Chapter 271: [Freedom Dove] - Nerio’s part (23)
"Nerio..." Leonard’s voice continued outside, knocking relentlessly on the door.
The door suddenly swung wide open, nearly sending him tumbling inside.
Nerio stood there with arms crossed, his hair a little tousled. He didn’t glance at Leonard, lifting a hand to smooth his hair.
A ripple of water-like shimmer passed over him, and the slightly messy strands instantly settled back into their usual neatness.
Nerio returned to sit on the bed, his eyes calmly following Leonard’s every move.
As soon as Leonard shut the door, he muttered on and on:
"There are so many monsters outside, Nerio, it’s dangerous. Luckily, you opened the door for me. I knocked on every other door, but they all stayed silent. Maybe they’re too afraid of breaking the school rules. Only you are fearless enough to ignore them."
After washing his hands in the bathroom, Leonard came back toward Nerio, who was sitting on the bed.
"Can I sleep with you tonight? I’m exhausted..."
Nerio tilted his head up to look at him. His bangs covered his eyes, but if one deliberately parted them, his entire face could still be seen: skin smooth, flawless, not a blemish in sight.
Yet his expression remained uneasy, and he stepped forward slowly, cautiously.
Nerio tilted his head at him and suddenly said:
"You’ve stepped on a total of ten shards of broken porcelain. Don’t you feel any pain?"
His face carried pure bewilderment, as though he couldn’t sense a single abnormal breath coming off "Leonard."
Leonard’s smile stiffened for a moment. He quickly looked down in a panic:
"R-Really...?"
"Ha ha ha."
Nerio suddenly burst out laughing. Leonard lifted his gaze again, only to see the boy wiping away nonexistent tears at the corners of his eyes, his smile dazzlingly bright, both brows arched in mirth.
"Just kidding, idiot."
"Ha... ha ha..." Leonard let out an awkward chuckle—then, the entire space around him twisted and warped in the next instant. His body distorted into a grotesque form within a blink, and he lunged straight at Nerio.
Nerio remained seated, unmoving. "Leonard’s" body was instantly flung aside, crashing onto the floor.
It writhed and struggled back upright—revealing its proper form at last.
A bizarre bird-like creature, its head that of a human, its face decayed and shadowy, as though covered by only a thin film of skin, now contorted into endless twisted, grotesque expressions.
It stood nearly two meters tall, its massive wings lined on the inside with countless writhing human hands, twitching like a swarm of maggots. Further down, its "legs" were a pair of human arms, fingers drumming madly against the ground in a display of agitation.
At last, it suddenly turned to flee!
Bang!
But it never had the chance. The entire room was sealed as though by an invisible barrier that it could never break through.
"You know what? Your presence here makes this place filthy. I feel so uncomfortable... so very uncomfortable."
Nerio walked forward slowly, speaking as he wiped away tears from the corners of his eyes.
[That expression... I’m actually a little scared now...]
[I just pictured 7,749 violent SM scenarios in my head—goodbye brothers, I’m heading to the island first]
[No, Nerio, torment me! That monster isn’t worthy!]
[I imagined him whipping me while crying and asking if it hurt, then whipping harder—aghhh, I can’t take it, my mysterious bloodline is awakening!]
[A bunch of masochists, stop polluting the comments, damn it!]
[In my past life, I saved the entire universe, so why hasn’t the universe repaid me with a Nerio yet?!]
[Bro, you’re talking like Nerio is some mass-produced commodity, ha ha ha]
The monster snarled, its sagging flesh twisting grotesquely. With its arms braced, it suddenly leapt, as though determined to fight Nerio to the death!
But its body froze in midair! Its hollow eyes bulged as streams of water surged from all directions into its veins, swelling its body larger and larger.
It let out a shrill, miserable scream, thrashing desperately, but there was no escape. Its body ballooned into a gigantic sphere until it could no longer scream.
Pop!
Nerio suddenly clapped his hands together. The sharp sound of his small palms echoed through the room—at the same instant, the monster’s swollen body exploded!
Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering against the ceiling and falling like a crimson rain.
Raising both arms high, lips curved upward, eyes closed, Nerio let the blood stream across his face as he laughed joyfully:
"At the very least, it has to be like this."
[That’s right, at the very least it should be like this, ha ha ha! If those monsters can’t bring us a proper blood-soaked spectacle, then let Nerio be the one to do it!]
[Am I the only one who feels like there’s something wrong with Nerio?]
[Exactly, something’s wrong—he was supposed to marry me instead!]
[...]
"Filthy!"
Right then, Nerio suddenly spoke. Just a second earlier, his face had been filled with enjoyment, but in the next instant, he scowled, angrily kicked the door open, and stormed out.
When he stepped outside, his body returned to its usual spotless state.
[Can’t figure this out]
[If Nerio becomes easy to figure out, I’ll chop off my third leg!]
[What I mean is, he likes things a little brutal, but he doesn’t like being dirty—something like that]
[So basically he’s into blood-soaked carnage, but still prefers being squeaky clean, ha ha ha, I’m dying here]
The night around the school brimmed with countless dangers. Nerio’s eyes flickered, and his figure turned into a streak of light before vanishing into the air.
At the same time, the humans had already gathered into a group.
The artificial espers acted independently, while the remaining humans formed a team with Susan as their leader.
Bella crossed her arms, her tone resolute: "Those artificial espers are definitely scheming something. Did you notice the battle this afternoon? They didn’t even do anything!"
Luis pushed up his glasses: "True, but the fact that they haven’t acted yet—Bella, don’t focus too much on them."
Bella said nothing more, but Susan added: "No matter what, we still need to be cautious."
"Should we go call Nerio?" Damian suddenly asked.
Susan thought momentarily, then said softly: "He’ll do whatever he wants. We just need to do our part well."
Luis adjusted his glasses again, nodded, and said earnestly: "At present, we know five names—Mr. Smith, Alat, Tom, Scarlet, and Alex. Among them, Tom is bullied, and Alat is the bully. Scarlet and Alex are a couple, but their love ended in a painful breakup. Then there’s Mr. Smith, the only teacher who can be present at this time. I suggest we investigate Mr. Smith first, since we’re still unfamiliar with the campus."
They didn’t even know the other departments, let alone the student records. However, the teachers’ dormitory was only far from the students’ dorms.
No one raised any objections.
At night, the campus looked nothing like it did during the day. The once-lush trees had withered into dry, twisted branches, casting strange shapes beneath the moonlight. Everything seemed oddly ancient—just like their dormitory. By day, it had looked freshly built, but when they opened the door, the air was thick with dust, the walls were peeling, and broken pipes gave off a foul stench.
It was as if night and day were constantly twisting and overturning the very space of this place.