Light (3)
Shhhhk-
A sharp shadow cut through the air.
The pitch black turned into a thin line, slicing through the brief moment, leaving only a graceful trail in the void.
In an instant, the tip of the sword sliced through flesh.
Anxiety-.
The next moment, the head of the approaching monster was split in two.
It couldn't even let out a scream. The lifeless beast's remains scattered across the floor.
Black, rotten blood splattered at his feet.
The half-opened eyes were calmly watching the death unfold.
“Hmm.”
A short, low hum escaped his lips.
At some point, the surroundings were littered with dozens of wolf corpses, each brutally dismembered.
The boy brushed off the residue from his sword.
Despite being in a blood-soaked laboratory, not a single speck of dirt stained the Serpent's clothes.
It was an absolutely overwhelming sight.
A chilling air was followed by a surge of dreadful energy.
“My, my… Are you finally feeling fear?”
The mutants hesitated, their monstrous forms trembling. Seeing this, the boy formed a pleased smile.
It was the cruel mockery of a predator.
Kiiiiiik-
Perhaps provoked by this, the few mutants at the front lunged, swinging their tentacles. However, as if waiting for them, a swift slash came flying.
The shadow swallowed the grotesque forms of the monsters.
Thud…
With a dull thud, holes opened up in the chests of the wolves.
A single strike that carved out only their hearts.
The beasts, having lost the precious beat of life, collapsed soon after.
He was toying with them, treating them as mere playthings.
“As expected of failures, their completion rate isn't that high.”
Creating chimeras based on beasts.
Usually, the focus was on extreme vitality, modifying them to survive even if their heads were cut off.
Because the goal was to create immortal monsters.
But the current wolves were different.
They certainly possessed ferocious strength, but their vitality seemed significantly lower than usual.
It felt like someone had recklessly mixed them without following any established methods.
It was almost as if someone had created them for their pastime.
"If you're bored, you should read a book... I never understand cultists."
The Serpent clicked his tongue softly.
After a moment of wearing a regretful expression, he suddenly turned his head to look at where his companions were.
There, the girls were fighting against the mutants.
Bang-! Thud, Crack-
The somewhat brutal sounds were impressive.
The two were responding calmly.
Emilia would hold back those who approached, while Regia would intercept them with basic magic.
If there was one regretful point…
“Hey, commoner! You can't summon your precious summon again this time?”
“I-I'm sorry. I've been trying, but…!”
“You're such dead weight!!”
“I-I apologize!”
“Just shut up! Get out of my way!”
…it was that the summoning was acting up again.
Perhaps shaken by the sudden attack, her chanting kept failing.
In the end, Regia gave up and prepared basic magic.
“What does she think she can do with those attacks…!”
Thinking it was useless, perhaps, Emilia unleashed her mana with a harsh rebuke.
Dark snowflakes bloomed in the air.
The boy, who was quietly watching the scene, soon let out a bitter chuckle and muttered.
“…It seems it’s still too difficult for her.”
It seemed like she still had a long way to go before her awakening.
The Serpent calmly moved his feet. At the same time, he flicked his finger towards the mutants threatening the girls.
A popping sound rang out.
Clack-
“Now.”
The wolves baring their fangs were flung into the air.
As they thrashed about pathetically, dripping slime, ice arrows shot from somewhere pierced their bodies.
The Serpent's and the ghost's eyes met.
Emilia was breathing heavily, as if exhausted.
“Huff, huff… They just keep coming.”
“You seem to be struggling.”
“I know you want to provoke me, but could you please refrain in this situation?”
“I was speaking out of genuine concern.”
“As if.”
Her brows furrowed beautifully.
Her blue eyes were filled with irritation.
“Those monsters, I mean. I think they were created in this basement.”
“I believe so too.”
“Chimera experiments… It seems like we’re not dealing with something ordinary.”
“It's knowledge that's been banned in the Empire for a long time. It seems they were conducting research here, in this place where no one would find them.”
“This is just the worst.”
“Indeed.”
It was a troublesome situation.
However, it wasn't entirely hopeless.
“Still, we can handle this much.”
“We have such skilled individuals gathered here. Miss Regia seems to be adapting as well.”
“Whatever.”
The wolves were simply numerous.
Their individual strength wasn't that great.
Most Galimar students would be able to calmly deal with them all.
Emilia gathered mana at her fingertips.
“It would be best to finish this quickly and look for the exit.”
“I’ll draw the wolves’ attention.”
“The commoner and I will provide support with ranged attacks. It seems inefficient to engage them directly anyway.”
“Please do.”
Thud-
With a short chuckle, the Serpent leaped a long distance.
As the boy jumped into the midst of the mutants, the two girls unleashed their magic from afar.
And so, as they resumed their extermination…
Rumble-
Suddenly, a huge tremor shook the basement.
““······?!””
Was it an earthquake?
It was a heavy tremor that made it difficult to keep their balance.
A sudden roar deafened their ears.
Boom-! Rumble-
The sound seemed to come from the ceiling of the laboratory.
The sound of something breaking and crumbling.
The children looked up in confusion.
The next moment.
Crrraaaash-
With a powerful impact, a part of the ceiling collapsed.
A hole opened up, revealing a wide expanse, and something unidentifiable fell from it.
A gigantic silhouette.
And beneath it were the mutants and…
“Oh.”
…the half-opened eyes of the boy.
Before they could even react, it crushed everything around it.
Ruuuumble-
Thick dust filled the air.
Broken fragments scattered in all directions.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The children, frozen in shock, soon let out screams of terror.
Towards the boy they could no longer see.
“Y-Young Master…?!”
“What was that all of a sudden…!”
The children stared at the spot.
The space was filled with a hazy confusion.
As the two desperately searched for any sign of the boy, their eyes met with ‘something’ looking down at them.
Their breath caught in their throats.
““······.””
It was no coincidence that they both closed their mouths at the same time.
An unsettling feeling, sticky and suffocating, pressed down on them. It was as if a physical force was choking them.
Their breaths trembled involuntarily.
<Ooooh… Ahh>
It moved with a pulsating motion, like a jellyfish.
As if stitched together from the innards of beasts, its surface was covered entirely in a pale pink.
It was a horrifying sight, easily over 15 meters tall.
Hundreds of tentacles stretched out from its body.
Large and small eyeballs were densely packed all over its form.
<Ahh…>
In the center was a mouth.
Its body split open into five parts, revealing a maw filled with rows upon rows of teeth.
A foul stench, unique to corpses, wafted out, filling the entire basement.
The monster writhed, emitting strange cries.
<Aaaahhh… Aaaah!!!>
The entire laboratory shook with its screams.
[EP5. Midterm Exam]
-The Abandoned Laboratory, The Monster That Cannot Smile-
The monster that cannot smile.
The boss monster had appeared.
***
Emilia stood frozen, holding her breath.
Countless eyes stared back at her, filling her vision.
And those writhing tentacles.
<Aaaahhh… Aaaah!!!>
The monster screamed, its mouth wide open.
She could see the densely packed teeth between its split torso. It looked ready to devour everything in sight.
Emilia couldn’t react.
“······.”
Terror, heavy and suffocating, pressed down on her.
The mere sight of it made her mind go blank. It was an absolutely overwhelming presence.
If she let her guard down for even a moment, if she loosened her grip on her fear…
She felt like her entire body would crumble.
Regia, standing beside her, was no different.
Her face was pale, and she stood frozen, unable to even move a finger.
Both of them knew instinctively that they were on the verge of death.
<Aaaahhh… Ooh?>
Perhaps it was a stroke of luck.
The monster, in the throes of its frenzy, shifted its gaze.
It turned towards the mutants scattered on the floor.
It seemed to be interested in the creatures that had now become nothing more than chunks of meat.
It moved its tentacles,
Squelch, squelch-
One by one, it peeled the wolves off the ground and shoved them into its massive mouth.
It devoured the remains, barely clinging to the semblance of life, crushing them completely.
Crunch, crack, snap-
The sound of bones, not yet crushed, being pulverized echoed throughout the chamber.
The sound alone was enough to make her nauseous.
<Ahh… Aaahh>
Was the Young Master's body somewhere in that mess?
She didn't know. It was impossible to tell, to find the boy amidst the mass of flesh and bone, churned together like a grotesque meatball.
Death had been instantaneous.
There was no chance he could still be alive.
With something like that falling directly on top of him, he probably didn't even feel any pain as he passed.
Emilia couldn't tear her eyes away, a dazed look in them.
Gulp, slurp, crunch-
The monstrous feeding continued.
As she watched the blood and flesh splatter, her fear-paralyzed mind clung to a thread of reason.
A single thought echoed through her mind.
'I have to run.'
It was instinct.
The instinct of a living being that craved survival.
Her blue eyes darted around, desperately searching.
Searching for a way out.
'If I just run a short distance, I can reach the corridor.'
Emilia glanced at the exit nearby.
The monster was massive, its body grotesquely bloated.
The laboratory was spacious, but that thing would definitely get stuck at the door leading to the corridor.
It seemed like the most viable route, however slim the chance.
'The problem is…'
…that the monster wasn't about to just let them go.
Based on her current position, it would take about ten seconds to reach the door.
More than enough time to be caught by those hideous tentacles.
That's why she needed it.
Bait that would buy her ten seconds to reach the door.
“······.”
Emilia subtly glanced to her right.
There stood the pink-haired girl, her shoulders trembling with fear.
The dead weight that had been a nuisance from the start.
'Bait.'
If she froze Regia's legs right now…
And ran alone while she couldn't move, wouldn't she be able to buy herself some time from the monster?
She didn't know if she could actually reach the door.
But it was worth a try.
Survival had always been her priority.
'It can't be helped.'
Regia's green eyes, wide with fear, tugged at her conscience.
The sight of her half-crying face bothered her, but Emilia decided to ignore it.
She muttered to herself, as if trying to hypnotize herself.
'Someone has to be sacrificed anyway.'
Someone had to be the bait.
To save the other.
And in that case, it was only natural that the role of sacrifice should fall to the more useless, the more lowly being.
Emilia bit her lip.
'I'm special.'
She was different from this commoner with no background.
She was born with the blessing of Vanity, destined to be praised for her noble blood.
There was a fundamental difference between them that could never be bridged.
'I'm special… Because I'm special, it's okay.'
The girl rationalized her ugliness.
She praised herself to justify her own survival and belittled the other to justify using her as bait.
She gathered mana at the tips of her slender fingers.
-…May I ask why you are so desperate to be at the top of the class, Lady Emilia?
Why was that?
The question the Young Master Snakus had thrown at her echoed in her ears.
Back then, the girl had answered like this.
-Because I'm outstanding.
-Unlike you, a good-for-nothing who doesn't even deserve to be here, I'm someone who deserves to be in that position.
Her thoughts hadn't changed.
Emilia believed she was a worthy person.
The girl opened her eyes wide.
A venomous light shone in her blue eyes.
'I will survive.'
She unleashed her magic.
The temperature around them plummeted, and deadly frost flowers bloomed from her palm.
She could feel Regia's startled gaze on her.
-Emilia.
-Forget everything else I've said, but remember this.
Because I'm special.
Because I'm valuable.
She hardened her resolve.
-Light… only has value when there's someone to illuminate it.
Even if it meant throwing the person next to her as bait, she would survive.Yes.
That's what she had decided.
That's what she had promised herself…
“Commoner.”
“Lady Emilia…?”
Why couldn’t she bring herself to do it?
“Run outside, now.”
The villainess spoke harshly.
To the main character, who stood there with a hardened expression.
“I’ll buy you some time here… At least you should escape with your life.”
“Y-Yes…?”
“I won’t be able to hold out for long.”
Her voice was calm, steady.
The sharp tone was a way to mask her trembling.
Clang-
At some point, an ice spear had materialized in her hand.
She twirled it, then took a step towards the monster.
The scent of winter followed in her wake.
“It’s okay.”
Emilia muttered to herself, once again trying to convince herself.
“Because I’m special.”
And with that.
The girl charged at the monster, ice spear at the ready.
Meanwhile.
The half-opened eyes watched all of this unfold.
With great amusement.
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WOO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
ReplyDeleteWell, that's really noble of you, Emilia.
ReplyDeleteEmilia is slowly making her way to the position of my favorite girl, I just like sharp girls like her, and now character development? F yeah
ReplyDelete