Chapter 288: [Freedom Dove] - Nerio’s part (40) - A Battle No Longer Belonging to Humanity
"But then again, it’s true— the servant of something useless is also useless."
Nerio’s feet hovered five centimeters above the ground, never touching it. A snowflake bloomed beneath him with every step he took, the cold cracking the earth open. The tinkling of the little bells was oddly pleasant.
Luis watched the small figure steadily approach and swallowed instinctively. He opened his mouth to say something, but Nerio suddenly lifted his hand; his index finger snapped out, and Luis’s body was flung to one side, collapsing among the rubble, pain making him curl up as fresh blood bled from the corner of his mouth.
Still, he shouted, "Nerio, don’t— they are humans! Leonard is your foremost believer!"
At that, Nerio covered his mouth and laughed, his eyes curving like a bit of fox’s. He beckoned, and Luis’s body was dragged back to its original place, sliding over stone and dirt.
Thrown to the ground, Luis watched Nerio bow his head; his gaze drooped as he looked at them. From this angle, Nerio’s pale blue eyes had lost their light, replaced by a pure suspicion: "Oh—I thought Thomas was human too. The new hope, the new light of humanity?"
Luis stiffened, forcing himself to remain calm in Nerio’s presence. But Nerio only smiled and said, "The sound of your heartbeat is noisy to me, human."
Luis lowered his head—of course; Nerio was still angered. It made sense. Perhaps Thomas’s people were also slain by Nerio, or possibly Luther’s arrival was arranged by Nerio—allowed to happen so that humanity would be buried here, whether this generation or the next...
"They... they do not represent humanity..." For the first time in his life, Luis stammered.
Nerio passed him; the hem of his cloak brushed Luis’s face, and a chill washed through him. He began to cough violently, pain knocking at his organs.
Nerio hunched slightly, his eyes meeting Leonard’s, and he had a faint frown. "How ugly."
Leonard opened his eyes wide and looked at Nerio. Then his lids fell—he did not shed tears; perhaps his tears had already been burned dry.
"That one said you are my top believer. I ought not to kill you—but I very much want to kill you, kill everyone. What do you say?" His expression was serious, as if asking a sincere question from the bottom of his heart.
Leonard suddenly began to sob: "Sir... can’t you have only me?"
He stared at Nerio with genuine terror. "If humans must die by your hand, then let me be the only one—sob sob sob."
Nerio narrowed his eyes at him. Leonard lowered his gaze, tears streaming down through the blood and flesh of his face. It hurt—yet somehow, he didn’t seem to feel it.
"How clever of you. I detest you, Leonard."
In the end, you’re still just a human.
Nerio suddenly straightened. Leonard’s eyes flew wide open; by now, he wasn’t even sobbing anymore, but his tears continued to fall uncontrollably, as if his body had forgotten how to stop.
Nerio raised his hand. A pale blue light immediately enveloped them—like a gentle current smoothing away every pain in their bodies. Yet the regeneration came so swiftly that the agony of it was even greater than their wounds had been.
It was as though Nerio chose to save them, but didn’t want them to feel relief.
Luis felt the boy’s small hand pat his head. Nerio giggled softly: "I was only teasing you. I’m a good child—how could I possibly kill humans?"
Luis froze, speechless.
Meanwhile, Luther’s body ahead of them had reformed. He screamed in torment, his face twisted to the extreme. By now, he was hardly even himself anymore.
Thick, black fluid oozed endlessly from the joints of his body.
Nerio frowned, his voice cold. "I truly despise filthy things like this. This is not fun at all."
It sounded like nothing more than a casual complaint—but Nerio didn’t even move. Instantly, Luther’s body was devoured by ice, frozen solid, completely stripped of any threat.
And yet, in that very moment, Nerio suddenly felt something burst within his chest. He parted his lips—and before he could even react, blood welled up and spilled out, soaking his lips and chin, dripping down onto the beautiful clothes he’d been so fond of.
Nerio’s eyes widened in shock. Instinctively, he lowered his head slightly and covered his mouth with one hand, but all that did was stain his palm crimson.
Drip... drip...
Blood seeped through the gaps of Nerio’s fingers, falling to the ground—the sound echoing louder than it should have.
"Ne... Nerio!" Sensing something was wrong, Leonard suddenly shouted, instinctively trying to rush forward.
"Stay back." Nerio’s voice was cold and sharp. In an instant, Leonard and the others froze in place, unable to move.
Boom! Crack! Rumble!
At that moment, a violent change erupted in the skies above.
The crimson sky suddenly split open as a black hole appeared—growing larger and larger until it spewed forth a colossal beam of dark energy, shooting straight down toward Luther’s ice-encased body!
The overwhelming force blasted outward, pushing the humans far back. It was as if Nerio himself had driven them away—and they understood perfectly well: this battle was no longer theirs to fight.
Nerio’s small figure stood unmoving amidst the storm, his cloak billowing wildly around him. He raised his hand and wiped the corner of his mouth, pulling his lips into a faintly amused smile. The blood vanished as though it had never been there, leaving behind lips far too red—like he’d just drunk human blood.
Before him, Luther’s body began to transform. A grotesque creature emerged, seemingly molded from torn, rotting flesh, quickly reshaping into its own muscular structure, glistening red. Countless mouths of varying sizes appeared across its body, each lined with jagged, shark-like teeth that jutted outward.
The creature’s body was massive, triangular, with its long apex scraping the ground. It stood over five meters tall, its coiling tendrils wrapping tightly around its frame—some even longer than its body, whipping and twisting ceaselessly.
A gaping maw opened from the center of its form, lined with needle-like fangs. Its long tongue swept across them before it spoke—yes, spoke:
"This world no longer has gods!"
The voice echoed—distant, eerie, as if reverberating from beyond the bounds of this world. It made the head spin and the vision blur, like a nightmare made sound.
"The so-called gods were torn apart by me long ago! And you... will share their fate!"
The mouth roared furiously, and its enormous tentacles lashed out toward Nerio!
Boom!
The sheer force rippled through the entire dungeon.
Leonard’s great wings unfurled into a massive shield, protecting the surviving humans behind him. Even so, the aftershock alone nearly tore him apart.
Nerio... Nerio...
Leonard could only whisper the name instinctively—at the same time, Nerio’s voice rang out, lazy and mocking, dripping with disdain and ridicule he didn’t even bother to conceal:
"A mere fragment dares challenge me with that tone?"