Free Web NovelMatt remained suspended in the air. His black wings spread behind his back, larger than before, taut, powerful, and wrapped in the darkness of the place.
The bow-spear vibrated in his hands.
The mechanical skeleton was below.
Six arms.
Not eight.
Six.
Two had been destroyed by that red arrow.
Matt should have felt satisfied by that.
He should have — but he couldn't, because his mind was too busy trying not to look at his own body. His white hair now reached his shoulders.
Not to the nape of his neck.
Not just a little longer.
To his shoulders.
Some strands fell alongside his face, shifting with the wind created by his wings.
Matt gritted his teeth.
'Don't look.'
He looked down by accident.
His black clothes were still the same, but they no longer fit the same way.
The shirt was tighter across the chest.
Too tight.
The fabric outlined a shape that shouldn't have been there.
Matt felt his stomach drop.
'No.'
Matt also noticed the different weight at his hips. His backside was larger now.
His entire balance had changed.
Not all at once.
Not exactly.
But enough that every movement felt slightly wrong.
Like his body had decided to change the rules without telling him.
Matt swallowed.
"No."
The voice spoke firmly.
"Matt."
"Shut up."
"Don't let your guard down."
"I'm busy hating my own existence…"
"If you let your guard down, you're going to die."
Matt gripped the bow-spear harder.
Below, the mechanical skeleton started to move.
The pieces of its destroyed arms crunched on the floor.
Some fragments vibrated.
Others trembled.
But they hadn't risen yet.
Matt glanced at them sideways.
Then looked back at the skeleton.
"I know."
The voice lowered her tone slightly.
"Then focus."
"I am focused."
"No, you're not."
Matt clicked his tongue.
"Such a pain."
Matt breathed slowly and tried to ignore the hair grazing his neck.
Tried to ignore the tight clothing.
Tried to ignore the chest.
Tried to ignore that his voice sounded softer.
Tried to ignore that his body was shifting toward something he hated to remember.
The princess.
The body the queen had given him.
The form that everyone in that castle seemed to prefer.
Matt felt rage.
The mechanical skeleton raised its head.
The red opening on its face blazed.
Then it launched itself at him.
FWOOSH!
Matt opened his eyes.
"Tch!"
One of the mechanical arms stretched out to an absurd length, as if its metal bones were extending mid-movement.
The hand opened and five thin sharpened fingers drove straight toward his chest.
Matt switched the bow-spear to spear mode.
CLACK!
The blade deployed with a dark red gleam.
Matt twisted in the air and brought the blow down with every bit of accumulated rage he had.
SHRAAAK!
The spear cut through the arm.
Metal, bone, and red crystal split in two.
The arm went spinning to one side.
Matt felt a small satisfaction.
Very small.
"One less."
The voice spoke immediately.
"Left!"
Matt turned.
Too late.
Another of the skeleton's arms hit him from the side.
Not with a sword.
Not with the saw.
Just with its fist.
But it was enough.
BAAAM!
The impact knocked the air from his lungs. Matt was blasted sideways into the wall like a stone from a catapult.
"Ghk!"
He tried to open his wings to slow himself.
He couldn't.
Matt's back hit the black stone.
BOOOOM!
The wall cracked behind him.
The impact went through his entire body.
Ribs.
Shoulder.
Back.
Neck.
For a second, Matt saw nothing.
Just white.
Then red.
Then black.
Matt fell from the wall to the floor.
Thud!
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The bow-spear hit the stone beside him, still gripped in his fingers.
Matt opened his mouth.
No scream came out.
Just broken air.
"Cough!"
Blood.
A lot of blood.
It fell onto the dark floor.
Matt trembled.
'Damn it…'
It hurt.
It hurt in a horrible way.
Not a clean cut.
Not a burn.
It was his entire body protesting at having just been smashed into a wall by a metal thing with six arms.
Well.
Five now.
Matt tried to move and his shoulder answered with a brutal stab of pain.
"Ugh…!"
The voice spoke quickly.
"Matt, you have to focus on regenerating…"
"Shut up, don't give me obvious orders…"
Matt felt his blood move.
His bones cracked.
Crack!
A rib went back into place. Then another. The torn flesh on his back began to close. The wound on his side sealed.
But the pain didn't disappear.
It just became bearable.
Matt breathed with difficulty and raised his gaze.
Then went still.
The arm he had cut was on the floor, but the fragments were starting to move — pieces of dark metal dragging themselves back toward the skeleton.
Red crystals glowed. Threads of light appeared between the broken parts, pulling them together like veins.
Crk, crk, crk!
The severed arm began to rebuild itself.
Matt's eyes went wide.
"No…"
The other arm destroyed by the arrow was doing the same.
The fragments scattered around the room were vibrating, moving back toward the main body.
Matt sat up slowly.
His mouth fell slightly open.
"No, no, no."
The voice went quiet.
That was worse.
Matt swallowed.
"If that thing is regenerating…"
"Yes."
"I've never seen a cave enemy do that."
Matt for the first time didn't know what to say — he just stared at the skeleton.
The pieces were joining one after another. The lost arms recovered their shape. The cracked crystal on its chest slowly sealed itself, as if the metal were alive.
Matt felt an unpleasant cold run down his spine.
Not from fear.
Well.
Yes.
A little.
"It's a damn final boss."
"Yes…"
"A damn final boss that regenerates."
"Yes…"
"You've got to be kidding me, that's cheating."
Matt let out a dry laugh.
It didn't sound amused.
It sounded broken.
His own wounds finished closing. His skin was whole again. The blood stopped falling.
But Matt knew the truth.
Regenerating wasn't free.
His body could close wounds, yes.
It could repair bones.
It could rebuild flesh.
But it needed energy.
Blood.
Nutrients.
And here he couldn't eat or drink anything to recover.
The previous rest room had given him some margin, but not enough for an endless fight.
Matt looked at the skeleton. Then at his own hands. Thinner. Paler, but stronger.
"If this goes on too long… I'll die."
"That's right…" the feminine voice confirmed quietly.
Matt gripped the spear.
The weapon had black marks on it. A thin crack ran along part of the shaft.
The guns at his waist were still hot, damaged, nearly useless.
Matt looked at the heavy gun.
Then the light one.
Then the bow-spear.
His expression turned bitter.
'It can't be.'
A horrible thought crossed Matt's mind.
He didn't want to think it. But there it was.
The two ego-pistols.
Creating two weapons as complex as those in the middle of the trial.
Matt felt his throat go dry.
'I went too far.'
That thought was worse than the blow against the wall.
'Did this thing appear because I pushed the trial too hard?'
He couldn't confirm it.
But the idea made sense.
Too much sense.
Maybe if he had just continued with the bow-spear, the boss would have been difficult.
Maybe brutal.
But not this.
Not something capable of withstanding blood shots, adapting, regenerating, and pressing him without a break.
Matt exhaled slowly.
"I think I did something stupid…"
The skeleton finished rebuilding the first arm.
Crack!
The metal fingers closed. Then the second arm started recovering its shape.
Matt felt a horrible pressure in his chest.
The voice spoke:
"You can use blood to repair the weapons."
Matt frowned.
"What?"
"Your blood can crystallize. You already used it to reinforce projectiles and arrows. You can also use it to cover cracks."
"That's not repairing. That's applying vampire duct tape."
"But it'll work."
Matt looked at the spear. Then at the guns.
"I can't spend blood on that."
"You have to."
"If I spend blood repairing weapons, I won't be able to take many more hits from that thing."
"Right now you're faster, stronger, and your body is closer to its full vampire form. You can dodge better. You can move better. You can push the blood flow with less loss."
Matt gritted his teeth.
"Don't say that like it's a good thing."
"Right now it is."
"No."
"Matt."
"No."
The voice didn't go quiet.
"You can hate it later."
Matt closed his eyes. His jaw trembled.
"Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to look in a mirror afterward."
The voice was silent for a moment.
Then answered more quietly:
"No. But I'm the one who's going to die with you if you lose here."
Matt opened his eyes.
The skeleton was almost complete.
Seven arms.
The eighth was still forming.
Matt clicked his tongue.
"Damn it."
Matt called on the wounds that hadn't fully closed.
The blood still on his back.
His side.
His mouth.
His fingers.
He called it.
Not with words.
With that horrible part of his royal blood.
The blood responded and red drops lifted from his skin. Thin threads floated in the air, crawling toward his weapons.
First the bow-spear.
The blood spread across the damaged shaft, working into the cracks.
It glowed.
Then crystallized.
Crk!
A dark red layer covered the broken section.
It wasn't perfect. But the weapon stopped vibrating with pain.
Matt breathed a little easier.
"Good."
Then he took out the light gun and looked at it. Its interior was too complex.
Tiny channels.
Core.
Mana conduits.
Compression rails.
A structure he had built with too much pride and very little common sense.
Matt felt the urge to hit himself.
"This is going to go badly."
The voice answered:
"Do it anyway."
Matt let the blood enter through the cracks.
He didn't know exactly what he was repairing.
So he did what any desperate person would do.
He plugged everything that looked broken.
The blood crystallized in thin lines.
The weapon vibrated.
Hmmm!
It didn't sound clean, but at least it responded.
Then he did the same with the heavy gun.
That one was worse.
Much worse.
The barrel had a dangerous fracture and the core had suffered overload damage.
Matt put crystallized blood around the core and covered the exterior crack.
"This won't hold for long."
"It doesn't have to hold for long."
Matt holstered both guns.
The mechanical skeleton finished regenerating.
Eight arms.
Again.
The sword rose.
The saw began to spin.
VRRRRRR!
The cannon lit up.
The other arms opened, ready to catch, strike, or cut.
Matt swallowed.
"Damn."
The voice spoke:
"You can use blood to control the spear."
Matt blinked.
"What?"
"If you throw it, you can connect it with crystallized blood threads. Make it come back. Even move it through the air."
Matt looked at her in disbelief even though he couldn't see her.
"Can you stop giving me absurd ideas when I'm about to die?"
"It's not absurd."
"It sounds absurd."
"It could work."
"It could also rip my arm off if I calculate wrong."
"Then don't calculate wrong."
Matt let out a dry laugh. freёwebnovel.com
"You're just as terrible as Iris at giving advice."
"Don't insult me."
"You earned it."
The skeleton attacked.
This time it didn't jump straight.
It advanced like a shattered shadow, with short, explosive movements.
First the sword.
Then an empty arm.
Then the saw.
Matt opened his wings.
FWOOSH!
His body moved fast.
Too fast.
Matt dodged the sword by tilting his torso and passed below the metal arm. He spun in the air and avoided the saw by centimeters.
The movement was clean.
Light.
Natural.
Matt hated how good it felt.
"Disgusting."
The creature struck the wall where Matt had been a moment before.
BOOOOM!
The black stone exploded and fragments shot outward. A massive crack opened from the impact point to the floor.
Matt looked at that.
Then at his own body.
Then at the skeleton.
'If that lands on me cleanly…'
He didn't finish the thought.
No need.
He'd be pulp.
He'd regenerate.
Maybe.
But burning regeneration like that was a slow death sentence.
The voice spoke:
"Your hand is trembling."
Matt looked down.
It was true.
The hand holding the spear was trembling.
Not much.
But enough.
"What are you doing?" the voice asked. "Use the guns."
Matt didn't respond.
The skeleton turned toward him.
The sword hovered in front of its head.
The saw guarded the right side.
Two empty arms were crossed near its face like a shield.
Matt narrowed his eyes.
"Something's off."
"What's wrong?"
"Its ranged weapons."
The voice went quiet.
Matt kept floating, circling the skeleton while maintaining distance.
The cannon was charged.
The wrists of the unarmed arms had slots that had previously launched energy blades.
The sword could emit red slashing waves.
And yet…
It wasn't using any of those.
Not now.
The skeleton advanced.
It chased him.
Pressured him.
But it wasn't spending its ranged attacks.
Matt felt a chill.
"It's planning something."
"You're overthinking."
"That's something I usually try to avoid, but this time it actually seems useful."
"Destroy the head."
Matt looked at the faceless head.
Two arms were partially covering it.
Not casually.
They were protecting it.
The other arms attacked.
The saw and sword were forcing him to move.
The cannon was free, but not firing.
Matt clicked his tongue.
"It's covering itself."
"Then use the guns."
"How persistent."
"Because you have weapons for this."
"They're broken weapons."
"You already reinforced them."
"That doesn't mean I trust them."
The skeleton launched itself at him again.
Matt shot upward.
The sword passed under his feet.
The saw swung upward.
Matt moved to one side.
VRRRR!
A lock of his white hair was cut off. Matt watched it fall and his eye twitched.
"Matt, use the guns!"
Matt gritted his teeth.
"Such a pain…"
Even so, he put the bow-spear on his back — the weapon vibrated with irritation.
Matt felt it.
"Don't get jealous. I'm going to need you in thirty seconds."
Matt drew both guns. Light gun in one hand, heavy gun in the other.
The light gun vibrated unevenly, but the crystallized blood was keeping the core together.
The heavy one felt worse.
Heavy.
Hot.
Dangerous.
Matt didn't load it to maximum.
He wasn't suicidal.
Well.
Not that much.
The voice spoke:
"Don't fire the heavy one at maximum power."
"I wasn't going to."
"And don't fire the light one too fast."
"I know that too."
"That's what damaged them before."
"Do you want to give me a lecture or let me fight?"
"I just want to help you."
The skeleton raised the arms covering its head.
Matt aimed the light gun, took a long breath before firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four red bursts came out in sequence.
Not as fast as before — in a controlled rhythm that impacted against the arms shielding the head.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The small explosions pushed the arms back.
They didn't destroy them, but they separated them.
A gap.
Small.
Enough.
The skeleton leaned forward and accelerated. Its arms opened to trap him.
Matt dove all at once.
FWOOSH!
He passed below the creature while raising the heavy gun.
The barrel glowed.
Not at maximum.
Just enough.
Matt aimed at the lower part of the faceless head.
"Smile."
He pulled the trigger.
BAANG!
The red shot struck below the featureless skull.
CRACK!
The skeleton's head was thrown backward.
Part of the metal broke.
The red opening flickered.
The creature went still in the air for a second.
Matt's eyes went wide.
"Did it work?"
The voice answered immediately:
"Wait… don't get close…"
Matt didn't.
Good decision.
Because in that same instant he heard the sound.
Crk, crk, crk, crk!
The broken metal began to close.
The damaged section beneath the head reconstructed itself.
The red light stabilized again.
The skeleton was still motionless.
Not because it was stunned.
No.
It was regenerating.
Matt let out a nervous laugh.
A very ugly one.
"This can't be real…"
The voice didn't respond.
Matt slowly backed away through the air.
"This bastard…"
The skeleton lowered its head.
The arms returned to covering the key points.
The sword rose.
The saw spun.
The cannon glowed even brighter.
Matt felt a bead of sweat run down his face.
"This bastard is intelligent."
The voice spoke with tension:
"Matt…"
"It's not trying to kill me quickly."
The skeleton took one step forward.
Then another.
It didn't rush.
It didn't need to.
Matt gripped both guns.
"It's forcing me to spend blood."
The light gun's core trembled in his hand.
The heavy one let out a thread of red smoke.
Matt swallowed.
The skeleton opened all eight arms as if inviting him to continue — as if it were waiting.
Matt felt a horrible knot in his stomach.
“Son of a bitch”
