Nightmare Mythos

Chapter 87: Paper Mannequins

Cesar forced himself to stand up instead of continuing his way to fall as just sliding through them is a sure way to get killed.

The situation was kind of new to him but every action he did somehow resembled the training he did when he was only an academy student. He was still now but it is different when he's going to apply them in the real world.

This was the real deal after all.

Whoosh—!

Cesar dashed forward and deflected an incoming attack from a paper mannequin that tried to slit its throat while using its thin hand to do so. Yet blocking it wasn't enough to put an end to the mannequin as it tried to fight back.

'Slow...'

Cesar with quick maneuver and fast judgment to able to put effort into the skill needed in any situation, used the elastic dagger artifact known as Flexible Dagger.

Appearing wavy into the eyes of his enemies, like a snake, it slithered its way through the neck of the mannequin to cut it off.

The paper mannequin tore itself apart before melting away.

Swoosh—!

Taking point as he dashed forward, three other mannequins near him lunged forward, motioning complex hand-to-hand combat techniques and exquisite style of fighting that Cesar had never seen or fought with his life.

This, however, didn't stop Cesar's drive to eliminate his enemies as he mercilessly took down two of the paper mannequins while struggling for the third paper figurine which used an ability to cut through his cheek, which was aimed towards his head.

It whistled through the air and accidentally aimed the corrupted human on the back who, the same as other corrupted humans, started to feel the pressure of these paper mannequins.

'An arrow?!'

But Cesar didn't heed the lives of others as he had himself to worry about. Completely unbothered where the paper arrow went, Cesar decided that he'd have to eliminate the mannequin on his front to take a second breather.

There are countless of them who are coming to him, anyway. It is better to eliminate a threat right away by taking a moment of rest rather than continuously running without any rest at all.

Whoosh—!

Dodging a barrage of arrows by a hairbreadth, Cesar lunged forward and used his chipped dagger and elastic blade to deflect five more arrows that came his way.

Pwoosh—!

Once he closed his distance, however, spelled the death of the mannequin. In quick handling of his daggers, something he was proficient in, he used it to cut the head from its neck, its limbs, and lastly its legs.

Slash—!

For the final strike, Cesar stabbed the mannequin right in its chest and tore itself on its own before melting away.

"Hahh…"

Letting out a ragged breathing from his mouth, Cesar dashed forward while maintaining the balance he was in.

Looking at the incoming paper mannequin that started to surround him as he was closing in halfway through the bottomless pit, he gritted his teeth and forcefully grabbed something out from his pocket.

It was a funny-looking black glove and he wore it on his hand. With his ache coming from his head slightly aching from the side effects of the artifact, Cesar clenched his fist and channeled a bit of his mana to it.

Soon, his hand started to get bigger and bigger still until it became so big it almost became the size of the Nightmare following his back.

Whoosh—!

Shifting his gaze momentarily to the paper mannequins that were already inside his circle of awareness, Cesar swiped them all to the side with a wave of his gigantic hand.

Swoosh—!

Paper mannequins that came from this left were blown away, and when the right became the direction where the paper figurines went, the same thing happened to them.

They got pushed all to the side, some melted away due to the intensity of the crash while the others persistently chased him around.

After doing repeated actions for a few seconds, Cesar was able to see that the area around him had been cleared.

And he wasn't willing to be cornered by them yet.

'Not yet…! It's not time to use it yet!'

Aside from the Flexible Dagger and Largening Gloves, he still had three other artifacts in his hand to use, something carefully chosen that suited his capability as a fighter that could move through the front and back. This wasn't even included in the Source of Light that came from Erin, Black Tooth, and lastly the Bone Stick.

If he were meant to go back to the real world, he'd be a powerhouse himself who is able to wield this abundance of artifacts, an item that is supposed to be and considered a rare thing in the world.

'Fuck the outside world! Why are you so hooked up with it when you have little chance to escape if you can't do this little thing!' Cesar almost got hung up on this reverie, probably the effect of the flexible dagger tarnishing his mind to be 'flexible'

It somehow made him irrational.

Whoosh—!

Suddenly, the number of paper mannequins coming his way quadrupled as the burden of the large hand started to take over his arm. Afraid that he'll have an injured arm if he continues to run with this, he undid the glove's enchantment and put it back in his pocket.

His mind instantly raised as the mannequins dashed towards him.

'Should I go with the floor now? No, this isn't the time. Then, I have no choice but to use the Dark Spike or Mouthpiece…'

Cesar felt the creatures made of paper closing in as he couldn't decide what to use, knowing one was taxing to use just like the other. But having no choice on what to do at the other, he came to a decisive choice.

"Fuck it!"

Cesar grabbed a tube-like mouthpiece that goes around to his ear and inserted it into his mouth with ease like some sort of mask before grabbing a small black spike that almost resembled a very small spear.

Whoosh—!

Suddenly, dozens of paper mannequins jumped toward Cesar who was a second too late to realize it. But he didn't give up as he swerved the Dark Spike upward before channeling his essence into it. Explore hidden tales at m,v l'-NovelBin.net

Activating the enchantment for the spike, the weapon itself seemed to have extended and became alive as it stretched toward the mannequins and struck them in the chest.

Slash—!

The spike itself looked like black roots as it snaked through the mannequins, disregarding any defenses they had stored for themselves.

Motionless in the air while being at the mercy of the spike that became so long while the spike acted as its root, Cesar didn't have time to look revered at the artifact as another couple of mannequins came to the other side of his attack.

But the mouthpiece of his mouth suddenly emanated an eerie aura before he spitted out a vicious goo of black liquid that melted the mannequin.

As if the harbinger of death had descended to strike the mannequins right into their chests while spewing out black liquid, Cesar dashed forward the wave of mannequins that didn't stop spawning from the paper ground.

However, the situation was far from over.

It didn't take too long before even Cesar realized it himself.

"What the hell?!"