Chapter 152: Chapter 150: Return
The cultists froze in their spots. They didn’t know the Blightlord had been hiding a second body underground all this time.
The spot where Blaze had emerged, and the barrier was erected, was random. No one knew how or when a second body had been prepared.
However, they were happy with their lord’s victory over a heretic.
One by one, they dropped to their knees. Their foreheads pressed to the ground as they began chanting and praying to the Blightlord. Only one of them, the acolyte from before, inched closer to the lord.
"Congratulations on your victory, my lord," he said.
The blightlord said nothing in reply. He stood there, his eyes fixed on Blaze’s remains.
"Call the seer here," Blightlord instructed. "Have him confirm Blaze’s death."
"At once, my lord," the acolyte bowed and left.
It was a close call. He nearly died from Blaze’s three-strikes of doom.
The Blightlord knew that without the hundreds of bodies he had scattered around the spire after his meeting with Blaze, he would already be dead.
He had outsmarted Blaze, yet he felt like it was too easy. A part of Blightlord’s mind couldn’t believe someone as cautious as Blaze forgot about his ability to possess other undead.
Did I win, or am I being fooled?
That was the only thought in the Blightlord’s mind.
That was the reason he wanted the seer, who could see someone’s stats, to confirm if Blaze was indeed dead or if it was a decoy. It was he who saw Necrophage and came up with the toxin to weaken Blaze.
While the seer got there, Blightlord squatted next to Blaze’s corpse.
"The toxin worked. The arm is shriveling up," he said. "I hope the antidote will reverse this. It would be a shame if I lost such a precious treasure."
The Blightlord stood back up and kicked Blaze’s head. There were no unnecessary movements. It seemed Blaze had actually died.
"Then why the hell is this rain not stopping? Don’t tell me it wasn’t linked to this fucker."
Despite how it appeared to others, thinking wasn’t the Blightlord’s strong suit. If not for the constant guidance of the system, he would have died long ago.
However, the system had stopped responding to him after the cult’s formation. It was as if that was the system’s goal, and it disappeared after that.
If it were here, I wouldn’t have to ask for the seer’s help. Maybe it’ll reappear once I kill Blaze, since that’s what it wanted me to do.
With a flash, two figures appeared behind the Blightlord. One was the acolyte, and the other was the seer.
However, the latter wasn’t wearing the human-skin cloak like the rest. He had a solid black one, as if marking his unique designation within the cult.
"Glory to the Blightlord."
The two said in unison, only to be waved off by their lord.
"Check him," he said, stepping back.
The seer nodded and sat next to Blaze’s corpse. He placed a hand on his forehead, while the other touched Blaze. A stream of electric jolts passed from the man to Blaze as a holographic screen appeared before him.
Blightlord leaned in, eagerly reading its contents. That’s when his eyes fell on the one line he wanted to see.
[Status: Deceased.]
Blaze was dead.
Officially dead!
All the doubts Blightlord had in his mind disappeared instantly. Perhaps he had overestimated Blaze. Witnessing the smile on his face, the cultists began praising their lord.
This time, Blightlord didn’t rebuke them. After all, he had succeeded, and with Blaze’s body, his horde would also be his. Couple that with the cult support, and he became the unofficial ruler of the continent.
No, I’m the ruler of the world!
No one on the planet could threaten him anymore!
***
Within minutes, the group appeared back at the cult’s base. Blightlord was carrying Blaze’s corpse in his arms like a child who got an early Christmas present.
Usually, the Blightlord would wait to ’revive’ and ’control’ as a zombie, but he couldn’t wait anymore. He wanted to enter Blaze as soon as possible.
The cultists didn’t stop him either. Blaze was confirmed dead, so what could go wrong?
"I shall start the ritual," Blightlord informed the first and second High Prophets. "No one is to disturb me or enter the room, no matter what."
"As you wish, Your Holiness," the prophets spoke simultaneously, bowing before exiting the dark room.
The blightlord waited for five minutes before laying down Blaze’s corpse at the center of the table. A holographic screen appeared before him.
[Would you like to begin the assimilation process?]
Yes.
[Error! Please return to your primal form.]
"Oh, right... forgot about that!"
The blightlord shook his head. The excitement had gotten to his head. So much so that he forgot to return his consciousness to his human self.
A second later, the blightlord’s body fell to the ground like a heap of feathers.
"Ugh, I hate this body," a squeaky voice, unlike the Blightlord’s, echoed in the room. "Why do I always have to return to this form? It’s annoying!"
A boy no older than sixteen walked next to the corpse. He didn’t look tall or menacing like his other forms. Standing at barely five feet, the boy’s face was dotted with freckles, which looked like rashes against his pale skin.
This was the reason only the prophets were allowed inside the room. It was the place where the Blightlord’s true form resided.
If the cult learned that their lord and savior was a horny-ass child, they would revolt. That was also the reason the prophets who went out of line were immediately executed.
Anyone who entered the room either spent their days sucking up to the child or was killed on the spot.
"But that will all change with this body! I can have everything I want, especially that beautiful angel I saw clinging to him..." the boy said, excitedly rubbing his hands together. "Begin assimilation!"
[Command confirmed.]
[Body reconstruction complete.]
[Proceeding with the revival...]
[Error! Error! Error!]
[Resurrection has been interrupted. An unknown error has occurred.]
"Wh-what? You stupid table! Work like you’re supposed to—"
"Yeah, it won’t."
The boy froze in place when he heard the voice. He turned, looking over his shoulder to see Blaze sitting upright on the table, staring at him.
"It won’t work," Blaze said, jumping off the table. "Why? because I wasn’t dead in the first place."
"I-Impossible! Guards—"
Before the boy could say anything, Blaze’s tendrils wrapped around the boy, lifting him off the ground.
"Aren’t you too young to be killing others?" Blaze asked, tilting his head. "Oh well, who am I to judge others?"