One-Eyed Monster

Things didn’t unfold as Kadi and Igor had imagined.

Instead of crushing them with a punch, the rolling Stone House Monster stopped in its tracks, standing in place, waiting.

RUMBLE. Stone pieces on the Stone Monster’s body continuously churned, emitting a revolting sound sequence.

”Why did he stop? Isn’t he supposed to smash us with a punch?” Kadi furrowed his brow, though he only had a single eyebrow.

”Who knows? It seems this Stone Monster isn’t so simple-minded; at least he won’t be lured into the swamp by us,” Igor said calmly. Even though the situation felt strange and had sapped much of his strength, he knew it wasn’t time to lower his guard.

A careless move at this moment could result in them being smashed into smithereens by the Stone Monster. Moreover, the ground before them had already been completely ravaged by him.

Behind them, the swamp constantly spewed fire, presenting another significant danger.

Half a Gudu Time passed quickly. Igor and Kadi were on edge. Clearly, they were the ones who couldn’t afford to waste time; that rolling Stone Monster didn’t seem to care if time slipped away faster.

”The fire is about to erupt again. On my count of three, we jump in different directions,” Igor muttered softly to Kadi.

”Okay.” Kadi naturally understood the danger they were in and waited for Igor’s command without another word.

”One, two, three, jump!”

As soon as Igor finished the count, he and Kadi leaped away in different directions.

They moved, and so did the Stone Monster. However, this time they jumped in different directions. This caused the Stone Monster to hesitate, his movements becoming a beat slower as he seemed unsure who to target. This very hesitation made his actions even slower.

RUMBLE. The Stone Monster’s large, rolling fist swung towards Igor.

Igor had just leaped out from the swamp, the residual heat of the fire still palpable on his back. Only after landing and regaining his balance did he see the Stone Monster’s fist coming at him.

Igor naturally evaded the attack. This level of speed wasn’t enough to stir his Scale of Faith.

Although this level of attack wasn’t enough to fell Igor, it had a downside: Igor couldn’t shake him off quickly.

Kadi found it all quite amusing from the side. For a moment, the Stone Monster was unable to attack both of them. His RUMBLING, rolling motion now only pursued Igor, showing no sign of stopping.

”Hey, ugly!” Kadi suddenly swung his arms up and down. ”Look here! Look here! Come chase me!”

Igor watched Kadi and smiled faintly. This guy is quite reliable at critical moments; he even knows to draw the Stone Monster’s attention and divert his attacks, he thought.

The Stone Monster, RUMBLING, turned and rolled towards Kadi.

BOOM, BOOM. The sound of hard fists hitting solid objects rang out again. Kadi and Igor were adept at avoiding danger; the Stone Monster hadn’t even grazed them.

”Have you found his weakness yet?” Kadi jumped next to Igor and whispered.

”Apart from slow reactions, I don’t see any other evident weakness,” Igor said, evading a smashing stone.

Compared to his previous rolling stone attack, the Stone Monster’s current attacks were more powerful, and his trajectory was unpredictable. If the previously rolling stones had possessed such speed and directional judgment, Igor and Kadi would likely have been doomed.

Even if not disabled, they would undoubtedly have been left bloody and battered.

But all of this was hypothetical. Right now, the Stone Monster’s reactions were slow. RUMBLING, he would attack Igor one moment and Kadi the next, rolling left and right. His movements looked quite comical.

”So, what do we do now?” Kadi questioned, his back to Igor, all the while keeping an eye on the Stone Monster’s attacks.

”Let me think.” Igor didn’t have an immediate solution to shake off the Stone Monster. However, he did feel his slow reactions could be exploited.

”I’ll distract him then, you take your time thinking.” After saying this, Kadi started shouting and yelling at the Stone Monster, which proved that this clumsy creature could understand their shouts.

Or perhaps, this ponderous creature was entirely controlled by sound. Of course, Igor couldn’t confirm this yet. He was still racking his brains, trying to figure out how to make the Stone Monster stop attacking them with his heavy fists.

Kadi jumped around, shouting as he did so.

”Ugly fellow, come chase after me!”

”Stupid thing, try to hit me! Can you even keep up with my pace?”

”Heavy brute, if you’ve got what it takes, why don’t you jump too!”

Kadi did everything he could to buy Igor time. The Stone Monster was indeed slow and heavy; not stupid, but certainly not very quick-witted.

It’s hard to imagine this Stone Monster transformed from the Stone House, Kadi mused. If I’d knocked on the door then, that ugly thing probably would’ve smashed me to a pulp.

At this thought, Kadi couldn’t help but feel a renewed sense of gratitude towards Igor. If Igor hadn’t spoken up back then, I might have acted rashly. That’s why, no matter what, I have to help Igor buy time...

SWOOSH— Before Kadi’s thoughts could conclude, a familiar figure darted past him. Simultaneously, Kadi saw the Stone Monster’s thrown punch pause for two or three Gudu Time, then, RUMBLING, he struck out in another direction.

That familiar figure was, of course, Igor. He darted back and forth swiftly between Kadi and the Stone Monster, his movements agile and efficient.

”What are you doing?” Kadi quickly asked Igor, seizing a brief lull.

”We cross paths to trick him into hitting himself.” Igor’s explanation was brief; the situation didn’t allow for lengthy details.

”What do you mean?” Kadi, as always, was clueless.

”We move in crisscross patterns to draw his attacks. If I go east, you go west. Like that.”

”Huh?” Kadi didn’t completely understand, but he knew which way to move.

Their mutual understanding was formed this way, little by little.

Once such understanding was forged, it became incredibly solid. After all, it was a bond formed in adversity—strong, sturdy, and unshakeable.

The two of them jumped in crisscross patterns. The Stone Monster, RUMBLING, would strike to the left, then RUMBLING, strike to the right. After a few left and right attacks, he began to punch aimlessly and chaotically.

”Good! Now, jump over his head and cross to his back!” Igor commanded naturally.

Kadi immediately jumped according to Igor’s instructions.

Then he saw a shocking scene.

With a loud BOOM, the Stone Monster smashed a fist heavily against his own body.

BOOM! The Stone Monster swayed and began to search for a target again.

”Continue!” Igor said, winking at Kadi. ”This time, try to jump behind his head.”

”Understood.” Kadi finally realized Igor’s intention.

Kadi jumped to the left, and Igor to the right. They crisscrossed, drawing the Stone Monster’s attacks.

The Stone Monster reacted slowly. He intended to strike to his left, but when another figure popped up on his right, he had to swing his fist that way instead. CLANG! He hit himself again.

After a few rounds of crisscross jumping, the Stone Monster had battered his own head into a mess.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Punch after punch, the Stone Monster struck his own body.

Before long, with a final CRASH, the Stone Monster toppled over and rolled no more.