NOVEL WEB Chapter 193
“No matter how much I want to take Arman’s head off, jumping in there right now is definitely not a good idea.”
Those guys fear nothing, not even death, and they don’t care about getting their bodies wrecked.
No matter how poisonous, it still has to spread through the body to work, and it takes time for an Abilities User like me. Plus, those creatures have no reason left to them.
Jumping in now would just make me a moth drawn to the flame, diving headfirst into a deathtrap.
Oh, and right now, there are pillars of fire shooting up in the middle of those creatures. Just a bit ago, it was a blizzard, but now it’s turned into a firestorm.
Invictus was right in the center of Arman’s forces, flaunting their powers without a care, showing everyone what it means to be ranked number one.
In terms of Heros Company, they’re the strongest.
I doubt Invictus is worried about attacking a major traitor who harmed Heros Company.
Even the Abilities Users providing aerial support were scrambling to avoid getting caught in Invictus’s attacks, just skirting around from a distance.
Not to mention, if I jumped in, I’d literally become a roasted moth, caught in a real fire.
No matter how much I wanted revenge, that didn’t mean I wanted to die for nothing.
So right now, all I could do was wait for my moment. Even if I wanted to spew poison, the explosions and winds over there made it impossible to send any out.
At least it seemed like they were controlling their output, only using enough power for the rear blowers to handle.
Otherwise, the poison already set in this city would have spread everywhere, leading to a catastrophe. Of course, with calculations like that, ranking number one was expected.
The bombing squad that was only operating from the top finally realized they had nothing to do and joined the rear blowers to fortify the barrier.
Invictus, noticing that, simply cranked up the output, wiping everything out.
I heard that when Invictus fights seriously, the surroundings get devastated—turns out it’s true.
While they can’t be compared to returnees or those freakish monsters, I certainly felt they were the best humans that Heros Company could regularly mobilize.
But then again, why would someone like this be stuck guarding the back? Well, there were probably circumstances. I don’t really want to know, and I’m sure it’s a silly reason.
That part is Heros Company’s territory, so I turned my attention away and, like other poison sprayers, temporarily halted my abilities to withdraw beyond the barrier.
No one ordered us to do so, but everyone instinctively began to back off.
It was clear that being around would only be a hindrance.
“Uh, Blanca? Did we get a retreat order?”
“Not exactly, but I felt like I’d get zapped by lightning for sticking around. I wouldn’t mind going down in a blaze of glory, but I’d prefer not to die being hit by a blind rock.”
Ageha watched me as I skillfully scaled the wall, her expression caught somewhere between joy and concern.
“Well, then… I guess it can’t be helped!”
Then, seemingly reaching a conclusion on her own, she muttered something under her breath.
“Ageha, it’s nice to be happy, but isn’t this a bad time?!”
Jinhyeon was here too. Considering it was the bombing squad, he’d naturally be present.
He was grimacing, squeezing out his remaining strength alongside Seolhwa to further bolster the Ice Barrier.
“Right? Help me out. I’m struggling here. We have too much to do — save the chit-chat for later.”
Seolhwa’s voice was laced with exhaustion. It seemed I wasn’t the only one fighting until our magic ran dry.
“Alright, got it. Alice, Lucia! Lucia, use shadows to keep those things contained for a bit…”
“Me? How…?”
“…Alice, just hold on, make it easier for us!”
“Ah, got it!”
Among the abilities users preparing the field for Invictus to run wild, I managed to spot the faces of my friends scattered about.
Everyone looked busy, but at least they seemed to find some breathing room.
It felt like everyone was taking a moment to catch their breath.
Changwon was still tirelessly deploying his traps to fend off the backlash, but it looked like he was still holding up fine.
Others didn’t hesitate to collapse to the ground or outright lie down to regain their strength and magic, for even a moment.
I was one of them.
Of course, it wasn’t that I was out of strength or magic; physically, mentally, I was fine and still ready to fight.
Yet, I just wanted to lie down—just because.
No grand reason behind it. I simply wanted to stretch out.
Even if my body felt okay, my mind was stacked with fatigue.
From beyond the barrier, explosions and crashes erupted ominously, but everyone laid down as if dead, trying to recover.
But not everyone was lying down.
A shadow loomed over me. I thought something was approaching, and then I spotted Yeonhwa’s face.
“Ah, it’s you.”
I thought it was someone angry at me.
Well, I guess I wasn’t entirely wrong. Yeonhwa probably held some grudge against me.
As I entertained silly thoughts, I turned to thank her.
“Thanks for earlier. I was at a loss on how to capture Yusty when you showed up just in time.”
“Uh…? Oh, that… It wasn’t really planned, but I just happened to be there… Isn’t that good?”
Looking closely, it seemed like Rapiz’s timidness rubbed off on Yeonhwa.
“It isn’t just ‘good.’ It’s great. I survived because of you.”
“Re-really? Ahahaha…”
“So, what did you want to say? Seems like there’s something more you want to express.”
“…Did I give it away?”
“Give it away? Yeonhwa, your face has been screaming it since the moment we met.”
At my remark, Yeonhwa looked a bit shocked as she stared at me.
“D-did I? Oh, um… I see…”
“That’s a good thing, right? Seriously, what’s on your mind?”
It felt like the conversation was taking a weird turn, so I directed the question back at Yeonhwa, and finally, she spoke up about what she had intended to say.
“Well, um, if, after all this is over… though the chances are slim… if, just if you were to return to the Academy…”
Yeonhwa kept stuttering and delaying before eventually whispering in my ear.
She wanted to know if we could go back to being as close as before.
“That’d be tough.”
“I guess so…”
I couldn’t tell what she was expecting with that question. It was obvious we couldn’t go back to how things were.
“Still, I’ll try my best. If it ever did happen, I wouldn’t want to live as a traitor forever.”
After hearing that, Yeonhwa looked somewhat relieved and even said it was good to hear.
What was she talking about, though?
Before I could register the absurdity of her behaving like a mother, Changwon, who was standing on the barrier, shouted at us.
“Invictus is gone!!! They’re coming back for us!!!”
—-
“Phew, huff. Hah, I think I’m starting to feel better.”
Watching Invictus thrash through the battlefield, Rapiz turned to head over to Blanca as soon as she felt somewhat okay.
Objectively speaking, she was in terrible shape.
Her mother’s and grandmother’s overwhelmingly vast magic was tearing through her body, practically shredding the pathways the magic used to flow.
What she needed most right now was stability.
“Rapiz, you don’t need to push yourself. And… you’re in bad shape, aren’t you? Don’t overdo it.”
Her mother, Harane, was well aware and tried to dissuade Rapiz from moving any further.
Having experienced being on the receiving end of her mother’s concern a few times, Rapiz understood the danger of her condition.
But Rapiz insisted she had to go because her friends were at risk, constantly implying the same thing.
“You really want to go, my cute little rock?”
“…Yes, Grandma.”
“Who did you inherit this stubbornness from? Myungho? Or perhaps… your father…”
“Mother, we agreed to stop talking about him.”
“I know, I know. Tch, with your determination this strong, I can’t hold you back. You can go, but don’t expect any help.”
Rapiz thanked her grandmother and bowed her head, but her grandmother told Rapiz to show respect to her mother instead.
“Who’s likely to be the one with the deepest pain, Rapiz?”
“…I’m sorry, Mom. But I really want to help my friends.”
Her mother looked at her daughter with a mix of sadness and understanding, hugging her while saying she’d hold a grudge if she came back hurt.
“I’ll definitely return in one piece, so don’t worry too much about it. Even if I get hurt, I’ll just end up getting hurt enough for recovery items to fix!”
What she thought was reassurance only drove nails into her parents’ hearts, a fact Rapiz was oblivious to.
“If you’re done with this touching farewell, get going. The atmosphere feels off, like something could go wrong at any moment.”
With her oxygen mask on and climbing atop the giant rocky beast, Rapiz finally headed toward the battlefield where her friends were.