Chapter 90: The Bizarre Enemy
Arthur felt this was the strangest fight he had experienced since his transmigration.
The woman shed her human form after turning hostile, transforming into an octopus-like monster that wrapped around Arthur and refused to let go. Her delicate mouth, once like a red cherry, had now inexplicably expanded several times in size, her fine white teeth turning long and sharp as she lunged for Arthur's neck.
The monster's mouth was already large, and when fully opened, it occupied Arthur's entire field of vision. If that bite connected, it would snap a cow's leg in two.
Kach!
The monster's two rows of long fangs slammed shut, the loud collision echoing repeatedly inside the cave, yet it failed to harm Arthur in the slightest, only splashing him with saliva.
Arthur, relying on his brute strength, had managed to wrench his right arm free in the nick of time, jamming it firmly against the monster's throat.
"Die, die, die!" Arthur struggled, simultaneously applying force with his hand, trying to crush the monster's windpipe.
But the monster's body was truly bizarre. Its neck was thick and short, yet it had no bone. No matter how hard Arthur squeezed, its head could still thrash about wildly. The pressure in his hand intensified, and his first knuckles sank directly into the monster's flesh, yet the creature kept gaping its mouth.
Instead, Arthur's palm was made slippery by the sticky blood spurting from the monster's neck, and he was close to losing his grip.
Any other person would feel surprised and desperate at this point does this monster not need to breathe? Even if Kolgrim were here, he would need to flip through the bestiary in his mind to check if he had encountered a creature that didn't need to breathe through its neck.
Arthur, however, didn't care about any of that. He only knew that this monster was made of flesh, and if it was injured, it bled.
Anything that bleeds can be killed.
"Still biting? Let's see how you bite without teeth!"
The saliva on his face was foul and fishy. Annoyed, Arthur suddenly pulled hard with his right hand and delivered a fierce headbutt.
"Augh!" A goose-egg-sized bubble inflated on the monster's neck, rolling upward. It barely managed to pass the blockade of his hand before letting out a shriek. With that headbutt, its eyeballs, nose, and mouth all caved in. The entire face looked severely compressed, like a Japanese car that had had a head-on collision with a large truck.
Of course, Arthur didn't get away without a price. A long gash was cut across his forehead by the monster's broken fangs, staining half his face red and making him look more monstrous than the creature itself.
"You're not afraid of a chokehold, huh? Let's see if you can live without a neck!"
Taking advantage of the monster's weakened strength, Arthur tried to free his left hand to grab his dagger, but came up empty.
[What the hell? I didn't even bring the dagger?]
Arthur cursed himself inwardly, but his actions didn't pause for a moment. He strained his waist and legs, forcibly snapping one of the monster's tentacles, freeing his left leg the leg where the small knife, originally meant for Red-Kite, was strapped.
The monster seemed to sense the danger. Ignoring the pain of its severed limb, it waved its remaining tentacles to wrap around him, tightly binding Arthur's left hand.
But these efforts were futile. Arthur flicked his left index finger. The small knife spun in the air and stabbed into the monster's neck at a precise angle.
"Augh!" The monster realized Arthur's intention. It panicked, loosening one tentacle and trying to pull the knife out.
But it was too late. Arthur's right hand was closer to the hilt. He simply grabbed the hilt and yanked hard, severing most of the monster's neck, revealing a gray-white, star-shaped cross-section.
With a final tremor, the tentacles wrapped around Arthur's body lost their strength and fell limp.
"You think I'll let you go if you play dead?" Even though the monster was immobilized, Arthur did not slacken his guard. He grabbed the cauldron-sized head with his left hand, straightened the neck, and with a swift slash of his right, completely severed the remaining section.
"Hoo, hoo. Let's see if you're dead this time…" This time, the monster remained completely motionless.
It sank to the bottom of the pool like a stone. Only the bloody filth on the water's surface bore witness to the fierce struggle that had taken place here.
Arthur casually tossed the monster's head and turned to walk toward the bank. He was surprised to find that his legs were barely moving. Gritting his teeth, he finally reached the bank and immediately collapsed onto the ground. His arms, back, waist, and legs… every muscle groaned and screamed. It was as if someone had flipped a switch that channeled all the pain.
It seemed his fighting experience was severely lacking; he tended to overexert himself when nervous.
Arthur massaged his aching muscles, mentally reviewing the fight. He needed to get Kolgrim to treat the wound on his forehead when he returned; god knows if that monster's saliva was poisonous...
In truth, the moment he choked the monster's neck, the balance of the fight had already tipped in his favor. The subsequent flurry of violent attacks, though satisfying to unleash, was actually too reckless. For instance, although the monster wrapped around his left hand, it didn't restrict his fingers a simple little Igni Sign would have instantly made the monster recoil, scorched. Even if he didn't want to use the magic here, he still had the Battle Cry ability to use!
The more he reviewed, the more he was filled with lingering fear. These entities that directly affected memory were too terrifying. He had even forgotten an ability as familiar as Battle Cry!
Sigh. I wonder if there are any fish in this pool. I'm starving after fighting that monster for so long.
Strangely, the moment he thought of fish, splashes of water erupted on the pool's surface, as if fish were swimming below. Arthur immediately perked up and dragged his heavy body toward the water's edge.
He once again forgot his initial apprehension about the pool water, focusing intently on the dark depths. Gradually, the blood on his face began to disappear not by drying or washing away, but by being absorbed, disappearing as if being digested. Yet Arthur felt nothing amiss, simply staring blankly at the surface of the lake.
He didn't know how much time passed when he suddenly caught a whiff of a subtle fragrance. On the water's surface, a white flower bud appeared above his own head, on the verge of opening!
The scent and shape of the flower belonged to a narcissus!
Arthur was suddenly struck by a bone-chilling cold. He fiercely grabbed the narcissus's stem, desperately trying to tear it off. Simultaneously, he leaned backward, his feet kicking wildly on the ground, attempting to get away from the pool.
But bizarrely, no matter how hard he pulled, the narcissus root showed no sign of coming loose. Instead, he was the one who became dizzy from exhaustion, unable to move away from the water's edge.
"It's all you, all you!" Arthur roared, grabbing the small knife, intending to cut the narcissus.
But just as he prepared to strike, he realized something was wrong: this narcissus was supposedly growing on his own head, yet he only had to lift his hand to reach it.
What exactly was he grabbing?
Arthur gritted his teeth and abruptly let go. He instantly felt his breathing become much easier he had been choking his own neck.
Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh...
Annoying laughter echoed through the cave, seeming to mock his impending demise. Arthur bit his tongue, using the sharp pain to regain a shred of clarity.
"You want to play mind games with me, huh? You're hiding and won't come out, huh?"
"Fus Ro Dah!"
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