If viewed from the perspective of a game, Don Freecss's death was like uncovering a hidden side quest.
If certain conditions were met, Don would, at the end of his life, defeat the "Flesh Curse" and die as a human.
First, one had to take certain actions to earn Don's trust.
Second, they must enter the West Shore together with him, then part ways, never meeting again until now.
Third, before Don made his final decision, they had to kill at least one "Apostle of God" on the West Shore, to solidify his resolve.
If even one of these conditions was not met, Don would end up here—becoming the third target of the "Apostles of God" for both Germain and Ging.
They would be forced to kill each other.
It was an ending none of the three had ever wanted to see.
Germain and Ging carefully gathered Don's remains, dug a deep pit on the spot, and buried him there.
They raised a simple stone marker, carving into it: "The Grave of Don Freecss."
The two stood in silence beside the grave for a long time before Germain finally turned away and walked toward the ritual stone circle.
He set down a lantern, marking this place as the fourteenth teleportation point.
Only then did he draw the Sacred Moonlight Greatsword.
Germain carried the blade into the center of the stone circle, its tip pointing downward.
With a sharp thrust—
Boom—
A surge of blue light hummed outward.
The ritual stone circle shattered into countless fragments, its former form lost forever.
With that, all three ritual stone circles had been destroyed.
The map Don had left in their minds vanished completely, but both Germain and Ging had already memorized the general direction of the remaining path.
They no longer needed it.
Leaving the narrow, dark passage of flesh and blood, they emerged into the crimson world outside.
As Ging oriented himself, he asked, "So the only enemy left… is the 'God of Flesh and Blood.'"
"To be honest, Germain… how confident are you?"
At this stage, neither man would speak of turning back.
Doing so would be a betrayal to the resolve and conviction the three of them had when they first set foot on the West Bank.
"This kind of thing, I can only have the answer after actually facing them in battle."
Germain shook his head, unwilling to say something against his true feelings.
"Hmm, that's fair... If Don cannot complete the final journey, then let us finish it."
Germain frowned but suddenly said, "It seems that won't be necessary."
"Hm?"
Ging looked puzzled.
Germain simply pointed toward the far horizon, urging Ging to see and feel for himself.
The overwhelming, surging momentum was rushing in!
Boom—
Countless black dots appeared in the distance, spreading across the sky like a swarm of locusts.
Getting a bit closer, they could see—they were all flesh-and-blood monsters.
The entire bloody land trembled under their stampede.
Thick blood, torn flesh, and twisted limbs… everything poured forward like a flood.
Ging turned his head and looked in other directions—there were countless flesh monsters coming from all sides.
They formed a ring, blocking every path for the two—whether on the ground or in the sky.
They were completely surrounded.
The only way out for Germain and Ging was to light the lantern and teleport on the spot, but neither of them wanted to retreat so easily.
Above them, the sky layered and twisted, flashing strange red and black lights.
In an instant, a dazzling meteor streaked across the sky and crashed into the distant mass of flesh monsters, erupting in a burst of red light.
The shockwave even spread all the way to where the two stood.
After that, the area fell silent, as if quietly waiting for the two to approach.
If nothing went wrong, that should be the arrival of the "God of Flesh and Blood."
Germain's triangular hat was blown away by the shockwave, but he casually caught it and put it back on his head.
He pulled up the mask hidden inside his collar, covering the lower half of his face.
First, he gave Ging a nod, then activated the "Resentment Badge."
Germain released all the "remnants" he had accumulated so far in one fell swoop.
"The Remnant of the Sixteen-Pound Cannon."
"The Remnant of the Lord of the Dead."
"The Remnant of the Prophet of Lies."
"The Remnant of the Formless Flesh."
"The Remnant of the Boar God."
"The Remnant of the Drowning Sailors."
"The Remnant of the Enchanting Siren."
Germain locked the targets of these seven remnants onto the very entity that had fallen with the meteor moments ago.
He wasn't expecting to overwhelm the target by sheer numbers.
Instead, he intended to have these seven remnants clear the path ahead for him and Ging.
Sure enough, once locked onto the target where the meteor had landed, all seven large-species remnants sprang into action.
Moving at different speeds, they headed in that direction.
They soon collided with the frontline flesh monsters, and a bloody battle erupted.
Germain and Ging followed closely behind the seven remnants, continuously killing enemies swarming in from all directions.
They were like a sharp spear, pushing forward relentlessly, breaking through the enemy ranks.
However, the sheer number of flesh monsters was overwhelming.
Their reckless, self-destructive attacks soon managed to take down the "Remnant of the Drowning Sailor."
As they neared the meteor's landing site, the "Remnant of the Sixteen-Pound Cannon" clumsily toppled and was completely swallowed by the flesh monsters.
At the same time, the "Remnant of the Formless Flesh," which had almost reached the front lines, was suddenly flung into the air, dissolving into a spray of blood foam.
Germain quickly spotted the demi-god who effortlessly tore that large-species remnant to pieces.
It had transformed into the form of a demi-human, standing right at the meteor's crash site.
At this moment, it was staring at Germain—watching him for a long, long time.
The "God of Flesh and Blood" spoke in human language.
"Come, come over here."
Germain glanced toward Ging's direction and noticed he was fine for the moment. Only then did he quicken his pace toward the "God of Flesh and Blood."
The "God of Flesh and Blood" was soaked in blood, as if it had just been submerged in a pool of gore.
Though it had the physique of a demi-human, its entire body was stitched together from countless pieces.
Countless faces were sewn onto its form, making its visage both eerie and repulsive.
Its voice was a chaotic blend, filled with the echoes of the many creatures it had devoured.
"You're the one who destroyed all three of my ritual stone formations... I should have come sooner, I should have come sooner..."
It muttered incessantly, speaking as if to Germain, yet also as if talking to itself.
Suddenly, red light flared from its eyes, and a fierce, malevolent aura surged forth.
Even Germain's brow furrowed tightly, his entire body tensed in response.
"Whose 'Apostle' are you? The 'Curse of Resentment'? It grievously wounded me, but the price was its death. If it had resurrected on the East Coast, I would have known. And I will never allow it a chance to come back."
"'Deep Sea'? No... It has never made any major moves. Even during the divine battle between me and the 'Curse of Resentment,' it hardly did anything."
"'Darkness'? Is it them? It must be… It's always hidden behind the walls; no one knows what it's thinking..."
Germain finally realized it was talking to itself, as it never gave him a chance to reply.
Pfft, pfft—
A fleshy bulb swelled on its left hand and suddenly burst open, revealing rows of sharp, barbed teeth inside its oral cavity.
Its right hand flicked out a blood-red spear, gleaming razor-sharp.
The "Flesh and Blood" began advancing toward Germain.
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