St Chaos Healer

Ch 76 - Dread Zombies

Damien stood before the apostle's door, shirtless, his pale skin drenched in the blood and guts of those he had just slaughtered. The gentle smile on his dark lips only magnified his overall creepiness. Benjamin, not trusting him one bit, backed into a corner away from Damien's clutches.

Damien frowned at the sight. "What's the meaning of this? Are you scared of me?" He looked around, "And where the hell is the cell key?"

Benjamin stared at him with stern eyes. "As I said, why should I trust a guy who just murdered his own comrades?"

Damien let out a sigh. "Never mind, I'll just do it the old-fashioned way."

He suddenly grabbed the cell door with one arm. The muscles in Damien's arm swelled and morphed into a massive, muscular forearm. He pulled on the door, causing the hinges to creak and the lock to bend. With a loud groan, the door came free, removed by sheer strength alone. He tossed the gate aside, and his arm returned to its normal shape.

Damien entered the cell, extending his hand towards Ben. In an instant, Ben swung his arm, armed with a fork, at Damien. Quick as lightning, Damien grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him closer, examining his body closely. Ben struggled but couldn't break free from Damien's grip.

Damien inspected Ben's body, which was halfway transformed into wood. His expression tightened after the examination.

"Young lad, your condition is quite serious. The process of transforming into a wooden sapling is already halfway complete," Damien said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Based on my calculations, at this rate, the transformation should be complete soon, unless you've been using your healing abilities more frequently than advised."

"Are you after the wood sapling too? Is that why you're here?" Ben asked, still trying to pull his arm away. "And let go of me!"

Damien released his grip on Ben's arm. "Alright, young lad. As I mentioned before, I'm here as your savior. We've come to rescue you and break this curse. Surely the big guy must have briefed you on the details."

Ben looked puzzled. "Big guy? Who are you talking about?"

Rolling his eyes, Damien replied, "Oh, come on! You know who I mean. The one who bestowed this power upon you in the first place."

Ben looked even more confused. "Who? What power? You're not making any sense."

Damien appeared shocked. "You must be joking. You haven't spoken with the big floating eyeball that appears in your dreams?"

"Floating eyeball? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Damien scrutinized Ben closely. "That can't be... Wait a minute." He reached for the pendant hanging around Ben's neck.

"This pendant you wear! Where did you get it?" Damien asked, fixating on the pendant.

Ben looked surprised. "It was given to me by my dad. Why do you ask?"

"The feather inside this pendant. It's giving away a divine aura, do you know anything about this?" asked Damien.

"According to my dad, it's said to be a feather of the ancient Sunfire bird,"

"That should explain. How did you get your hands on something like this?" Damien inquired, his gaze intent on the pendant.

"It's a family heirloom! Why do you care?" Ben replied defensively.

Suddenly, Damien snatched the pendant from Ben, breaking the chain. "So this is why our master couldn't reach you, why he couldn't make contact."

"Hey! Give that back!" Ben protested, attempting to grab the pendant from Damien. But with Damien's tall stature and agile movements, Ben found it hard to reach, feeling like a child against him despite being almost fifteen years old.