NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Battle
Suddenly, the tall man—clad in ragged leather that barely hid the sinewy cords of muscle beneath—and the round-faced guy with the massive beast at his back began to chuckle.
"Oh shit!"
"This kid is clever."
Their laughter was low at first, but it quickly rose into guffaws that echoed across the broken stone of the arena's periphery.
The hound growled, rumbling like a small earthquake, its jaws leaking threads of blackened saliva as its crimson eyes surveyed the battlefield.
The tall man leaned slightly forward, his hands on his hips, before gesturing casually at Vonjo, then at the trees in the distance where shadows had begun to stir.
"So you aren't completely brain-dead," he said with a grin. "For a moment, I thought you are attract the beasts attention around to commit suicide. But no—you were summoning reinforcements. A bit clever, isn't he?"
The round-faced man barked a laugh. "That or he's desperate. But who cares? Either way, it's fun to watch."
Vonjo blinked. What the hell? Reinforcements?
He glanced back toward the treeline where several glowing eyes flickered in the dark.
The cursed beasts were still around, their claws scraping against stone and dirt alike.
Wait—did they just think I called the beasts on purpose?
George narrowed his eyes and turned to Eugene. "Is that true?" he asked, his voice laced with suspicion.
Eugene adjusted his glasses, still watching Vonjo with a peculiar curiosity. "I don't know," he said slowly. "But maybe. He used a fragment of fallen curse energy. Compressed it. Projected it outward like a beacon."
"A beacon?" George asked.
"To attract them," Eugene said, pointing at the cursed beasts. "So you could find us."
"I see, so he knows you have some kind of reinforcement." George muttered, his expression unreadable—but undeniably grim.
"Yes, I mean it's obvious, I kept calling you." Eugene would reply.
George would nod and glanced again at Vonjo, and then at the two enemies before them. The tall man and the round-faced bastard—both dangerous. Not necessarily above George's level, but threats in their own right.
And behind them was a hound whose aura crackled with a predator's intensity, one that was on George's level.
The worst part?
These two weren't random mercenaries or rogue curse users—they were from the Sutterfouse family. Not mainline, but branch descendants. Which meant they weren't just powerful. They had backing that their abilities were not weak.
Vonjo, on the other hand, was rooted in place—utterly speechless.
I just wanted to show off a little… maybe get some system rewards…
And now this?
Suddenly, the air shimmered with the familiar shimmer of bullet comments.
[Horny_Hermit69]: AYOOO this unknown side character cracked the beast AI system???
[PapaWasARogue]: Who tf is this npc acting all mysterious.
[TearDropTitties]: Bro fr thought he was the protagonist lmaooo
[ObviousPlant]: Wait no chill, he attracted cursed beasts so George could find him? That's a giga move
[BigTittyJudgementDay]: I LIKE HIM. GIVE HIM A NAME.
[Undying_Legend69]: This is giving 'I meant to do that' energy.
[HolySimpForEugene]: George's daddy issues just got deeper—who the hell is this guy!?!
[InsertNameHere_404]: 3 seconds before he gets clapped
[LizardLover77]: Nah. Let him cook.
[GodlyMistake]: So mysterious background + tragic past + wronged family = Protagonist #2???
[LilCursedOne]: I'm just here for the dog. That hound hot af
[WeakToTwinks]: Bro isn't weak, he's calculating.
Vonjo's face twitched. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How did things escalate this far from his plan to flex? He wasn't ready for any of this.
Suddenly, George turned to Eugene. "Do you have it?"
Eugene nodded and took something out of his pocket. "Yes."
Seeing this, Vonjo froze in place. "He had that already?" Suddenly, a scheme formed in his head. But his thoughts were interrupted when—
"Can you fight?"
Vonjo turned his head sharply, locking eyes with George.
The man had already taken a step forward, his aura condensed tightly like a coiled spring.
"I'll handle the one on the right," George continued. "And the one on the left. You handle what's coming behind."
Vonjo opened his mouth to respond—he was going to say yes. But before he could even get a word in, the tall man and the round-faced guy burst into laughter again.
"Fight?" the tall man sneered. "That one?" He pointed straight at Vonjo, grinning mockingly.
The round-faced man chuckled. "You don't know? He's the failed descendant of the Sutterfouse. Never awakened his bloodline abilities—not even the lowest tier."
The hound growled again. The round-faced man patted its head. "He even made a Heaven-Binding Vow to never use his curse energy in combat. That's why he's only good for attracting attention… of beasts."
Vonjo didn't say a word. His hands were loose by his sides, his face neutral. But in his mind?
You'll all see. One by one. I'll show you.
Bullet comments surged again like a tidal wave of mockery.
[EmoDruid420]: He can't use curse energy? Bro WHY IS HE HERE 💀
[TearsInMyCrocs]: No skills, no powers, no bitches.
[GachaLuckSucks]: So he's a walking GPS for monsters?? LOL
[BasedEldritchKing]: Bro brought vibes to a curse battle
[SadFistMcGee]: He was so smug earlier. I was hoping for something. Now look at him
[BlushyTsunChad]: He was flexing like "I'm HIM" and now he's literally just bait
[SystemSimp101]: Give him credit, George looked at him. That's something, right?
[SlapGod]: At least he's cute
[DaddyCursedMe]: He's gonna glow up later I believe
[BuffooneryMaxed]: This is character development speedrun
Vonjo smirked faintly, barely visible. His eyes gleamed—not with shame, but calculation. Keep laughing. You'll see.
George, however, was beginning to feel the pressure.
Then the tall man stepped forward.
"I'll handle this alone," he said, his voice low and confident. "Don't let them escape." His boots crushed the dirt beneath as he advanced.
The round-faced man shrugged. "Heh. Go for it. We'll stand by and watch."
The massive hound remained crouched, its eyes locked on Eugene, its growl constant, like thunder in the bones.
George moved forward, conjuring a glowing pen in his hand.
With a sharp flick, he drew an intricate design mid-air, and from that sketch, a sleek firearm shimmered into existence—its barrel engraved with curse runes and its stock humming with condensed mana.
The tall man didn't flinch.
Bang!
The bullet tore through the air and struck the tall man in the chest. He staggered slightly but didn't stop. The wound hissed with leaking darkness, but he simply grinned wider.
George didn't hesitate.
In quick succession, he conjured:
A rapid-fire gun drone, levitating above him, letting loose a spray of magical rounds.
It hit the tall multiple times, causing him to have a little blood leaking out.
Next, George would send a collapsing grenade that exploded mid-air, slowing time in its radius.
Yet, the tall man would stand back up.
Next, A twin-blade shuriken with embedded glyphs that sliced through the earth toward the enemy's legs, then a sniper turret that erected from the ground with a charged magical core, not to mention a curse-web net that shimmered violet and launched from above like a falling spider and a trap rune that detonated with razor-thin curse shards.
And yet still—the tall man kept walking, and George couldn't believe it, but he wouldn't stop.
Bleeding. Torn. Smoking.
But smiling.
Each time a weapon struck, he roared in delight. The more his flesh was torn, the more his expression warped into something savage.
Blood trickled from his forehead. One of his arms hung limp. His ribs were visible through a ragged gash in his side. Still, he kept walking.
His aura began to churn—dark, molten, bubbling with ancestral pressure.
George was shocked by the toughness of the tall man. He felt as if all the hair on the back of his neck stood up.
Suddenly, "alright…" the tall man said as his body crackled, a terrifying pulse radiating outward. "Enough warm-up."
Blood smeared across his face like war paint.
"Time to fight back."
His voice was sharp as a blade drawn in silence.
"I'll show you… the power of one of the Descendant Houses of the Sutterfouse."