Chapter 35: Fighting Through The Pain!

But before Aiden could attack, the Fallen Engineer opened its mouth.

No sound emerged. Yet an invisible scream erupted directly inside his mind.

[Wraith Shriek]!

A searing pain exploded through Aiden’s skull.

His vision blurred and his ears rang violently. For an instant, he could almost hear countless desperate voices crying for help beneath the collapsing tunnels.

His Health dropped and his Mana followed. The attack wasn’t aimed at his body. It assaulted his soul itself.

Aiden clenched his teeth. The Thermal Perception he had been relying on suddenly became useless.

The ghostly screams drowned out his concentration. He couldn’t properly process the heat patterns anymore.

He couldn’t focus enough to channel mana precisely.

He couldn’t even think clearly. ’Fuck!’

Aiden bit the inside of his cheek until blood filled his mouth. The sharp pain gave him something real to focus on.

’Don’t fight the scream.’

His vision swayed. Another wave of agony crashed through his mind.

’Ignore it.’

The Fallen Engineer raised its wrench.

’Move!’ Aiden screamed to himself in his mind and threw himself sideways...

BOOM!

The wrench smashed into the platform. Black lightning exploded outward.

Aiden rolled across the ground as crackling electricity skimmed over his back, scorching the fabric of his newly equipped combat suit.

The wrench slammed into an abandoned maintenance machine.

BOOM!

Several tons of steel were reduced to mangled scrap. Aiden pushed himself back to his feet.

His breathing was heavier now. "So much stronger..."

The words escaped his mouth. He glanced toward the boss. ’It’s like the Engineering Mech on steroids.’

The thought wasn’t an exaggeration. The previous boss had been powerful because of its sheer weight and mechanical strength.

This thing possessed all of that... And absurd speed on top of it.

Aiden’s eyes sharpened. He couldn’t rely solely on Thermal Perception anymore. He needed to combine it with his combat instincts.

The Fallen Engineer lunged and Aiden moved, Its wrench swept past.

He ducked. A second strike came from the opposite direction.

Aiden jumped backward and the wrench smashed into the floor.

CRACK!

Aiden landed. His hand slammed toward the ground.

[Root Entanglement]!

Dark-green vines burst through cracks in the metal flooring, twisting around the Fallen Engineer’s legs.

The ghostly half of its body immediately began phasing through the restraints.

The mechanical half, however, was caught.

The vines tightened. For less than half a second, the monster’s movement was delayed.

Aiden’s eyes flashed. ’That’s enough.’

He accelerated. His footsteps echoed rhythmically through the platform as he darted between abandoned generators, hanging cables, and overturned tool cabinets.

The cluttered environment became his weapon.

He forced the boss to change directions constantly, preventing it from unleashing its full strength in a straight-line attack.

The Fallen Engineer pursued relentlessly. Each swing of its enormous wrench shattered concrete. Each miss left smoking craters in the platform.

Black arcs of electricity leapt wildly across the battlefield, scorching everything they touched.

Aiden never stopped moving. He couldn’t. One direct hit would kill him. Thermal Perception flickered back into focus.

The Fallen Engineer’s heat signature appeared again. Slightly warmer than the surroundings.

Aiden tracked it. Shoulder movement. Hip rotation. Mechanical joint compression. He saw the attack coming.

He moved before the wrench was even fully raised.

BOOM!

The wrench crashed down behind him.

Aiden’s eyes narrowed. ’It works.’

But the relief lasted less than a second. The Fallen Engineer suddenly accelerated.

Aiden barely reacted in time. The wrench swept toward his ribs. He twisted his body. The weapon grazed his side.

A violent force sent him tumbling across the platform. His Health dropped sharply.

Aiden rolled and immediately sprang back to his feet.

’Even when I can predict it... I’m barely fast enough.’

The Fallen Engineer charged again. Aiden didn’t retreat this time.

He stepped toward it. At the last instant, he planted his foot.

Adhesive Dominion anchored him to the ground.

The wrench passed beside him. Aiden stepped inside its reach. Titan Strength surged through his body as his fist clenched.

’Kinetic Smash!’

Mana poured into his arm. He deliberately kept the output controlled.

BOOM!

His fist slammed into the mechanical joint beneath the boss’s shoulder.

The impact rattled the entire limb. Metal bent. Sparks erupted. The Fallen Engineer staggered.

Aiden immediately retreated. ’Physical force works on the mechanical half.’

The boss roared. Its chest suddenly burst open. A ring of black lightning exploded outward.

[Overload Field]!

Aiden’s expression changed. He immediately sprinted toward the edge of the platform. Electric currents flooded the central area.

The entire battlefield transformed into a deadly minefield of crackling energy.

Each pulse scorched Aiden’s boots, draining his Health every second he remained inside.

He jumped onto a narrow metal beam. The lightning passed beneath him.

The Fallen Engineer raised its wrench.

Aiden’s pupils contracted and jumped again.

BOOM!

The wrench obliterated the beam and Aiden landed on the opposite side.

’That attack pattern...’

His mind was working despite the lingering pain from Wraith Shriek.

’It’s trying to restrict my movement.’

The Hidden Boss wasn’t merely attacking wildly. It was learning. It was pretty smart...

Aiden smiled faintly. ’Good.’

He preferred opponents that fought intelligently. The Fallen Engineer suddenly raised its free hand. They were easier to predict as long as they weren’t too smart...

Anyways, several maintenance hatches burst open.

Tiny spider-like maintenance robots crawled out, their crimson indicator lights flashing ominously.

Aiden’s pupils contracted. "Self-destruct units."

The robots rushed toward him from every direction.

One leaped but Aiden sidestepped.

BOOM!

The explosion blasted shrapnel into his shoulder. Pain surged through his body.

Regenerative Reconstruction immediately began repairing the damage.

Another robot rolled beneath his feet but Aiden kicked it away.

The robot bounced across the platform and rolled directly toward the boss.

BOOM!

The explosion detonated beneath the Fallen Engineer’s mechanical leg.

The monster staggered.

Aiden’s eyes flashed. ’Thank you.’

He rushed forward. His fists became a blur.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Every strike landed on the damaged joints connecting flesh and machinery.

Sparks flew and metal bent. Ghostly energy scattered into the air.

The Fallen Engineer roared in fury. Its wrench swept toward Aiden in a wide horizontal arc.

Aiden leaned backward and the electrified weapon passed barely inches from his nose.

The wind pressure alone left a burning cut across his cheek.

He rolled beneath the follow-up strike and sprang back to his feet, his breathing grew heavier.

The battle dragged on, minute after minute. The platform became a battlefield of shattered concrete, burning machinery, smoking craters, and scattered mechanical debris.

Aiden’s Mana dropped dangerously low. His Health rose and fell like a heartbeat. More than once, it dipped into the red.

Only hastily swallowed Minor Health Potions kept him standing.

Yet his eyes remained calm, every dodge, every attack, and every retreat was calculated.

But something had changed. His movements were becoming less fluid.

The Wraith Shriek continued to interfere with his concentration whenever it activated. Every time the invisible scream assaulted his mind, his ability to focus on Thermal Perception and precisely control his mana deteriorated.

That was why he hadn’t used Pressure Shot. He couldn’t afford the concentration it required. He couldn’t afford one moment of mental interference while channeling highly pressurized mana. It could turn the attack into a waste of precious Mana, or worse backfire and leave him exposed.