Chapter 27: Elite – Gatekeeper Aldrich (3)

A human head is large, not just because of the brain’s volume.

It also has to accommodate the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, plus the oral structure itself. That’s why the skull has its particular shape.

But what if you took all those organs away?

What if you relocated the mouth, the teeth, the tongue—moved them somewhere else in the body?

Then all that would remain in the head would be the highest neural center—the brain. The skull could shrink by half.

In Aldrich’s case, where a head ought to be, there was only a tumor-like lump of flesh, about half the size of a normal human head.

Most likely, that was its central nervous node.

“Chichichiyayayaaaaa!”

Felice struck without hesitation. Her rapier plunged straight into Aldrich’s fleshy tumor. A foul liquid burst forth, splashing across her face. For someone as fastidious as her, the expression of disgust was rare—but even so, she didn’t let go. Instead, she drove the blade in deeper.

“Chiyaaaaa!”

Aldrich’s body flailed wildly, swinging its arms in chaotic arcs. Its right arm reverted to its original form, hurling Booker off. Its left arm—the one gripping the short blade—finally loosened.

Now!

Without a second’s delay, I swung with every last ounce of strength, as if wringing out my body’s final reserves. The forged steel dagger smashed down on its loosened left hand. With its neural center fatally damaged, it could no longer hold onto its weapon. A flash of silver spun through the air—the formidable short blade finally flew from its grip.

Got it!

I discarded my old dagger without a second thought and caught the silver one midair. With Aldrich disarmed, its combat ability would plummet—if not outright die. 

At the same time, Felice finally lost the strength to keep holding her rapier. The moment she saw me disarm it, she wrenched her blade free and leapt away from its body.

“Chi—Guh—Ga—Ughughugh—Jajaja—Ya—Aaaaahhh—”

Aldrich crumpled to its knees. Its body swelled and shrank in erratic pulses. Its mouth warped open, tendrils inside spasming violently. It was in visible agony. The tumor that housed its brain throbbed violently, spewing murky fluid with each pulse—and each throb grew weaker and weaker, like the final death twitches of a terminal patient.

Finally, we could breathe.

We’d been tense for so long that the instant the pressure lifted, exhaustion washed over me like a tide. My knees nearly buckled.

“Yuhong…”

“Yo, Yuhong! Was I super fucking cool or what?”

“Brother Yuhong! Brother Booker! Sister Felice!”

“You guys… yeah…”

Everyone was visibly shaken, but relief had at last returned to their faces. We’d won. And more importantly, none of us seemed gravely injured. This mission had been an overwhelming success. We’d actually managed to take down two elite fog fiends in one go.

And—

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Yuhong, this dagger… it was that monster’s?”

“Yeah.”

I examined the short blade that had once belonged to Aldrich.

It was a bit longer than my forged steel dagger, but lighter and far more comfortable in the hand.

Its blade gleamed with a luxurious silvery sheen, its design a flawless streamlining. Complex runes and ornate patterns ran across its surface. If I hadn’t just been clashing blades with it, I might’ve assumed it was ornamental and totally non-lethal. A few swings confirmed the truth—razor-sharp, slicing the air with a clean, cutting whistle. This was on a completely different level from the weapons forged by the rotted-face people.

==========

Runic Dagger

Type: Dagger (Extended Length)

Weight: Light

Background: A weapon wielded by the alchemical creature Aldrich, forged by Alchemy Master Ian before he lost his sanity during alloy experimentation. Both the hilt and blade are longer than typical daggers, nearing the length of a short sword. The blade is thinner than a normal knife but exceptionally sharp, and it possesses surprising durability despite its slender appearance. The engraved runes on the surface keep the blade clean, rust-resistant, and reduce wear. When infused with mana essence, the runes can generate a semi-transparent mana edge along the blade, increasing its attack range.

Acquisition: Ruined Town, Deep within the Town, in front of the Academy — obtained by defeating the elite enemy Aldrich

Special Ability: Mana Edge (Currently unusable in a world without mana)

==========

Just like when facing monsters, relevant information about the blade appeared in my mind. This ‘gift’ from the god of the otherworld really was handy.

“Runic Dagger… What a straightforward name.”

“Yuhong, Yuhong! Can I have this dagger? C’mon, you’re already badass as hell, giving me your best gear won’t hurt, right?”

“Ew! Brother Booker, you’ve got no shame!”

“F—fuck, I’m making a totally reasonable request! Fine, fine, at least let me touch it.”

“Booker, shut up.”

“Eek! Even Sister Felice thinks I’m annoying? Damn! ”

But really, Felice was the one who dealt the finishing blow. Technically, this was her loot. Yet she showed no intention of claiming it.

“I don’t like knives. Rapiers are more my thing.”

“Then this…?”

“It’ll be more useful in your hands, Yuhong.”

Well, since she said that, it’d be rude to decline.

We had just taken down a powerful elite monster and claimed a worthy reward. Now, it was time to figure out how to return. Aldrich was dead—but what about the other fog fiends it had summoned? Would they disperse? Or would they attack?

No time to let our guard down. We needed to—

Boom!!!

An earsplitting explosion.

A shockwave that knocked the air clean out of my lungs.

No warning. No signs.

Not even a second to react.

My chest felt like a crushed plastic bottle. My bones screamed. Lights burst behind my eyes—and when I came to, I was already airborne, hurled more than ten meters by the blast, slamming back-first into stone pavement.

“Ghhh—aaah—aaahhhhhhh!”

Only a garbled howl came out of my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the others—all flung off their feet, lying sprawled on the ground just like me. My throat tasted blood. I had to move. I had to move. The runic dagger had been blown from my hand. Where? Where was it? I saw a glint of silver in the distance—less than three meters away. That was it—my new weapon. First priority: rearm myself.

“Gh—ugh—nggghhh—”

Breathe. Breathe! My lungs, flattened by the shock, finally sucked in air. I forced myself to take deep breaths, trembling legs pushing my weight upright. My throat was clogged—one cough, and I spewed a mouthful of blood and spit. Pain burned through me, but I had to know what happened. Staggering, I grabbed the dagger, then—

“Roaaahhhhhhh!”

A roar like thunder, deafening. My vision spun.

I stared, slack-jawed, at the creature that stood before me—stood again.

Aldrich!

It was completely transformed.

The fleshy tumor that had been its head was now blown apart. And yet, it had entered a new frenzy. Like a hunk of flesh, it writhed across the stone, maw gaping wider than ever before, every tendril in its body erupting outward.

“Chiyaaa!!!”

“Guaaaaarghhh!!”

“Roaaahhhhhhh!”

From the plaza’s edge, the other fog fiends shrieked in terror. Tendrils pierced their bodies, reeling them in like fish on a line, straight into Aldrich’s maw. Over ten sizable fog fiends had been devoured in an instant, far exceeding Aldrich’s original mass.

With a wet, splitting crack, its body burst from within. All the fog fiends it had consumed became part of it. Its entire upper body now bloomed open like a monstrous flower—newborn tendrils, strong and thick, unfurled like petals around it.

And at the heart of the flower was its gaping, original mouth.

Shit.

Shit.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit!

My body was still wracked with unbearable numbness, even taking a single step felt impossible. In this condition… in this state… if—

“Roooooohhh!”

There was no if.

The fully mutated, berserk Aldrich had already locked onto me as its first target.

Four of its tentacles twisted together, surging at me like a cannonball. Though the speed wasn’t much higher than before, the force behind it was on a completely different level. Unable to dodge, I braced myself, gripping the runic dagger with all I had and raising it in front of me.

▇▇▇▇▇▇▇!!!

Everything went black.

My mind blanked.

Vision swam crimson.

An overwhelming impact.

Like being hit head-on by a speeding heavy motorcycle—that’s probably the closest description.

I was flung into the air, smashed into something hard, then crumpled to the ground in a heap. By the time I realized the cold, unyielding surface against my cheek was the ground, I could no longer get back up.

“Ghk… khh… aah…”

Dizziness.

Nausea.

And searing, kill-you-where-you-lie pain.

At least a few ribs were broken, maybe more.

My wrist was definitely fractured.

My leg… hard to say, but if not broken, then severely sprained.

The hot, wet sensation beneath me told me I was bleeding—and not lightly.

“Yu… hong…”

“…hong…”

“Hey…”

A faint voice, barely audible over the ringing in my ears. Was that them? Were they calling to me?

This was bad. I was down. That meant it was three-on-one… no, if Rena could only support, then two-on-one. Not good, not good at all. It took all of us just to severely wound it in its first phase—now it was in phase two.

I couldn’t just lie here like an idiot. I had to—

“Gkh… agh… aah… ugh…”

I groaned pitifully, struggling to crawl, to move. Spirit Mend! I cast it on myself, but with my current state of multiple fractures and internal injuries, it was like splashing a cup of water on a burning house. Even with all my strength, I managed only to roll over—barely enough to see… to see what Aldrich was doing.

It was coming again.

This time, eight tentacles twisted into a massive bundle like a medieval siege hammer.

If that hit me, I wouldn’t just be dealing with shattered bones—I’d be pulped.

Turned into raw meat on impact.

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!

I tried with all my might to rise, ignoring the screaming pain. But my body, drained by blood loss, couldn’t even muster the energy. My internal organs were failing; my limits had already been reached. This blood loss was now critically dangerous. My vision flickered, a wave of fatigue hit like a crashing tide. Was this hemorrhagic shock? I needed healing, immediate healing, or I wouldn’t last more than a few minutes.

As my vision darkened further, I saw Aldrich approaching—its tentacles…

Clash!

Chiiiii—yaaaaa!

The sound of blades. A monster’s roar. I blinked furiously, trying to make out what was happening. Aldrich suddenly shifted targets. Someone, some agile shadow, had caught its attention.

It was Felice.

She dashed around the plaza like a bounding gazelle, her body glowing with a faint golden light. That was Distant Spirit Mend.

My mind cleared in an instant. The pain dulled. The bleeding slowed. That same golden light shimmered around me. I turned my head with effort—there, less than ten meters away, was Rena, battered and scraped, standing with arms spread toward me, whispering incantations.

Our eyes met. She gave me a weak but reassuring smile. But that smile quickly turned to alarm.

I was still bleeding.

Still covered in wounds.

My wrist still bent in an unnatural direction.

The healing helped, but it wasn’t enough.

Distant Spirit Mend had the advantage of not needing direct contact, but its power was limited.

The others had only been knocked back by the initial blast. Rena, furthest from the epicenter, was the least injured; that’s why she still had strength left to heal us. But now, to pull me back from the brink of death, direct contact was the only way.

“Mm… mnn…”

Rena steadied her tiny frame. She forced herself upright, swaying on her feet. In that instant, I knew what she intended. My heart leapt to my throat. 

Wait! Hold on! It’s still too dangerous!

I couldn’t move. Could barely even open my mouth. With the loud ringing in my ears, I wasn’t even sure if I was making any sound. Aldrich still prioritized moving targets—that behavior should still hold. Felice was currently drawing its fire, and Booker was also splitting its attention to some degree—but even so, moving now was still a risk.

So stop, Rena! Don’t come any closer! Don’t throw your life away like a fool.

But she just smiled at me gently, like a mother soothing a frightened child.

Was she unaware of the danger?

Or had her desire to save someone completely overridden it?

No!

“Hey…!”

She was already beside me.

Her knees gave out and she collapsed into a sitting position next to me. Up close, I saw her small, lovely face was covered in tiny cuts from debris, but all her focus was on me.

She placed both hands over my face and whispered softly. Wait, that’s not the incantation for standard Spirit Mend. The glowing light was a bright gold, not the usual pale hue. This was something higher—a more advanced healing miracle.

This time, I could truly feel my body mending. My broken wrist knit back together. My badly twisted leg straightened. The sensation of blood draining from me vanished.

She finally pulled her hands away. Her face was deathly pale now, with deep shadows under her eyes. This miracle had pushed her far beyond her limits.

I forced my still-stiff arms to move, struggling upright. She needed rest. I had to move her to safety—thanks could come later. First, I had to—

Splurt!

“…Ah?”

Aldrich, in its second phase, had over ten new tentacles—thick, mutated horrors birthed from devoured corpses.

Felice alone couldn’t keep them all occupied.

And right in front of me—

Barely a few centimeters from my face—

A deep red, spiraled tentacle burst through Rena’s lower back and emerged from her chest.

Her tired smile froze in place.

I stared at her face in a daze.

Her smile faded, inch by inch.

Her eyes widened.

Her mouth gaped open as if torn.

The expression that had just radiated peace and reassurance was now twisted in absolute agony.

Her once-bright eyes, rapidly dimming, filled with confusion.

Her trembling hands reached toward me, clawing weakly, as if begging for help. Her lips opened and closed soundlessly, as though asking me, “Why?”