CHAPTER 28: Don't Judge This Story By Its Default Cover!_Yoddhaharu (योद्धाहरू)

CHAPTER 28

Don't Judge This Story By Its Default Cover!

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「*Puff* So, where do I even start from..?」

With an bland voice; Sub soon leans closer to Tom, as he took a short puff from the rolling paper.

「Well...I don't know... Feel free to ask me anything, I guess......」< Tom >

While scratching his cheeks, Tom said as he gave a awkward smile.

「Hmm. Let me think for a moment. *Tssss*」

Sub ponders as he opens a can of beer, which had been offer by Num.

「「*Tssss*」」

All while; Tom and Num also soon opens up a can of beer for themselves, as they quietly waits for him to say something.

「Tomoki-san, I'd like know. Are you perhaps, from another world?」

Sub said nonchalantly as he took a small sip from the can.

「? And what makes you think that?」< Tom >

Tom said as he raises his one eyebrow.

「Well, the sword you've used in our fight earlier had a lot of destructive power to it, so... *Puff*」

Sub said softly as he change his posture into more relaxed one.

「Well...you're not wrong nor right......」< Tom >

「Hm? What's that supposed to mean? *Puff*」

「It means, I've gottten this sword in afterlife.」< Tom >

With this sentence; Tom drinks the can of beer in one go, as he soon opens-up another.

「*Tssss*」

(So, you really are from another world. Heh~)

Sub thought to himself as he couldn't help but to smile.

「Huh? Master..?」

Num mutters as he noticed his Master's weird smile, while taking a sip from his can of beer, occasionally.

「Y'know, I've watched a lot of trashy 'Isekai Animes' for years now. And I always wanted to meet the real deal!」

Sub blandly said his thought as he looked somewhat excited, while flicking the rolling paper into some random direction.

「Huh? Let me guess then, you wanted to compare my life with some random 'Isekai Animes'?」< Tom >

But for Tom---he looked a little displease about this but manages to hide his feelings.

「*Nod* Not just 'Random', but 'Trashy' as well!」

「*Sigh* Fine...but be quick please.」< Tom >

Tom grunts as he took a sip from his can.

「Let me ask you the main point, then.」

Sub paused for a moment, before saying---

「Most of the time, the protagonist of 'Isekai Animes' will usually ends up getting an harem of their own. So, is it true for yourself, Tomoki-san?」

「Well, my answer is obviously 'No'. And also, have you already forgotten that you're the 'Protagonist' not me?!」< Tom >

Tom said as he moves his head sideways.

「Yeah, I know that. But still... Anyways, onto the next question, 'Most of the time 'Isekai Protagonist will meet with a beautiful goddess and will receive a cheat-like ability to make their struggle more easy'. So, my question is, 'Do you also have a 'cheat-like' ability'?」

Sub said with an bland voice as he took sip from his can.

「*Sigh*」

At Sub's question; Tom sighs before finishing his second beer of can, in one go.

「Well...to be honest, I didn't met a beautiful goddess. Instead, I just had to listen to a god's voice and asked for this...」< Tom >

Tom mutters as he soon takes out his sword(Danda) from an distort space and gently puts it on the table.

「*Whistle* This sword is something else~~」< Num >

With an intrigued expression, Num stares at it very keenly. As the sword 'Danda' itself was oozing a lot of dark auras around itself.

「Hm...」

Sub softly grunts as he didn't look excited at all.

「? Is something wrong, Sub-kun?」< Tom >

「Well...the things I've learned from libraries books clearly states that people like you will be bestowed a 'Skill' by the world itself, which is entirely different from magic.」

Sub said blandly as he soon finishes his first can of beer.

「..meaning...?」

Tom mutters as he looks at Sub with his dumbfounded expression.

「*Sigh* Don't play dumb with me, Tomoki-san. Yes, your sword is 'Cheat-like' but it's a weapon. What I'm referring to--is a 'Skill'. A 'Skill' which you are clearly hiding it away for some reason. Care to explain?」

After giving his explanation; Sub soon grabs a bag of chips and opens it to eat.

「*Munch* *Munch*」

「*Sigh* Seems like, there's no point of hiding it now, huh...」< Tom >

Tom finally gives-in, as he acknowledges Sub's claims.

「*Munch* *Munch*」

「Well, if you really wanna know about my 'Skill' then...I call it 'Nightmare'. And my reason for not using it is because it'll trigger an explosion of bad memories to the target...which will cause them to harm themselves until their dead......」< Tom >

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

While saying this; Tom looks down as if regretting about something.

「*Munch* Hm?」

On the other hand, Sub stops eating the chips and looks at Tom with intrigue expression.

「Did you just say 'memories'?」

「? Yeah. But it's a bad one or rather I say a 'Nightmare'...why do you ask though?」< Tom >

While feeling puzzled by Sub's question; Tom again looks at him---just to see a little smirk hanging across his face.

「You see, Tomoki-san. For past five years, I've been on a quest to recover my memory. So, I think your skill might make me remember some things or two--so use it on me, now!」

Sub said as he slams his left-hand on the table with an demanding tone.

「Wha! I get where you're coming from...but isn't that too extreme? I mean, you will literally die, Sub-kun... And the worst part is......I can't turn it back........ *Tssss*」< Tom >

With an concern look, Tom said as he soon opens up his third can of beer.

「Well, you don't have to worry about that. I'll manage it somehow.」

Sub said as he just shrugs off Tom's warnings.

「*Sigh* Why are you so fixated on this idea to recover your memories? I'm sure there's other things that might help you regain it.」< Tom >

Tom frowns as he suggests other ideas to him, while taking a sip from his can.

All while, Sub also soon lit-up another rolling paper to smoke as he opens his mouth to say.

「*Puff* I've already tried other things. But nothing seems to click with me, y'know?」

To which; Tom shifts his gaze towards Num, who was still looking at his sword(Danda) with interest.

「Um...Num-san. Could you please stop looking at my sword and convince your Master to change his mind? Don't you care about his well-being?」< Tom >

In response, Num just gave him a unfazed look and sighs.

「*Sigh* I thought you've known him better by now after that little fight of yours from earlier. My Master is very stubborn one--so it's impossible for anyone, once he made up his mind.」< Num >

Num took a sip from his can and continues---

「And by the way, I seem to find something really interesting about your sword~」< Num >

「? Reall--?」

「Hey! You guys can chit-chat later. But first, I need Tomoki-san to use his 'skill' on me!」

And before Tom could say anything, Sub interrupts their talk with demanding tone.

「And there you have it. I can't do no more. And yes, you can also forget about asking her too. Cause she will only listen to Master...isn't that right, Kitsune?」< Num >

With a soft tone; Num said as he shifts his gaze at Kitsune, whose head was still stuck beneath the sands as she lays motionless.

「...」

Tom also turns his gaze soon enough, just to feel dumbfounded by Kitsune's situation and for not even noticing it before.

「...」

But soon enough, Kitsune slightly moves her whole body as she takes her head out from the sands, without a single scratch.

「Hmph. You don't have to tell me, Monkey!」< Kitsune >

With an cold demeanor, Kitsune walks upto her Master, and sits beside him and opens another bag of chips.

「Now, Master~ Say 'ahh'~~!」< Kitsune >

And in an instant; Kitsune's whole cold demeanor suddenly vanishes as it soon got replaced by a cherry one, when she tries to feed chips to her Master.

「Hey! Why are you ignoring me?!」

But Sub could care less; when he looks at Tom with more determination than ever, while he just pushes Kitsune away from him, without even looking.

「Kyaa~~!」

To which; Kitsune looked surprise and blush---all while, she throws her own body several meters away from Sub.

「..wha...」

Seeing this, Tom mutters as he didn't just felt dumbfounded but questionable by Kitsune's action.

「*Sigh* You don't have to worry about her. She's always like that. *Puff*」

At Tom's reaction; Sub just gently pats his shoulder as the rolling paper hung between his lips.

(Sub-kun...you really understand me......) < Tom >

Tom felt a sense of camaraderie towards Sub as he thought to himself.

「Now, why don't you use your skill already~?」

「..not again...」

To Tom's dismay, Sub again brings the same topics as before, with a smile.

To which, Tom says---

「You really have a death wish, huh?」< Tom >

「I guess.」

「I see. Haha~」

「Hahaha~」

「「Hahahaha~~!」」

Soon enough, Sub and Tom both starts to laugh while looking at each other.

「...」

All while, Num again turns his attention towards the sword(Danda).

As for Kitsune, she was knockout cold again or maybe not...whatever the case is---she was now laying on the sands with face first.

「So, will you do it or not, Tomoki-san? *Puff*」

「Seems like, I really can't change your mind, huh. Well, whatever. I'll do what you ask for. But before that, I must warn you about one last thing about my skill 'Nightmare'...」< Tom >

Looking all concern, Tom said as he looked more worried about something.

「? And that might be..? *Puff*」

With a puff; Sub said with a bland tone, as he looked nonchalant about it.

「You see...my skill 'Nightmare' will indeed trigger a bad memories for sure. But if you don't have any to begin with......then, it'll create a bad memories on it's own to give you an illusion of bad times...... So, are you sure, you wanna do it?」< Tom >

「Hm...」

Sub thought for a moment, before opening his mouth to say---

「Yeah. Let's do it. *Puff*」

With a long puff; Sub said with nonchalant expression, while he flicks the second rolling paper at some random direction.

「*Sigh* Well, here's goes nothing. Please, don't blame me if something bad happens...」< Tom >

Tom softly said as he stood up from his chair with darkened expression.

「*Nod* I know. You have my word.」

Sub said as he softly nods his head in acknowledgement.

「I wish you a very good luck, Sub-kun.」< Tom >

Tom softly groans as he slowly puts his right-hand on top of Sub's head.

All while, all of his five fingers starts to glow with purple.

「...」

As Sub himself looked calm as a rock. As if he didn't even care about the consequences itself.

*Zap*

And in an instant, Tom retracts his right-hand away from Sub's head.

「...」

While Sub looses his consciousness as his head falls down at the table with a small thud. As he snoozes away in his sleep.

◆Sub's POV◆

The moment, when Tomoki-san used his skill on me. My vision got all dark. As I start to hear and smell of burning woods from random direction.

「...」

And when I open eyes; all I could see was a black empty void, as I saw myself standing above the murky water.

All while, several black hands soon emerge from the deep murky water.

「...」

But without giving much thought; I started to walk forward as every step I took---everything around me starts to cover with dense fog.

As the fog itself started to make a small narrow path for me to walk.

(Ah...I feel déjà vu all over again.)

I thought to myself as I recall my previous dreams, which was similar to this... So, I feel like I know where this is doing.

(So. You finally came~~)

「...」

As I walk more deeper into this narrow path. I suddenly heard the same deep and heavy voice calling out to me from my dreams--with some kind of telepathy like always.

All while, I soon saw the same huge 20ft black ball just hovering above the murky water, in front of me.

「Who are you? What do you even know about me?」

For the very first time; I try to speak with this voice, I've been hearing in my dreams.

But deep down, I was expecting it to ignore my question like always--when I suddenly heard its voice again---

(You wanna know~? Then, come closer~~)

I knew it's an bad idea to do as it says... But I couldn't help myself but to know more about me...I wanna know, 'who am I?'......

「...」

So, I walk towards the black ball without hesitation.

And as I was making my way through it. The smell and sounds of burning wood soon fades out into the void.

But that was least of my worries, as I stop just few meters away from the huge black ball.

「...」

And I waited for the voice to say something. To which, it did---

(You seek answers about your past. And yet, without that thing...it's useless~~)

The voice soon said as it sounded cryptic with its words.

「Try this riddle on someone else. And tell me, what do you mean by 'that thing'?」

I wasn't in the mood to play along, as I demand the voice to say straight.

(Hehe~ Don't be so impatient. Answer this simple question of mine. And I'll tell you about 'that thing'~)

「*Sigh* So, what's your question?」

With a sigh, I reluctantly agree to answer it's question.

(What will happen if you try to fill a hallow trunk with fresh woods? Will it be able to recover to a healthy one or not? Give me your answer in 'Yes' or 'No'.)

「No.」

(And there's your answer, Sub. You cannot recover your memories if you are hallow inside~~)

This voice really likes to say cryptic words, huh.

「? And what does it have to do with 'that thing', you mention earlier?」

But then again---I really can't understand what's it's trying to pull off...

(Heh~ You are missing your soul, Sub. Right now, you are just a living ghost, wandering senselessly as the voices of your past hunts you everyday~ Like this~~)

「..!?」

All of a sudden; I started to hear hurls of screams inside my head---as I was starting to feel like, it'll gonna rip me apart...

(W-Why? Why!? Why did you lied to us!!?)

(Daji...why won't you say something......)

These voices were getting worse as I tried my best to hold them back.

All while; I got on my both knees as I hold onto my head, as to control the headache I'm now having.

「STOP THIS!!!」

I yelled into the empty void to make it stop.

「...」

To which, hurls of screams stopped all at once like how it started.

As my headache itself soon got better. As I stand back again and stare at the huge black ball with little resentment.

「If I don't have any soul to begin with... Then, how come am I still alive?!」

(Isn't that obvious? It's because of me~~)

With an entitled tone, the voice said.

「..and why would that be?」

To which, I began to raise my one eyebrow as I now have more questions than ever.

(Hehe~ In time, Sub. But for now, focus on recovering your soul~~)

But the voice just ignores my question, as it soon redirects me on recovering my soul.

But the problem is--I didn't even know where to start...

「Then, at least give me some clues to start with, y'know?」

(Heh~)

At my question; the voice just laughs it off, before saying---

(There's no need for clues. It's always been near you~ You just haven't realized it yet~~)

「? Huh? What do you---」

And before; I could finish saying, the voice just interrupts me with its next sentence.

(Why don't you put your one hand inside this? And in exchange, I'll help you to recover your soul. What do you say?)

The voice suddenly offer its help to recover my soul... But in exchange, it wants me to put my one hand inside this huge black ball.

「...」

And I still couldn't believe in its word. Maybe, it was because of my past experience with these type of dreams or maybe, it's because I've read and watched too many 'Mangas' and 'Movies' related to this type of story...

But anyhow---

「I don't trust you. And why do you even want to help me?」

I spoke my true thoughts to it and waited for its response.

(Heh~ I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm just asking for you to put your one hand inside this. And in return, I'll help you to recover your soul in no time~~)

「...」

At it's demanding tone, I didn't know what to say as I felt puzzle by it...

I really wanted to know more about myself. And yet... I couldn't bring myself to do what the voice asked of me.

Instead, I just wanna ignore this entirely. But I just couldn't...cause I've been seeking answers for these past five years, after all.

And when I finally might have some clues about myself... I just couldn't turn away from it now, can I..?

「*Sigh* So, I just have to put my one hand inside this, right?」

I said as I pointed my index finger at the huge black ball, in front of me.

(Yes~)

With an delighted tone, the voice said.

「Alright, then.」

To which, I slowly walk near the huge black ball.

「...」

And slowly put my left-hand inside the huge black ball, without a single hesitation.

「!?」

And the moment; when my left-hand was completely inside. I felt a sudden surge of intense pain and emotions all at once.

But most importantly, I could feel my whole body burning by an invisible flame.

「...」

All while, I was starting to lose my consciousness--as I heard the voice muttering---

(Let's meet again~ When you're ready, Sub~~)

But I couldn't respond to it, as I fell deep into the murky water with face first and slowly closed my eyes.

•••

••

•

「Now then, Jyoti. Care to explain your seriousness?」< Num >

「*Tssss*」

「Oi! Don't ignore---?」< Num >

And the next moment; I could hear was Num asking some questions to Jyoti.

「Hmmm...」

But I could care less; as I soon open my eyes and found myself back into reality, while also finding myself being wrapped by a nice warm blanket.

『...』

And when I looked around me; I saw everyone sitting on the table and intensely staring at me with puzzlement.

◇End Of Sub's POV◇

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I hope you enjoy it and sorry for my bad grammar and I hope it's understandable.

I'm trying my best to improve and if you find some mistakes or anything like that, then let me know on the comments.

Peace:)

CHAPTER 28: Don't Judge This Story By Its Default Cover!

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