Reincarnated as an Elf Prince-Chapter 87: Lady Valciel (2)

Lindarion held Lady Valciel's gaze, his mind sifting through possibilities, through every forbidden aspect of alchemy he had studied—every warning whispered within the Academy's halls. But none of it quite explained this.

A severed hand, still pulsing. Its owner still walking.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

Something that should not have been made.

Luneth was the first to break the silence. "This alchemist—who was he?"

Lady Valciel did not immediately answer. Instead, she turned, walking back toward the glass case. The candlelight cast shifting shadows across her features, emphasizing the sharp edges of her cheekbones, the measured precision of her movements.

"She," Lady Valciel corrected, "was one of our most skilled. A mind unlike any other. Ambitious, brilliant… and reckless." Her fingers traced the edge of the case, the glass clouding slightly beneath her touch. "She was meant to push the boundaries of alchemical transmutation. Instead, she overstepped them."

Cassian exhaled slowly. "And I'm assuming asking her politely to stop isn't an option."

Lady Valciel's gaze flicked to him, unreadable. "She is no longer the woman we once knew."

Luneth's frown deepened. "Meaning?"

The Lady of House Valciel studied them all for a long, assessing moment before speaking. "She was pronounced dead three months ago."

Cassian blinked. "I—pardon, my lady, but what?"

Lady Valciel continued as though she had not heard him. "Her remains were recovered. Examined. Laid to rest." Her voice, though steady, carried the weight of something carefully restrained. "And yet, only days ago, one of our patrols encountered her—walking the lower city."

'Almost like a zombie then..?'

Lindarion's mind sharpened. "She spoke to them?"

Lady Valciel inclined her head slightly. "If it could be called speaking. Her words were fragmented. Her thoughts—scattered. But there was enough to know she remembered."

Luneth's arms crossed tightly over her chest. "So whatever happened to her didn't take her mind entirely."

"Not entirely," Lady Valciel confirmed. "But what remains is twisted—altered beyond recognition."

Cassian rubbed a hand down his face. "I'm going to take a wild guess and assume she wasn't just taking a casual evening stroll."

Lady Valciel's expression was like tempered steel. "She was seeking something."

Lindarion, already anticipating the answer, asked, "What?"

Lady Valciel finally turned fully back to them.

"The rest of her body."

The silence that followed was different this time. Colder.

Cassian inhaled sharply. "Alright. I change my previous statement. This is much, much worse than I thought it would be."

Luneth ignored him, her focus locked on Lady Valciel. "You have more than just her hand, don't you?"

Lady Valciel did not look away. "Yes."

Lindarion didn't hesitate. "How much?"

Lady Valciel lifted a hand—and gestured.

A pair of servants, previously standing unnoticed at the edges of the chamber, moved in silence. From a concealed panel in the wall, they retrieved something heavy, covered in deep blue silk.

The cloth was drawn back.

Beneath it lay a metal case, its surface engraved with countless alchemical sigils. Silver chains crisscrossed its edges, reinforcing every seal. And within, visible through the reinforced glass—

Cassian swore under his breath.

An arm. A leg. Part of a torso. Still moving.

The pieces twitched, as if stirred by unseen forces, the flesh shifting as though seeking something—seeking itself.

'This is seriously creeping me out..why did I come here.'

Lindarion had seen many things in his life. But this?

Even he felt the ice settle in his blood.

Lady Valciel's voice was quiet. "She is not merely undead."

Luneth's jaw tightened. "She's unfinished."

Lady Valciel nodded once. "And she will not stop until she is whole again."

Cassian let out a long, controlled breath, raking a hand through his hair. "Okay. So. Hypothetically speaking—if she does succeed in putting herself back together…"

Lady Valciel turned her gaze to him, and for the first time, there was something deeper in her eyes.

"…Then the true experiment begins."

Lindarion's fingers curled at his sides. The weight of Lady Valciel's words pressed against his thoughts, heavy with unspoken implications.

"The true experiment?" His voice was calm, measured. "Explain."

Lady Valciel turned slightly, her gaze sweeping across the preserved remains before settling on Lindarion once more. "You understand as well as I do, Master Sunblade, that alchemy—true alchemy—is the refinement of natural laws. We do not defy them. We… reshape them."

Luneth exhaled sharply. "And she wanted to reshape death itself."

Lady Valciel inclined her head. "She believed decay was merely an error of the body—a failure of structure. That with the right corrections, the flesh could persist beyond its limits, evolve beyond mortality."

Cassian made a low noise of discontent. "Right. Because nothing bad ever happens when people try to outsmart death."

Lady Valciel ignored the comment. "When we recovered her remains, we believed the experiment had failed. That she had paid the price for her ambition." A shadow flickered across her expression. "We were wrong."

Lindarion's mind worked quickly, piecing together fragments of theory, of warnings buried in the Academy's restricted texts.

"Her body isn't merely preserved." His voice was quiet, thoughtful. "It's adapting then?"

Lady Valciel's gaze sharpened. "Precisely."

Luneth's posture grew more rigid. "Then it's not just about putting herself back together. If she succeeds… she'll be something new."

Lady Valciel stepped closer to the sealed container, her gloved fingers tracing the reinforced glass. "That is what I suspect. Even in this incomplete state, the pieces of her remain aware of each other. Drawn to each other."

Cassian's expression twisted with revulsion. "Like they're alive."

Lady Valciel's eyes darkened. "Perhaps."

'Why involve me specifically for this?'

Lindarion let out a slow breath. "You should have burned the remains."

Silence.

Then—

"I tried."

That caught all of their attention.

Luneth's brows furrowed. "What?"

Lady Valciel's jaw tightened. "Fire. Acid. Alchemical dissolution. We tried everything." Her fingers curled against the glass. "Nothing worked."

Cassian let out a soft curse. "You're telling me she's unkillable?"

"No." Lady Valciel's gaze was cold, calculating. "I'm telling you that she's not finished. Yet."

'Something is not right though.'

Lindarion's mind snapped through possibilities. "If she were truly immortal, she wouldn't need to retrieve her missing pieces. The fact that she seeks them means she isn't complete."

Luneth nodded. "And if she isn't complete… then maybe we still have a chance to stop her."

Cassian gestured toward the sealed case. "You say that like we have a plan."

Lady Valciel turned back to face them fully. "That is why you are here."

Lindarion met her gaze evenly. "You want us to finish what your House started."

Lady Valciel didn't deny it. "I want you to ensure that this never happens again."

Luneth exhaled. "And if we fail?"

Lady Valciel's expression did not waver.

"Then we will have created something that can never die."

The silence that followed was heavy. Final.

Lindarion took a slow breath, then straightened.

"Where was she last seen?"

Lady Valciel turned away, walking toward a nearby desk cluttered with scrolls and vials. She retrieved a sealed parchment and laid it before them.

"The lower depths of Silvermere," she said. "Beyond the old trade tunnels, in the ruins beneath the city."

'What?'

Lindarion frowned slightly. "Ruins?"

Lady Valciel tapped a gloved finger against the parchment. "Silvermere is old—older than its nobility likes to admit. Beneath its foundations lie remnants of a time before the city. Before us."

Cassian exhaled through his nose. "So, let me guess—your alchemists were down there, poking at things that should've been left alone?"

Lady Valciel didn't dignify that with an answer. Instead, she unsealed the parchment, revealing a carefully drawn map.

"These tunnels have long been abandoned, but they were once vital. Old storage, emergency escape routes, forgotten laboratories… and burial sites."

Luneth's fingers twitched. "Burial sites?"

Lady Valciel nodded. "Many of Silvermere's oldest families interred their dead in the underground crypts, believing the city itself would guard them. It is among those ruins that she was last seen."

Lindarion's eyes scanned the map. The tunnels twisted beneath the city like veins, some passages marked as collapsed, others leading deeper into uncharted space.

"This means she's still close," he said. "If she had truly mastered her transformation, she wouldn't be hiding in the dark."

Lady Valciel's gaze sharpened. "Exactly."

Luneth crossed her arms. "So the plan is to go down there, find her before she fully… evolves, and stop her?"

Cassian muttered, "Would've been nice if you asked us to deal with something simple. Like a rampaging chimera."

Lindarion ignored him. "You wouldn't have called for the Academy's aid unless you knew there was more to this."

Lady Valciel exhaled softly. "Her… condition is unstable. But she is not mindless. Not yet."

Cassian raised a brow. "Not yet?"

"She was once one of my most skilled alchemists. If even a fraction of her intellect remains intact…" Lady Valciel's lips pressed into a thin line. "Then she will not wait for us to come to her."

'So…we have to deal with a mutant zombie that can outsmart us. Great.'

Lindarion considered this. "You believe she's planning something."

"I know she is."

The words carried a weight beyond simple concern.

Luneth's expression was unreadable. "Then we should move quickly."

Lady Valciel nodded. "I will have my alchemists prepare what information we have. In the meantime…" Her gaze settled on Lindarion. "I would advise that you do not face her unprepared. This is not an ordinary foe."

Lindarion met her stare without hesitation. "We understand."

Lady Valciel's eyes flickered toward the case containing the severed hand. The preserved flesh, the still-darkened veins.

"You do not," she said quietly. "Not yet."

The room seemed colder.

Cassian exhaled slowly. "Wonderful. That's very reassuring."

Luneth ignored him. "Then we should learn quickly."

Lady Valciel studied them for a long moment before nodding. "You will have access to my archives. What knowledge I have, you now share."

Lindarion inclined his head. "Then we begin immediately."

Lady Valciel gestured to an attendant, who stepped forward and bowed.

"Follow him. He will take you to what you need."

As they turned to leave, Lady Valciel spoke once more.

"And, Master Sunblade."

Lindarion glanced back.

She held his gaze. "Do not underestimate her."

Lindarion didn't blink. "I won't, My Lady."

With that, they followed the attendant into the depths of House Valciel's archives, knowing that whatever answers they found…

It would only be the beginning.