The Author's Playground-Chapter 27: You call this a fear? (1)

Chapter 27: You call this a fear? (1)

The image of Elijah's face slowly zoomed out, revealing a hovering holographic screen, its edges flickering faintly as it broadcasted the live feed to an unseen audience.

Below the screen, a young child with dark blue hair, obsidian horns, and midnight-black wings twirled in delight, a mischievous grin stretched across their face.

It was... Gaia.

Their ocean-blue eyes gleamed as they spread their arms dramatically.

"So, dear siblings, did you enjoy today's episode?"

Within seconds, the comment section exploded, messages flooding the screen at lightning speed.

______________________

User Marsmallow: Screw you, don't end it yet!

User Soupiter: FUUUUCKKK CLIFFHANGER.

User Andromeow: I NEED TO SEE MORE OF THAT HANDSOME WHITE-HAIRED BOY.

[ User MoonstruckMoneybags has donated 300,000,000 Aether. ]

User Veeenus: WOW. RICH.

User MoonstruckMoneybags: Please ensure my baby Elijah remains safe.

_____________________

Gaia gasped in exaggerated excitement, clasping their hands together.

"Woooaaah! Thank you, sugar mommy, for the generous donation!"

_____________________

User MoonstruckMoneybags: Ew, don't call me that.

User Plut-OnHold: LOLOLOLOL.

_____________________

Gaia snickered before flipping their hair.

"Well then, that's it for today's stream! If you want to show support, feel free to check out the web novel~!"

Then their eyes slightly narrowed.

"Oh, and absolutely NO spoilers."

"Since he can read them all, do make sure to keep your mouths shut."

A pause.

and...

A smirk.

"Otherwise..."

The hologram trembled slightly as Gaia leaned closer to the screen, dropping their voice in a low tone.

"I'll cancel this project and the stream entirely."

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User Soupiter: OKAY OKAY LOLOL

User Sagitired: Man, I want more…

User OrionZbelt: Guess we're waiting another few millennia for chapter 2…

_____________________

With a flick of their wrist, Gaia shut down the hologram, making all the screens vanish—except one.

A single tab remained open.

An unread message.

Slowly, their gaze fell upon it.

_____________________

NEW MESSAGE FROM: ???

"Hey… There's a rumor that you've weakened a lot. Be careful. It seems a lot of gods are planning to sneak into your world and kill that kid you gave a part of your authority to…"

_____________________

Gaia's playful smirk disappeared.

The air around them cracked—fractures splitting into existence as an unseen pressure filled the space.

Their fingers tightened. Their wings tensed.

And then—

A cold chuckle escaped their lips.

"Huh… Someone dared to frighten me?"

****

Elijah sat on his bed, staring at the glowing system interface floating in front of him. With an annoyed click of his tongue, he muttered,

"96 unread comments? No way I'm reading all that."

He scrolled through the notifications halfheartedly.

"Let's see… Chapter One hit 10,000 views. So that means... I had at least 9,000 new readers."

Not bad.

"I still have a week to prepare for Chapter Two. I'll worry about the plot later."

With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed the system screen, watching as it faded into the air like dust carried by the wind.

His gaze then shifted to the lunchbox.

Opening it, a small object was revealed inside. A single violet gemstone, pulsating faintly as if it were alive.

Elijah picked it up and held it against the light, its dark glow reflected in his eyes.

"A Nightmare Core."

A core like this only appeared when an S-rank Nightmare or higher was slain.

But technically, the creature wasn't dead—not yet. As long as its core remained intact, it could reconstruct itself, returning to its original monstrous form.

Owning a Nightmare Core was beyond illegal. If the academy found out, they'd expel him on the spot. No questions asked. No trials. Just erased from the academy, much worst, he might get killed.

And yet…

Elijah smirked.

"As if I'm giving this up."

This thing was worth far more to him than anyone could imagine.

As his mind drifted deeper into thought, a low whisper slithered through the air.

A voice.

Cold. Hollow. Crawling into his ears like tendrils of shadow.

The core in his hand darkened, an inky black mist bled from its edges, twisting and coiling like shadows.

"Kid… Let… me… give… you… a… contract."

The room dimmed.

The temperature plummeted.

And Elijah?

He simply grinned.

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"Hoh? Now that's interesting."

The voice rasped once more.

"I'll… give… you… anything… you… just… need… to… hide… me… within… 3… days…"

Elijah blinked. "Three days? That's kinda long, you see."

"I'll… grant you… anything… you want…"

"Anything, huh?" Elijah leaned forward, eyes glinting. "Even if it's love from someone I've had a one-sided crush on?"

"…maybe… except that…"

"What about a happy marriage? You know, wife, kids, the whole package?"

"…Can you… pick… something else… like… world… domination… or… unlimited… power…?"

Elijah tapped his chin. "Hmm… world domination does sound kinda tempting, though."

The mist pulsed. "So… do we… have a contract?"

Elijah tilted his head. "Ehh… I dunno, I was really hoping for the whole 'happily ever after' thing. Kinda disappointing, honestly."

For the first time, the ominous voice hesitated.

"…Fine. How about… eternal youth?"

Elijah's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Deal."

"Great...now... you just... need... to...call... me... Beelzebub- WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

The violet gemstone shook violently as Elijah lifted it over his wide-open mouth.

And then—

He dropped it in.

Crunch.

The room fell silent.

Elijah chewed.

Another crunch.

And then the moment his teeth crunched another down, something ruptured.

Agony.

It was as if his entire esophagus shredded itself apart, veins bursting like overripe fruit. A jagged, razor-wire heat tore through his throat, and the sensation of chewing glass mixed with molten tar spread into his gut.

Then—his flesh began to melt.

Not figuratively.

Literally.

His skin bubbled, sloughed off in thick, oozing chunks, dribbling down his frame like candle wax.

Muscles curled and peeled away, exposing raw, trembling tendons that snapped apart like frayed strings. His fingers cracked backward, nails splitting clean off, revealing jagged bone underneath.

And his face?

His cheeks caved in. His eye sockets darkened, liquefied, and caved inward, one of his eyeballs plopping out of its hole, dangling by a thread of bloody sinew.

Elijah collapsed to his knees, and let out a choked laugh—gargled, with the blood pooling in his throat.

And a voice that did not belong to him echoed from his lips.

"Fine... I'll...just...devour...you..."