Chapter 166: Mounds Of Flesh And Tissue
Charlotte couldn't stop herself from beaming.
She saw it, plain as day, the respect and admiration in the professors' eyes as they looked at Mika.
Men who had mocked him minutes ago now gawked as though staring at a god. And seeing that, Charlotte's chest swelled.
She wanted to shout that this was the Mika she knew, the Mika who could silence even the most arrogant with nothing but proof of his brilliance.
Anya, however, didn't bask in their admiration the same way. Instead, her lips twisted into a smirk, her eyes glinting like daggers as she looked at the professors one by one.
"Oh, how lovely." She drawled. "You look at Mika with admiration now, singing praises of his genius, tripping over yourselves to call his achievements marvelous."
She took a slow step forward, her shoes echoing ominously against the floor.
"But let's not forget what you were doing just minutes ago. You tried to put down my sister. You tried to condemn her not because it went against the rules of the building, which would've been down with me since my sister did break the rules and there's no denying it—but rather on the orders of others, using your positions to execute someone else's will."
The warmth vanished from her face. Her smile turned cruel.
"That doesn't disappear just because Mika proved you wrong. You'll face the appropriate action for your behavior...And I assure you, the punishment will be fitting."
The professors froze, their admiration immediately clashing with terror. A few swallowed hard, others shifted uncomfortably, but none dared argue. The head professor let out a weak, reluctant chuckle, trying to ease the tension.
"Of course, of course...you're right. We...We acted wrongly. It's only natural that we face the consequences."
His voice trembled, though he tried to cover it. Then, to everyone's surprise, he straightened, his eyes still wide with awe as he looked directly at Mika.
"But honestly?" His lips curled into a half-mad grin. "I don't even care if I lose my job, my title, or anything else you may have planned. To witness such a marvelous feat, it was worth it. Truly one of the greatest moments of my life."
He stepped forward, his tone fervent now, addressing Mika as though he were speaking to the future itself.
"Mika, why haven't you joined the research block? With your abilities, you'd be our most valuable asset...No, more than that. You could easily become the top researcher in the world. You could change the course of history. With your inventions, the entire world could be reshaped for the better!"
The professors leaned closer, nodding feverishly, their eyes alight with expectation. They waited for Mika to accept, to bask in their newfound respect.
But Mika only scoffed, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Research all day?" He tilted his head mockingly. "That sounds boring as hell. You'd have me locked in a lab, tinkering endlessly, measuring, recalculating, writing reports, day after day? A dull, repetitive life...Honestly, it's no wonder all of you are balding."
The words hit like a slap. The professors recoiled, each instinctively raising a hand to their heads. Several rubbed at their thin patches of hair, faces turning blue with embarrassment.
But shockingly it was just the professors who reacted, but Charlotte as well, as her eyes widened, panic flashing across her face before she rushed to Mika's side, grabbing his hand tightly, her pink locks trembling with her.
"W-Wait! Mika, what about me." She cried out, her voice frantic. "I'm a researcher too! I do exactly what they do, measurements, tinkering, experiments!" Her lips wobbled as she looked up at him, pitifully. "Are you saying...am I going to go bald too?"
Her big, anxious eyes brimmed with worry and in response, Mika's chuckle deepened, his gaze warm but teasing.
"Maybe, Charlotte. Maybe in the future, you'll lose every single strand of that pink hair you're so proud of...Maybe one day, your head will be slippery smooth."
Charlotte paled at the thought, frozen in horror. But then Mika reached out, patting her head with gentle fingers, a playful grin on his lips.
"But don't worry." He said softly. "Even then, I'll love you just as much. You'll be just as cute as you are now. I'll give kisses to your bald little head all the time."
Though it was the strangest compliment anyone could imagine, Charlotte's cheeks turned bright red. Her lips curled into a helpless giggle, her heart fluttering with joy despite the oddness of his words.
Her friends exchanged awkward looks, unsure whether to laugh or pity her, but Charlotte was too delighted to care.
Anya rolled her eyes, a fond smile tugging at her lips. But then her expression shifted, sharpened. She turned toward the corner of the room, her gaze locking onto a trembling figure.
The boy with glasses, the very one who had instigated this disaster. He was cowering, hoping to be forgotten.
But Anya raised her hand, her smile cruel.
And in an instant, his body convulsed. He gasped, eyes wide with horror as something unnatural sprouted from beneath him.
Two massive, grotesque legs burst forth from his lower body, far larger than his own, carrying him helplessly forward.
"My legs?! No those aren't my legs?! What are those?!" He screamed, thrashing, but the new legs marched him inexorably toward Anya.
The crowd erupted in horrified gasps. And then, it spread.
Every student who had their knees shattered before now found themselves growing new monstrous limbs, thick and powerful, dragging them against their will.
They stumbled, screamed, and cried, but one by one, their unwilling steps brought them before Anya.
Nine figures in total stood in a trembling line, faces twisted with terror, while Anya clasped her hands behind her back, tilting her head like a judge passing sentence. A cruel chuckle left her lips.
"Since you nine were the ones who instigated all of this." She said softly. " your punishment will be...a little different."
Before anyone could ask what she meant, she waved her hand again.
The nine figures convulsed violently.
"Ahhhh! No, what is this—!"
"What's happening?! My body—my body, it's melting!!!"
"Noooo! Stop it! Stop it!"
Their screams rose to unbearable pitches as their bodies shrank, twisted, and began to collapse inward.
Fingers curled into themselves, features melted away, their skin and bones folding, reversing, deteriorating.
Flesh compressed, organs dissolved—until within seconds, what remained were nothing more than nine quivering lumps of tissue, each resembling a grotesque ball of clay.
Their uniforms also collapsed around them, empty husks that no longer fit their new forms, while the room was deathly silent, the crowd paralyzed with horror.
They realized what had just happened: Anya had, in mere seconds, reduced human beings to lumps of flesh.
"Don't worry, don't worry. It's not like I killed them." Anya broke the silence with a cheerful voice. "They're still alive. Just...simplified. Much, much simpler just like an amoeba. When the punishment's over, I'll return them to their usual selves."
She then strolled casually to a nearby table, plucked a rack of test tubes, corks, and tweezers, and returned with a spring in her step.
"Charlotte, I'll be borrowing these." She said brightly.
Then, like she picking flowers, she bent down, plucking up each lump of flesh with the tweezers, one by one, and dropping them into separate tubes.
The wet plop of living tissue hitting glass made several students gag. She corked them neatly, humming to herself, then slipped all nine tubes into her pocket with a satisfied smile, before patting her pocket as though carrying candies instead of human beings.
Seeing this, the crowd's eyes widened with horror, sweat dripping down their foreheads. They realized in that moment just how terrifying Anya truly was.
One moment she could heal with the touch of a hand; the next, she could unravel human beings down to their most basic form, reduced to something even less complex than a single-celled organism.
And in that moment, every soul in the room understood: crossing Anya was far worse than facing the explosion itself.
Anya herself ignored those terrified gazes, and instead she let her gaze sweep across the shaken crowd.
"As for the rest of you…" Anya said slowly, her voice dripping with authority. "Do not think yourselves forgotten. Every single one of you will face the appropriate punishments according to your involvement. Those who instigated this mess will be punished, severely."
Her eyes glinted like knives, and several students visibly flinched.
"But those of you who were simply watching silently, who had no hand in this farce...consider yourselves lucky. You'll be let off with a warning."
A long sigh of relief rolled through the room. Dozens of shoulders slumped at once. Adam, who had been plastered to the far wall, his lips pressed shut the entire time, let out a deep exhale, muttering under his breath.
"Thank God...I was only watching…" His trembling eased, though he still refused to meet Anya's gaze.
"Of course..." Anya continued, folding her arms. "...all of this will be investigated properly by my secretaries waiting outside. They'll also ensure none of you breathe a single word of this incident to anyone else."
Her smile sharpened, cutting away the fragile relief.
"So leave quietly. Obey their instructions. Do exactly as they tell you...That's what's best for all of you."
The crowd groaned softly, the dread of what awaited them beyond the doors hanging heavy in the air. Still, they had no choice.
One by one, with slumped shoulders and pale faces, the students began to file out, followed by the professors, whose minds raced with anxious thoughts.
And just like that, the lab that had been chaos incarnate only moments ago was emptied. The shouting, the screaming, the pounding fists, all gone. Silence reclaimed the room, almost eerie in its calm.
But that silence lasted for only three seconds—
Until Charlotte shrieked.
"Ugh! Look!" She pointed furiously across the lab floor, her face contorted in disgust. "Those bastards seriously vomited all over my lab and then left like nothing happened!"
Puddles of half-digested mess dotted the tiles and the stench hit a moment later, sharp and sour.
"How could they be so disgusting?!" Charlotte stomped her foot, glaring at the offending patches. "At the very least, they should've taken their puke with them!"
She then whipped her head toward her sister, jabbing a finger at the mess.
"Anya, do something about this! Can't you control bodies? Can't you just...I don't know, make the vomit crawl into the trash by itself or something?!"
Anya froze, blinking at her in disbelief. For a moment she just stared, and then her lips curved into a chuckle that built into full-blown laughter.
She shook her head, walked over, and pinched Charlotte's cheek between her fingers, tugging until her little sister squirmed in flustered protest.
"Oh, my cheeky little sister." She teased. "No, I cannot. Vomit may come from the body, but once it's out, it has no living cells. I cannot manipulate it." Her chuckle deepened as she tugged harder, making Charlotte yelp. "Honestly, telling your elder sister to go clean up puke, how bold of you!"
Charlotte pouted harder, rubbing her sore cheeks, while Anya smirked in victory.
But then—
Click. Clack. Click.
The sound of steady footsteps echoed through the quiet room. Anya's smile froze. Slowly, she turned her head toward the source, her sharp eyes narrowing.
It was the girl. The one who hadn't run. Now she stepped forward, closer and closer, until her face came into full view.
Maria.
For a brief moment, Anya's expression faltered, something strange flickered across her eyes, something colder than her usual smile. She bit her lip subtly, her gaze hardening, and though Maria had done nothing in that moment, it was clear: to Anya, she was no friend.
Maria, however, ignored her entirely. She didn't glance at Anya or Charlotte. Her eyes were locked on Mika.
Mika, who had been watching her approach with a small smile, spread his arms lightly, his voice teasing.
"Well? How was that, Maria? Did you see my performance? Did you see how I made all those pompous professors tuck their tails between their legs and run? Did you see how I turned the entire situation around?"
His grin widened as he leaned toward her.
"Go on, it's fine if you praise me. It's only natural."
But Maria's eyes rolled, her expression dry as ever.
"I don't care about any of that." She said flatly. "What I care about is that you promised to have lunch with me. And now the lunch period is almost over. All the good food in the cafeteria will be gone by the time we get there."
Mika blinked, his grin faltering. "W-Wait, that's what you're upset about? Come on, aren't you at least a little impressed? I created an invention no one's seen before! That's pretty cool, right?"
"Why should I be impressed, when I already know how smart you are." She glared at him, her tone unimpressed. "You boast about yourself every other day. And you're an enigma of a man, someone who can't be measured by simple terms...So what's the point of praising you?"
"I don't waste time thinking about things I already know." She crossed her arms. "Right now, I'm hungry. Lunch matters more."
Mika stared at her for a second before laughing softly, shaking his head. "That's so like you, Maria...and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way."
But before he could say more, Anya stepped forward, her eyes never leaving Maria. Her smile returned, but this one was bright in a way that carried hidden edges. Mika instinctively tensed, his guard rising.
"Oh my, oh my." She sang. "So it was you standing over there, watching so calmly without fleeing. I was wondering what kind of lunatic could stay so still with a bomb about to explode. But now I know, it was Maria Devesté of all people. It makes perfect sense now."
She tilted her head, her voice warm but her stare cutting.
"After all, you're Mika's closest confidant at this academy, aside from his family. Of course you'd trust him...And I must say, I'm happy he has such a loyal friend."
Maria met her gaze, unflinching, her face blank.
"Have we met before?" She asked simply. "I don't recall introducing myself to you."
"No, not at all." Anya shook her head, her smile never faltering. "But since you're Mika's friend, it's only natural that I'd know about you." She leaned in slightly, her voice lowering, her words dripping with emphasis. "And I do mean everything about you."
Maria's eyes narrowed at the deliberate weight in her words, while Anya continued, her tone still playful but edged with intrigue.
"And, even if you weren't Mika's friend, you're known all the Academy. After all, you're the top scholarship student in the support class. The only one here from a normal background, that's already quite impressive.
"But it doesn't just stop there, as you're also contracted support of the princess herself. A close friend of mine. And since the princess speaks so highly of you, of course I've heard of you."
"I see." Maria gave a small nod, her tone flat. "I'm glad the princess has spoken of me in pleasant terms."
"Of course."
Anya agreed smoothly. But then her eyes darkened, gleaming with danger. Her smile curved into something sharper, her words dropping like venom.
"But I also know you for something else. After all, you were the one who instigated Mika that day. The day he dragged those two boys into the middle of the academy, right in front of everyone, and forced them to eat filth from the latrine pool."
The air grew still, as Anya's tone hardened.
"Normally, I cover his actions. I silence matters like that...But that day? He was so angry he didn't care. And because of it, my efforts to maintain his reputation collapsed in seconds. He was suspended for two weeks. His school life was stained...All because of you."
Her smile vanished. She looked down at Maria with a cold, unblinking stare, her voice cutting through the silence like a blade.
"That was all your fault."
Mika stiffened, realizing instantly that Anya wasn't merely annoyed, she was hostile and Maria's calm eyes narrowed in response, and tension thickened in the room.
It was clear to everyone: Anya and Maria were not on good terms. And if neither backed down…
A fight was about to break out.