Abomination

"Watch out!" Captain Greyson's soul, hiding to the side, caught sight of the change in the Witch's Heart and shouted at once.

Before the black-glowing heart could reach the Ghoul, the freshly evolved Claw Skeleton flipped over, leaped into the air, and landed beside it with a gust of wind. Its claws shot out, fingers like hooks, clamping tightly around the pulsating heart. With that grab, wisps of black mist erupted from the heart, instantly enveloping the Claw Skeleton's entire body.

"Ahh! Aaah!" Shrill, agonized cries echoed and lingered through the empty tower, unceasing.

Within seconds, the black mist gradually dissipated, revealing the Claw Skeleton unharmed. In its hand, the pitch-black heart was pierced through by its sharp claws, and from within came the faint, wailing screams of a woman. Drops of black blood dripped from the gleaming white claws, hissing as they hit the stone floor, corroding several large holes into the slabs. Yet the skeleton itself seemed unaffected.

"That's the Witch's Heart!" Soul Grayson said in terror, keeping his distance and not daring to approach.

"Looks like this witch has incredible vitality. How do we kill her?" Li Shaolin asked urgently, the intermittent howls at his ears sending chills down his spine.

"I've heard she has an Immortal Body. It seems only Holy Light can destroy the heart; otherwise, she'll be reborn in that iron box. I'm not sure myself," the soul replied.

So that's it... Could this be a Lich?

Li Shaolin suddenly recalled the records about the Lich's Phylactery in Scourge Alchemy—wasn't this exactly the same?

Thinking this, he quickly ordered the Claw Skeleton to keep a firm grip on the still-beating heart. He found a stone table, blew off the dust, and took out the Scourge Alchemy book to read. Nearby, several skeletons stood guard, while three Ghoul corpses lay on the ground. Soul Grayson naturally waited quietly off to the side, still hoping Li Shaolin would break the Sealing Box for him. Unlike the witch, whose heart was sealed inside, he was just a soul with no ability to open it.

Before he knew it, the sky had grown bright.

"Grrr!" Li Shaolin's stomach growled.

He put down the book, rubbed his sore eyes, and said to the soul, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll open the iron box for you now."

According to the Scourge Alchemy text, this kind of Sealing Box used only a tiny bit of Death Power as a lock. To force it open, all it took was a strike of Light or Death Power to break it easily.

With that, he condensed Bone Fang and sent it flying with two sharp whistles. It struck the lock, and with a "crack," the lid flipped open. Inside lay a red heart.

As the lid opened, the heart, exposed to the air, hissed and gave off green smoke. At the same time, Soul Grayson let out a loud cry, collapsed to the ground, and his body twisted and warped as if being pulled apart.

"Not good!" Li Shaolin quickly shut the box, and the soul stopped screaming.

"What's wrong, Captain Greyson?"

The soul gasped, "Master Mage, this box can never be opened again. If we try that again, I might not even be able to preserve my soul. Do you have any other way to help me? Oh, and there are many more of these same boxes up in the tower. They should all hold hearts the witch stole, but their souls seem trapped inside and can't get out."

Another way?

A soul, a heart, Ghoul corpses?

His gaze swept over the three Ghoul corpses on the ground, and Li Shaolin suddenly recalled a passage from Scourge Alchemy: using Death Power to fuse broken corpses and unwilling souls into a powerful killing machine—an Abomination!

Death Power could be stripped from the witch's heart, and weren't the broken corpses right here, ready to use?

He cleared his throat, stood up, paced a couple of steps, and then said, "There is one way. I can merge your soul into these three corpses and transform you into a creature of the Scourge Legion: an Abomination. Of course, after the transformation, you'll no longer be bound by this Lighthouse or the iron box, but your appearance will become hideously ugly, and you may even know only slaughter. Are you willing?"

"This..." The soul hesitated and didn't answer.

Whatever the soul decided, after spending the night together, Li Shaolin knew this soul had no power to harm him, so he wasn't worried about safety.

He moved the wooden plank aside and stepped out. He only needed to bring the Bronze Skeleton and the Black Skeleton along; the rest could stay in the tower.

Outside, the rain still poured violently.

Because of the downpour, the Sand Strider Crabs that were usually visible everywhere had hidden away. It took him quite a while to find one, and he quickly grabbed it and ran back to the Lighthouse. Unfortunately, his clothes were soaked through again, clinging to his skin.

Luckily, there was still some leftover wood by the fireplace. Though old, it was dry and easy to burn.

Finally, in the blazing firelight, a large piece of crab meat turned glossy and golden, its aroma wafting through the air. With no one else around, there was no need to be polite. Li Shaolin opened wide and tore into it. After a few bites, he felt much better, strength returning to his body.

He dried his clothes a bit by the fire and was about to lie down for a rest when a musty, rotting smell hit his nose. He turned his head and saw it came from the three Ghoul corpses. Earlier, his hunger had drowned it out, but now that he was settled, the stench became unbearable.

Since that was the case, throwing them away would be a waste. Why not turn them into an Abomination's body? Without a soul, it was still better than letting them rot like this.

The idea excited him. He pulled out the Scourge Alchemy book and was about to chant the spell as written when he suddenly realized a serious problem: he had no Alchemy Stone!

He wasn't a true Scourge Legion mage; he had no ability to summon Death. So, to create a monster that should have come from the Scourge War Factory, he needed a medium. The book recorded how to absorb the Death Force from graveyards or dead creatures—by using the Scourge Alchemy Stone to convert it—but it didn't mention a single word about how to make the Alchemy Stone itself.

He took out the "Scourge Alchemy" book again and read it carefully. Sure enough, there was no record of the Alchemy Stone. It turned out that summoning Undead was supposed to be the domain of Liches, Necromancers, or Dread Lords; outsiders had no part in it. Later, Kel'Thuzad, the high-ranking Lich of the Scourge Legion and Lich Lord of the Plaguelands, founded the Cult of the Damned to make humans worship the dark power of the Lich King Ner'zhul. The cult specifically lured human mages into spreading plague and disease. For those who made outstanding contributions, Kel'Thuzad not only taught them Dark Curse Magic but also granted them the Power to Create Scourge. And so, the Scourge Alchemy Stone was born.

The Cursed Mage Karnak, whom Li Shaolin had killed at Jason's Farm, was one of them. He possessed the noble "Scourge Alchemy" and was responsible for spreading plague across all of Westfall—only to be killed by Li Shaolin out of nowhere.

"Didn't that old Karnak leave behind a pile of junk? I wonder if this so-called Scourge Alchemy Stone is among it." He quickly rummaged through his Storage Space, and sure enough, he found a round, transparent Crystal Ball.

Holding it in his hands, he tried shouting, "Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Death, return!"

Sure enough, after he chanted, a surge of power flowed from his body, causing the Crystal Ball to emit waves of black light. Within it, the faint image of a massive, fully armored man seated on the Frozen Throne flickered in and out of view, while Li Shaolin's familiar mana plummeted. Then, streams of black energy rose from the heart held by the Claw Skeleton, swirling around the Crystal Ball. The shrill wailing suddenly intensified, like a hundred ghosts weeping, echoing through the tower.

When he felt his mana had been drained enough, the Crystal Ball finally stopped. The black heart in the Claw Skeleton's grip had crumbled into dust, scattering on the ground. The transparent Crystal Ball in his hand had turned completely black, and the image of the Lich King within had vanished.

"Flesh and bone, obey the command of Death. Combine!" He pointed the Crystal Ball at the three Ghoul corpses laid out and chanted again.

With a series of "crack, crack, crack" sounds of breaking bones, black mist coiled around them. The flesh on the ground grotesquely fused together and began to grow along the bones. Then, a three-meter-tall Flesh Abomination rose to its feet.

Its left hand had become a massive bone hook, its right hand empty, while a thick arm dragging a bone chain grew miraculously from its back. Its huge, split abdomen revealed writhing entrails inside. A single pale eyeball stared blankly, and its mouth hung slightly open—a truly ferocious sight. But it stood there dully, like a lifeless thing. Naturally, that was because no soul had been fused into it.

Soul Grayson, the captain, had long since fled to the far side in terror. Li Shaolin didn't understand why a soul would be afraid either.

After the Abomination was created, the black energy in the Crystal Ball had only been slightly depleted. This witch must have been very powerful. Oh, right—hadn't he mentioned there were more iron boxes upstairs? Let the Black Skeleton fetch them and take a look.

At his thought, the Black Skeleton bounded back and forth a few times, and soon the hall was filled with iron boxes.

Just as he was about to study them, something strange happened!

Black mist suddenly erupted from the iron boxes. In an instant, piercing screams filled the air. The magical locks on the boxes opened on their own, revealing hearts that were slowly rotting inside!

"Save me! Save me!" The black mist transformed into souls, all rushing toward Li Shaolin! One soul opened its mouth wide, ready to bite down on him!

"Ha!" A Blood-red Skull emerged from above his head and swallowed that soul in one gulp!

This move instantly frightened the others, and they dared not act rashly. Then, as one heart fully rotted away, a soul let out a shrill cry and vanished in a flash of white light.

Suddenly, the souls seemed to realize the black Crystal Ball could protect them. They swirled around and dove into it. In moments, all the souls had disappeared into the ball amid their cries. And when the last face appeared, it was Captain Greyson! What was going on? Had he been absorbed too?

He turned to look. All the iron boxes had opened, and the hearts stored inside had turned to black powder, their unique fluctuations gone.