Chapter 182: The Bzing-Eyed Vanquisher

  "Hahaha! I'll eat you up!"

  The giant baby in front of Alex seemed to have a mind as simple as its grotesque appearance. Seeing Alex standing still, motionless, it ughed loudly, reaching out in an attempt to grab and swallow him whole.

  Yet, even as the monster's right hand stretched toward him, Alex neither dodged nor flinched. He simply stood there calmly, watching as the hand came closer and closer. Then… a fsh of sword light.

  No one saw what had happened. It was too fast. In an instant, the dazzling light of a bde streaked through the air. The giant baby's outstretched right hand was cleanly severed, its enormous, fleshy palm falling to the ground with a loud thud.

  Only at this moment did the creature finally realize something was wrong.

  "AAAAHHH! IT HURTS!!"

  The sharp pain sent the giant baby into a frenzy. It began filing its severed arm wildly. From the open wound, Alex could clearly see that the creature's arm contained nothing—no muscles, no blood vessels, not even bones. It was hollow inside, just like an oversized pstic doll. From the severed stump, a strange white substance, resembling both liquid and mist, shimmered as it leaked out, dissipating into the air.

  …Could that be its blood?

  The thought crossed Alex’s mind, but his actions didn’t pause for even a second.

  Despite the monster’s massive size, Alex had fought plenty of simir creatures in the Dark Souls world. There was nothing to fear. As the giant baby howled in pain and lifted its head, Alex vanished in a blur of movement. The next instant, his Skycutter Sword gleamed with silver light and sliced cleanly through both of the monster’s legs, as effortlessly as cutting through butter.

  A pained scream rang out as the legless giant baby lost its bance and colpsed backward.

  "No… it hurts! It hurts so much…!!"

  The monster filed its arms in a desperate attempt to grasp something, its round, bulging eyes filled with terror as it struggled to flee.

  But before it could even finish its wails, its head suddenly detached from its body.

  A brilliant explosion followed as the massive head burst into searing fmes, its enormous body shattering apart in the same instant. Both head and torso vanished into nothingness, leaving behind only a few scattered embers.

  "Was that all?"

  Watching the tiny remnants of fire, Alex let out a quiet scoff. He had expected more from this giant baby due to its size, but in the end, it was no different from the giant thralls in the Dark Souls world—visually intimidating, but weak beyond measure.

  …Oh, right. There was still that flesh ball.

  "You bastard!!"

  As if responding to his thoughts, a furious roar echoed from within the fmes.

  The grotesque, sphere-like monster—formed from fused mannequin-like figures—suddenly burst out of the fire, unching itself at Alex like a cannonball.

  But Alex merely extended a finger forward.

  In the next moment, an overwhelming barrage of magic missiles erupted from his hand, bsting the flesh ball away mid-air. A shriek rang out as it was blown apart, disintegrating into the same blue-white fmes as the giant baby before vanishing entirely.

  "That was even weaker than I expected."

  Frowning at the scene before him, Alex was slightly disappointed.

  Although his battle with these two bizarre creatures hadn’t sted long, the destruction they caused in the shopping district was undeniable. The buildings bore clear signs of damage, and more importantly, even the people trapped in the time-stopped state had been caught in the crossfire.

  Many were now lying on the ground, unmoving. But despite the battle's aftermath, they remained frozen in pce, locked in their previous positions, like lifeless mannequins.

  "Hmm? Trying to run?"

  As Alex scanned the surroundings, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

  With a cold snort, he snapped his fingers.

  In response, several metallic threads materialized in the air, swiftly entwining a seemingly empty space.

  The next second, a shadowy figure slowly emerged from within.

  "You didn’t really think that a mere invisibility trick would let you slip past me, did you?"

  Looking at the blonde woman in a dress before him, Alex let out a cold chuckle. A prophet mage had no fear of invisibility. In fact, he had already noticed this woman hiding nearby earlier. However, at that time, he wasn't sure whether she was an enemy or an ally. But the moment she tried to flee after he had dealt with the two monsters, it became obvious—she was most likely working with them.

  Well, that made things easier…

  "Who are you? Why are you here? And why did you attack humans? I’d appreciate a proper expnation."

  Watching the woman struggle desperately against her restraints, Alex smirked, taking slow steps toward her. Seeing him approach, the woman’s face instantly turned pale with fear.

  "You… what are you trying to do? Do you even know who my master is?"

  "No idea. But if you don’t mind, feel free to introduce them."

  "You…!"

  The blonde woman clenched her teeth, gring at Alex with fierce hostility.

  Not that it mattered. To a prophecy mage, whether she talked or not was irrelevant. If she refused to answer, all he needed was a simple Mind Probe—

  "Boom!!"

  Before Alex could even cast his spell, an explosion erupted from the distance.

  A figure emerged from the smoke, raising a bde high before mercilessly sshing down at the restrained woman!

  "AAAAHHHH!!!"

  Bound tightly by Alex’s Iron Shackles, the woman had no chance to dodge. She was instantly cleaved in two.

  But in the next instant, Alex saw something small and doll-like swiftly darting out of her bisected body. Without hesitation, it shot into the sky and disappeared.

  Just as Alex was about to react, the woman's severed body suddenly detonated with a deafening bst.

  A wave of searing fmes and shockwaves surged forward, engulfing both Alex and the unknown attacker.

  By the time the fmes dissipated, the strange puppet-like creature had already vanished without a trace.

  "...It got away."

  Standing amidst the wreckage, the attacker spoke in a low voice.

  It was a young girl, appearing no older than eleven or twelve. She wore a pitch-bck coat and wielded a long bde. Her hair, a deep crimson, flickered and swayed like living fmes, scattering glowing embers as she moved.

  ...Girl, your dandruff is way too serious. Do you need a shampoo recommendation?

  "What seemed like just a Rinne turned out to be something backed by a major force," a calm, elderly male voice echoed from the pendant hanging on the girl’s chest.

  "This could very well lead to the extermination of a Demon King."

  "Hmm. But more importantly…"

  The girl trailed off as she turned her gaze toward Alex.

  Her face was filled with unconcealed surprise and curiosity.

  "Astor… what’s with this human?"

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