NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: Unwanted Guests
A few hours before the chase.
The sky was cloudless, a complete dark blue above a city near the sea.
What stood out in the night sky was a supernatural view of a massive island floating near the shore.
In the center of the city, there was a large rectangular pillar. Each of its sides held a great portal, each with its own purpose.
Even though it was still dawn, the area was quite lively due to the nocturnal races.
The streets were well-paved, the lampposts illuminated the roads and the fronts of the portals.
On the side where the portal connected to the street, knights in polished armor, larger than average, emerged riding large horses.
The first two carried large flags representing the island, while the two behind simply followed with their swords at their waists.
That made the busy street begin to pay attention to the portal.
After the four left, a large white carriage came out, pulled by black horned horses wearing white armor.
Being intelligent creatures, they didn't need anyone to guide them.
Once the full view of the carriage was visible, a commotion started.
"What the hell..."
"Look at the size of that thing."
"Think it's carrying someone important?"
"Ha, for sure."
Following the carriage's exit, another four knights on horseback also came out.
That was just the beginning. After that, more carriages, slightly smaller, began to come out in sequence.
As they exited, two people sitting at a table outside a restaurant seemed to already know about the carriages' departure.
Seeing the image of the large carriage, a short young man stood up, wearing clothes with long, wide sleeves. He had a feminine appearance but dressed as a man.
"Uah~, that's huge, right!?"
In a cheerful voice, he asked his companion, who was sipping coffee while reading the newspaper.
Adjusting his monocle, the man looked up from his reading to glance at the cheerful yellow-haired boy.
"Could you draw less attention, Surin?"
As if he didn't understand, the boy continued in his uncontrollable tone.
"Ehh~, I don't want to. Honestlyyy, all of this is so boring, I want a fight."
As he spoke, Surin threw air punches with his fists, covered by his sleeves.
The elegant man sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a wrapped lollipop.
Unwrapping it, he offered it to Surin.
"Here, you're getting too excited."
Surin waved it off, saying:
"No, I don't want it! The medicine tastes awful."
The man sighed and narrowed his eyes.
"Take it now. I wasted my time putting the medicine inside, so take it."
"Ahh~, annoying, annoying, Huri is annoying."
Surin grabbed the lollipop from his hand and collapsed into the chair.
Putting the lollipop in his mouth, a look of disgust formed on his face.
"Uhh~, this is so gross...~ You're so mean to Surin."
Huri adjusted his tie, not caring at all about Surin's whining in front of him.
Looking at the carriage, he pulled out a pocket watch, which showed 4:33 AM.
Looks like we can begin the plan...
Closing and pocketing the watch again, he looked at the once-cheerful boy now lying on the table, drawing circles with his finger.
"Let's go, we need to inform the hired group to get ready."
Surin looked up with a joyful face and said:
"Yay~, finally some action. I just need to teleport us, right?"
"Yes."
Huri was prepared to stand up, so the teleport wouldn't take the surroundings.
Not understanding the gesture, Surin just teleported them—table and all.
...
Meanwhile, Iris in the carriage was bored, staring at the empty purple seat in front of her.
So boring~, this trip is going to be a drag~
Lying down on the bench, she looked at the ceiling.
Azath definitely just sent me here to punish me, because I screwed up when we arrived in this world...
Raising one hand, as if trying to reach the ceiling, she murmured:
"Hehehe~, just don't blame me if I go a little overboard~"
Her journey through the city was smooth. People always stopped to watch the caravan pass.
Leaving the city through the main gate without needing any inspection, the dirt road began.
Iris looked out the window, seeing the dark plains that separated the dense forest from the city.
As the caravan moved through the plains, some fireflies flew among the short grass.
Oh~, there are fireflies in this world too...
She appreciated the view of the plains while the journey continued.
Entering the forest, quite some time had passed, and the sky began to brighten.
"Finally, the sun is up~"
Iris murmured to herself as she watched the forest being lit.
The trip continued just as boring, until Iris sensed several presences, making her look out the window.
Suddenly, a rain of arrows and spells came pouring down from the sky.
The knights in front were caught off guard, taking a moment to react. They activated their defensive skills, but it wasn't fast enough to protect one of the flags.
Iris jumped out of the carriage excitedly.
"Finally, some action! It's always good to stretch in the morning~"
She looked into the forest and saw several people poorly hidden behind trees.
Interesting, I didn't sense any of them before... is this some kind of trait?
Her spirals began spinning rapidly from the excitement of finding someone strong, but she was interrupted by a knight's apology.
"My deepest apologies, Lady Iris. I failed to defend the flag properly."
He kneeled while holding the damaged flag.
When Iris saw the damaged flag, her eyes disappeared, and half of her face opened grotesquely, with sounds of tearing flesh and breaking bones.
One of her pink spiral eyes was visible deep within that open void.
The knight, upon seeing that and locking eyes with her, was pulled into an endless spiral. His body grew heavier.
In seconds, the knight was limp and collapsed to the ground with a hollow thud, while the flag fell toward Iris, who caught it with care.
Allowing the flag that represents my Khan's home to be damaged? Unforgivable.
Storing the flag, she looked at the people in the forest, her next targets.
With a fully distorted voice that no longer came from her mouth, she spoke:
"You all took the joke a little too far."
Her head began to open even more, making the sounds of flesh peeling and bones snapping, blooming like a flower of meat.
A completely black head, made of swirling smoke, replaced her previously cute face, while her spiral pink eyes spun slowly.
"W-What the fuck is that?" someone said while raising their shield.
"That wasn't in the request," said another, turning to flee.
"Hmph, probably just drama," mocked a man with a thick beard holding a spear.
"I'm not sticking around to find out!" shouted someone already running.
Narrowing her eyes or what seemed like it, she spoke calmly to the ones still there:
"Run."
On the first warning, some still froze. Iris showed no mercy.
With one step, the trees bent into spirals while the people began to bleed, their organs twisting inside them.
Some people started to run. Some knights who had stayed now began the chase, while others remained behind.
Seeing no way out, a large man with a blood-stained beard threw his spear aside.
"Urgh—," he coughed more blood and continued, "Please... have mercy. I have a family to care for."
He fell to his knees.
Drawn by his voice, Iris looked toward him coldly.
"Enemies have no families..."
Her voice was distorted and mechanical.
The kneeling man stared in fear before being overwhelmed by immense agony.
The organs of everyone around began to rise through their mouths, forcing them to scream until silenced by their own emerging insides. All fell to the ground in silent agony.
The exposed organs began to transform into beautiful flowers of flesh.
Iris simply stared into nothingness, with everyone around dead, their faces frozen in agony.
That was liberating...
Satisfied and more relaxed, the voices she had ignored due to her rage began to fill her head.
I want to leave, get me out of here!
I want my mom and dad back, sniff...
I want the peaceful days I spent playing with my sister...
I... want my quiet moments with Khan again...
Various voices of sorrow filled her mind.
Closing her eyes, leaving only the swirling black smoke, her open head began to contract and seal.
Closing and returning to her beautiful, pure appearance, her eyes were still empty. Slowly, her pink spiral eyes returned to normal, spinning faintly.
Smiling, she spoke cheerfully, completely ignoring the voices she had just heard:
"Looks like this morning's going to be pretty eventful~"
Jumping high, she launched herself into the twisted trees.
...
Up ahead, several rustling sounds were heard through the forest as a group fled.
A blue-haired young man ran while thinking:
I didn't expect that kind of attack... That's really something from another world...
While lost in thought, he didn't notice one of his companions stumble.
The man beside him, broad-chinned and well-built, stopped to help the girl up.
"Come on, run!"
The man and the girl ran slightly behind the group, shooting strange looks at the blue-haired young man.
They were all surprised by a loud thud.
A tall elf, bigger than anyone there, stood in front of them.
The blue-haired youth also looked surprised.
Shit!... I thought she'd take longer to catch up.
An unknown young man spoke from behind.
"I told you this wouldn't end well."
The square-chinned man walked to the front of the group and said:
"Shut up! And raise your sword!"
With that said, he raised his large axe.
The elf standing before them all gave a wide smile.
"So you chose to fight~"
Her face hardened, and her spirals began to spin slowly.
"But unfortunately, I'll end this quickly."
Strange magic circles formed, unfamiliar to those present.
Some ducked on instinct. When the circle vanished, those who stayed standing were split in half from the torso up, but still alive and in disbelief.
The area was flooded with screams, cries, and wails. Those who ducked began to show empty eyes.
The young man stood up with the other survivors, preparing to fight.
What the hell do I do... Surin is way too late... and she's not leaving any openings...
A black-haired girl with pigtails crawled toward him, grabbing his leg. She whispered, nearly dead:
"Run... Berry..."
The supposed Berry responded to her concern with a kick to the face.
Even half-dead, this bitch pisses me off. I'm tired of pretending to be this Berry...
The girl looked confused as tears began to well in her eyes, which quickly faded to lifelessness.
Frustrated with the whole situation, he shouted:
"FUCKING SURIN!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!!??"
Everyone present, even the elf, turned to look at him.
"Oyo~, right here, Nona!"
Surin waved, his hand hidden in his long sleeve.
Everyone looked at him, and then he vanished and reappeared beside her.
"Sorry~, I forgo—"
Surin was cut off by the attack from the elf.