#012. City of Lamentation (6)
Sherman had been trampled to death by the abomination.
“…….”
The situation had developed differently than expected.
In his memories, there had never been an instance where Rebecca killed Sherman directly.
No matter how weak Sherman was, a warlock was still a warlock.
He was not someone who would die so futilely.
‘Something went wrong.’
The massive abomination slowly walked out into the moonlight.
The sound of something walking on dozens of legs.
Rebecca’s appearance reflected in the moonlight was as horrific as the sound of her footsteps.
A grotesque exterior stitched together with pieces of human body parts.
Having grafted on too many body parts, her form was grotesquely bloated, and the arms and legs attached to it were far from just one or two.
She looked like a fat human centipede.
Virgil, scrutinizing Rebecca closely, discovered one thing that was different from what he knew.
Rebecca, the middle-aged woman who had been the original form of that body.
Embedded in the center of the abomination’s head, she looked like a living person in a deep sleep.
It was completely different from the in-game version where she screamed like a banshee in the form of a ghoul mother.
‘I see.’
The nagging questions regarding Sherman’s futile death were resolved.
It was incomplete.
Virgil had skipped everything except the necessary quests in Javelin.
His progress had been that much faster.
On top of that, the player had inadvertently advanced the main mission, which led to the creation of this incomplete Rebecca.
Virgil looked toward the player who had caused this positive effect.
A faint light flowed from beyond the wall.
She was probably chanting spells diligently, unaware of anything.
He felt sorry for getting angry when he reunited with her.
For a brief moment, Virgil was lost in such thoughts.
Along with a chilling sound, a horrifying presence was felt.
Coming to his senses and looking toward the source of the sound, he saw Rebecca flailing dozens of limbs in the air.
Soon, that grotesque writhing lunged at Virgil.
Thanks to her numerous legs, she was incredibly fast.
Virgil rolled to the side and reflexively swung his greatsword.
Shhk!
He cut off several limbs and sprang back up.
Nothing was in front of him as he took a defensive stance.
The massive body had vanished in an instant.
‘Above!’
He threw himself forward.
The massive body crashed down where Virgil had been.
Thud!
The jumping power created by dozens of legs was incredibly threatening.
Had he not known the attack pattern, his body would have been crushed.
This time, Rebecca curled her body into a ball and charged like a rolling boulder.
Virgil thrust his sword out, bracing the hilt with his entire body.
It was a crude counterattack, but he expected it to be entirely feasible.
But it went awry.
Though he succeeded in driving the greatsword into her body, the impact on his own body was beyond imagination.
He was sent flying as if bounced and crashed into the wall.
Crash!
“Keok!”
He gritted his teeth at the severe pain he was experiencing for the first time since entering the game.
But there was no time to catch his breath.
He saw Rebecca curling her body into a ball again.
She charged at him with the greatsword still embedded in her torso.
Virgil drew Somnium from his belt and aimed at her.
Bang!
It missed the mark.
This time, he gripped it with both hands and aimed again.
The distance was close.
Because of that, the desired point of impact became clear.
Bang!
The silver bullet flew and lodged into Rebecca’s real body hidden among the corpses.
Then the silver melted, and the Makum’s heart powder contained within spilled out.
-Screeeech!!
Rebecca’s eyes, which had been closed in terrible pain that awakened her instincts, opened.
Her pupils were completely black.
She, who had been screaming while stopped in place, resumed her attacks.
She was far faster and stronger than before.
Counterattacking was out of the question; even evading was overwhelming.
‘Damn it.’
Now that it had come to this, he missed Sophia’s blood, which he hadn’t brought.
To catch that massive ghoul, her cursed blood had been necessary.
It was Sophia’s blood, the very thing that was the massive veil covering Javelin and the cursed medium that made the sun disappear.
That was why the quest window had told him to go to the temple before coming to the clock tower.
But to obtain it, he had to kill her.
Virgil had intended to use her for something else rather than kill her, and because he was confident in his strength, he had come here immediately.
But Rebecca was far stronger than expected.
He should have just killed Sherman on sight and given up on the treasure of House Javelin he had planned to acquire here.
-Screeech!
Rebecca, who had been swinging her arms and stomping with her legs, began charging again.
Dozens of limbs beat against the walls and floor as she rushed forward.
Perhaps because of the greatsword embedded in her body, her movements seemed slightly dulled.
Virgil only managed to evade the attack by throwing himself and rolling twice.
And as he looked at the greatsword stuck in her back, he worried about how to pull it out.
‘Ah, right.’
He shifted his thoughts in another direction.
He looked at the player hiding behind the wall.
She had been continuously chanting the incantation for the new spell she had learned, just as Virgil had ordered.
He had told her to prepare beforehand, as the spell grew stronger the longer it was chanted.
‘That would be best.’
A more perfect efficiency came to Virgil’s mind.
He unfastened the chain tied around his waist.
He opened the connecting clasp and glared at Rebecca.
She charged again.
Virgil stopped without dodging.
‘Now!’
He threw himself forward, sliding underneath Rebecca’s body.
The sharp sound of armor scraping against the floor.
The moment he tried to pass completely under Rebecca, an arm shot out; he grabbed it and pulled his body tight against it.
Crack.
Unfortunately, it was a rotten tendon and tore off effortlessly.
On the verge of being thrown off, this time he grabbed two arms with both hands.
Fortunately, one arm withstood Virgil’s weight.
Using that as a starting point, he climbed Rebecca’s body by handfuls, while she shook and twisted to shake off the bug clinging to her body.
But Virgil had already realized how weak the durability of her limbs was.
He plunged his dagger into Rebecca’s body and fought back with desperate defiance.
Thud!
-Screeech!
Rebecca’s fury swelled.
How dare such an insignificant existence that she could kill at any moment annoy her like this!
But despite her numerous hindrances, Virgil eventually succeeded in climbing to her back and also found the greatsword embedded in the corner.
It felt like finding a finger that had been cut off.
With the determination to become one again, he crawled and connected the chain to the hilt.
Clack.
Then he shouted proudly.
“Start it!”
At Virgil’s shout, the player emerged from behind the wall and stretched out her staff.
“Igni—”
She couldn’t cast it immediately.
Because Rebecca’s thrashing made aiming too difficult.
Virgil shouted again.
“There’s a way—hurry!”
At his voice, the player squeezed her eyes shut and stretched out her staff again.
A red light gathered at the tip of the staff.
“Ignis moles!”
The red light manifested from the staff flew swiftly.
It headed toward the greatsword embedded in Rebecca’s body.
The player prayed inwardly as she watched the red light fly.
‘Please hit... please...’
In the case of Ignis arma, which had been used at the lord’s castle, the fireball sought its target on its own in exchange for weaker destructive power.
In contrast, the newly acquired Ignis moles had to hit the target precisely.
And as much as the restriction applied, its power and range were tremendous.
Enough to turn the massive greatsword into a giant fireball for a moment.
‘Please!’
The moment before the red light touched the greatsword.
“Ah!”
Rebecca twisted her body.
“No!”
The player screamed.
Due to depleted mana and time, she couldn’t chant the spell again.
It was then.
“Hup!”
Virgil threw himself toward the red light.
He stretched out his right hand and grasped the light.
Fwoooosh!
Crimson flames devoured the gauntlet.
Soon it reached past the elbow and forearm to the shoulder.
From there, it spread uncontrollably.
It climbed up across his chest and collarbone to the tip of his chin, descended to his abdomen, and simultaneously reached his other shoulder.
From then on, the pain of the heat weighed more heavily than the movement of the flames.
The pain of the heat traveled down his shoulder, through his forearm and elbow, and took root in his left hand.
Finally, the chain he gripped also burst into flames.
“Kuhk!”
Melted flesh stuck to the armor.
A pain as if hundreds of millions of insects were clinging to and gnawing at his living flesh.
The pain of the burn caused by the sorcery was dizzying and horrific to that extent.
Still, Virgil did not give up.
He endured with sheer willpower until the greatsword caught fire.
Fwoosh!
The greatsword burned from the hilt and gradually transformed into a massive fireball.
Then, a foul smell of burning wafted from inside Rebecca’s body.
Only then could Virgil let go of the chain with peace of mind.
“Hoo...”
He collapsed powerlessly to the floor.
-Screeech!
Rebecca writhed in agony.
She thrashed against the walls and floor.
Her exterior was tough leather, but her interior was as fragile as human flesh.
That was why she was extremely vulnerable to fire burning from the inside.
-Screeeech!!
The pain awakened her instincts.
Her consciousness turned toward the top of the clock tower.
She felt the wind blowing through the cracked glass.
She began climbing the tower, floundering.
Virgil, noticing this, raised Somnium and aimed at Rebecca’s head.
He pulled the trigger.
Click.
It wasn’t loaded.
“Damn it!”
He couldn’t let Rebecca escape like that. Then all the effort so far would be for nothing.
If she escaped and died somewhere else, he might never find the Seed of the Sun.
Virgil fumbled at his waist to reload, but due to severe burns, his senses were dulled and he groped empty air.
Then the player’s hand suddenly appeared.
She snatched the gun, reloaded it, and handed it back.
“Hurry!”
Virgil closed one eye and aimed at Rebecca’s head.
She used dozens of arms and legs to quickly climb the wall.
Even as she grew farther away, Virgil didn’t pull the trigger.
Not yet.
Just a little more.
Just a little...
...
Now!
Bang-
The bullet that left the muzzle headed toward Rebecca’s head.
Swoosh!
It narrowly missed.
“Ahh!”
The player let out a frustrated scream.
Unlike her, Virgil was calm.
He watched the flying bullet until the end.
He hadn’t aimed for Rebecca’s head from the start.
The bullet flew all the way to the glass clock face and struck the gear embedded in the center.
Crack!
The old glass clock was already in a state of greatly weakened durability.
Cracks like spider webs formed on the glass from the strong vibration, then soon split apart with a sharp, grating noise.
Moments later, the glass transformed into sharp blades and began to fall.
The thickest piece among them lodged in Rebecca’s head.
Thwack!
Starting with that, countless glass shards embedded themselves all over her body.
Though not fatal, it was enough to stop her hands and feet.
Her protruding limbs fell from the walls one by one.
-Screeech!
The grotesque mass falling and the countless glass shards embedded in it. The small fragments scattering.
When moonlight reflected off them, it almost looked like a falling moon.
“We need to get out of the way!”
The player dragged Virgil along.
He also kicked his legs and helped with the support.
They barely made it behind the wall.
Kuuung!
With a heavy crash, Rebecca’s body was reduced to a bloody pulp and slumped to the floor.
Green blood flowing from her bubbled and boiled, emitting a foul stench, and the remaining glass fragments fell on top of it, creating an ear-piercing noise.
Even then, the fire attached to the greatsword did not go out.
“Whew...”
“What do we do! What about these burns!”
The player clumsily removed Virgil’s armor.
His body had transformed grotesquely.
“Elix...”
“Ah!”
The player tightly grabbed Virgil’s hand as he tried to take out an elixir.
“L-look at this!”
In both their eyes, they saw the wound on the back of his hand slowly recovering.
‘Ah... right, I’m a half-demon.’
He let out a hollow laugh. When he relaxed his body, the minor pains came more intensely.
‘This is difficult.’
If the first boss he met, Rebecca, was like this, the future was bleak.
Well, it was natural for it to be difficult, since he was trying to defeat a boss that should be caught by leading soldiers here and sacrificing them, all by himself.
Still, it was only the beginning.
He had a long way to go, and many more trials lurked ahead.
It seemed he would need another way to see this through with a body that couldn’t level up.
And that was not far away.
“What are we going to do... It must hurt...”
Virgil looked at the player who was sniffling while looking at his wounds.
He opened his mouth in a flat voice.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“You did well.”
“What did I do... The Hermit did it all...”
“My name is Virgil. I’m in the same—no, a similar situation as you.”
At his sudden self-introduction, the player’s eyes went wide.
She stared blankly for a moment, then hung her head deeply.
“I’m...”
Her voice trembled. As if she would burst into tears at any moment.
“Hannah.”
Unlike Virgil, she said her real name.
“Right, Hannah. I’ll be counting on you from now on.”
“Yes... me too.”
Hannah didn’t question him about why he had hidden his identity all this time, or why he hadn’t told the truth.
She was simply grateful to have someone to rely on in this absurd situation.
“H-hic...”
Unable to hold back any longer, Hannah buried her face in Virgil’s chest and sobbed bitterly.
Virgil patted her heaving shoulder lightly and thought:
‘From now on, you’re my exclusive buffer.’
The corner of Virgil’s mouth rose in a smirk.
Like a child who had just been given a fun new toy.
At that moment, another quest window rose before Hannah’s eyes.