Oliver opened his eyes when his body was lifted out of the vat. His body was dripping with murky viscous liquid and he was wearing nothing but thin underwear. He felt cold as the outside air brushed against his skin.
*Spat*
Once he realised that they stopped the treatment, he spat out the breathing tube embedded into his mouth.
"I think some got into my mouth." Oliver grimaced. The liquid surrounding his mouth flowed in while he was removing the breathing tube.
Although it had no actual taste, the viscous liquid was unpleasant.
"You don't have to worry about that. It's harmless." Dr Lark chimed in hearing his complaint.
Dr Lark was closely monitoring him as the robotic arm brought him out of the transparent vat onto a nearby bed.
The shoulder which was supposed to be bleeding after being torn had already reattached perfectly.
The bruises and discolouration on the skin had cleared.
There was no sign of any problem.
In fact, his body seemed to have put on a bit more muscle mass. According to his judgement, Oliver should be in better condition than before he was injured.
Dr Lark was surprised as he checked the data showing up on his tablet.
"Oh!" Oliver nodded and calmly took out a towel and wiped himself.
Although there were two more pairs of eyes staring at him, he was unbothered by their presence and continued to clean himself.
It took a while for him to clean all the liquid sticking to his body.
Finally, once he was done, he turned to look at the headmaster.
"Good evening, sir," He greeted him in his underwear.
His voice contained no hint of tension.
Seeing this, the lips of the headmaster curled up. His eyes twinkled as he stared at the unbothered Oliver sitting on the bed.
This was not an attitude someone who had killed a classmate should have. He was showing the confidence and willpower of a top ranker.
Other than a superpower, the one thing that separated the top rankers from the rest was their mentality. Oliver had the required qualities, the headmaster judged. But he buried his thoughts and focused on what happened.
'Did he already know it was a demon!' The headmaster couldn't stop himself from being curious.
If the child knew it was a demon, does that mean he had some way to detect them?
"Good evening, Oliver. You don't look like a person who killed someone." The Headmaster stated while carefully looking at his expression.
"A person?" Oliver tilted his head. "Was it not a demon?" Although it looked like Oliver killed someone in a fit of rage, it was not the case. His instinct honed to eliminate demons had taken control during that time.
It was not a mindless murder.
"You knew it was a demon?"
"Yes."
The headmaster was excited when he realised Oliver knew it was a demon. Detecting fully fused demons was almost impossible unless a genetic sample from birth was taken and added to the database.
But if the demon had infected and fused the moment the baby was born, even that would be impossible.
So, his curiosity peaked when Oliver said he identified the demon beforehand.
He wanted to ask how.
Meanwhile, Oliver smiled understanding he gained the upper hand in the conversation.
Making the headmaster believe that he had a technique to detect demons was exactly his goal. Actually, he did have such a technique because of future knowledge.
The headmaster was an S ranker, the few among the heroes that even the villain Oliver respected. Unlike the rest, he was an honourable man who worked for the betterment of humanity. His entire life was focused on eliminating demons.
When Oliver was going on a rampage against the people who wronged him, he had investigated deep into the S rankers of the country. The headmaster was one of the few that had a spotless record.
Although that was the case, they were still enemies. Oliver was a villain and the headmaster was a hero. So, they had clashed in the past because of their differences in opinion.
While Oliver focused on eliminating everything that stood in his way, the headmaster was misled into fighting against him, not knowing that the people he was saving were the true root of evil.
Nonetheless, the current Oliver has more information on the headmaster than what he has on him. He was going to use it to his advantage and make a deal. Allying with a demon-hunting machine like the headmaster would only aid him in the future.
"How did you detect it was a demon?"
"For free?"
Both of them smirked.
Both knew what each other meant.
Usually, a lower-ranked person should have been quaking in his boots while interacting with an S ranker, but Oliver kept his calm and initiated a negotiation.
"What do you want?"
"Free access to mana beast meat processing plant in the name of training and permission to not attend classes."
Mana beasts are creatures that can use mana in combat. Each day, hundreds of them are hunted for food. And while processing their meat, thousands of litres of blood were wasted.
Oliver's goal was this wasted blood. The growth of the blood sac is determined by the amount of blood it consumes.
Thus, he had to make use of this opportunity to consume as much blood as he could.
Currently, military training was being held on the second planet. The planet on the other side of the permanent gate.
It was the perfect place to consume a lot of blood. For the next three months, this was his priority. Before he leaves, he needs to grow strong. Only with strength can he protect his family from what is to come.
"Done. It's a deal." The headmaster didn't even think twice before answering. Everything that had been asked for was within his ability. He had no reason to reject that if he could get his hands on a demon detection method.
"Okay! It's a pleasure working with you."
Oliver didn't waste any time and explained the new method. The headmaster and the lady looked shocked and creeped out as he began to speak. Meanwhile, Dr Lark nodded as if a light had gone off in his head.
'Why didn't anyone think of it before?' Dr Lark thought.
The method Oliver described was seemingly simple.
"Simply put, the error rate of DNA in gametes compared to the DNA of other cells of the infected would be high. By checking and grouping gametes, we can get an answer if the person is infected or not. That makes perfect sense when you consider the demons' inability to reproduce."
"Demons in their base form are like clones. They don't have any known gender or reproductive mechanism."
"So, it makes sense that they wouldn't use the host's reproductive organs after infection. Even complete fusion might have limits to what it can do. We should have focused more on macro details rather than micro details. With this information, I might be able to design a test. No, I can improve on it." Dr Lark said while scribbling down on the tablet. His eyes were burning with passion.
Once everyone saw the convinced Dr Lark, they also nodded understandingly. It was agreed among themselves to let the professional do his job.
"Did you use this method to check whether he was a demon?" Headmaster asked Oliver.
"No. How could I get the gametes, much less analyse the DNA"
"Then?"
"His blood stank like a demon," Oliver replied with a grin. "My ability is blood manipulation. If I can get my hands on fresh blood, I can sense if it is infected or not. This means that I am a valuable asset to humanity. Hope the headmaster helps me stay alive. If the method I spoke of doesn't work, you still have me. So, don't worry about it."
"Ha ha ha… Do you want to join a team I am forming?" The headmaster proposed.
"Maybe later, I need to take a shower and wear some clothes," Oliver said and jumped off the bed.