SWNOVELXO Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Wait Until He Finishes Talking
Seeing someone still alive after losing their head was a first for Steven. Naturally, his curiosity was piqued, which was why he hadn't finished the job. However, despite Steven's words and the sword piercing through its shoulder, the "corpse" lying on the ground remained motionless, as though mocking his assumptions.
"Alright, keep pretending. But I'm not curious anymore. If you can survive being burned alive, then I'll give you some credit," Steven said with a shrug.
He pulled a flint and steel from his inventory. It wasn't hard to craft and always handy to have, even outside the Minecraft world. Striking the flint lightly beside the corpse, a flame suddenly ignited, burning steadily without any visible fuel source.
Demonstrating his intent, Steven smiled faintly as he moved the flint closer to the "corpse."
"..."
"Wait! Alright, fine. As I said before, maybe we can talk this out," came the hurried response.
Just as Steven's flint was about to touch the corpse, the black-robed figure suddenly jolted upright as if breaking character in a poorly acted play. The figure scrambled back from the approaching flame.
Even the black-robed man himself couldn't quite understand how Steven had seen through his act. By all logic, his performance should have been flawless. After all, no one would expect a decapitated person to still be alive. Yet, once again, this enigmatic young man had thwarted his plan.
With his "play dead and escape" tactic exposed, the black-robed man gave up on fleeing. He had already experienced Steven's speed firsthand—escape was impossible in his current condition. Now, his only hope for survival lay in leveraging the information he held.
"Wow, you really aren't dead. So, how are you still alive? I'm curious," Steven asked, his interest fully captured as he stared at the decapitated yet animated figure. His gaze brimmed with curiosity.
If he could learn this trick, maybe he could cosplay as the Headless Horseman someday.
"That's because I've evolved into a higher form of life," the black-robed man explained, removing his robe to reveal what lay beneath.
What emerged was far removed from anything that could be called "human." Instead, his body resembled a grotesque amalgamation of various marine organisms, stitched together into a monstrous fusion. A mere glance was enough to make one recoil.
No wonder he could function despite losing his head. With a body like that, any part of it could probably serve as a brain.
Steven's initial curiosity quickly turned into disgust. He had no desire to turn into something so repulsive. This thing had the audacity to call itself a "higher form of life"? Typical delusional confidence.
Misinterpreting Steven's reaction as awe at his "perfect" form, the black-robed man proudly opened his abdominal cavity, exposing a mass of fused organs.
"See? With your physique, if you work with us, you could achieve an even greater evolution," the man said, his voice dripping with smugness.
He was confident that if his weak and fragile body could be enhanced to this level, then someone as monstrous as Steven could reach unimaginable heights.
But while Steven seemed indifferent, Gladia, standing nearby, reacted violently. Upon seeing the grotesque body, her expression turned murderous, as if someone had defiled something precious to her.
Her anger resembled that of an Italian seeing pineapple on pizza or a traditional Sichuan girl witnessing someone dump strawberries into mapo tofu. Even though she had lost her memory, her fury seemed instinctual.
"Wait until he finishes talking, then we'll deal with him," Steven calmly said, raising a hand to stop the enraged girl.
His expression remained nonchalant as he reassured her, then turned back to the black-robed man. "About that cooperation you mentioned—we can discuss it later. Are you part of the so-called Church of the Deep?"
Steven's question was mostly rhetorical. After all, the title above the man's head clearly read [Church of the Deep Elite Priest]. Still, he was more interested in why Gladia reacted so strongly to these people.
The black-robed man, however, wasn't naive. He had clearly heard Steven tell Gladia they'd deal with him later, which meant his odds of survival were slim.
"Without a guarantee of my safety, I'm not answering that," the man retorted, trying to maintain a semblance of control over the situation.
"Well, that's unfortunate. Did you think the information you have is so valuable to me?" Steven shrugged indifferently, standing up and casually swinging his Netherite Sword.
He was genuinely curious how many strikes it would take to truly kill a creature like this. After all, it was better to test and prepare for similar encounters in the future.
"Wait! Aren't you interested in the whereabouts of your Abyssal Hunter companion?" the man blurted, clearly panicked.
Despite his claims of being a higher life form, he wasn't immortal. He couldn't afford to bluff any longer.
"Oh? That I am curious about. Go on," Steven said, pausing mid-swing.
Even Gladia, who had looked ready to tear the man apart moments ago, quickly calmed down, her attention now focused on the answer.
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