Chapter 16
Chapter 16
How to Solve the Possession
A piercing, ear-splitting screech echoed from the front.
But contrary to the sound, the special-type creature appeared behind us, and the moment it emerged, it transformed part of its body into blades and swung.
The blade cut through the air with lethal force, aimed to split my leather robe cleanly in half. But before I could even react, Clovis stepped in, crossing his twin swords to block it.
“Heh. You think that’s enough to deal with me?”
As if trying to recover from his earlier embarrassment, he showed no opening and immediately kicked the creature’s abdomen.
The impact sent it sliding backward, and at the same time ice arrows rained down from above. But where they landed, there was nothing.
It had vanished again through spatial transfer.
Clovis clicked his tongue.
“Tch. Clever bastard.”
“It’s lived a long time. That means it has experience.”
More than that, the world during the Great Catastrophe must have been a battlefield.
A creature that survived that hell would naturally have overwhelming combat experience.
The fact that we weren’t being completely overwhelmed was proof of how skilled these two were.
Clang!
From the darkness, a spike shot toward my head like a hidden dagger.
The sound was tightly controlled, a perfect ambush. But an Atar Knight blocked it with a shield before it could reach me.
Without losing composure, I fired ghostly swords into the air.
Guided like telekinetic blades, they shot toward where the creature was hiding.
But the special-type creature twisted its tail and deflected them effortlessly.
Then it kicked off the ground and charged again.
Clovis intercepted it, laughing wildly as he swung his twin blades.
The creature responded by transforming its arms into blades.
Steel met steel.
Two swords against two blade-arms.
Four silver lines clashed in rapid succession, each collision scattering sparks before vanishing.
Dozens of strikes exchanged every second.
Seeing this, Cecilia frowned.
“It’s hard to believe it’s injured.”
“That’s how monsters are.”
They can change their bodies to compensate for injuries and recover as long as they have energy.
Some even turn into slime-like forms to survive centuries of dormancy, or evolve depending on the situation.
They were literally optimized for combat.
Thinking about how such things had multiplied in the Wasteland for 500 years made my head hurt.
Of course, monsters adapted to the Wasteland weren’t just prey. A fragile balance had been maintained.
That is, until the adventurers arrived.
While I was thinking that, the creature suddenly trembled violently.
“Dodge!”
Clovis reacted instantly.
He rolled sideways the moment the warning reached his ears.
The ground where he stood was instantly pierced by countless tendrils erupting like heat haze.
“What the hell was that?!”
“That’s one of its special attacks. High energy consumption, too.”
It must have been desperate.
It tried to reverse the flow of battle but failed.
A gamble born from pressure.
And now, it had weakened itself further.
The creature’s body trembled.
Its energy was clearly running low.
“If we drag this out, we win!”
“It won’t be that easy.”
“Correct.”
If it were that easy, I wouldn’t have set the survival estimate at 35.38%.
Once its survival probability drops below a threshold, it enters a berserk state.
It burns even its own life force to force a mutual kill.
A desperation mode that turns it several levels more dangerous.
Clovis and Cecilia had been warned beforehand, so they were ready.
The moment the creature’s body emitted an ominous pulse, they responded immediately.
Crackkkkk!
Space itself fractured, and countless tendrils shot out like spears.
Clovis and Cecilia evaded them without difficulty.
I moved as well, but there was a problem.
Teo’s body wasn’t exactly athletic.
My mind dodged the attack, but my body lagged behind.
My arm was almost pierced—
An Atar Knight stepped in, blocking it with a massive shield.
The knight was instantly pierced and destroyed.
“Tch. Still brokenly overpowered.”
Its attacks weren’t just physical. They were spatially enhanced, meaning they ignored normal defenses.
No wonder even experienced adventurers died to it.
I recalled that I should’ve applied magical resistance enchantments beforehand.
But considering the probability of this event was 0.63%, it wasn’t exactly something I could reasonably prepare for.
Luck was just bad.
I exhaled and steadied myself.
By calculation, we had about five minutes left.
If we lasted that long, we win.
“Keep its energy consumption high!”
The Atar Knights charged again.
Heavy footsteps shook the ground as they swung massive weapons.
The creature caught them with its bare hands.
It slid slightly backward—but only slightly.
It held its ground.
Even against monsters like this, its raw strength was absurd.
“Tch. So even among special-types, this one is still a monster.”
I muttered while throwing potions.
“Kyuu!”
My spirits flew out, carrying the vials.
When the glass shattered, vines erupted and bound the creature.
But it wasn’t enough to restrain it.
Still, it created an opening.
Clovis dashed in.
A perfect strike.
But just before his blades landed, the creature blurred.
It used spatial transfer again.
“Clovis! Behind you!”
“I know!”
But I already knew its behavior pattern.
It targets the weakest link first.
That’s why I didn’t bring out the Atar Knights early.
“Don’t underestimate it.”
BOOOOM!
At that moment, Atar Knights appeared above it and slammed down massive weapons.
The creature was sent flying.
“Fast reaction…”
Clovis clicked his tongue.
But it wasn’t dead.
It stabilized midair, adapting.
Then its body changed.
It became humanoid.
Not fully human, but taking a human-like shape.
A humanoid monster.
Cecilia tightened her grip.
“Be careful. It adapted.”
“Got it.”
Clovis grinned.
“Finally, things are getting interesting.”
But then—
The creature vanished again.
And reappeared behind me.
So that’s how it is.
Of course.
It goes for the weakest target.
But before it could strike—
A voice echoed.
[I agree. A normal person would avoid coming inside.]
“…Who’s there?!”
Clovis jumped back, weapons ready.
A translucent figure appeared.
A woman.
A ghost.
She laughed.
[Relax. I’m just a dead albedo-class alchemist.]
Clovis froze slightly.
Cecilia narrowed her eyes.
And I sighed.
Of course it escalated further.
The ghost woman looked at me.
[So, kid. You know what’s inside, don’t you?]
“Yes.”
[Hah. Of course you do.]
Her gaze sharpened.
It felt like she had already seen through everything.
My secret.
My possession.
My origin.
She grinned.
[We’ve got a lot to talk about.]
And just like that—
Everything I wanted to hide was already halfway exposed.