The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 144

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 144
Screeeeeech―!
At that moment, a fragment of black ability flew from afar and pierced directly in front of Gerard’s nose.
“…!!!”
Gerard had no choice but to soar high into the air, evading Sisrain’s strike.
Beside Acra, who had consumed the sky, Gerard gazed down at the land below turned into pandemonium with evident satisfaction.
The soldiers I had trained and cultivated with brutal discipline were now rushing madly at the Imperial Forces led by Sisrain.
Uaaaaaahhh!
From all directions came roars brimming with fighting spirit and the agonized screams of lives being snuffed out.
“Ah… this is truly.”line>
Gerard’s eyes narrowed like butterfly wings. His pupils, brimming with exhilaration, could not be hidden even by his eyelids.
Gerard’s eyes narrowed. His pupils, brimming with joy, couldn’t be hidden even by his eyelids.
“―A beautiful harmony.”
As if entranced.
He extended his hand, pointing toward them.
“This place too.”
And as his index and middle fingers spread wide, he pointed toward the distant horizon with an elegant gesture.
There stood the final Defense Line holding back the flood of monsters pouring into the Capital.
The Defense Line constructed in a circular formation by 【Winston’s Shield】 around the residential areas—the final shield that allowed “humans” and “monsters” to be divided.
“…And there as well.”
From this height, everything was visible.
Gerard pulled up the corners of his mouth and burst into raucous laughter.
Heaven and earth resonated with the sound.
“Everyone looks so delighted. Delighted! If I’d known this would be this entertaining, I would have done it long ago…!”
Gerard, with the Black Snake’s markings rising on his neck, had become Venenum itself entirely.
His eyes gleamed with nothing but murderous intent and ecstasy as he caressed the corners of his mouth.
Unable to contain the heat of my own body, this joy.
“All that waiting was worth it.”
“You find this entertaining?”
From below, standing firmly on the ground where people screamed, Anette opened her mouth quietly.
“People getting hurt, attacking each other, consumed by fear—you find that enjoyable?”
“….”
“What are you doing this for?”
Gerard’s crimson eyes gazed down at her expressionlessly.
“Of course it’s for the ‘Imperial Throne’. For me to ascend to the highest and most noble seat.”
Once I spoke my goal aloud, heat began to boil fiercely within me.
Since when had I set this goal?
Since long, long ago. A yearning so ancient that neither Sisrain nor Anette could ever fathom it.
They would never understand my desperation.
Sisrain was born with both ability and noble blood, and Anette was no different.
But I, born from a single night of a lowborn drunkard, could not become noble any other way.
―Damn it, isn’t this unfair?
Some are born noble and live as they please, while others are born lowly like garbage.
Do those born noble ever truly understand what ‘suffering’ means?
“That’s why this is all your fault, woman.”
“…!”
“If you had simply granted me the essence of Exordium’s power—the ‘Buff’—and cooperated with me from the start.”
His fists trembled as he clenched them.
“A day like this would never have come to pass. Everyone would have naturally accepted the new Emperor and continued their lives. Therefore, this entire catastrophe is your doing.”
He spoke like venom, probing and tearing into her heart.
“The suffering and death of all those people today—it’s all because of you!!!”
So let that kind, fragile heart ache and drown in self-loathing, woman.
“….”
Gerard declared war upon the silent Anette.
“I will claim what is mine today.”
It was then that Anette, who had been swallowing her silence, finally opened her mouth.
Her pale jade eyes steady and unwavering, she parted her lips.
“How pathetic.”
“…!”
Gerard’s brows shot up sharply.
―Pathetic? Me?
“A life that sacrifices the happiness and peace of others for your own filthy desires.”
“…!”
“Your ugly desires will never be rewarded, Gerard.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Shing―
In that instant, Sisrain cut down Gerard’s soldiers blocking his path with a single stroke.
Deflecting the dense barrage of attacks that poured down like a torrential downpour, he rushed toward Gerard with power that transcended human limits.
And he gave the signal precisely.
“Anette, now.”
“…!!!!”
It was the moment when Gerard’s eyes, caught off guard, wavered.
Anette extended both hands toward the acra suspended in the void and unleashed her attack.
“Sordi.”
Whoosh!
A spear of light shot forth with tremendous force, piercing the black acra precisely.
“…No!!!”
Gerard stretched out one hand with all his might.
* * *
Squelch, squelch―
The sluggish green beast crawled forward with a vacant expression.
Glug, glug, glug—
The swallowing was more hurried than before, tinged with a hint of anxiety.
And for good reason—it had just devoured something strange.
“…Gwaaaahhh.”
It was then that the green beast let out a cry, its body convulsing.
Schick, schick-schick-schick.
A short sword burst forth from within, tearing through the thick flesh.
In the next moment, a young man emerged from the beast’s belly. It was a sight that would have terrified any onlooker—like the birth of a demon wearing the beast’s corpse as a second skin.
Of course, that demon’s face was remarkably serene. Like a gentle doe.
And cradled in his arms was a small girl, an image almost sacred.
“Are you alright?”
“Thanks to you… thank you.”
The girl answered Kyle’s question.
Fortunately, they were in a residential area. Kyle knocked on a house with its door firmly bolted, and a young couple emerged from within.
The couple was initially wary, but once they understood the situation, they willingly took the girl in. Kyle gave them instructions.
“It’s dangerous outside, so you mustn’t leave under any circumstances. Keep the door locked as it is now, and only come out once things have quieted down.”
“…Sir Knight!”
The woman called out to him while holding the girl close. Her belly was round and swollen. With another life to protect besides the girl, she spoke with desperate urgency.
“If we wait inside, things will improve, won’t they? …It won’t keep getting worse, will it?”
“….”
Kyle’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.
“Of course.”
The bolt on the house sheltering the pregnant woman, the young father, and the girl was secured once more.
As Kyle turned away, his gaze sharpened.
I must protect them. All of them.
Kyle brushed away the sticky beast’s fluids and surveyed his surroundings. First, he needed to assess the situation.
“…I’ve moved quite far, but the Defense Line has already contracted this much….”
Winston’s Shield was fighting not far away.
They were being pushed back by the beasts, the Defense Line shrinking with each passing moment.
The black object that grotesquely dominated the sky was also drawing closer.
As if it were the final destination of all the beasts.
At this point, there was someone he was worried about.
“Miss Anette.”
I wondered if she was safe.
Crack,
It was the moment Kyle clenched his fist and took a step toward Akla.
Boom!
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Suddenly, the earth began to shake violently.
It was the sound of the world turning upside down.
* * *
Crack!
Sordi’s power pierced straight through the Arcra and passed beyond.
Gerard spoke as if deflated.
“This cannot be….”
With his head bowed, he pressed both hands to his forehead and whispered.
“This is….”
His body began to tremble violently. Then, moments later, he burst into raucous laughter.
“Hahahaha! How truly entertaining!”
“…!”
The black Arcra in the sky moved with unified precision, like a single organism, sealing the pierced wound on its own.
“Hahahaha! What a pathetic attack!”
Anette clenched her fists tightly.
‘My power was insufficient.’
Suddenly, veins bulged across Gerard’s forehead as he laughed. His eyes turned blood-red as he twisted his lips into a snarl.
“How dare you employ such tricks. Now it is time for me to deliver punishment.”
“…!”
“I shall make you taste far greater despair.”
In that instant, tendrils extended from the Arcra in the sky and connected to Gerard.
Gerard’s red irises flipped back, turning completely black. His entire eyes filled with darkness, not even the whites remaining.
“Venenum. Rise!”
Boom!
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
The ground suddenly began to shake violently. As if the world itself were being turned upside down.
From that moment on, people who had been lying on the ground with severe injuries began to rise.
Like demons consumed by terror, they attacked their opponents without even noticing their own agony.
‘The mind control has changed.’
―And become far more sinister.
Even with limbs severed, the people fought with malice, killing their opponents.
In that hellscape, Anette called out to only one person, her face pale.
“Sisrain…!”
Though Sisrain was an undefeated warrior, even he found it difficult when his opponents rose again like zombies after being cut down.
Anette aided Sisrain by blocking attacks with Um’s power, but there seemed to be no end in sight.
It was at that very moment.
Growwwwl―
A beast whose head towered above the buildings charged toward them, its eyes gleaming.
A soldier from the Imperial Forces cried out in desperation.
“The final Defense Line has collapsed!”
“…!!!”
“Oh, what is this? Heavens…! Have mercy upon us.”
It seemed that those affected by mental manipulation were not limited to humans alone. The demonic beasts, as if oblivious to pain, attacked indiscriminately and poured into the Town Square.
“Anette!”
At that moment, Kyle stepped forward, embedding a bullet into a demonic beast’s skull.
“Kyle!”
A horrific screech tore through the air.
However, a colossal demonic beast swung its arm at Kyle, who had carved his way through countless creatures.
With a sickening thud, Kyle crashed into the wall.
“…!”
Sisrain was struggling, drenched in blood.
Anette’s eyes had gone hollow.
‘You said I would gain the power to protect them.’
You said it was the power of the source.
If I inherited Exordium, wouldn’t I be able to protect these people?
―Then please give me strength.
Whether it’s Exordium or any god, I don’t care—please grant me the power to protect these people.
So they don’t all perish in despair.
Please.
‘…No.’
Anette, who had always prayed to the gods as she always did, realized her plea was directed at the wrong recipient.
This was not the time to pray to the gods.
She prayed only to herself.
That she could save them.
In that instant, her mind blazed with clarity—just as it had been when she first inherited the power of Exordium.
A torrent of radiant light flooded her vision, and luminous characters seared themselves into her consciousness.
Without thinking, she cried out.
“Bloom.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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