NOVEL NEXT Chapter 78: To Protect A Smile
"Haha!" Alex laughed as his deepest fear took shape across from him.
It was him, ruined. A malnourished Alex stood before him, shield cracked. The scars on the gear were bad, but the thin frame was worse; his bear-like bulk was gone.
"So weak," Alex shouted, then charged and slammed into his double. His new shield snapped a spear forward and drove it through the humanoid, dropping it.
<You didn't even hesitate to kill... yourself.>
"What I fear is becoming weak enough to be abandoned by Don Capo! This kind of me couldn't even look at Don Capo's back, let alone stand in front of him! Of course I'd rather kill myself than be defeated by some fucking monsters or stupid Rankers! Haha!"
Alex's shadow separated from him. "You fool," it said. "You know who's the unluckiest person in Don Capo's Sixteen?"
"Yeah, me," Alex said.
"When shit hits the fan and a life has to be sacrificed, do you have the guts to offer yours for Don Capo and the others? To lose everything you've gotten: strength, women, fame?"
Alex raised an eyebrow.
—
Mercer kept his guard up, his sword glowed with golden light from enhanced Rejuvenation Flux. He'd need a lot of healing; his opponent was his father. The man raised a fist, and Mercer's body locked up as if he'd been programmed not to hit back.
Deep down, Mercer knew the man wasn't real. Ace had punched him free of these shackles, yet he couldn't do the same. The blows barely hurt, so the extra healing wasn't needed.
His soul hurt; he was losing the mental fight.
I'm sorry... Big Bro, Big Sis... I can't be your healer... I am so weak...
His enemy rushed him, hands out to strangle him. He knew that motion; his father had gripped his neck when he was a little boy. Memories flooded in, and he froze.
He shut his eyes and waited for the hit.
It didn't come.
Instead, a familiar voice cut in. "Hey, old fuck. What do you think you're doing to our little bro?"
Mercer opened his eyes to the broad back of a friend and felt strength return. "Big... Alex."
"Got a few scratches—heal me. Pinning down that old fuck is on me," Alex said. The sight brought back his orphanage days when he'd bullied kids, even younger ones. Now it made him sick, and he'd fix that part of himself by protecting Mercer.
"O-Okay! Leave healing to me! Thank you for saving me!" Mercer beamed as courage filled him. Big Alex can be too loud and annoying sometimes, but he's a part of Big Bro's Family. He's Big and reliable.
"I beat my shadow and got to pick where to show up. It said something about moving my pawn—Rook—but I didn't listen. I appeared in front of you. The screen showed Don Capo and Seraphina still in the first corridor. Godmother and the old man were together. Felt like you needed me most."
"Thank you!" Mercer's eyes watered. "But what do you mean by your shadow? Was that your fear, your shadow?"
"Nah, it's the second opponent. You'll fight your shadow too. First one was me. I killed myself quick, and now I'll do the same to this old fuck," Alex said, moving forward.
Mercer blinked. "You killed yourself... like that?"
Ignoring the disbelief, Alex picked up speed and slammed into his opponent. "My baby, Aegis Turtle, time to rear your head! Haha!"
If Chaewon were here, she would likely scold Alex for his wording. Still, it was typical of him.
Alex's shield smashed into Mercer's father. The spear shot out, skewered the head, and dropped the man in a heap.
Blood spread under the corpse.
Alex tilted his head. "So easy? Guess it's because he's a healer's opponent. That's your fear, lil bro?"
"Yes... it was my father," Mercer said, eyes narrowed at the corpse.
Alex scratched his head. He didn't know what to say.
He was an orphan himself. Some people said they'd rather be orphans than have parents; maybe Mercer was in that camp. He kept quiet.
Mercer's shadow separated and straightened. He met its gaze.
"You couldn't defeat your own fear," the shadow said. "How about you drop the sword, stick to a staff, and just heal Big Bro and the others?"
Mercer's face fell.
Alex crossed his arms. I shouldn't jump in. That bastard shadow of mine also started with talk before swinging. Leave it to lil bro. My gut says so.
Since when was Alex so smart?
—
Seraphina stood amid dark flames. Bright orange fire she knew mixed with them, and orange-black cinders sparkled around her. She held her swords low. Across from her, her enemy, herself taken over by Gesta, stared her down.
She had her swords, but Gesta wielded flame and ash far better, conjuring a field no normal Ranker could survive for even a minute. Fire-filled chasms split the ground; ash sucked the oxygen, feeding the flames until they howled. Gesta stood like a queen, waiting for her to sink into despair.
<You fear the Priestess of the Immolated... since you're in her grasp. No wonder you summoned her.>
Even the Obsidian Space's voice wasn't ready for what came next. Gesta's eyes went hollow, then a blaze sparked within them.
<What?>
"Only a fool would believe I couldn't enter this space," Gesta said.
She rolled her neck and drew a deep breath, making Seraphina's chest rise and fall. Her presence felt both free and heavy, as if nothing bound her here. Heat poured off her; it burned and melted everything around her.
Seraphina closed her eyes. "You just can't let me go. You call me a minion, but you keep following me. I feel your gaze. I feel those eyes, the same eyes I inherited from the Immolated. Even under that stare, I laughed. I laughed with Ace's team... so I'll protect that little smile and keep moving."
"Protect... a little smile? You're getting even more pathetic, Seraphina."