Hi hi, Astris Here!
I'm alive, everyone!
Since I have been absent for so long, I left a longer note message in the comments of this chapter explaining what happened to me those past months (not really that many good things, ngl).
Anyway, the important thing you need to know is that I'm okay to say something.
I opened a Discord server so we don't lose contact again, and if you want to speak with other people. I may also share some doodles that I make related to the novel and announcements about chapters, like new updates and other relevant info. Link in comments.
Also, there's an old sketch of Milaine (from another life) that I managed to save; you can see it in the comment sections as well. As a fun fact, that drawing is one of the few things (if not the thing) that inspired this novel besides venting.
On chapter-related topics:
I recommend re-reading the previous chapter since this is a direct continuation from it. But if you're more flexible and want a better experience, I would highly suggest re-reading from chapter 33 since there's a lot of stuff that I'll be picking up in those next chapters.
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LYSANDRA'S POV
'Huh? Are you serious? I told you that in confidence, Johnny! Ugh, it's my fault for thinking that handsome means smart. Fucking idiot... '
I shot an annoyed glance at the blonde guy who, in any other situation, would have been a total catch. I tried my best to show how betrayed I felt using only my expression.
"Hey, did I say something wrong?" Johnny asked, wiping his mouth with his arm once he stood up.
"What do you think?" I said sharply.
As if my already embarrassing high school past was not enough, the comment not only revealed more information than necessary to the enemy but also worked as a reminder. A reminder of how vulnerable I currently was thanks to being that annoying class.
Simon seemed to notice my anger. Maybe trying to avoid it, he moved away from Johnny, giving him firm, dry tap on the back. I appreciated the gesture. I can't say I liked the next thing I saw.
He stood next to Roid and the brat they so liked to protect and coughed a couple of times. Something that by this point shouldn't mean a problem for us. But it was. Fuck it was.
[Pact of the Chain is currently active]
[Warning: The Selfish Gene is temporarily disabled. Additionally, all minor evolutions are also temporarily disabled]
'Tch. She's really taking her sweet fucking time. What's wrong with her? Did she start to talk about the weather in the Olympus or some shit like that?'
"Hey, Lys, u okay?" Johnny, slightly paler than usual, touched my shoulder slowly while making a half-nervous, half-rueful smile. "You're not mad, are you?" He looked at me with soft, pleading puppy eyes, making his blue irises pop.
"Yeah, f—No—I'm fine, Johnny. Just forget it!" I answered sharply, weakened by the pretty face of the blonde. I put my hand in my mouth, biting the palm as much as possible, trying to erase the blush I was sure I was showing now.
It sickened me how weak I was to a symmetrical face and those perfect features, acting like a monkey in pants.
'Tch, stupid pretty privilege.'
"Charming" A woman's voice emerged with a clear and cynical tone. A voice that at this point I was beginning to hate.
The tall, brown-haired woman—Eleonora—who had been threatening to kill us no less than five minutes ago, looked in my direction with her arms crossed while her heterochromatic eyes seemed to be judging me with a critical gaze.
A brief violet glow covered part of her body, giving her an enviable mystical air, for which I would have killed a few years ago, but now only generated rejection in me.
Around her waist something resembling a fluorescent white rope connected to what I'd decided to call her pet—Olivia. The reddish-pink-haired girl, who seemed more like a parody of a mouse in human cosplay, hid behind Eleonora holding a green book, as if her life depended on it.
"Haha, very funny, bitch," I answered to the mockery, raising the middle finger of the pair. "You didn't tell us your flaw yet." I asked, annoyed.
It seemed that my question touched a sensitive nerve; for a moment, the face of the brunette seemed to have swallowed a bug. It took her a long couple of seconds before answering.
"I... I have bad luck... in love..." she said.
"And a fucking sh—" I was interrupted by Roid who stood in front of me, blocking my field of vision.
"Let's just stop here, Lys," he said.
"Fuck off! That's clearly the worst, shittiest, most obvious lie that I have heard in my whole life. I want to know her true flaw. How do you even expect us to accept them if we don't know their flaws?!" I insisted, giving Roid a palm strike to the stomach.
He didn't move, and he didn't seem to hurt either, but I knew I hurt him, or at least something; after all, he used his gift moments ago, and those bones should be like jelly.
"You said yourself, the flaws are random. It's not like any of us chose it, and she has no reason to lie. So why wouldn't it be that?" Roid said.
"Don't be naive! You're over 40 and somehow more gullible than a Christian girl at a frat party. I don't have luck in love? And what is that tick stuck to her side doing? Absorbing heat?" I said what seemed obvious to me.
"I agree," Simon said, backing me up. "Didn't the moderator say the flaws are balanced too? If she can fight by blowing things up, I hardly believe that's a fair flaw."
"Okay, that's a good point; I'm with you guys on this. She…. may be lying." Johnny added.
I didn't need Manhattan to speak to know he was backing me on this. The only problem was Roid and the kid.
An uncomfortable new silence resurfaced, only that it was quickly interrupted by the tremors that were felt throughout the improvised refuge. Perhaps the things outside were enough motivation for Eleonora to speak again.
"Okay, I simplified it a bit, alright? It's just plain bad luck. I have bad luck in everything. Now, shall we finish this and move?" she said.
I smiled knowing I was right and even more at seeing Roid's expression. Although my temporary happiness only lasted until I finished processing what Eleonora's word really meant.
"Bad luck? Isn't the same as Emi—?"
"Stop talking so much!" I hissed at Johnny, quickly covering his mouth.
I didn't like Johnny giving information so freely, let alone something that now could help us extort the brunette. Emilie was a cancer, a problem that I had no choice but to endure to have someone with medical knowledge.
Dealing with her was easier thanks to her flaw and Luke. It was easier to deal with people when you knew how to push their insecurities, and that girl had a lot.
If Eleonora's flaw awakened even a tiny bit of guilt in her mind, that was enough for me to use it and tame the beast. Her knowing about another person with a similar flaw was not in my plans yet.
Besides, 'bad luck' was not quantifiable. It could be from something terribly bad, like Emilie's flaw, to something that only affected her. If the second case were the one, then it could be even more useful. If Eleonora turned out to be an uncontrollable problem after all, a little luck on my side and that flaw might help.
Ha. How naive I was. Back then, my superiority complex got the better of me. I let myself be deceived by an oversimplification, thinking I was smarter than I actually was. Had I known that what Eleonora was actually referring to was the Adversity itself, I would have jumped into a pool of lava sooner. It would have saved me so much trouble.
"Okay, you have what you wanted; now to focus on what matters." Roid spoke, rushing as he approached Johnny. "Boy, you finished the map? Can you summon it?" He added.
"Right away, boss," Johnny answered, striking a stupid military pose, placing his hand on his forehead.
'Who do you call boss, Johnny!'
I started to get anxious. Biting my thumbnail, attempting to calm the tick on my foot. The goddess was silent, and I wasn't confident she'd return before Roid decided to drop the walls in a stupid attempt to save the others. I was sure the stupid man didn't even notice he was lacking the evolutions that made him able to reach this point in the first place.
Without realizing it, Manhattan approached me and tapped my shoulder a couple of times. I moved my eyes to see him while still biting my nail and observed him, unable to hide the disgust my failure produced. The effect of [Grisaille].
"Can I—"
"Shut the fuck up," I hissed at him. "Stay close and don't bother me. Hold on a little longer, okay? I'll give you what you want later; now I can't. Don't insist," I answered dryly and definitively.
Manhattan lowered his head, nodding before standing behind me, trembling and holding his arms. I couldn't do anything for him. The man was screwed for life. My fault, probably. But what did you expect? I got excited and fucked up. It was the first time I used it.
But still, the good thing about my failure was that I knew if the shit hit the fan, I could fry someone's brain if needed. I only needed to be close. Not really useful when you're surrounded by abominations but still should be useful at some point.
Probably.
Of course, only if the pretentious goddess decided to stop taking a picnic and turn back already.
Not really wanting to think about that anymore, I walked to the circle of people who had naturally formed around Johnny, Manhattan following me as my shadow.
I noticed the boy, Viktor, finally stopped whimpering. Now excited to see the magic trick he had already seen about four or five times at this point ,as if it was the first time. That irritated me. I didn't like children. Much less the fearful ones like this.
Johnny smiled when he noticed he had an audience. From his palm, he materialized what looked like a deck of cards with a black-and-red back, featuring the drawing of an orange stone in the center. Unlike other gift manifestations I had witnessed before, Johnny's was the most spectacular of all by far. Although I was not sure if that was so much for his work as a magician or by the supernatural nature of the gits.
With wide arm movements and exaggerated gestures, he made the cards fly from one hand to the other. A perfect shuffle of cards formed midair as they moved themselves from one hand to another.
Midway through their flight, one card stood out from the rest, leaping into the air. The jumping card stood midair suspended for a few seconds before Johnny took it with his fist.
As he opened his hand, the card disappeared, as if it had never been there. In its place there was a black dark ball, roughly five inches or so, covered in pulsating red and orange lines that seemed to breathe. Johnny let fall the ball, and as soon as it made contact with the ground, it dissolved into a dense black liquid with streaks of orange running through it. It looked like lava mixed with tar.
Following a wave-like motion, the liquid expanded across the ground. From our original party nobody moved, except for the kid—we'd already seen the trick enough times to get used to it.
Nonetheless, Eleonora and her pet did take a step back—or rather a jump—dodging the liquid hurriedly.
"Ey!" The brunette exclaimed.
I couldn't hide the smirk when I saw her reaction to a carnival trick.
'Hah, asshole.'
"Don't worry, it's safe, Leo." The voice of her pet sounded slow but clear. I felt a slight chill when I noticed the intensity of the pink-haired girl's golden eyes fixated on me. It felt almost violent.
Then I remembered how she summoned that golden dome, nullifying the kid's gift. As if she'd known the whole time where he was.
'Small effect my ass. Dissipating invisibility is no small effect at all! That gift was a counterforce of some kind. Not only that but also knowing when people lie—that's too much. Way too much! Tch, I hope her flaw is really causing some kind of mental trauma or disorder at least.'
Pinkie could be a problem; she gave me all the vibes of the classic pick-me girl who would act innocent and 'cute' to gain others' confidence but inside was worse than a millionaire hoarding a paradise island in the middle of nowhere. And I was seriously starting to think she was some kind of psycho. Maybe like Simon. I didn't know why I felt that way—maybe it was her gaze. She was weird. Freaking weird.
"Woo oh! It's awesome!" The brat's voice brought me back to reality.
As I looked around, I realized that within seconds, the liquid had covered a large portion of the ground. It formed something resembling a cross between a map and a tabletop, with small-scale reliefs rising from the surface to give it a 3D appearance.
In the center of the grid stood a relief that eclipsed the others. A miniature black volcano, which on its small scale was the largest thing on the ground. It was where we were summoned.
Across the map, huge cracks revealed rivers of lava flowing beneath. A clear pattern emerged: they seemed to be spreading from the volcano, expanding towards the outskirts, like the roots of a plant.
"W-Wait those are—?" Eleonora asked, amused, as the map finished building itself.
"Yes, Miss. All the places we passed. Well, mostly us, but you get the point. I am still trying to get how to use all the features, but as a general idea, I can recreate the places I have seen, and with enough detailed explanations, I can add what others saw, updating the memory of the map. Pretty cool, right? Oh, but don't ask me to add your stuff yet, I don't want to have an attack again,"
"Johnny, focus" Roid hurried him.
"Right, sorry. These little blue dots here. That's us. We are here," Johnny pointed to a spot northwest of the volcano on the map, where a miniature black sandstorm churned the terrain below.
"And the others should be around here" The blonde guy said, pointing to a region not far away—precisely 2.54 kilometers, according to the white marker that appeared when a line formed between the two sections.
At the same time in the selected area nine points, which had been black, blending with the ground, suddenly shifted to a blue tone, matching ours. It was the rest of the caravan.
However, my eyes drifted in the opposite direction; they were attracted by something far more important. What I knew was our salvation.
A few kilometers farther away from where we were. Inside the sandstorm, near its edge, a stark white shape stood out against the darkness.
Something like a mountain range that extended to an unknown part where the map ended. What the kid had spotted by a stroke of luck, and what I confirmed from the goddess's intel
They were remains, giant bones that would not melt. A corpse of something old and big enough to survive the increase in the lava level.
Another violent tremor shook the surroundings. Of course, the hellish beasts outside hadn't given up yet. This time, Simon rushed to press his hands against the walls. The metal reinforced itself again, though it didn't look like it would hold for long.
"Roid, this won't hold much longer! Can you raise another wall already?" Simon shouted at him.
'I take care of my kindred, my ass! Goddamn goddess, where the hell are you?!'
"Your lack of faith is concerning, kindred."
[The Effect of Pact of the Chain has ended]
[The connection with your patron has been reestablished. Your patron looks out for you and your Gifts have returned]
[The Selfish Gene has activated]