Read Novel Full Chapter 524: Trap
Chapter 524: Chapter 524: Trap
Ivy’s gaze grew colder but remained silent.
"My task," Angelina admitted, "was to bring him the human meat."
She swallowed.
"After I did that, I began to regret it. I realized something was wrong. Damien... was losing control of himself. It felt like someone else was replacing him."
Ivy’s eyes flickered.
She had already suspected that the ring contained a higher consciousness attempting to take over Damien’s body.
Angelina’s testimony confirmed her theory, but it also introduced a new shock.
’So Damien was the one reborn... not Angelina,’ Ivy realized.
The misunderstanding she once held quietly unraveled.
"Continue," Ivy said.
Angelina nodded.
"I believe Damien is preparing to attack your base. Now that he has recovered his strength, he sent me here, into your base, with another mission."
She looked directly at Ivy.
"He wants me to get Arthur out."
Ivy frowned, her brows knitting together as a chill crept up her spine.
"Why?" she demanded, her voice tight with suspicion.
Angelina paused before answering, her tone cautious.
"My parents refused to give him any more human meat unless Arthur appears in front of them."
Angelina continued, her voice low, almost apologetic.
"And if Damien does not receive human meat, he will not be able to continue evolving. That is why he sent me here."
Ivy slowly shook her head, unease prickling across her skin like invisible thorns.
"No... something is wrong."
From Angelina’s perspective, the truth had already begun to form like a storm cloud on the horizon.
’Damien... or whatever is inside Damien... has already taken over completely.’
If that was the case, him sending Angelina here made no sense at all.
Rather, it felt deliberate, calculated, as if she had been placed here for an entirely different purpose.
Angelina glanced at Ivy, curiosity mixing with dread, and soon realized that Ivy had reached the same conclusion.
Indeed, Damien no longer behaved like someone sharing a body.
He looked like someone who had claimed it entirely.
"So why," Angelina murmured, more to herself than anyone else, "would that superior being send me here?"
It certainly was not for something as trivial as human meat.
The more she thought about it, the heavier the air felt, pressing against her lungs.
An inexplicable unease crawled through her chest, and without realizing it, she clasped her left hand tightly.
Ivy was about to speak when her gaze followed that small, unconscious motion. Her eyes narrowed.
Slowly, deliberately, she reached out and pried Angelina’s hand open.
The moment Ivy saw the mark etched into Angelina’s skin, her breath caught. Her eyes widened.
Angelina noticed the reaction immediately. "What happened?"
Ivy’s voice dropped to a whisper. "You walked straight into Damien’s trap."
Confusion flickered across Angelina’s face. Ivy pointed at the mark, her expression grim.
"This," Ivy said, "is most likely something Damien left on you. A way to control you... or monitor you from afar. By now, he must already know you betrayed him."
Angelina’s entire body turned cold, as if icy water had been poured down her back.
She wanted to deny it, to laugh it off, yet deep inside she knew there was far too much truth in Ivy’s words.
Meanwhile, far away from them, Isla sat upon her throne, issuing commands to the restless zombies that filled her domain.
The chamber reeked of decay and damp stone, a suffocating mixture that had long since stopped bothering her.
Suddenly, she felt a connection snap.
For a brief moment she froze. Then her expression darkened.
Zuzu was dead.
"Impossible..." she muttered under her breath.
He had been one of her sharpest and strongest subordinates.
With his disguise, he would have appeared completely human, and she had personally devised a flawless method to let him infiltrate the base.
There was no logical reason for his death.
The more she thought about it, the more suspicion gnawed at her.
"Did Ivy discover him?" she whispered. "Did she kill him directly?"
If that was the case, then Ivy was far more dangerous than she had anticipated.
"This Ivy... is smarter than I assumed."
Just as she was considering her next move, one of the zombies rushed forward and dropped to its knees before her.
It growled urgently.
Ila growled back, irritation lacing her voice. "What is it?"
The zombie responded in broken sounds and gestures.
Isla deciphered quickly that a stranger was attempting to enter her domain.
"A stranger?" she repeated, eyes narrowing.
The zombie growled again, explaining in its crude way that the intruder was human, yet possessed extraordinary abilities, inhuman strength, speed, teleportation, and even flight.
Isla was stunned.
"A human... with so many powers?"
That was not merely unusual. That was alarming.
She leaned forward. "Does this human intend to attack us?"
The zombie shook its head, letting out another growl, indicating that the human did not appear hostile.
Instead, he had spoken strange words... something about a king.
The zombie scratched its head, clearly confused by the concept.
Isla, however, understood immediately.
"An outsider," she murmured. "He came to meet me... the zombie king."
Who would willingly seek an audience with such a being?
Curiosity overtook caution. Isla rose and walked toward the tall window overlooking the wasteland outside.
The gray light filtered through the cracked glass, painting everything in a lifeless hue.
The moment she saw the figure standing there, her eyes widened.
"Damian..."
It was her brother.
A wave of joy surged through her, sharp and sudden, though not born from familial affection.
She needed help, someone capable of strategizing with her to destroy Ivy.
Seeing Damian felt like fate delivering her a weapon.
She nearly rushed out to meet him, but then she remembered her current form. Her excitement withered instantly.
’He will never recognize me like this.’
Her decayed hands trembled slightly. After a moment of thought, she calmed herself.
’I will speak carefully. Ask questions. Give hints. He will realize who I am.’
Turning to the nearby zombie, she ordered, "Bring him inside."
She returned to her throne and composed herself, trying to appear regal despite the grotesque body she inhabited.