NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 37
“One suicide just dropped from the sky, and bam, it splattered all over the ground.”
It’s not like it turned into some grotesque blood pudding that should’ve been inside. No, it was more like someone had dropped a slime from a building’s rooftop, and it just flat-out stuck to the floor in a cartoonish way.
The flattened suicide lingered on the ground for a moment before slowly pulling itself together and regaining its human shape.
In this absurd situation, the battlefield fell into a moment of silence.
“What the hell is this?”
One of Wang Tai-lun’s phantoms broke the silence, and it was probably something that echoed everyone’s feelings in that moment.
Executors, citizens, students – everyone just stood there, overwhelmed by the bizarre spectacle.
“Get a grip! Move the injured inside quickly! Whatever it is, outside is dangerous!”
In the midst of this, Seolhwa was the first to snap back to reality and give orders.
Only then did the students start transporting the injured into the ice bunker she had created with her powers.
Dumas, even getting hit, twisted his torso as if trying to stop them from doing that.
“Like it’s gonna happen—”
“Don’t you dare ignore me!!!”
With a terrifying force, Lapiz shoved a concrete pillar down Dumas’ throat and dumped a bunch of golden magic into the ground as if to bury him alive.
On the other side, things seemed alright. The area where Alexei was – I could see shockwaves bursting everywhere, so Minho must be holding his own.
Meanwhile, more suicides continued to jump from above, joining the battlefield.
Some were wielding weapons, while others just had wooden planks.
But it was clear they weren’t friendly towards us.
The Executors confirmed that these suicides weren’t friendly either.
It’s a three-way war.
This is just insane. After forcibly shaking off the throbbing headache, I surveyed the main characters on the battlefield.
Yeonhwa, clutching her stomach and trembling, looked like she could only stand thanks to Jinhyeon supporting her.
Good, she’s still in one piece.
Our task remained unchanged.
We kill the enemies. We save our allies. We ensure the main characters don’t awaken or lose their minds.
Let’s get drenched in blood.
I coated my nails with trichotoxin, my hands with batrachotoxin.
Instant paralysis upon contact, and even if they’re lucky enough to survive, they’ll inevitably die.
I didn’t know how I was supposed to withstand poison that could paralyze the heart.
Ignoring the splattering suicides falling like some heavy metal band’s failed spell, I sprinted toward Eliza.
What kind of bullshit this was didn’t matter right now. This was a world where all kinds of powers existed, just like the illusions I just went through.
It wouldn’t be surprising if there were abilities to turn others into slime.
What was important now was to catch Eliza, who was still cursing angrily at those bastards for being here without gathering her wits.
One of the phantoms seemed to realize I was trying to pass through, and it briefly solidified to grab me, but I easily dodged it.
It seemed even the phantoms understood my intentions and yelled out the names of Eliza and Kaien as if to warn them, while also swarming around me to attack.
Head, chest, abdomen, waist, thigh, solar plexus. Where would the attacks come from?
Predicting their moves was pointless. They had absolute dominance. It’s like playing Rock-Paper-Scissors where you see what the other person plays before you throw your own.
To deal with this, I would need something that could either kill them instantly or attack phantoms.
Since the phantoms acted as spirits, they could, at least temporarily, be cleared away with spiritual items.
But doing that wouldn’t deal any damage to the original bodies; it would only erase the clones, so it wouldn’t mean much.
Besides, I didn’t have any means to attack spirits, so it was more of a pointless consideration right now.
Okay, what now? Going back would be slow, but charging through would mean getting hit.
I had to break through without hesitation.
Killing Eliza means I wouldn’t be kidnapped and my life would become twice as rich.
To limit the places I could be attacked from, I sprinted diagonally, leaping over the phantoms.
This way, the only way that bastard could hit me was with an upward punch. And as expected, Wang Tai-lun manifested briefly and punched me in the gut.
“Ugh…!”
Even while the adrenaline was pumping through my system, I exhaled sharply for a moment. However, the pain subsided quickly.
After regaining my balance in midair, I dashed forward as soon as I landed.
Wang Tai-lun probably thought I would collapse like Yeonhwa, but I had pretty good endurance.
In reality, I was just suppressing the pain with adrenaline.
But once that’s over, I might be bedridden for a week.
As I was lost in thought, I sidestepped and bumped past Kaien, who looked astonished that I could still keep running after getting hit by that bastard.
“What kind of insane girl— AAAAAAH!!!!!!”
Eliza twisted and broke both of my wrists, preventing me from snapping my fingers, then shoved her fingers into my arm.
Considering my fingers were throbbing, it seemed she had reinforced her arm somehow for being an Executor.
Seeing how my stomach hurt like this, it was likely they both broke nicely.
But at least this meant I wouldn’t have to worry about getting kidnapped.
Why isn’t there any medicine to increase physical durability in this world? There are drugs to enhance abilities, after all.
Shaking off the blood-soaked hands, I fled from Kaien and the phantoms chasing me.
But still, the specs difference was undeniable.
“Where do you think you’re running off to?!”
Running from a phantom that didn’t even have a physical body was practically impossible, and I was soon caught by the neck and slammed into the ground.
“What kind of girl even exists like this…! You’d think I’d at least scream!”
Wang Tai-lun seemed infuriated, veins bulging, but he was genuinely surprised that I didn’t scream even once, holding my neck while growling.
I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t breathe.
He wouldn’t kill me. Maybe he was just venting his frustration by hitting me.
Anticipating the misery ahead, an ice spear suddenly pierced Wang Tai-lun’s side.
“Ah, damn it.”
Wang Tai-lun bled from his mouth but showed no sign of distress, shifting his form away from me.
This meant he left me behind and headed somewhere else. He’d be back soon, though.
“Blanca! Are you alright?!”
“Don’t touch me… гэллок. It’s hard to say if I’m okay or not…”
It didn’t look like she was completely smashed, but as soon as the adrenaline wore off, she’d probably be writhing in pain.
“Let’s head to the fortress Seolhwa made! All the citizens have evacuated in there! Besides, the kids are fighting both the suicides and that powerful clone inside!”
I wondered if fighting that clone was even feasible. I couldn’t help but chuckle, but it had to be better than being outside, so I decided to go.
“No need to help me; you focus on Yeonhwa.”
As for me, I could still move thanks to the adrenaline. If anyone needed help, it would be Yeonhwa.
She wasn’t physically strong. She looked unwell too.
Above all, I couldn’t leave Yeonhwa behind and let that bastard try to help me.
“Got it, so we need to find a way through this.”
Jinhyeon said this, staring into the battlefield as if feeling helpless.
There was an ice bunker made in the middle of a six-lane highway, surrounded by a telekinetic barrier.
The phantoms of Wang Tai-lun stretched out their hands toward the barrier, disappearing mercilessly.
Oh right! Changwon’s ability allowed him to attack spirits.
About half of the severely weakened Executors and the suicides seemed to be indiscriminately rampaging.
And amidst all that chaos, Justitia was knocking down suicides and Wang Tai-lun’s phantoms without allowing a single counterattack.
It was a complete mess.
I had no idea how it got to this point, but living was the priority right now.
“I’ll make a way, so just follow me. Got it?”
Jinhyeon might just wish to die right now, but he’d somehow survive. I clicked my tongue and got in the lead.
The moment I became slime-like, the suicides’ heads were exploding, or they had donut holes blasted into their bodies by Wang Tai-lun’s punch.
Hearing Wang Tai-lun cursing occasionally, it seemed like he didn’t hold any good feelings toward the suicides either.
That was fine by me! Even if my fingers got broken, my hands still had poison-coated residues left.
Just by touching the suicides with my palms, most problems were easily solved.
Wang Tai-lun’s phantoms occasionally tried to hit me, but he seemed distracted dealing with the suicides and didn’t focus on me like when targeting Eliza.
Though that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
Even as a second-year, I was getting nailed by first-year veterans, so even those stray punches could be lethal.
“Hah, hah…”
Trying to tackle both the suicides and Wang Tai-lun was immensely draining.
Every part of my body was overwhelmed by a pain that the adrenaline couldn’t suppress anymore, and my adrenaline was also running low.
To replenish the adrenaline, I’d have to stop synthesizing the poison, but then the suicides would become a problem.
It was as if they had all taken some drugs, charging at me, ignoring their pain.
It was the first time I truly regretted not being able to synthesize simultaneously.
“Just a bit more, I can make it…”
“Blanca!”
Just as I was reaching the bunker, my body finally hit its limit.
I felt like a wreck, screaming from various parts of me.
At this state, even a phantom’s casual hit could knock me out cold.
Jinhyeon trying to support me was just crushingly painful.
The phantoms gathered in front of the barrier were all staring at me.
Jinhyeon kept shouting something beside me, but I couldn’t hear clearly.
Oh, I’m so close now.
For not being a martial artist, I thought I did pretty well.
Having made it close to the bunker, I felt I had done enough.
…Now, I can just close my eyes and wake up in the hospital.
Seeing figures rush out as the barrier lifted, it seemed likely that’d be the case.
It seemed I could finally rest easy.
But just as the phantoms surged toward me, a crimson flame swept over them, turning to a dark red as it engulfed Jinhyeon’s hair.
…And that was something that definitely shouldn’t have appeared now.
Damn it.
I muttered inwardly before finally losing consciousness.