NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 87
87th Chapter. Beastly Friends (3)
“Alright, only half left. 16 seconds… 17 seconds… 18 seconds…”
“Ugh!”
I sneered at Chandler, who was suffering from an intense headache right in front of me.
How long has it been since counting numbers felt this entertaining?
As I mentioned earlier, once 30 seconds pass, the chance to lift the curse vanishes.
After that, unless I personally release it, he will never be able to shake it off.
You might think it’s a harsh punishment, but Chandler himself has committed acts far worse than this like it was nothing.
Ever since his parents died, he’s been hearing voices in his head, believing them to be the voice of the god and following whatever they say.
Even if it means killing dozens of innocent people, he carries out those orders without hesitation.
The reason he usurped Director Gamur’s body and hatched this plan is all because of that.
He may look like a pathetic fool spiraling into madness, but it’s not just simple hallucination. The voice actually belongs to the evil god’s remnants implanted in him by his parents before they died.
‘Well, since it’s an evil god, I suppose it can be called a “god” voice.’
However, it doesn’t particularly restrict his everyday life.
He isn’t granted a demerit that shortens his lifespan for not following the voice.
In other words, he doesn’t need to tell lies all day long or commit evil deeds like I do.
‘Still, he’s the type who would abduct and torture random passersby. Straight-up psychopath.’
The problem is that he blindly believes that voice.
Typically, such individuals cannot be changed even if they are taken to the Hall of Truth for a mental education.
“30 seconds… Time’s up. I gave you a chance, and you’re just going to kick it away?”
In reality, there was never a chance. Who could possibly strip and bow a hundred times within 30 seconds? If I don’t freeze to death out here, I’ll consider myself lucky.
“You dare…!!”
Chandler managed to stand up, enduring his pain. His rage seemed to have overcome his headache.
Despite his outward appearance, he’s actually a few levels above me. The stronger the frequency, the shorter the time the curse will take effect.
No need to save energy.
“Ugh!”
Chandler was launched by Muto’s tail swipe and smashed against a rock.
He knocked his head against a rock that was already frozen solid from the cold.
“You bastard!”
But his resilience is impressive.
Getting back up, he kicked a piece of rock debris with his foot. The fragment, flying toward Muto like a soccer ball, hit him right in the eye.
Just as you would expect—pain so severe it could cause permanent blindness. He grimaced at that moment, and treading cautiously, Chandler approached with his sword imbued with aura, piercing through Muto’s neck.
Thus, Muto was summoned back to extend his life.
Thinking that his shield protecting him had vanished, Chandler wore a smug smile.
“Next is your turn!”
A menacing blade aura loomed over his weapon, threatening to swallow the curse itself.
Though the sword has exquisite power, if the wielder has defects, it’s likely to not shine.
“Ugh! Not again.”
Once again, a headache set in, causing Chandler to stagger for a moment, missing his moment to attack.
Clang!—
In that gap, something long stretched out near Chandler’s neck.
That thing, which seemed like it would rattle even if just slightly plucked, was none other than a fishing rod.
“This is…?”
“….”
“K-kuk… Ha ha ha! Are you kidding me right now?”
Due to the dizziness causing him to lose his chance, Chandler burst out laughing.
It was comedic that, armed with a fishing rod that could only be used as a makeshift whip, he had no time to wield his sword.
“Doesn’t Aligieri teach proper swordsmanship? What do you plan to do with that?”
“I’m going to catch you—like this.”
Like all fishing rods, it was adjustable in length.
I deliberately extended Leviathan’s length.
With a speed like a bullet, it shot out, and the end of the fishing rod pierced his neck perfectly.
“Guh!”
Chandler was sent flying again but lacked the destructive power of before.
Instead, I accurately struck his vital spot.
The shock delivered to his neck felt like being stabbed with a solid iron rod, causing Chandler to kneel and begin vomiting.
“Ugh!”
The bread and fruit juice he had consumed since yesterday spilled out. Coupled with his headache, the nausea worsened.
To make matters worse, the extreme cold caused the vomit to freeze. His mouth, from which he was retching, froze up and wouldn’t move.
It was a continuous ordeal.
“Then let me ask you.”
“Ugh…”
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to judge people based on their weapons?”
“Ughhh!!!”
Slap!
“Ugh!”
Slap! Slap!
“Ugh!!”
I used the elongated Leviathan to beat Chandler’s flesh. The damage he sustained was worse than being cut by a sword.
While I understood the pain, begging for mercy in a life-and-death battle was pointless.
Giving him a break because of my headache or waiting due to his vomiting was only permissible in mock battles.
“Shut up, you bastard!!”
Still, what a tough guy. After barely parrying my fishing rod once, he aimed to counterattack.
As he parried my rod, his arm wobbled.
Though he had beastly strength, it was already somewhat weakened.
This was because I had lost power in both arms after Trisha’s previous attack.
“Ugh! Die!!”
Seizing my moment of imbalance, Chandler swung his sword towards my neck. But I had a skill that could turn even that into an opportunity.
—Fool’s Strike Lv6
I recalled using it on Jenny long ago.
My unsteady body moved on its own to strike back unexpectedly.
It was a skill that made it seem like I was the one exposing a weakness rather than him.
I reinforced the fishing rod with my “Curse Aura.”
“…!”
My body dodged Chandler’s sword as if performing acrobatics and burrowed in from an angle he couldn’t see.
If I exposed myself to his view, he could raise his arm to block.
However, his field of view appeared more limited than I’d anticipated. Trisha had already targeted his right eye with a kick earlier.
Chandler didn’t see the fishing rod swinging toward him from the right. It slammed straight into his temple.
Next, I began hammering down on his wrist, ankle, philtrum, uvula, ribs, and collarbone, alternating vertically and horizontally.
Thanks to “Mana Sight,” I was able to see which spots were vulnerable.
I targeted only the spots that would cause him pain.
“Isn’t it kind of ridiculous, the concept of vicarious liability? Punishing the child for the parent’s crimes?”
“Ugh!!”
“But for you, I guess that crime needs to be enforced. A parent-child duo of psychopaths—how could I feel any sympathy!”
Slap!!
The sharp impact echoed, giving me a rush of pleasure. The more I thought about it, my anger fueled me to maximum power.
But considering the grievances of the victims he had harmed, even dismembering him and executing him wouldn’t seem enough.
He had long lost his sword.
His consciousness had also drifted far away.
“Well then, shall we separate now?”
He had taken over the body of Director Gamur.
Chandler was just controlling this body, but releasing him was simple.
Taking out my student ID, I reflected the mirror on the back toward him. The yellow light enveloped him.
—Detecting unhealthy mana. Commencing examination.
The yellow stamp embedded in my student ID had the power to nullify all mana.
However, since its original body, Mosria, was far off, the duration was only 5 seconds with a 24-hour cooldown. The efficiency for combat purposes was lacking.
But with just those 5 seconds, I could separate the defenseless Chandler from Director Gamur’s body.
As the yellow light diminished, another person emerged from his body.
The one wearing armor was indeed the person I had been fighting against all this time, but the true owner of the body, Gamur Brutus.
And like the criminals, Chandler was in ragged attire.
I extended the fishing line and tied up Chandler. It was a line from Leviathan, so even if he awakened, he wouldn’t be able to easily untie it.
I could also separate Lyman in the main plot.
‘I’ll beat him to a pulp, then regenerate, and beat him again.’
Mana: 2/44
Having carelessly overused Leviathan, my mana reserves were nearly depleted. Why do I keep forgetting that it consumes a lot of mana?
I remained motionless until the commotion subsided.
*
Monsters resembling wolves and foxes were yelping as arrows struck them down.
In the distance, Luska’s sniping kept the incoming monsters at bay, while Jenny was calmly exchanging swords with Geromarin.
Not just an ordinary sorceress, her swordsmanship was remarkable. Even when frozen by the Silver Age spell, she would break through the ice and escape quickly.
The enemy continued to summon monsters, but our mana was gradually dwindling.
“Being a lycanthrope isn’t so bad. If reason remains intact, I’ll actually become a tough guy.”
“Is it you?”
“What?”
“Were you the one who summoned the lycanthrope that appeared on the back mountain of Silver Town seven years ago?!”
“Still going on about that? Sorry, but I didn’t have anything to do with that incident! I was concentrating on something else, even if I was resentful of the Chain Silver Family back then!”
“Not being involved means… at least you knew about the incident, right? So you do know who the criminal is?”
“…This persistent bitch!”
Geromarin seemed to avoid answering and summoned yet another army of monsters. However, unlike the storm of monsters that had come just moments before, their numbers had decreased.
The constant summoning had drained his mana.
“Is this it already?”
Geromarin, just like them, felt his limits.
He intended to use the remaining army as bait to leap away.
At that moment, an arrow shot through his ankle, and a massive ice wall rose up to block Geromarin’s path.
“Don’t run away. You need to answer my question.”
“Ugh! I really don’t know! At that time, I was too busy focusing on another plan!”
“Another plan?”
“Soon, a saint will be born. According to the prophecy, there are two candidates. One of them is said to be imbued with the powers of a divine beast.”
In an instant, an unusual light shone in Luska’s eyes as she dealt with the monsters.
“I’m not mastering this sorcery to take out your mother! It’s to eliminate the saint candidates mentioned in the prophecy! In other words, I have nothing to do with you!”
“….”
Transforming his bow into a double-edged sword, Luska wiped out the wolf pack in an instant.
The few numbers made it easy to handle. Then, in a low voice, she asked.
“Now, one last question.”
“…?”
“Why do you want to kill the saint?”
What gall does he have?
“As I said, it’s said that one of the saints carries the blood of a divine beast. The blood of the Thousand-Year Fox, which is greatly revered! I can control both wild and domesticated beasts at will. So assassinating them without anyone noticing would be a piece of cake!”
If successful at controlling them once, it would be possible to disguise it as a suicide.
In that case, there would be no need to worry about the guards protecting the saint. There wouldn’t be any evidence left that a sorcerer had committed the act.
“The reason for killing? That’s simple! This world doesn’t need false representatives of the gods! The Demon King’s army is the true representatives of the gods. You are the ones breaking the world’s taboos!”
“….”
“In short, I’ve never been involved with the Chain Silver Family. I was solely focused on the saint side, so everything else was pushed aside!”
“I see. I roughly get it.”
“Really?”
“It seems we misunderstood you for no reason.”
The blue girl and the black girl suddenly smiled sweetly, like angels.
Geromarin, finally thinking we had understood him for the first time, felt moved and looked satisfied that his lengthy speech had paid off.
“I’ll acknowledge that you are not the one who killed my mother.”
“Looking back, all that fighting was pointless.”
“No, it’s not entirely meaningless.”
“What?”
Just as Geromarin was filled with doubts, he suddenly felt weightless on one side.
Rustle!—
Literally speaking, it felt like several limbs had been severed, leaving him lighter.
Having lost his right arm and left leg, he fell, screaming.
Then he looked up at the two girls, who were fully equipped with murderous intent.
The blue girl seemed unchanged but looked even colder, while the black girl bore clear changes with beastly ears and a tail.
“Th-that appearance…”
He had seen the face of one of the saints marked by necromancy magic, and now the image of the black girl overlapped with that saint.
‘Quite similar, isn’t it…!’
The only difference was in their hair color. But the more he looked at Luska, the more he trembled with an incomprehensible fear.
And her chilling aura… made her look like a ghost.
Surviving as an Academy Scammer.