Chapter 16: Facing Adda
The moon, like a silver disk, shone gently upon the city below.
Arthur draped the silver-plated fishing net over his shoulder and walked across the flagstones and weeds of the plaza toward the depths of the ruined, collapsed palace.
The sound of his soles scraping the pavement was unnervingly clear in the dead silence of the interior. Arthur muttered a curse, his palms growing steadily damp. Perhaps due to his Nord bloodline, he had felt almost no magical enhancement when practicing stealth and was still far from apprentice level. This meant he could only meet his enemy head-on.
Fortunately, according to Triss's intelligence, Princess Adda, in her Striga form, would only leave the crypt to feed around midnight. He still had time.
The main hall was a poor location; there were too many broken walls and the floor was covered in irregular, thick shadows. Facing a creature said to possess dark vision in a place like this was tantamount to suicide.
The staircase would have been a strong defensive position, where a single steel pitchfork could make sure the monster wouldn't return. However, the commission he accepted was to lift the curse, not to kill the Princess.
Turning this way and that, Arthur finally chose a terrace as his primary battleground. Not only was the ground solid and the view open, but it was suspended on three sides and connected to the main palace structure only by a narrow, long corridor. From here, he could look down upon the crypt entrance and spot the Princess's movements the moment she appeared. Crucially, the terrace had no cover, giving the Princess no place to hide from his Battle Cry.
Creak, creak.
The sound of stone slabs grinding together was very faint by the time it reached him from the crypt. Luckily, Arthur had used a rolled-up piece of tin to create a makeshift trumpet to catch the sound, ensuring he didn't miss it.
He moved to the edge of the terrace and saw the monster emerging from the crypt. Its appearance was exactly like the phantom image he had seen earlier.
As if sensing his presence, the monster suddenly lifted its head and looked toward the terrace, meeting Arthur's gaze.
Arthur beckoned to it: "Stop staring. It's just me…"
The monster opened its gaping maw, revealing rows of knife-like fangs in a show of aggression. It then darted swiftly into the palace.
Phew…
Arthur turned toward the long corridor, feeling the steady beat of his heart as blood and power pumped into every corner of his body.
It was time to get serious.
The monster dashed through the corridor, reaching the end in the blink of an eye. It moved so fast it had to push off the wall to pivot toward Arthur.
"Come on!"
Arthur's Battle Will spiked simultaneously. Pale blue ripples, like countless small snakes, shot out with his roar toward the Striga.
"Gah?"
The Striga stopped abruptly, its body tensing, blinking its eyes in confusion. The human opposite seemed to have transformed into a terrifyingly large griffin.
The next second, the griffin shattered into points of silver light, and the silver-plated fishing net flew silently toward her. Arthur, taking advantage of the monster's momentary confusion, had completed the sequence of turning, twisting his waist, and casting the net.
The net spun, unfolding into a large circle under the moonlight, a result of his dedicated practice outside Triss's manor.
"Gah!"
The Striga let out a shriek of astonishment and rage, desperately clawing and kicking the ground in an attempt to escape. But the terrace floor was too hard. The monster's feet slipped, and it couldn't escape the net's range in time.
Acrid smoke rose from beneath the net, accompanied by the monster's agonized screeches and a teeth-grinding sizzle.
The first half of the plan had proceeded unexpectedly smoothly.
Now, he should have quickly moved forward to secure her with the iron chains.
But just as Arthur stepped forward, a powerful premonition of danger surged through him, causing his foot to slow down by a beat.
Swish!
The net suddenly tore open. A flash of cold light sliced through the air less than a foot from Arthur's face.
The monster, under the intimidation of the Battle Cry, had not lost its mind. Instead, it had deliberately extended its arms to embrace and tear the net.
If he hadn't hesitated just now, that claw that tore the net would have gutted him!
"Ha, haha!" Arthur let out an unconscious laugh. It wasn't truly laughter, but the sound of air from his lungs aggressively impacting his trachea in a state of extreme excitement. He swung the iron chains at the monster that was about to break free.
The chains, whistling through the air, wrapped around the monster's shoulders, waist, and legs like a long snake, restraining the claws that were tearing at the net.
The monster twisted and fell, its legs furiously kicking to escape the silver net that caused it unbearable pain. Amidst its roars, the remaining shattered glass in the corridor window frames was utterly destroyed.
A perfect chance!
Arthur tightened the iron chains, quickly reaching into the bottom of the canvas sack, pulling out a piece of leather clothing with many straps. The Mayor had strongly insisted he bring this, saying it could restrict the Princess's limb movement without causing injury, and would earn him better favor from the King.
However, the Princess clearly did not appreciate the Mayor's kind gesture.
Seeing Arthur approach again, its eyes suddenly flared with terrifying scarlet light. Its arms, already thick as pillars, visibly swelled by two more circles in a moment!
Amidst the monster's roar, the iron chains snapped. The interlocked silver and black rings swept across the entire terrace like scattershot landmines, making a deafening thump-thump sound.
"Velerad, you old bastard…" Arthur mumbled as he scrambled up. He was lucky not to have been struck, but the situation had deteriorated to the extreme:
The monster's chest heaved violently; its entire body was covered in festering wounds and burn marks, and the sack containing the remaining iron chains and nets had been kicked off the terrace.
Looking into its eyes, Arthur knew only one of them would leave alive today.
"Aard!" Arthur threw the piece of leather clothing at the monster's head. As the creature's vision was momentarily blocked, he unleashed a powerful shockwave, mimicking Kolgrim method.
"Gah!"
The garment, suddenly accelerated, bypassed the monster's raised claws and completely shrouded its head. The monster snarled in annoyance, trying to pull the tattered cloth off. Instead, the small straps fluttered around, wrapping around its neck, ears, and sharp fangs.
By the time it finally managed to shake off the annoying piece of leather, Arthur had vanished from the terrace.
Following the sound, the Striga saw Arthur leaping out from the middle of the corridor with a mighty push!
Was he committing suicide? The monster tilted its head, a human-like look of confusion in its eyes.
Arthur, of course, was not attempting suicide. He had come to the crypt early specifically to set up the battlefield. He had used a long rope to connect the corridor pillar to the large tree beside the crypt.
The broken iron chains became a makeshift line for a rope-slide. Arthur flew across the night air, gliding toward the crypt entrance dozens of meters away.
Restraint failed. Contingency activated.
He would emulate Geralt's feat from years ago—lie in the monster's coffin, leaving the monster with no coffin to lie in! As long as the Princess was outside the stone sarcophagus at cockcrow, the curse would naturally be lifted.
As for whether anyone might encounter disaster during this time… The Town Hall had sealed off the three surrounding streets near the crypt. If anyone insisted on venturing in during this time, it wouldn't just be seeking death; one would have to question their intentions.
The darkness in the crypt was almost palpable. The monster was rapidly approaching, and all Arthur possessed was a short spell he hadn't fully mastered. Triss had taught it to him, claiming it was a simple trick found in any magic book on the black market. Yet, he had spent an entire afternoon practicing it without fully mastering it.
"Lux!"
As the incantation finished, a ball of light appeared in Arthur's palm, illuminating the entire crypt as if it were daylight.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran toward the only opened stone sarcophagus in the crypt.
As the last gap of the coffin lid was sealed shut, the Striga arrived at the crypt entrance.
"Gah!"
Its scream traveled through the thick coffin lid to Arthur's ears. For some reason, he felt that this time the monster's cry was not one of threat or rage, but simply a curse.
.........................
AN: For early access to advanced 80 chapters on P-a-treon:
Join now: P-a-treon/Chaos_God
(Just remove the- hyphen to access normally)
Thank You so much For your Support and for Reading!