Chapter 12: Explosion is Art
In the town of Dablis, inside a hotel called the Demon Kiln.
In a storage room of the hotel, Alphonse was bound hand and foot, sitting against the wall.
Alphonse was the protagonist's younger brother. Back then, he and his brother had performed human transmutation together. His brother lost an arm, while he lost his entire body.
Now, Alphonse was a tall suit of full-body armor. The armor was hollow inside, with a blood seal within. It was this blood seal that anchored Alphonse's soul to the armor.
Alphonse could move normally, even fight or use alchemy. This showed that alchemy had nothing to do with the physical body but was activated by the soul.
At that moment, inside Alphonse's armor was a woman. To be precise, this woman wasn't entirely human.
Her name was Martel, a chimera of human and snake. She had a normal human appearance along with some snake traits, such as sensing heat and having a flexible body.
Martel was currently inside Alphonse's armor, which restricted Alphonse's movements.
In the room, Greed stepped forward, removed Alphonse's iron helmet, and Martel came into view.
"Oh~, impressive. So it really is hollow."
Greed put the iron helmet back and pointed at himself.
"My name is Greed. I hope we can coexist peacefully."
Greed was a young man who always wore a smile on his face. He wore small round sunglasses to cover his eyes, making it impossible for others to judge his mood.
Behind Greed stood several chimeras, most of whom retained human forms.
So-called chimeras were created by fusing humans with animals, combining the two into one.
The chimeras behind Greed were all completed products. They had their own consciousness and thoughts, could independently carry out tasks, and possessed some animal abilities.
Among these chimeras, some were fusions of humans and crocodiles, others of humans and lizards.
The three strongest chimeras were: Roa (male), fused with a bull; Dorchet (male), fused with a dog; and Martel (female), fused with a snake.
These three were Greed's main subordinates.
After Greed introduced these chimeras to Alphonse, Alphonse was somewhat incredulous.
"Impossible. I've seen chimeras before. They don't have the ability to communicate. Your subordinates are no different from humans."
"Surprised? It's the truth."
Greed didn't explain further. Alphonse was now a prisoner; there was no need for him to explain.
"Who created them?"
Alphonse remembered seeing that little girl before. She had been fused with a dog, becoming neither human nor beast. And the instigator of it all was the girl's father, a State Alchemist.
"The military."
"How is that possible?"
"There's always darkness in the world that can't see the light. Besides, I'm not a chimera. I'm a homunculus. I captured you this time for a purpose."
Greed looked at Alphonse with greed in his eyes.
"How do you extract a soul individually and fix it onto something, like you did? Your situation is already very close to immortality."
Greed captured Alphonse for this purpose. He wanted the technique to extract and fix souls. Although he appeared young, the energy of the Philosopher's Stone inside him would eventually run out. His time was limited.
"The big sister inside your body isn't being very well-behaved. If she accidentally wipes off that blood seal..."
The threat was obvious, but Alphonse shook his head.
"I don't know. When my soul was fixed onto the armor, I had no memory."
Greed's eyes narrowed.
"Don't want to talk? Then I'll ask differently. I must obtain the method for immortality."
"Immortality? Can homunculi die of old age too?"
"Of course. Although my body is tougher than an ordinary person's, it can only last about two hundred years before Father needs to re-create me. My time is limited, so don't anger me."
Alphonse remained silent. He wouldn't betray his brother.
The door was pushed open, and a man walked into the room.
"You no longer need to obtain the method for immortality."
Su Xiao entered the room, followed by Bubuteni.
"Is this your handiwork?"
Greed pointed at Alphonse.
"Yes, it's my handiwork."
Light flickered in Su Xiao's hand as a high-grade alchemy bomb appeared.
"This is the main material for fixing souls. In exchange, tell me the method for creating homunculi."
Tossing the high-grade alchemy bomb in his hand, Su Xiao blocked the doorway.
"Don't take me for a fool, Explosive Flame Alchemist."
"Oh? You recognize me? Then let's cut to the chase. Kidnapping the family of a State Alchemist—I can't just turn a blind eye to that."
This was just an excuse, and one that allowed him to kill openly.
"Tch, meddling."
Greed waved his hand.
"Kill him. Be careful—this guy is a bomb maniac."
"Yes."
The chimeras behind Greed slowly closed in on Su Xiao.
Su Xiao tossed the alchemy bomb in his hand and quickly retreated from the room.
Boom!
An explosion that shook the entire block rang out, causing civilians to scream in terror.
As the explosion subsided, the thick smoke made Su Xiao cough a few times. The room where Greed had been was now blown through.
A large crater appeared in the ground, with the mangled remains of several chimeras scattered around.
Greed had escaped with Alphonse, along with three chimeras.
Su Xiao sensed Greed's escape route—it was downward.
...
In the sewer, Greed carried Alphonse on his shoulder as he ran quickly. Alphonse's armor was somewhat twisted, indicating he had taken a heavy hit from the explosion.
"This guy is the Explosive Flame Alchemist? He's practically a bomb maniac."
Roa (bull) had one arm blown off, the stump jagged. Dorchet (dog) was slung over his shoulder, his lower body gone.
"Stop talking and run. That guy is a madman. He killed the most people during the Ishbal Extermination."
Greed ran swiftly ahead. He wasn't injured. He could harden the surface of his body—this was his ability, the Ultimate Shield. Moreover, his regenerative power was the strongest among the homunculi.
Boom!
An explosion sounded above their heads, blasting a large hole in the sewer ceiling.
Su Xiao jumped down from the hole, blocking Greed and the others.
"Do we have to fight? You shouldn't have any connection to the Fullmetal Alchemist. Why meddle?"
Greed seemed reluctant to fight Su Xiao. Su Xiao didn't speak, simply blocking their path.
"It seems we have no choice but to fight."
Greed's skin turned pitch black. He extracted carbon molecules from his body, forming a carbon layer on his skin's surface. When the carbon reached a certain density, its hardness was unimaginable.
Greed's appearance changed drastically. His entire body was jet black, his hair gone, his head bald.
Two fangs protruded from Greed's lower jaw as he cracked his neck.
"It's been a while since I used this form. It's really ugly. Alchemist, your bombs are useless against me now."
Greed sneered and slowly approached Su Xiao.
"Really useless?"
Su Xiao waved his hand, and dozens of high-grade alchemy bombs scattered on the ground. These bombs transformed into small white snakes.
"Hey, hey, what the hell? How is there this many?"