Martyrdom / Here Be Dragons

The Prophet, half-mad and half-sane, declared, "Destruction has already been conceived!"

"Words are not the coffin!"

This implies that their prophecy is merely revealing the truth.

"They dug their own grave! They'll reap what they sow!"

After saying this to Kal'tsit and Oute, the Prophet awkwardly dodged the circular saw, his eyeball almost crushed in his palm, and his clumsy body suffered many new wounds.

Oute wasn't able to dodge every attack in time—his physical abilities were limited.

A crimson light once again shone from the eye sockets in the shattered skull!

Weakening Curse!

The Prophet's Rockfall Prophecy came true once again; the dungeon ceiling could no longer withstand the battle taking place inside and began to collapse on a large scale!

Chapter 204 Martyrdom

"Doc Otter!" Kal'tsit instinctively recalled Mon3ter, attempting to protect Oute.

But she was stopped almost immediately by the command in her heart.

There's no other reason than that Kal'tsit was also the target chosen in the "prophecy" just now.

Moreover...

Amiya is also very dedicated to protecting Oute's personal safety.

A black barrier barely blocked the rain of "rubble" imbued with otherworldly laws, while the jet-black Originium creature protected Kal'tsit, struggling to deflect it. It was clearly a collapse of the entire ceiling, but neither Amiya nor Laurentina were bothered by this attack permeated with otherworldly power.

Watching this scene, Oute seemed to be deep in thought:

This result is truly astonishing... Could it be "real damage"?

In any case, the Prophet must be stopped from preemptively continuing his prophecies before the Weakening Curse accumulates to a certain extent.

"Specter"

Upon hearing this code name, Laurentina's beautiful eyes flickered slightly.

The free-spirited artist seems to have remembered his "persona".

She hesitated for a brief moment.

Whether she had awakened the nun's madness or was merely feigning it, it was unclear. "Come on, more, more! I'm far from satisfied!"

The heavy circular saw, like a faithful dance partner, leaps and dances under the guidance of the Abyssal Hunters. And what seems so out of place in this dance is the Prophet's disheveled figure.

However, his disheveled state did not diminish his aggressiveness in the slightest.

The Prophet's only free right hand is wrapped around his eyeball.

But he seemed to see through everything. "Jump! Jump!"

I pity you!

"Please know! Air cannot penetrate your skin!"

For Laurentina, those words were indeed very damaging.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz!

The circular saw stirred and roared, but the Prophet held it back with shackles.

The instruments of torture originally used to imprison the Prophet instead became his shield against enemies.

At that very moment, the broken skull emitted a brilliant red light— Oute had also cast the third "Weakening Curse" on the Prophet!

Meanwhile, Kal'tsit and Amiya... began attacking the remains of the stool in the room, their faces full of confusion.

What are they doing!?

A moment of doubt also arose in Laurentina's mind.

Immediately afterwards, the familiar feeling of oppression surged through my nerve endings once again.

Feeling the exhilaration in her body, Laurentina felt a mix of inexplicable joy and resistance: Oute hadn't asked for her consent at all. What made her even more resistant was... although Oute hadn't given his consent, Laurentina herself hadn't refused.

This caused some discontent within the artist's sensitive, delicate, and highly perceptive mind.

"Oh... my lord, you've finally come?"

Oute knew perfectly well what was going on, but he completely ignored Laurentina's little scheme.

The Abyssal Hunters held a circular saw in one hand, while the other hand emerged from the wide sleeve of his nun's habit, gently touching his chest. The area that had been damaged by the Prophet's malevolent corrupting power was instantly healed under the influence of Fate Reconstruction.

No, calling this skill, which not only doesn't cause bleeding but can also remove corrosive damage, "Fate Reconstruction" is somewhat inappropriate...

The Prophet seemed to realize something as well, and he once again extended the eyeball in his palm forward.

"The end is nigh!"

The water bubbles that had detached from their eye sockets seemed to come back to life! They started to spin in mid-air, one eye fixed on Laurentina, the other staring intently at Amiya.

Prophecy!

Oute delivered another unexpected instruction to the two girls: No need to defend, focus on cleaning up the broken bench.

Laurentina also performed a backflip to join in clearing the bench.

In the original game, the Prophet would hide behind a number of benches. However, according to the game mechanics of Darkest Dungeon, players can either chop down the benches one by one to reach the Prophet, or use ranged attacks to kill the Prophet directly.

Using ranged attacks directly can quickly and reliably eliminate the Prophet.

The advantages of destroying benches are not significant, but there is one thing that makes them highly desirable: destroyed benches will always yield a large amount of resources.

You've really been greedy this time!

As expected, the Prophet's earlier predictions soon came true, but those ceiling fragments carrying "real wounds"...

"It's completely different from the force just now!" Amiya exclaimed.

Oute then appeared beside her in his true form.

A large, warm hand traced the lines of Amiya's hair, bringing Amiya a comfort rarely seen on the battlefield.

"The wound... has disappeared." This was the first time Amiya had personally experienced this kind of "Originium Arts".

Unlike Laurentina (or Specter), Amiya, despite her young age, as the leader of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals, has a very direct understanding of the extent that modern healing Originium Arts can achieve, and what Oute's healing actions truly mean...

"Mon3ter!"

The powerful beam of light swept across, wiping out the last sliver of health from those so-called "bench" players who had extremely high damage resistance.

True damage is the most realistic type of damage in the entire game.

Oute looked away, and before Amiya could ask, he put his hand on Kal'tsit's shoulder again.

"..."

Kal'tsit placed her small paw on the back of Oute's hand, looking exhausted.

She had many questions for Oute, but what frustrated her most was that... Oute was even more confused than she was.

Therefore, she actually felt a little inclined to comfort Oute.

Hahaha... This old man is really strong!

Amiya awkwardly turned to look at the Prophet.

His condition was still largely intact—as a leader unit, his health was quite high. However, with the gains that Oute coveted already in hand, the Prophet didn't have much time to react.

"Cut Flesh, Break Bone!"

Laurentina, her face as cold as ice, swiftly sliced open the Prophet's chest.

The already weakened organs oozed out one by one from the incision, and the Prophet was also severely injured. However, just as he was about to utter a "prophecy," unleash his corrosive abilities, or simply flee, a mark etched with indescribable power burned into his chest.

Weakness Spell.

Following the channel opened up by Oute, a deathly black line pierced through the Prophet's heart.

"Ah... that letter..." In the lingering echo of the death knell, the Prophet seemed to regain his senses for a moment. "You shouldn't have come back!"

"Little crow, be careful!"

Then, staring at Oute's face, he shouted, "Don't dig up those old idols!"

That will only awaken the end times!

"It will only... awaken the apocalypse!"

"Only..."

This was repeated three times, the volume gradually decreasing, until finally, the venerable the Prophet entered a brief period of slumber. But it is likely that before long, his strong sense of responsibility and dedication will drive him to rise again and again.

Chapter 205 There's a Dragon Here

January 3, 1097, 00:58:06.

Outside the Medical Department, which was once prepared for Specter.

Considering the possibility of Koschei's retaliation, Oute did not remove the bullet from her heart when he possessed her; she had just undergone surgery and was still very weak.

Talulah, dressed in a hospital gown, stared intently at the ceiling.

Through the thick, relatively useless special glass, Oute sat down opposite Talulah: "Sorry, we had other things to take care of."

"In that area?" Talulah turned her head, glanced at Oute, Amiya, and Kal'tsit, and finally her gaze lingered on the emblem ring on Oute's left pinky finger. "That's a good thing too."

"Does it hurt anywhere?" Oute took a pen from his breast pocket, subconsciously crossed his legs, and used them to support the medical record book.

This is extremely impolite and non-compliant behavior.

Where does it hurt?

You should ask where it doesn't hurt.

Driven to its limits by the Black Snake, Talulah's Originium Infection has reactivated. With the infection worsening and compounded by the fierce battle hours earlier, Talulah is now in excruciating pain all over her body.