Chapter 65. The Prophet of the Red Flesh (1)

“Aaaaah!”

A soldier burst out from the corridor and rushed in, attempting to bite Isaac. Isaac slapped the soldier’s face and marched forward.

When Owen Renly absorbed the soldiers and transformed into a gigantic flesh monster, Isaac immediately ran into the interior of the castle. He judged that the enlarged creature would not be able to enter the castle just by looking at its size.

At that time, Isaac thought he had made a smart decision.

Until Owen started chasing him, filling the corridors with massive flesh.

“Aaaaargh!”

The soldier Isaac had knocked down was newly pressed and absorbed by Owen’s flesh. It seemed like all the soldiers were ambushed inside the castle. Fortunately, the abomination wasn’t fast enough, so Isaac could easily outrun it with a quick pace.

But the abomination was finding its own ways too.

“We succeeded in assassinating Raela. But…”

“She came back to life, didn’t she?”

“Did you know?”

It was more predictable than known.

The Prophet of the Red Flesh was the most frequently encountered angel in the game strategy. Naturally, there were many fights and quests. And she never reveals her true form unless absolutely necessary.

“Raela is just a shell used by the Prophet of the Red Flesh.”

Isaac said, looking for the abomination somewhere beyond the corridor. The abomination, for some reason, was no longer chasing them. But Isaac strongly felt its presence.

“That abomination, I mean, Owen, is a bit different. It’s not just a servant; it’s like an angel’s flesh stuffed in en masse. Enough to be easily disposed of after use.”

Whether it’s the will of the Prophet of the Red Flesh or Raela’s will is indistinguishable and meaningless. To exert such power, it must be considered nearly a limb.

Hesabel looked confused at Isaac’s words.

“If it’s just a shell… then assassination is pointless, isn’t it?”

“No. It had its meaning.”

Isaac aimed for three things. Testing Hesabel’s loyalty and drawing the Prophet of the Red Flesh’s attention. If these two were successful, the attempt was meaningful.

The last was to weaken Raela’s vitality.

For the Prophet of the Red Flesh to continue using Raela as a shell, her body must be alive. If she was injured, the Prophet of the Red Flesh would have to continually use its power to keep Raela alive.

But Hesabel inflicted a fatal wound on Raela, judging her ‘dead’. This means the Prophet of the Red Flesh would have leaked considerable power.

It’s like holding and wielding a weapon with just the fingertips instead of freely with both hands.

Naturally, wielding the same weight of a weapon is much more difficult and painful in the latter case.

“You did more than what was instructed. Well done, Hesabel.”

Hesabel’s eyes widened at Isaac’s praise, then she touched her face, feeling unfamiliar.

“Uh, well, what do we do now? It seems like that flesh monster isn’t following us anymore, but if we run into the Prophet of the Red Flesh…”

At that moment, Isaac and Hesabel stopped.

It wasn’t a new enemy that blocked their way. Rather, there was nothing.

Even the path they had to take was gone.

The corridor twisted unnaturally, like the neck of a closed sack.

Isaac looked back. The corridor in the dark dawn was engulfed in silence and darkness. The air felt oppressively enclosed.

As if they had entered the belly of a beast.

Isaac spoke.

“We’ve been cornered in a hunt.”

***

Zihilrat felt the air of the castle change.

He could smell the damp sweat and saliva from all around. Having lost his divinity but once being a beast and secretly holding the underworld beneath the monastery in his grasp, he could sense it sensitively.

The bizarre entity that appeared on the surface seemed to have finally taken over the castle.

However, what that entity was doing now was none of Zihilrat’s concern. Isaac had entrusted him with a different mission. Zihilrat continued to explore the underground of the castle as he had been doing.

The castle’s underground housed the servants, butlers, and sensitive individuals who must not be killed, all unconscious or drugged into a stupor but alive. They were not in a state to escape, so no guards were posted.

The guards worth their salt would all be on the surface. But there was another presence.

Pararararack!

Bats, with their eyes gleaming red, suddenly swarmed Zihilrat from the ceiling. These were not ordinary bats but divine beasts summoned by the power of the Red Chalice. For ordinary people, just one bite to the neck could be fatal.

The bats’ teeth sank into various parts of Zihilrat’s body. One of them even managed to crawl under Zihilrat’s helmet to bite his neck. However, what the bat’s teeth encountered were not veins or flesh, but another set of teeth.

Crunch!

A mouth that shouldn’t have been there appeared and instantly tore off the bat’s head. The bat flapped its wings in a futile attempt but eventually couldn’t escape, only managing to knock off the helmet.

Seeing their comrade being chewed alive, the bats were terrified and tried to retreat, emitting warning echolocation signals. However, none of the bats attached to Zihilrat’s body could escape.

Crunch, snap, crackle.

Zihilrat’s body twisted and contorted unnaturally, capturing and ensnaring the bats. His predatory nature did not prevent prey from flying directly into him. In an instant, the predators became the prey, trapped by the low ceiling and narrow corridors, which now became their prison.

Swoosh, screech.

Even bats attempting to escape the corridor were entangled by tendrils and crushed to death. In no time, the corridor was left with nothing but bloodstains, devoid of any flesh or bone.

Licking his lips, Zihilrat picked up his helmet. That’s when he realized someone in an adjacent cell was watching him.

The man stared blankly at Zihilrat, then directly at Zihilrat’s face, which was still shifting in form. Soon after, the man mumbled something incomprehensible, rolled his eyes back, and fainted.

Zihilrat quietly observed the man before entering the cell. The iron bars couldn’t contain his writhing body. After checking the man’s condition, Zihilrat sent a message to Isaac.

[I’ve found Kyle Hendrake.]

***

Owen no longer moved directly to attack. It was impossible to attack Isaac hiding inside the castle that way.

Instead, he was well-versed in the castle’s layout. Herding Isaac to a desired location was simple, especially towards a long, narrow corridor that should have been open but was already collapsed.

And thus, he began his own version of a siege.

Transforming his massive body to slither like a snake.

Owen, now an abomination, was creeping through the corridors. The man who once wanted to be a paladin was now unrecognizable, a monster in form.

Furthermore, his thought processes were drastically simplified to control the numerous accidents and his flesh.

Kill Isaac!

“Rrrraaaagh!”

A terrifying roar echoed through the corridor as the flesh monster made its way in, causing the corridor to tremble. Isaac looked around, but there were no doors or windows to escape through.

The castle Isaac entered for cover had now become a trap.

“Lord Isaac, I’ll hold it off!”

Hesabel quickly stepped forward, adopting some stance. But her slender sword, short dagger, and even the crossbow, which could dismount a running knight, seemed insufficient to stop the abomination.

She appeared ready to attempt various tactics but then looked at Isaac with an expression akin to a puppy that dropped its snack in water.

“What now?”

“I thought this was the moment you’d say ‘enough, get lost’ and step forward…”

She hadn’t really thought it through, expecting it to be an opportunity to score points. True to the lineage of a family of conspirators and opportunists.

“Enough, get lost.”

Isaac stepped forward with his sword. He wasn’t without his own plans, though they weren’t readily deployable.

As Isaac approached, the abomination roared again and extended its arms wielding swords. But Isaac started to deflect each of those numerous weapons.

Clang, schreech, thump, crunch!

The sounds of bones and flesh being sliced were chilling, but Isaac’s expression remained unchanged.

“Incredible…”

Hesabel exclaimed in amazement at Isaac’s swordsmanship.

But Isaac’s actions were all calculated.

‘As expected, its durability is weak.’

In the game, abominations are powerful but are considered HP tanks, meaning they have abnormally high health points but extremely low defense.

Since their form changes freely, their muscles must be flexible, and their skeletal structure has to be malleable. It’s impossible for them to have hard shells. This made Isaac slicing off limbs as easy as cutting through tofu.

Moreover, this narrow space was a trap for Isaac, but it also prevented the abomination, with its large mass, from pressing down effectively. If the abomination had attacked from all directions instead of straight on, Isaac would not have been able to counterattack as he did.

All that remained was an enraged novice swordsman with nearly infinite HP.

Isaac was not going to be defeated by that.

‘The only concern is…’

Isaac thought, stepping over the splashing blood and flesh at his ankles.

His worry was running out of stamina or the corridor eventually filling up with the abomination’s flesh and blood, drowning him. Isaac had no way to stop that. He needed to move on to the next phase, but that required certain conditions to be met.

At that moment, a will was transmitted to Isaac from Zihilrat.

[Kyle Hendrake found.]

A smile crept onto Isaac’s lips. The last condition had been fulfilled.

The abomination, whether it disliked Isaac’s smile or was furious at being unable to injure him while only being attacked, roared even more fiercely and charged.

“Now, there are no witnesses left in this castle.”

Claws, looking as though they were made from crushed armor, protruded from the abomination’s body. Instead of swinging his sword or dodging, Isaac extended his fist as if to meet it head-on.

Bang! The sound was deafening, and what was crushed was the fist of the abomination wrapped around the claw.

Tentacles sprang from Isaac’s hand, quickly wrapping around the abomination’s fist and crushing it as if smashing a clam. As the insides burst out, the abomination roared in pain and fear but pushed forward excitedly.

“Ooooooh!”

At that moment, the abomination’s piercing thoughts invaded Isaac. Contact with its flesh allowed the swirling will and thoughts inside the abomination to connect with Isaac.

‘Foolish! You fool!’

‘Devour him! Absorb him!’

‘Make him one of us!’

The abomination had no intention of crushing Isaac. Instead, it planned to absorb him into its body through contact.

That was the abomination’s most dangerous ability.

And as if the creature’s thoughts were being realized, the tentacles that had crushed the fist dissolved quickly, healing over the wound. The skin covered the injury, and the bleeding stopped.

The abomination began to envelop Isaac with its entire body, intending to absorb him.

However, Isaac looked at the abomination without any sign of disturbance.

He had already received the message he was waiting for.

[‘Abomination’ has been devoured.]

[‘Devouring’ perk increases consumption efficiency.]

[‘Physical Fusion (Temporary)’ perk acquired.]

[Blessings remain until digestion.]