Chapter 116

Words : 1046 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

Chapter 116: Chapter 116 Seeing Bravus’s pale, terrified face, Clayton couldn’t help but feel a flicker of satisfaction. He was tempted to mess with the man a little more—to vent all the emotions he had long buried because of people like him. Boom! A flash of lightning lit up the corridor, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. The sudden jolt startled both Clayton and Bravus. For a brief moment, the shock snapped Bravus out of the illusion. But his clarity didn’t last. The sharpness in his eyes quickly faded, replaced once again by that same dull, vacant stare. Clayton stood still, catching his breath, heart pounding from the thunder. The adrenaline rush had nearly given him a heart attack. After calming down, his mind returned to focus. The urge to toy with Bravus vanished. He didn’t want to risk things backfiring. He remembered the movies from his previous life—villains always lost because they talked too much. And while Clayton didn’t consider himself a villain, that lesson felt universal. He decided to end it. With a flick of his hand, he deactivated the illusion caused by the mid-tier One-Star Pollution Scroll. Bravus slowly regained consciousness, though his eyes were still hazy. He looked around, dazed and confused. "What was that just now...?" he mumbled. Tap... Tap... Tap... Footsteps echoed down the corridor, raising the tension. Bravus tensed but tried to brush off the lingering confusion. He chalked it up to a bad dream. His confidence returned, and he managed a shaky smile. "Boss? That you?" he called out eagerly. No reply. Bravus paused, then nodded to himself. He’s just not the talkative type, he reasoned. "So? Did you find anything valuable in Clayton’s house? Something to power up quickly?" he asked, voice filled with hope. Even though he’d made up the story about Clayton having some rare method of power growth, a part of him had started to believe it might be true. If it was, it would be a huge opportunity. Still no reply. Bravus started to feel uneasy. He searched for excuses to explain the silence. Eventually, a theory formed: Maybe he’s angry... maybe he found nothing... or worse—maybe he figured out he was being used. His chest tightened with anxiety. Please, don’t let him be mad... The footsteps grew louder. A man dressed entirely in black emerged from the shadows. Thinking it was the gambling boss, Bravus’s face lit up. He prepared to flatter him shamelessly. "So, Boss? I’m sure you found something amazing—" He froze mid-sentence. "Y-You—" "Hehehe... Bravus, how’ve you been? Miss me?" Clayton greeted him with a warm smile. Bravus stumbled backward, face drained of color. "H-How are you—?" "Haha, you mean how am I still alive after facing your mighty boss?" Clayton sneered. Bravus fell silent. It was as if someone had hit pause on his entire body. A few seconds later, he began shaking his head furiously. "No! You’re not Clayton! You’re the boss pretending to be him!" "Hehe... Boss, you’re such a great actor!" he said with a forced, crazed laugh, eyes wide and twitching. Clayton rolled his eyes. "So you think I’m him?" With a wave of his hand, he summoned the cold, lifeless body of the gambling boss and dropped it in front of Bravus. Bravus’s eyes widened in horror. "H-How... How can this be? This isn’t possible—" Clayton didn’t let him finish. "Hehehe... Bravus, in this world, nothing is impossible." Without another word, he cast a spell. A tennis ball-sized sphere of compressed water shot toward Bravus’s head. BOOM! His skull burst open like an overripe melon. Clayton didn’t flinch. To him, Bravus had been a walking corpse long before this. Once the deed was done, Clayton carefully cleaned the area. He couldn’t leave any trace—especially not here. Four-Eight Magic Scroll had been used. Who knew who else might be tracking it? Once satisfied, he quietly exited the house. CRACK! Another thunderclap echoed—followed by a strange, distant scream. Startled, Clayton looked around—and saw that the gambling boss’s brothel had been struck by lightning and caught fire. His eyes widened. Panic surged through him—but then, an idea sparked. He summoned one of his mini skeletons and activated its berserk mode. The skeleton rapidly grew to human size. Clayton handed it a water pouch and a black hood. The skeleton suited up and marched toward the burning building. Once there, it pretended to help put out the fire, casting water spells in full view of the crowd. No one suspected a thing—they thought it was just a mysterious Good Samaritan. But inside the water spells was a secret. The pouch hadn’t held normal water—it was alcohol. The spells simply encased the liquid, making it appear like water magic. At first, people cheered for the skeleton’s efforts—until someone caught a familiar scent. "Wait... is that... alcohol?" Realization struck. "Stop him—!" But the berserk skeleton ignored everything, continuing to douse the flames with its volatile magic. Then— BOOM! A colossal explosion ripped through the building. Fire erupted like blooming flowers, and the scent of perfume mingled with smoke and rain. The crowd erupted in panic. Furious, they turned on the skeleton. Bang! Boom! Crack! Dozens of spells bombarded it. But the skeleton stood its ground, unmoving. Until finally—it shattered. The citizens, now confused and shaken, scrambled to put out the fire. No one could explain what had just happened. All they knew was that some strange "helper" had made things worse. ... On a shadowy road not far from the blaze, a lone figure walked calmly. The flickering flames lit up his face in a golden glow. And he was smiling. "Hehehe... this should keep them busy for a while," Clayton chuckled. His distraction had worked perfectly. The skeleton gave him the cover he needed to disappear. He hummed a cheerful tune as he made his way home. When he arrived, he didn’t notice Equus still awake—nervous, restless, eyes darting toward the horizon as if waiting for something... or someone. As Clayton casually passed by, Equus panicked and dove behind cover. Still, he peeked out—torn between fear, awe, and curiosity. Unaware he was being watched, Clayton entered his home at last, ready to rest. BOOM! But just as he exhaled, a massive explosion roared in the distance again...

Chapter 116

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