Chapter 200: Even Nightmares Must Die (2)

"IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!!!!!"

Aldrich began screaming and writhing on the ground, sobbing and trembling in a manner so pathetic that it was almost difficult to believe he was the same creature who had terrorized the entire city.

"WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!!"

The monster responsible for all the tragedies that had befallen Old Ashvarn staggered before struggling back to his feet.

The damage inflicted by Overcharge had been absolutely devastating.

A single discharge at full power had wiped out nearly half of his health in one attack, leaving him with only the remaining half.

Unlike the powerful Aldebaran and his terrifying black armor, Aldrich possessed considerably weaker defenses and a much smaller health pool.

Both were Saint-rank monsters, yet the difference between their physical capabilities was like heaven and earth.

Of course, Aldrich’s possession ability made him far more dangerous than Aldebaran could ever have been.

"EVERYTHING WAS WITHIN MY GRASP! THE PATH BEFORE ME WAS CLEAR! I WAS GOING TO REACH THE RANK OF TYRANT AND CLAIM ONE OF THE HIGHEST POSITIONS AMONG THE FOLLOWERS OF DARKNESS!!"

His voice rose into a furious scream.

"SO WHY AM I SUFFERING LIKE THIS NOW?!"

"Why... Why am I trembling like this?"

Despite his overwhelming rage, Aldrich couldn’t stop his body from shaking.

The memories of what he had witnessed continued replaying inside his mind, and every time they resurfaced, he came dangerously close to losing his sanity.

The horrific burns covering his body only made him look more pitiful.

He no longer resembled a Saint-rank monster. Instead, he looked like some miserable fraud one might encounter in the earliest regions of the Land of the Curse.

"This would’ve been a difficult battle if you’d actually fought me seriously. But right now, you’re nothing more than a coward trembling in front of a human who’s weaker than you."

Hearing my voice, Aldrich slowly raised his head toward me, his hands still shaking uncontrollably with fear.

And what greeted him was the sight of an enormous greatsword spinning through the air, its blade radiating a deep crimson glow.

"Ah... Ah!"

Aldrich barely managed to force those sounds out of his chest.

Then the Executioner’s Sword pierced straight through him.

I had just unleashed the sword’s spinning strike, and the result was nothing short of devastating.

The momentum of the attack sent Aldrich flying backward, the enormous blade driving deeper through his body as it carried him across the battlefield.

He finally crashed into a distant stone wall, where the Executioner’s Sword remained embedded in his chest, pinning him firmly against the stone.

A thick, black trail of blood formed beneath Aldrich, running down the stone wall before reaching the ground, where it gathered into a dark pool that expanded with every passing second.

"I already told you, Aldrich. You’re nothing but a coward hiding behind the corpses of your victims, fighting with power that was never yours to begin with. You exploit the efforts of heroes who devoted decades of their lives to reaching such heights."

I approached him slowly, placing my hand on the hilt of the Executioner’s Sword still embedded in his chest.

"How many years... How many decades did the Golden Dawn Knight spend honing his strength before becoming a legend among his own clan?"

Even now, that colossal golden sword remained visible in the distance, towering above every building in Old Ashvarn.

Neither the clock towers nor the buildings nor even the cathedrals could rival its sheer height.

That magnificent sword was the clearest testament to just how far the Golden Dawn Knight had risen. He had been a great warrior who reached such extraordinary heights that he could look down upon the rest of the world from where he stood.

Even if I tilted my head back as far as it would go and stared into the heavens, I still wouldn’t have been able to glimpse his shadow. The difference between us was simply that enormous.

He had stood so far above me that catching even a glimpse of him seemed impossible. A true monster, one whom even Asterion, the Uncrowned Emperor himself, had been unable to defeat.

"And yet you stole all of that, turning him into a puppet in your hands."

Unforgivable.

A fierce anger welled up inside me whenever I remembered the Golden Dawn Knight’s face.

That horribly disfigured, frightening face that made him resemble a monster rather than a human being. For someone cursed in such a cruel way, the strength he had built through his own efforts must have been the one thing he could truly take pride in.

Yet Aldrich had stolen even that from him, after already robbing him of the right to live like an ordinary human being.

That alone made me want to kill Aldrich several times over, never mind the fact that he had attempted to do exactly the same thing to me.

"But this time, you failed. And that’s why you’re going to die by my hand. The hand of Ethan Heart, the Cursed Hunter... Just an insignificant hunter who can’t even begin to compare to the Golden Dawn Knight."

With every word I spoke, I slowly pulled the Executioner’s Sword from his chest.

By the time I finished speaking, the blade had come free completely, and Aldrich collapsed to the ground at my feet.

He was in an utterly miserable condition. There was barely anything left of his HP bar, and what little remained continued decreasing even though I had stopped attacking him.

His open wounds were inflicting additional damage on their own, and they showed no signs of healing. It was further proof of how badly his mental state had deteriorated. He hadn’t even attempted to close them.

"With this... I’ll finally put an end to a nightmare that has lasted far too long."

I raised the Executioner’s Sword high above my head, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Aldrich must have realized that death was approaching, because he suddenly screamed even louder as several strange black tentacles erupted from his body, each bearing a gleaming, razor-sharp blade at its tip.

Through Wise Raven Insight, I counted eight tentacles in total, each one targeting a different part of my body.

They were incredibly fast.

But I didn’t even bother defending myself.

The moment they reached me, the violent screech of metal scraping against metal rang through the air, and every single tentacle was thrown backward.

Night Armor, reinforced by Aura Armor, had withstood the assault without allowing a single blade to penetrate. The tentacles had barely managed to leave a few scratches, while the armor’s damage-distribution ability reduced the force of his desperate attacks as much as possible.

"Compared to Aldebaran’s sword, the Iron Devil’s fists... and the overwhelming might of the Golden Dawn Knight... you’re nothing but a weak, helpless creature."

SLAAASH!!!

The sound of flesh being severed echoed through the surroundings, accompanied by the splatter of blood as Aldrich fell for the final time, his body collapsing completely.

His eyes widened until they were stretched fully open, reflecting terror and disbelief. He looked utterly frightened, as though he had never imagined that something like this could happen to him.

Staring at me in his final moments, Aldrich repeated the same word he had been muttering ever since his attempt to possess my body had failed.

"Monster..."

The light in his eyes gradually faded, and his eyelids slowly lowered, marking the end of his life.

Aldrich was dead.

NIGHTMARE SLAIN