Chapter 88: Time to do something interesting~
"That was cool, Michael."
Sunlight broke through the dust. Through the shattered wall. Hit Alex’s face.
Golden light. Traced his profile. Hair glowing.
That moment. He looked like a hero.
Michael swallowed the pill. Held Flora tight. Tears streaming.
"Thank you..."
Voice cracking.
"Hero."
Alex looked at him. Paused.
This scene... He’d seen it somewhere. One Punch Man? Maybe.
Felt... pretty good.
He waved. Turned away. Back to them. Silhouette against the light.
Mysterious. Profound.
Michael stared. That moment. He saw divinity.
Then—
PFFFFFFFFFFFT.
Loud. Very loud.
The atmosphere shattered.
Michael blinked. Flora blinked. The rescued people blinked.
Alex kept walking. Didn’t look back.
"Gulu?" Pie bounced.
The hero’s back. Still mysterious. Still profound.
Next instant.
Under Pie. JB screamed. Nearly flattened.
"RISE!"
Black tendrils exploded. Shot upward. Wrapped around Pie. WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH.
Lifting. Pulling JB out.
Michael’s eyes widened. "LOOK OUT!"
The tendrils whipped. CRACK CRACK CRACK. Slammed into Pie. Again. Again. AGAIN.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Dark energy detonated. Smoke erupted. Dust clouds everywhere. Ground trembling.
Michael grabbed Flora. Pulled her back. "Alex!"
The smoke billowed. Thick. Black. Can’t see anything.
Silence.
Then—
Wind blew.
Dust cleared.
Pie stood there. 13 meters tall. Yellow and gleaming.
Not a scratch.
"Gulu~"
Alex yawned. Scratched his head.
400% defense. Armor auto-configured. The moment JB moved.
8-grade cultist? Please.
Caelum couldn’t break it. SS-rank water serpent couldn’t break it.
What’s this trash?
Alex’s thought flickered.
Pie’s body shifted. Eyes narrowed. Glared down.
"Gulu!"
Vicious.
Then—
CLENCHED.
SQUEEEEEZE.
CRUNCH.
JB’s scream cut off. Body flattened. Completely.
Red splattered. Pooled on stone.
The black tendrils writhed. Convulsed. Then—
Dissolved. Like smoke. Gone.
Something clattered. Fell from above.
The blue-black teacup. Spinning. Hit the ground.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Spiderwebbed.
Shattered.
Pieces scattered.
Silent.
Alex hummed. Little tune. Walked forward.
Task reward that good? Thought it’d be harder.
Then—
[TASK INCOMPLETE]
He froze.
Eyes narrowed. Alert.
What?
Beneath Pie. Black liquid pooled. Thick. Spreading.
"Gulu?!" Pie jumped. Disgusted. Shrunk back. 1.45 meters. Landed beside Alex.
The liquid kept flowing. More. More. MORE.
Alex’s brow furrowed.
"Good thing I sent Lilian away." Muttered. "She won’t be able to walk if she saw this."
His mind raced.
8-grade Beast Master. Two contracted beasts. Two weapons.
The teacup was one. This liquid...
The second weapon?
Next instant—
WHOOOOSH.
The black water surged. Up the walls. Across the floor. Through the rubble.
Searching. Hungry.
Sounds leaked out. Wet. Slithering. Desperate.
Looking for life.
The building—empty. Evacuated. Nothing.
It turned.
Shot toward Alex.
SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH.
Pie lunged forward. WHAM. Body flattened. Crushed a wave. Black water splattered.
Protected Alex. Protected Michael and Flora.
The liquid recoiled. Didn’t linger.
Changed direction.
Toward the survivors.
One of JB’s lackeys. Trying to crawl away. Injured. Slow.
The water reached him.
"NO—AHHHHH!"
Scream cut short.
The black liquid wrapped around him. Covered. Consumed.
His body withered. Dried. Husk.
The water absorbed. Volume increased. DOUBLED.
It split. Multiple streams. WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH.
Every direction.
Toward the helpless. The wounded. The trapped.
Alex’s eyes darted.
The receptionist. The friendly one. Lying near the stage. Can’t move. Gasping.
Others too. Authors. Staff. All immobile.
Lambs for slaughter.
Alex’s thought flashed.
"Pie! Move!"
The slime shot forward. Bouncing. BOING BOING BOING.
Crashed into black streams. SPLASH. Scattered them.
Left. Right. WHAM WHAM WHAM.
But too many directions. Too much liquid. Can’t cover everything.
One stream slipped past.
Toward the receptionist. Crawling up her leg. Up her body.
She screamed.
Alex’s eyes widened.
"what the fuck is this matching system? Holy fuck!"
"Why is it ALWAYS this type?!"
The liquid reached her neck. Rising.
Then—
PRESSURE.
Massive. Crushing. Descended from above.
The black water froze. Every stream. Stopped mid-motion.
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
Drumbeats. From the sky. Rhythmic. Powerful.
The liquid trembled. Smoke rising. Evaporating. Hissing.
All streams retreated. Pulled back. Converged.
Center of the room.
The black water swirled. Rose up. Formed a shape.
Human form.
JB.
Reconstructed. But different.
Eyes blood-red. Body half-liquid. Dripping. Unstable.
He pointed at Alex, finger trembling.
"YOU!"
Voice distorted. Echoing. Furious.
"You will die!!"
Alex blinked.
"Huh?"
BOOM.
Figure dropped from above. Landed hard. Crater formed. Dust exploded.
Wilson stood. Straightened. Brushed off his coat.
"Noisy."
JB’s eyes widened.
Wilson moved.
Pulled out a black rod. Simple. Plain.
WHOOSH.
Swung.
CRACK.
Hit JB’s torso. Body bent. Flew sideways.
WHAM.
Hit the wall. Bounced off.
Wilson appeared beside him. Instant.
THWACK.
Rod struck down. JB crashed into floor.
Stone cracked.
He tried to rise.
WHACK.
Back down.
No beast summoned. Just the rod. Just Wilson.
Three hits. Four. Five.
JB couldn’t move. Body twitching. Liquid leaking.
Wilson grabbed him. One hand. Lifted.
Pulled out a container. Black metal. Glowing runes.
Tossed JB inside.
Sealed it.
The container vibrated. BZZZZZZZZ.
JB’s scream. Muffled. Agonized.
Inside— Body shredding. Reforming. Shredding again.
The ground trembled.
BOOM BOOM BOOM.
Footsteps. Heavy. Multiple.
People rushed up the stairs. Through the broken wall. Dozens.
JB’s loyalists. Authors. Staff. Eyes black. Veins bulging. Corrupted.
Surrounded Wilson.
The container shook harder. JB’s laughter. Distorted. Echoing out.
"DIE!"
The corrupted lunged.
Then—
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH.
Figures appeared. Wearing badges. Official uniforms.
Moved like lightning.
SPLAT.
First corrupted—blood mist.
SPLAT.
Second—gone.
SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT.
Ten seconds. All eliminated.
The officers moved through the room. Checking survivors. Carrying them out. Efficient. Professional.
Michael looked at Alex. Long stare.
"I’ll remember you."
Voice firm.
Alex waved.
"No problem."
Paused.
"If you want to write me into a book..."
Grin.
"Make me the super handsome protagonist."
Thought.
"Give me cool powers."
"Time manipulation."
"Immortality."
"Reality warping."
"Dimensional travel."
"Absolute—"
"Having lot of wives, really good in bed and my seeds can enhance their power!"
Michael laughed. Some happy tears come out.
"Deal."
He saw the Yellow slime, bouncing up and down, saying goodbye to him.
How about "Weakest Slime beat all the gods.
Officers guided him and Flora away.
The container stopped vibrating.
Wilson opened it.
Inside—
Just a head. JB’s head. Eyes wide. Still alive. Barely.
Wilson smiled. Cold.
"Talk."
Leaned closer.
"Tell us every cultist you know."
Pause.
"We might let you live."
JB’s eyes rolled. Bloodshot.
"Dream... on..."
Voice weak. Defiant.
Alex walked over. Looked down. At the severed head.
Remembered. The things JB did to Lilian. Attempted.
His smile changed.
"Wilson."
Wilson glanced.
"Yeah?"
"I have an idea."
"What kind?"
Alex’s grin widened.
"Interrogation idea."