NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 34: Weakness Found
Seeing the corpse escape her [Judgment Chains], Evelyn didn't hesitate!
She bolted straight for the door.
She knew she couldn't fight directly...
Her strength was in strategy, not combat!
Adam saw her flee and didn't react.
This was Evelyn's style...
Trick her target into talking, then bind them with her [Judgment Chains].
It usually worked.
But Adam had suspected all along that it wouldn't be enough against someone like Celestia...
S-tier ability users were in a league of their own...
Overpowered was an understatement!
Even a single corpse puppet who's master was far away from it was strong enough to break Evelyn's [Judgement Chains] that could bind even a level 50 Stream Hunter at the Amber rank!
Just as Evelyn reached the door, her body slammed into an invisible barrier, bouncing her back.
She staggered, eyes wide in shock.
"It's too late."
The corpse rasped.
Its grin stretched unnaturally wide.
"You think you're the only one who can pull tricks while talking?"
Adam reacted immediately.
[Select Viewer Skill to Copy]
5th Style Sword Master.
[Temporary Copy has been activated...]
[Due to low level and low rank, skill picking will be randomized...]
The system beeped again.
[Temporary Copy is successful!]
[Temporarily Copied: 5th Style Absolute Untouchable!]
[Reducing 5th Style Absolute Untouchable to its F-tier version...]
[5th Style Absolute Untouchable has been reduced to Quick Avoidance.]
[Temporary Copy] : Quick Avoidance (30 Second Duration)
[Quick Avoidance] : Allows the user to heighten their senses and automatically perform the basic steps of the 5th Style Sword Arts to avoid incoming attacks.
The delay in copying gave the corpse just enough time to attack first.
It lunged at Adam with a twisted snarl, its decaying fingers clawing straight for his chest.
Adam started to raise his arm to block... but something stopped him!
An overwhelming sense of dread flooded his mind.
Every instinct screamed that blocking would be useless.
If that hand touched him... he knew he'd die.
[Quick Avoidance] activated.
His body moved on its own.
In one fluid motion, Adam sidestepped the attack, narrowly avoiding the grasping fingers.
His breath hitched!
The air where the corpse's hand passed seemed colder, heavier, as if death itself had grazed him.
[5th Style Sword Master has donated 20 coins]
[5th Style Sword Master urges you to kill that disgusting thing]
[Frog Eater] : Quick! Use mine my abilities to melt that corpse down!
[Experienced Old Knight] : No it's better if you use mine. Dismembering it will render it useless!
[PrinceAether has donated 10 coins]
[PrinceAether] : New here, can I get some context?
[NLE_immortal says that the livestreamer got caught cheating, hence his dead lover came back to life to kill both of them]
Ignoring the chaotic chat, Adam slashed his arm open, blood spilling down his skin.
With [Body Blood Magic], he formed countless crimson blades that shot toward the corpse.
Stab! Stab!
The blades pierced deep, but the corpse barely reacted.
It didn't flinch nor did it stagger...
It just kept moving as if nothing had happened!
Realizing it couldn't touch him, the corpse turned and locked its gaze on Evelyn, who was desperately backing into the farthest corner of the room.
"Damn it..."
Adam muttered.
He clenched his fist, forcing his blood to harden and coil around the corpse's ankle like chains.
The blood solidified, but the corpse kept walking... completely unaffected by the restraint!
Adam clenched his fists, frustration boiling inside him.
"No forms of restriction seem to work..."
He muttered, eyes locked on the twisted figure dragging itself closer to Evelyn.
[Prankster of Kingdoms has donated 100 coins]
[Prankster of Kingdoms] : Use my abilities.
Seeing this, Adam's gaze flicked to the system prompt.
He didn't waste much time as he immediately reactivated [Temporary Copy].
[Select Viewer Skill to Copy]
Prankster of Kingdoms.
[Temporary Copy has been activated...]
[Due to low level and low rank, skill picking will be randomized...]
The system beeped again.
[Temporary Copy is successful!]
[Temporarily Copied: Utter Defeat]
[Reducing Utter Defeat to its F-tier version...]
[Utter Defeat has been reduced to Weakness Detector.]
[Temporary Copy] : Weakness Detector (30 Second Duration)
[Weakness Detector] : Reveals one weakness of a specific object. Cannot be used on living things.
"Fuck..."
Adam cursed under his breath.
At first, he'd been thrilled by the name "Weakness Detector" which sounded perfect for the situation...
But seeing the limitation that it only worked on non-living things shattered his hope.
Then a thought struck him.
'Wait... corpses aren't living things, are they?'
Clenching his fist tightly, Adam activated [Weakness Detector] toward the corpse.
[Weakness Detector activated]
It worked!
[Weakness Detected] : Distortion
'Distortion...?'
Adam thought.
His mind raced, trying to piece together what it meant.
Before he could figure it out, the corpse lurched forward, closing the gap between itself and Evelyn.
"Evelyn, move!"
Adam warned.
Evelyn spun around, her eyes widening as the decaying figure lunged at her.
She twisted her body to dodge, but the twisted remains of Levi's corpse moved faster than expected.
Trapped in the corner, she had no choice... her hand shot out, aiming to strike back!
"No! Don't touch it!"
Adam shouted.
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Evelyn hesitated and tried to pull back...
But it was too late!
The corpse's rotting palm clamped down on her wrist.
A wave of agony ripped through her body.
It wasn't pain— it was worse!
It felt as though her entire body was being torn apart from the inside out, like her organs were unraveling piece by piece.
Her vision blurred, and for a terrifying moment, it felt like her bones were turning to liquid.
Then...
Bang!
One of Evelyn's arms detonated in a violent burst of blood and torn flesh.
The shockwave flung her across the room like a ragdoll.
She hit the wall hard, her skull striking stone with a sickening crack before her limp body crumpled to the floor.
"Evelyn!"
Adam shouted, panic surging through him.
His voice rang out, raw and desperate.
The corpse twisted its head unnaturally, its dull eyes locking onto him.
Its mangled frame jerked forward, dragging itself in his direction.
Each step left a smear of blood across the floor.
'It's fast!'
Adam barely had time to think before the corpse lunged.
Reacting on instinct, Adam slashed out with a crimson blade formed from his [Body Blood Magic].
The blade sliced clean through the corpse's arm, sending the severed limb tumbling to the ground.
But before Adam could even take a breath —
Snap.
The dismembered arm slithered back to the corpse like a snake, flesh twisting and fusing itself back in place.
"What the hell...?"
Adam muttered, stumbling back.
He had never been in a personal battle with one of Celestia's corpse puppets before, and his siblings had only told him the specifics about how to avoid encountering them!
He gritted his teeth and attacked again, carving deeper wounds into the twisted figure.
But no matter how many times he severed its limbs, they reattached themselves...
Flesh warping, bones cracking, and muscle strands snapping back together like melted wax.
'This can't go on... None of these wounds are lasting!'
Adam thought.
'What does "Distortion" as a weakness even mean?! I can't distort space... and none of my viewers have that kind of ability either!'
The corpse lunged again, forcing Adam to twist away as its hand clawed through empty air where his head had been moments before.
His mind raced. He needed a solution... fast!
Suddenly, an idea flickered in his mind.
"System Store, open!"