Mortal Shell II — How to Get Smert, the Apostate (Blood Ritual Pools)
Published 2026-09-174 min read
Smert, the Apostate requires no boss kill — instead, Mortal Shell II asks you to fill three sacrifice pools with blood at Prophet's Rest. Here is the route from the Citadel of Penance and exactly how the ritual works.
Smert, the Apostate swaps the usual boss-door requirement for something stranger: a blood ritual. On a plateau near Prophet's Rest stand three stone sacrifice pools, and the Shell will only acknowledge you once every pool runs red with the blood of enemies killed inside them.
The route
- Start from the Citadel of Penance Beacon. From there, simply follow the road toward the ritual site at Prophet's Rest — no dungeon crawling required on the way.
- When you arrive, use the jump pad at Desolate Peak to cross over to the plateau where the three sacrifice pools stand.
- Read the arena before you start. The pools are spaced across an open platform, with enemies roaming nearby — that is the point, as you are about to turn them into ritual material.
How the ritual works
The requirement is simple but hands-on: kill enemies inside the pools so each one fills with blood. Treat the plateau like a herding exercise:
- Pull enemies toward a pool rather than fighting them where you met them. A blocked swing or a stagger near the rim, followed by a shove of punishment, drops them straight in.
- Work the pools one at a time. Splitting attention across three leaves you surrounded in the middle, which is where most deaths on this plateau happen.
- Ranged chip from the shotgun pistol softens targets before they reach the rim, keeping the actual kills predictable.
Once all three pools satisfy the blood requirement, an interaction triggers at the center — and Smert, the Apostate is unlocked, scene and all.
Keep reading: