Chapter 108 — "The Assassin"
Gideon held his monocular and studied the terrain below: broken pillars, rotting crates, and assorted debris. The hall wasn't large, but its layout was treacherous. Before they arrived, Lance had already briefed them on the monster.
"This creature has two forms…" Lance said.
According to his observations, the creature spent most of its time as a writhing swarm, but it could coalesce into a humanoid shape — its forearms sprouting long, black spikes.
"I tried attacking from range," Lance continued, "but when the swarm is struck it disperses. You can't hit the real body."
That ruled out sniping from the high ground. Lance also noted another dangerous trait: the swarm can crawl along walls at frightening speed, though only within a limited radius. That, too, explained why the four of them were standing where they were — any farther and they'd be inside the monster's attack zone.
Gideon stroked his chin. If his memory served, the beast below was called an "Assassin."
Beyond Lance's report, Gideon knew the creature's classical weaknesses: fire, poison, and blunt force. When sufficiently wounded, the Assassin would go berserk — producing multiple phantoms and expelling clouds of swarming insects. If you were infected, the Assassin's next strike would almost certainly land.
A reckless descent would be suicidal.
Still, Gideon kept quiet. He had another worry: many of the monsters they'd encountered so far differed from the old texts; the Assassin here might be altered too. He decided to wait and watch.
Sure enough, an opening revealed the Assassin's humanoid form.
"What… is this? They enhanced it?" Gideon seethed inwardly.
The swarm gathered and solidified into a vaguely human silhouette. As Lance had warned, its hands bore long spikes — but now the whole thing was encased in thick armor. How an armored husk could dissolve into insects defied chemistry. Then again, this world had demons; nothing should surprise him.
The armor changed the calculus: blunt weapons, flame, and poison would struggle to hurt the core while the plating remained intact. Gideon's eyes brightened as a plan formed.
A short while later the three hunters followed him into a narrow stone chamber. It sat on the castle's first floor, adjacent to the hall where the elite monster lurked. The room had no other exits — to leave they'd have to climb to the third floor and loop around. Strategically, it was a poor position in many senses, but crucially it lay outside the Assassin's attack radius. Every other spot either put them behind walls or forced them to enter the enemy territory from above.
While Sadie and the others debated tactics, Gideon laid out relics along the passageway connecting the hall and the chamber. The three of them peered over, curious.
"Gideon, what's the plan?" Sadie crouched by one of the relics and asked.
Gideon nodded and explained.
"This… this can actually work?" Lance said, incredulous. "We've never tried anything like it."
"Isn't it a little underhanded?" another chimed in.
"Safety is the highest priority," Gideon reminded them sharply when he sensed wavering resolve. "If we die, treasure won't matter."
He handed a small saintly statue to Lance and pointed to a place inside the hall.
"Put this there when you go in."
Then, with a serious look, he admonished them: "No matter what happens, do not let that statue fall."
All three nodded obediently.
With the preparations done, Gideon said his farewells. "I'll wait up here for you," he said, indicating their earlier observation post. He had no intention of entering the hall. He'd already committed two twenty-year relics — the rest would be on them.
He had initially hoped to use his Redemption Persuasion on the elite monster, but Sadie reminded him: only if the creature is killed will its corpse yield the "Trait." Gideon's methods tended to purge evil rather than destroy it outright; he didn't want the hunters to expend effort for nothing. So this time he would observe.
Left alone, the three hunters exchanged glances.
"Shall we follow Father Gideon's plan?" Sadie asked.
No one objected. They checked their gear — quick-clot, adrenaline, spare ammo, and a panoply of weapons. Once satisfied, Lance took the statue and stepped into the hall.
The moment he entered the Assassin's range, a deafening shriek filled his ears. Shadows rippled along the walls. Lance turned; a roiling mass of insects moved by him, then condensed into a man-shaped silhouette. A crushing pressure descended, and evil presences surged around them.
Lance felt his throat tighten.
"Don't just stand there — move!" he barked, and the others steeled themselves for the fight.
From above, the priest's voice cut through the chaos.
Lance jolted back to his senses, realizing he'd just been swayed by the monster's malignant aura.
Instinctively, he hurled a molotov to buy a second of breathing room, then dashed toward the spot Gideon had marked.
But the monster didn't hesitate for even half a heartbeat—it lunged after him instantly.
Fortunately, Lance was a seasoned hunter. He didn't panic. Instead, he feinted back, dodged the strike, and calmly placed the holy statue exactly where it needed to be.
"Get back, now!" Sadie shouted.
Reacting fast, Lance sprinted back the way he came. A moment later, the Assassin's black spike pierced clean through the floor where he had just been standing.
Lance thought he'd avoided the attack—until a hot pain stabbed into his shoulder.
He twisted around to see a spike jutting from his flesh, blood spilling down.
So… fast, Lance thought grimly as his body was yanked toward the hall.
Seeing him dragged away, Sadie and Ralph didn't hesitate. Both rushed into the hall, seizing Lance's arms to pull him back.
Sadie pressed the cross Gideon had given her against the spike.
"Ssshhhk—"
The monster hissed as though burned, recoiling and retracting its weapon.
Lance was free.
The two dragged him back into the stone chamber.
In only a few minutes, Lance had nearly lost his life—a sobering reminder of how dangerous this elite monster was.
But even more worrying, dark energies now pulsed from the wound on his shoulder.
Lance quickly rolled up his sleeve, revealing his forearm.
Sadie's eyes widened. It was covered in bite marks—old scars.
Then, to her shock, Lance bit into his own arm without hesitation and began sucking at his blood.
"This… what the—?!" Sadie froze in alarm, thinking he'd already been possessed.
She raised her shotgun with one hand, clutching the cross in the other.
"Don't panic!" Lance turned his head quickly.
"This is the Benek family's Trait—Cursed Blood. It purges disease and corruption."
Sadie blinked, stunned. She hadn't expected such a powerful ability.
Lance hadn't wanted to expose his secret, but in the heat of the moment he had no choice. Still, he was alive, and the statue was placed. That was enough.
And he felt relief—had he ignored the priest's warning and charged in, all three of them would likely already be dead.
Just then, the Assassin appeared at the chamber entrance, reforming its humanoid body. Black spikes rose high in its hands.
Then it charged, moving faster than the eye could follow.
BOOM!
A deafening crash shook the hall.
The Assassin froze, its strike repelled by an invisible barrier—stopped cold before it even reached the chamber doorway.
Inside its own lair, it had been forced to a halt.
Someone had stolen its territory.