NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94: The Grand-Disciple of a Legendary Sannin!
Meg’s eyes had become so wide that they seemed to pop out in the next moment.
Under her cloak, her breasts heaved up and down like air was struggling to stay in her lungs.
Kai smiled seeing those expressions.
Before Morning Mist could utter a single word, Petyr added more, a hint of a smile playing on the corners of his lips. “Yes. I am a servant," he said, nodding. "You must know me from what you… Contestants call Random Worlds. Almost none of you know my young appearance, so it's natural none recognizes me.
“I am Petyr Baelish, also known as Littlefinger. Does it ring any bell?"
The shock on Meg's face had turned to appalling horror.
No longer she was standing straight with her chin pointed up. The moon shone above them, showing the crumpling of her face. Oh, no. This wasn't an expression. Her face really crumpled, many paper-like folds appearing on it. Then her entire body turned white, becoming nothing but a complex, giant origami.
Kai again smiled.
He had already known about this little trick of hers.
Selene's enhanced Earth Vibration Sense had already scanned a region of a 200-meter radius. She had picked up two more presences hiding behind the trees. Even if she hadn't sensed those presences, Kai would have known that the Meg in front of him wasn't real. With his Advance Emotions Manipulation, he could sense all emotions around him, especially when there was only one target.
This paper-Meg had expressed herself masterfully, but it had also lacked emotions to back them up.
Insects crawled, birds flew, and the leaves rustled as two more paper Megs walked out of the darkness. They too were wearing black cloaks with a chin-high collar, patterned with small red clouds.
"Impossible!" one Meg said. "What nonsense! Humph! I have to say, you got me to lose my bearings, but that's what it was. A mere shock. No Main Storyline Character can come out of the Random Worlds. There are no exceptions. I don't care how you got to know about my name and my purpose, but it was a grievous mistake for you to just call me out here, Red."
Petyr guffawed as the sneer on Kai's lips became too obvious.
"Let's move on," Petyr said, looking at the two Megs. "Now that we have introduced ourselves, I must put forward the proposal. Margrethe II of House Ingrid, serve Red. Become his slave, servant, or whatever you want to name yourself. Serve him as I do…
"... and you will live."
…
A silence slithered over the hills, brushing against the dark leaves.
Then, out of nowhere, an eerie laugh echoed, sending a shiver running down all spines.
“Hehe… Hahaha!”
The two Megs chuckled, sneered, snorted, and pointed at Kai with disdain.
"Slave? Servant?" one Meg said, stepping out. "I have thought too highly of you, I am afraid, Red. I thought you were a shrewd person. Your aptitude and deduction skills are beyond your age, I agree. You may be the Butcher of the 2nd floor. I couldn't have cared less. You have Dementor's Blessing, and you caught me off-guard last time. I commend you for that.
"But you dare to presume that you can take me on and threaten to kill me? Have you lost your mind? Do you even know who I am and what I am capable of?"
Petyr replied to this admonition with a low chuckle of his own. "What ARE you capable of, pray tell?"
"Humph!" the second Meg snorted. "The little strength you have clouded your eyes," she said. "You haven't even recognized my robes, have you? Tch! Tch! The first time I met you, I knew you had grand ambitions, but you are ignorant. Ignorant beyond redemption.
“Ambition and ignorance have always been a deadly combination, young man. How many Contestants like you have I seen dying because they reached out for something, and yet be ignorant about it? I have lost count, to tell the truth."
Kai and Petyr shared a look.
They indeed did not know what she was talking about, and what was the significance of those robes.
"This is the exact reason my master wants you," Petyr said, his face now solid and expressionless. "Kneel, my lady. Kneel and serve him as you serve the Temple, which cares about you as one cares about shit."
The paper Megs went silent. From somewhere, the real Meg was watching him, Kai knew. Yet, even Selene's Skill hadn't picked up on her presence.
"You know nothing," one paper Meg said finally. "You may be strong, Red. But haven't you heard?”
A loud flap of wings made Kai and Petyr craned their necks up.
High in the sky, the real Morning Mist was hovering midair, with two huge paper wings on her back. It was from her Kai learned the next words, which he would remember for thousands of years to come.
“Skills make soldiers, Abilities make Kings!”
Then the three Megs said simultaneously, their voices resonating with each other, power brimming out of their paper-mouth like strikes of thunder on a cloudless night.
"At the height of my career," they said, proudly, "I was the personal student of one of the founding members of Akatsuki from the Naruto World, Konan. You lack even the intelligence to show fear upon hearing this name, I know.
“I am the Grand-disciple of a legendary Sannin, you fool! I am over 100-years-old. Yes, I have lost my Stats, Skills, my Items, and my Tiles, but I still have my most potent Ability. You think I fear you? Wake up!"
Kai felt the weight of those meaningless words on his shoulder. But it was the Character who rebuked Meg.
"Words are nothing but wind if one doesn't know what they mean," Petyr said. "You were this, you were that, but now, you are nothing. You may have been some prominent figure. Yet, now you refuse to see the truth in front of your eyes because it looks absurd and makes little sense?"
Petyr went as far as he could toward Meg. "You speak of Abilities," he continued, "then let me tell you something. My lord has 6 Abilities. Four of them are Elementary. One is Advance. Now, listen it, my lady, and listen it carefully.
“One of his Abilities… is Elite!”
Meg gazed at Kai as if he was a monument that had just parted the earth, coming out into the world from an ancient past. She opened his mouth to say something, but Petyr didn't give her the chance.
"If Abilities make Kings, then my lord here will be an Emperor," Petyr proclaimed. "Kneel before him now, and you will not regret it like you regret your choice of coming into this world at the behest of the High Priest."
Kai looked at Meg in her shocked silence.
He had never thought of fighting her. All Kai wanted was to crush the meaning of existence for Meg. He had handled many enemies, and people like Meg submitted only to a force unimaginably greater than them. A fight had only one result, her death, Kai knew. But in this war of words, he could get much more.
"These are just… claims," Meg said, looking down at Kai. "Even if you have these many Abilities, and a Worth to match them, you can't match the monsters of the higher floors. The High Priest would never let me go."
It was then Kai knew that the time had come to let her know that he was the only monster she needed to care about right now, and forever. He stepped forward and kept walking until he reached the middle of the open area.
Behind him, Petyr vanished, and the three Megs gawked at the sight.
Kai's hand flicked, and a Fang appeared in his hand, bringing their attention towards him.
Another flick of his hand and a black-colored Book came out in the open. When he opened it, Cersei walked out of a smoky veil and sneered contemptuously at the red-haired woman. Then, a mass of silver mist left Kai and materialized as the Ghost Serpent.
Selene slithered around his shoulders, hissing at the emotionless clones.
For the first time, Kai opened his mouth, looking up.
-If you want a reason to bend your knees, then I will give you one,- he hissed.
The hiss echoed so loudly, terrifyingly, and filled with such potent murderous intent that all the nearby Pokemon cried, leaving their nest.
Kai’s chest burned hot as he called out the despair hibernating within him. A black cloak appeared around him, as his feet left the ground. The tattered strips of cloth billowed behind him without wind, and an overwhelming sense of despair and depression spread out along with blue-frosty cold.
Kai looked up towards the sky full of twinkling stars and smiled.
It was from him Meg heard the next words, which she would remember for thousands of years to come… until her death.
"I… have… Glitch."
