NOVEL WEB Chapter 35
“Can I avoid it?” X.
“Do I have the means to shoot it down physically?” X.
“Do I die if I get hit?” X.
“Do I become a cripple if I get hit?” O.
The situation was accelerating beyond limits. But just because my thoughts were racing didn’t mean my body was keeping up.
Despite the adrenaline pumping like never before, dodging that was looking like a lost cause.
Maybe I could at least avoid having my spine snapped.
Watching the icicle draw closer in real-time, I pondered where to give in to take the hit cheaply.
Ugh, damn it. I should’ve been more careful ever since I realized the Evil Society had their eyes on me.
No, wait. Thinking back, I’ve got every right to be peeved here.
How was I supposed to predict they’d just start sniping me because they were watching?
In the original story, they introduced themselves politely, told me their purpose, and then got aggressive. Not like they were just shooting at me out of the blue.
Yeah, let’s just lose a kidney and call it a day. It was at that moment I twisted my body to take the icicle hit.
Right before it touched me, the icicle just froze in mid-air.
There’s no way that time has slowed down just because the event accelerated.
“-Ka!”
Then, that means Justitia fixed the icicle in place just in time.
As the situation reached that point, time around me began to flow rapidly.
The kids, realizing too late, screamed or looked around in confusion.
Yet even in that chaos, a few of them figured out what to do; one of them was Im Changwon.
“Force Field!”
Changwon, having grasped the situation, instantly created a huge field around us.
Like someone scratching the pavement with an invisible compass, circular lines were etched into the cobblestones.
The frozen icicle was violently ground up as the field was formed.
As the icicle shattered, Justitia stopped shining and immediately checked on the kids.
“Everyone, are you injured?! Blanca, are you okay?”
“…I’m fine!”
I answered, trying to steady my shaky voice.
No sooner than I said that, about five more icicles shot towards me, but as they hit the field Changwon created, they shattered in an instant.
Realizing that shooting icicles at me had become futile, the sniper stopped.
“Wow, I was hoping to send the cross-eyed guy first. Guess the ranking doesn’t lie? You sensed that.”
And then, just like that, out of thin air, a man popped up.
Time.
Why the hell is he already here?
But no matter how I perceived the situation, time and events just kept on rolling.
Justitia immediately turned to him and drew the scythe resting on her back.
However, the man continued to babble on without being deterred by her ability.
“Oh wow. You really do want to kill me like a murder hero. Scary, spooky! Hey, can you turn off that glare? I’m not real.”
“You’re a villain, aren’t you?”
“Hmm, hard to say. Or should I let you go?”
The apparition shrugged as if to mock and loosened his body.
Then, a plethora of clones burst out from behind him, surrounding us.
Judging that she couldn’t extract useful information, Justitia quickly called for support and granted us permission to fight.
“…In the name of the Gazer, I hereby permit the students to use their abilities. The enemy is an unidentified group of villains. Estimated threat level: A-class or higher. Do not act foolishly; focus solely on survival.”
The clones each loosened up or made threatening gestures, stepping right up to the barrier Changwon had created.
“Are you planning to make the kids fight too? That’s just cruel. Then we could touch the civilians-”
As the clones said that in unison, they abruptly fell silent.
“Indeed. The real body is mixed among the clones.”
Justitia’s eyes shone as she scanned the area, likely having spotted the real body.
It was a bait. I had to intervene.
However, if I intervened here, I’d be exposing myself.
So I could only watch as she walked forward.
She asked Changwon to briefly lower the barrier and stepped away from us, approaching the body she was fixated on.
“In the authority of Hero Gazer, I will dispose of this anti-social risk element.”
She raised her scythe, aiming for the body’s neck.
But just as she was about to strike, the body she was staring at suddenly vanished, and one of the clones reached out as if to grab her.
“It’s dangerous!”
I had no choice but to warn her since that was genuinely perilous.
Better I get caught than lose her.
Hearing my warning, Justitia swung the scythe with full force, severing the arm of the clone that was trying to grab her.
“…Eliza. Alexei. Kaien. Dumas. Go, you bunch of losers! It’s time to announce the names of the Executors! Primary target is that cross-eyed bastard; capture him even if it costs your lives!”
The villain’s body, Wang Tai-lun, glared at me with its severed arm before vanishing and switching places with another clone.
That was his ability: to create his illusion and swap with it.
As soon as he switched bodies, the original body vanished and the illusion became real.
What’s worse, he had that cockroach-like ability to recover from all damage every time he swapped.
The real issue wasn’t his ability; it was him.
Why the hell is this punk coming out when he should’ve still been in second year?
“Teacher, people are in danger where the civilians are…!”
Just like when that clone appeared, three figures suddenly materialized out of the air.
That big dude must be Dumas, and the one with black hair has to be Eliza.
And that one, not sure if it’s a guy or girl, must be Kaien.
The civilians, still dazed by someone appearing next to them, were staring in shock.
“Oh, geez, this is just great…! Ugh, I’m so annoyed!! That means you all have to die!”
Eliza irritably scratched her head and snapped her fingers.
Then, just like their appearance, modified humans suddenly popped up out of thin air.
The quick-witted civilians had long since run off, but unfortunately, there were still too many oblivious ones left.
-Screeeaam!!!
It was only natural for civilians to get caught in a villain’s attack.
“Teacher!!! Changwon, let them out!! The civilians…!”
“Where do you think you’re going? You’re dancing with me!”
Justitia was trying to save the civilians immediately, but was quickly blocked by Wang Tai-lun.
“So, what are you going to do, hero! Are you going to abandon your duty and save your own skin?! Or will you risk your life to fight?!”
While the students were in a frenzy, the modified humans and villains were attacking the civilians.
Clearly, it was a trap.
Changwon was to lower the barrier, coaxing us to fight those guys while also aiming for me.
But…
I had no idea how much this story might fall apart if we stayed like this.
That would be a real hassle for me.
Plus, I couldn’t let Minho’s heart get broken.
Gritting my teeth alongside the other students, watching the civilians getting attacked, I went up to Changwon, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Let them go, Changwon.”
Changwon seemed surprised, as if he didn’t expect me to speak up first, staring blankly before yelling, “Have you lost your mind? They’re targeting you right now, and you want to step forward-”
“I know, that’s exactly why I will step in. I won’t die. So let’s go already. We’re aspiring heroes. Are we just going to stand by as civilians are in danger?”
And I moved closer to the barrier.
“Blanca has a point. If an aspiring hero just watches as civilians are attacked, what kind of hero does that make us?”
“…Jinhyeon is right, teacher said we could fight! So let’s fight!”
“Hah, but the teacher said prioritize survival…”
“We’re not that weak. Besides, the families of the victims won’t care for that!”
The first to come to their senses were Jinhyeon and Yeonhwa.
“Yeah… We came here to be heroes, after all. So what does it mean to hesitate right now?!”
“Exactly. It’s scary, but we have to fight.”
“So let the barrier down, Im Changwon! Civilians could die, so do you just want to sit around sucking your thumb?!”
The fire that Jinhyeon sparked had spread to Minho by now.
I had no clue what kind of outcome this would lead to.
But I couldn’t just stand there with my hands in my pockets and watch.
Changwon, in a wildly reckless attitude, finally threw away the calmness he’d been maintaining and dropped the barrier, claiming he didn’t know anything anymore.
“Be careful, everyone!”
Justitia, in the middle of fighting Wang Tai-lun, glanced back at us with a pleased look.
It seemed she thought it was righteous.
Indeed, this world is insane.
With my body pumped full of drugs to amplify my response time and strength, I took off towards the civilians the moment the barrier disappeared.
A couple of icicles flew toward me, likely aiming to snipe me, but Changwon unfolded a telekinetic barrier over me from behind, blocking them.
What should’ve been a normal place for the civilians to watch was now horrifically chaotic.
It was nearly impossible to distinguish how many had died and how many had survived as they were tangled together.
So-
First and foremost, I need to get rid of these modified humans quickly.
Coating my hands in a paralyzing poison just by touching was dangerous, I jumped into the crowd.