After picking up the Stormhawk King’s ashes, Brandon Jenkins walked through the door on the terrace.
This door connects the terrace with the second floor of the birth room.
At the end of the second floor, there is a treasure chest emitting a cold, white light.
Brandon Jenkins steps forward and opens the chest. Inside is another ash, Stormhawk-Tinne.
Stormhawk-Tinne was, in the distant past, the second most powerful member of the Stormhawk clan after the ancient king—a fierce old hawk who accompanied and served the ancient king until the very end.
Brandon Jenkins ponders.
All the items have been collected, so next he must face the terrifying Grafted Noble.
Brandon Jenkins turns to leave, but suddenly he hears a rustling sound.
It’s as if something is crawling rapidly closer…
The enormous body is pieced together from countless limbs. To support itself, it has many legs, each with more than one foot, and some legs are even made up of several arms. The twisted, fused body parts of different races are covered by a deep blue peacock-feathered cloak, making the whole thing look like a gigantic arthropod. Only the head and one arm remain his own, and the handsome, pale noble face looks eerily out of place on such a grotesque body.
Two right arms each grip a ceremonial straight sword, while a thick left arm holds a beast-patterned golden greatshield in front.
Brandon Jenkins swallows hard, instinctively wanting to run, but he feels his legs won’t obey him.
The Grafted Noble, who should have been stationed far away behind the statue of Marika, why did he come here on his own?
‘Was it the storm just now? Or the noise from breaking down the door?’
“Swish” “Swish”
The Grafted Noble’s rapiers thrust at Brandon Jenkins before he can think.
Brandon Jenkins instinctively raises his shield to block, but the immense force knocks it aside.
The sword in the second hand follows up, stabbing directly into his left pauldron.
Although this strike doesn’t pierce Brandon Jenkins’s armor, the impact makes half his body go numb.
Brandon Jenkins draws his straight sword and slashes at the Grafted Noble, but the greatshield blocks it firmly.
‘The difference in strength is too great! If this keeps up, I’ll die!’
This can’t go on. Now the Grafted Noble is blocking the doorway, so there’s no way to lure him into an open space. If he fights head-on, he’ll definitely lose. In that case…
Brandon Jenkins backs up against the second-floor railing, focusing all his attention on the Grafted Noble’s movements, waiting for an opportunity.
The second attack is a double horizontal slash, which Brandon Jenkins dodges by ducking under due to his smaller size.
The third attack is a shield bash, heavy and powerful, shaking the floor with its impact. Luckily, Brandon Jenkins rolls away in time, avoiding being smashed to a pulp.
In the midst of these dangers, Brandon Jenkins finally gets the move he’s been waiting for.
The Grafted Noble turns sideways, raising both swords high and pointing them at Brandon Jenkins, then suddenly charges forward, the twin swords thrusting like a rainstorm.
But Brandon Jenkins is ready. He rolls between the Grafted Noble’s legs, comes up behind him, and, using the momentum of the charge, slams into him with a shoulder tackle.
The impact sends the Grafted Noble crashing through the railing and falling to the first floor.
The space in the Chapel of the Awaiting is very cramped, especially for such a large monster. After falling, the Grafted Noble can’t get up right away.
Seizing the moment, Brandon Jenkins pulls out his halberd and stands on the second floor, stabbing at the Grafted Noble. Black, foul-smelling blood splatters, and the axe blade occasionally severs some of the smaller limbs.
The window for attacking is brief. The Grafted Noble shields his vital parts with the greatshield while scrambling to his feet with both hands and feet. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novᴇlfire.net
As he turns over, a sword-wielding right arm is exposed outside the shield’s protection. Brandon Jenkins doesn’t hesitate, swinging with all his might and chopping the arm off.
Seeing the Grafted Noble lose an arm, Brandon Jenkins is overjoyed—finally, a glimmer of victory.
But the joy doesn’t last long.
The one-armed Grafted Noble, perhaps out of rage or pain, lets out a furious roar, the force of it slamming straight into Brandon Jenkins’s mind.
The roar makes Brandon Jenkins bleed from all seven orifices, unable to even stand.
Worse, the Grafted Noble uses his massive body to claw his way back up to the second floor.
Watching the Grafted Noble inch closer, Brandon Jenkins is filled with despair.
Through those furious eyes, Brandon Jenkins can already foresee his fate: being torn apart and grafted onto the Grafted Noble’s body.
Brandon Jenkins backs away, intending to jump off the ledge—maybe, just like in the original story, he can find a sliver of hope.
But the roar just now scrambled his brain, and after stumbling back two steps, he collapses.
Lying on the ground, Brandon Jenkins is filled with pain and despair. He doesn’t want to die, but he can’t survive. Ultimately, he’s just too weak.
If only he had the combat skills of a Tarnished, he might not lose even in a head-on fight. But now, no matter how carefully he plans, he still can’t win.
The Grafted Noble stands over Brandon Jenkins, raising his only remaining sword high, determined to run Brandon Jenkins through.
So Brandon Jenkins closes his eyes in despair.
“Swish”
“Clang”
The expected pain of being pierced never comes. Instead, there’s a familiar sound.
Brandon Jenkins opens his eyes to see a black panel appear before him—the interface of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Modifier!