Demedes, who has sacrificed his intellect in exchange for an overwhelmingly enhanced physique.
Demedes of the past, who retains his intellect but possesses inferior physical abilities compared to now.
If someone were to tell me to choose one of them to face, my first instinctive response would likely be, “Can’t someone else do it?”
However, if I absolutely had to take on one of them, I would unhesitatingly choose the current Demedes who has lost his intellect.
The moment a being regains self-awareness and reason, the difficulty of predicting its attacks drastically increases.
Fortunately, the Chimera attacking now lacks reason.
This means that the actual difficulty of the fight is not much different from when we faced the beastmen.
Still, the fact that magic can be used is somewhat problematic. First off, this concealed magic around me.
Even though I could disguise myself with magic, the drones might not be able to discern where the Chimeras are.
Unlike the situation just now where they identified targets with normal vision, the drones’ targeting system must now rely on thermal imaging cameras.
If the body temperature of the Chimera and mine are similar, they might not be able to distinguish friend from foe and could end up shooting me in the back of the head.
I know from experience that getting shot is not a pleasant experience.
First things first, I need to deal with this magic.
I reached into the inner pocket of my jacket.
Ortes took out a magic-inscribed drive. To Neuro, it seemed like a perplexing choice.
The simplified magic enacted through the magic-inscribed drive lacked the power to penetrate and harm the skin of the Chimeras.
Unless it was a high-end drive, all Ortes pulled out were basic grade drives anyone could easily purchase.
The drives installed on the gauntlets activated in sequence. First came the lubrication magic which spread oil. The direction from which the Chimeras approached was carpeted with oil.
The Chimeras did not avoid the oil. Any sense of hygiene that might have been repulsed by getting oily was already removed, and it posed no immediate threat to their survival.
Next came the ignition magic. A spark as small as a lighter’s flame fell onto the oil and expanded its size.
The roaring wall of fire was insufficient to block the Chimeras. They weren’t trapped in a burning room, and the flames burning across the open field were not enough to k*ll the Chimeras.
However, it was sufficient to distort the concealed magic.
The constantly flickering flames were too complex a subject for the Chimeras to replicate with their concealed magic, having lost their reason.
One by one, the concealed magics attempting to replicate the flames began to break down as they exceeded their limits. Now, the forms of the Chimeras were fully revealed.
Ortes looked behind him.
“Even regular cameras should be able to see them now instead of infrared cameras. Is there any issue with your targeting?”
Neuro nodded. Indeed, that was the intention.
“I would like you to perform enfilade fire as before. Please only be careful about the one at the very rear; we need to capture it alive.”
Ortes, gripping the high-frequency blade, sprinted forward without waiting for Neuro’s response.
Neuro issued a firing command to the drones and also picked up a bow himself. As he drew the string reinforced with mana, a sound akin to scraping metal echoed.
The obvious target was naturally Demedes leading the charge.
Tung— As soon as the string was released, an arrow flew accompanied by a sonic boom. Flames ignited at the tip of the fletching.
It was a rocket-propelled arrow equipped with a shotgun warhead. It accelerated explosively, breaking the sound barrier momentarily.
The long arms and hands of Demedes stretched like rubber. Ten fingers extended beyond the limits of joints or human anatomy.
Each finger was over 10 meters long and covered in a carapace that wasn’t armor for defense but rather sharpened like a saw blade, functioning as biological knives.
The elongated arms and blades occupied vast space. The five-forked tails of the Chimeras lashed out like whips.
Ten tails moved irregularly, sweeping in a hemispherical arc in front of them. Each tailtip ejected a corrosive liquid capable of melting the ground.
A chaotic rampage akin to that of a wild beast. An attack devoid of any strategy or technique.
Yet, the sheer size and ferocity transformed it into an integrated offensive maneuver.
The air pressure created by the whip-like arms deflected the arrow mid-flight before it could hit. One of the Chimeras behind Demedes got hit, its left half shattered.
The storm of acid and blades made no distinction between friend and foe. The Chimeras standing near the whip arms were instantly sliced apart.
Ortes was precisely one inch away from the reach of Demedes’ whip arms. Just close enough to avoid being caught. The increasingly frenzized Demedes continued his relentless assault following Ortes’ movements.
Watching this, Neuro recalled one of the ancient rites – bullfighting. The seemingly chaotic attacks of the enraged bull appeared to pose a grave danger to the bullfighter.
But for a seasoned bullfighter, such dangers were all part of the performance. Both the bull’s attacks and the fighter’s counterattacks followed a carefully planned design.
The same applied to Ortes, who was currently guiding Demedes’ attacks. With precise movements, he twisted his body just enough to direct the whip arms towards other Chimeras.
When Demedes decapitated one of his former subordinates, the bl**d splattered into one of his eyes. Even with multiple eyes sprouting, this amount of bl**d couldn’t obscure his vision.
However, the smell and color of bl**d were enough to make Demedes even more frenzied. The primal nature of a beast without reason ran rampant.
Demesdes became increasingly violent and enthusiastic in his attempts to tear Ortes, or perhaps his subordinates, to shreds. Watching this, Neuro marveled.
‘So the reason he canceled the concealed magic wasn’t just for the attack but to create this situation!’
Indeed. Considering the mastermind potentially controlling these Chimeras, it was wise to conserve mana and ammunition.
Achieving the best results with the least resources. Such a rational strategy couldn’t have been improvised on the spot.
Ortes guided Demedes into eliminating most of the Chimeras. Only a few remained in the rear.
With this, capturing them alive would be much easier. Neuro turned to look at Ortes while loading another arrow onto the string.
His calm smile was as serene as ever. It was better to focus on his assigned tasks rather than interfering and disrupting Ortes’ guidance of Demedes.
Neuro summoned the drones to aim at the remaining Chimeras in the rear. Given their strong vitality, tearing off their limbs wouldn’t k*ll them.
What is that guy doing over there, not helping?
Can’t he see that Demedes is trying to k*ll me by swinging his blades?
No, he definitely saw me. He even gave me a thumbs-up.
Is he trying to use the moment Demedes’ anger focuses on me to capture the Chimera?
That guy has been misinterpreting my intentions since the start.
He seems to think I deliberately provoked Demedes to create this situation, but that’s not true.
I didn’t set this up to make it easier for you to catch the Chimera, so come help me.
I thought fighting beasts would be of moderate difficulty.
I had a general understanding of the arm-swinging attacks.
The problem was the poison.
There was no way to predict where Demedes intended to spray the poison. It simply flew randomly due to the inertia of his swinging arms.
Anything it touched would dissolve flesh, leaving me no choice but to evade.
If the drones could divert his attention with gunfire, I could find an opening.
The drone aimed at Demedes slowly moved.
Finally, it’s going to fire!
It moved.
Backwards.
I lamented Neuro’s cold-heartedness.
A blue line indicating an impending attack appeared before my eyes. I took one step back.
Demeses’ finger-tip fangs barely grazed where my shoulder had been moments ago.
The sprayed poison was deflected by a water pellet fired from a pre-loaded magic-inscribed drive.
Even diluted, the acid rapidly corroded the ground upon contact. What kind of monster’s essence was mixed to produce such potent poison?
Gradually, the intensity of the attacks began to wane.
Naturally. Synthesizing and releasing poison consumes a lot of energy. Mana could compensate for some of that energy expenditure.
However, Demedes had excessively used the poison. Not just the poison, but also the magically-enhanced elongated arms consumed enormous amounts of mana.
Once again, a sharp whip-like arm swung towards me, but it was slower than before.
Now, I can close the distance.
I took one step forward. Thanks to the reduced speed, I could dodge attacks even from a closer range.
Another step forward.
Neuro witnessed the moment Ortes transitioned from defense to offense.
Until now, Ortes had only evaded Demedes’ attacks, but now he advanced for the first time. In the first advance, he closed the gap, and in the second, his sword swung.
Ortes was no longer satisfied with mere evasion. One of Demedes’ snake-headed fingers was torn off. It had been aiming diagonally at Ortes.
And another step forward. With each step forward, one snake head was decapitated.
The nature of Demedes’ attacks gradually changed. It resembled less the ferocity of a predator and more the desperate thrashing of prey.
Each step Ortes took forward felt like a countdown to execution.
Finally, with both arms stripped of fingers, Demedes wildly flailed his clawed arms in a desperate charge.
Ortes swiftly severed the connection points between the carapace segments. Thud, the two arms hit the ground.
Demeses continued his charge as if trying to crush Ortes with the rest of his body. Ortes effortlessly raised his sword.
The raised blade pierced through Demedes’ jaw and penetrated his brain.
Neuro was reminded of a different scene rather than the conclusion of a bullfight.
The image of a snake constricting its prey. Though it was Demedes who had snake-like features, he seemed to be slowly hunted like prey trapped in a tightening coil.
“Former Director Demedes. Farewell.”
It was a farewell far too indifferent to be called a eulogy. Ortes withdrew the high-frequency blade and looked at Neuro.
Intimidated by the subtle display of force, Neuro hurriedly spoke.
“The Chimera was captured safely. It’s right over there.”
Glaring at Neuro who refused to help even after the Chimera was captured.
‘So you’re just sticking to your assigned tasks?’
Jealousy and anger welled up within me seeing Neuro perfectly executing the work principles I had dreamed of.
If I had a subordinate to delegate tasks to…!
