Chapter 68: Betrayal Of The Bastard Old Man

The old man smiled at Zarek.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The ruined chamber remained filled with the faint rustling of tentacles, and the enormous creature stood behind the old man, its distorted head lowered toward him.

Then the old man straightened his back.

The weakness that had clung to him throughout their journey seemed to disappear. His shoulders relaxed, and the strained expression he had worn during their desperate fight vanished completely.

He looked at Zarek as though he were seeing something amusing.

The old man burst into laughter.

"Hah! You really are strong. Keeping you here was harder than I expected. I had to put up a proper fight just to stop you from running off."

He shook his head, still grinning.

"For a while, I thought I’d have to abandon the whole plan. Fortunately, you played your part perfectly and brought yourself all the way here."

Zarek said nothing.

The old man didn’t seem bothered by his silence. If anything, he appeared pleased by it. He had spent so long pretending to be a desperate survivor that finally dropping the act seemed to bring him genuine relief.

"Don’t look so surprised. You should have expected something like this. A man doesn’t survive this long in a place like this by being as harmless as I appeared."

He turned slightly toward the monster.

The creature moved closer, dragging its enormous body across the ruined floor. Its tentacles scraped against the walls, leaving deep grooves in the concrete. Yet it made no attempt to attack the old man.

Instead, one thick tentacle curled beside him, almost protectively.

The old man reached out and placed a hand against its rough surface.

"Look at him. My son has suffered so much, and now he’s finally going to get what he deserves."

His expression softened as he looked at the creature, but the smile never left his face.

"After everything we’ve been through, we’re finally here."

Zarek’s eyes moved between the two of them.

So the old bastard had been hiding something far more important than a few details about the mutation.

The old man noticed his gaze and laughed.

"Ah, I suppose you’re wondering how this happened. After all, I told you I came here to investigate the changes on this floor. I told you about the dangers, the fruits, and the things that had spread through this building."

He shook his head.

"Most of it was true. That was the beauty of it. A convincing lie doesn’t need to be entirely false."

He patted the tentacle beside him.

"My son was once human. He was a brilliant young man, far more capable than most people I have ever known. Then the mutation took hold of him, and his body began to change."

His smile faded for a moment as he looked at the creature’s distorted form.

"I tried everything I could to save him. Nothing worked. His body kept changing, and eventually, he became what you see now."

The monster released a low, guttural sound. Several tentacles shifted behind it, making the surrounding walls tremble.

The old man merely glanced back at it.

"But he survived. More importantly, his mind and his abilities survived the transformation. There was still a way to save him, even if his current body could no longer be restored."

He looked at Zarek again.

"He needed another one."

The meaning settled between them.

"A human body," Zarek said.

"Exactly."

The old man nodded, delighted that Zarek had understood.

"One that could withstand the process. One with enough strength to support him without breaking apart. We searched for a long time, but most people were useless. Their bodies couldn’t endure it, and the few who showed promise were never enough."

His eyes narrowed with satisfaction.

"Then I met you."

Zarek remained still.

"You were different from the beginning. Even before I understood how much stronger you were becoming, there was something unusual about you. You survived things that should have killed you. You kept growing stronger when everyone else was struggling just to stay alive."

The old man spread his arms.

"And now look at you. After all that effort, you’ve brought yourself right to my doorstep."

He laughed again, the sound echoing through the chamber.

"I couldn’t have asked for a better candidate."

The old man’s confidence was almost amusing. He spoke as though Zarek had willingly walked into a room and offered himself up for the procedure.

Zarek studied him without changing his expression.

Zarek finally understood just how much of a bastard the old man was.

He had brought those people upstairs knowing full well how dangerous the journey would be.

One after another, they had died fighting monsters and those damn tentacles, yet the old man had never abandoned his plan. He had let his own people bleed and die while using their lives to get closer to his goal.

And for what? So his son could steal another man’s body.

The old bastard hadn’t merely hidden the truth. He had treated everyone around him as disposable tools, and now he was standing there, smiling as though everything he had done was something to be proud of.

Zarek almost admired the sheer shamelessness of it.

Zarek glanced at the monster.

"There’s one thing I’m curious about. What would you have done if I’d killed your son?"

The old man stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Kill him? Hah! You’re strong, I’ll give you that, but you’re still human. Did you really think you could kill my son?"

His confidence was absolute. He didn’t even seem to consider the possibility that Zarek might have succeeded.

"Still, I suppose you deserve an explanation. His body isn’t the only thing keeping him alive. The real source of his power is that core inside him."

The old man pointed toward the creature’s chest.

Zarek followed the direction of his finger.

The old man continued.

"That core holds his power, including his ability to control the bodies of those he has killed. Destroying the body you see before you wouldn’t necessarily mean you’ve ended him. As long as the core survives, his power survives with it."

The old man smiled proudly.

"Do you understand now? Killing him wouldn’t have guaranteed your safety. You might simply have made the situation more difficult for yourself."

"Of course, that doesn’t matter anymore. My son has found a suitable body, and you’re already in no position to resist."

He glanced at the tentacles holding Zarek.

"You fought well. Better than most. I won’t deny that. But strength alone isn’t enough to change your circumstances. You can be the strongest man in the world and still lose if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He stepped closer.

"That’s what happened to you."

The old man leaned forward slightly.

"You really should have been more careful about trusting people."

Zarek almost laughed.

Trusting him?

The old man had mistaken convenience for trust. Zarek had accompanied him because there was something worth investigating on this floor, and the old man’s knowledge had made the journey worthwhile.

He had never needed to believe the old man was a good person.

Still, there was no reason to correct his misunderstanding.

Let him enjoy himself.

The old man straightened and looked toward his son.

"Come on, then. We’ve waited long enough."