NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 61 - Portraits, Sculptures, and Prints
Chapter 61: Portraits, Sculptures, and Prints
*Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out.*
The description of the artwork continued to grow endlessly, spreading across the white floor of the square as if it were a canvas.
─.
Silence.
Serena was still pounding on the surface of the frame like a madwoman.
[ Evaluation begins! ]
The title of the piece was somewhat abrupt.
“Eval, eval, evaluation…? Is this it?”
Becky’s legs began to tremble.
“This… Is this what they mean by evaluation? What about the demonic beasts?”
“What exactly can you evaluate with this?”
The magical tool experience had already been pushed aside, and the students gradually fell into confusion.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the officials from the ‘First-Time’ zone to arrive.
“Everyone, please calm down.”
“It’ll be okay.”
Their gray robes and the gold pins on their chests were a great reassurance to the students at that moment.
They quickly examined Serena, who had turned into a painting.
The movements of her fists pounding on the frame, the description of the work following the shape of her mouth.
No matter how you looked at it, Serena was alive.
But at the same time, she was merely a painting, not a living being.
It was a phenomenon that could only be described as bizarre.
“This… isn’t quite like magic.”
“Black magic? Isn’t this black magic?”
The officials whispered among themselves.
*Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out. Please let me out.*
The floor was already pitch black. Now, the writing had even begun to spread onto the walls.
Louis spoke calmly.
“Is there any way we could stop these letters from spreading? It seems to be making the students more anxious.”
“It shouldn’t be difficult.”
The gap between black magic and regular magic was immense, but such a measure could be taken.
The moment one of the officials touched Serena’s painting.
“…!”
He, too, froze on the spot.
His soft skin began to shine and harden, eventually turning into a mannequin.
The title of the artwork appeared on his chest: [ The Price of Arrogance ]
“A… mannequin?”
“Now it’s not a painting, but a mannequin?”
Everyone watching was shocked. Louis cautiously reached out to the mannequin’s nose.
“He’s… still breathing. He’s alive.”
At his words, both the students and the officials were startled.
But they remained composed, trying to keep the students under control.
“Everyone, please stay where you are! We will move to the hotel immediately!”
One of the officials drew a circle in the air, attempting to create a short-distance warp gate.
“After returning to the hotel, do not leave your rooms under any circumstances! Further instructions will be provided later….”
Crackle─!
However, sparks flew, but the gate did not form. The official’s face hardened.
“What is…?”
Another official whispered urgently to the bewildered one.
“The entire First-Time zone has been sealed off.”
“Sealed…? When, and how?”
“Just now. It’s impossible to move outside.”
“Then what are we supposed to do…!”
A vein bulged on his forehead as he panicked.
Although they spoke in the smallest possible voices, the fact that the officials were exchanging serious looks was enough to make the students anxious.
“It seems like something serious has really happened….”
“What should we do?”
The students began to murmur again.
The floor, which had been white, was now completely black, covered in text.
An official looked around at the students and spoke as calmly as possible.
“We’ll walk to the hotel. It’ll be fine. We’ll protect you….”
But at that moment.
“…!”
She also widened her eyes.
“Uh… uh…?”
With a pop, her body turned into a doll. When she fell to the floor, a soft thud was heard.
The artwork was titled [ Protective Cushion ]
“Even the officials are being affected….”
“There’s no way this is an evaluation!”
Paintings, dolls, mannequins… Before long, all the officials had turned into art pieces.
One student, unable to bear the fear, finally screamed.
“This is insane! What the hell is this!”
At that moment, he too was trapped in a frame.
“Stop it!”
Half of the painting was filled with blue, and he struggled frantically to survive.
*It’s cold. Save me. I’m going to freeze to death like this.*
The artwork was titled [ Polite Words ].
Every word spoken here was being heard by the other party.
The moment you resist, you’re preserved.
Realizing this, all the students clamped their mouths shut.
The once white First-Time zone of Saphora was now filled with growing black text.
◈
Fifteen minutes after the start of the midterm evaluation.
Flan arrived at the cocktail bar on the second floor of Saphora. It was right after he had forced the resisting Trixie into the hotel.
[ ▶ The cocktail bar on the second floor is our base. ]
After confirming Teresa’s report from Trivia, he arrived to find the bar already filled with vampires.
Flawless attire, calm, flickering red eyes like a campfire, and the oppressive aura of their souls.
As soon as they spotted Flan, they all rose from their seats. Teresa politely greeted him as their representative.
“You’ve arrived.”
Flan responded with a simple nod.
Most of the vampires gazed at him with awe. Among them, Flan spoke to the one staring most blatantly.
“What are you staring at?”
“S-sorry. Your disguise is so incredible… You really seem human!”
The vampire immediately bowed. Teresa smacked the back of his head, signaling him to be more discreet.
Soon after, the furniture in the cocktail bar shifted positions.
A long table stretched out, and a single seat of honor was prepared for Flan.
Only Flan sat down, while the others stood at a respectful distance. Teresa began to speak.
“…Yes. Now that Lord Maiev has arrived, let’s review our plan once again.”
Teresa glanced at Flan nervously, her voice careful with every word she uttered.
“As you know, our ultimate goal is to create an exhibition that will satisfy the Princess.”
She clapped her hands twice. A large sheet of paper unfolded in midair.
Mannequins: 32
Dolls: 25
Paintings: 64
Fairy Tales: 20
.
.
.
The paper detailed the quantity of each item. Teresa continued.
“We don’t need to worry about the orders listed above. Lord Maiev will personally preserve them to the required quantity.”
Her finger pointed lower on the paper.
Blue Flames: 1
“So, we will focus on collecting the Blue Flame. Remember that this exhibition deals exclusively with ‘living’ subjects, so please keep that in mind as you proceed.”
Teresa slowly nodded.
“Also, the First-Time zone is currently sealed, so there’s no need to worry. Our actions won’t be discovered.”
Flan quietly rubbed his chin.
Preserving live magicians and collecting Trixie… It was all to satisfy the ‘Princess.’
If that’s the case, it was certainly good news. In other words, the students’ lives were not at risk.
“Hey.”
At the two words Flan uttered, Teresa flinched.
“You should also mention the magical tools.”
“Ah, yes. I was planning to explain that now! This response is not an argument, by the way.”
Teresa clapped her hands twice again. This time, the paper split into two.
On the left, the map of Saphora appeared. The largest space was highlighted in red.
No need to look; it was likely the area where the magical tool ‘Dream’ was located.
On the other sheet, quantities were listed again.
Joy: 11
Despair: 22
Regret: 33
Anger: 44
.
.
.
Rather unusually, the quantities listed this time were not for items but ‘emotions.’ Teresa’s lips parted slightly.
“To enhance the quality of the exhibition, we plan to use ‘Dream’ to manipulate the emotions of the pieces.”
“…Interesting.”
Flan’s interest was piqued.
The magical tool known as ‘Dream’ seemed related to the illusion genre. It possessed the ability to alter emotions, at the very least.
These vampires were not merely satisfied with preserving the living. They also sought to control emotions to create a masterpiece that would fully satisfy the Princess.
To them, human magicians were nothing more than ‘materials.’
Flan found this idea, this arrogance, a bit amusing.
“Teresa. Do you know how to create visual records?”
“Yes… I’m not that incompetent. This response is not a rebuttal. I’m just naturally a bit curt in my speech….”
“Enough. In that case.”
Interrupting her, Flan decided to revise their plan to suit his tastes.
“Record the moments when the students are preserved. You don’t need to worry about the Blue Flame.”
“Uh… wasn’t our top priority supposed to be the Blue Flame?”
Just then.
Bang, a vampire burst through the door.
Glaring intently at Flan as he entered, the vampire muttered calmly.
“Everyone, that’s not Lord Maiev.”
All eyes turned to him at once.
“The preservation has already begun. That’s a fake. The real Lord Maiev has already taken action.”
“….”
All the vampires inside the cocktail bar alternated between looking at me and the new arrival.
The accuser scowled at Flan.
“So… that’s a human bastard we should tear apart.”
Even as the vampire caused a ruckus, Flan’s gaze remained calmly on Teresa.
“Teresa
.”
There was no response.
His voice grew even colder as he called out to her again.
“Teresa.”
“Y-yes….”
Teresa barely managed to respond, nervously glancing between the vampire and Flan.
“What’s his name?”
“Me? It’s Gabe, why?”
The answer came directly from his mouth.
Snap─!
When Flan snapped his fingers once, the entire structure of the cocktail bar transformed.
From the entrance to the windows, every ‘door’ disappeared in an instant, and darkness settled inside.
“…!”
Several vampires swallowed nervously.
Their red eyes began to glow in the dark, but Flan’s eyes shone even brighter.
Human. Vampire.
It was something strange that couldn’t be expressed by race.
Flan quietly whispered the vampire’s name.
“Gabe.”
“…What did you just call me?”
That was his last chance.
Snap─!
Snap─!
Flan snapped his fingers twice more.
Crash─ Four chairs floating in midair were instantly carved.
When they came to their senses, the chairs had been perfectly shaped into picture frames.
In his mind, Flan quietly inscribed the formula.
The reason he deliberately hid it in his mind was that the colors of black magic formulas and regular formulas were starkly different.
On one side of his mind, he drew the formula for 『Synthesis』 to prepare the frame, while on the other side, he drew the formula for 『Manipulation』.
He would manipulate Gabe as one of the ‘materials.’
Bang─!
The four frames clamped down on Gabe’s north, south, east, and west.
Gabe hadn’t even grasped the situation yet. The speed from calculation to the manifestation of the spell was like lightning.
He simultaneously deployed two illusions.
The beauty of dual activation. The audience would perceive Gabe as a ‘piece.’ Even Gabe would perceive himself as a ‘piece.’
“…!”
Gabe and the vampires finally realized what was happening.
Gabe, trapped in the frame, screamed with all his might, but no sound came out. He was already a painting.
Gabe thrashed about on the black canvas. A short title appeared on the piece.
[ Failure ] ─ Portrait
Everyone’s eyes glazed over.
For a moment, time seemed to slow down, and the corners of Flan’s lips curved upward.
His expression seemed to say.
You are nothing but a failure—
“…!”
Sensing something was wrong, Gabe frantically pounded on the frame. But Flan didn’t stop.
He conjured a landscape on the illusionary canvas.
The black background disappeared, replaced by countless sculpting knives.
Snap─!
The blades pierced Gabe’s flesh without hesitation.
“…!”
Blood splattered, flesh was sliced, bones were carved, and Gabe screamed, but no sound emerged during this process.
Even as Gabe’s body was horribly mutilated, he was still given a name.
[ Know Your Place ] – Sculpture
…There was a brief silence.
It was a scene the vampires hadn’t even imagined, so they were all stunned.
Crunch─!
Finally, a table smashed the frame to pieces.
[ The Price of Stupidity ] ─ Print
All of this happened in just two seconds.
The vampires stood there dumbfounded, three beats too late to comprehend the situation.
Lord Maiev’s black magic. It was different from ‘preservation.’ No, perhaps it was something beyond that.
‘Preservation,’ ‘Title,’ ‘Description.’ All the elements were the same… yet somehow different.
Was it black magic? Or just magic? But could such a thing even be created with just magic?
The vampires, completely frozen in place, began exchanging glances.
They needed a vampire to take responsibility, and there was only one person suitable for the task. Soon, all eyes focused on Teresa.
Teresa’s head trembled, but it was no use.
She had no choice but to speak. To squeeze out a few words, she had to wring out her lungs.
“Excuse me….”
Flan’s icy gaze fell on her. Teresa hastily raised one hand.
To appear even slightly more respectful.
“A-are you really Lord Maiev…? Haha….”
Flan lightly tapped the armrest of his chair a few times with his fingers before speaking.
“This time, you’re the material.”
“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to doubt you! It’s just that the preservation was so splendid! Yes!”
Blood leaked from under the shattered table. Before long, the floor was stained with blood.
Just as it reached Flan’s toes.
“Let’s continue the meeting.”
He spoke.