Chapter 99 Faceless man [2]

Chapter 99 Faceless man [2]

".....What do we have here?"

The voice reached the depths of my mind, sending shivers down my entire body. It was rough, almost gravelly. As if a broom was scraping broken glass.

My skin crawled at the sound of it.

Blink.

The world around me changed again.

I was back in my room.

I kept my eyes firmly open. Something told me, no I knew that if I were to blink again, I'd be back in that world.

'....What was that?'

I questioned myself, staring at my surroundings as I felt sweat drop down on the wooden floor beneath me.

My pulse quickened, and my chest started to rise and fall rapidly.

....I felt my eyes burn.

What was happening?!

There were so many questions in my mind that I wanted the answer to. However, if there was one thing that I knew the answer to, then it was that whatever that faceless person was, it was dangerous. n0ve(l)bi(n.)co/m

Extremel-

"....!"

My inner thought stopped the moment I noticed the fabric of the very space before me bend in the shape of a hand.

Blink.

The world changed again.

"Haa..."

All my instincts told me to run, and as I looked around the landscape before me, I felt a sense of helplessness as I realized.

All I saw were endless jugged rocks and mountains.

The air was cold and dry.

....There was nowhere for me to hide.

As if it could read my thoughts, a voice tickled my ears, sending shivers down my entire spine.

"There's nowhere for you to hide."

Blink.

I blinked again, in hopes of getting away again, but...

"That won't anymore. I've temporarily locked the space around us."

I remained in the world.

Blink. Blink.

Regardless of how hard I tried, I found myself unable to return back. Panic started to settle within my mind, but amidst the panic, I forced myself from showing any of it.

I couldn't allow fear to overtake my mind.

"Hmm, your mind is rather resilient."

The space before me folded, unveiling the faceless figure from before. Though I couldn't see its true appearance, I could tell that whoever the figure was, it belonged to a man.

Bedding the fabric of space as if it were a plastic wrap, he walked around me, closely observing me. Or more like sensing me?

It was hard to describe.

....From the way he moved, it didn't really seem as though he could actually see me. It was more like he could sense my presence.

Or was I overthinking things?

Either way, I refrained from making any irrational movement.

"You're a cautious one, aren't you?"

"....!"

The space next to me folded and a hand grasped onto my shoulder.

When did he...?

"Your heart is beating rather fast. Are you nervous?"

I swallowed my saliva.

"Oh? It's beating even faster now... Did my words scare you?"

"...."

"There's no need to be scared. I can't truly harm you. We're too far apart. The best I can do is seal the space for a few minutes. I just sensed a familiar smell coming from you. An intriguing one."

His gaze lowered towards the sword in my grasp where he leaned and sniffed slightly.

"Haa... Yes, a familiar smell."

In the blink of an eye, he was next to the sword, tracing his finger over its body.

"It feels the same length, but..."

With a sudden pause, the faceless man looked up.

"....It's been used. Hmm."

As if understanding something, the faceless man smiled.

Falling into thought, the faceless figure walked around. The entire time, he exuded a demenour of casualness.

However, staring at him, I could only feel utter dread.

My entire body shivered under his presence as notifications flashed before my very eyes.

?| Lvl 1. [Fear] EXP + 0.1%

?| Lvl 1. [Fear] EXP + 0.01%

They just continued to flash before my eyes.

Never before had I experienced such terror in my life. Not even when I had first used my powers.

This was just...

Overwhelming.

"What are you thinking about?"

A soft whisper tickled my ear again as he appeared right beside me. I felt my body twitch at his touch. But even as I tried to distance myself from him, I found that my body refused to budge, almost as if it was glued on the spot.

"Hmm."

He appeared in front of me again. This time, with his wrist raised in a way that made it seem as though he was checking his time.

"Well, it looks like we're running out of time."

His head turned, and I met his empty face.

"Just so you know, I can't hear nor see you. I can only sense you. But you probably already figured that out."

Lowering his wrist, he smiled yet again as he pointed toward the sword in my hand.

"I'll be needing that real soon. Keep it well. I'll be coming for it soon."

Blink.

Blinking once, he appeared just a few centimeters away from me.

"....Oh, and don't think about running away."

My entire body tensed at his appearance. And especially his smile.

"You'll never be able to escape me."

Blink.

The scenery changed again.

This time, I was back in my dorm.

"....."

But even so, I held my breath back and looked around me. Touching the sofa, I made sure to check if everything was real.

For some reason, even though I knew that it was, I still felt the need to check.

I went on like this for ten minutes before sitting down on the sofa and setting the sword down.

"....."

I sat there without saying a single word.

Looking down, I saw that my legs were still tensed. My jaw too... Every part of my body was tense. Even as I looked around me and saw that nobody was present, there was still this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that made me grow wary.

Finally, I had found my voice.

"What just happened?"

It sounded unfamiliar to my mind as it came out hoarse.

"Where was I...? And why did he tell me everything?"

It made no sense. For what reason would he...

"Ah."

....But it also clicked inside of my mind.

The reason why he told me everything like that.

I covered my mouth and felt chills run down my body.In the chance that I was to spill everything out, then...

"He'll have a concrete idea of who I am."

It was a trap.

A carefully interwoven trap that one wouldn't be able to notice were they not paying extreme attention.

And the sense of dread that I felt intensified.

"This..."

I leaned back and stared at the empty ceiling.

All of a sudden, I felt the energy drain away from my body. Glancing at the sword that rested beside me, I had the urge to suddenly throw it away.

What if he could detect its presence and find it? What if...

"Haa."

I covered my eyes with my forearm.

The feeling that the faceless man gave off... It was one of utter helplessness. It felt as if there was nothing that I could do to stop him.

The fleeting sense of control that I had so desperately clung to in the past... It was utterly gone.

In its place was only helplessness.

Just who in the world was he?