Chapter 28: Mutant #2

Chapter 28: Mutant #2

Now, at this moment, having reached the peak of my abilities,

I have no time to waste, not even a second.

Strategy? Defense? I have no time to spare for such things.

Only offense.

Without a shred of hesitation, I charged towards the Mutated Monster.

“My life for-“

The Mutated Monster, wriggling in its long dragon form, blocked my path.

I pushed off the ground and leaped powerfully.

“Ayer.”

The other party members here wouldn’t understand the meaning of my shout.

No one in the world of “Nine Stars” would, for that matter.

But even if no one understood, I really wanted to deliver this line.

I can’t help it, I’m Korean.

No, honestly, when I’m holding dual swords and charging dramatically, how can I not think of a Zealot?

Slice.

As soon as I jumped, I plunged both swords with all my might into the Mutated Monster’s head.

Then, spinning in mid-air, I slashed the Frost Blades I had embedded downwards.

Shugagag-

Two high-speed sword trails were drawn on the Mutated Monster’s massive body.

Dragon form? I don’t care.

Even with a rough calculation, my current attack power overwhelmingly exceeds its defense.

The Mutated Monster’s hide was sliced through like pudding with no resistance.

“Wh-what is that?”

Mitchell, flustered, gaped.

She had probably never seen a crazy mage create swords in both hands and charge in.

And she had probably never seen such a crazy tactic work so well.

But if she’s astonished by this much, she’ll be surprised by a lot more later.

I continued to hack at the Mutated Monster with my Frost Blades and shouted.

“Don’t just watch. Attack now!”

“Okay-“

Surprisingly, Flora was the first to act swiftly.

Perhaps she had already witnessed my crazy antics before, so she had adapted?

“I don’t need to think about the consequences and just attack, right?”

Crack-

Flora fired magic arrows one after another with a supremely refreshing expression.

“The guy’s losing his mind. Let’s press the advantage now!”

Wagner also put down his shield for the first time in a while and swung his mace with a full swing.

-Grrr… Grrr…!

With Wagner’s blow, the Mutated Monster vibrated violently and began to falter.

As the monster swayed left and right like a deflating air doll, Mitchell leaped up, not missing the opportunity.

“Yeah, this is it- Just stay right there.”

Although not as strong as me now, it was still our party’s strongest attack throughout this hunt, “Thunderclap Kick.”

This one blow will be quite significant.

Moreover, the Mutated Monster is currently defenseless.

This means there’s a high probability of a critical hit.

“Ugh-!”

Everyone’s gaze focused on Mitchell, who was falling gracefully from the air.

Mitchell accelerated and slammed her heel into the Mutated Monster’s massive body, driving it into the ground.

CRASH-

The ground trembled.

The giant blob of sap, in the form of a dragon, lay uselessly sprawled on the ground.

Well done, Mitchell.

If I were to give a score, it would be 10 out of 10, no, 11 points.

“Let’s finish it.”

The Mutated Monster, having taken the full force of our party’s concentrated barrage, was completely in a groggy state.

Does it hurt? It looks like it needs quite a bit of time to catch its breath.

But this battle is not a fair sports match.

It’s a struggle that ends only when one side is annihilated.

Once it falls, we will only dig deeper into its wounds.

While Wagner and Flora focused their attacks on the Mutated Monster’s torso, and Mitchell on its head.

I took a step back and gained a more precise view.

“Thousand-Mile Sight.”

I don’t need to see everything around me.

Right now, I only need to find one thing.

‘Where did it hide its core?’

The Mutated Monster is also an enhanced version of the Mud Monster and Slime series.

Its core, hidden somewhere within its fluid body, is its greatest weakness, just like before.

However, with a core the size of a baby’s fist floating somewhere within a body over ten meters long, it’s incredibly difficult to find.

Unless it’s a lucky hit, it’s hard to aim and attack.

Usually, but…

But I have Thousand-Mile Sight.

Whoosh.

As I intensely focused my eyesight, my eyes began to burn hot.

The dragon’s long legs, body, wings, tail…

I scanned them all meticulously, like a precise X-ray examination.

‘Found it.’

The core was located between the Mutated Monster’s legs.

Even if it weren’t for the core, it’s usually a vital point for other creatures.

⋯What is this?

Why is the core located there of all places?

My fingertips paused for a moment.

Even though it’s an enemy, and I know it’s a monster without gender distinction…

Stabbing its penis is too cruel a thing to do.

“Can’t be helped. Why would you hide your core there?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and swung my Frost Blade.

Slice-

Thump, thump.

Disgustingly, the severed core wriggled on the ground by itself, like a live fish.

-Grrr…! Grrrk!

The loudest scream since the battle began echoed.

Even I felt a pang of pain at that agonizing cry.

「Fantastic Strike! The Mutated Monster’s core has been extracted!」

The Mutated Monster, which had maintained its form despite several powerful attacks, could not withstand this one.

ROAR-

The dragon form collapsed, and the wastewater that formed its body poured out in waves in all directions.

In an instant, the waves reached waist-high, and everyone struggled.

Especially me, being so small, it’s even harder.

While others are waist-deep, I’m neck-deep, damn it.

“Whoa- I’m not a good swimmer-“

“Grab my hand.”

Wagner, standing like a lighthouse in the middle of the sea, pulled Flora’s hand.

“Phew- Wagner, me too!”

“B-bear- me too-“

“⋯Everyone, don’t let go and hold onto me tightly.”

We clung to Wagner’s body, waiting for the waves to pass.

“Ugh, ptooey- Geez. Damn, that bastard is dirty to the end.”

Mitchell spat repeatedly, pushing back her wet hair that had fallen over her face.

“Wow- But I did get one question answered.”

“What?”

“The wastewater. It had a really delicious-looking color, so I was always curious about its taste- Well, it doesn’t taste good at all.”

Flora smiled brightly, looking like a drowned rat.

No, you shouldn’t be smiling so carefree… you must have been poisoned too.

Well, whatever. I brought enough antidotes.

However, it’s too early to let our guard down.

“⋯What is that?”

Mitchell muttered, narrowing her eyes.

Amidst the wreckage of the collapsed Mutated Monster.

A small shadow slowly stirred within it.

“It’s not over yet, is it?”

Wagner, who was shaking the water out of his clothes, raised his shield again.

Yes, Mitchell said it.

That guy is dirty to the end.

Mitchell is right.

The main battle is over, but the Mutated Monster has a final attack pattern.

It’s called the “Desperation Pattern.”

The difficulty of this pattern varies each time.

Therefore, it’s difficult for me to prepare an exact strategy in advance.

I can only hope it ends without much damage.

Basically, if the party members are evil, it can be dealt with easily, but…

Conversely, the more righteous they are, the harder it becomes.

“It’s coming!”

As Wagner shouted, the shadow stretched its body towards us.

It’s a speed that cannot be evaded by dodging.

It’s a guaranteed targeting attack that we’re bound to be hit by anyway.

The shadow burrowed under Mitchell’s feet, as if it had aimed for them from the start.

“Mitchell!”

“Mitchell!”

Mitchell’s eyes widened.

The shadow enveloped Mitchell’s entire body once, then returned its extended body to its original form.

-…I understand.

A chilling voice echoed in the boss room.

Thump, thump.

Then, the shadow approached Mitchell.

With each step, the shadow’s body changed slightly, forming a new shape.

Its size didn’t increase.

At best, it was a small figure, not much different from me.

It didn’t take on an intimidating appearance like a dragon or a giant fist.

Nevertheless, Mitchell’s shoulders began to tremble as she looked at the shadow.

“⋯How…?”

Mitchell couldn’t finish her sentence.

Wagner, instead of the frozen Mitchell, took action first.

“I don’t know exactly what that is, but it’s safe to assume it’s an enemy. Everyone, let’s fight without holding back.”

He raised his tightly gripped mace, but Wagner’s expression wasn’t particularly bright either.

It’s understandable, after all, the opponent is a child.

A small elf child, about ten years old.

Her skin was as white as snow, and her hair was as red as a burning flame.

⋯Just like Mitchell.

The child stared expressionlessly at Mitchell with narrow, fox-like eyes.

She didn’t show any hostility towards us.

It was as if she was saying, ‘Go ahead and attack if you want.’

“Mitchell, are you okay?”

Flora looked back at Mitchell with a worried gaze.

But Mitchell seemed not to hear Flora’s words.

“⋯Ed.”

Mitchell took a step towards the child.

“Mitchell, wait!”

“Ed⋯ Ed!”

“Mitchell!”

Wagner called out loudly, trying to stop her, but Mitchell walked on as if entranced.

As she walked, at some point she started running.

Tears were glistening in the elf’s eyes.

***

Meanwhile, at the same time, in the early area of the Contaminated Deposit.

“Idiot, Max, you damn idiot!”

A Vigilante gasped for breath.

How did it come to this?

He felt like he had fallen into a nightmare from which he couldn’t wake.

At first, he thought it was a trivial mission.

A simple task of taking a few planks and sealing off a cave passage.

If it weren’t for that bastard Max, the job would have been finished long ago.

Originally, he should have been back in Garden by now, drinking a beer and resting.

“What do we do now?”

Another Vigilante spoke with anxious eyes.

His pupils trembled narrowly like a frightened rat.

It was pathetic, but he couldn’t bring himself to criticize.

His own appearance must be the same right now.

“Should we go back?”

“How can we go back like this? So many have died already.”

Max and six Vigilantes came, and now only three remain.

They still found it hard to accept the situation.

Why were there traps?

Did someone know we were coming from the beginning?

Who? How? Since when?

But there was no one to answer those questions.

In the air dominated by anger and fear, only mutual recriminations repeated like a broken record.

Yes. If it weren’t for that idiot Max, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

It’s all because of that moron-

The Vigilante gritted his teeth.

Max’s final moments, sinking into the wastewater, were still vividly in his mind.

And that gaze.

Those eyes, bloodshot and wide open with all his might.

As if resenting us, as if cursing us-

“Damn it!”

The Vigilante kicked a stone fragment lying on the ground.

The stone, bouncing off the wall, slowly disappeared into the wastewater, just like Max did then.

Who is resenting whom?

We are the ones who should be angry.

“There must be someone who set traps somewhere ahead. I can’t go back without seeing their faces with my own eyes.”

“I agree.”

“I’ll tear them apart. I’ll repay them a hundred, a thousand times over.”

The Vigilantes, their eyes glinting menacingly, threatened in chilling voices.

Their faces were filled with venom.

-Cough, cough….

And, in fact, they had been poisoned for a long time.

This was because they had all received the full baptism of the Contaminated Deposit while forcing their way through the traps.

“I’ll kill you, you bastards…”

The Vigilante moved his staggering legs.

His eyes were glazed as if drunk, and he trembled incessantly.

The poison had already reached his brain, preventing him from thinking rationally.

However, there was a question that gnawed at a corner of his mind.

‘Max, that guy…’

Max’s body, which had sunk into the wastewater and hadn’t resurfaced.

But what was that silhouette that shook violently beneath the surface?

As if transforming into something other than human.

The Vigilante couldn’t watch until the end.

A warning from his instincts, echoing in his mind, made him flee in haste.

‘Is he really dead?’