Using the momentum from his draw, Aldric swung his longsword in a blazing arc like a meteor, cleaving through one of the massive tentacles that bound the fleshy platform in place!
The blood along the blade seemed to ignite into flames, leaving a crimson trail burning through the air! This time, the weapon no longer felt dull and heavy in his hand—his sword sliced through the thick tentacle as smoothly as a hot knife cutting through butter.
A torrent of viscous yellowish fluid sprayed outward. As the gigantic eye creature screamed in agony, the flesh-made platform beneath Aldric's feet convulsed violently. The shockwaves threw off the balance of everyone on the field—Vittoria and twisted abominations alike staggered amidst the chaos. The two plague warriors let out guttural roars, their lumbering footsteps pounding faster as they tried to reach Aldric before he could strike again.
Blood flowed freely from Aldric's palm, coating the [Damaged Pendant] tightly wound around his arm. As the droplets fell, every patch of flesh they touched hissed like acid, carbonizing and evaporating almost instantly. There was no time to marvel at the phenomenon; balancing on the quivering, spasming platform demanded every bit of his agility and focus.
The black-robed cultist turned giant eyed tentacle abomination, gravely wounded, howled as it twisted a dozen of its thick tentacles together into a grotesque, rope-like mass. Like a meteor hammer, it swept across the air in a deadly arc, its many mouths writhing and biting at one another as they came crashing toward him.
The speed of this strike far surpassed any of its earlier attacks! Even with his perception stretched to its limit—time seemingly slowing for a brief instant—Aldric could only barely shift his body before being hit full-on.
It was like being slammed headfirst by a compact car traveling at sixty miles an hour. Blood burst from his mouth as he was flung backward; he could feel his organs shift out of place, ribs snapping like twigs. His sword arm went completely numb.
Above him, a grotesque human head grew from a nearby tree, smiling grotesquely as it watched him. Drool dripped from its mouth, its greedy eyes fixated on him. The "human-head fruit" was ripening rapidly, about to fall—and with each passing moment, it drew closer to Aldric's broken body.
Fueled by sheer willpower and an inhuman level of endurance, Aldric forced himself to remain conscious. Just as the fruit was about to drop, he rolled hard to his right.
Splat!
The massive, twisted tentacle crashed down where he'd just been, gouging a deep furrow into the fleshy platform. The sound was like an engorged maggot being crushed beneath a speeding car—only far, far more revolting.
Blood and shredded flesh splattered everywhere, burying Aldric beneath it. But the corrosive nature of his own blood quickly dissolved the filth clinging to him, eating away at the contamination like acid.
As the air cleared, he noticed that the pendant on his arm was glowing brighter than ever, its radiance pulsing like a living heart. A surge of vitality spread through his veins, healing his wounds and restoring his stamina bit by bit.
With his left hand—the only one still responsive—Aldric picked up the fallen saber and charged at the monstrous eye once more. That last hit had thrown him nearly five meters back. Had it not been for the massive, corpse-laden tree behind him breaking his fall, he might have been hurled right off the platform entirely.
One of the abomination's thick tentacles, the same that had smashed the rotting fruit tree earlier, swept toward him again!
Aldric, already battered and broken, could no longer dodge as nimbly as before. But from that previous attack, he had learned something—the combined mass of the tentacles couldn't alter their course mid-swing. They were far less agile than a single limb.
Using every ounce of speed left in him, Aldric charged forward.
Just before the tentacle struck, he dropped to his knees, leaning backward to let his momentum carry him sliding through the narrow gap between the fused tentacles and the trembling platform. The tentacle whooshed past his face, stirring the wind so fiercely that his hair whipped about wildly.
In that moment, his eyes were filled with one single emotion—calm.
"Die, monster!" Aldric shouted, his muscles tensing like springs. With an explosive motion, he straightened his body and launched forward. The blade in his left hand gleamed, slicing clean through two of the tentacles in his path!
"NOOOO!"
Only one tentacle remained connected to the platform. The black-robed giant eye could no longer support its massive body. The tangled limbs failed to untwine in time, and as the entire platform shook like an earthquake, the enormous creature collapsed with a thunderous crash—right at Aldric's feet.
The platform surged and buckled beneath him like the back of a dying beast. Aldric felt as if he were standing on a horse convulsing under electric shock. Far in the distance, Vittoria clung tightly to a tree blooming with faces, using her raw strength to keep from being thrown off.
Of the plague warriors, one had already vanished entirely. The other two had driven their weapons deep into the ground just to stay upright, while the frail, malformed abominations rolled away like bowling pins, tumbling helplessly into the endless void below.
"You're finished!" Aldric growled. The longsword in his hand finally snapped under the corrosive blood of the creature. Raising his left hand high, he let his blood flow freely over the [Damaged Pendant], which now shone like a blazing torch.
The giant eye roared in despair. "What are you?! Why does your blood terrify the Grandfather's children so?! No matter how hard you struggle, this world will rot beneath Grandfather Nurgle's embrace! It will all—"
"Go to hell and repent there!" Aldric snarled, slamming his fist down with all his might.
A sickening crunch filled the air as his fist broke through the monster's glassy eyeball. The squishy, gelatinous texture sent chills up his spine. "Do fewer evil deeds in your next life," he muttered coldly. "And tell your 'Grandfather' to stop paying us visits."
He struck again and again, pounding the massive eye until it turned into nothing but a pulpy mess. Flesh and blood blended together beneath his fists until it was impossible to tell one from the other. His corrosive blood charred it all to ash, grinding the remains to nothing until at last, his own wounds began to close and the bleeding stopped.
Gradually, the platform grew still. Like a dying beast, its warmth faded, turning cold beneath his feet.
When Aldric finally looked up, his mentor Gonz stood a short distance away on the stone steps, watching silently. Behind him, the young paladins and priests avoided his gaze; many were pale, some vomiting uncontrollably at the grotesque scene before them.
Nearby, Vittoria had been lifted onto a makeshift stretcher. Even battered and bloodied, she gave Aldric a weary but heartfelt smile, raising a trembling thumb in salute.
Exhausted but smiling faintly, Aldric raised his own left hand in return—his blood-covered fingers clotted with unidentifiable bits of flesh that dangled from his chain. The motion made several paladins who had been barely holding back their nausea lose control, retching loudly in unison.
Gonz looked at his apprentice and gave him a thumbs-up as well. "Well done, apprentice. Once again, I've underestimated you. Get some rest now. We'll take care of the rest."
Seeing the system prompt confirming [Mission Completed] flicker at the edge of his vision, Aldric finally allowed himself to relax. He collapsed backward, lying flat on the still-warm platform of flesh.
Right now, all he wanted… was a good, long sleep.
(End of Chapter)