Chapter 26: Elite – Gatekeeper Aldrich (2)

After a quick exchange and listening to Booker and Rena’s incoherent rambling and combining it with what I’d just witnessed, I had a rough idea of what was going on.

“Its senses.”

I kept my voice as low as possible, speaking to them in a rapid whisper.

“Booker, you mentioned earlier that instead of attacking you two when you were standing perfectly still right next to it, it prioritized the human centipede crawling behind you, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Combine that with its behavior just now… It didn’t deal the killing blow to Felice, but instead prioritized my throwing knife, which was clearly much less of a threat. I suspect this thing…”

I looked at Aldrich, who was slowly pacing the center of the plaza. His twisted, deformed right arm looked even more grotesque; he had clearly devoured something else again.

Whatever the case, he hadn’t noticed us for the time being.

No, it wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed—it was that he couldn’t notice.

“It probably doesn’t have vision.”

“…Wait, what?”

Booker’s eyes widened. I immediately clamped a hand over his mouth to keep the fool from crying out.

“No vision? You mean…?” Rena asked, frowning in curiosity.

“Exactly what it sounds like. It’s blind. It might not even have a sense of hearing, either, since it doesn’t seem to prioritize targets making the loudest noise.”

Whether it could hear was still uncertain, but it was almost certainly blind. The way it was currently circling the center of the plaza, completely oblivious to us despite being in its line of sight, was highly suspicious. Furthermore, the area on its shoulders where a head should be was nothing but a small cluster of sarcomas; there wasn’t a single structure resembling an eye to be seen. Though the monsters we’d encountered along the way were grotesque, they generally followed basic biological logic—at least until now, we hadn’t seen anything like “seeing without eyes” or “perfect hearing without ears.”

As for why Booker and Rena hadn’t realized Aldrich was blind until now? 

Well, that was obvious. With such imposing presence, such precision in its attacks, and that eerie appearance, who would ever believe it was blind?

“But-but-but… how the hell does that piece of shit choose its targets? Its attacks are so fucking precise!”

“Skin…”

I pointed toward its body—specifically, the black, rubbery skin that coated its entire form.

“Maybe it’s like those masters in martial arts novels… sensing the flow of the air through their skin alone… or something?”

Honestly, I wasn’t too sure.

But if it didn’t have vision, and couldn’t rely on smell or taste to locate scentless things, and hearing was iffy, then its primary sensory organ was probably its skin. After all, sound is just vibrations in the air, and I knew some animals could pick up loads of environmental data through their skin alone.

If that were the case—

“In any case, based on everything we’ve seen so far, the faster and more violently we move, the more likely we are to catch its attention. Move as quietly and gently as possible.”

“But where can we even run to…?”) Felice raised her hand, whispering.

“Uh…”

I scanned our surroundings.

The edge of the plaza and the ruined town beyond were packed with fog fiends. Aldrich clearly possessed the ability to control their gathering and dispersal. If we tried to flee into the town, we might end up surrounded.

On the other hand, if we headed toward that academy-like building things might be even worse.

If Aldrich wasn’t the ruler of this sector, then the Mist King had to be inside that ominous, commanding structure. I had a sense of foreboding about it since the start.

Could it be…

Were we supposed to defeat this monster right here and now? This elite creature that clearly ranked on par with Jack?

Don’t be ridiculous.

I’d only just survived a brutal fight with Jack. My whole body ached. The idea of fighting another elite monster back-to-back was absurd. Think! I needed to think fast. Get away from Aldrich without stumbling into a horde, and get everyone out of here alive.

Crack, crack, crack!

Suddenly, Aldrich opened its mouth again.

From within, its tongue—more like a tentacle—slithered out, twisting and twitching in the chill air.

What was it doing?

All four of us watched, tense, a sense of impending doom tightening like a noose.

“Chik-cha?”

Its massive body suddenly shuddered.

And then, it turned toward us.

The previously meandering tentacles all snapped toward our direction.

“Ah…”

So that’s what it was.

I’d been so focused on the grotesque horror of the thing—the chest-mouth, the tongue-tentacles—I’d missed the simplest truth.

That slick, squirming thing protruding from its mouth… forget tentacle. That was its tongue. A weirdly shaped, freakishly flexible tongue, split into several tips.

Aldrich couldn’t respond to stationary objects. That was a massive weakness. Of course, it had evolved something to compensate.

Snakes constantly flick their tongues to collect airborne chemicals to analyze their environment.

And this thing?

“Chiiiyaaaaahhh!!!”

Without warning, it erupted into a deafening shriek.

Its right arm shifted again—from a bulky tentacle into a powerful war halberd. Its slender but muscular legs crushed the ground beneath, and its nearly three-meter-tall body hurtled toward us like a cannonball. Its target was clear—us. The four of us clumped together. A single swing of that halberd would wipe us all out.

So—

“Tch!”

“Yuhong—!?”

“Get to safety! Now!!”

With dagger in hand, I sprinted straight toward it. Panic blanked my mind for an instant, but instinct kicked in and carried my body forward.

Aldrich and Jack were two very different types of monsters.

Jack was a speed type.

But this thing was all about power.

Its attacks were heavy. Devastating. But at the same time—

“It’s slower than Jack!”

The halberd came straight down in a vertical slash. I leaped sideways to evade it. Then the weapon scraped the ground and came swinging back in a horizontal sweep. I dove forward, barely dodging it by a hair’s breadth; the halberd’s edge whistled past the soles of my shoes as I lunged directly into its reach.

If I’d been hit by those consecutive power strikes, I’d be a pile of minced meat. But they were actually easier to dodge than they looked. The power was immense, but the halberd swings were wide and slow. As long as I read the movements, I could dodge them.

Compared to its overwhelming right arm, what worried me more was—

Clang!

“Gh—!”

—its left arm, the one wielding the short blade.

That shining silver blade—it looked just slightly longer than the forged steel dagger I held, but in its massive hand it was more like a knife. And unlike the war halberd, it was fast. Now that I was up close, that cumbersome right arm couldn’t effectively attack me, the short blade, however, was a different story entirely.

Clang!

Another strike! A silver blur came straight at my face. I raised my left hand, gripping Jack’s knife in reverse, and just barely managed to deflect it. My arm went numb from the impact, but I successfully forced the blade off-course, knocking it aside! Aldrich’s blade and Jack’s knife were clearly of the same material and craftsmanship—both had a level of strength and sharpness that defied common sense.

“Tch!”

I pressed in close. Not because I had the advantage, but because I had to fight at point-blank range. If I backed off, I’d be cut down by the halberd, so my only choice was to clash blades up close. 

The small knife in my left hand and Aldrich’s short blade danced—two streaks of silver slashing through the air again and again. I couldn’t match its brute strength, obviously, but its attacks were wide and predictable. Even if they were fast, I could read the movement and dodge or parry accordingly.

Clang!

“Gh!”

The moment it struck with the short blade, I slammed my knife into the side of its weapon to knock it off trajectory. That alone sent a shockwave through my wrist, numbing it to the bone. Its strength was absurd. If I tried to block head-on, my arm would snap instantly.

Dodge. Dodge again. Sidestep left. Duck low. Parry. Dodge.

Clang after clang of metal rang out between us as our weapons collided. Its strength seemed endless—each slash of its short blade heavier, faster, more forceful than the last. My defense grew more strained by the second.

Dodge. Parry. Parry again. It moved—I followed.

Every time I knocked aside its blade with my knife, I had to put my full weight into it. My palm felt slick. Sticky.

Blood.

My left hand had split open under the strain of the constant impacts.

Keep close. Dodge. Parry. Sidestep. Parry.

The slick, viscous blood made it harder to grip the knife. I had to clench harder. The wound pressed raw against the steel. The pain was sharp, searing.

I kept a sliver of attention on the halberd, watching for movement. Parry. Dodge. Parry. Dodge.

“Ugh—!”

My balance faltered. I’d been staying to its left flank this whole time, but the slip caused a brief delay—and in that instant, I failed to match its movement. Not quite enough to break away entirely, but enough that I went right up against it head-on.

Right up against the giant maw in its chest.

“Chiii-chaaa-cha-chaaa!!!”

It opened wide, letting out a shrill, piercing shriek. Its inner mouth resembled a meat grinder, and four tongue-like tentacles lashed out, aiming straight for me—twisting to ensnare.

No choice. I had to pull back—even if it meant risking the halberd. Better than being pulled into that thing alive, only to be—

“Eh…?”

A wave of fatigue surged through me. My movements dulled. Only slightly—but enough. Enough for those agile tentacles to catch me. Of course. First the fog fiends, then Jack, now Aldrich—I was nearly spent. My stamina was scraping bottom, and my mind could barely keep pace.

One of the tentacles coiled tight around my left arm. It was cold. Slimy. And then it yanked me toward the gaping maw.

“Chyaaa!?”

At the last moment, it twisted sharply, swinging its halberd behind it.

“Yuhong…!”

Felice!

Using her agility to full effect, she darted through the halberd’s sweep by the slimmest margin—then the short blade’s slash—and struck forward with her rapier.

“Chiii!”

The thrust made its movements falter for a beat.

Now’s the chance!

“Felice! Keep stabbing it!”

“Where!?”

“Anywhere!”

I yanked my left arm back, pulling the tentacle taut. Then, with a swift motion, I brought the forged steel dagger in my right hand, crashing down on it. The tentacle shrieked as it writhed; it wasn’t severed, but I left a deep, vicious gash. It tried to counterattack with its short blade, but Felice intercepted again, stabbing its right hand mid-swing and halting the motion.

Just as I thought! If it’s using its entire body—especially the skin—to detect airflow and environmental shifts with that much precision, then its skin must be incredibly sensitive. Hyper-sensitive! A stab—sharp, precise—works far better than a slash or blunt strike. Obvious in hindsight, and yet I’d missed it until now.

“Chyaaahhhhh!”

It went berserk. Its left arm flailed wildly, silver arcs of its short blade blooming like petals in the air. The patterns were chaotic and deadly. Felice and I had no choice but to retreat.

Damn it, my left hand burns. What now? Switch to the right? Only the knife can reliably parry its short blade. If I drop it, I lose my main weapon.

“Brother Yuhong!”

A warm pulse surged through my left hand. A soft golden light enveloped it. The bleeding stopped. The wound closed before my eyes.

Distant Spirit Mend—a non-contact miracle spell.

Only one person in the party could use it: Rena!

“Thanks!”

That ‘thanks’ came from the bottom of my heart. In a fight this intense, I had no time to pause and channel Spirit Mend myself. Rena’s ability to cast from range was a godsend.

My left hand was back in action.

And Aldrich, now practically rabid, lunged again.

I held my breath, sharpening every sense to the limit—reaction time, combat instinct, dynamic vision. I watched for that one tiny opening between the flurry of slashes, then—

Parried!

“Chyaa—!?”

This time, not only did I block the attack, I also threw it off balance.

Sure, it outweighed me by a massive margin, but its last few strikes had all shifted its weight to the left. When I broke the rhythm, it stumbled. That was my chance. I grappled its left arm, locking my knife against the blade to restrain it.

Now—

“Felice!”

“Got it!”

Like a fish through water, Felice slipped through the halberd’s swing—then stepped hard off its right arm, vaulting onto Aldrich’s back. It roared, thrashing side to side in a desperate attempt to shake her off. But it wasn’t easy; its upper body was too massive, too rigid. Its arms were positioned all wrong to reach behind. Felice had noticed that and was exploiting it perfectly.

She gripped one shoulder with all her strength, rapier held high in her other hand.

Crunch-crack-snap-snap-crack!

And then—something unexpected happened.

Aldrich’s right arm twisted once more.

Bone began to gather in clusters around the swollen tumor at its wrist. The arm itself stretched unnaturally, like a dislocated joint unraveling. The result looked like a grotesque, living meteor hammer.

Then—

“Chyaaahhhhh!”

The mutated right arm lashed out.

A brutal arc of bone-studded flesh swung backward like a mace, headed straight for Felice.

I didn’t expect that. I clenched my teeth, ready to plunge my blade into its gaping mouth, but I couldn’t let go of its left hand.

Damn it! If this hits her—

“I’m here!”

“Huh!?”

“Wha—!?”

“Hey!?”

Felice, Rena, and I all cried out at once.

A wild—well, not-so-graceful—figure leapt into view.

Booker!

Like a deranged sloth, he hurled himself bodily onto Aldrich’s right arm. The extra mass, the sudden impact—it knocked the bone-club swing wildly off course.

Felice used the moment to scramble up Aldrich’s back, climbing onto its shoulder. Her rapier gleamed, poised high, aiming for that tumor of flesh where its head should’ve been.

In that instant, time seemed to stop.

I was holding down its left arm.

Booker had disrupted its right.

Rena was supporting us with her miracle from afar.

Felice was now perched on its shoulder.

And then her rapier plunged down with all her might.

“Chichichiyayayaaaaa!!!”