>>5193309Despite arresting Vlad, the king was thankful that the Santana managed to find a reason to arrest Griffith. Not because Queen Beatrix died, but because there was something mustering up inside of him ever since the queen started growing older. The thought of Charlotte eloping with another man felt wrong, especially when she looked so similar to her mother...
He might not have fully acted upon his wishes, but the thing he wished the most was to have Charlotte all for himself. Her thoughts and consent were merely optional.
It was with that knowledge that Barnham marched forward. Knowing he might not have enough time to impress the king, he still had to make an attempt at stopping the remnants of pestilence.
However, some of his men were already succumbing to the plague. Not all of them were apostles, and even if they were, only Barnham was immune to sickness, and he could not share his immunity with any of them.
After weeks of travel and a few more days of search, they pinned down the lead vermin to, where else, the Santana Estate. The treasure and the offal being at the same place.
The place was uninhabitable thanks to the stench of the dead, combined with the poor who seeked refuge when sick and the aura of the freed rats from the occultist swamp being attracted to the home of their killer, the once beautiful garden was quickly turned into an open sewage, a sea of blood for the undefeated kracken to boldly swim.
The dining hall was green with mold, wet with runny water and trampled by a large man with a rat's face. He was one of the first few people wanting to uproar against the king and invade the Santana estate, but growing sick and weak thanks to the plague, he was left to die by the people who invaded and died according to his mission. An idealistic coward, who lost his humanity solely on the wish to outlive their misguided enemies.
Having a crossbow full of poisonous darts made out of his own essence, he shot large projectiles at Barnham and his gladiators, if they didn't die from the shot, the acidic intake would surely do them in.
Several of his men were lying down, rolling on the floor, screaming as their limbs became corroded.
Yet Barnham felt no damage, so he marched forward.
Ratface was distraught by the one man who appeared to be unafraid by his corrosion, so he started to fire at twice the pace, the silhouette of his foe resembling more the appearance of a giant porcupine than a bear's when he got closer. Some of them even managed to pierce through him as the rodent man crawled backwards into a wall.
Yet Barnham felt no damage, so he marched forward.
Growing desperate at the thought of losing, Ratface commanded all of the nearby plague bearers to jump and chew away at Barnham's flesh. Going inside his chest and out from his ribcage, they ate away at him from the inside.
Yet Barnham felt no damage, so he still, marched forward.
