Bell looked down at the hand clamped onto his belt.
It was pale and slender, the veins beneath the skin showing a sickly purplish-blue.
With a simple hook of her finger, she could undo his gear—or rip out his intestines.
The surrounding air felt like it had solidified into concrete.
Tia's arm had completely transformed into a silver blade, its razor-sharp edge slicing through the air with a faint hum.
Leon stood five meters away, holding his unfinished juice. His eyes were playful, as if he were watching a game of beast chess about to begin.
“Monster?”
Bell repeated the word.
He raised his hand and placed it over the back of Cecilia's.
He didn't push her away.
Instead, he pressed down hard.
He pinned that restless hand firmly against his waist.
“You're right.”
Bell's voice was soft, yet it drilled clearly into Cecilia's ear.
“I am a monster.”
“But as a monster, I don't like being led around on a leash.”
He suddenly exerted force, prying Cecilia's fingers off one by one.
His movements were rough, showing not a shred of pity.
Cecilia did not resist.
She let her hand go with the flow of Bell's strength and took half a step back.
The smile on her face didn't vanish; instead, it grew even more radiant.
That look in her eyes...
It was like seeing a pet kitten finally learn how to extend its claws and scratch.
Surprise.
Excitement.
And a twisted sense of... gratification.
“Wonderful.”
Cecilia rubbed her reddened fingers, her tongue licking the corner of her mouth.
“Brother finally has the confidence to reject me.”
“The old Brother would only tremble and cry.”
“The current Brother...”
She took a deep breath, as if sniffing something delicious.
“...has much more bite to him.”
“Hey! You over there!”
A sharp voice cut through the ambiguity and killing intent like a saw.
Several students in white uniforms walked over.
The leader had a slicked-back hairstyle that gleamed with grease, and a badge pinned to his chest that read 'Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee'.
Gerard.
The same guy who had gone to the club to cause trouble before.
He clearly hadn't read the room.
Or rather, his eyes only saw the pile of scrap metal and a club that looked like an easy target.
“Time's up.”
Gerard kicked a cable on the ground, his face full of impatience.
“According to Academy Festival regulations, all display projects must finish testing by ten o'clock.”
He pointed at Horn's cannon, which was still emitting smoke.
“This thing doesn't even make a sound, and it's belching black smoke.”
“It's a serious eyesore.”
“I hereby declare the Soul Research Club's project disqualified.”
Gerard waved his hand, and his lackeys immediately stepped forward, ready to dismantle the booth.
Horn shrank behind the gun carriage, clutching his head and trembling all over.
This submissive appearance was a world apart from the madman who had been laughing hysterically over blueprints last night.
The smile on Cecilia's face vanished.
She turned her head and looked at Gerard.
Her gaze instantly turned icy, as if she were watching a death-seeking fly land on her cake.
Her fingers twitched slightly.
An invisible blade of water began to condense at her fingertip.
Bell took a step forward.
He moved between Cecilia and Gerard.
This step blocked Gerard's path to death and also blocked Cecilia's killing intent.
“Vice President Gerard.”
Bell straightened his ruffled collar, his tone calm.
“It is currently nine-fifty-nine.”
He raised his wrist and pointed at the watch face.
“There is still one minute left.”
Gerard blinked, stunned.
Then he burst out laughing.
“One minute?”
He pointed at the black cannon, laughing so hard he doubled over.
“With this pile of trash?”
“What do you think this is? A mana cannon from a legendary mage tower?”
“Stop embarrassing yourself, Lucas.”
“Hurry up and get lost with your scrap metal. Don't be an eyesore here.”
Gerard leaned in closer and lowered his voice, his tone dripping with mockery.
“Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're the heir to a dukedom.”
“This is the academy.”
“In a place that values strength, trash is trash.”
The blue light in Tia's eyes suddenly flared.
The Mithril skeleton made a clicking sound as its gears engaged.
Bell held Tia back.
He looked at Gerard's arrogant face.
Suddenly, he smiled.
It was a very gentle smile.
“You're right.”
“This is a place that values strength.”
Bell turned around and looked at Horn, who was cowering in the corner.
“Senior Horn.”
“Do you remember what I said last night?”
Horn poked half his head out from behind the cannon.
His glasses were crooked on his nose, and his gaze was evasive.
“I remember...”
“Repeat it.”
Horn swallowed hard.
He straightened his glasses and glanced at the haughty Gerard, then at Cecilia standing behind Bell—the woman who made his very soul shiver.
Finally, his gaze fell on Bell.
In those black eyes, there was no mockery, no contempt.
Only calmness.
Like a bottomless lake.
Horn took a deep breath.
It was the longest breath he had taken in his life.
The hunger etched into his bones, the madness suppressed for twenty years, surged through his veins and into his brain.
“Let those people who look down on us...”
Horn's voice was trembling.
But this time, it wasn't out of fear.
It was out of excitement.
“...hear a bang!”
Horn suddenly leaped up and slammed his palm down on the red start button.
The movement was violent.
As if he wanted to smash this damn world to pieces.
“Hummm—”
There was no world-shaking explosion.
There was no blinding firelight.
There was only a low hum, as if coming from the depths of hell.
In that instant.
All sound in the square vanished.
The hawking, the chatting, the wind—everything was swallowed.
The world turned black and white.
An invisible ripple spread out in a fan shape, centered on the cannon.
It was the soul vibration wave, compressed by the diode rectification array.
It was also the fear frequency Horn had meticulously carved.
The mockery on Gerard's face froze.
His pupils dilated instantly, losing focus.
He saw it.
He saw his father, who used to lock him in the basement as a child, holding a whip with a distorted face.
He saw the look of utter disappointment in his instructor's eyes when he was caught cheating for the first time.
He saw the girl who had withdrawn from school because of his bullying, standing before him covered in blood, asking him why.
Fear.
The most primal, purest fear bypassed all rational defenses and exploded in his cerebral cortex.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Gerard let out a shrill scream.
He clutched his head with both hands and collapsed to the ground, twitching violently like a dying fish.
His crotch instantly became soaked.
A yellow liquid flowed across the marble tiles, emitting a foul stench.
It wasn't just him.
His lackeys behind him, and even the students watching within dozens of meters.
All of them looked as if their souls had been snatched away.
Some knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly.
Some kowtowed frantically to the air.
Some rolled their eyes back and foamed at the mouth.
The entire eastern district of the square instantly became an asylum.
“Bang!”
Only then.
Did a cloud of colorful smoke burst from the cannon's muzzle.
It was alchemical dust added to deceive people.
The smoke exploded in the air, forming a ridiculous smiley face pattern.
It looked like a giant mockery.
Dead silence.
Except for the few unlucky souls still screaming, no one dared to speak.
Everyone looked in terror at the figure standing beneath the smoke.
The tech geek in the ragged robes with messy hair.
In their eyes now, he was more terrifying than a demon king.
Horn leaned against the cannon barrel, gasping for air.
His face was flushed red, and his eyes were frighteningly bright.
“It rang...”
“Hehe...”
“It rang!”
Bell stood amidst the chaos.
He didn't look at the twitching Gerard on the ground.
Instead, he turned and looked at Cecilia.
Cecilia had her eyes closed, her head tilted back.
As if she were enjoying a spring rain.
The fear dissipating into the air, the collapsing soul fluctuations.
To her, they were a supreme delicacy.
Her cheeks were flushed, and her body trembled slightly.
“Well?”
Bell walked up to her.
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away non-existent dust from his hands.
“These fireworks.”
“Are they beautiful?”
Cecilia opened her eyes.
Those blue eyes were shimmering with moisture.
She looked at Bell as if she were looking at a peerless treasure.
“Wonderful.”
She stuck out the tip of her tongue and licked her lips.
Her voice was hoarse, thick with desire.
“Brother.”
“This is simply...”
“...the most romantic confession.”
She ignored the hellish scene around them.
She ignored the twitching crowd.
Standing on her tiptoes, she leaned in close to Bell's ear.
“This scent that makes people go mad.”
“Truly.”
“We are the same kind of people.”
Bell threw the handkerchief on the ground.
It happened to cover Gerard's distorted face.
“You're wrong.”
Bell took a step back, creating distance.
He pointed at the giggling Horn behind him, then at Tia, who was ready to kill at any moment.
“You aren't the only madman.”
“My madmen are more useful than yours.”
Bell turned and reached out his hand toward Tia.
“Let's go.”
“The air here is too foul.”
Tia retracted her blade, her hand returning to its fair, soft state.
She obediently placed it in Bell's palm.
The two walked away side by side.
Only Cecilia remained standing there.
She watched Bell's back.
That silhouette was no longer frail.
By his side stood monsters and the dead.
Yet he walked more steadily than ever before.
Cecilia looked down at Gerard, who was still foaming at the mouth on the ground.
A flash of disgust crossed her eyes.
She raised her foot.
The heel of her high-heeled shoe stepped precisely onto Gerard's fingers.
She ground down hard.
“Crack.”
The sound of bones shattering.
“Your screaming is so unpleasant,” Cecilia whispered with a pout.
“You ruined the gift Brother gave me.”
She looked up at the distant silhouette.
The corners of her mouth curved into a manic arc.
“It doesn't matter.”
“Brother.”
“This is only the beginning.”
“The more toys you have...”
“...the better the sound will be...”
“...when I smash them to pieces.”
Rate on N.U.
