NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92: Fatal Injuries
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Frame trembling, its nervousness palpable, Belzebub stood aghast.
It couldn't avert its eyes from the raging torrent of white flares bursting through the rift.
"How is this happening?" Belzebub was very sure the Lord was dead — it could have bet its life on it.
Suddenly its frame went stiff as it felt the boring gazes of the three behind him.
Voldyk stared at Belzebub's frame briefly, then shook its bony head.
"It seems your foe still found a way out of an inevitable death… This only proves the fact this plane isn't so simple."
Its hollow sockets blazing, it lifted its rotten bone staff and stamped it onto the platform. A force field of corruption bloomed, shielding them from the relentless white flares.
As for those lower Variants below? Voldyk couldn't care less.
"You failed me…" The voice of the King rumbled, rattling Belzebub's figure.
The humanoid fly fell to its knees, claws on the ground, bowing on all fours toward the Seat of Evil.
"M-my King… This… My opponent was strange… It had all sorts of unthinkable rare artifacts, divine remnants, and even contracted divine beast — the All-Devouring Slime!" Belzebub stuttered as it narrated all it saw and witnessed.
The moment it called the name of the All-Devouring Slime, the King went stiff, its eyes flickering warily.
"Are you lying, just to escape punishment?!" Voldyk accused, finding it hard to believe Belzebub's words.
Belzebub's head shook fervently.
"I swear it! The creature even used assimilation!"
Hearing this, even the ever-stoic Avada frowned.
"How could such a being from such a prestigious race appear on a fledgling plane… one still locked under the protection of its world spirit at that?"
Belzebub was quick to reply.
"I don't know, but I saw the Lord summon it with my eyes!"
"Not right… If you truly encountered such a figure, you wouldn't have even had a chance at victory!" Voldyk, still doubting Belzebub's report, pointed as he stated.
Hearing this, Belzebub went silent for a moment, face brimming with shame, before it squeezed its mandibles.
"T-that… The reason why I had a chance was because i-it… it was still at level 1."
Everyone went silent.
Honestly, both Voldyk and Avada couldn't bring themselves to blame Belzebub any further at this point.
The three of them were equal in power, so it was safe to say even if either of them were in Belzebub's shoes, they weren't sure if they could have done better.
Honestly, Belzebub was just unlucky — being thrashed by a low-level fledgling.
Such an event was definitely going to mess with Belzebub's self-confidence. Their poor colleague…
They prayed to never end up like that.
Avada and Voldyk glanced at each other with mutual wariness.
The King, who had remained silent since the mention of the All-Devouring Slime, finally spoke.
"You said it was a level 1?"
Belzebub nodded as though its life depended on it… well, it did.
"A level 1 divine creature… That's practically unheard of…" The King muttered underneath its breath.
Its eyes gleamed with an emotion far out of its jurisdiction, a force its twin brother held reign over… Greed!
"Interesting… Tell me everything you know about this territory and this Lord." The King's question brimmed with interest. This mysterious plane was now on its list for conquering.
---
Back in Arcana… Roy's territory…
The veil of chains had forced the raging torrent of disaster into the rift, and it then proceeded to fuse with the fractured space, slowly stitching it together.
At the Aegis, Richard stood at one of the highest windows, gazing at the sight before him.
"How do we even start repairing this…" he muttered as he gazed at the abyssal chasm that stretched from the Aegis all the way to the northern borders.
No more ground — only a bottomless darkness, space still unstable, fracturing and bending from time to time.
Where do they start?
He glanced behind him. There, Ethan was attending to the four near-dead figures.
Richard's heart tightened. His Lord was out of commission, and now there was no one to guide them.
Where do they go from here?
He felt someone coming up to him and glanced to the side — it was Alpha.
He parted the furry guy's hair. Richard felt melancholic. It had just been barely a week since they were both recruited, both he and Alpha sharing the status of the first subordinates.
So naturally, among all, they were both the ones that felt more pain and nervousness seeing their Lord's state.
From Ethan's side, Dio walked toward them.
"Sigh… there's good news… and bad news."
Richard's heart clenched tight at the sound of the last words.
"Good news is they are all alive, and apparently the other three summoned heroes can help their kin recover. And thankfully Jake only suffered severe burns — after intensive care he will make full recovery…" Dio informed.
Richard didn't feel relief. Instead, his heart palpitated more violently as he held his breath, still silent, waiting for Dio to continue.
Dio sighed, his eyes masking complicated feelings.
"The bad news is about the Boss… Apparently during battle he not only drew on his Ether but also his life force. Not only that, his soul was damaged from attempted corruption, and he faced the deadly storm of the flares in this state, making his burns more serious and deadly… Apparently it's even a miracle he's still with us."
Richard fell to his knees at the news, his eyes reddening.
"B-but he can be healed… right?" he asked hopefully.
Dio averted his gaze, unable to meet Richard's grief-stricken eyes. He replied:
"Ethan said he can do his best to fix the Boss's body, and if the healer hero is fully well, they can fix his soul… but."
"But what!" Richard asked, his hands clenched so tight his nails dug into his skin, blood dripping onto the floor.
Dio sighed and continued.
"But even with all this, we still can't be certain Boss will awaken. His soul, even if healed, will take time to recover from the hidden scars left behind from corruption. So Boss will be in an indefinite coma… We can't be sure when he would awaken."
This news sapped Richard of all his strength as he gazed around weakly.
Ethan treated the Lord, his face dripping with sweat, arms trembling as the feat was exhausting.
Carrying Roy's gaunt unconscious head on her lap was Ashley, her eyes red with pain and grief.
By her side was Layla, her stoic eyes already melted, holding within them complicated emotions as she knelt by her Lord's side silently.
Richard's gaze quivered. What was he to do now?
He was, by command, the second in charge. Now that their Lord was inactive, he was to take the reins. But feeling the lifeless atmosphere, he questioned himself.
Could he really take that mantle, regulate the territory until their Lord awoke?
He was lost in thought when, by his side, Alpha sat and began licking his face — his own way of consoling Richard.
Richard chuckled at the gesture as he caressed Alpha's head once more.
"You seem to be the only one still clear-headed among us all…"
Richard shook his head.
"I'm seriously lost on what to do…"
And what happened next, Richard never expected.
Alpha's head tilted, the wolf's eyes shining with intelligence. It spoke — rough, still coarse, but words nonetheless.
"Master… trust… very… much… Richard."
Richard blinked, going into a daze — not from the shock of a wolf speaking, but from the words it spoke.
Richard's eyes gleamed with discovery.
"You're right… He did say he trusted me."
Trust. Since the Lord trusted him, he had to trust himself — trust his own decisions.
His gaze flickered with brimming determination. He got to his feet.
Turning back toward the windows, staring at the vast abyssal chasm staring back at him…
"I have to make sure the Lord awakens to a great territory. He must awaken to great Hunters as subordinates — one worthy of his rule."
In the distance, the rift finally closed, and a notification popped into view.
[Calamity cleared!
Delivering rewards…
Upgrading territory….]
Everyone felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere — something was at work.
Richard gazed at the flickering row of rewards, his eyes glinting. From here on out, they were to be focused on progression.
He turned back gazing towards his comrades, "Enough grieving... He's not dead.
If truly want to make him proud when he awakens, then we have to make his territory so powerful he would awaken from his coma smiling!
I don't know about you but I'm resolved to do just that... Are you with Me!"
There was no reply, but the blazing light of resolved sparking across their gazes as they rose was response enough.
[End of Volume.]
{A/N}
Thank you all for embarking on this exciting journey with me. Today, we've finally reached our first major juncture.
What to expect moving forward:
The next volume will dive into Roy fulfilling his duties as the Cosmic Policeman. From here on out, you can look forward to:
- Sinister politics
- Complex and layered antagonists
- Satisfying face-slapping moments
- Blood-pumping clashes
- And of course… lots and lots of Guns!
And once again, thank you all for supporting my progress this far, be sure to vote more and gift more...
Remember these helps breed motivation and motivation breeds more chapters.♥️♥️♥️