Hiroshi felt utterly helpless.

Getting transported to isekai was one thing, but why did he have to end up as a severed finger?

Yes, Hiroshi was now that finger—the one that had just "spoken" to Ulu.

Anyone who found themselves turned into a finger would be bewildered for a while, and Hiroshi was no exception. He had already had his moment of confusion while stuck in that little box; now, he had a clear grasp of his situation.

He had transmigrated into an isekai fantasy game called Desecration, becoming a very special character—the one that Ulu feared: Visah'Su. What made this character special was that, in Desecration, Visah'Su existed only as part of the lore—a background figure without any direct involvement in the plot. His only purpose was to introduce the concept of "Corpse Fragments."

In most RPGs, players need more than just leveling up to become stronger—they collect special items. These items have different names across various games—they could be relics, soul vessels, or countless other things. In Desecration, they were called "Corpse Fragments"—parts of an ancient figure named Visah'Su. The higher the value of Visah'Su's body parts, the stronger the abilities they granted, giving players all the motivation they needed to collect them.

But Hiroshi never imagined he'd become one of those collectible fragments.

When he saw the system interface that came with his transportation displaying "Visah'Su—Body Integrity: 3%," Hiroshi felt like he was bursting with things he wanted to complain about.

But he had to keep quiet—he couldn't afford to let Ulu hear his frustration and vulnerability.

"Y-y-y-you..." The moment he heard Hiroshi's voice in his head, Ulu collapsed to the ground, stammering the word "you" five times without finishing the sentence. The confidence he'd had earlier, believing he'd obtained Visah'Su's power, was completely gone. Now, fear overwhelmed him—so much so that he could barely stand. "Who are you?!"

Hiroshi spoke calmly, "You want my power, but you don't even know who I am? Are you pretending, or do you really not know?"

How could he not know?!

Ulu's face turned deathly pale.

Who was Visah'Su?

He was an unspeakable being capable of slaughtering gods!

And now, he was in Ulu's head!

No, not in his head.

Ulu glanced at his left hand's middle finger—Visah'Su's finger—and realization dawned.

This was the real culprit!

He quickly got up, grabbed the knife on the table, and moved to cut the finger off again.

Hiroshi's voice lazily echoed in his mind, "Oh? Are you sure?"

Ulu's hand hesitated. "W-why wouldn't I be sure?"

"You desire my power, yet you fear my presence?" Hiroshi said, his voice dripping with amusement. "Isn't that ironic?"

Ulu seemed stung by Hiroshi's words but still shouted, "D-don't talk nonsense! I'm a priest of the Rhyo Church! A servant of righteousness! You are a vile desecrator, a force of evil that should be eternally annihilated! You are..."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Running out of words, Ulu forced himself to continue.

"You are an enemy of the gods, which makes you my enemy too! How could I tolerate you being inside my body?!"

"I see. Well, do as you wish."

Ulu raised the knife again.

"As long as you're ready to face the consequences," Hiroshi chuckled, "Not my consequences—yours."

Ulu hesitated once more. This time, his face betrayed more than just fear.

Seeing Ulu's reaction, Hiroshi wasn't surprised—he knew Ulu well enough. Ulu was stupid, wicked, cowardly, and yet, ambitious.

The perfect type to manipulate.

"What do you mean?!" Ulu growled.

"Hmm? You need me to spell it out for you?" Hiroshi said, his voice laced with a mocking tone. "After you cut me off, what are you planning to do?"

"Of course, I'll turn you in to the bishop! Let him seal you completely!"

"Hmm... Setting aside whether your so-called seal would even work on me, let's talk about you." Hiroshi's voice carried a hint of mockery. "You plan to tell your superior that you tried to attach my finger to your own hand, but decided to cut it off because you realized I was still alive? You really think that's going to end well for you?"

Ulu's face froze.

Keeping a fragment of Visah'Su's corpse was strictly forbidden by all major churches. As a member of the clergy, which meant his offense would be even more serious.

But if he turned it in, the merit he would receive...

"Besides, my soul has entered your body," Hiroshi continued. "How will you explain to your superiors that I haven't tainted your soul?"

Hearing this, Ulu's face turned even paler.

"If that's the case, I'll just hide you away!" Ulu refused to back down, threatening viciously, "If I throw you somewhere no one can find, no one will ever know what happened tonight."

Hiroshi made a sound of acknowledgment. "Then do it."

"...What?"

"I said, do it." Hiroshi spoke calmly. "No need to announce it to me."

Ulu's face flushed red, then turned white.

He knew it was the best choice—to cut off the finger and throw it away as far as possible. Even if someone found it someday, it would have nothing to do with him. By then, he might even be dead.

Ulu raised the knife again, staring intently at his left middle finger.

But somehow, his right hand refused to move, no matter how hard he tried. Scenes from his life flashed through his mind—scenes like decades ago in this very room, when he had stood in terror before a smiling priest.

Finally, he brought the knife down with all his strength, embedding it deeply into the table, nowhere near his finger.

The severed finger remained intact. Exhausted, Ulu collapsed, his eyes bloodshot and his breath heavy.

After a long moment, Ulu seemed to come to a decision. He raised his head and asked quietly, "What... do you want?"

As expected, just like in the game.

Hiroshi smiled silently. "What do I want? Ha... Honestly, nothing much."

Ulu was taken aback. "Nothing much? But... surely you must want something?"

"Hmm?" Hiroshi asked with interest. "What do you think I want?"

"Don’t you want... to return to this world?"

"Oh, resurrection? Not really. There’s nothing left in this world that requires me to come back." Hiroshi said indifferently.

Ulu was bewildered. After all, the gods had shattered Visah'Su's body to prevent his return. But now, Visah'Su's soul had returned, yet he claimed not to want resurrection.

What was this?

Ulu had thought that if Hiroshi wanted to resurrect, he could assist, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. He could borrow Hiroshi's power while Hiroshi needed his help.

But now, Hiroshi said he had no desire to return, leaving Ulu unsure what to do.

Seeing the confusion in Ulu's dull eyes, Hiroshi knew he was close to achieving his goal. Slowly, he added, "But, I am quite interested in you."

Hearing this, a glimmer of light returned to Ulu's dim eyes. "Me?"

"Yes. In all my life and death, I've never met anyone quite like you. You're vile, disgusting, and yet you have ambition far beyond your station—like a rat clawing its way out of a trap."

At first, Ulu thought Hiroshi was going to praise him, but those insults pierced him like needles, making him tremble uncontrollably.

Then Hiroshi's tone shifted, "But you're a rat that wants to escape the trap. Given a chance, you'd keep clawing. Heh, before, you didn’t have a chance. But if I gave you one, how far would you go?"

Hiroshi's metaphor made Ulu's face flush with embarrassment, but he understood the message. "You mean..."

"I want to see how far you can go with my power," Hiroshi said mockingly.

Anyone else might have exploded in anger at such insults.

But not Ulu.

He focused only on the most crucial part: Hiroshi was willing to grant him power.

The ancient power that belonged to Visah'Su.

Ulu began to tremble, but this time it was with excitement, not anger.

He knelt down, bowing his head to the floor, his voice trembling.

"Please... grant me your power!"