526 A New Follower Part 1 (1/2)
This face filled Saleen's heart with disgust and dread. Even if he was a mage and was used to the sight of monsters, Saleen still found it difficult to accept a humanoid creature as ugly and disgusting as this.
This creature might have the body shape of a human, but it had a rotten and deformed face. In the place a nose were just two cavities with a few slits of crushed flesh that moved in rhythm with its breathing. As for its mouth, it was filled with bulging sharp teeth of a dark and grim color. One could see that the rotten flesh on the creature's face had the ability to heal only to start rotting again once it was fully healed. As a result, the flesh was constantly moving and wriggling.
Compared to this monster, even a evil dragon or swamp zombie looked a hundred times better.
Saleen groaned in his heart, ”Goddess of Myers, surely you aren't that full of love? This is clearly a pure-blooded creature of Purgatory, and still, you have chosen to protect it?”
Not only Saleen, even the two demons felt disgusted upon seeing this creature. The demon dimension was full of ugly-looking creatures. The two of them were not too pretty themselves, but this monster was just simply…
Cough ”Mister Mage, may I know if you are disciples of the Goddess?” What made Saleen most uncomfortable was the monster's eyes, which were clear and pure, a stark contrast with the rest of his face.
Since the creature was polite and well-mannered, Saleen could not use violence immediately. The Goddess' Lorga City was not meant to be a battlefield, and many of the Guardians could be persuaded and convinced. That made any fighting unnecessary.
”We are not disciples of any Gods.” Even as Saleen was finishing his sentence, he purposely produced a spark of godly power from his left hand.
”You do have the Goddess' blessings though. So, Mister Mage, do you wish to defeat and subdue me? Or do you want me to let you pass?” The monster asked a strange question with a sigh.
”What is the difference?” Saleen was patient while cautiously keeping his distance.
”Defeat me and I can follow you, like a stone statue soldier. If I let you go, you can head straight to the heart of the city, which is the Temple of Grace.”
”There is a temple here too?” Saleen was shocked and confused. Although Lorga City was a labyrinth built by the Goddess, he had never heard that there would be any temples, since no High Priests had been sent there.
”We built it ourselves, even the Goddess is unaware.”
Seeing that Saleen was now hesitating, the monster said, ”Mister Mage, I will not kill you. I have intelligence, which makes me different from the stone statue soldiers. What good does it do me if I were to kill you?”
Saleen could sense that the creature was trying to lure him into battle. He became even more cautious and asked, ”How may I address you?”
”Ismail Augusto. I am from the purgatory dimension and I like to collect items. Mister Mage, I have collected a number of decent items.” This creature who called himself Ismail spoke politely and in a fast but clear pace. If you closed your eyes, you might have mistaken him to be a well-mannered scholar.
Saleen felt like vomiting upon hearing what he said. A dweller from the purgatory dimension? Collecting items for a hobby? Surely, he must be the one creating the Abominations and Evil Knights? According to the Handbook of Monsters on the Myers Mainland, dwellers from the purgatory dimension were notorious. Many experienced mages had also warned in their magic notes against trying to summon such a creature.
Saleen thought, ”If I let you follow me, no one else would dare to follow me anymore.” Purgatory dwellers could flesh and soul into pieces before meshing them together again, creating new life.
”And if I choose to leave?”
Ismail smiled, a piece of rotten flesh almost falling off his face, and said light-heartedly, ”The Goddess might not like the idea of me killing you, so you can leave someone else behind instead. After all, I have been hungry for many years.”
While he stated his request nonchalantly, on the other side, the two demons were overwhelmed with fear. Saleen could neither leave behind Sika nor Nailisi. If the condition was to leave someone behind, then he would surely pick one out of the two demons.
They would they not resist, they would have escaped long ago if they could.
”I will not leave anyone behind,” Saleen's hands produced a bubble that floated to the front and said, ”Unless you can burst this bubble.”
The bubbles that Saleen possessed in the beginning had all been used up. This was a water shield that he had just created and given life to.
Ismail looked at the bubble that was half transparent and laughed before saying, ”Mister Mage, as a loyal disciple of the Goddess, I cannot defeat the godly power that she has left behind.”
The two demons were originally gripped with fear, but finally felt more at ease upon hearing the conversation between Saleen and Ismail. Saleen was not that bad a master after all and was not as depraved as the other people from Myers.
”Then let us pass.”
No matter how powerful this purgatory dweller was, Saleen did not wish to keep him by his side. He might not be able to totally control this creature. Creatures from the purgatory dimension belong to a master the moment they were born. Once the master came calling, Saleen would lose all his control as the new master. Even if Ismail's master from the purgatory dimension did not come along, Saleen did not dare to take this risk.
This purgatory dweller was of a much higher grade than him and could not be controlled easily. He might be unable to suppress his urges and decide to kill everyone around Saleen, just so he could piece them back together again as part of his grotesque creations. It would be too late for regrets by then. This creature was definitely much more dangerous than the demons.
The purgatory dweller did not collect materials nor tools, but sought after different components from all sorts of creatures. His keen interest in new and fresh components was a stark contrast to his entire body that was only made up of stale and rotten flesh.