Humanity's Hymn Is a Hymn of Courage

The trouble on the ground had not yet been resolved.

After James Boone died completely, the other Vampire corpses lying nearby began to change. At first, it was only an inconspicuous stench. After all, there was still a Vampire corpse with its skull blown open here, and the smell of decay was enough to mask any other odors. But soon, Salomon noticed that the corpses had begun to secrete grayish-white mucus. Small, plump worms continuously burrowed out of the bodies of the Vampires descended from the Boone Family, while the corpses rapidly swelled to a horrifying degree. James Boone's corpse was among them. Wanda stumbled back several steps in terror, for the sight before her was so grotesque it could drive one mad, and her still-mortal mind could barely endure it.

"Within the Abyssal Caves dwell things of terror, strange and grotesque beyond sight. In accursed lands, dead thoughts gain new life and bizarre flesh. Those bodies have no heads, yet evil thoughts dwell within them. The great sage Ibn Schacabao said: Blessed is the grave without a wizard's corpse lying within it, and blessed is the night of a city without a wizard's ashes scattered upon it." Salomon swiftly found a book that matched this phenomenon from his vast sea of memories and fluently recited a passage from it. "These are Crawlers, Serpentine Sorcerers. The souls of those who consorted with demons return to their corpses after death, and thousands upon thousands of worms jointly occupy a wizard's mind. Terrifying life is born from rotting corpses, and dull carrion maggots become cunning. Wanda..."

The Arcanist knew who was behind this. He reached out and pressed a hand against the witch's forehead.

"It spoke again?"

"Yes!" The witch squeezed her eyes shut, agony written across her face. She felt her