NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 28
Chapter 28. Cheat VS Cheat
There’s no time to waste. — I’m going all out from the start.
“Rank Ascension—Awaken, [Mars].”
My hair turns white, and a pure white aura wraps around my body. I lightly twist my neck, then quickly move toward the monsters.
“Bumooo!”
The Minotaur’s red eyes glare at me.
Its presence is on a different level from Goblins or Orcs. A giant body that requires me to look up, with a perfected physique. Its muscles are an unbreakable defense that even steel cannot penetrate.
The Minotaur slightly lowers its body, thrusting its head forward as it charges at me. In the face of its charge,
“Die.”
I simply thrust out my right arm. Before it could even react, the Minotaur’s brain spills out. I tilt my head, surprised at how fragile it feels compared to what I imagined.
“Is it not a perfect imitation? I see, just a counterfeit.”
If it were a perfect imitation, I might have had a bit of trouble, but if it’s just a fake like this, it poses no threat to me.
In an instant, countless cannons from Ravana surround me, their barrels aimed.
After a brief pause, a dazzling flash of light is fired.
“Tch.”
I kick off the ground, leaping into the air to avoid it, then spin my body and bend my legs to push against the air. I’m not exactly kicking the air; I’m concentrating my fighting spirit into my legs and unleashing it to generate propulsion as I move through the air.
My target is Ravana, who is still controlling the cannons, high above. I aim for its huge head, winding up my arm, and slam down with a punch of destruction.
With a deafening crash that vibrates the air, Ravana’s massive body collapses to the ground helplessly.
The rising dust hides my body, and before I can even take a breath, an invisible blade cuts through the dust, slicing at me.
“Well, it’s just an afterimage.”
At supersonic speed, I circle behind Ritter, landing three punches in quick succession. I create wind holes in his head, heart, and abdomen, causing Ritter to fall onto his back. Since it shows no signs of regenerating, it’s definitely dead.
“It doesn’t even regenerate?”
Quite degraded. But that’s to my advantage. The sooner I end this, the better.
And now, the only one left…
“It’s just you.”
The eerie monster with a doll-like appearance. Blood tears flow from the left side of its face, while the right side bursts into manic laughter. As if that weren’t enough, its body rapidly grows, exceeding five meters in height.
“You can even alter your own body data?”
That’s something only possible in this pseudo-space, but it’s still a considerable threat. Within this space, it might even possess A-rank strength.
The monster lashes out with abnormally long arms, whipping them toward me.
The sharp sound of a whip cracks through the air. Its relentless barrage of strikes fills my vision, leaving no openings to exploit.
—[Absolute Zone]
I limit all of my senses to a one-meter radius around me. It feels as though I’m sinking into a deep sea, and suddenly the surrounding scenery slows down.
I use the palms and backs of my hands to deflect the incoming arms.
“I see through it.”
After several exchanges, I find a slight opening and drive my fist into it, delivering a full-powered uppercut. With the sensation of something breaking, the monster’s scream echoes.
Remaining calm, I retract my fist, just as a giant object falls from the sky with a wet thud. It’s the monster’s arm. It’s been torn off at the root, and green liquid is gushing from the stump.
The monster lets out an enraged scream. At the same time, the ground begins to rise, forming giant hands that rush toward me from both sides, attempting to crush me.
I punch the hands away, but before I know it, numerous lightning bolts, flames, and water projectiles are locked onto me, ready to strike from above.
When the monster lets out a strange cry, they all come rushing toward me. The power behind them is immense, and the ground is ravaged by a storm of destruction.
The monster halts its movements, and a brief silence falls.
I still haven’t emerged from the dust cloud. The monster, thinking it’s finally rid of the annoying human, smiles even wider.
And then, a gust of wind blows through.
When the oppressive dust clears, I see Hayato standing, blood flowing from his forehead, but still standing tall.
“Hah~”
I had purposefully let the monster’s attack hit me to buy myself time.
When the monster sees me clearly, it finally begins to retreat in fear. It tries to turn and flee, but it’s already too late.
“[Absolute Fist].”
I close the distance with the monster in an instant, thrusting my right arm toward its core, aiming to rip it open.
“Gyaa—!”
Before the monster can finish its scream, the attack mercilessly drives it into oblivion, erasing its form completely.
I sit down and look up at the sky of this pseudo-space.
“I’m tired.”
Why did this supposed to be simple event turn into such a mess? I start thinking about what to do next, and whether everything outside is alright, but my thoughts aren’t working properly.
(That musclehead’s attack really did the trick.)
I glance over at Nanase-senpai and the others.
They’re shouting something at me, but I can’t hear them clearly. Well, they seem to be doing okay, so that’s a relief.
After seeing that, I lose consciousness.
◇
“Huh? I rushed here, but is it already over?”
“Yeah, it’s done. If you’d come a bit earlier, you could’ve seen something interesting.”
“Did that guy defeat them?”
“Ah~ I wanted to see that too~”
The hall erupts in cheers as Hayato’s victory over the monsters is acknowledged. Even those who looked down on him before are now raising their hands in celebration from the bottom of their hearts. The man who had sought help from Suzuna grips her hand tightly while tears of gratitude stream down his face.
Meanwhile, three figures enter the hall. They approach Suzuna and begin talking as if they are familiar with her.
Yes, they are members of the Special Measures Team that Suzuna contacted. Kirasaka Ryoko, who witnessed the moment when Hayato defeated Ritter alongside Suzuna, along with the blonde girl, Seirenji Reika, and another large man with black hair, all rushed to the scene.
However, when they arrived, they heard the cheers and entered the hall with confused expressions.
Upon finding Suzuna, they’re relieved to hear that the monsters have already been defeated.
“The system has recovered!”
From beside them, the staff lets out a joyous shout. Now they can finally rescue the others. Although the monsters have been defeated, Suzuna is determined to handle all of the subsequent procedures herself.
She wonders what Hayato will choose once he wakes up, now that it’s known he has abilities…
Thinking of that, Suzuna smiles cheerfully.