The Obsessive Male Leads Want to Eat Me Alive - Chapter 23

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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 23
Heinrich’s eyes widened in genuine shock.
“What—what are you doing here?!”
His surprise was unmistakably sincere. After all, this was The Forest, accessible only to those with Special Grade 1 clearance.
Sisrain blinked his characteristic calm crimson eyes and answered.
“I heard you cursing from a distance.”
“…How could you possibly understand that from so far away?”
“You’re the only one in The Forest who curses like that, Heinrich.”
“…!”
Infuriating. Absolutely infuriating.
With no proper rebuttal at hand, Heinrich’s frustration only deepened.
As he ground his teeth, he suddenly raised an eyebrow.
“Wait—you heard my voice from that distance? You must have been incredibly far away.”
“My hearing is exceptional.”
‘…What is this bastard even doing?’
The Special Grade 1 zone was an extraordinarily deep part of The Forest, quite distant from the beginner’s area where those without clearance ventured. Yet he’d made it all the way here?
“You shouldn’t just wander into places like this. Someone weak like you would be sent straight to the afterlife in an instant.”
Sisrain replied flatly.
“As you can see, I’m alive. Perfectly fine, actually.”
“…”
Well, that was true enough.
As Heinrich looked up at Sisrain with suspicious eyes, a hint of irritation flickered across Sisrain’s face.
“So when are you coming up?”
“…”
“If I’d known you had this much energy to spare, I wouldn’t have come to rescue you.”
At those words, Heinrich bristled.
“Hey! Who asked you to rescue me? You think I’d accept help from someone like you?!”
“Suit yourself.”
Without hesitation, Sisrain withdrew his hand and turned away, stuffing it into his pocket.
Damn it, he’s infuriatingly cool about this.
Heinrich’s ears flushed slightly as he spoke.
“…You should ask twice, you heartless beast.”
Sisrain clicked his tongue in annoyance and extended his hand again.
Thwack.
Heinrich grasped that hand and quickly pulled himself up.
* * *
“Ugh, this forest is so eerie…”
I wandered through the labyrinthine forest. No matter how far I walked, it all looked the same. The same types of trees kept appearing with uncanny repetition.
‘And not a single flower in sight.’
Sigh, why is it so desolate?
‘I need to hunt just enough to reach level 5 quickly and get out of here.’
But not a single monster was in sight, which made the situation quite troublesome.
If the sun set like this, it would be a real problem….
Hmm, should I try provoking them first?
Some monsters react to sound, so I might be able to call them out myself.
“Alright then.”
I steeled myself and swung my greatest weapon (a pathetic wand) while shouting.
“Come out! I’ll crush you all!”
That was the moment.
The Forest began to rustle violently, and the ground trembled with thunderous booms.
Startled birds spread their wings and flew away in a flurry.
Soon, a colossal monster emerged, pushing through the dense foliage.
“…!!!”
‘What kind of teacher are you?!’
The monster resembled a massive slime, or perhaps a gigantic jelly creature.
It had only eyes, a nose, and a mouth, while its body lacked proper form and appeared somewhat translucent. Its face looked rather dim-witted, but the overwhelming pressure it exuded from its enormous size was formidable.
Soon, the monster let out a roar in a grave, low voice.
“Boom―ya!”
‘Its cry is pathetic….’
But… it’s so massive that it’s a bit frightening. I trembled as I gripped my wand tightly and stepped backward, when I suddenly realized something.
‘No, wait—could this actually be an opportunity?’
The thought struck me that Rose would never match me, an unawakened level 5, against a dangerous monster.
Since it looks similar to a slime, I should be able to deal with it the same way, right?
“Boom ya~”
‘Besides, look at it crying so stupidly.’
Alright, let’s try. It doesn’t seem as strong as it looks!
I swallowed hard and swung my wand with all my might at the monster.
But then―
Crack!!!!
‘Surprisingly hard?!’
My wand shattered completely in half upon impact with the monster.
“…Boom ya?”
The monster looked down at me.
Gulp.
I swallowed involuntarily.
“…N-no, that is. Please calm down!”
“Boom ya? Boom ya?”
Why did those simple repeated words sound like ‘You dared strike me? Do you want to die? Want to be buried right here? Want to eat memorial rice behind a folding screen at twelve years old?’
But then something astonishing began to happen. The monster’s gelatinous body transformed, taking on a definite shape.
Its hardened flesh suddenly sprouted coarse fur and teeth that looked capable of tearing anything in half, along with blood-red eyes. A viscous drool dripped from its jaws.
“Grrrrr….”
This one was unmistakably a ‘monster’.
I stumbled backward, my eyes wide with horror as I stared at the creature.
Insane, absolutely insane!
“SHRIEEEEK!!!”
Help me, please!
The monster lunged toward me with its maw gaping wide, and I bolted forward in desperate flight.
I didn’t need experience to know that if those jaws caught me, I’d either be bitten to death or torn to shreds.
Fortunately, my small frame and agility worked in my favor, and the dense foliage of The Forest impeded the monster’s movements.
I seized the opportunity and dove behind a boulder, hiding with every ounce of desperation I possessed.
“Huff, huff….”
Then I quickly grabbed the necklace and cried out.
“Rose! Rose, please help me, right now!!!”
But something was wrong. The necklace gave no response whatsoever. It hung limp in my hand like an ordinary piece of jewelry, its light extinguished.
‘The necklace isn’t working!’
Cold sweat streamed down my back.
At that very moment, the monster’s enormous foreleg came crashing down on the boulder where I hid, crushing it.
CRASH!!!
* * *
Heinrich, having been dramatically rescued from the pit, brushed the dust from himself as he spoke.
“You weakling, I guarantee you won’t last five minutes in this place. You’d better leave quickly.”
“Are you worried about me?”
At Sisrain’s expressionless question, Heinrich’s eyes flashed with contempt, disgust, and disbelief as he shot back.
“…Are you insane?”
“Suit yourself.”
“And don’t you dare think I’m grateful you saved me.”
Heinrich spoke with utmost seriousness.
“I’m not grateful at all. Not even as grateful as I am to baby dragon dung, understand?”
His words somehow managed to sound oddly appreciative anyway, so Sisrain raised his eyebrows lightly and walked ahead.
“…Are you ignoring me again? Get out of here now! I won’t protect you even if it gets dangerous, you hear me?”
Thud, thud.
As Sisrain walked on, completely ignoring him, Heinrich followed alongside and suddenly asked with curiosity.
“Hey, what’s your awakened ability anyway?”
That was when it happened.
Sisrain’s eyes gleamed sharply. The boy turned his head toward the direction the wind was blowing and whispered.
“Anette….”
In an instant, Sisrain launched himself from the ground like a coiled spring and began to run.
“Hey, where are you going all of a sudden?!”
Sensing something amiss in the name Sisrain had uttered, Heinrich chased after him with fierce determination.
As the two boys ran at full speed, The Forest grew darker and deeper around them.
Driven by nothing but the name ‘Anette’, the boys had rushed forward like madmen until they finally found her.
“Grrrrr…!”
Anette stood completely frozen before the monster.
She had barely dodged the creature’s earlier attack by rolling swiftly to the side, but it was clear her luck would not hold much longer.
The monster’s blood-red eyes gleamed with a ferocity that promised to tear the small girl to shreds.
‘Julius, I need to call Julius, right now….’
But I couldn’t move an inch.
The murderous intent radiating from the monster left my jaw trembling while my entire body felt like stone.
My fingers had stiffened at every joint. This must be the monster’s ability.
Like prey wrapped in a spider’s web, Anette remained utterly immobilized as she locked eyes with the creature.
“Screeeeeech!!!”
In that moment, the monster’s massive hind leg rose, poised to crush the girl beneath it.
A thunderous cry pierced through the space between them.
“Sister!”
For an instant, their eyes met—hers wide with terror.
Heinrich stretched out his hand toward Anette and launched himself forward at full speed, dark crimson mana surging violently from his body. But those bound by a ‘suppression seal’ always hit their limits.
‘I won’t make it.’
In that instant of realization, Heinrich gritted his teeth and widened his eyes.
That was when it happened.
Crack!
A figure shot past like lightning. It was Sisrain.
Sisrain tore the suppression seal embedded in his ear away with brute force. Crimson droplets of blood scattered through the air along the curve of his ear.
He gathered every ounce of his power.
The mark of ‘Mephistopheles’ that had cursed the boy manifested across his neck and cheek, and a colossal black ability erupted from behind his back.
Whoooosh—Shrieeeeek!
The black ability writhed like demon claws, intertwining and surging forward in a frenzy toward Anette.
But the distance between her and them was considerable. The outcome could not be guaranteed.
‘I’m going to die.’
It was the moment terrified Anette had reached that singular conclusion.
A voice pierced clearly through her mind.
[ Chosen child. Call upon me. ]
…Who are you?
No, the identity of the speaker didn’t matter. I would accept help from anyone.
With death looming so close.
Unable to discern the source of that mysterious whisper, Anette desperately answered from within her heart.
‘I’ll call you, please, tell me your name!’
[ You already know our name. ]
Already know it? The moment she questioned this, a name carved itself into her consciousness with vivid clarity—as if it had always been there.
The bearer of that name was the mother and father of all awakened ones.
The sublime and transcendent source of all power.
The god of ability users, the tyrant king of mages.
Anette cried out that name thundering through her mind.
“Exordium!”
In that instant, something extraordinary unfolded.

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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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