NOVEL WEB Chapter 33: Horror
The girls who were crying a moment ago suddenly stood tall, pulling out weapons. They joined the others two more men who jumped out from pile of leaves clearly hidden.
It was all a setup.
Slim let out a deep sigh, shaking his head as he looked at the now-trapped, furious and embarrassed Ricky.
Moments like this reminded him why he preferred moving alone.
Slim let out a tired sigh. Slowly, he raised his hand, light beginning to flicker around his palm. It shimmered, then condensed manifesting into a radiant book of light.
The group of armed onlookers tensed up, weapons raised. Their faces hardened as they watched Slim, expecting him to leap into battle and fight his way through to save his captured comrade.
But instead of drawing a weapon, Slim did something entirely unexpected.
He was activating a talent.
"Don't let him finish whatever he's doing!" barked one of the two women, her tone cold and commanding. She seemed to be the leader.
Without hesitation, they charged at Slim, faces twisted in ruthless determination.
Yet Slim's face remained blank calm and detached, Unbothered.
He slowly moved his hand in the air, his fingers sketching out a perfect circle.
Then with precision, he pressed his palm into its center and made a soft upward motion.
Instantly, the light book vanished, and the color instantly drained from his face.
Ding!
[Intent Captured: B-Rank – The Bubble has been summoned successfully]
[Duration: 59 seconds]
In front of him, a single translucent bubble shimmered into existence.
It floated gently, clear like glass, reflecting a subtle light.
There were no eyes, no mouth, just a gentle smile that curved across its surface. Innocent, Peaceful, Almost… soothing.
Everything had happened in a flash.
The rushing enemies skidded to a halt, eyes wide as they stared at the floating bubble. They looked at each other, wondering if they were seeing things, Confusion flashed in their eyes.
"What kind of trash is this?" one of the men sneered.
"Is he bluffing?" another scoffed.
"Don't let your guard down," the female leader warned, her gaze narrowing at the odd floating entity slowly drifting toward them, as if teasing them. "That thing might not be as harmless as it looks…"
But before she could finish, a man interrupted with a mocking grin.
"Look at the blob! He's trying to act tough. That thing moves slower than a snail," he said. The others nodded, smirking.
"I swear, even an F-rank talent would be more useful than this! What the hell is that? A smiley bubble?" he continued, stepping into the bubble's path. His face reflected on its surface.
He poked it with his index finger.
His hand passed through effortlessly, like it wasn't even there.
He did it again, then again, laughing as he walked back to the group. "See? Nothing. This guy's just trying to buy time and scare us."
The others laughed along.
Slim didn't react. He just stood there silently, his expression unreadable, showing no emotion or concern.
The bubble drifted past the laughing bandits, their faces mirrored on its curved surface.
"Hah! This might be the easiest job we've done all week," one of them chuckled.
But then something changed.
The first man, the one who had touched the bubble, suddenly stopped laughing.
His face twisted in confusion, Then terror.
He tried to stop laughing, but he couldn't. The laughter only grew louder, More forced and painful.
His eyes bulged, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Elo, what's so funny?" asked the female leader, chuckling herself.
But Elo couldn't answer.
He doubled over, howling with laughter as if possessed.
His breathing turned erratic, His body trembled.
POP!
A sharp, wet burst echoed through the air.
He collapsed.
His body hit the ground, twitching, The laughter continued, weaker and weaker, until it faded.
His eyes were wide with horror, his mouth twisted into a grotesque grin.
A grin nearly identical to the one on the bubble.
He had laughed himself to death.
Literally.
All of this had happened in less than six seconds.
A chill ran down the spines of the remaining attackers.
They turned slowly toward Slim, who still hadn't moved a muscle.
His pale face was expressionless, drained from the effort of summoning the entity.
Panic began to set in.
Yet despite the horror gripping their hearts, they couldn't stop laughing.
Their mouths twitched, chests heaving. They looked at each other, then to slim eyes pleading, but their throats only echoed with more laughter.
They tried to speak, to scream, to curse, but the laughter drowned it all.
Driven by desperation, they started running straight at Slim.
They thought that if they could kill him, maybe it would stop.
Slim didn't flinch.
He stood still, unmoving, watching their approach.
But something was wrong.
As the distance between them closed, their laughter only grew louder, Their steps faltered.
Their faces twisted, not with humor, but pure agony.
POP
POP
POP
One by one, they fell.
Each collapse was followed by silence, then a thud. A twisted corpse, Smiles stretched across cold, lifeless faces. Their eyes were wide with terror. This chapter is from the collection at M-VL-EM-PYR.
Even in death, they kept smiling.
Ricky, bound in the net nearby, stared with wide eyes.
He had been furious, trapped and helpless, but now his rage had been replaced into dread.
He clenched his fists tighter, the rough netting digging into his palms. For once, he felt.. much more safe up here.
Slim turned. Calmly, silently, he walked over and sliced through the ropes trapping Ricky.
Thud.
"Ahhh!"
Ricky dropped to the ground, hitting it hard. Slim didn't bother to catch him or soften his fall.
--
[Talent: Architect – S-Rank]
Effect: The user can bring a drawn or written creation to life for 60 seconds. The strength of the summon depends on the intent and emotion behind its creation. Only one active summon can exist at a time.
..
.
If you're enjoying the story so far, don't forget to vote with your Power Stones!
Each vote helps the novel reach more readers and motivates me to keep writing even better chapters.
Your support means the world, let's climb the rankings together!