The witcher could almost smell the stench of burning blood rising from the brass warrior's axe — that foul, searing odor of scorched flesh and iron. He instinctively leaned backward, narrowly avoiding the crushing swing that would have split him in half, then rolled beneath the brass hooves of the monstrous rhinoceros, evading its frenzied stomps with feline agility.
Aldric moved like a predator born of instinct, swift as a leopard, nimble as a mountain cat — weaving through the colossal beast's four legs, seeking an opening to strike. Yet each slash of his longsword only sent sparks flying off the creature's thickly plated underbelly, the armor there deliberately reinforced, leaving not even a scratch.
As the brass-clad knight thundered past on his brass mount, the witcher seized the creature's short, muscular tail with one hand. With a sudden burst of strength, he swung himself upward, landing squarely behind the warrior's back amidst the jolting motion of the charge.
The moment he shook off the bloodlust clouding his mind, calm clarity returned — and with it, the faint, ghostly flames began to swirl around him once more, coiling like serpents of light, the purest manifestation of his will.
Before the red-armored warrior could react, Aldric thrust his flaming longsword straight into the gap of the enemy's helmet. The Nahl's Flame Greatsword, burning with real fire, unleashed unbearable heat that even the Champion of the Blood God could not endure. The massive axe slipped from his grasp with a clang.
The sword pierced through the warrior's skull, bursting from his left eye socket. The fire along its edge boiled his brain and liquefied his eyes yet even this was not enough to kill him.
The brass-clad knight, grotesquely resilient, turned toward the witcher despite the blade still lodged in his head. The flaming weapon twisted like a can opener, cracking open the helmet, slicing away the top of his skull. The witcher could clearly see the blackened, smoking remains of his desiccated brain tissue — a ghastly mass still twitching in the heat.
Beneath the shattered helmet, the Blood God's champion had a sickly blue face, covered in scales, with warped bone spikes jutting irregularly across his cheeks. The melted gelatinous remnants of his eyes oozed out, dangling by strands of tissue until he ripped them free and tossed them to the ground.
It was clear this enemy did not live by flesh alone. Otherwise, losing half his brain would have left him dead, not lunging forward to bite at the witcher's throat with animal precision.
Aldric blocked the attack by jamming the sword's flat side between the warrior's teeth. The two struggled atop the rampaging brass beast, grappling fiercely.
The Blood Champion tried to pin the witcher beneath his armored weight, but Aldric used the strength of his legs to resist, muscles straining against the pressure. The warrior's half-ruined face loomed only inches away — barely two fists' distance.
Blood-colored mist seeped from the seams of the warrior's armor, intertwining with the hunter's ghostly flames, hissing and sparking as they clashed in the air — chaos and fire meeting as equals.
Bits of roasted brain matter splattered from the champion's skull, dripping through the empty eye sockets and landing hot on Aldric's face. The warrior's jagged teeth screeched against the sword's edge.
The sound brought back memories — of cleansing operations against the Umbrella Corporation, where every mission turned into a feast of blood and flesh. Back then, every assault on a hidden Umbrella base pushed the army's psychologists to the brink of breakdown due to new recruits.
The brass-clad knight grabbed the flaming blade with one hand to stop it from slicing deeper, while his other hand locked around the witcher's throat, squeezing with crushing force.
The brass rhinoceros, now without its rider's control, became a raging juggernaut like a runaway jeep plowing through a field of bodies. It trampled over the deck, cutting a bloody swath straight toward the two young girls by the ship's cabin!
Choking for air, his vision darkening, Aldric summoned the last of his strength. With his free hand, he traced a sigil in the air — Aard Sign!
A massive shockwave erupted from his palm, blasting into the Blood God's Champion and sending him tumbling backward. Using the burst of force and the power of his legs, the witcher hurled the armored warrior clean over his head!
His longsword, the Nahl's Flame Greatsword, still impaled in the deck, quivered as it struck the planks — flames licking along its blade.
Meanwhile, the enraged brass beast thundered forward, only a few meters away from the rose-covered bed where the two girls hid.
Weaponless, the witcher rolled along the beast's back, hauling himself up to straddle its thick neck. The creature, sensing the unfamiliar presence, let out a maddened roar.
Aldric drove his hands into the brass horns with all his might — searing pain and spurting blood filled his vision. His palms blazed crimson, as though he were gripping molten iron itself.
"AAAHHH! STOP! NOW!" he bellowed. With a final roar, he plunged his hands into the creature's eyes — the only weak point it possessed!
The beast shrieked, thrashing wildly. Gritting his teeth, Aldric forced its skull to the side, twisting its head with brutal strength. Under the agony of his assault, the brass rhinoceros began to turn — its momentum redirected by sheer willpower.
Its massive horns tore through the rose pavilion's canopy, scattering petals into the air like crimson snow. Amid the floral rain, the silver-haired girl clutched Carla tightly in her arms, watching the blood-soaked witcher wrest control of the rampaging monster through pure, unyielding force.
The wind of the beast's charge lifted her silvery hair, mingling it with the drifting red petals, a fleeting image of grace amid chaos.
Under the witcher's control, the brass rhinoceros completed a full 180-degree turn, and, spurred by pain and fury, charged back the way it came — even faster, even wilder.
Balancing precariously atop the monster, Aldric drew his longsword free as they passed it, raising it high for another strike.
He charged straight toward the Champion of the Blood God!
The blinded rhinoceros, consumed by rage, had no awareness of its former master now standing directly in its path.
The brass-clad knight, his own vision gone, sensed the impending doom rolled instinctively to the side, barely evading the beast's rampage… but not the witcher descending from above!
Leaping high from the brass creature's back, Aldric twisted midair, his core muscles propelling the movement. His blade spun like a whirling propeller, leaving trails of burning flame that painted lotus-shaped arcs across the air.
When he landed, his sword cleaved two massive, crossing wounds across the Champion's abdomen!
The warrior's innards spilled onto the deck in a steaming heap as the surrounding Chaos soldiers scattered in panic.
Aldric strode forward slowly, picked up a fallen bone spear with a flick of his foot, and grasped it in one hand. In the other, a glimmering necklace appeared — one he wrapped tightly around his wrist in silence.
(End of Chapter)