Rogue Villain-Chapter 357: It’s What’s Inside That Counts

Ackster’s next opponent was a strangely harmonious chimera that perfectly blended the strengths and abilities of several strange beasts. The chimera had dark, sleek wings that propelled it around the room at an ear-piercing speed. It had one set of arms that had worryingly humanoid hands, though the hands were the size of Ackster’s torso, so they probably didn’t come from a human.

Another set of the chimera’s arms ended in appendages that looked like swords. But Ackster’s senses told him they were biological and not made by human or intelligent hand.

The chimera had two pairs of legs. One pair of feet was a set of extremely sharp talons that cut through the air the same way Ackster could with his sword. The chimera’s hindlegs were akin to those of a rabbit and gave it explosive acceleration and multidimensional agility as it jumped around from walls to ceilings like gravity didn’t affect it.

Ackster couldn’t even tell what the chimera’s head was supposed to look like, but it had eight eyes and a round maw that looked like it would devour the world if it could.

’What the fuck?’

Although all the different parts connected seamlessly and the body contained an artificial balance that seemed to surpass what even nature could accomplish, the chimera was, without a doubt, a hideous creation.

But what surprised Ackster was the fact that it was alive.

The Alchemaze had existed since time immemorial, or so it seemed. And the chimera had most likely been trapped as a gatekeeper since the Alchemaze’s creation.

As far as he knew, chimeras were technically considered living beings, which was part of what made them such horrible creations. But Ackster hadn’t noticed any food tunnels that could help the chimera stay alive.

Something wasn’t adding up here. But it followed the trend.

The Alchemist had prepared the gatekeepers to be existences that didn’t necessarily succumb to time.

However, Ackster didn’t understand how a chimera could do that.

’Huh?’

Fortunately for the impatient Ackster, it didn’t take long before he got an answer to his questions. It wasn’t an answer he had expected, but it was an answer nonetheless.

The chimera’s insides were slime. Aside from its outer body, the chimera was completely made of slime.

Sticky, slightly translucent goo covered Ackster’s sword as he looked at the chimera, recovering like its body wasn’t solid. The part Ackster had cut just melted back together.

’I guess that works.’

Ackster didn’t know everything there was to know about slimes. But no one did. A slime living for as long as the chimer had also wasn’t the strangest thing he could imagine a slime doing. He had, after all, spent a lot of time with Mio.

Mio was definitely cuter than the chimera, but Ackster had to admit that the smart and versatile slime was a little more odd than most slimes.

Surprisingly enough, the slime also made the Demon Sword’s vitality-draining ability useless.

’What the fuck even are slimes?’

As far as his senses could confirm, the chimera was alive. It wasn’t intelligent life. But it was a living being with vitality and something like a soul.

But the slime made it so that not even Ackster’s Demon Sword could steal its vitality.

Ackster couldn’t help but find it interesting. Still, it didn’t change what he had to do.

Although the chimera had impressive recovery, it wasn’t as impressive as Ackster’s. The chimera also wasn’t as fast as his bird. It wasn’t as strong as the metal golem, and it wasn’t as oppressive as the clay golem. It wasn’t even as varied in its attack patterns as the treant.

The chimera’s combined attributes and stats most likely surpassed the other gatekeepers. Its speed and quick direction-changing abilities were also incredible. As a threat, a predator, the chimera was more dangerous than the other gatekeepers, at least the metal golem adn the treant. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

For some reason, the clay golem was stronger than Ackster would have expected the first gatekeeper to be if he only looked at the others. But then he remembered the clay that had spread into the tunnel and covered the entire room so that it was almost impossible to notice the double doors.

What if the clay golem didn’t just endure the eons it stayed in the Alchemaze? What if it spent that time increasing the amount of clay it had by taking the ground from around it?

The clay golem had also seemed smarter than the other gatekeepers. So, it was possible it hadn’t stayed frozen in time like the others.

Ackster shrugged. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter to him. The only thing that mattered was the next opponent. Like routine, Ackster pushed open the doors and zoomed through the tunnel on his bird until he arrived at the next grand room where the next existence waited for him.

Ackster could feel a starkly different presence compared to the earlier gatekeepers. So, he hopped off the bird before they left the tunnel and let his two companions stay behind.

Ackster entered the room alone. The atmosphere inside was suffocatingly stuffy and tense.

Ackster understood why as soon as he laid eyes on the next gatekeeper.

At first glance, it looked like an ordinary human. However, the pressure it gave off as it stood there motionlessly like a statue carved from stone was as far from ordinary as one could get. Unlike Ackster or other beings around the same level of strength, who subconsciously controlled the pressure they gave off by controlling their strength, the humanoid did no such thing.

The pale grey, faceless, shirtless, human let the pressure of its strength and existence flare like a wildfire. And it had done so since it was put in front of the gate. The room carried the evidence of all that time as the walls were worn smooth and even. There wasn’t even a trace of the bricks’ outlines that even Ackster had trouble breaking.

’What kind of bastard is this now?’

Ackster narrowed his eyes as he looked at the creature. His spine lit up with shivers.

Ackster grinned.