NOVEL WEB Chapter 196
Despite being confidently determined to block the attacks, it quickly became clear that I was outclassed after just a few exchanges.
I was even embarrassed to admit we were exchanging blows. All I could do was barely endure the attacks by absorbing them with my artifact and releasing energy afterward.
The others were somehow countering with their terrifying abilities. However, it was evident they were at a disadvantage.
No one had been seriously injured yet, but it was obvious that the moment one person broke, the rest would tumble down like dominoes.
I didn’t even have time to glance at Blanca as I dodged the incoming rapier and the bizarre swarm of grasshoppers. But still, I was accumulating minor wounds.
So far, I managed to minimize the damage somehow, but I wondered how much longer I could hold out. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Blanca.
But I was definitely reaching my limit. I had no intention of fleeing, but it would be a pity if I couldn’t witness the outcome of this fight…
While I was just dodging and managing to land a single hit in between, I found myself cornered as if it was reading my breath.
This wasn’t a true deadlock. However, if I escaped now, it was clear that Seolhwa and Lapiz would be in danger.
Just as I was squeezing my eyes shut, preparing to take the hit—
The piercing scream of a man echoed, and suddenly everyone we were fighting came to a standstill.
The bug-like creatures and abilities users that had been flying around the sky dropped to the ground like heavy sacks.
The ones wielding weapons froze mid-attack, not even taking a breath.
I thought it was only me, but the same was true for the ability users that the others were facing.
They all stiffened like disconnected remote-controlled robots, and some ended up smacked by the attacks they couldn’t halt.
One got hit squarely, and even split in half, yet there wasn’t a single scream—it was chilling.
We were unscathed. I had a hard time believing a ridiculous psychic abilities user appeared out of nowhere.
Thus, my only conclusion was that Blanca had accomplished something incredible.
With the controller suddenly gone, it was no surprise that the puppets under their command halted and collapsed.
Looking around, even the modified humans had stopped moving, drooling or sprawled on the floor, babbling nonsense.
“…Did Blanca do this?!”
Yeonhwa gasped for breath and asked us.
“Most likely, or at least she must have landed a solid hit on Arman! Anyway, let’s go! If Arman is alive, we have to finish this!”
From the scream I just heard, it seemed like Blanca had achieved something, but there’s always a possibility.
Arman, who had barely suffered enough, might be weaker than in the original story, but he was still Arman.
No matter how powerful Blanca’s abilities and their outrageous symbiotic being may be, the thought that they could have won without any injury didn’t cross my mind.
When we arrived at the location where Blanca and Arman had fought, we found what looked like a burnt pile presumed to be Arman and Blanca.
It was a truly horrific sight.
Whatever happened, the slime that had been enveloping her body had completely dripped off and spread across the floor.
This revealed her snow-white body, which was covered in bruises from various blows, her side was even turning purple, oozing blood.
Her abdomen and torso were torn open, exposing whatever was meant to be inside or spilling out.
Some of her right arm and right leg, which had been replaced by slime, were gone, with blood pouring out from the exposed surface, spreading over the slime that was pooled on the floor.
In the face of that gruesome sight, no one could utter a word; we just stared at her blankly.
No one dared to speak. We had all somewhat prepared for this outcome, but now that we were actually witnessing it, we couldn’t even think about what to do.
This was clearly…
a death.
Yeonhwa covered her mouth in shock, staring vacantly.
Ageha was quietly muttering that it couldn’t be true.
Seolhwa, like Ageha, was denying reality, insisting it was a lie.
Jinhyeon couldn’t accept the harsh reality and kept questioning if she was really dead.
Changwon, along with Lapiz, was completely silent.
Still, Changwon appeared to be in a slightly better state than Lapiz.
Lapiz didn’t show a single sign of movement, just like the minions we had seen moments earlier.
“Bla…nca?”
Lapiz finally broke the heavy silence, hardly managing to move.
But her arms seemed unsure where to go, and her gait was so shaky that it looked like she would collapse with just a nudge.
Knowing that touching her would have no meaning, I was about to approach Lapiz to try to stop her.
Faintly, I caught a glimpse of Blanca’s chest rising and falling, ever so slightly.
“Lapiz, wait! Don’t touch her, she’s still alive!!”
“What do you mean…? Sh-she’s alive?! Her heart is… still beating?!”
Just a moment ago, Lapiz had acted as if she had lost everything in the world, but upon hearing my words, she immediately knelt down and leaned her ear to the ground to listen for Blanca’s heartbeat.
“Don’t touch her! Recovery potions, does anyone have a recovery potion…! I-I’ll go get one! Just hold on until then!”
“How?!”
Realizing she was alive brought a momentary surge of joy, but as I pondered how to save her, I decided to do what I could think of first.
Please, just hold on until I get back, Blanca.
– – – –
As I gazed at the pure white mansion, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t the mansion I once knew.
The mansion we lived in was… how should I put it? Much more colorful, warmer in tone. Not this stark, cold, pale white.
Well, I’d come this far, so it probably didn’t matter too much.
Looking around revealed nothing but a void of pure white, so there was no real place to go.
So naturally, the only option was to head inside the mansion.
The interior was messier than I expected. Perhaps it looked too clean from the outside, or maybe the insides were just more detailed.
As I watched the white trash and white slippers rolling around on the floor, it hit me that the mansion was much more poorly treated than I had thought.
It didn’t change anything to reflect on it, and it wasn’t just me using it poorly; the owner had treated it poorly as well.
…Speaking of which, I had noticed this since I entered, but that room had that weird typewriter sound coming from it for a while now.
With the mention of the mansion’s owner, I thought maybe I should check it out because the sound seemed bothersome.
Bounding up the stairs two at a time, I knocked on the door of the room used by the owner, and a voice from inside beckoned me to come in.
“Yo.”
“Boss…? Boss! What are you doing here… no, how long have you been waiting here?!”
It truly was the boss.
With a mix of surprise and joy, I rushed over to embrace, but there was something strangely gaunt about the boss compared to what I remembered, so I asked about it.
I felt like I didn’t really need to ask why they were here.
“Longer than you think, shorter than I think. Just don’t ask for specifics. Time flows weirdly here.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter! It’s great to see you again!”
“Is that so? Oh, don’t eat that. It’s not very tasty.”
As I reached for the snow-white treat beside him, he promptly swatted my hand away.
“I’m hungry…”
“Best not to eat it. You never know what they might say about food eaten from that side.”
…That side.
“Um, Boss. If I’m here meeting you, then…”
“Shhh. There’s no need to say it out loud.”
“Is that… right?”
“Yes. Do you really want to relive the memories?”
“A little…? I guess the last thing was, after all, I fulfilled your revenge. I didn’t see it directly, so it wasn’t that satisfying, but…”
“Right, right. Good job, our Blanca.”
The boss gently patted my head.
I didn’t do it for praise, but receiving it made me happy. Perhaps it was more heartwarming since I thought I would never see him again.
“…What about the others?”
“Huh? They left before. They washed away all their lingering attachments and flew away. Oh, by the way, Hanchō still hasn’t come. He might still be over there.”
“Why are you still here, Boss?”
“I still have some lingering feelings for you. At the end, you know… I forced my dream onto you and then left. It’s a regret.”
“That… it’s okay.”
“No, I’m not okay with it.”
He said this and bowed his head low enough that I could see his crown.
“I’m sorry, Blanca. I forced an absurdity onto you.”
“…”
“I tried to pass my regrets onto you. I wanted you to achieve the dreams I couldn’t. But… thinking about it here made it all meaningless. After all, I can’t see it with my own eyes.”
“You’re still so self-centered.”
“That’s just how I am.”
He smiled, as if resigning himself, and said I had said all I needed to, and now I could make friends and do as I pleased.
“…Saying that so casually, I must’ve ruined your life.”
“What’s it matter? I knew this would happen when I got involved.”
“You’re really something… Ugh, forget it. A dead person meddling with the living is just petty.”
“Living? Boss, where are you going?”
“Blanca’s alive. I’m leaving.”
I desperately asked where he was going as he began to sink lower, but he simply said he was leaving.
I wanted to say more, but instinctively knew this would be my last moment with him, so I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to greet him as cheerfully as I could.
“…Really, thank you so much!”
“And thank you. Take care, Blanca.”
With those final words, he completely vanished into the darkness.
And I was pulled into the light—
“Blanca, Blanca! Can you hear me?!”
And was thrown back into the cold, hard reality.