Melissa watched as Leader set the vial of silvery liquid onto the metal table.
"… Mercury?" she guessed, nudging her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
Dr. Blessed smiled.
Melissa strained her Clown abilities like never before to keep from blushing at the lethal impact of that smile.
In her heart, she reasoned that the raven was right.
Being cooped up in this underground bunker was stirring up strange, uncharacteristic feelings.
Even though she was swamped with duties as an Apostle of Mr. Fool, managing her Potion digestion, and conducting the research she could pursue independently, she had never been isolated from society for this long.
It wasn't quite loneliness yet, but it was certainly heading in that direction.
Worse, she wasn't like Trick*Step, who could seamlessly remain part of the outside world through her civilian alter ego.
Even now, Pro Heroes had not ceased scouring the Japanese mainland for Melissa Shield, operating under the conviction that Dr. Blessed had kidnapped her against her will.
For now, Melissa truly hoped that as she advanced through the Sequences, blending into society without relying on outside assistance would become second nature.
"It is mercury, strictly speaking, but…" Leader said, studying the shifting liquid. "… it is fundamentally different."
Melissa frowned slightly.
"For any given Potion," Dr. Blessed explained, "there are two categories of ingredients: organic and inorganic. Organic ingredients are derived from living entities — plants, beasts, or supernatural flora and fauna — native to Mr. Fool's world. Inorganic ingredients… well, that is where matters become exceptionally complicated."
"Wait… wait…" Melissa interjected, recalling a crucial detail. "Didn't you say we cannot receive such things from Mr. Fool directly?"
Otherwise, what was the point of faux Sealed Artifacts?
Melissa still didn't know why Leader had chosen to entrust such a grave secret to her alone.
She recognized, however, that it had to be tied to his broader designs — where possessing this knowledge would allow her to assist him far more effectively, and with far greater caution.
"You are correct," Leader said. "We cannot. Which is why… we create them here."
Melissa's eyes widened behind her spectacles.
"… How?" she asked.
"What is the formula for Sequence 9 Seer?" he asked.
Formula?! Melissa felt completely at a loss.
By definition, she knew the Potions the Apostles received from Leader to sustain their Sequence abilities until full digestion had to possess a precise recipe of ingredients.
However, when she had broached the topic with Big Sis Kazuho, she had denied ever inquiring about it.
In fact, even Iron Mentor seemed utterly indifferent to the ingredients or their esoteric nature.
In that regard, those two were identical: focusing exclusively on the powers bestowed by the Potions and the psychological perils that accompanied them.
Melissa considered herself different — she was an engineer and an investigator at heart, just like Leader.
Yet she had never mustered the courage to probe deeper into the mystery, not with the harrowing phenomena the Apostles discussed on a daily basis during their gatherings.
So with none of them privy to the formula for any Potion, how was she supposed to—
"Ten milliliters of Lavos Squid crystallized blood," Nyx's raspy voice rattled in Melissa's ear. "Fifty grams of pure Stellar Aqua Crystal, thirteen drops of Night Vanilla extract, seven Gold Mint leaves, three drops of Poison Hemlock, and nine grams of Dragon Blood Grass powder."
Melissa, stunned beyond measure, turned her head slightly toward the raven, only to find Nyx tilting her beak toward the ceiling with smug superiority.
So… Melissa mused in astonishment. Nyx is far more than a mere Beyonder… far more than a pet…
Glancing back, she caught Leader's lips twitching in quiet amusement.
"Ahem…" he cleared his throat. "Regardless… let's hear it again. Slowly this time."
"No," Melissa said smoothly. "There's no need."
Leader, visibly impressed, nodded. "Then can you divide these ingredients into the two groups I mentioned?"
Without hesitation, Melissa categorized the list into organic and inorganic components, noting that only the Stellar Aqua Crystal belonged to the inorganic classification.
"Good," Leader said, gesturing for her to rise. "Follow me."
Melissa followed him deeper into the laboratory, where an enormous aquarium was built directly into the reinforced wall.
Leader manipulated a mechanical armature to isolate a squid from the tank, carefully transferring it into a small fish tank.
It was merely an ordinary squid.
Nothing supernatural or mutated.
Wait…
Wait!
Melissa suddenly recalled Leader's words from earlier:
We lack the necessary materials — specifically the organic components. So… I need to create them first.
Melissa held her breath.
Adjusting her glasses, she focused with the rapt intensity of a student about to witness a historic scientific breakthrough.
"Activate your Spirit Vision," Dr. Blessed instructed, plunging his bare hand into the water and grasping the squid.
Obeying immediately, Melissa shifted her perception, allowing the physical world to dissolve into motes of ethereal light.
Once again, Dr. Blessed blazed before her sight like a miniature sun.
Shielding her gaze from the blinding sun, Melissa zeroed in on the tank.
What she witnessed drew a sharp gasp from her lips.
Golden particles of light peeled away from the Leader, cascading into the squid and latching onto the sparse, dim motes within the creature's spirit body.
In that moment, Melissa recalled Leader's prior explanation: Quirk Factors were simply the physical manifestation of Spirit Particles.
It was the specific frequency, arrangement, density, and placement of these particles that determined the nature of an individual's Quirk.
An ordinary squid possessed no Quirk Factor whatsoever.
Yet within seconds, Leader's Spirit Particles fused with the creature's, forcefully restructuring and weaving foreign pathways throughout its anatomy.
Melissa's breath hitched.
She was witnessing it with her own eyes, wasn't she?
This was it — this was how his Quirk-bestowing Quirk truly operated.
And witnessing it unfold right before her eyes, Melissa finally grasped the sheer immensity of Dr. Blessed's genius.
Without an exhaustive understanding of the creature's physiology and the precise mechanics of Quirk Factor mutation, attempting such a feat was utterly impossible.
Doctor…
Melissa didn't dare look directly at the blazing sun beside her, yet its brilliance seemed to burn brighter with every passing second in her heart.
Then, the light subsided.
Leader withdrew his hand from the water, allowing the creature to drift freely, its spirit body bearing not a trace of its former mundane structure.
But… was that truly it?
Nothing visible had changed on the surface.
It was then that Melissa heard a sound, like the snap of fingers.
A sheen coursed over the squid, as though someone had projected the reflection of a mirror across its body from afar.
By the time the shimmer faded, the creature had undergone an impossible metamorphosis —
— mutating before her very eyes, becoming… Lavos Squid!