NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: DARTED
In just a few seconds, the barrier vibrated with the sound of bones clattering back together, the air ringing with that dry, unsettling clink clink clink as the skeletons pieced themselves back into shape.
The other boy still sitting on the ground, jaw aching from his earlier hit, looked up just in time to see Miyu's scratch, his face pale.
"W–what?!" he gasped, scrambling backward, as though distance alone could save him from the sight of the rattling undead rising again.
The other nobles outside the barrier leaned forward, some with widened eyes, others with hands over their mouths.
"They're regenerating?"
"That's not fair!"
"Wait look at her! She's bleeding—"
But Miyu didn't flinch.
Her hair swayed as she stepped forward, her violet eyes glowing faintly now. And then, with a low growl, she slammed the tip of her blade into the ground.
The circuit flared.
This time, the violet circle that appeared wasn't just wide, it was massive, covering nearly the entire floor beneath the two remaining skeletons. Its runes glowed with a blinding light, a ripple of energy spreading through the ground like waves across water.
But she didn't stop there.
Another circle flared to life above the skeletons, perfectly mirroring the one below an ominous halo of light and shadow hanging in the air.
The skeletons, for all their empty sockets and bone jaws, seemed to sense the danger. They turned their heads up, a hollow growl scraping out of them, before looking back down, as if caught between two nightmares.
Miyu's hand clenched into a fist.
BOOM!
The circles collapsed at once, one from above and one from below, like two massive jaws snapping shut.
The sound was deafening, bone grinding, snapping, shattering into dust and fragments that sprayed across the inside of the barrier. When the light finally dimmed, there was nothing left but piles of shattered, useless bones.
The entire training ground went silent for half a heartbeat.
Then came the whispers.
"D-did she just…"
"In one hit?"
"All of them, gone just like that?"
The shock melted into cheers, loud, excited voices from the Grade D nobles, many of whom had been skeptical moments ago. The air buzzed with disbelief, respect, even envy.
Miyu didn't even look at them.
Instead, she raised her chin, her chest rising and falling with her still-heavy breaths, pride radiating from every line of her posture. Her hands came up, folding beneath her chest, as she stood there in the glow of the fading circle like a victorious queen.
And then her eyes darted toward Eran.
Their gazes locked.
Eran's smirk was small, just a tug at the corner of his lips, but enough to make her spine stiffen and her cheeks flush all over again.
"Hmph!" she snorted, snapping her head away sharply, as though dismissing him entirely.
But she couldn't hide the faint pink glow that lingered across her cheeks.
Outside the barrier, a few Grade C nobles actually clapped, impressed despite themselves. Evelis merely watched, his arms folded, a faint, amused curl at the corner of his lips.
"Good," he said simply, his deep voice carrying across the room. "Very good."
Eran just stayed silent, hands in his pockets, his eyes glinting as the system whispered softly in his mind:
ALERT!
The notification blinked red in his vision, and before he could even react, the ground rumbled beneath their feet.
Crk—crk—crk…
Everyone froze.
From the very spot where Miyu's crushing magic had obliterated the skeletons moments ago, bone fragments began to twitch. First one, then two, then dozens... snapping, and rolling across the ground as if pulled by invisible strings.
"What the..." one of the boys outside the barrier blurted, clutching at the railing
The piles of shattered bone didn't just reform, they rearranged, breaking and reforming again, until the pieces started fitting together into a shape far larger than before. Limbs elongated, spines doubled, a second ribcage snapped into place like armor plating.
Miyu's eyes went wide, her earlier pride forgotten for the briefest moment.
"This… no way," she whispered under her breath.
And the boy still sitting on the floor gasped, pointing with a trembling hand.
"Why... why is it bigger?! Is that even allowed?!"
The nobles outside were no better, their excited cheers from seconds ago now replaced with a chorus of alarmed whispers.
"That's not a normal training summon…"
"Did it just evolve?"
"Wait, wait.. why is it, why is it looking at her?"
Because that's what it did.
The massive bone-creature, now standing twice the size of the last skeletons combined, lifted its skull-like head and locked its empty sockets on Miyu. Its jaw creaked open, releasing a low, vibrating growl... then in an instant it stopped.
And turned.
Its head shifted toward Eran.
Miyu blinked, startled.
"…Huh?"
It didn't charge at her.
It didn't even take a step.
Instead, it leaned its massive, skeletal body forward, its gaze fixed on the one person who had been standing still this entire time ' Eran.
Before Miyu could process what was happening, the creature's claws lifted, slicing the air.
FWOOOOOOOSSSHH!
The slash wasn't physical, it was pure wind pressure, a cutting gust that ripped across the arena like a blade.
Gasps erupted around the barrier.
The crowd erupted
"Eran!"
"It's targeting the commoner?!"
Eran didn't flinch. He just stood there, calm, watching the attack come at him with unreadable silence.
Miyu didn't think.
Her body moved before her mind caught up.
FLASH!
The sound of her heels against the ground rang out as she shot forward, closing the distance between them in an instant.
Then...
VWOOOOOOOOOOSHH!!!
The slash struck the spot where Eran had been standing, carving a line through the arena floor and kicking up a blinding storm of dust and wind.
The entire gathering of the nobles were thrown into chaos.
Some nobles stumbled back, shielding their faces, others gripped the barrier and shouted in disbelief as the dust storm kicked up in the training field. The barrier itself flickered under the impact, and the air ringing with the sound of cracking tiles and clattering bone.
For a few tense seconds, no one could see anything.
Then, slowly, the dust began to settle.
And everyone saw them.
There, in the middle of the training field, Miyu was on top of Eran, one knee braced to the side of his hip, one hand gripping his collar, her hair messy from the sudden dash. her face was flushed crimson, caught between adrenaline and shock as she realized what position they were in.
Eran, meanwhile, was completely calm, he just lay there beneath her, a slow smirk forming on his lips.
"…Enjoying yourself?" he murmured.
Miyu's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red, her pride screaming at her as whispers rippled through the crowd.
But what bothered everyone wasn't just the awkward position of the two..
It was the looming shadow of the giant bone creature still standing at their backs.
Behind them, the massive bone-beast took another step forward, its growl now lower, louder, like a drumbeat that made the floor hum.
The entire chamber shifted in tension as the shadow of the beast stretched across the floor, swallowing them both in its dark silhouette.
Selene, Evelis, and Nyssa moved instantly, three blurs flashing from the observation point, appearing on the training field with a speed too fast for most to follow. Their presence alone warped the air, a sign they were ready to intervene before the monster could lose control.
But...
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—!!!
The bone beast growled, the sound vibrating like a drum through the entire hall.
Miyu, still on top Eran, felt the tremor through her knees and turned her head sharply, her pupils shrinking. She saw the massive shadow pooling beneath them, its claws raised, ready to strike.
Her breath caught.
"…Huh—?"
The sound slipped from her lips in disbelief, her mouth falling open as if even her pride didn't know what to do.
But before the bone could swing...
Eran's eyes snapped open, locking on the creature.
He didn't move, didn't flinch, he just stared.
A deathly, cold stare.
For a moment, time felt like it stopped.
The skeleton's claw froze in midair.
Its hollow skull turned slightly like something far greater was staring back at it. A suffocating weight pressed into the barrier, as though Eran's gaze alone had hypnotized the creature, forcing its very soul to hesitate.
The beast froze, an unnatural sound rattling out of its throat as its raised claw slowly stopped, hanging there in the air like it had been bound by an unseen force