NOVEL NEXT Chapter 328: Dark.
Neron was unable to move as Noah's eyes bore into his own. He felt like his whole being was being studied, like a bundle of threads slowly being unraveled.
At that moment, he couldn't help but open his mouth to respond to this monstrous man, with every ounce of sincerity he could muster.
"M-Mother…" he rasped.
Noah's expression didn't change. He just looked at him, coldly.
"M-Mother Tree… if you harm Mother Tree… if you take her away from us…" his voice trembled with a deep tremor as he struggled to continue his words.
At that moment every fiber of his being was revolting against him. Because what he was about to say was the greatest sacrilege that could ever be uttered from the mouth of a Worldborn.
But he didn't have a choice. There was something about Noah's eyes that promised him pain beyond belief if he ever dared not to respond.
So he did…
He committed heresy.
"…take Mother Tree from us, kill her, and that pain would be worse than the very death of the universe for us, Worldborn."
Lady of Thorn looked at her husband with deep sorrowed eyes. She understood how much it took for him to utter these words, because she knew how much Luelle meant to him — or to any Worldborn.
She was their world, their light and guide… the very reason they were what they were.
She bit her lip tightly, looking at her husband trembling on the ground like a dog before a ferocious wolf,
"…h-husband…" she whimpered.
Aurelia and Asaemon looked silently at the scene, their expressions serious.
They were not surprised to hear Neron's response, it was obvious. Killing Luelle would be something that every Worldborn would feel deep inside their hearts.
But that was the exact problem. Let's forget about killing her, even being close to her was not something they were able to do without the consent of Luelle.
So for now, there was no need to entertain these thoughts.
But Noah…
…well, Noah could be quite sinister if he wanted.
He knew he couldn't touch Luelle right now. And even if he was able to, Noah was no longer satisfied with just a simple killing.
Before all of them became forgotten in the river of time, they would have to bear the sight of the one they all held dear, deep inside their bones… transformed into something entirely different.
Something profane, unholy.
Something never seen before.
They would weep in agony, in pain, in sorrow — and Noah would relish in their suffering.
Because they started it.
He didn't.
He was just living his life with his family and his friend Laeh. And they came to destroy the world just because they could?
Fine, fair enough.
But they better not cry tears of blood, and not whimper when he struck back.
Gathering his turbulent emotions, Noah spared Neron an indifferent look before shifting his attention toward Lady of Thorn.
He approached her, leaving behind the shriveling Neron, as he looked deep into her yellow-grey eyes.
He smiled. A warm smile so different from what he had just shown that Lady of Thorn was confused and afraid.
What type of being could change mood this fast?
Being with Noah was like walking on a thin line… one wrong step and you would be devoured by a bottomless abyss.
"I forgot to ask your name… or is Lady of Thorn your real one?" Noah said, his voice carrying a joking note.
It was eerie.
Aurelia looked at Noah with sparkling eyes. There was something about him that made her remember one of her favorite genres in books…
…dark romance.
She found Noah eerily similar to the men in that genre, and something fluttered inside her as she observed this interaction with focused eyes and a giddy heart.
It was like a reader finally inside the world of her favorite novel, watching the interactions of her favorite characters face to face.
It was a blissful sensation Aurelia finally came to feel.
Asaemon meanwhile was watching with a wide smile, looking like a proud elder brother as he saw his youngest dominating the field.
He was even shaking, trying his best not to act loud and ruin this epic moment of his brother…
…not knowing that this was simply the usual for Noah.
"Lea…" Lady of Thorn answered, "my name is Lea."
Noah tilted his head, something stirred inside his heart. Her name was strangely similar to Laeh's.
He would have believed in coincidence.
But for a bearer of Providence to believe in coincidence… that would be the greatest joke in the history of realities.
He became intrigued, and planned to look into it later but for now…
"You already know my name, so there's no need to present myself again." He said, pausing briefly, watching Lea's eyes cloud with apprehension…
He continued.
"I don't need to explain your current situation, do I?"
She nodded weakly.
Noah gave a mock beaming smile, "Perfect! Then you have two choices — or not, you only have one choice, Lea. If you want to get out of this situation with the least pain possible, that is." He said, raising a single finger pointed upward in the air, in front of Lea.
Again, she nodded, swallowed an inaudible gulp of saliva as bad feelings curled up inside her being, slid toward her soul, and sucked anything alive out of her like voracious leeches.
And that harrowing feeling only intensified when Noah's voice rang out, filled with peaceful warmth that reminded you of summer.
But Lea didn't feel like that.
She felt like the cold dread of a the north.
"Take this blade, and pierce it directly inside the heart of your husband while looking him in the eyes," he said, raising his palm upward as a long sword of white-silver threads wove itself out of thin air.
Anyone weaker than the Law Creator rank who dared to gaze upon this blade would feel their entire being unravel, piece by piece, like a puzzle scattered into oblivion, left hollow and incomplete… for this blade was not forged of steel or flame, but woven from the Law of Providence itself.
Noah took this blade and presented it to Lea.
She sat there, on the ground, amidst shredded rocks, body quivering like a vibrator, eyes wide and dilated as they gazed blankly at Noah and his sword.
Her mouth opened and closed, no sound escaping, looking like her mind had short-circuited.
Neron immediately raised his head as he heard Noah's voice, looking at him with eyes filled with unbelievable shock.
Asaemon's shaking increased, looking like he was no longer able to keep himself from acting overexcited, but he managed to hold it in.
And as for Aurelia…
She simply gazed at Noah's back with sparkling eyes like she was seeing an idol, and those feelings intensified, as his voice booming out again,
"Go, Lea. Go and kill him."
He paused, then smiled softly, his eyes squinting into crescents.
"Kill your husband for me, my dear."
…at this, Aurelia's soul nearly burst in euphoria.
—End of chapter 328—