Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer
Chapter 62: Despair (1)

Chapter 62: Despair (1)

Adrian’s sight went fuzzy, but he was sure the monster’s blow wasn’t strong enough to make his body react in that manner. Yes, the blow hurt, but not nearly enough as the minotaur’s attack.

’I can feel something is wrong. The air smells slightly funny,’ Adrian thought, and the next moment, the system confirmed his doubts.

[Analysis of the User’s bloodstream indicates the presence of a hallucinogenic drug. However, the Troll blood within your system is actively counteracting its effects. No immediate cause for concern was detected.]

In a blink, Adrian’s sight got better. And not just that, the whole scene in front of him transformed. The gloomy forest that was there a moment ago now matched the rest of the area, all vibrant and green.

But most importantly, the monster before him also changed, and it turns out there was no creature. It was a familiar face that made Adrian enraged.

"Red..." Adrian whispered to himself, slowly getting up. "Why aren’t you wearing clothes? I didn’t think you liked showing off like that. Not like there’s much to show if I’m being honest."

"...still got your jokes, huh? Don’t worry; I’ll be the one laughing soon. Once the drug takes effect-"

"Yeah, that ain’t happening."

Red glanced at Adrian, feeling puzzled. Until now, Red believed Adrian saw him as a monster. But it seemed his cover was blown.

Even though Red didn’t understand how Adrian escaped the hallucinogen’s effects, it didn’t make much of a difference. He was still strong enough to deal with the fucker himself.

"Huh? Shit... I wasn’t expecting the drug to fade away so soon. I thought I would play with you like I played with your friends," Red scoffed, pointing at Leno’s dangling corpse. "But it looks like Father gave you a lot more skills than I expected."

"Your father?"

"Does the name, Victor Thane, ring a bell?"

Adrian raises his eyebrows at the revelation. So the one who killed him and the one who turned him into a chimaera were related.

And now Red was walking around, trying to avenge his father’s death, which wouldn’t have happened had he not delivered Adrian’s corpse to him. The thought made Adrian laugh.

"How’d you figure I’d show up here? You have to have known about me since a hallucinogenic ’drug’ takes time for it to work on anyone," Adrian questioned. "Not to mention, spreading it is a pain in the ass."

Red scoffed, flexing his retractable metal claws. "I didn’t know where you went. I just followed you through the crack in the veil when your beloved bitch pushed you into the crack."

Red recalled the moment when he thought Adrian was going to slip away. But he wasn’t going to let it happen on his watch and rushed towards the crack.

Vesper tried to stop him and even managed to hit Red once. However, his momentum pushed him through the veil, and he ended up in the Forbidden Forest.

Unlike Adrian, Red didn’t find people he could depend upon, and with countless beasts roaming around, he couldn’t rest and heal in peace.

That’s when he found a little something in his inventory. It was the hallucination agent, and some of the Ravens were allowed to carry it. Since Chubby was too erratic and hopeless, Red also had his share.

"So, you used the drug and burned it, smoking the forest so no beast came close?" Adrian mumbled, and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was impressed by Red’s thinking.

Adrian believed that many heroes he knew would probably panic if they were in Red’s situation. Some might even choose to fight the beasts directly, risking injury or exhaustion. Both options were risky in an unfamiliar place as it could lead to their death.

"You’re quick to catch on," Red smiled, licking the blood off his metal claws. "Unfortunately, they weren’t as intelligent."

Adrian scoffed and nodded. The teens were cocky, he knew that, but despite what they did, they didn’t deserve to die. Not by Red’s hands, at least.

"What about Vesper?"

"What about her?" Red taunted. "There was no way she would have won against my brothers. But they probably didn’t kill her... before playing with her first, haha!"

"Alright, I have heard enough," Adrian said, retrieving the Minotaur’s Broadsword from his inventory as his eyes turned red with rage.

Adrian knew Vesper got caught in the mess because of her own deeds. But he blamed himself for the ambush as he was why she wasn’t moving with her usual army of guards. Thankfully, someone was right before him to take his anger out on.

"You sure? I’m in no hurry to kill you," Red smiled, revealing his rotting teeth.

"Oh, but I am."

Adrian charged at the Red, who kept dodging the strike without sweating. Adrian’s frustration grew, and he used [Minon Fury], but Red dodged the attack by jumping on a tree.

Adrian swung his sword again, slashing the tree. But Red jumped down before the tree fell, kicking Adrian in the face.

"Is that all you got?" he mocked Adrian. "If that’s so, then allow me to show you how a Raven hunts."

Red lunged forward, his claws turned into a blur as he struck Adrian. Adrian struggled to keep up with Red’s attacks despite his best efforts.

Red’s raw strength complemented his agile movements, making him a formidable opponent with no gaps in his attacks.

’This much was expected...’ Adrian thought. ’He’s level 50, after all.’

Unlike when Adrian faced Rowan, Red wasn’t suffering through a debuff that siphoned off his stats, nor was he a starved minotaur. As such, Red was the strongest enemy Adrian had ever encountered, and it showed in his struggle.

Adrian felt the impact of Red’s blows, each strike taking a toll on his body. Despite his best efforts, Adrian couldn’t land a single hit. After all, Red seemed to be one step ahead at all times.

’Fighting defensive won’t do me any good. I need to trade some blows, at least!’

With that idea in his head, Adrian used [Nemean Blessing]. With a 90% decrease in damage from incoming attacks, he wouldn’t have to stress about defence and could go all out on offence.

The next moment, Adrian turned and ran deeper into the forest. Red thought his prey got scared and was trying to run out of the hallucinogen’s effective radius.

"The beasts here won’t help you!" Red yelled as he kept chasing Adrian.

Adrian ignored his taunts and, in the meanwhile, invested all his attribute points to improve his agility and defence.

"Just a bit more..." Adrian mumbled as he sped away.

Red soon lost sight of Adrian in the darkness, forcing him to walk around, trying to find his prey.

While he roamed, searching for his target, he felt something coming his way and slashed at it with his deadly claws, only to discover it was the carcass of a wolf he had dispatched earlier.

The wolf’s blood sprayed across the surroundings, momentarily obscuring Red’s vision. But the surprises weren’t over as Adrian leapt from one of the trees, aiming to stab Red’s shoulder.

However, Red’s years as an assassin had sharpened his senses to an extraordinary level. Despite the temporary problems with his sight, he quickly rolled away and encountered Adrian by swinging his claws in his direction.

Red felt a familiar feeling of his claws burying into Adrian’s flesh as his vision cleared. But what he saw next caught him by surprise.