Chapter 100: The Hand
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: The Hand
"Heh heh, everyone’s dazzled by my handsomeness, aren't they?"
Beneath the dormitory building, bathed in the glow of converging spotlights, Muen remained frozen in his "Thinker" pose atop the massive, lifeless corpse of the monster.
Feeling the gazes from the crowd—filled with shock, adoration, and a tiny hint of something he couldn't quite identify yet—Muen felt an incredible sense of satisfaction.
Between the original host’s past misdeeds and the rumors spread by the News Club, he had been suffering under the weight of prejudice for quite some time.
But now, he finally had the chance to show off. Even if he couldn't erase all the bias in an instant, he could at least improve his image in the eyes of others.
At the very least, they would know.
I.
Muen Campbell.
Am not a scumbag juggling thirteen girls at once.
Nor am I a pervert who thinks of nothing but hitting on women.
I am a tough guy who dares to stand up in a moment of crisis!
Ryan, are you watching?
Right now, those cute underclassmen must be looking at me with eyes full of worship.
Wahahaha! The day has finally come where Muen Campbell is popular with the girls...
"But—why isn't he wearing any clothes?"
Just then, a voice rang out, as innocent as a child’s.
It was just like that fairy tale where the brave little girl speaks the truth.
Eh?
Muen froze.
What "no clothes"?
Who’s not wearing clothes?
The early autumn chill, combined with the little girl’s innocent words, caused Muen to instinctively look down. And then—
Unsurprisingly, he saw a certain part of himself that, if exposed in public, would get him hauled away by the police for indecent exposure or lewd conduct.
"No way..."
The smug curve of Muen’s lips instantly stiffened.
The memories in his mind began to rewind at high speed, back to the moment he stripped off his clothes and drank the potion the Senior Sister had given him.
Then, like a video recorder, it replayed the scenes he had just experienced, frame by frame.
From then until now.
During that process, he had spent half his time looking for clothes to wear.
But had he actually put any on?
...No.
He had forgotten.
Because of the intense battle with Ryan, he had completely forgotten.
—The fact that he was stark naked.
"Aaaargh—Ryan, you bastard! You’ve ruined me!"
It’s one thing to let me forget something so important, but why didn't you remind me at the time?!
You just let me jump down here buck naked?
And in front of hundreds of people?!
Oh my God, just kill me now!
Click—
While Muen was drowning in shame and indignation, he heard that specific sound.
Based on the original host’s memories, he remembered what it was.
It was the sound made when using a special spell called Image-recording magic.
Due to Imperial mandatory decrees, all commonly used Image-recording magic was required to emit a "click" sound when activated.
And so, in the silence of the night:
Click.
Click.
Click.
A chorus of clicks filled the air.
"You... you all, stop taking pictures! This will have a bad influence on Student Muen!"
As the Student Council Secretary, Wei'er naturally couldn't allow such illegal activity to occur. Blushing furiously, she moved to stop the crowd. Meanwhile, mana surged in her own hands, and her "clicks" were so fast they blurred into a single, fluid Click-ick-ick-ick-ick—
"..."
Muen went numb.
His eyes turned hollow, like those of a dead fish.
God, please, just send someone to strangle me.
I can't live like this. At this rate, even if I am a tough guy, I’m going to cry...
"Waaaah... waaaah..."
That’s right, I’m going to cry just like that.
Wait.
Something was wrong.
That wasn't him crying.
I’m the one being publicly executed here, so why is someone else crying?
Muen instinctively followed the sound of the weeping. He soon realized that the crying wasn't coming from the surrounding students, but from the Codex he had pierced.
What the hell? A crappy book can cry?
"This is—"
Wei'er suddenly felt a terrifying chill rise from the soles of her feet.
Her flushed face turned pale instantly. That sense of impending doom, which hadn't dissipated even after the Codex was struck, now hammered against her heart like a sledgehammer.
Without a moment's hesitation—
"Muen Campbell, run!"
"Eh?"
Muen dithered for a split second before snapping out of it. Ignoring the shame of his bare backside, he scrambled to get the hell out of there.
He’d already been seen by everyone anyway; why care about dignity now?
Survival was the priority!
"Waaaaah... waaaaah..."
The moment Muen turned around, the weeping from the Codex grew even more mournful. It felt like a sinister wind blowing incessantly, making one’s skin crawl.
Gurgle, gurgle...
Muen felt the dead flesh beneath his feet begin to writhe again.
Like a swarm of ants scenting honey, the gore surged frantically toward the tattered Codex.
The wailing inside the book ceased momentarily, replaced by the sound of something joyfully devouring flesh.
"Could it be..."
Watching this horrific scene, Wei'er’s mind became clearer than ever before.
She suddenly realized where the "wrongness" she had been feeling came from.
The monster from before... its appearance had been too convenient.
Using a beautiful hostage to draw aggro, being besieged, falling into despair and darkening, turning into a monster, and being besieged again.
Everything followed a logical progression.
Except for one thing: the development of the situation was far removed from their initial demand for Muen Campbell to show himself.
It was as if the evil cultists’ goal was never Muen Campbell at all.
It was... to be besieged.
To be besieged by countless spells.
Thereby obtaining... a massive amount of mana!
And now, they had succeeded.
As the flesh, saturated with mana, was swallowed by the Codex, the heavy book drifted upward. Its pages slowly flipped open like a door swinging wide.
Then, from the deep, dark depths of the pages, came the faint sound of footsteps.
Something... was coming out!
"Don't just stand there! Use your magic! Attack, now!"
Wei'er frantically barked orders at the stunned crowd. Even if the flesh had been immune to magic, the Codex itself surely wasn't.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have tried to dodge earlier!
They had to destroy it before whatever was inside emerged!
In an instant, hundreds of brilliant spells were unleashed simultaneously. Even Wei'er chanted her most powerful spell, launching a desperate assault on the Codex.
But it was too late.
Or perhaps, the moment the mana within the flesh reached a certain threshold, it was already too late.
A hand reached out from the Codex ahead of time.
A slender, fair hand.
The hand spread its fingers, aiming at the incoming torrent of magical energy.
Then, it gently closed into a fist.
A sharp sound, like cloth being torn, rang out. The howling wind between heaven and earth came to an abrupt halt.
It was as if space itself had frozen before that seemingly delicate palm.
The brilliant torrent of magic was compressed by an invisible, titanic force—shrinking, shrinking, and shrinking further.
Finally, like a candy pill favored by children, it was tossed into the darkness within the pages of the Codex.
Gulp.
The sound of swallowing followed.
It sounded utterly satisfied.