Chapter 14. The Insane Delinquent (1)
A strange sound sent a chill through my instincts.
When I turned toward its source, I saw a colossal creature approximately four to five meters tall lumbering toward us.
It had snow-white hide that served as camouflage. Its head resembled that of a snake, while its body resembled a bird’s.
Unlike a legless snake, however, it walked on four limbs.
Where a bird would have wings, it possessed primitive yet powerful forelimbs that seemed to have stopped midway through evolving into wings.
If I remembered correctly....
‘A Dermexus?’
“......”
That was the monster’s name.
The Dermexus was a monster found only in the north, possessing an extremely violent temperament and a powerful body.
It was also one of the monsters I absolutely needed to consume through Predation.
However, it was such a formidable creature that I hadn’t dared to hunt one recklessly.
In a sense, it stood even higher in the food chain than an Ice Troll. Perhaps that was why clear alarm appeared on Kai’s face.
Dermexuses normally inhabited the snowy mountains.
Although they occasionally descended from the mountains in search of prey, they never came this close to the County.
Grrrrr!
The Dermexus released a low growl. It had recognized us as prey.
Dermexuses were violent by nature. Once one selected something as its prey, there was no escaping it.
We had to fight, but....
“Huff...! Huff...!”
….I was exhausted.
We had been running for two entire days.
My stamina hadn’t merely run dry—it had been completely destroyed.
I had also exhausted all the lunch boxes filled with entrails stored in my Inventory.
I was no longer able to use Regeneration.
Facing the Dermexus in this condition would be nearly impossible. If I fought alone, I would inevitably become its meal, but....
I subtly turned my gaze toward Kai.
Kai wasn’t even looking at me. His blue eyes remained fixed on the Dermexus.
Kai carefully placed a hand on the hilt of his sword while closely observing the Dermexus’ movements.
Kai also understood that we had to fight.
However—
“Haaah...! Haaah...!”
Kai was exhausted too.
His breathing was ragged, and his long blond hair was drenched in sweat.
Even Kai would struggle to face a Dermexus in his current condition.
Kai undoubtedly understood that, and yet—
He charged toward the Dermexus without hesitation.
* * *
The Dermexus had appeared without warning.
The moment Kai saw the monster, the first emotion he felt was “confusion”.
That was understandable.
A Dermexus wasn’t a monster one would normally encounter near the County.
It primarily inhabited the snowy mountains. It almost never descended this close to the County.
‘Then why is it here….?’
The question crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. This wasn’t the time to think about that.
Kai drew a ragged breath and filled his lungs with the frigid air of the bitter cold.
A Dermexus was not a monster to be underestimated. It ordinarily required ten trained soldiers working in formation to confront one.
Even Kai couldn’t guarantee victory while this physically exhausted.
Furthermore, running continuously for two days had depleted even his Aura.
It would be difficult to fight alone.
Nevertheless, Kai had to face it by himself.
Kai acknowledged that Adrian had changed to some extent. But as those words suggested, it was only “to some extent”.
More importantly, everything Adrian had done until now amounted to nothing more than conditioning and training.
The battle against the Dermexus, however, was real combat. Training and real combat were fundamentally different.
Training merely tested one’s physical limits.
Real combat tested not only one’s physical limits, but also one’s ability to withstand pressure, tension, and emotional pain.
Consequently, it required an entirely different level of mental preparation.
That wasn’t something that could be overcome through a few days of training.
Furthermore, unlike training, real combat didn’t consist solely of predictable events.
It was an endless succession of unpredictable situations. Danger could become reality anytime and anywhere.
Every decision and action stood at the crossroads between life and death.
A single mistake could lead to fatal consequences, and the price was death.
Therefore, Kai couldn’t expect anything from Adrian.
Adrian would be more of a liability than an asset.
Tap!
Kai’s feet felt heavy as they pushed against the snow-covered plain.
Through his blurred vision, he saw the Dermexus’ massive body and sharp teeth. As he drew closer, its menacing eyes came into clearer view.
The Dermexus’ ferocious gaze suddenly flashed.
Roaaaar—!
Its sharp claws flew toward Kai.
He swiftly twisted aside and avoided them, but the movement briefly threw him off balance.
Kai forced his trembling legs to hold firm to keep himself from falling. He squeezed out his remaining strength and thrust his sword forward.
However, his stamina had reached its limit. His arms felt unbearably heavy, leaving little power behind the attack.
Grrrk...!
Blood bubbled from the Dermexus’ neck where the sword had pierced it. Kai applied more force, but without Aura, the blade couldn’t penetrate any farther.
The Dermexus’ eyes widened in pain, and its enormous mouth opened wide.
At that moment—
The Dermexus’ eyes flashed.
Kai’s instincts instantly screamed a warning. Alarm bells rang incessantly inside his head.
Kai hurriedly pulled the sword from the creature’s neck. At the same time, he kicked off the ground—
The Dermexus’ gaping jaws snapped shut over the place where Kai had just been standing.
If he hadn’t instinctively dodged, it would have swallowed him whole.
....Gulp.
Kai unconsciously swallowed and readjusted his grip on his sword.
The Dermexus wasn’t dead yet. It was now a wounded monster. Its already violent temperament would only become more ferocious.
And then it happened.
While the Dermexus was preoccupied with Kai—
Adrian charged in like a bolt of lightning and swung his sword toward its neck.
However, an ordinary blade couldn’t even scratch the Dermexus’ resilient hide.
He needed to use the power of Aura.
But Adrian didn’t use Aura. More accurately, he couldn’t use it. Adrian’s talent for mana was practically nonexistent.
And yet—
The trajectory of Adrian’s sword suddenly changed.
He aimed precisely for the wound Kai’s sword had opened moments earlier.
Without deviating even by an inch, Adrian drove his sword into the exact same spot—
It was a movement that the delinquent of the Count’s family should never have been capable of performing.
Kai’s eyes widened.
Grrrk—!
Blood bubbled from the Dermexus’ wound once again.
The Dermexus thrashed in agony.
However, Adrian didn’t retreat.
Gripping his sword with both hands, he suppressed the struggling Dermexus.
Adrian relentlessly drove the creature back.
Kai was left speechless.
That wasn’t….the delinquent who had lived only for gambling and pleasure.
Adrian had recently begun training his body.
Even so—
It had only been approximately ten days. Furthermore, he had done nothing except physical training.
In other words, he had never even held a sword. He was a “rookie” with absolutely no real combat experience.
And yet—
Grrraaar—!!
How could anyone look at that and call him a rookie?
Who could possibly believe he was a delinquent who had never held a sword and possessed no real combat experience?
The Dermexus began rampaging.
Like an enraged bull, it thrashed in every direction in an attempt to throw Adrian off.
But Adrian refused to retreat.
Instead, he drove the sword embedded in the Dermexus’ neck even deeper.
Adrian continued pressuring the Dermexus without pause.
“......!!”
Kai’s eyes widened once again.
Even a knight who had survived countless battles and brushes with death couldn’t go that far.
Neither could a mercenary who had crossed innumerable battlefields.
Even Kai wasn’t confident that he could do something like that.
Stab!
....Kai couldn’t help thinking that it was impossible.
Adrian’s boldness was astonishing enough, but his skill with the sword was comparable to that of a knight.
No matter how Kai looked at him, Adrian didn’t seem like someone holding a sword for the first time.
Still, it wasn’t entirely beyond comprehension.
Reaching that level in only ten days was absurd, but this continent was home to a fair number of “geniuses” capable of achieving the absurd.
In a sense, Kai belonged to that category of genius as well.
However....
Slash!
….This went far beyond that.
Adrian continuously altered his sword’s trajectory to match the Dermexus’ movements.
His timing and coordination were flawless. Not a single movement offered anything to criticize.
Graaagh—!
….This wasn’t something that could be explained by simply calling him a “genius”.
They said that knowledge obtainable only through action wasn’t knowledge, but experience.
Movements like those couldn’t be achieved through talent alone.
They required experience gained from countless real battles and life-or-death struggles.
Without an extensive foundation of such experiences, those movements could never be mastered.
‘How in the world...?’
When Adrian poured strength into his sword—
Slaaash!
The Dermexus’ neck was cleanly cut open from its throat to its jaw.
That alone was a fatal wound.
But Adrian didn’t stop. He swiftly pulled back his sword and clenched his fist. Then he struck the Dermexus’ head with all his strength—
Booom—!
A tremendous impact erupted.
The Dermexus’ head caved inward, its skull apparently shattered.
“......!!!”
Kai’s eyes opened even wider.
There had been no Aura in the fist Adrian had just used to shatter the Dermexus’ skull. In other words, that strength had come entirely from a human body.
Yet the power and destructive force behind that blow….could never have come from a human.
The Dermexus collapsed with a thud that lightly shook the ground.
It no longer moved.
The snow beneath it was stained red with its blood.
“Huaaah...!!”
Adrian released a deep breath and collapsed into a sitting position. He didn’t merely sit down—he sprawled across the ground.
His stamina had been completely exhausted.
Kai was in the same condition.
The only strength he had left was just enough to remain standing on his own two feet.
In other words, he would have been in serious trouble without Adrian.
That was how powerful a Dermexus was.
Of course, if Kai had possessed sufficient stamina, it wouldn’t have presented much of a threat.
But with both his stamina and Aura completely depleted, the Dermexus had been an extremely dangerous opponent.
‘Why did a Dermexus come all the way down to the County….?’
Kai still couldn’t understand why a monster that primarily inhabited the snowy mountains had descended this close to the County.
He could only feel relieved that the first prey it encountered had been Kai.
Otherwise, the residents of the County would have become its victims.
And even Kai would have been in danger “without Adrian”.
‘Hmm.’
Kai once again reflected on Adrian’s fighting style.
Adrian’s skill with the sword was advanced. However, his swordsmanship lacked any formal structure.
Adrian’s sword existed solely for the purpose of killing.
In truth, it could hardly be called swordsmanship. To put it positively, it was practical. To put it negatively, it was crude.
However, Adrian compensated for those flaws with meticulous calculation and extraordinary combat instincts.
In that sense, Adrian could be considered closer to a “knight”. Yet his actual fighting style resembled that of a “mercenary”.
At the same time, his ruthlessly efficient movements, focused solely on killing, resembled those of a “beast”.
A knight, a mercenary, and a beast.
....Kai couldn’t begin to understand what kind of person Adrian truly was.
The only thing he could say for certain was—
Adrian was no longer the “delinquent of the Count’s family”.
Adrian had suddenly changed after running away from home.
Kai didn’t know what had happened during that one week. But Adrian had changed completely.
The way Kai looked at Adrian had unmistakably changed.
At that moment—
Adrian, who had been sprawled across the ground, abruptly sprang to his feet.
He seemed to have recovered some of his stamina, as there was no hesitation in his movements.
Adrian picked up the sword lying on the ground.
He climbed onto the Dermexus’ corpse and thrust the blade into it without hesitation.
‘What is he….?’
Before Kai could finish forming the question—
Adrian pulled something approximately thirty centimeters in diameter from the Dermexus’ corpse.
‘Its heart?’
It was the Dermexus’ heart.
The heart in Adrian’s hand continued to twitch faintly. However, that didn’t mean the Dermexus was still alive.
The nerves in its heart simply hadn’t died yet.
In other words, Adrian’s fatal strike had been exceptionally swift and decisive.
The blood had yet to lose its warmth.
When it met the cold air of the snowy plain, hot steam billowed from it.
The crimson blood remaining inside the heart dripped onto the ground, staining the pure-white snow an even deeper red.
Adrian stared at the Dermexus’ heart and displayed a “satisfied smile”.
….Was he insane?
To Kai, Adrian looked like the most deranged man in the world.
If smiling after ripping out a monster’s heart didn’t make someone insane, then what did?
Regardless of Kai’s thoughts—
Adrian raised the Dermexus’ heart toward his mouth.
‘Why is he suddenly bringing the heart—?’
Crunch.
Kai shouted without realizing it.
The expression on his face was no longer that of someone looking at another human being.
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