Chapter 9 Rest In Peace

• Nora’s hand trembled as she held up the gun.
• “Back off!”
• As she fired another shot, the infected bishop growled and smacked her with his oversized arm, knocking the revolver out of her hand.
• Nora’s life flashed before her eyes as she realized she had made a terrible mistake by setting foot inside the church.
• The infected bishop was about to pounce on her when Liam jumped into action.
• “Leave her the hell alone!” he yelled, jumping high in the air and plunging his bone knife into the bishop’s hump.
• The abomination shrieked in pain and staggered back.
• “You’ve killed enough. Time to end this!” Liam held on tight as the bishop lashed around, smashing through the wooden pews.
• In a fit of rage, the bishop ran back at full tilt and smashed into the tinted glass window.
• “Fuck!”
• Liam jumped off the bishop’s back at the very last moment, as the glass shattered on impact and the bishop’s rotting body rammed into the wall, shaking the church.
• Despite being shot five times and even stabbed in the back, the wounded bishop stood up again, its bloodshot eyes fixed on Liam.
• “I need a weapon!” Liam yelled.
• As the enraged bishop prepared to charge at Liam, Nora scurried across the floor and grabbed her revolver.
• “Liam, catch!” she shouted, throwing the gun in his direction.
• Liam jumped in the air and grabbed the Colt Python as the infected bishop came hurtling down the hall on all fours.
• “Not tonight, father!”
• Instead of firing at the bishop, Liam shot the screw holding the chandelier in place. The chain snapped under strain, and the whole chandelier dropped from the ceiling, crashing down on the charging bishop.
• The chandelier’s long brass arms pierced through the bishop’s rotting skin, skewering him in place as the glass bulbs shattered over his head, covering him in blood.
• Pressed down by the weight of the shattered chandelier, the infected bishop groaned in agony. Slimy red pus oozed out of his hump as he spouted blood from his rotting mouth.
• Liam aimed his revolver at the bishop, but before he could pull the trigger, an almost human voice forced him to stop.
• “Ha…Hail Mary,” the bishop gurgled with his dying breath as his head slumped to the ground and his eyes closed forever.
• “What the hell was that?” Liam gasped, narrowing his eyes at the dead bishop. He could swear he heard him speak like a sane man again, and it made him question everything.
• “Holy hell!” Nora yelled from afar, heaving a sigh of relief. “I really thought we were both going to die in here. I still can’t believe we killed him.”
• “Did you hear that?” Liam asked, looking up from the ground and turning to Nora.
• Dusting the wooden splinters from her clothes, Nora walked up to Liam and gave him a puzzled look.
• “Hear what?” she asked.
• “The bishop…he spoke something before he died,” Liam replied, full of conviction. “I heard him utter a prayer.”
• “A prayer?” Nora raised her eyebrow in complete disbelief. “He was infected, and the infected are as good as dead. It’s been all over the news, Liam. Once you turn, it wipes out all your memories. There’s no way he could’ve spoken.”
• Before Liam could dwell on the strange incident any longer, his system window flashed open in front of his eyes.
• [New Infected Variant defeated!]
• [Adding details to the database.]
• [The host can acquire its DNA by consuming its heart.]
• [Analyzing…]
• [Infected cerebral cortex intact.]
• [The host can harvest the infected brain to assimilate old memories.]
• Nora noticed Liam standing there, lost in deep thought, and shook him by his shoulder.
• “Are you alright? Don’t you need to find the antidote?”
• Liam snapped out of it, realizing she couldn’t see the translucent system window floating before him.
• “Yeah, I’m fine. I think we should split up. That’ll make the search go quicker. I’ll check this place, and you can scour the bishop’s private chamber.”
• “We need to be quick. The other infected must have heard those gunshots,” Nora said as she grabbed her gun from Liam and headed for the bishop’s chamber.
• Finally alone, Liam walked up to the dead bishop and used his Bestial Grasp skill to harden his right arm. Holding his breath, he punched her, ripping into the dead man’s rotting skull.
• As he felt the soft, squishy mass throbbing inside it, he yanked it out in one swift motion.
• The bishop’s rotting brain nearly made him throw up as he stared at the black slime leaking out of its folds.
• “Ugh. I think I’m going to be sick!”
• As Liam crushed the soggy brain inside his palm, a jolt of electricity surged through his nervous system, and he keeled over, falling into a trance.
• [1 new psionic adaptation acquired!]
• [Memory of the Dead: Whenever the host harvests an undamaged infected brain, he can relive that person’s last episodic memories.]
• Even before Liam could realize what was happening, his body started convulsing rapidly, and he went into a seizure.
• When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in front of a washbasin inside the bishop’s private chamber, surrounded by other priests.
• He tried to talk, but couldn’t even squeeze a muffled whisper. Desperate to understand what was happening, he tried to look around, but found it impossible to even move a single inch.
• Every muscle in his body had suddenly turned stiff, and he felt suffocated by an invisible weight that kept him chained to his spot.
• It was just like an episode of sleep paralysis, but instead of dreaming, Liam was reliving the old bishop’s last conscious memories..