Chapter 269: [Freedom Dove] - Nerio’s part (21)
"What the hell are you talking about? Whose love did you betray?" Damian couldn’t make sense of Leonard.
Leonard looked dazed, as if he had just wondered the same thing.
Standing to the side, Susan spoke softly: "He’s still under the influence of that power."
His eyes were blood-red, even bleeding at the corners, the drill bit had pierced through his skin, and it seemed like he could self-destruct at any moment.
Bella looked at Leonard with words hard to contain: "You didn’t betray anyone’s feelings. You don’t even have feelings for anyone to betray in the first place. Birds of a feather flock together, but you don’t even want contact with humans."
Everyone: "..."
Susan smiled at Bella: "And who made our princess angry like this?"
She always spoke so gently. With Susan looking at her that way, Bella’s face uncontrollably flushed red, she bit her lip, and said nothing more.
"I think Nerio knows about this. Let’s go back and ask Nerio first," Susan said, thinking it the best way to stop Leonard.
Leonard looked at her in confusion: "So... I betrayed Nerio’s love?"
Susan: "..." feeling like things were gradually going off the rails.
"Of course not, don’t say things like that—I’m afraid Nerio would deal with all of us," Damian quickly said.
"Then why didn’t he come with me?"
At that, Leonard began crying, his hands returning to normal as he covered his face, tears streaming through the gaps between his fingers like a small fountain.
[...]
[Hahaha, poor little wife and his violent, cold-tempered husband!]
[Nerio is so bad. Don’t worry, Leonard, I’ll punish him by spanking his butt ten times!]
[Only ten times?]
[I seriously don’t want to understand these erotic metaphors of yours!]
Damian: "..."
He glanced at the others—everyone wore the same "what do we even do now" expression.
Luis adjusted his glasses. He didn’t think this was hard to resolve; all it took was a little lying: "Leonard, don’t you see? Out of countless people, Nerio chose you. That alone is proof that Nerio still cares about you! You are Nerio’s number one believer. Even if he doesn’t care about anyone else, there will always be a place in his heart reserved for you!"
With such impassioned words, Leonard stopped crying, staring blankly at Luis and muttering: "Really... really?"
[Of course not, hahaha, poor Leonard.]
[Normally, he might still be somewhat self-aware, but the "broken heart debuff" really hit him hard.]
Luis didn’t feel embarrassed: "Of course it’s true!"
Damian couldn’t help but glance at him: "If we keep this up... aren’t you afraid Nerio will find out and deal with us all?"
"I won’t say anything, none of you will say anything, and Leonard definitely won’t say anything—so how could Nerio possibly know?" Luis said with certainty.
And at this point, Leonard seemed comforted. He stared blankly at the ground and sky, his mind wandering far away.
"We need to hurry, it’s almost time for self-study!" Thomas suddenly spoke up.
They didn’t need to eat meals, but attending class was mandatory—school rules.
Bella narrowed her eyes at Thomas’s group. Up until now, they hadn’t done much.
Especially Thomas—he looked tall and strong, yet had been repeatedly beaten back by a few vines. In the end, were they really that weak, or were they pretending to fool everyone?
If they could stand against Nerio, then there was no way they were that weak. What were they plotting?
Bella instinctively glanced at Luis, only to find him already looking at her. He shook his head lightly.
Bella pressed her lips together and said nothing more.
After finishing up with the hollow tree, they smoothly left the forest.
Aria checked her watch and said softly, "6:20 p.m.—we still have time."
Even though it was already that late, the golden-orange glow of sunset still stretched across the sky, as if night would never fall.
The group quickly returned to their respective classrooms.
The students Damian had "befriended" were still very concerned about him.
"Didn’t see you in the cafeteria earlier. When did you guys eat dinner?" 20 asked.
Damian waved his hand with a smile: "We must’ve eaten in a different area, that’s all."
20 nodded and didn’t press further, since the school bell had already rung.
But this time, it wasn’t the kind of piercing chime that made Damian flinch.
Instead, a gentle female voice rose—a wordless song, like the muffled sobbing of a young maiden, the cry of a heart broken in youth.
The droning sound echoed, carrying some strange magic, as if it squeezed one’s heart tight, drowning the mind in sorrow.
Soft sobs began to rise. Damian turned his head and, sure enough, saw Leonard covering his face, crying.
Thomas frowned at Leonard but said nothing.
Damian opened his mouth, about to speak, when that all-too-familiar furious voice suddenly rang out:
"Evening self-study has already started! Who dares make noise instead of concentrating on their studies?!"
Mr. C strode in with a heavy wooden stick, each step landing with weight. His bald head reflected the harsh classroom lights, as if about to become a second bulb.
The silent, statue-like students all turned their heads in unison, gazing toward the back of the classroom.
Damian froze, body stiff, his mouth snapping shut instinctively as cold sweat trickled down his temple.
Wh... what the hell is this...
Under the lights, the students’ faces looked unnaturally pale and gloomy. Their eyes passed through Damian, locking instead on Leonard, who was still sobbing with his face buried in his hands.
Leonard seemed utterly oblivious to the strangeness around him.
Mr. C stormed forward, slamming the heavy stick against a desk. "You, student! Come with me! To break school rules—you must be punished, punished!"
Leonard lifted his tear-streaked face, the tiny blossoms on his skin drooping as if beaten down by heavy rain.
Damian opened his mouth again, about to speak, but Mr. C’s predator-like gaze suddenly cut toward him.
Damian froze, forced to watch as Leonard was dragged away.
From the side, Aria looked after Leonard’s retreating figure in worry, then glanced at Damian—but she dared not speak.
Another rule: they were not allowed to make noise during evening self-study.
Just where were those who broke the rules taken...?
Aria’s heart was restless. She couldn’t tell how much time had passed, only that everything before her blurred like a smudged, fading painting, slowly losing its colors, dissolving into shadows, shadows...
No!
Aria’s eyes flew open wide. She returned to her senses—sure enough, everything still held its color. Nothing at all.
Yes... nothing at all...
Why was there nothing at all?!
She saw the long rows ahead of her—beneath the desks, not a single pair of legs.
The darkness seemed to creep closer. The students now appeared to have only upper bodies left, like imperfect statues swallowed by the night.
Then, their heads suddenly twitched.
Aria instantly bowed her head low, pretending the book before her held endless fascinating information.
She shut her eyes tight. No matter how much she tried to hold back, tears slipped free. She bit her lip until it bled, to ensure not a single sound escaped her throat.
The evening self-study lasted two hours. How much time had passed already? How much longer until it finally ended?!