices answered.

Heinz then kept the communication crystal in his pocket and approached one of the cells, where a Demon Saint with crimson skin and glowing eyes glared at him.