Nick was a descendant of the Kessler Family. His talent had awakened late, and with no mentor to guide him, he could only feel his way across the river using the materials his aunt had left behind.
"You don't need to worry for nothing," Monroe said. "That's a Winchester."
Lolisa rolled her eyes at Monroe and said,
"Geralt's agility and combat experience both surpass the monster's. With those two advantages alone, he's already in an unbeatable position."
"Watch closely. The winner's about to be decided..."
Before she could finish speaking,
Geralt found an opening and slammed his hammer into the Shapeshifter's chest.
The blow was strong enough to make the Shapeshifter stagger back two or three steps.
More importantly, it exposed an even bigger opening.
Geralt stomped down hard, driving his ankle straight into the forest floor.
He gripped the hammer with both hands and pulled his body sideways into a 275-degree angle.
The hammerhead seemed to vanish.
When it appeared again, the Black Goat Hammerhead smashed into the Shapeshifter's chest.
Rage Burst!
—Black Goat's additional skill.
The tremendous force struck its chest and passed straight through its body. The Shapeshifter did not fly away, but its back suddenly bulged outward, swelling to the size of a basketball.
Geralt withdrew his hammer.
The Shapeshifter dropped limply to its knees. It raised its head, looked at Geralt, and chuckled.
"You're a monster too."
Geralt's mouth twitched.
The Shapeshifter continued, "What? Did I hit a sore spot?"
"No, not really." Geralt said with disgust, "It's just hard to watch you talk while vomiting blood."
"Being a monster isn't necessarily bad. There are good monsters and bad monsters. Besides... a monster like me has an entire family. I'll never be lonely."
"Not lonely?" The Shapeshifter revealed a lost expression and waited for death.