They reached the very end of the main road. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

A large stone church sat at the edge of the woods.

The wooden doors were smashed open, hanging uselessly off their hinges.

A terrible smell drifted out from the dark interior.

It smelled like rotten meat mixed with stale blood.

’I really hate churches in this world,’ Kai thought, gripping his dagger tight.

’They always hide the worst monsters.’

They stepped quietly into the ruined chapel as wooden pews were smashed into tiny pieces.

Black blood stained the holy altar at the front of the room.

A set of winding stone stairs led down into a dark crypt right below the main floor.

"Ahh! YES!"

Moans echoed up from the stairs.

These were not the hungry moans of regular thralls looking for a meal.

They sounded highly disturbing.

Kai pointed down the steps and nodded to his partner.

Vienna readied her weapon, and they descended together.

The crypt was a literal nightmare as that stone floor was covered in a layer of dark slime that stuck to their boots.

A dozen pale women were chained to the walls, their stomachs swollen to unnatural sizes.

They writhed in the slime, infected by the dark magic of the horde.

It was a breeding pit designed to create more monsters, turning innocent villagers into foul incubators.

’This is absolutely disgusting,’ Kai thought, feeling his stomach turn over.

A tall figure stood in the center of the foul room.

He wore the tattered black robes of a corrupted village priest.

His skin was pale grey, and thick black veins crawled up his neck like spiderwebs.

He held a rusted iron mace in one hand and a dark, glowing book in the other.

"You defile my holy nursery," the corrupted priest hissed.

His voice sounded like dry leaves scraping across stone.

"The children are almost ready to be born."

"Your children are ugly," Vienna spat, stepping right past Kai with zero fear.

"And so are you."

The priest roared and raised his rusted mace high.

He charged across the slime-covered floor with surprising speed for a magic user.

Kai focused his mana and activated his Thrall Sense.

The red prediction lines flared to life in his vision, tracing the immediate future.

He watched the mace swing in a wide arc aimed directly toward Vienna’s head.

"Duck," Kai shouted.

Vienna dropped to her knees instantly.

The rusted mace sailed right over her head, smashing a large chunk of stone out of the wall.

Kai lunged forward and slashed his dagger across the priest’s ribs.

The blessed steel cut deep into the corrupted flesh, causing the priest to scream in genuine pain.

The boss stumbled backward and opened his book.

He started chanting in a foul, guttural language.

The slime on the floor began to bubble and hiss around their boots.

’He is casting an area of effect spell,’ Kai thought quickly.

’I need to interrupt him right now before we melt.’

He looked at Vienna and pointed at the book.

She stood up and threw her iron poker like a javelin. The metal spun through the air and struck the priest right in the chest.

It knocked the breath out of his lungs and ruined his dark chant.

Kai did not waste the perfect opening.

He triggered his Shadow Step.

The magic pulled him through the air, placing him directly behind the staggering boss.

He grabbed the priest by the back of his robes and drove his blessed dagger straight into the base of his neck.

He twisted the hilt hard to sever the spinal cord.

The corrupted priest let out a wet gasp and dropped his iron mace. He fell forward into his own foul slime and stopped moving.

[Mini Boss Defeated: Corrupted Priest]

[Reward: +500 EXP and Tome of Dark Whispers]

Kai pulled his blade free and wiped it on the priest’s clean sleeve.

He looked around the horrifying room at the chained women. Their breathing was slow and ragged.

The corruption had taken them too far, and they were already lost to the sickness.

"We cannot save them," Vienna said softly.

She walked over and picked her poker up from the floor. Her eyes were full of sad understanding.

"I know," Kai replied. He pulled a small flask of lamp oil from his belt.

"We have to burn the pit before those things hatch."

They spread the oil across the slime and set it ablaze.

The fire caught quickly, purifying the dark magic and giving the victims a final mercy.

They walked back up the stairs while the crypt burned bright behind them.

’The east side is clear,’ Kai thought, stepping back out into the morning sunlight.

Or so they thought.

Loud slapping sounds echoed from a hidden grate at the back of the burning crypt.

Kai stopped walking and held up a hand.

He pointed his dagger toward the cover set into the dirt floor.

Vienna cursed under her breath.

She gripped her poker with both hands and helped him pry the heavy iron cover open.

A wave of foul heat washed over them.

It carried a smell so terrible it made Kai gag.

They climbed down a rusted ladder into a deeper sub-level.

The sight at the bottom was pure nightmare fuel.

A dozen pale thralls were locked in a deep, mindless trance.

They were clustered together in a wide stone basin, engaged in forced mating rituals designed to spread the corruption faster and breed more monsters.

’The fuck is this?’

The creatures moved in synchronized, disturbing rhythms.

It was an assembly line of magic.

Kai felt a sudden pull right in the center of his chest.

His cheat skill recognized the concentration of mana.

[System Alert!]

[System Alert!]

[System Alert!]

[Lust Core Detected]

[Greed Feast Prompt: Absorb to gain permanent stamina]

’No,’ Kai thought, forcing the greedy magic back down with willpower.

’That energy is filthy. I am not putting that foul rot inside my own body.’

"We kill them all right now," Kai whispered to Vienna.

"Do not let a single one run."