Chapter 22: The Mastermind’s Transformation

“You’re Cohen?”

Ivina drew her sword, pointing it at him as she demanded.

“Heh, you’ve found me…”

Cohen gripped his staff embedded with a ruby.

“What a pity. I could have contributed much more.”

“You bastard, why did you betray the Elven Tribe? You’re an elf yourself!”

Noli stepped forward, accusing Cohen.

“Why? Because it benefits me. You should know well enough—Elven Tribes live for themselves, don’t they?”

Cohen paid no mind to Noli’s accusations.

To him, the deaths of his kin were irrelevant, as long as he gained something from it.

“Besides, I’m fighting for the great god. Sacrificing kin is nothing if it means achieving evolution.”

Noli trembled with rage, but Lucas held her back to prevent her from falling for the enemy’s trap.

Despite facing the three of them, Cohen remained calm.

He clearly had a contingency plan.

“What is this ‘god’ you speak of? Morovira has only ever had one god,” Ivina said, gripping her sword, ready to strike.

“Heh… Only one god? You’re too narrow-minded. My great god will one day rule this world! To do that, it needs nourishment—it needs to be watered!”

“And by ‘watering,’ you mean the elves, right?”

Noli forced down her fury to question him.

“Exactly. Especially elven maidens like you—that’s the kind of gift the god enjoys…”

Before Cohen could finish, Noli drew her bow and fired.

The ice arrow sped straight toward Cohen’s throat, piercing it with precision.

But being an elf, Cohen’s wounds slowly healed as long as he stood on the ground.

Noli’s arrow didn’t kill him outright; instead, it bought him a slim chance to cling to life.

“I… I can’t die yet… My god… I haven’t witnessed my god’s birth!”

Using his last strength, Cohen tore the ruby embedded in his staff loose.

The ruby emitted an unsettling glow.

Lucas instinctively felt it was something dark and dangerous.

Cohen wanted to use it to fight them to the death.

They couldn’t let him succeed.

Cohen raised the ruby to his mouth, intending to swallow it.

But Lucas wouldn’t allow it.

Just as Cohen brought the ruby to his lips, Lucas fired his gun.

The bullet struck the ruby dead center, shattering it into fragments.

Only then did Lucas realize it wasn’t a ruby but a tiny glass vial containing some dark red liquid.

What would happen if someone drank it?

It was hard to say.

Watching the shattered vial, a flicker of despair crossed Cohen’s face.

“Ah, the god’s blessing… taken by you…”

But he didn’t finish.

Ivina charged forward and plunged her sword into his chest.

“Lord God… save me…”

Cohen collapsed, twitching twice before falling utterly still.

Lucas and Noli exchanged a glance.

Cohen looked like the mastermind behind everything; they had expected him to be formidable.

Yet, it was over so easily.

Still, as Lucas looked at Cohen’s body, he felt something was off. Was Cohen really dead?

Lucas stepped forward and prodded Cohen’s body gently with his saw spear.

No reaction.

He seemed dead.

No—wait, he was still alive!

Lucas jumped back just as Cohen’s hand shot out, trying to grab his foot.

“This guy’s really tenacious,” Ivina muttered in astonishment.

Shot through the throat, stabbed in the chest—yet still alive.

What kind of fatal wound could finally kill an elf?

“Ah, that liquid!”

Noli pointed beneath Cohen.

Lucas and Ivina looked to where Noli indicated—the dark red liquid was spilled near Cohen’s face as he lay prone.

Before collapsing, Cohen had used his tongue to lick the liquid.

He lived.

But was the one alive really Cohen?

Cohen’s body began to distort and swell.

His back bulged grotesquely as if something inside was about to burst forth.

His spine tore through his flesh; his entire skeleton peeled free, reshaping into a four-legged, canine-like stance.

The skeleton kept growing until it formed a strange, massive beast nearly as tall as a building floor, composed entirely of bones.

“What is that thing?”

Noli took a few steps back, her mind blank from the horror unfolding before her.

Lucas could only describe the scene as incomprehensible and terrifying.

It was normal for Noli to be shaken, but Lucas himself felt unsettled despite seeing it for the first time.

“Calm down!”

Ivina shouted at Noli.

She was forcing herself to stay composed as well; clearly, none of them had ever encountered anything like this.

There was no trace left of the elf Cohen once was.

His limbs had fully morphed into beast-like claws.

This was only after ingesting a small amount of that dark red liquid.

Lucas dared not imagine what would happen if Cohen drank it all.

Noli stared at the skeletal beast, her face drained of color.

For some reason, the sight terrified her deeply.

They couldn’t afford for Noli to lose control.

If she didn’t calm down, she’d be in danger.

“Ivina, please buy us some time. Noli isn’t in a good state right now.”

“Got it. Leave her to me.”

After giving the order, Ivina charged at the skeletal beast, sword raised.

Lucas turned to Noli and gently took her hand.

At this point, there was no time to waste.

“Calm down, Noli. Take a deep breath and relax.”

Noli seemed dazed, fumbling even with Lucas’s instructions.

Lucas squeezed her hand slightly.

“Come on, breathe with me.”

Finally, Noli’s breathing slowed as she followed Lucas’s rhythm.

“Feeling better?”

Noli nodded, still pale but steady enough to no longer be overwhelmed.

“Can you fight?”

Lucas asked, wanting to be sure.

“Yes. Provide me with ranged support,” Noli said, hand on her chest as she settled herself.

“I’m fine now. Looking at it again, this guy’s not so scary after all.”

Who was the one scared half to death just moments ago?

Lucas felt too embarrassed to point it out.

“So, how long do you plan on holding my hand?”

Noli said, blushing as she glanced at his hand.

Lucas cleared his throat and released her hand.

“Then this is the final battle. Let’s take it down, Noli.”

He hoisted his saw spear and pointed it at the skeletal beast.