Entwined within the crevices of the bones, writhing black flesh filled Vilimlo’s claw, oozing an ominous aura, uneasily twisting about—you could even see a distorted vision of your own crazed laughter on its filthy surface.

Such a bizarre thing, was it Nia’s snack cheese?

"Are you sure, Nia? If that’s true, I fear I might have to file a complaint with the Executive Committee about Andrey’s food safety."

Nia straightened her upper body and burrowed into the crevice of the giant claw as if entering the lair of a flesh monster. She plucked a tentacle with the white bone nails at the tip of her hand. The tentacle, which had been wiggling wildly, convulsed violently upon her touch, and finally dissolved into a puddle of foul-smelling black ooze. On Nia’s crimson-black limbs, the ooze dissipated continuously, swallowed up by her skin.

"There’s no mistake, this is Nia’s cheese, the one that Nia ate half of and forgot to deal with." Nia’s palm stroked over Vilimlo’s claw, and those tentacles she touched, as if their life was drained, became limp and listless in their movement. "It’s really dangerous, isn’t it? I barely paid attention, and it grew this big. Thankfully, it didn’t cause much trouble."

Nia returned to Lyle’s shoulder, sneakily hiding in the shadows, gently pinching Lyle’s shoulder, "Don’t be angry, okay? Nia corrected it in time, so no halving the rations!"

Lyle found it a bit amusing; the girl had no clear idea of what she’d done, completely tangled up in the matter of eating.

Flesh imbued with Soul Power, though mostly twisted, was a miracle in Spirit Summoning Studies. If this black flesh had indeed originated from that piece of cheese, this material flesh transformation was not just Blood Bone Transformation in Spirit Summoning Studies, but a broader fleshification. It was as if all things were returning to the flesh, a divine phenomenon.

Nia, was the Evil God. An existence, Lyle realized, that might have exceeded his expectations.

"Nia, what did you just do to this special flesh?"

"I suppressed their Power of Corruption."

"Power of Corruption?"

Nia nodded, "Mm-hmm, it’s Nia’s power. Anything Nia touches, everything, whether eaten, touched, or directed by Nia’s Magic Power, will generate the Power of Corruption, transforming into flesh that’s uniquely Nia’s. If Nia doesn’t neutralize it in time, this flesh will continue to corrupt, until... until everything is transformed. Because I promised you to stay clean, Nia always efficiently reclaimed her power, definitely not leaving anything behind!"

Everything touched by Nia would be corrupted by flesh. Such is the power of the Evil God.

An abyssal fear brushed past, overtaking Lyle’s entire body—ah, how fortunate he was to accompany the Evil God without succumbing to corruption.

Wait, was it really so? Lyle looked at his own hands.

"Nia, if your power can corrupt everything, why am I unscathed? Have you been... protecting me?"

To his surprise, Nia actually laughed.

"Hahaha, the Plague Doctor is such a fool. Nia is the Plague Doctor, how could our own power corrupt ourselves? We are the very source of corruption."

"..." Lyle took a deep breath. So, the corruption of flesh was, presumably... ineffective against him.

Lyle shifted his gaze back to Nia’s "flesh." The tentacles, whose Power of Corruption was suppressed, did not die but remained in their original state, keeping their twisted Soul Power and flesh characteristics, just without the contagious capability.

Lyle felt an odd kinship rising within, feeling a strange connection to the massive wheel of spine. Without much thought, Lyle reached out his hand.

Vilimlo’s giant bone claw, unhindered by Magic Power, suddenly clenched, shattering the surrounding skeletal framework.

Lyle could control these black flesh pieces, commanding them effortlessly, as if they were an extension of his own body, and he didn’t need Magic Power to drive them—just a single thought was enough.

"These are Nia’s ’flesh’, where the Power of Corruption has not disappeared, but has become dormant Corrupted Flesh Sprouts. As her masters, we can of course control them."

Twisted, controlling. Corrupting everything, ruling everything, as if controlling one’s own body, this is the instinct of a god.

Lyle let out a breath and looked up at Shiny and the others.

"Sorry, gentlemen, your attempt to acquire it has failed."

"As you can see, this kind of black flesh, although it can replace the delicate operation and energy supply of the Soul Stone, will only be controlled by me alone. This is not right; the Giant Spine Wheel belongs to everyone, and I have no reason to keep it for myself."

Shiny voiced in the silence.

"So, this forbidden artifact that we’ve worked so hard to create, only you, the Plague Doctor, can control it properly, right?"

"Yes, if you want it to be communal, you must collect additional flesh and Soul Stones to replace these special spirit flesh."

"That’s perfect, as long as the Plague Doctor can use it, it’s enough." Shiny’s scales flipped to reveal a smile, "This Giant Spine Wheel Chariot is, in fact, a surprise that all of us members of the Necromancer Figure Club prepared for you, Plague Doctor."

"Shiny... you all..."

"Claw Bone Wheel, this is a gift, Plague Doctor. Thank you for your academic inspiration and the role model you’ve been to all of us in the field of Spirit Summoning Studies."

"All of us, we express our gratitude for your scholarly support."

Lyle felt like he was going to cry, these heartless little bony scamps actually had such thoughtfulness, his numerous academic shares and seminar exchanges had not been in vain.

Amid the cheering and hooting of Shiny and the others, Lyle laughed and accepted such a precious gift. This was definitely the masterpiece of the Necromancer Figure Club, the strongest crystallization of knowledge.

Lyle smiled, bid farewell to his members, the joy of receiving the gift made him a bit giddy.

"Come on, Nia, let’s go check out the other clubs." Having obtained his new toy, Lyle immediately summoned the Giant Bone Wheel, unable to wait for a test drive.

The Giant Bone Wheel roared violently, rushing into the distance along with Lyle’s cheering.

Shiny and the rest stood still, smiling and waving goodbye, until not a trace of Lyle’s figure was visible.

The smiles on their faces immediately twisted into a scheming, triumphant grin.

"The boss has now got our strongest ’Chariot’." Shiny’s scales grinned with a particularly glaring sneer.

"And we’ve successfully made him forget to ask about the Hellfire performance race schedule." Flexibility twisted his pointed chin, "Wonder how the Literature Society’s follow-up work is going? I mean, do we really need to agree to ’that guy’s’ request? I can feel his malice towards Mr. Plague Doctor. Is this really okay to do?"

Flexibility smiled and patted his brother’s back, extinguishing the flicker of conscience that had just begun to emerge.

"’That guy’ is our biggest client after all, and besides, we’re talking about Mr. Plague Doctor; that bit of malice is nothing."

"It’s not even more than the malice we ourselves have towards the Plague Doctor."