# Chapter 2: Flood and Ferocious Beasts
'The Little Man in the Bottle' is the BOSS and mastermind of this world. It is not human.
Four hundred years ago, the royal family of the ancient kingdom 'Serkesis' sought immortality and created the little man in the bottle, synthesized from the blood of the protagonist's father, Van Hohenheim.
To thank Van Hohenheim for his 'birth favor,' the little man in the bottle taught Van Hohenheim alchemy.
The royal family of the ancient kingdom 'Serkesis' wanted to obtain the method of immortality, so they ordered the little man in the bottle to create this method.
The little man in the bottle agreed, but it had its own conspiracy. It deceived the royal family of the ancient kingdom 'Serkesis' and arranged a large alchemy array within the kingdom, refining all the citizens into a Philosopher's Stone.
After obtaining a large piece of the Philosopher's Stone, the little man in the bottle became powerful. It refined itself into a homunculus, taking on the appearance of Van Hohenheim.
Van Hohenheim was originally a slave of the ancient kingdom 'Serkesis,' numbered 23. However, the little man in the bottle gave Van Hohenheim a name and helped him re-refine his body, granting him immortality and eternal youth.
As long as the little man in the bottle does not die, Van Hohenheim can live forever.
Van Hohenheim began to wander, like a homeless ghost. He had already achieved immortality, with nothing left to pursue.
After wandering for 380 years, Van Hohenheim met a woman. Feeling that his current life was too boring, he decided to start a family.
A family was established. Although Van Hohenheim was immortal, he was still a normal human. So, after he and the woman united, she gave birth to two sons, named Edward Hohenheim and Alphonse Hohenheim.
During the brothers' childhood, Van Hohenheim grew tired of his current life and went wandering again.
The brothers' mother soon fell ill and passed away. Edward Hohenheim developed a hatred for his father's abandonment of his wife and changed his name, adopting his mother's surname, becoming Edward Elric. His brother also changed his name to Alphonse Elric.
The two brothers went out to study alchemy at a young age. Alchemy has one taboo: human transmutation is forbidden.
The young brothers ignored this. They wanted to resurrect their mother, so they performed human transmutation.
The materials for human transmutation were simple, affordable with just a child's pocket money. But the brothers did not know that the most essential thing for human transmutation was a human soul. Without a soul, even if a body was refined, it would be useless.
The brothers failed to transmute their mother. Not only that, but the older brother, Edward Elric, lost one leg, and the younger brother lost his entire body.
In fact, their human transmutation had succeeded, but what was transmuted was not their mother, but the younger brother, Alphonse Elric.
Alphonse Elric's loss was more severe than his brother's. He lost his entire body, and his soul was pulled out, forcibly stuffed into the transmuted body.
The soul and body have a degree of compatibility. If compatibility is insufficient, rejection occurs. Just as the younger brother, Alphonse, was about to die, the older brother, Edward Elric, sacrificed one arm to fix his brother's soul onto a suit of full-body armor.
The two brothers grew up. The older brother became the Fullmetal Alchemist, using mechanical prosthetics to replace his lost arm and leg. To recover their bodies, the older brother willingly became the nation's dog, becoming a State Alchemist. The two brothers began their journey to recover their bodies.
Taboos must not be violated. All who touch taboos come to no good end.
Body, soul, and spirit are all indispensable. More importantly, the dead cannot be revived. This is the iron law of the Fullmetal Alchemist world, the will of the world.
Going against the will of the world is undoubtedly seeking death.
"Human transmutation... even if you succeed, so what."
Su Xiao lay on the bed. He had once asked Reincarnation Paradise if it could resurrect the dead. Reincarnation Paradise's answer was: Because Su Xiao is a Hunter, he cannot.
The implication was that Reincarnation Paradise could actually 'resurrect' his parents, but that would be a copy. What was resurrected would not be his parents, but a replica. What meaning would that have?
The dead have passed. The living may cherish them, but they must not desecrate the dead in search of spiritual solace.
"All misfortune is caused by insufficient ability."
The cell was silent. At that moment, the sound of scratching on the wall came from the next cell. It was Bubu Wang.
"Woo."
Bubu Wang let out a whimper, his eyes filled with anger, as if saying: 'This Wang is hungry. When's dinner?'
"Bubu, quiet."
Su Xiao was waiting. The mission deadline was long. His waiting period was two days. If he wasn't released within two days, he would break out.
Hasty footsteps came. A group of guards rushed to the cell door.
Su Xiao looked up. An officer was standing at the cell door.
"This aura..."
Su Xiao stared at the officer. That person was not human, he was certain. It felt as if countless resentful souls were wailing inside that body.
"Open the door."
The officer spoke. The guards reluctantly opened the door, as if releasing a flood or a ferocious beast.
"Explosive Flame Alchemist, I'll give you a chance to get out now. Are you willing to serve the military again?"
Su Xiao narrowed his eyes. This came faster than expected. It seemed that because the mission difficulty was high, his identity had received preferential treatment.
Without the identity of a State Alchemist, the one-month mission deadline would be far from enough.
"It seems you're ready to let me out. Will you provide the 'stone'?"
He was willing to fight for the 'Amestris' military, but he wouldn't use his own alchemy bombs unless they provided the Philosopher's Stone.
"Of course."
The officer spoke, his eyes seeming to ponder something.
"Good."
Su Xiao sat up. A guard stepped forward, holding a key, but didn't open the iron shackles on his hands.
"You bastard..."
The guard gritted his teeth as he looked at Su Xiao, his hand trembling.
"Carry out the order!"
The officer shouted coldly, glaring at the guard.
Click. The iron shackles were opened. The guard suddenly felt a sense of guilt. This alchemist in front of him had killed who knows how many people.
"Oh, and my dog."
Bubu Wang was in the next cell. At this moment, Bubu Wang was pressed against the iron bars, his eyes full of anticipation. If Bubu Wang could speak, he would definitely say: 'Master, you must take me. They don't serve meals here.'
Bubu Wang was quickly released. The guards' gazes unconsciously drifted toward Bubu Wang, as if wanting to pet his head. A charm attribute of 43 points was no joke.
The release procedure went smoothly. Taking off the gray-white prison clothes, Su Xiao changed into his usual attire and put on the [Lankai Windbreaker].
It was nighttime. The Lankai Windbreaker could increase attributes and concealment.
...
An old jeep drove along the road. Su Xiao and Bubu Wang sat in the back, with the officer in the front.
"This time, we're letting you out to deal with someone. We're short on manpower. Although it doesn't matter if this country's army dies out, now is not the time. Don't kill any military personnel recently."
As the officer finished speaking, his appearance rapidly changed, transforming into a young man with black hair.
The young man's hair color was black, very distinctive, as if he had just washed it, strands sticking together.