Chương 278: My Pride

The sensation of not belonging was a harsh one, but it could be made much worse depending on what you felt you didn't belong to or in… At the moment, the beastfolk felt alien to his own body. The moment the shadow-looking short girl showed him her painting, it was like something clicked inside his brain, and everything was rewired in the blink of an eye. He had no defences against whatever it was that she did to him, and now… He felt like a stranger inside his skin.

There was a small voice in the back of his mind, except that this small voice was him–The real him. Whoever was currently in charge and promptly ignoring the small voice was someone entirely different in the beastfolk's eyes. This man seemed to know no fear nor retreat. This utter madman seemed to be capable of completely ignoring pain as well. As he lunged at the tomboy with his sword… Unfortunately, whilst far more confident and resilient to physical suffering, he did not have greater skills and strength. …

A total antithesis to his opponent. The redhead seemed young, but had the movements and skill of an experienced fighter. She was evading all possible strikes with frightening ease and demonstrated her own brand of boldness by sometimes knocking the sword out of the way with her very own fists. She didn't even wear any armour, but appeared unafraid nonetheless.

By now, if the beastfolk were in control, he would have turned around and taken off running at maximum speed, but this braver–And dumber–Version of him didn't seem to even know what escaping meant. He just kept attacking, no matter how many times his attacks were parried with utter ease, and he received a violent counterattack. Not only was the tomboy skilled, but she was also awfully strong. By just looking at her, one wouldn't expect such frightful brute force, but it did suit her looks.

All of the other girls, or beings, around were rather dainty, dressed like they were someone's precious jewels, but the redhead? She was a bit rougher around the edges, definitely the kind of girl rascal boys who spend their time running outside would fall for. A punch landed squarely against the beastfolk's jaw. There was a low sound as bones ground against one another… A tooth popped out, and he was sent spinning around and straight to the ground like a bag of trash.

Because of the painting, he couldn't even try to beg for his life like a wretch. He could only scream inside his own mind for that other him to actually do the right thing and stop fighting a meaningless, unwinnable fight. The sword in his hand and the dagger sheathed at his waist suddenly flew away at the will of the blue-eyed blonde. Judging by the way they all stood, she seemed to be the leader of the bunch. Alas, not being in control of his own body, he couldn't do anything with the information.

He could only be a silent observer as his body was pulled from the ground and put in a tight chokehold. His left arm was locked in place by the hold, and his right arm was unable to do anything due to how his opponent had positioned herself, allowing her to suffocate him all she wanted without any risks of him being able to fight back against it. All he could do was meaninglessly try to pull her arm away from his neck. She was too strong for him to do anything.

He could feel her muscles expanding as she pressed tighter and tighter. The sides of his vision began darkening. The darkness grew until only a small circle of light remained, and then… He felt himself fall and hit the ground.

"Fuck… Huh?" The word he wanted to come out actually came out. He was back in control of his body, whether because whatever the shadowy girl had gone had run out, or because of the near-death experience just now, he had no idea, but with his body pumping with adrenaline, he made the move to start running away.

'Don't''Move' It was like the articulations in his knees stopped working. He heard voices behind him, and then footsteps. The knightess had caught up to him, and this whole debacle meant that he hadn't been unlucky. Those girls were working with her. She stared at him for a few moments, but the small blonde approached and pulled on the feathery bottom of her dress. The knightess bent down to let the girl whisper something to her.

He had no idea what was said, but the instructor of the Unwanted Presences patted the girl's head before taking a step back, leaving the stage to the blonde.

"Behold!" She held up a deer plush, and it exploded with black smoke. Something swung, quickly dispersing the dark cloud… Now, the beastfolk was paralysed not by the coercing words of the shy girl, but by his own terror. A tall, gaunt deer monstrosity now stood over him.

"... May the great Universal System have pity on my soul…" The creature bit right down on the man's head and torso, quickly swallowing him whole without even chewing once. It then turned back into the cute plush, leaving no trace of where the man's body had gone. Only blood tainting the grass was left. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

I am so proud of my girls. If I could, I would shed a tear of pride. They had performed admirably well. Anathema had demonstrated the special skill she had developed by becoming one of my little sisters, and it was grandiose. Via a piece of art, she could convey emotions and feelings in a quantity absurd enough to directly affect people.

The beastfolk had been infested with a strong fighting spirit, pushing him to fight no matter what, and it wasn't just interesting because of what the painting had done, but also because it had used a positive emotion instead of a negative one. This meant that Anathema wasn't constrained to only wielding negative emotions. She could be very flexible. She also told me that she believed her creations would be able to do more in the future, and that she just needed to keep experimenting to figure things out.

I would personally be satisfied even if her ability were limited to what she had shown today. Well, I wouldn't mind even if she hadn't gotten any special ability, to be honest. She's my little sister because I like her, not because she can be useful to me. I am the big sister here anyway, if anyone needs to be useful to the others, it is me and me alone who has to take that duty.

The only reason I want to develop their strengths is so that they won't be in danger if they ever have to deal with something without me around. Besides, spending all of their time inside the Mindscape would definitely get boring eventually. In any case, Ophelie had also shown something new today. I had always known that she had the potential to do more with her plushes, and today, she had discovered something new, and it was that she could imbue transformative properties into her plush.

Of course, the first to get this treatment was her favourite. The deer plush she always carried around, which she called 'Gille'. I suppose the monster was called Gille as well, then. The creature did not seem too intelligent at the moment. Ophelie believed that it had limited thoughts of its own and would mainly follow instructions or act to direct external stimuli.

Regardless of its intelligence level, it was a rather imposing creature, standing at over two meters in height and clearly packing quite a punch in its skinny body. It almost looks like one of those hungry deer creatures... This description refers to way more than a single kind of monster, but they are all deer-looking things that happen to want to feast on anything that has a pulse. Now that I think about it, I am just missing the antlers to be part of that club, heh?

Maybe you can be a deerfolk in a final trial Good point… I would definitely be gorgeous, too. In any case, I signed my little sisters to sink back on the ground to hide as I resumed my hunt throughout the forest, going through all elevated positions, and slaughtering the bastards present there. Some of them were harder to deal with, but they really weren't all that strong. My knightly form had an obvious edge over them in both skill and brute strength.

The only one that was actually problematic was a mage with quite the swift spellcasting capabilities, but I just ended up throwing a javelin through his chest to solve the issue. Mmh… I think I got them all… Oh, there that guy is. I looked up at a distant pillar-like rock protruding from the ground, and spotted the dark spectre staring at me. This guy truly is a stalker. I bet he already found new allies to try to deal with me.

I waved his way, but he just faded away without returning the gesture like the uneducated, impolite fucker that he is. Regardless, I made my way back to where my students were located, finding the knights and mages still in place. The attackers are dead. You guys can relax already. I scanned the crowd as I lifted the dome and pulled the three Unwanted Presences to me. Are you guys alright?

They assured me that they were fine, but their hearts were beating fast, and the fear they emanated was consequent enough for me to clearly sense it even in this form. Breathe in and out slowly. There is no need to be afraid. I took care of the problem, but if you are still worried, just sit down here. I manifest steel walls to protect them. They wouldn't be shot at again, but it was just to reassure them. It was normal for them to react like this.

Most people who weren't used to such things would react the same way, or worse. At least they weren't screaming or having panic attacks. Even now, they know how to behave. This must be why I enjoyed teaching them. They acted in the proper manner and listened to me without question. They were good kids, even if they really weren't kids at all. While they recovered from the shock, I approached the knights and mages. Did anything happen while I was gone? Anything weird? An attack? Sightings?

"Nothing whatsoever, Miss Maya. We should have gone with you instead of staying put. It seems like the attackers only intended to try to shoot the Unwanted Presences""It might be the work of another nation, or perhaps that small pro-republic group made up of surviving bureaucrat filth. They would know a lot about carrying out assassination missions" I doubt it is either. Did the mages not notice? The wooden bolts those guys are using are actually enchanted. I had to thank Nara for pointing it out.

I wouldn't have known at all otherwise.

"Of course, we noticed, but they were probably enchanted to deal more damage or something like that, right?" I would recommend that you check out these enchantments more closely. Judging by the way some of those guys expressed themselves while I was carving them up, they are Universal System Fundamentalists. Or as I liked to call them, absolute lunatics in love with the Universal System for some obscure reason. They spoke amongst themselves after reading my words.

The maniacs that worshipped the Universal System and wholeheartedly believed it to be the greatest way of power might seem like fools–Which they were–But they were dangerous fools who set out to gather all who possessed special systems, or who seemed 'system-blessed'. I would definitely do a killing there with Nara, but I didn't really want to get involved with them. They are madmen and do have some strong members due to their hunt for 'like-minded' people.

I walked past the guards and stopped in front of one in particular. I pretended to start writing something down, but I really just focused on 'Smith's Worst Nightmare' and ripped off his helm like it was paper, revealing the face hidden underneath it.

"What are you–Who the hell is this motherfucker?" You guys should pay more attention. Or is it normal for you to end up with more people than you started with?