CHAPTER 665: LITTLE SKELETON AND BLACK CAT (9)

"Let go... let go of me, you bastard! I’m going to tear you into shreds!" Lucius fumed, struggling to escape from the Veteran player’s grasp to no avail, for the player had secured its four limbs with one hand while using the other to grasp its neck, preventing it from biting around.

Despite its ability to transform into a spear, the skill would only be effective when aimed from a considerable distance. Now that it had fallen into the enemy’s hands, if it still dared to transform, it would only be exposing its special nature and make the situation worse instead!

Damn it, damn it, damn it! It had truly messed up this time around!

It had always avoided the players to spare itself from the trouble, only briefly showing its presence to those it had deemed to be harmless and could provide it food. Who could have foreseen that it would end up in such a peril due to acting rashly?

And it was so close to reaching the goal too!

The players could only hear a series of sharp ’meow’s, unable to comprehend what the black cat was saying, but it did not prevent them from making a guess based on the cat’s frenzied struggle. "Shu-Ge, is that... is that a nightmare creature as well?" one of the newbies asked, unsure.

All this time, the nightmare creatures they had encountered were either ghosts or ferocious-looking objects, such as the clay statues in the art room. While the black cat... honestly, it looked no different than a random stray, making them hesitate to act ruthless.

But the Veteran player called Shu-Ge coldly shattered their fantasy. "It tried to kill me just now."

The players were stunned.

"It knew that I’m the strongest here, so it wanted to get rid of me first. But you’re right about one thing..." he shifted his gaze to the black cat, a cruel gleam flashing in his eyes. "I, too, have never seen such a nightmare creature in a low-level Cycle before."

The black cat stiffened upon hearing that, a flicker of panic crossing its feline face.

—That was the exact scene the little skeleton stumbled into after painstakingly searching for the black cat everywhere.

"The bus... the bus is here!" The remaining two players cried out in relief, tears brimming in their red-rimmed and exhausted eyes. They instinctively ran outside the haunted school, all the while calling out to the veteran player, "Shu-Ge... hurry up! Just forget about that cat!"

"No..." Lucius’ green pupils dilated sharply at the sight of players running toward the bus. It was already so close... the goal was literally right in front of it, just a little more and it would be able to leave this damned place that had almost driven it insane. And now, it could only watch as the precious chance slipped out of its claws once more...? At the notion that it had to spend yet another excruciating dormant period, not knowing when it would end, sent the black cat spiraling into a mad frenzy. It struggled harder in the veteran player’s grasp, unable to extricate itself. "No—NO! YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE HERE!!!"

Impatient and irritated, Shu-Ge drew out a weapon and aimed it toward the black cat’s struggling figure—

Every single frame was embedded in the little skeleton’s ghostly eyes in an excruciatingly slow motion.

It clearly possessed no beating heart, and at that moment, it could feel something deep inside it being stretched thin to the point of snapping. The bones in its entire body rattled. Entirely out of reflex, it opened its bony jaw and—screamed!

"...!!!"

Don’t hurt Lucius... DON’T HURT MY FRIEND!

The little skeleton’s cry had reached a decibel no human could hear. The first to receive the impact was the school building—the windows shattered all at once, sending glittering fragments of glass falling from above akin to a sudden shower. The players did not even realize what was happening; they only felt an inexplicable buzz stabbing their minds, causing their movements to falter.

Something wet and warm trickled out of their ears, and they raised a hand to wipe it, only to discover blood on their fingers.

Their eardrums had ruptured.

The two newbies did not even have the chance to cry out before they collapsed one after another to the ground. The veteran player, Shu-Ge, fared a little better as he only staggered back a few steps, shaking his head to dispel the ringing in his ears. "W-What the hell..." he had no idea why he suddenly went deaf or where the enemy was hiding. Hell, it could not even identify what kind of attack it was!

Gasping for breath, he tried to stay awake but the dizziness was getting more and more intense.

As his body hit the floor, he dazedly caught sight of a small figure emerging from the depths of the darkness and a pair of green eyes blazing akin to ghostly fires.

"F...uck..." was the last thing he said before his vision turned dark.

Meanwhile, Lucius, who was affected by the dizzy spell as well, took a brief moment to recover before springing to its feet. First, it surveyed the three unconscious players whose fate remained unknown, then the little skeleton who was rapidly approaching with its own small and jerky steps.

"Y-You..." it blinked once, twice, before the realization fully dawned on him, causing its eyes to brighten at once. "You’re awesome! Hahaha, I know you can do it—ugh!"

The black cat’s words were interrupted midway when the little skeleton caught—or to be precise, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. Its eyes bulged out in disbelief as it was lifted off the ground, "W-What are you... doing..." it choked out with much difficulty, its four limbs clawing helplessly in the air.

But the little skeleton paid no heed to its suffering.

It was absolutely furious.

It had so many things to say and complain about—like the black cat’s impulsivity, recklessness, and its utter disregard toward its own safety. It also wanted to question why the black cat decided to act alone, why it was so anxious to leave even though the little skeleton had always been right here to accompany it, why the black cat never asked it for help, why, why, why... It had so many questions, yet words failed it at the last moment.

In the end, it could only say through gritted teeth, "You... almost died..." then repeated it again, louder this time. "You almost died!"

The little skeleton was so livid that its entire skeletal body was trembling uncontrollably. If it could express itself more clearly, perhaps its little face would have been distorted by now.

"Cough cough!" Lucius opened its mouth to speak, only to be wrecked by a series of coughs.

Only then did the little skeleton release it, though its gaze and demeanor remained frosty, tinged with a barely suppressed anger.

Taking a couple of deep breaths, Lucius finally spoke and surprisingly the first thing it did was to admit its mistake. "Okay, I was indeed a little hasty just now. It was my fault. I’m sorry for scaring you and..." its voice dropped into a low murmur, "thank you, for coming to my rescue."

The way it appeared so sincere and so genuinely guilty made the little skeleton choke. It couldn’t continue to be angry even if it wanted to. Alas, it did not want Lucius to know that it was so easily appeased, hence it could only put on a frosty demeanor and continue to sulk.

"Hey, don’t be like this," Lucius bumped its furry head softly on the little skeleton’s leg, grinning, "Isn’t this the moment we’ve been waiting for? Come on, we have to hurry before the bus disappears!"

The black cat first went to check on the players, only to heave a huge sigh of relief when it discovered they were still alive, just experiencing some shock due to the high decibel noise. "Good, good..." it patted its chest with a paw, "Fortunately they’re still alive. Geez, I never knew your voice could be so destructive."

The little skeleton was dumbfounded by the feline’s reaction. "Didn’t you... want to... kill..."

It had not even finished its sentence when the black cat almost jumped three feet high, shouting indignantly. "How did you even think of that? Am I that kind of evil cat in your eyes?! My plan was just to knock them out, okay? Knock them out!"

The little skeleton regarded the black cat with skepticism. It had reasons to suspect that the black cat was taking it for a fool, but unfortunately it had no proof.

Did Lucius not intend to eliminate these players before it got caught? At least, that’s what it had said last time!

Nonetheless, it did not change the fact that everything had turned out for the best. The players could survive and they, too, could board the bus along to leave this Cycle!

Next, the little skeleton and the black cat carried the three players to the bus one by one.

To be precise, it was the little skeleton who did all the hard labor, while the black cat, with its small and soft body, only cheered from the side. After the players were secured, the two of them tentatively walked deeper into the bus, and before long, the door closed behind them.

"Finally..." Lucius was so excited that its voice trembled faintly. "Finally we can get out of here..."

On the other hand, the little skeleton’s reaction was more muted. Rather than excitement, the emotion that dominated it at the moment was curiosity. It’s like it had returned to the first day it gained sentience, observing everything around it with ghostly green eyes.