Chapter 270: [Freedom Dove] - Nerio’s part (22)
Aria felt like time was being stretched out, dragging sluggishly, clinging together.
At this moment, she didn’t even dare to open her eyes. It felt like darkness was gradually consuming everything, sticky and damp, as if something was crawling up her, spreading all over, disgusting, revolting, utterly revolting!
"Hey Aria, what’s wrong? Let’s go."
Right then, someone suddenly brushed against her. Aria jolted in fright, panic flooding her as she looked to the side, only to see Damian’s worried face staring back at her. She felt the sweat and tears streaming down her cheeks, her heartbeat racing so fast and violently it seemed ready to burst out of her chest.
Pathetic.
She wiped her tears, stood up, and softly said, "It’s nothing."
[Oh, strong girl]
[Only she got affected—if it were a normal person, they’d probably be screaming already and give Mr. C the chance to drag them off for treatment, ha ha ha]
[Escaping today doesn’t mean escaping tomorrow. Just wait and see, ordinary people can’t survive here]
[A bunch of pessimists!]
[They’re just being realistic, come on!]
The group quickly gathered in the schoolyard. The campus looked even gloomier and oppressively heavy at night, unnaturally so.
The students rushed out of the school when the bell rang, but now the sound had vanished completely, as if only they remained in the whole building.
Bella whispered, "Just now, someone suddenly started crying—and ,Mr. C dragged them away in the end! That was an artificial esper. What’s more, I also felt a bit of sadness just now. Luckily, I stopped myself in time... that was really dangerous."
Damian said quietly, "Leonard was dragged away too..."
Bella didn’t care much: "He won’t die."
Susan added, "Let’s head back."
As Luther had said, they no longer lost their way after dealing with that hollow tree. Still, the heavy night made the forest seem disturbingly eerie, tree trunks appearing like countless faces staring back at them.
Damian tightened his grip on Aria’s hand, afraid she might get lost.
"At least the fight this afternoon wasn’t in vain." Only when they finally reached the dormitory grounds did Damian allow himself a sigh of relief.
The dormitory gate outside was still lit, yet it was pitch black inside the gatekeeper’s house — Ms. H’s residence. If one looked closely, it seemed something was constantly crawling and wriggling inside, and a sickly, briny stench drifted out even before they got near. Many didn’t want to guess what might be hiding in that little house.
"Hurry up, you slow students! You’re the only ones left in the dorm — if you’re any later, I’ll lock the place and leave you out!" Ms. H shouted, her voice booming as if she wanted the dormitory to tremble.
Damian’s lip twitched, but they weren’t actually late.
Still, they weren’t stupid enough to argue with monsters, especially at night when the monsters’ time was about to come. They certainly didn’t have the power to stab a monster dead like Nerio...
The group hurried back to the dormitory as if they had nothing on their minds. After classes, time passed faster.
Damian barely had time to lie down on his bed when a long bell rang, and at the exact moment, the entire space dimmed strangely, as if even the moon outside knew it was "lights-out" time.
"Go to sleep!"
Someone — no one knew who — said that, and the others quickly lay down, pulled their blankets up, shut their eyes, and were asleep in an instant.
At the same time, strange, slithering, nauseating sounds began from outside, like a giant slug dragging its slimy body across the ground.
Damian felt a fierce gaze fixed on the room.
The monster seemed to be opening its bell-like eyes wide, scanning them with malice and an unhidden, ravenous hunger.
Suddenly, Damian realized: perhaps it wasn’t that even the moon had gone out, but that some enormous, demonic creature was blocking all the light outside at once.
And now that thing had its sights set on them.
"Knock knock knock!"
"Knock knock knock!"
A frantic pounding on the door erupted, followed by banging as if the visitor had zero patience.
"Hey, open up — you forgot about me, you bastards!"
"Open the door, or I’ll break it down!"
Lucian’s voice rang out, brimming with impatience.
Damian could only feel his heart pounding violently, but they hadn’t forgotten the rules.
After a long silence inside, the voice outside suddenly changed:
"Ron, you’re in there. It’s me. I was dragged away this morning, and I only just managed to come back. Open the door for me—there are monsters outside, so many monsters! I’m terrified, I’m going to die out here!"
Ron, a believer in the angel Gabriel, opened his eyes and glanced toward the door.
At that moment, the moonlight had returned, and a figure stood outside their door—looking precisely like the companion who had been taken away earlier that morning.
He couldn’t help but swallow hard, yet he didn’t move.
Lying on his bed, Damian also opened his eyes wide, watching the others nervously, afraid someone might suddenly lose their mind and rush to open the door.
"Open up, open the door, there are monsters out here!"
"Help me!"
The voice grew louder and louder, until it no longer sounded like just one person but countless voices all at once, accompanied by thunderous banging on the door, as though the fragile barrier might shatter at any moment.
Looking toward the door, they saw countless shadowy figures hanging above it in grotesque positions—positions no human could hold.
It was as if, realizing that no matter how hard it pleaded, the people inside would not open up, the thing outside went mad, shrieking and slamming at the door. It was clearly using tremendous force, yet the flimsy-looking door remained steady, like an unyielding fortress wall that would never collapse.
After venting its fury for some time, the thing finally left.
The group almost simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.
But soon after, knocking came again. The towering figure of Ms. H blocked all the light at the doorway:
"Students, it’s time for a dorm inspection. Open the door immediately!"
The group exchanged wary glances. Damian shook his head furiously.
Dorm inspection, at a time like this? No doubt, everything until now had been nothing more than a one-woman show by Ms. H.
"If you don’t open the door, you’ll violate the rules! This batch of students is truly disobedient!"
Ms. H sounded overcome with rage, pounding the door repeatedly, each thud like the strike of a hammer. Even knowing that they were safe as long as the door remained shut, cold sweat still drenched their backs.
How many more times could the door withstand this?
"Knock, knock, knock..."
At that moment, in Building B, the sudden sound of knocking made the boy on the bed stir slightly, his long eyelashes fluttering though his eyes had yet to open fully.
[Been here to watch Nerio sleep through the entire afternoon—who can relate?]
[Nerio really does sleep soundly, but even gods take naps?]
[He has the right to do whatever he wants, okay!]
"Nerio, it’s Leonard. Nerio, help me..."
Leonard’s voice echoed faintly, as though from a distant place.
At last, Nerio opened his eyes wide. His pale-blue irises glimmered faintly in the darkness. Narrowing his eyes, he sat up, his expression visibly displeased at being disturbed mid-sleep.