Chapter 22: Plague God (4)
Zihilrat was shocked when Isaac coolly dropped its real name.
‘How do you know my name…?’
“What’s the fuss about?”
‘How do you know that name…?’
Isaac looked confused and shrugged. Zihilrat squirmed in anger.
‘Stop pretending! It’s been a century since my last follower bit the dust. How dare you speak my real name? Who sent you?’
“I’m clueless about what you’re saying…”
As Zihilrat bellowed, Isaac’s robe fluttered wildly. His tentacles stirred inside him, not in fear but annoyance.
‘Why does it matter if I know your fancy name?’
To Isaac, it was no biggie. He often called Zihilrat ‘Rat Pig’ and often visited its dungeon as it was the easiest ‘holy’ enemy to defeat.
‘Still keeping yourself hidden? Then I’ll wreck your creation!’
Despite its anger, Zihilrat got more puzzled as Isaac stayed chill. It took a deep breath, then coughed violently.
Bloody slime-like fluids shot at Isaac – Blood Slimes, a type of monster swarm.
Isaac summoned his tentacles instinctively. They swiftly pierced through the slimes. Pop! Two Blood Slimes burst, splattering fluids on Zihilrat. Its tiny eyes widened.
‘What power is this…? What divine mojo are you using?’
Finally, Zihilrat seemed to figure it out, trembling violently.
‘Nephilim! You must be Nephilim, those sneaky beings who nicked heavenly blood! But what’s your mom’s lineage?’
“Suddenly bringing up my family? You’re just making it harder for me to forgive you.”
Isaac had no interest in arguing with Zihilrat anymore. Just being in the same room felt nasty, like being in dirt.
Despite resisting the plague, anyone else would’ve fallen by now.
The tentacles aimed at Zihilrat as it writhed, birthing more rats. Zihilrat could summon loads of rat swarms, as its name suggested.
The newborn rats, blood-drenched, rushed at the tentacles, larger and fiercer than the ones he’d encountered before.
Crunch, snap.
They ruthlessly bit into the tentacles.
‘If you won’t talk, I’ll dissect you to find out the truth!’
Isaac sensed this fight might be more challenging than he expected.
He unleashed his tentacles freely, a tactic he hadn’t needed with just wild animals. These rats spawned by Zihilrat were like divine beasts in their own right.
Each tentacle strike crushed several rats, keeping his strength up. But a prolonged fight would put the all-too-human Isaac at a disadvantage.
Zihilrat, weak as a god, wouldn’t tire or die easily.
Thankfully, Zihilrat was cautious of the tentacles and didn’t make sudden moves, relying on its summoned minions for attacks.
Isaac kept his eyes on Zihilrat.
“Man, talk about arrogant! This dude really thought he’s untouchable in this so-called sanctuary of his! Like, who does he think he is, right? A deity or something, worshiped for centuries? Pfft, just a big-talking creature if you ask me…”
Isaac couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Zihilrat’s overconfidence.
***
Zihilrat, so full of itself, was too busy thinking it’s above everyone else, probably assuming only a divine being could challenge it. Ignoring Isaac completely, it was fixated on some mysterious puppeteer instead.
“Sure, there might be someone pulling the strings, but I’m here on my own accord,” Isaac thought to himself.
As he maneuvered around dodging Zihilrat’s nasty minions and gross slime attacks, he gradually reached for the Sword of Judgment, getting closer and closer to the big shot.
Despite Zihilrat’s endless army of slimes and critters coming his way, Isaac wasn’t backing down. Sneaking around to Zihilrat’s left, he had a plan to take down the source directly, skipping the whole long-drawn-out battle scenario.
Out of nowhere, a creepy skeletal figure in ragged clothing, resembling a priest, rose beside Zihilrat. But instead of giving any response, the skeleton just clattered around. That’s when Isaac had a hunch about who might be behind all this.
“Could it be those Immortal Order folks?”
The undead were typically linked to the Immortal Order, that was the only religious group that made sense in this situation. But why would one of their priests be serving another god? Now that was a head-scratcher.
As the skeletal priest raised a rusty sword in silence, Isaac realized it was more than just a priest; it was a guardian protecting this place.
“It’s just a mindless tool serving Zihilrat,” Isaac concluded, realizing he had to handle both Zihilrat and the skeleton with one hand tied.
Even with the odds stacked against him, Isaac’s skills and powers came to the rescue. The clash of swords, the swift movements—Isaac held his ground. The skeleton’s blade was shattered, but it kept on coming at him relentlessly, as expected of an undead being.
Isaac’s strikes were precise, a rhythm he had mastered through practice. And then, something clicked. A surge of power, a surge of imagery, and in a flash, his thoughts turned into reality.
With a swift motion, Zihilrat screamed in pain as Isaac’s blade cut through its core. The once-proud deity now lay in a pool of its own fluids, defeated by Isaac’s determination and skill.
Isaac suddenly realized he was totally rocking his sword skills without even trying too hard. The moves were quick, almost like second nature, and surprisingly effective.
And hey, the best part was, it wasn’t as painful and damaging as when he used the Avalanche sword skills. Sure, there was still some pain, but his recovery game was on point.
But then, Isaac felt this weird kind of hunger creeping in. Like, was his new power chowing down on the meat he had stored up for later?
Turns out, yup, it was. Those wolves he chowed down on not too long ago? Vanished in a flash. Not much left of ’em, but man, they sure got digested real quick.
It was almost like he was trading ‘fullness’ for stamina or something.
And get this, he did get injured, but he bounced back so fast it was like nothing even happened.
Isaac scratched his head, pondering why this new trick didn’t work the same with the Avalanche sword skills. Maybe it had to do with, like, the style or something.
Looking back, he saw the aftermath of his move – eight crazy wounds on the ground and on Zihilrat. It was like these massive tentacle-like slashes, seriously messing up the divine Zihilrat.
Then came a bunch of messages popping up, but Isaac was kinda busy at the moment to check ’em all.
Zihilrat wasn’t taking this whole tentacle-stabbing situation lightly, let me tell ya. Isaac’s move pierced right through Zihilrat’s gut, and out came a whole bunch of baby rats. Like, seriously gross.
Zihilrat was not happy about this, screaming in rage. Seemed like those wounds weren’t healing up too easy, probably because of that Judgement Sword power burning away at the unholy.
And to make matters worse, with the skeleton priest out of the picture, Zihilrat’s body was falling apart faster than a poorly built sandcastle. That priest must’ve been holding things together big time.
There was a moment of eerie connection between Isaac and Zihilrat, both having this divine vibe going on. But the Nameless Chaos wasn’t having any of it, keeping quiet and aloof.
Zihilrat, struggling to breathe, threw out some accusations and weird rants, hinting at some deep, dark secrets.
Isaac tried to make a snarky comment, but Zihilrat was too far gone to pay attention.
In a final desperate move, Zihilrat let out a piercing scream as a swarm of rats burst forth from its sac.
These rats, born in a frenzy, looked like something out of a horror movie. Some died instantly, while others squirmed and crawled around, creating a seriously creepy scene.
It wasn’t like a survival attack. It was more like a scared mouse running from a cat, charging in fear. Now Zihilrat had sunk down to just being a beast.
“Beasts of the plague, suffering ones! kill him!”
Hiss.
Isaac heard the sound of chaos as something crawled on the walls around him. Rats from all over the monastery and mountain were starting to gather.
Zihilrat had called all the rats, not just to attack, but to suffocate and kill Isaac. Dealing with so many rats was tough for Isaac, but he stayed calm as he heard different voices.
“Rat, eat, consume.”
“Food, devouring.”
“Head, body, tail, all of it.”
Soon, Zihilrat noticed something strange and went quiet. Thump, thud. Something started bursting out of the walls. It was the rat swarm Zihilrat had been expecting. But they weren’t there to save him. They were seeking salvation, looking for protection. The chaos descendants, fat from consuming many rats, followed the swarm. In Zihilrat’s surprise, Isaac wiggled his tentacles loosely. “Not the most hygienic, but finally a buffet.”
Crunch, crack, snap, crunch. Isaac watched as his tentacles devoured the rat mother. The giant bear hadn’t been fully eaten, but he allowed the rat mother to be consumed freely.
The other chaos offsprings enjoyed the meal too. Since it wasn’t a pleasant sight, Isaac looked away. The temple was truly ancient, a place visited by many until a few hundred years ago. Maybe Zihilrat was once a worshipped god. But now, it’s just prey for the Nameless Tentacles.
It was a natural consequence to stop a wild animal threatening a person. Examining the altar where Zihilrat sat, Isaac found a carving of the rat queen birthing many rats. He stroked the carving gently. Suddenly, a message popped up.
[You can purify this tainted sanctuary.]
[Would you like to dedicate this sanctuary to the ‘Nameless Chaos’?]
