Chapter 69: "Oops! Looks like you met a bigger bastard than yourself."

Zarek looked at the old man for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"Yeah, you’re a real bastard. I’ll give you that."

The old man’s smile widened, seemingly pleased by the acknowledgment.

"But, oops..." Zarek tilted his head.

"Looks like you met a bigger bastard than yourself."

The old man’s expression stiffened.

Before he could respond, the tentacles wrapped around Zarek’s body began to tremble.

A faint cracking sound echoed through the chamber.

At first, it was barely noticeable beneath the creature’s heavy breathing. Then the sound grew louder, spreading through the mass of flesh and roots holding Zarek captive.

The old man turned toward him.

"What—"

**CRACK!

The tentacles snapped apart.

Zarek tore himself free, and broken lengths of flesh and root crashed to the floor.

"BRAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

The monster threw its head back, releasing a deafening roar. Its enormous body convulsed as its tentacles thrashed wildly, smashing into the walls and tearing chunks of concrete loose.

Zarek landed on his feet and rolled his shoulders.

"Ahh... much better."

For a brief moment, the chamber fell silent.

Even the old man seemed to have forgotten how to speak.

He stared at the severed tentacles, then at Zarek, as though the scene before him refused to make sense.

His son, however, reacted immediately.

A deafening scream erupted from the creature’s throat.

The sound was so violent that dust shook loose from the damaged ceiling. Its enormous body convulsed, and the tentacles covering the walls lashed wildly, smashing through concrete and sending chunks of debris scattering across the floor.

Zarek glanced at the creature.

"What’s wrong? Did I hurt your feelings?"

Another scream answered him.

Several tentacles shot toward him at once.

Zarek moved.

He slipped past the first, caught the second with one hand, and yanked it hard enough to drag part of the creature’s massive body forward. Before the remaining tentacles could close around him, he twisted and ripped the one in his grasp apart.

Blackish fluid splattered across the floor.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The monster let out a furious, agonized scream. Its remaining tentacles whipped around wildly, striking the floor as it released another long, distorted wail.

Zarek tossed the severed piece aside.

"Hah! That’s more like it."

The old man stumbled backward.

"No... That’s impossible."

His eyes darted between Zarek and the broken tentacles. The strength required to tear through them should have been far beyond what he had witnessed during their earlier fight.

He had seen Zarek struggle. He had watched him get pushed back, caught off guard, and gradually overwhelmed by the creature’s attacks.

He had believed what he saw.

Now, looking at the man standing freely before him, he realized how little he had understood.

"You were hiding your strength?"

Zarek turned toward him.

"Congratulations. You’re not as stupid as you look."

The old man’s face twisted.

"You bastard! You deliberately held back during the fight!"

"Obviously."

Zarek said it so casually that the old man momentarily lost his words.

He had spent so much time worrying about whether Zarek would prove difficult to control that he had never seriously considered the possibility that the man might be hiding his real abilities.

And now, the restraints that had secured his victory lay scattered across the floor.

The old man clenched his teeth.

"It doesn’t matter. You may be stronger than I thought, but you still can’t defeat my son!"

His voice grew louder, almost desperate to drown out the doubts creeping into his mind.

"My son has survived things you couldn’t imagine. His body may have changed, but his power has only grown. You think breaking a few tentacles means you’ve won?"

Zarek looked at the creature.

It was still screaming, its countless tentacles thrashing around the chamber. Some dragged themselves across the floor while others plunged into the walls, tearing through the concrete in their frenzy.

The sight was certainly impressive.

But Zarek had never been particularly good at appreciating something merely because it looked frightening.

"Who said I’ve won?"

He glanced back at the old man.

"I’m just getting started."

The creature suddenly slammed several tentacles into the ground.

The floor cracked beneath the impact. More tentacles burst from the surrounding growth, sweeping toward Zarek from different directions.

This time, he didn’t bother dodging all of them.

One wrapped around his arm.

Another coiled around his waist.

A third struck his shoulder with enough force to send debris flying from the wall behind him.

The old man’s eyes lit up.

"That’s it! Crush him!"

His excitement returned so quickly that it was almost pathetic.

But before the creature could tighten its grip, Zarek seized the tentacle around his arm and pulled.

The thick appendage stretched taut.

Then it tore apart.

Zarek ripped the other two free in quick succession, scattering chunks of flesh across the floor. He stepped forward through the falling debris, his expression growing more entertained with every attack.

"Come on! Is this really all you’ve got?"

The creature’s entire body shuddered.

"RROOOOOAAAAARRRR!"

Its tentacles surged forward from every direction, tearing through the walls and sweeping across the chamber. The monster followed with a series of harsh, guttural cries.

"GRAHHH! BRAAAAAAGHHHH!"

Zarek grinned as the tentacles closed in.

"That’s better! At least you’re trying now!"

The old man watched in disbelief as Zarek continued advancing. The creature’s strength had been enough to slaughter the expedition and force both of them into a desperate fight.

Yet Zarek was now tearing through its restraints as though they were little more than ropes.

The old man had spent so long preparing for this moment.

He had sacrificed his companions, concealed his intentions, and manipulated Zarek into coming all the way upstairs. Every death along the journey had been a price he was willing to pay.

He had believed that once Zarek was restrained, the rest would be simple.

Instead, the man he had chosen as his son’s vessel was now tearing apart the very creature meant to claim him.

"Stop him!" the old man shouted. "Don’t let him get any closer!"

His son lunged forward.

The enormous body surged across the chamber, dragging its tentacles behind it. The sheer force of its movement shattered the remaining debris beneath its weight.

Zarek’s grin widened.

"There you are."

He met the charge head-on.

The impact shook the chamber.

For an instant, the two forces collided in a storm of dust and broken concrete. The creature’s tentacles whipped around Zarek, attempting to pin him down, but he seized several of them and forced them away from his body.

His boots scraped across the floor.

Then he pushed back.

The monster’s advance faltered.

The old man’s eyes widened as Zarek forced the massive creature to give ground.

"Impossible..."

Zarek drove forward another step.

"Stop saying that. You’re starting to sound like an idiot."

He twisted his body and hurled the tentacles he had seized aside. Several slammed into the wall, breaking through the already damaged concrete.

The creature screamed so violently that the sound became almost unbearable.

Zarek barely reacted.

He was enjoying himself.

The old man had expected terror, desperation, perhaps even pleading. Instead, Zarek was grinning as he fought, looking more excited with every moment the creature failed to bring him down.

For the first time, the old man began to understand that he might have made a terrible mistake.

Yet he refused to accept it.

"You’re still going to die!" he shouted. "Even if you destroy this body, my son has his core! You don’t understand what you’re dealing with!"

Zarek stopped advancing for a moment.

His eyes shifted toward the creature’s chest.

There it was again.

The core.

The old man had spoken about it with such confidence, as though its existence alone guaranteed his son’s survival. It contained the creature’s power and allowed it to control the bodies of people it had killed.

To the old man, that was a reason Zarek could never truly win.

But Zarek saw things differently.

He had already learned that the apocalypse was full of opportunities hidden inside things other people feared. Strength could be taken. Resources could be collected. Dangerous creatures could become stepping stones.

And now, standing before him, was a monster whose core contained power that even its own father desperately wanted to preserve.

Zarek’s smile slowly returned.

The old man noticed the change and immediately grew wary.

"What are you smiling about?"

Zarek looked at him.

"Nothing much. I was just thinking about what you told me."

He glanced back at the creature, which continued to thrash and scream amid the wreckage.

"You’ve gone through all this trouble to keep your son alive. You dragged people up here, watched them die, and finally found someone you thought could serve as his new body."

Zarek chuckled.

"That’s some dedication. I almost respect it."

"Don’t you dare mock me!" the old man snarled.

"Mock you? Why would I do that? You did all the hard work for me."

The old man froze.

Zarek’s grin widened.

"You found the monster. You explained the core. And you even told me what it can do."

He spread his arms slightly.

"Really, you’ve been very helpful."

The old man’s face darkened.

"You fool! You think you can take advantage of my son’s power? You don’t even understand the danger!"

"Maybe."

Zarek shrugged.

"Or maybe you’re just upset because your little plan isn’t going the way you expected."

The creature roared and launched another wave of tentacles toward him.

Zarek turned to face it, his smile never fading.

The old man had wanted to give his son a stronger body.

He had brought Zarek here believing he could turn that strength into a gift for his child.

But Zarek had never been interested in giving things away.

He was interested in taking them.

His eyes settled on the monster’s chest.

"So, let’s see..."

He rolled his neck, then looked back at the old man with a wicked grin.

"Killing him really will be a problem..."

His gaze returned to the screaming creature.

"...or an opportunity?"