Demon Bible

Chapter 136: Necrotic Flesh

The secret investigation was not going ideally; after all, that demon had already been missing for a month.

However, it was not completely devoid of information either.

"It appeared on Thirteenth Street in the South District not too long ago?" Isabella murmured, holding the documents as she swiftly mobilized.

The reason they started with this peculiar demon was that it could absorb desires to rapidly strengthen itself. While posing a significant threat, it might also be involved in some crucial development within the Construct Protocol.

Otherwise, why would it exist? The Rampage Augment II was already considered a highly exceptional product.

If this item had not been forged using demonic power, it could have easily become the foundational product of a noble family or a massive merchant consortium.

Under such circumstances, why would anyone still go berserk and transform into a demon?

Or rather, was the Rampage Augment itself still flawed?

Regarding this point, Xiaobi knew far too little.

At present, the Church was simultaneously searching for a way to break the contractual restrictions placed upon Xiaobi, while also dispatching Isabella and the others to track down this specific demon. They hoped to find answers from this creature that had already been spawned for quite some time.Al had suggested going after Fass. According to him, since Fass now served as a Bishop within the Construct Protocol, he was bound to know much more.

If they could capture Fass, they could surely guide him back to the right path and extract sufficient intelligence from him.

However, this proposal was rejected.

Aside from Al himself, absolutely no one bought into this notion of guiding him back to the right path.

First of all, while Fass had indeed become a Bishop of the Construct Protocol and possessed a wealth of knowledge, the contractual bindings on him would be exceedingly severe. Extracting information from him might prove even more difficult than getting it from Xiaobi.

Secondly, the fact that Fass had risen to the rank of Bishop proved he was already a figure of paramount importance within the Construct Protocol. Making a move on him without fully understanding the situation would only make matters worse.

It was overwhelmingly obvious that Al still clung to the unrealistic fantasy of saving Fass.

Fortunately, Al had not lost all reason, nor did he stubbornly insist on his idea.

Once his proposal was shot down, he obediently followed the team to hunt for the peculiar demon.

At the same time, a limping man was nervously fleeing into the sewers.

He had caused such massive trouble that he was forced to defect from the Construct Protocol.

Relying on a state of complete Demonization, he had broken free from the Construct Protocol. Yet, he could still sense that the contract he had signed was not entirely torn away.

One day, the people from the Construct Protocol would come looking for him, forcing him to fulfill that agreement.

Because of this, he was waiting for the next whale mating season—waiting for his chance to escape.

The whales' mating season took place in the spring, usually in March.

After mating, if they conceived descendants, they would summon the Nadeshiko Whales once more between September and October to interact.

March had already passed; it was currently May.

The limping man knew that the best-case scenario was to wait another four months. Once the Azure Sky Whale was pregnant, he could slip away when the Nadeshiko Whales arrived.

The worst-case scenario was having to wait ten more months for the next mating cycle to begin.

At this moment, the limping man was filled with regret, but it was far too late.

He had joined the Construct Protocol for the sake of power. However, upon learning that the third generation of the Rampage Augment had been released, he had applied to upgrade his equipment.

Yet, the response he received was that he currently lacked the qualifications.

From that point on, he began to suspect that the Construct Protocol was discriminating against him.

He was also working hard for the Religious Order, so why was he denied access to better power?

When the Religious Order claimed that the Rampage Augment III required a stronger mental state and a more stable berserk will, the limping man had completely dismissed it as utter bullshit at the time.

It was not until he accepted the power of Demonization offered by a mysterious figure and was subsequently hunted down by the elite members of the Construct Protocol that he slowly realized the truth. Perhaps he truly was not worthy of the Rampage Augment III.

But now, everything was too late.

Hiding out in the foul-smelling sewers, the limping man nervously navigated toward an isolated branch tunnel.

From time to time, he would pause, seeming to listen for something, before hastily changing his direction.

"That is not right..." The limping man halted briefly, immediately turning to sprint the other way.

However, in the very next second, a longsword plunged from above, severing his path forward.

Soon after, Galen slowly dropped down. Looking at the limping man before him, he smiled and remarked, "It seems my luck is better. I found you first."

"Someone from the Church?" The limping man frowned, appearing somewhat surprised.

The next moment, a layer of an unknown substance surfaced around his body.

This layer completely engulfed the limping man, and in the blink of an eye, a demonic monster standing roughly two meters tall materialized before Galen.

The monster was covered entirely in bruised, purple-blue skin. The flesh and skin on its body rapidly bulged, and with a sudden burst of speed, it charged forward like a cannonball.

Galen pulled up the sword planted in front of him. Facing the colossal monster, he did not retreat a single step.

The next instant, the sword light flashed.

Advancing Sword: Pierce!

The sharp tip of the blade converged upon a single point. The body of the sword trembled and crisscrossed, channeling every ounce of its power outward.

Galen had reached an Attribute Value of eight, and in this moment, it fully erupted. A white air current manifested just ahead of the sword's tip.

The terrifying force pierced right into the flesh and blood of the monster ahead, causing vast chunks of meat to violently scatter in the very next second.

The monster was blown apart by the single thrust.

Yet, faced with this outcome, Galen did not let his guard down; the scattered pieces of flesh were still pulsating.

Nestled amidst the gore was the monster's head, releasing a frenzied roar.

"You must have realized it by now!" the monster bellowed. "You cannot kill me!"

As the monster's voice faded, all the flesh leaped up and fused together, forming a bruised, purple-blue monster standing about one meter tall.

Unlike the previous two-meter-tall behemoth, this one-meter-tall creature gleamed with a metallic luster across its entire body.

Galen's expression shifted as his blade danced, landing squarely against the monster's frame.

After a rapid series of metallic clangs, the monster showed no significant injuries. Instead, it swiftly closed the distance to Galen, thrusting out a pair of sharp claws with the intent to hollow out his chest.

"Your head is your weakness, isn't it?" Galen whispered. He shifted his footwork, whipping his sword around.

Advancing Sword: Slice.

They had already uncovered the limping man's intelligence upon arriving at Thirteenth Street.

His leg had once been broken by a gang member. Unable to afford medical treatment, he could only watch as his leg began to undergo necrosis.

From swelling and bloating, it turned a bruised purple-blue before gradually withering away.

After undergoing Demonization, this traumatic experience had manifested as his demonic ability.

Relying on demonic power formed from desires, he condensed it into Necrotic Flesh, manipulating this dead tissue at will.

By solidifying it, he gained formidable defense; by expanding it, he acquired immense strength.