Help!! This Girl Is A Yandere!!!-Chapter 35: Lunatic

"YAARK!"

’Now or never baby!’

Xavier’s hands moved like a blur. With every ounce of strength he could muster, he gripped the base of the flailing mace tail—the very weapon that it had used to harm so many of his wolves—and yanked it down violently, redirecting its momentum back toward its master.

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

A sickening collision rang out, loud and grotesque, as the tail smashed into the Feral Hyena’s head, caving in its skull like rotten fruit. The crunch of breaking bone, the squelch of pulverized brain matter, and the wet splash of blood echoed across the clearing like a violent drumbeat.

"YAAAaaaarrkkk..."

The beast let out a half-formed screech—a final, guttural breath laced with confusion, agony, and rage—as its vision dimmed and its life slipped away. It died in an instant. But for Xavier, death was not the end.

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

He struck it again.

"What? Dead already? I don’t remember giving you permission to die, you son of a *itch!" His voice was hoarse and wild, his eyes gleaming like cracked rubies soaked in blood as madness flashed within them.

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

The lifeless corpse twitched as Xavier slammed the tail down on it once more.

"How dare you die without my goddamn permission!? You filthy, flea-infested, mangy dumpster dog!!"

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

Again. And again. The head—or what little remained of it—was now a pulp, a crater of gore where a skull used to be.

"You made me waste my precious salt on you! Salt! How will I season my food now?!"

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

His arms were coated in crimson up to the elbows. Blood painted his face, his chest, and the front of his clothes like war paint.

"You think your pathetic life is worth more than my salt? You think you’re special?! Huh?! Answer me, you miserable wretch!!"

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

"You damn insolent *astard! Take this! And this!!"

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

"DIE! DIE! DIE!! DIEEEEE!!"

The repeated strikes became a symphony of savagery, as if he were composing a ballad of vengeance through brute force. Like a man possessed by rage, madness, and a twisted kind of joy, Xavier kept swinging long after the creature had stopped moving.

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

THWUNK!

SPLORTCH!

It wasn’t until several minutes passed—bloody, brutal minutes—that Xavier’s breath began to falter.

"Haah... haah... haah..." He dropped the tail at last, letting it thud against the dirt with a dull, meaty slap. Blood still trickled down his cheek and forehead, dripping into his wide, feverish eyes.

Where once there was a head... now there was just mush. Crushed bones. Guts. Nothing remotely resembling a face.

"Kuh~"

A deranged smile crept onto his lips.

"Kuhuhuhu~ Kuhahahaha~ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"

He laughed.

It wasn’t the kind of laugh that merely caused chills down spines—it crawled into your bones, slinked under your skin, and made your heart skip when your body became aware that something unnatural had been unleashed.

It was a laugh that belonged in no place other than a forest, in no place other than trees or in animals, but in padded, resounding halls of a mental asylum—deep, locked down, beyond rusty bars and triple-locked doors.

Xavier’s frame wracked back and forth, his shoulders bouncing like his very soul was being short-circuited. His lips were twisted in a lunatic smile, red streaking his lips in war paint, his teeth locked down between flashes of hysterical laughter.

And yet for one torturous, hard minute, he was completely lost in the madness—his sense drowned in the ecstasy of killing, his heart pounding not with fear but filthsome joy.

He was drunk on viciousness, stoned on the smell of blood and torn flesh, dizzy from the sounds of broken bone and splattered viscera.

Dominance ran in his blood like poisoned wine.

In that moment, he was not a boy any more.

He was not human.

He was a demon that had crawled out of a corpse just to feel alive.

Eventually, the laughter faded into silence. Then—

"Hmm?"

He looked down at the severed mace tail, now dripping gore, clutched tightly in his fingers.

"Well then... I guess I won’t need to search for a weapon anymore."

KRRCH!

SPLURT!

Fresh blood exploded as he ripped the mace tail clean off the hyena’s body, twisting it from sinew and bone.

Whoosh

Whwap!

Thwonk!

He gave it a few practice swings, testing its weight, its balance.

"Hmm... not bad. Kinda heavy, but... it’ll do. At least until Fyrex finishes up his fight. If he wins, I get an upgrade."

He slung the tail over his shoulder like a grim trophy and turned toward the deeper part of the forest.

"Alright then. Let’s see how my wolves are holding up."

***

"Umh..."

"Ugh..."

A young teen with pale, blood-drained skin stirred beneath the faint light filtering in from a cave’s ceiling.

"Umh... umh... ugh..."

He kept groaning, his body twitching as if reacting to something deep in his subconscious.

And then—

"GAAAH!!"

He bolted upright, gasping for air like a drowning man.

"Haah... haah... haah..."

His chest heaved. Sweat clung to his face.

"Where... where the hell am I?"

"Grr...?"

He turned his head toward the low growl—and froze.

"...!"

A giant wolf, three times the size of any normal beast, stood just meters away. Reddish-brown fur, sharp eyes, and a silent presence.

"Rarf!"

Before he could react, the massive wolf lunged at him, knocking him flat on his back.

Slp Slp Slp Slp Slp

"Woah—Hey—Ahahaha! STOP! AHAHAHAHA!"

It began licking his face, drenching him in slobber. Despite the weight of the moment, the teen burst out laughing from the ticklish assault.

Only after the wolf was satisfied did it sit back on its haunches.

"Haah... haah... haah..."

The boy caught his breath, wiped off the saliva with his sleeve... and then suddenly clutched his head.

"Ugh!—my head!"

"Awr?"

The massive wolf cocked its head, concern in its eyes.

’It’s all... coming back now...’

’Everything. The battle. The blood. The transformation.’

"Haah..."

The boy sighed deeply.

’I couldn’t suppress it. The rage. The instinct. The Havoc. It took over.’

’Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later.’

He looked down at his hands—hands that were now Level 6.

’Three levels in one go... damn.’

And then, a name echoed in his mind:

’Samuel.’

Xavier’s gaze darkened.

’I’m pretty sure he used that invisibility function of his and orchestrated all of this. I had my doubts when I saw that Scorching Bear but I was confirmed when I confronted those hyenas.’

’What does he want to test of me? Before coming here, he said he’d teach me mastery over weapons. But after coming here, he just vanished.’

He stood up and looked around.

"Where is here?"

The cave stretched outward, massive and jagged, filled with silence. Cracks ran along the walls like veins. Dust hovered in the still air.

He turned to Fyrex.

"This your home?"

He gestured.

"Arf!"

Fyrex nodded with proud satisfaction.

"Too small for the whole pack though... where are the others?"

"Arf!"

The wolf crouched low again.

Xavier climbed on.

As Fyrex moved through the cave’s narrow mouth and into sunlight—

"Ugh, it’s bright."

He shielded his eyes.

"Aaarf!"

"Aaoo!"

"Rarf!"

"Awoo!"

Dozens of wolves came rushing toward him, howling in joy, tails wagging. They encircled him, barking and cheering.

He had returned.

Their Alpha had returned.

They remembered how he fought the Feral Grade Monster alone. The blood, the roars, the madness. And he had won.

They howled their respect.

"You guys..."

A soft smile curled on Xavier’s lips.

"Arrf!"

The Level 9 Ungraded Wolf—wounded but alive—stepped forward, tail wagging gently.

"You... you are the one that fought so bravely, huh? Are you okay? You are not hurt anymore, right?"

Shake shake

The wolf shook its head, pride gleaming in its eyes.

"Really? That’s... great to hear."

Then something clicked.

"Wait—where are the hyena corpses? Did you all eat them or something?"

"Arf!"

Fyrex barked and began walking again, leading Xavier to yet another cave.

They entered one even larger than before. The smell hit him instantly.

"Ugh! That stench! Smells like something died. Actually—smells like everything died."

They went deeper.

"This the place?"

Nod

And there it was. A mountain of corpses, some hyenas, some... other monsters. Blood oozed from underneath. Most had gaping holes in their chests.

Xavier narrowed his eyes.

’There’s more here than there should be. And some aren’t even hyenas.’

’Did the wolves fight off more monsters while I was out?’

He turned, looked at his pack.

Then his eyes locked on one mangled body—headless, tailless, completely ravaged.

’God... that’s brutal.’

’Who the hell could’ve killed it in such a savage—’

"..."

’Oh. Right. Me. Haah...’

"Hey Fyrex? Where are the monster cores?"

"Arf!"

A short bark and the wolves scattered and returned moments later, laying ten glowing cores at Xavier’s feet.

His eyes widened.

"T-Ten?! Six are Tier 1?! How?!"

"I get that two of them are from the Feral Mace Tail Hyenas. Four Tier 0s from the ungraded ones. But what about the other four?"