Chapter 133: Code Black

Time to Hunt[10]

Chapter 133: Code Black

W-what the hell is happening?!

I pressed my fingers against my chest. My nails dug into my skin through the fabric, but I could barely feel it compared to the pain inside.

My body was burning.

It felt like molten lava was flowing through my veins instead of blood. Like a sharp dagger had been driven into the spot where my heart should’ve been, each beat pushing it a little deeper.

"Kh...!"

I tried to breathe.

My chest tightened. The air that should’ve filled my lungs caught in my throat. I opened my mouth a little wider, only for a warm, metallic taste to spread across my tongue.

Blood.

The drops running from my nose had reached my lips.

I blinked, and my vision turned red. I raised a hand to touch my cheek, then looked at it.

Black lines were moving beneath my skin.

They spread from my wrist up my arm, branching out before meeting at the inside of my elbow. When I tried to clench my fist, the veins stood out even more.

This wasn’t normal.

No, of course it wasn’t! What kind of fucking enhancement potion made your eyes bleed?!

I looked up.

Oswald.

The old man stood a few steps away, his hands clasped behind his back as usual. He wasn’t coming toward me, and there wasn’t a trace of concern on his face.

I stared at him.

Say something. Tell me this is normal. Tell me it’ll pass!

But Oswald just kept watching me in silence, as if everything was perfectly normal.

Damn it, do something! I’m dying here!

The muffled sound that came out of my throat couldn’t convey any of that. My elbow buckled, and I sank closer to the floor.

Rose...

I’d gotten the potion with her.

Had she...?

Had she tricked me? Given me poison and passed it off as an enhancement potion?

Had I made a mistake trusting a demon—

"..."

What am I thinking?

I remembered Rose holding my hand. Looking at my face and asking if I was okay... Staying by my side even though she didn’t understand any of it...

No.

She wasn’t the kind of person who’d do that.

Then what the fuck was going on?!

"Layla..."

Marven’s voice reached me.

I tried to turn my head toward him. His lips were moving. He was saying something, but I couldn’t make out the words over the pounding of my heart in my ears.

Was I really supposed to figure out what this psycho was saying right now?

First, I had to get up.

I pressed my palm against the floor.

The moment I put my weight on my arm, the pain in my chest sharpened. My back arched on its own. For a moment, I couldn’t see the shoes in front of me or the blood dripping onto the floor.

The edges of my vision were going dark.

No...

I couldn’t pass out here.

Not now!

Just before my forehead hit the floor, a window appeared in front of me.

[Potion effect detected.]

[Physical enhancement complete.]

[Strength: +25]

[Endurance: +25]

[Agility: +25]

[All stats successfully increased.]

My chest suddenly loosened.

"Hah...!"

Air filled my lungs.

I coughed and took another breath. My throat still burned, but I could breathe again. I moved my fingers. My arm wasn’t shaking as much anymore.

Finally...

Just as I was trying to pull myself together, I felt a sharp tug at the roots of my hair.

Someone was pulling my head up.

Marven.

He’d tangled his fingers in my hair and turned my face toward him. This close, I could see his expression more clearly.

That same cold disappointment was still there.

As if he were examining a broken toy.

...

"Get your hand off me, you son of a bitch."

Azure Flame rose from my shoulders.

When the blue flames reached my hair, Marven’s fingers were still tangled in it.

"Aah!"

He pulled his hand away and stumbled back. The smell of his burned skin reached my nose.

Umbrella went to work as I stood up.

My clothes turned into black liquid. It climbed from my neck to my chin, erasing Layla’s face as my hair shortened. My shoulders broadened. My voice changed back, and my body returned to its familiar shape.

The black substance didn’t stop.

It formed overlapping plates across my chest, covering my stomach, back, and arms before flowing down my legs and over my feet.

My fingertips lengthened into sharp points.

The armor covering my face rose at the center of my forehead. Two closely set protrusions separated and lengthened, curving backward.

A pair of horns.

I opened my right hand.

Black liquid extended from my palm, hardening from tip to hilt into a sword.

Marven stared at me in shock.

His eyes moved from my face to the horns, then to the sword in my hand. He held his burned hand against his chest. His mouth was open, but he wasn’t saying anything anymore.

"Marven Voss."

I raised the sword a little.

"No... you monster."

I saw the shattered capsule behind him. The body lying in the blue liquid... I’d been standing in that same spot just a little while ago, trying to put up with all of this.

I didn’t have to anymore.

"Eternal darkness awaits you."

I drew one foot back.

"Time to die."

Storm Heart.

I pushed off the floor.

The distance between us vanished in an instant. Marven’s eyes widened. I swung my sword from his shoulder toward his waist.

CLANG!

The impact sent a harsh vibration through my hand and up to my elbow.

The sword had stopped before reaching Marven.

There was nothing in front of him.

But the black blade was pressed against an invisible surface, a handspan from his face.

What...?

My eyes flicked to the side.

Dorian Hale.

His fist was coming straight for my face.

I tilted my head aside at the last second. His glove grazed the edge of my armor. I felt the air from the punch rush past my ear.

I bent my knees and twisted toward him. Pulling my sword back, I swung at his chest.

That same resistance again.

This time, I caught a brief ripple in the space between us.

A barrier?

Dorian raised his other arm.

I thickened the armor on my left arm and held it in front of me.

THUD!

The blow struck Umbrella. My shoulder jerked back, but my feet stayed on the ground. I turned with the force of the blow and jumped back a few paces.

"CODE BLACK!"

His voice echoed down the entire corridor.

A second later...

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The white ceiling lights went out.

Red lights took their place.

A heavy metallic sound came from the end of the corridor.

Then another.

And another.

THUD!

The entrance slammed shut.

The indicators on the walls turned red, and I heard mechanical locks engaging in the distance.

A female employee screamed and backed away.

One of the men in white coats headed for a nearby door, but it had already closed.

"Damn it..."

I slowly turned around.

There was no way out.

At least, no ordinary exit left.

This wasn’t good.

My gaze shifted from Dorian to Marven.

One stood with his weight evenly balanced, never taking his eyes off me. The other was still standing in the same spot.

I hadn’t known Marven could stay quiet for this long.

Two against one.

For now.

I didn’t know what Code Black meant to the people working here, but it definitely wasn’t a friendly invitation to tea. I had to finish this before backup arrived.

"You fraud..."

I turned my head.

Marven had spoken.

"What?"

"You fraud..."

His voice trembled.

He slowly lowered his burned hand.

Then he fixed his eyes on me.

"YOU DAMN FRAUD!"

"..."

His face had turned bright red.

"I trusted you!"

He took a step forward.

"When I met you... I really thought you were different!"

What the hell are you talking about?

"I showed you everything! I brought you here! I shared things with you that I’d never shown anyone else!"

He spread his arms.

"I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

"..."

For a moment, every thought in my head stopped.

Then a long string of curses ran through my mind.

Well, damn...

This guy was actually serious.

Marven’s eyes had filled with tears.

But the look on his face was closer to anger than sadness.

"Is this how you repay my love?!"

He pointed at his chest with one hand.

"YOU TRICKED ME!"

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it.

What was I supposed to say?

Sorry, I actually dressed up as a woman to kill you?

I didn’t think that would help much.

Marven pushed his hair back.

"All of you..."

He lowered his head in deep sorrow.

"You’re all the same..."

He stayed silent for a few seconds.

Then he took a deep breath.

The anger slowly left his face.

That sudden change was far more unsettling than his shouting had been.

Marven turned to Dorian.

"Dorian."

"Kill him."

The corner of Dorian’s mouth lifted.

It was the first time I’d seen him smile.

"You’re Orochimaru, aren’t you?"

I tightened my grip on the sword’s hilt.

"That overrated, third-rate Guardian who’s been blowing up the internet."

He tilted his head slightly.

"Playing with you is going to be fun."

Third-rate?

Who the hell was he to talk?!

A fucking third-rate, clichéd side villain!

Fine! I’m going to rip your balls off.