Chapter 253: [Freedom Dove] - Nerio’s part (5)
"Leonard!"
Damian cried out in panic. Teacher A’s tentacles had wrapped tightly around Leonard’s entire face, pinning him to the ground. At the same time, Nerio merely stood there, a faint smile tugging at his lips, seemingly unconcerned about whether Leonard lived or died.
[Well, that makes sense. If Leonard could be taken down that easily, he wouldn’t be worthy of Nerio’s attention.]
No one knew which viewer suddenly sighed such a remark, but right after that, Leonard’s hands shot up, grabbing the tentacles clamped over his face—and pulled with force.
A ripping sound echoed, blood splattering everywhere, and a chunk of flesh was torn away in Leonard’s grip.
"Aaaaaaa!"
Teacher A roared in agony. Her massive beak lunged again toward Leonard, her claws elongating, razor-sharp, as though they could tear straight through stone.
But Leonard was faster. He twisted on the ground, borrowing momentum to spring upright, then kicked straight at Teacher A.
Before she could regain her bearings, the corners of Leonard’s mouth suddenly split apart. Countless tentacles burst forth, shooting toward Teacher A at an unimaginable speed. Leonard still clutched the flesh he had bitten off, jaw working nonstop as he chewed and swallowed. His bloodshot eyes locked onto her while the tentacles wound around her body, tightening bit by bit, until one could almost hear her bones creaking under the pressure.
Thomas and Liora exchanged glances, the look in each other’s eyes easy to read—they weren’t pleased with this outcome. The more Leonard stood out, the harder it would be for them to accomplish their true mission.
As for Teacher A, she only widened her eyes at Leonard. By now, she had reverted to her normal appearance. Her legs flailed helplessly in midair, but her gaze remained unnervingly calm.
Leonard, however, seemed oblivious to the nauseating stench of blood filling his mouth. He chewed and swallowed without pause, his tentacles growing larger and squeezing tighter. The torn flesh at the corners of his mouth twitched as if alive, and in that moment, he looked every bit as monstrous as Teacher A herself.
Just then, a hand suddenly pressed lightly against Leonard’s back, giving him a slight push.
Leonard jolted, as though realizing something, and in the next instant, he retracted his tentacles at incredible speed, leaving behind only afterimages.
Teacher A crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud, clutching her body and groaning in pain.
Leonard froze, his whole body rigid, his mind in turmoil.
Had Nerio seen that monstrous form of his just now? How pathetic. How ugly. So far from beautiful. He loathed this power born of agony and grotesqueness—yet it was the only thing that brought him any value.
Without it, Nerio would likely never have spared him a glance. Someone useless like him would never be worthy of such attention...
"Alright, go back to your seat. How long are you planning to stand here like an idiot?" Nerio’s voice rang out, and Leonard felt that small hand pressing gently against his back again.
Leonard’s body twitched as he hastily leaned to the side, stammering a little as he spoke: "P-please... please..."
Nerio smiled brightly at him, his eyes curving into crescents, looking nothing more than a mischievous, adorable boy full of cheer. "What’s wrong? I’m just a new classmate, no need to be so nervous, right?"
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he lifted a finger to his lips, pretending to think before offering an apology. "Ah, I just slipped up a little earlier. Sorry, I didn’t mean to let go and make you fall."
But even as he said the words of apology, he stuck out his tongue and winked, looking anything but remorseful.
[Too cute!!!!! Leonard, move aside, can’t you do anything right?!]
[If I were there, Nerio wouldn’t still be standing like that, hehehahaha~]
[Oh my god, look at that arrogant little face! I can’t get used to it. I still prefer Nerio as an innocent, adorable little boy, guilty of nothing.]
[Don’t say that. Look, Nerio still looks so innocent! If he says he didn’t mean it, then he didn’t mean it!]
[He clearly doesn’t care whether Leonard lives or dies. How can fans still like him?]
[Twisted, the lot of them, haha.]
[Leonard, show them what real twistedness looks like! Let these idiots in the comments see for themselves!]
Everyone: "..." Truly, for a god to pull off such antics—Nerio didn’t care about his image.
Besides, among the gods, Prophet was the only one who acted normally. Degenerate had cross-dressed the very moment he showed up, after all.
Leonard, however, wasn’t at all upset by Nerio’s attitude. To him, Nerio could act however he pleased.
He trailed after Nerio, towering over him with his much larger frame, yet somehow looking every bit like a loyal servant.
[I swear I’m not exaggerating—Leonard looks thirty centimeters shorter right now!]
[He was so badass just a moment ago, damn it!]
The classroom desks were arranged with one student per table, and now only two seats remained empty.
Nerio headed straight for the desk placed beside Lucian’s.
Seeing this, Leonard hurried forward to pull the chair out for him. Before doing so, he even wiped the blood on his hands onto his own clothes, not caring one bit about his ragged appearance.
Nerio sat down without burden, "enslaving" his top believer without guilt.
Meanwhile, Lucian, seated nearby, couldn’t help clicking his tongue inwardly at Leonard’s pathetic display, sneering to himself.
Leonard paid no mind to Lucian’s mocking laugh and quietly sat at his desk—but Nerio did notice.
He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head toward Lucian.
Lucian couldn’t help but freeze momentarily, then laughed viciously: "Brat."
Everyone else: "..."
What the hell now? Does this idiot not realize he’s talking to a god?
Contrary to what people expected, Nerio didn’t flare up in anger. Instead, he actually laughed, replying pleasantly: "Old man, even your smile’s full of wrinkles already. Ugly thing."
Lucian: "..." He was so furious he actually laughed.
[Hahahaha, I love this!]
[But Lucian’s expression doesn’t really look that angry. Why’s he laughing like that? Looks more like he wants to spank Nerio.]
[Do it!!! I vote yes, Lucian, spank Nerio!!!]
Silvanus: "..." What an indecent bunch of fans.
At last, someone regained a bit of clarity.
[I just remembered why Lucian looked familiar—he server-hopped!]
[Just like Silvanus, oh my god, I remember too!!!]
[Don’t act so surprised. If Silvanus can hop servers, then of course Lucian can...]
[But at least Silvanus has some identity here, while Lucian’s a stranger.]
[Maybe he doesn’t have acquaintances in this place.]
[Or maybe the program just got lazy and didn’t bother making a new character model. Why overthink? Just feast your eyes.]
[I used to ship him with Silvanus, but today I’m shipping him with Nerio.]
[Take your shipping crap somewhere else!!!]
[Nerio’s gorgeous all on his own. He only deserves to be with me!]
[Idiots like you should ship other people. Nerio’s already in my arms. We xxx then xxx then xxx, I have proof.]
[Have you all forgotten? You can ship anyone except Nerio. His only fans are just toxic pedos.]
[Oh, so shipping Nerio with older men isn’t toxic?]
[Enough, everyone, stop fighting already! We’re here to watch battles of strength and wits, not your fan wars. Someone gag this whole fandom!]
Silvanus could sense that Lucian was about to explode, yet he didn’t make a scene. He noticed Lucian’s attitude toward Nerio was far better than toward him.
No, to be more precise, Lucian seemed capable of restraint when it came to Nerio.
Was this the benefit of having a childlike façade?
Though a little humiliating, Silvanus had to admit he rather enjoyed the perks it brought.
At that moment, Teacher A staggered to her feet, her gaze cold and venomous as it fixed on Leonard. A latecomer student who dared to attack a teacher—such behavior demanded punishment!
But then her eyes shifted toward Nerio. Hesitation flickered there, and she dared not advance.