Chapter 225: Fatal Threat
Letho was holding a needle, stitching up the gash on Roy's shoulder. "You fooled around with two ghouls in that kind of narrow passage? Impressive."
"What would you have done if you were in my place?" Roy leaned back against the chair. His arm was fully naked, and he winced as Letho stitched his wound up.
Letho carefully pierced Roy's skin with the needle and pulled out a stretch of bloodstained thread. "There wasn't anything wrong with your strategy, but you didn't have to just rely on your sword, crossbow, and Igni. Ghouls are mindless creatures. You could have stunned them with Axii too."
Roy nodded. He was under pressure and used Igni by reflex. That was the Sign he was most used to, but he forgot that Axii would have worked better. "I need more battle—" A stab of pain shot up from his wound. Letho was poking at Gryphon's belly, telling it to spit at Roy's wound.
"Hold it in. Vodyanoy spit helps with healing. You'll heal faster with its help." Letho tossed Gryphon back into the bucket once he was done with it, and he tossed a piece of dried fish at it. "It's finally useful for once."
"Make sure it's tight. I need to keep fighting tomorrow."
Letho nodded and wrapped a few layers of white bandage around Roy's arm. "Adda's men sent some gifts over this morning." Letho sighed. "The princess can be demanding, but she's generous. There's cured draconid leather, dimeritium plate, and zircon in the stuff she sent us. It's all the stuff the armor needs and more. We can even make a Manticore steel sword with the components."
"Glad I didn't get hurt for nothing." Roy got an idea. All the Viper School witchers had a set of swords, but Berengar only had Tor'haerne. He needed a good steel sword. I should talk to them about this. Who knows? That guy might stop thinking about raising a family once he has a sword.
"You're on this mission for the school. Do you want me to help you out? Auckes and Serrit can be of assistance too." The ghouls were the most Roy and the knights could handle. Letho thought it was enough training for him. If something even more dangerous shows up and kills the future of the school…
Roy stared down and gave it some thought. A moment later, he grinned toothily. "Next time, maybe. I want to challenge myself.
***
The young witcher curled up, leaning against the cold, moss-filled wall of the sewers. He was breathing heavily, and his face was filled with black veins, proof that he just drank a decoction. Sweat drenched his forehead, trickling down his chin, neck, and leather armor, which was cut open.
The veins on his hands popped as he held the sword like a crutch. He was shivering uncontrollably. He was covered in sticky liquid. Sweat was a given, but there was also blood. The battle was intense. Far too intense. Roy almost forgot to breathe. He regretted not letting Letho come with him. Their luck ran out after killing the ghouls. On their third day, they ran into the worst possible enemy they could.
The knights were lying in the ditch nearby. Their chests were heaving, and they were moaning in pain. Agorn's right hand and left leg were bent at unnatural angles, while Zerrin's arm was bent back and broken, his bones jutting out from the joint. Mars, the young knight with eyelashes longer than a lady's, sustained a heavy injury to the chest. His chest caved in, and his nostril was blocked by blood. He was coughing up blood, an inch from death.
A humanoid creature lay behind the knights. It was facing the witcher, its jaw open. Teeth of different sizes filled its cavity. Its face was flat and disgusting. Roy could only see its gaping maw, but not its eyes and nose, and its head looked like an inverted arse. The monster was just a corpse now. A volley of bolts were buried in it, and gashes covered its body. There were also burn marks left by an explosion on it.
"A fleder…" It was one of the lower vampires. This monster had a long, wide maw, and a flat, ugly face. A pair of crimson eyes hung above its maw. They were cold and feral. This was a young fleder, and the moment it showed up, Roy hurt it badly with a Dragon's Dream and killed it with the help of the knights.
Much to their horror, this monster had a boss, and it descended on them abruptly. It ambushed them once and almost wiped them all out, then it escaped upward.
Roy cast Quen and stared at the ceiling. It was filled with little craters and holes. Sometimes he would see a black silhouette leaping across the holes, circling Roy and the knights, waiting for the best chance to attack them.
It's moving!
A terrifying claw as long as a sloth's arm shot down from the ceiling. It was covered in black blood, and the monster held Agorn's leg, pulling the poor knight up. He hung in the air helplessly, letting out a scream of despair.
Roy shot a bolt at the fleder and came out of the void, swinging his sword. Before he could get near, the demon let Agorn go and retreated to the ceiling. It repeated this process a couple of times, and Roy realized what it was doing. This bastard is torturing us to avenge his dead friend.
The fleder had enough fun a moment later, and it descended on them. The monster stood five yards away from Roy, swinging its arms and screeching menacingly. The new enemy was a lot stronger and uglier than its dead friend. Its skin was yellowish-brown.
Roy curled up, pointing Aerondight at the monster's throat. He went into the ox stance, and his eyes gleamed dangerously.
‘Fleder
Age: Twenty-one years old
Gender: None
HP: 150
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 15
Constitution: 15
Perception: 8
Will: 6
Charm: 3
Spirit: 7
Skills:
Crimson Hunger Level 2: A lowly vampire like the fleder cannot be satiated with blood. It also craves flesh. However, they will get addicted to blood. If they ingest fresh blood in battle, they can heal their minor injuries swiftly.
Hyper Regeneration Level 2: Garlic, fire, and stakes are useless against lower vampires. They can live long lives and possess great regenerative abilities. They can heal all wounds if they have enough time, but they have more weaknesses than their higher counterparts. They are afraid of the sunlight and flames.
Berserk (Passive): Compared to other vampires, fleders have really low intelligence. Once it feels the blood in its prey, it will go berserk. Pain and fear will do nothing to them. They will act on instinct until they have torn the prey apart.’
***
The monster only had eyes for the witcher. The knights, who were heavily injured, did not interest it.
The witcher noticed how it was moving. It was not moving like a beast, nor was it walking on two legs. Its legs were bent behind, preventing it from running for a long time, but it had tremendous jumping ability. The monster bent its knees and pounced ahead. A black bolt of lightning traversed the sewers, and it swung its claws at the witcher's throat.
Roy could feel the monster's malice coming straight at him. He crouched down and rolled ahead right before the monster's attack landed. The fighters missed each other by an inch. The fleder could not stop its momentum, while Roy took the chance to slip past the space between its legs and stood up behind it. He turned Aerondight around and thrusted his blade backward without even turning around.
The sword struck true, embedding itself in the fleder's rear. More precisely, the center of its rear. It pierced through the monster's anus and was only stopped by its spine, though the blade was already halfway in the monster's body. Blood spurted out from its rear as if it were a fountain.
The monster turned around, screeching and swinging its claws around to attack the witcher, but Roy was quicker. He leapt backwards and cast Axii at the same time. The green inverted triangle charged into the monster's eyes, freezing it for a moment. Its jaw was open, and it stood there, unmoving.
Roy turned around to its back. His face fell, and he held the hilt of Aerondight, thrusting the blade deeper into the monster's body. The monster's screech filled the air of the sewers. If anyone were around, they would have been scared to death.
Before Roy could even celebrate, the fleder had flown into a rage. Its speed increased, and it turned around, hitting the witcher square in the chest. Quen was smashed, and the impact of the attack sent Roy flying backward. He slammed into the wall and slid down to the ground.
Roy coughed up blood, his face contorted in pain. Every cell in his body was screaming out in pain, and all strength had left him. The fleder only attacked him once, and it took out a third of his HP bar. Roy mustered all his strength and managed to move a finger. He had taken Gabriel out and was about to blink away, but the fleder was already a few inches away from him.
A loud boom spread across the sewers as the fleder smashed a hole through the wall, and dust flew everywhere. The young witcher was buried in the wall, holding up his sword weakly. He was down to the last twenty percent of his life, and Fear was still in cooldown. He needed five seconds before he could use it again.
Roy's face was contorted in pain, but he showed no fear in his eyes. He mustered all his strength and moved his right hand, trying to pull the trigger.
***
Just a bit more…
The fleder heaved a sigh. It glared at Roy, venom dripping from its gaze. The monster was about to launch its final, deadly attack, and the air seemed to freeze.
Just when things were about to come to an end, a grey beast the size of a fist got out from the witcher's hood. It bristled and glared at the monster that was a hundred times bigger. The little beast growled and pounced at the monster, tearing away at it.
However, the big difference in size nullified all the beast's attacks. The enraged fleder held the little beast and gave it a tight squeeze before hurling it away.
Gryphon was slammed to the wall, and it stopped moving.
When the fleder turned its attention back to the witcher, he was already nowhere to be found. Where'd he go?
Thanks to Gryphon's distraction, Roy finally shot a bolt and blinked away from certain death before reappearing ten yards behind the fleder. He cast Activate at once, and a cool sensation coursed through his body. His pain subsided, and his mana was slightly recovered. Roy could move again. He knelt on one knee and glanced at the little beast. It was an inch away from death.
Fury bubbled within Roy, and he tossed the last Dragon's Dream. The glass bomb was smashed to pieces behind the fleder, and a great explosion rumbled the sewers. A pillar of fire engulfed the fleder.
Roy shot a bolt at the monster, and a big ball of flames darted out of the corner, screeching in agony. Roy changed his crossbow out for his blade and charged straight at the monster. They clashed, and Roy thrusted the blade up the monster's chin, piercing its brain. He crouched and went around it, dodging the monster's charge. His eyes glowed crimson as he cast Fear on the fleder.
The monster felt itself tied up by countless tentacles. It tripped over himself, losing all balance and falling to the ground.
Roy took a deep breath and held the hilt that was protruding from its rear. He thrusted Aerondight deeper into the monster, and this time, even the hilt had disappeared.
The ball of flames started spasming, and a few moments later, it stopped struggling.
‘Fleder killed. EXP +200 (2400/3500)!'
"Gryphon!" Roy wobbled and almost fell. He shook his head, trying to stay awake. The young witcher went back to pick the dying beast up. He fed Gryphon a few marigold potions and concentrated on his character sheet to activate his healing ability.
All his remaining mana was deducted, but Gryphon was healing fast. A moment later, it moved its little paw.
"Woof!" The little best opened its eyes, and it came back to life. Gryphon licked its master's hand, telling him that it was alright.
"You scared me, buddy. Don't ever do that again." Roy held it up and pressed his face against the beast's. He heaved a long sigh of relief. "You saved my life, you know." No wonder they're proud creatures. Even their young is brave enough to face a fleder on its own. "So what would you want?"
"Woof! Woof!"
"Alright. No training for the next two days. Get some rest. Yes, I'll get you your rabbit meat. It's an all you can eat buffet. Let's go. We should check on the knights."
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
***
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