I'm the Only One With a Different Genre - Chapter 68
Chapter 68 – The Eyes That Stared Back
Lian’s empty eyes stared directly at her.
Boots reaching up to her knees seemed to blur and refocus repeatedly. A loathsome face flickered as if swallowed by the milky fog.
In the midst of the wavering, traces that appeared and vanished sent a shiver down Iris’s spine.
Her body tensed involuntarily, breath caught in paralysis. She could not even blink, her expression blank as she watched the slaver’s image blur and return to focus.
‘Why… Why is this happening?’
T h i s w a s co p i ed f rom k i n g m t l . o r g
Nausea swept over her, and she felt like vomiting any moment. Her head spun as if feverish.
“Gak, hack… Haak…”
Her breath burst out sporadically, shoulders heaving violently. Was it because of the crimson mist? Or was there poison on the blade that the slaver had wielded?
Questions orbited her mind, yet none were answered.
Blink, blink.
With every blink, the slave trader’s arm resembled the arm of someone she knew, and the blood-soaked clothes looked familiar. The usually sharp-minded Iris almost immediately conjured a ‘right answer’ but quickly erased it from her mind.
There was no need to entertain thoughts of things that shouldn’t – and couldn’t – happen. Staring vacantly at the blurry figure of the slaver, someone tapped Iris.
“Hey, get in already. We need to prepare for the next match.”
Turning her gaze numbly, Iris saw a man she had never met before. Massive shoulders, a head twice as big as a normal person’s, and a stature of at least 2 meters tall.
He was unmistakably strong.
Iris looked blankly at the man and then turned her gaze back to the fallen slaver. The frequency of the slaver’s body distorting had increased since the air cleared.
“Don’t you hear me?”
An irritable voice was accompanied by a rough grab and pull on one arm.
“What’s this? You competed with such a lightweight body?”
T hi s w a s c o p i e d f r o m ki ng m t l.org
The man seemed surprised as he shook Iris’s arm.
“Ugh…”
Dizzied and shaken, Iris felt like vomiting right there and then.
“Ah, crap…”
Annoyed, the man threw Iris aside. She rolled on the ground and instinctively grabbed the sword beside her. With Lian’s death, the contract with the Demon Sword Gargandoa was released, and it ended up in Iris’s hand.
Thump!
The moment she grabbed the Demon Sword, her vision rocked wildly.
Monster, you shouldn’t be alive.
How are you alive, you monster?
Th is wa s co p i e d from k i n g mt l . o rg
Horrible! Monster! Monster! Monster!
Screams echoed in her head. Her vision swayed even more, and Iris had to press her hands to the floor to prevent herself from collapsing.
You’re useful! Aren’t you, aren’t you, sis-sis-sis-sis-sister.
Hey, do you want to live?
Hehe right, hehe right, hehe right?
Iris’s suppressed terrible memories began to jump out uncontrollably. The tone of the voice bounced around, repeating the same words over and over. It even cackled in her ears like nails on a chalkboard.
“Ah – please, please stop… Stop!”
Screaming, she shook her head wildly. However, the voices only grew in number, not ceasing. It was as if a person who had suddenly regained all their memories was overwhelmed by an onslaught of recollections.
“Ugh… No, aaah! Brother… brother… save me, Lian!”
As her cries escalated, her mind abruptly silenced.
Lian was the one you killed, wasn’t he?
The voice that resonated clearly was a mix of female and male, young and old, all jumbled together. Iris, more shocked by the content than the eeriness of the voices, lifted her head.
Look at what you’ve done.
Her face involuntarily turned sideways. As if someone forcefully twisted her head to its limit, she looked down.
“Uh…?”
Iris, with a vacant face, looked down at ‘brother’.
“Why? Why..? Clearly the slaver…”
Unable to close her eyes, she gazed at her own brother’s lifeless body and laughed, her face contorting. The uncontrollable stress elicited an involuntary laugh from her body.
T h i s w a s copi e d f r o m k i n g m tl .o r g
“No, no… This isn’t it…”
Iris mumbled to herself, her mind shattered.
Thud.
T h i s w a s c o pi e d f r o m k i n g m tl . o r g
The man from earlier grabbed Lian by the neck and hoisted him up.
“Phew, at least the neck and everything are still attached. It’s such a pain to clean up when they’re in pieces.”
With that, the man half-dragged Lian away somewhere. Iris merely watched her brother being taken away without following.
She couldn’t accept it—that she had stabbed her brother, that he was dead. It was unthinkable.
The only refuge and purpose in her life had been Lian alone. That she had killed him, her own brother? That was impossible.
‘I killed the slaver, not him. So… it can’t be. Yes, it’s all because of that strange mist.’
Iris constantly muttered to herself, pulling herself to her feet.
Swoosh.
Without paying attention to the sword in her hand, she quickly moved towards the entrance from which she had come. As Iris entered the waiting area, the figure of a rat-like humanoid appeared.
“Can I… go up now?”
“Yes. You can go right up. First, gather your things from the original floor and -…”
“No, I want to go… right now.”
The rat-like being tilted its head, wondering.
‘Did she suddenly become talkative?’
It was puzzled by Iris’s more fluid responses but soon brushed off the question. The arena was full of lunatics who snapped suddenly.
T hi s w a s co p i e d f r o m k i n g m t l . o r g
The fact that Iris had suddenly become talkative was a minor change.
The rat-like being quickly put Iris on the elevator and took her to the floor where Lian had stayed.
“There’s one room available, but it’s not yet cleaned up -…”
“Brother’s room?”
The rat-like being twirled its whiskers, about to add something but not wanting to deal with the blood-covered Iris, instructed a slave cleaning the corridor to take Iris to Lian’s room.
Watching Iris leave with a bright expression, the rat-like being chuckled.
‘She doesn’t even know who she killed?’
It seemed like a good idea to route any assignments for Iris through someone else for the time being, considering she might cause a commotion later. After the rat-like being left on the elevator, Iris arrived at Lian’s room.
The door wasn’t locked, so she could enter right away. Iris swung her head rapidly, her eyes sparkling as she sought Lian.
Clang.
The Demon Sword in her hand fell to the floor. She had released her grip without realizing it.
Iris ignored the rolling sword and began to search the room, much larger than before.
“Brother, brother…”
Mouthing Lian’s name incessantly, she scoured the room with shining eyes.
Every room, the bathroom, even inside the closet, was turned upside down, but Lian was nowhere to be found.
Thi s w a s c o p i e d f r om k i n gm tl . o r g
Her fingertips quivered, and a lump in her throat seemed to choke her. Iris, feeling a coldness spread through her body, spoke with a laugh in her voice.
“Surely, surely it’s just because he had to go out for a bit…”
The murmur in her head grew louder. Iris strongly shook her head and then, taking Lian’s clothes from the open closet, sat down holding them.
“The clothes are all here. I’m here, too, as brother’s sister! So he’ll be back soon!”
Iris’s lips trembled as she forcefully erased the scenes that came to her mind.
Clutching Lian’s clothes, she lay down on his bed, scented with his presence, curled up and swallowed her breath.
From afar, she could hear his footsteps, the door quietly opening, and she would jump up and run to him… And then…
Iris waited and waited, holding Lian’s clothes, recalling the past, hoping for his return.
…But he did not come back.
At the boundary of night and day, when the world began to be swallowed by darkness, someone came to the room where Iris lay in silence.
Iris instantly recognized that the footsteps coming to the room were not Lian’s.
Knock, knock, knock.
That’s why she didn’t move when she heard the knock.
“Hey! The visitor says they’ll let you meet your brother, come on out!”
“….!”
T h i s w a s c o p i e d f ro m k i n gm t l.o r g
Pop!
Iris sprang from the bed and hurried toward the door. She was so flustered she did not notice the thin, whip-like Demon Sword sticking to her ankle.
Thunk!
T h i s wa s cop i ed f r om k i n g m t l. o r g
She flung open the door to find the man who had thrown her out of the arena. He frowned and tried to grab Iris’s wrist, but she dodged him like a nimble cat.
“Ha… Do as you wish. Just make sure you follow properly.”
The man, deciding not to argue with Iris, started walking ahead due to lack of time.
Iris, desperate to see Lian, followed without a word.
“Go in.”
The place they arrived was the room in front of Angsho’s. Iris, already out of her mind, opened the door and went inside.
Thud, screech.
Struggling with the door strength, it made a noise as if it would fall off, but Iris paid it no heed. She walked briskly, then broke into a run.
“Gak, haak… Brother!”
Reaching the spacious living room, Iris called out loudly and scanned the area. That’s when her eyes met…
T hi s w as c o p i e d f r o m k i n gm t l . o rg
“Ah, you’ve arrived just in time.”
On the living room table lay Lian, his chest pierced, his empty eyes staring directly at Iris.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
11thkami
May angshit experience pain for what he’s unleashed onto himself