Chapter 13
Chapter 13
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Thorn Rose Belmont (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This boss named Belmont was quite special. He didn't charge at me first; instead, he maintained a remarkably calm demeanor, trying to prolong the standoff.
That didn't mean I wanted to attack first, though.
Rushing in recklessly and swinging my greatsword could very well get me killed instead.
The one glaring flaw of the greatsword I wielded was its long wind-up. If I got stabbed by that sharp rapier during that window, I'd be handing him a free critical hit on a silver platter.
Should I ditch the greatsword and fight with my longsword instead? Or maybe wield this top-tier greatsword more cautiously to control the boss fight?
"…"
Our standoff dragged on for quite a while. I kept staring at the skull nestled in Belmont's flower bud, waiting for an opening, but he stayed utterly composed even before the fight truly began.
There were no gaps in his defense. It almost felt like he was warning me.
Turn back now. Don't even think about stepping foot in here.
What a gentlemanly boss. If I just left now, maybe the fight wouldn't even start.
But a melancholic melody was already echoing in my mind. Once the battle began, neither he nor I would have any other choice.
I had to enter that space. And he had to block every intruder who tried.
So, the prolonged standoff finally came to an end. Belmont began preparing for battle in earnest.
He must have realized I wasn't going to back down and leave.
Swoosh—
The skull at the center of the flower bud fixed its gaze on me as it shifted stance. His right hand, gripping the rapier, positioned itself right in front of his heart. The hilt pulsed in sync with the heart's beat, while the sharp tip pointed straight at me.
There wasn't even a hint of tremor in that damned blade. It was like a sharpened skewer, poised to target my heart, my head—my vitals—awaiting its master's next command.
Soon, he supported the rapier with his left hand as well. With that unique sword stance set, his footsteps began.
An elegant gait, slowly closing in on me.
And then, in an instant—
Bang!
A surprise thrust.
The rapier, gripped with both hands, had far greater reach than I'd anticipated. Blood smeared the tip as it grazed right over my shoulder.
Roll.
My dodge was a beat too slow. I'd handled this unfamiliar attack style pretty well for a first encounter, but that didn't change the fact that I'd taken the opening blow.
The strikes were insanely fast. I needed to find a window to swing my greatsword, but even rolling to evade was pushing it.
Whoosh!
It felt like bullets whizzing past my head. Tracking it with my eyes was nearly impossible, so I had to predict and dodge by watching Belmont's arms and legs.
The rapier lunged like lightning, aiming only for lethal spots.
Every time I rolled once, he fired off three or four thrusts. The real danger was that even if I evaded one or two with invincibility frames...
Pierce.
One was bound to punch a hole through me.
"Guh...!?"
Even if I rolled backward to dodge, Belmont stepped forward with precise footwork and thrust again, instantly closing the gap between us.
I clutched the hole in my abdomen with my left hand and fled backward in a panic.
This matchup sucked. The greatsword demanded precise timing, but this boss's rapier gave no breathing room, stabbing relentlessly.
He was a vicious type. Especially nightmarish for players like me.
"Hoo, haa..."
Every stab sent cold sweat pouring down. All my nerves focused on the wound, and deep inside, fear of pain and defeat began to creep up.
To shake it off even momentarily, I had to chug a potion at great risk. Using one to recover HP was the most vulnerable moment—taking a hit then meant no escape, plus wasting precious consumables.
Fortunately, after his frenzy of thrusts, Belmont fell back a bit. He wasn't some brainless boss that mindlessly spammed attacks.
Gulp—
I forced the Golden Hope Elixir down my throat. The pain eased from my rigid body, and the bleeding from the hole stopped.
The fight reset. We circled each other once more on the blood-soaked grass.
But Belmont, having already landed a solid hit, didn't wait this time. He charged right away, not planning to drag things out.
Whoosh!
The rapier pierced straight toward my torso.
But this time, the first strike didn't even graze me.
Whoosh—!
Instead of backing away, I'd rolled straight into his space.
A thrust inevitably shoots straight ahead from the caster, so I rolled as close to Belmont's legs as possible to close the distance.
Dodging backward just got me hit. His rapier's range more than covered my roll distance, so to gain the upper hand, I had to stick close for ultra-short-range melee.
Pierce!
Stab!
As I'd calculated, his rapier missed my flesh and stabbed only grass and dirt. It wasn't suited for downward stabs from above.
Belmont had no choice but to readjust his grip. He'd held it like a fencing blade for frontal thrusts, but to deal with a lunatic rolling at his feet, he needed to drive it down like an awl.
Now was the moment. The instant he regripped his rapier.
I dove toward his legs with a roll, then twisted my body into a backward somersault. This time, I created distance, firmly gripped my greatsword, and...
Swinging in sync with his attack timing.
His regripped rapier came down from above.
But my greatsword traced its usual baseball bat arc...
Crack!
Hitting Belmont's side dead-on.
I'd baited a specific pattern, slipped outside its range, and landed a clean counter.
Bang—!
Belmont's body tilted sideways for a moment. But as expected of a boss, he didn't fly off like some trash mob—instead, he crumpled awkwardly to the ground.
Crunch.
A human would've been dead.
I definitely heard bones snapping. His side was bent in an S-shape, flesh and skin torn open, blood gushing out. The greatsword's power was impressive.
Something felt off, though.
Belmont casually realigned his bones, stood tall again, and gazed down at me impassively with that stark white skull and writhing petals. A chill ran down my spine.
Boss fights were on another level. My greatsword had shaved off nearly 18% of his HP in one hit, but more important than raw damage was...
Dodging the follow-up attack.
Screee—
Belmont's rapier lunged straight for my torso. His elegantly posed hands gripped the hilt with full force, dirtied blade thrusting at me relentlessly.
It's fine. I can dodge.
Just watch carefully and roll.
I'd gotten the timing down. Combat had rhythm, Belmont had his own beat, and after a few exchanges, I could read his flow.
Watch the arms and legs. Focus on the tells and habits right before a thrust.
Right now.
Belmont's left foot stepped forward.
First, probably a quick one toward my left shoulder.
Whoosh!
Miss. Roll's invincible.
"…"
Then he pulled his arm back, reset his stance, and once more.
Pierce!
I was still alive. His rapier cleaved only air and afterimages.
The attack came exactly when I'd predicted. All that followed was the rapier's futile whoosh.
Good. Now for the final strike. He reset his stance and aimed the rapier again.
Once his heart-targeting attack ended, I'd get another greatsword swing opportunity.
Belmont crouched low, lowering his center of gravity to prepare the thrust. I eyed the moment perfectly, timing my roll.
Twitch.
His arm moved. I launched into the roll without hesitation.
Perfect timing. Once I heard the whoosh of air...
It should've worked...
"S-S-Sir!"
Instead, Doren's panicked scream echoed from afar.
Damn it.
The attack was half a beat late. Unlike the previous thrusts, the finisher was off-beat.
...Pierce!
Straight into my heart. My left chest.
The rapier pierced clean through.
"Kuhuk!"
No. It's okay. I'm not dead yet. I can use potions twice more.
Shlick—
The rapier yanked free after shattering my ribs and skewering my heart.
Blood gushed from my chest like a busted faucet, but my greatsword was still in hand.
Now was truly my attack window. Swing with all my might, stun him groggy, then chug a potion.
...But why?
Why was he still in attack stance?
I saw the rapier's tip. That sharp point aimed right at my eye.
This bastard had thrust three times in a row, taken a greatsword hit, then come at me with straight-straight-offbeat stabs...
Yet he readjusted and prepared another attack.
I couldn't stop either. I'd already wound up with the greatsword.
We moved simultaneously. Maybe luck would let the greatsword hit again, dealing just enough damage to stagger him.
Greatswords usually stiffened foes hard.
But.
My greatsword targeted his side, while his rapier zeroed in on my eye socket.
A tiny dot rapidly grew. Time itself seemed to slow in that instant.
The point sliced through my pupil, tearing inward.
Deeper, even deeper.
All the way to my core.