NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: A Close Brush with Death
'Wait, this is no time to be gawking around!'
I snapped out of my shock and staggered through the crowd, nearly tripping over my own feet. My priority was clear: de-escalate this mess before it spiraled into something we couldn't walk away from. I planted myself between Eva and the pig-like general, raising my hands in a placating gesture.
"S-Sorry, good sir! My crewmate here might've had a little too much to drink, making her tongue, uh… slick," I stuttered, trying to force a grin that felt more like a grimace. "I'll make sure she apologizes later, so if you could just let this—"
But before I could finish, Eva's voice cut through the air like a whip.
"I'm not drunk, you bastard!" she shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the general. "This pig here is acting so disgustingly I'm just trying to put him in his place!"
'Fuuuuck!' My inner scream was deafening.
Eva was utterly uncontrollable. I mean, okay, yeah, she wasn't really wrong; the general did indeed look like a pig. No, scratch that. He was a pig, probably from some porcine-descended race. But her brutal honesty coupled with her fiery tone was a recipe for disaster.
The general's face rapidly turned beet red; his snout quivering with rage.
"You bitch! Snort! I was trying to be generous with you, but you're asking for pain!" He turned to his entourage and squealed orders. "Keen, Avel, Gori, Ateh—teach these two a lesson!"
The four burly pigmen stepped forward, their hulking forms casting an imposing shadow over us. Bathed under their intimidating aura, my blood ran cold.
'This is bad. This is so, so bad.'
The thing is, though: while I may have been one of the top players in TSO, that only applied to fleet-based combat. As for physical confrontations? Let's just say I was more familiar with keyboards and coffee cups than fists and daggers. In real life, I "was" your standard office worker—not exactly someone who thrived in brawls.
The pigmen surrounded us, their blank, unflinching stares only amplifying the fear thrumming through my veins. My body shook involuntarily, teeth chattering as I realized the predicament we were in. At this rate, both Eva and I were about to get pounded into space paste within the next minute!
To her credit, Eva seemed to realize that she perhaps over-reached. However, judging by the defiant glint in her eyes, she still did not think she was wrong. Instead of panicking, she seemed as if she was preparing to justify her actions even as the wall of muscles closed in on her—meanwhile, I was just collateral damage in her warpath.
One of the pigs threw a punch, his massive fist cutting through the air with a low whoosh. It wasn't fast, but the sheer force behind it was enough to make my stomach churn. I barely managed to sidestep, feeling the air pressure graze my cheek. The shockwave alone shoved me back two steps!
"Shit…!" I cursed, turning to Eva. "Eva, let's—"
'Run!' That was what I wanted to say, but the words died in my throat when I caught sight of her gallant figure. She wasn't running. She was fighting!
A pigman swung at her, but she didn't even look at the incoming fist. With a fluid sidestep, she dodged, spun on one heel, and delivered a spinning kick to the side of another attacker, filling the space with a loud, cracking noise.
Using the momentum, she leaped into the air, her heel connecting with the chin of the first opponent. The force sent the man staggering backward, dazed.
"A-Amazing…" I muttered, frozen in awe.
But she wasn't finished. While she was still sideways in the air, the two pigmen were already down on the ground in pain. The third, however, saw his opportunity. Wielding a stun baton crackling with electricity, he swung upward, aiming for her mid-air descent.
I thought she was a goner for sure—but then, like a ghost, she vanished.
It happened so fast that I almost missed it, but my visor's slo-mo recording caught the moment precisely.
Just when the baton was about to connect, she stepped onto its shaft, using it as a springboard to pivot. Twisting 180°, she flipped backward, hands gripping the pigman's head. With gravity and momentum working for her, her knee came crashing down on the back of his neck, knocking him out cold.
In less than five seconds, three of the four attackers were down, writhing on the ground in pain, or straight knocked out. A hush fell over the crowd, the scene taking a moment to fully register. Then, like a dam breaking, wild cheers erupted.
"A-Amazing! That's some advanced martial arts right there...!"
"I couldn't even follow her movements! Did you see that flip?!"
"Miss, call me trash and step on me! Please!"
Eva just ignored all the comments. Her golden eyes were so sharp and fixated on the last pig-man, who stood behind me. His cocky bravado disappeared, replaced by the instinctual fear of prey in the face of its predator. He took a stumbling step back and quivered before her glare.
She wasn't just a great fighter, she was an unstoppable force of nature!
"Useless idiots! Snort! I'll triple your training time when we get back!" The pig general bellowed, his pink skin flushing red in a grotesque mix of anger and embarrassment.
But that wasn't the real problem. The real problem was what he held in his stubby hands—a Standard 20-nanometer Laser Blaster aimed squarely at Eva. His beady eyes gleamed with murderous intent, his finger hovering dangerously close to the trigger.
Without thinking, my body moved. Before my brain could process the sheer stupidity of my action, I found myself stepping between Eva and the barrel of the blaster, arms spread wide in a protective stance. It was reckless—no, suicidal. I wasn't ready to die, but my instincts had already committed to the worst gamble of my life.
The sharp, high-pitched whine of a laser discharging filled the air, followed by a blinding flash. My ears rang as I braced for the searing pain of being shot—but instead, I heard the unmistakable clang of metal hitting the floor. The acrid smell of roasted flesh followed, like braised pork.
"Everyone, stand down. Drop your weapons!"
The voice was deep and commanding, cutting through the chaos like a razor.
I blinked, dazed, and looked around. My eyes traveled to the pig general, who was now cradling his mangled hand, blood dripping gently from the stump where his index finger had been. His weapon lay useless at his feet, smoke curling from the trigger.
However, instead of reflecting anger and pain, his flushed face had gone ashen, his wide eyes filled with fear. The crowd similarly hushed into an eerie silence.
My attention snapped to the figure approaching us. A tall man with long golden hair and piercing pale green eyes strode through the parted crowd, each step measured and deliberate. The five rainbow-colored stars embroidered on his shoulder insignia gleamed like a badge of authority, the mark of a Supreme General.
The tension in the air thickened as every bystander instinctively took a step back.
"S-S-Supreme G-General…" the pig general stuttered, his words dissolving into incoherent mutters. "I-It's not what it looks like! T-This woman—"
"Silence."
The Supreme General's glare was like a blade, cutting off the pig general mid-sentence. The smaller man froze, his snorts vanishing into strangled silence.
The pale eyes of the elven general locked onto me as he took a step closer. I became immobile, frozen in the eddy of his presence. He frowned as he stopped a meter from me, and his scrutiny sent rippling shivers down my back. But his frown softened slowly, replaced by a dazzlingly warm smile.
"So, it really is you, Young Master Gerard," he said, his deep, resonant voice carrying a strange mix of reverence and familiarity. "I almost didn't recognize you. It seems my subordinates have been… disrespectful. Shall I kill them?"
For a moment, my brain short-circuited. His tone was as casual as if he were offering tea, but the content of his words made my blood run cold. Who was this guy?! offering to kill his men like they were disposable. Was this man some kind of psychopath?
"I-uh…" My voice cracked, but I promptly coerced myself into answering. "N-No necessity! Punish them as you wish, but… not to the point of death."
The Supreme General's uncanny smile lingered while he kept staring at me. His eyes felt like they were stripping away my skin, layer by layer, looking for something beneath. Then, almost imperceptibly, his smile fell.
"…You've changed, Young Master." His voice dropped to a murmur, but his words carried an edge that made my chest tighten.
His hand moved to his waist, and before I could react, he drew the sword hanging there. The blade gleamed as he leveled it at my throat, its edge cold and unyielding against my skin.
"No," he said, his tone growing darker. "Who the hell are you?"
My heart seems to have stopped. The crowd disappeared, leaving only the knife at my neck and the hard stare of the Supreme General. Thoughts were flying through my mind at a million miles per hour. How do I explain this? The truth? A lie? Something in between?
Finally, I opened my mouth, forcing the words out. "…I'm Arthur Grail."
For a moment, there was nothing but silence. The general studied me with an unreadable expression, his blade still poised at my throat. My limbs trembled uncontrollably, but I held my ground, knowing any sudden movement might be my last.
Then, after what felt like an eternity, he lowered his sword and stepped back.
"I see," he said in a voice that was neutral to the extreme. He said no more and left, his departure leaving a crowd of dazed onlookers in his wake.
I stared after him, my brain reeling. What did he mean by "I see"? Did he believe me? Or was he just playing with me? I didn't care which way it went.
"…I fucking survived!" I whispered, my legs buckling beneath me as I crumpled to my knees.
My chest was heaving with ragged gasps as I breathed rapidly. That brief face-off felt like an eternity! It was the first time since I'd woken up in this hellish universe that I truly realized how fleeting my life was.