Agreeing to help Rax, the three of them soon made their way to the bridge

A half demon, a human and an insectoid creature.

A combination that would have turned heads sideways on the surface world, however was completely normal here in the abyss

Walking for about an hour and a half, they began to reach their destination

The closer they went, The more the surrounding air screamed

As if the resentful souls of all those taken by the corpse collectors were howling in agony..

After another hour and a half, they stood at the edge of the world.

Behind them lay the neon-lit grime of Abysshaven.

Before them lay a void so vast and dark that looking into it felt like staring into the eye of a dead god.

This was the Great Chasm, the empty space separating the First Layer from the Second.

Spanning this impossible gap was a bridge that defied sanity.

It wasn't made of stone or steel. It was a suspended nightmare constructed from the fused bones of Leviathans, lashed together with chains made of dried sinew.

The road surface wasn't a regular road, instead was a mosaic of crushed skulls and ribcages, smoothed down by the tread of thousands of monsters over centuries.

Truly a horrific site for anyone to look at, however when combined with corpses of drifters and monsters littered all about the abyss

The bridge itself didn't seem to stand out that much

"The Bridge of Rot," Rax whispered, his face pale as he looked at the structure.

"The only way down to the Second Layer."

Damien tightened his gloves. "Charming now where's this famous corpse collector I've been hearing about so often?"

"He's there."

Rax pointed to the center of the bridge.

Blocking the path, built directly onto the spine of the bridge, was a fortress.

It was a mound of stitched flesh and iron, resembling a tumor growing out of the bone.

Standing in front of the fortress gate was the Corpse Collector.

Perhaps thanks to Rax being with them, he thought they were sacrifices and didn't trouble them

Rather he even seemed to be welcoming them, egging them to come closer

Seeing this Damien just smiled

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it, however don't regret it later"

With that in mind, he motioned to the rest of the group to follow him.

"Swoosh!"

As they stepped onto the bridge, the wind died down, replaced by the stench of formaldehyde and rotting meat.

The Collector had indeed seen them coming.

He was a monstrosity of alchemy and surgery. Standing twenty feet tall, his base form was that of a Mutated Ogre, hulking muscle and grey skin.

But he had "upgraded" himself.

Four extra arms were grafted onto his back, taken from Mantis Killers, their scythe-blades dripping with green venom.

His chest was plated with the scales of a Rock Drake.

His face was a patchwork of stitched skin, with mismatched eyes taken from different species.

He was a living testament to the "Flesh-Crafter" experiments Damien had read about in Sector Zero.

"Rax..." the Collector boomed. His voice sounded like grinding stones.

"You return."

He looked at Damien and Isabelle. His mismatched eyes widened with glee.

"And you brought... quality."

The Collector took a heavy step forward, shaking the bridge.

"A Half-Demon... and a Human with a delicious soul. Yes. Good trade. Very good trade."

Rax trembled, hiding behind Isabelle.

"My daughter! I brought them! Give her back!"

The Collector laughed. He reached into a cage hanging from his belt, a cage made of ribs. Inside, a small goblin girl was curled up, shivering.

"The deal was for bodies," the Collector sneered.

"They aren't dead yet."

He pointed a massive, stitched finger at Damien.

"Kill them, Rax. Slice their throats. Then you get the girl."

Hearing this, Damien remained still, however Isabelle on the other hand instantly reacted

Isabelle covered her hands with hellfire flames and her horns looking particularly sharp.

"I knew we should have killed him."

Rax froze. He looked at the massive Collector, then at the knife in his hand, then at Damien's back. He was shaking violently.

As for Damien didn't even turn around. Heck, he didn't even look at Rax.

"Put the knife away, Rax," Damien said calmly.

"You'll hurt yourself."

Damien stepped forward, walking calmly toward the twenty-foot tall abomination.

"You must be the Collector," Damien said, his voice casual.

"I have a complaint about the infrastructure. The road is bumpy." Said Damien stepping hard on the bridge

"There's a dwarf in abyss heaven, although he owns a bar but as a dwarf I'm sure he can teach you one or two things"

The Collector snarled, confused by the human's lack of fear. "

So you can speak? Good. This way I can hear your screams when I rip you apart "

He slammed his scythe-arms together, ready to attack this disrespectful human.

"This is my bridge. The toll is flesh. Pay the toll, or become part of my experiments."

Damien stopped ten paces away.

He looked up at the monster.

Within it, he saw the souls trapped in the stitched flesh,

He saw the agony of a thousand victims used as spare parts.

"You want a toll?" Damien asked.

"Flesh!" the Collector roared. "Fresh meat!"

Damien smirked beneath his mask.

"I don't have meat," Damien whispered.

"However, why don't you take a beating instead."

VWMMM.

Damien unleashed his aura.

Yes this time he was going to go all out

Although he didn't know why, but seeing the thousands of souls being used like this, he suddenly felt angry

Perhaps he had some hypocritical sense of justice

Or perhaps it was the fact that a kid was kidnapped,

Whatever it was, Damien didn't like it.

*Boom!*

His aura flared, the heavy, suffocating darkness of the [Hollow King's Authority], mixed with the sharpness of the Pantheon Sword shook the atmosphere.

The air on the bridge grew heavy. The wind stopped. The stench of rot was overpowered by the smell of ozone and death.

The Collector flinched. His mismatched eyes swiveled in panic. This wasn't a regular "soft-skin." This was a monster.

"You..." The Collector stepped back.

"What are you?"

Damien drew the Pantheon Sword. The white light illuminated the horrific bridge, casting long shadows over the fortress of flesh.

"I would like to say I am your father" Damien laughed.

He pointed the blade at the Collector's throat.

"However I don't have an ugly son like you,"

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