Chapter 99 - 99: Reckless
"Where the hell is Van!?"
President Hannah's speech was only starting, but alas, it was cut short as Van was nowhere to be seen. She was going to say,
'Do what you do best',
But she didn't mean it in a way that he should run away. She wanted him to protect and pull the other students who were not fast enough to safety. She had a lot more to say, but since the cockatrice had already landed near them, it was not like she had any more choice on the matter as she summoned another sword of fire in her left hand.
The newly cockatrice was almost twice as big as the one they fought earlier. And assuming its hurried steps towards the smaller cockatrice were of concern, one could only assume that it was the dead cockatrice's parents.
And as soon as it reached the dead cockatrice, it tried to pull it up with its beak. But alas, when it let go, the dead cockatrice's head just slammed itself back to the ground. The newly arrived cockatrice stared at it for a few seconds, tilting its head from side to side.
And after a few seconds, it let out a crow that shook even the trees themselves.
Yes, it was definitely one of the dead cockatrice's parents.
"Gerald, get ready to stop it in its tracks as soon as it--"
"I can take it on alone!"
Before Hannah could even finish her orders, Gerald already rushed towards the mourning cockatrice.
"Don't be reckless!"
Hit first, and strike with no mercy. After Van ambushed him on the Academy grounds, this has become one of his aphorisms in life. And thus, he ran towards the cockatrice, making sure he was not within its eyes.
"!!!"
But as Gerald was only a few meters away from the cockatrice, its tail suddenly whipped towards him, almost a blur in his eyes. Gerald quickly slid to the ground to avoid the tail of death that almost lopped his head off. Using this momentum, Gerald swept his foot, completely staggering the cockatrice and making it lose its balance.
He was going to follow with an uppercut, but the cockatrice's wings threw him away as it quickly flew in the air.
"Damn it, Gerald!" Hannah's sword of fire swayed and flickered in her hand, it became longer and thinner as she raised it above her head. And without pause, threw it towards the flying cockatrice.
The cockatrice, however, just flailed its tail, completely extinguishing Hannah's spear of fire.
"Come back down here!" Gerald imitated Mr. Jacobs' move as he leaped into the air. Sadly for him, the cockatrice already knew what he was going to do as it quickly moved to the side. It then chattered with its beak, as if laughing at the now airborne Gerald.
Gerald protected himself with his arms and legs, preparing for the cockatrice's attack, but it never came. Instead, the cockatrice's eyes were focused on the petrified student, which was being protected by Harvey.
And with a slight snap of its tail, it flew straight towards the petrified student.
"No!" Gerald desperately stretched his arms, but he was unable to grab the cockatrice. "Harvey, run!"
Seeing the monster approaching him, Harvey tried to carry the petrified student, but as soon as he heard a light crack, he instantly retracted his hand.
"Oh, man…" He whispered as he looked at the approaching cockatrice. He then stomped his foot on the ground, embedding it in. He let out a deep breath as he stretched his hand, "I can take it", he convinced himself.
"I can take it!", Harvey roared, stomping his chest with his fists as he provoked the cockatrice even further.
"No! Leave the f*cking statue alone! Run!" Gerald grit his teeth as he watched as Harvey stupidly welcomed the cockatrice's beak into his arms.
"Khh!"
Blood instantly spewed from Harvey's mouth as he hugged the cockatrice's head.
Weird, he thought. When Mr. Jacobs' did this, he made it look so easy… was it the size of his muscles after all?
But still, he managed to slow down the cockatrice, his feet digging to the ground as he was being pushed.
"S… sh*t." Harvey could not help but curse as he felt the petrified student on his back, any more and he would definitely fall to the ground. And so, with a deep breath, he screamed, the blood and saliva that mixed in his mouth showered on the cockatrice.
"Omega Planet Slam!" He screamed as he lifted the cockatrice's head into the air and then slammed it to the ground. A thunderous echo reverberated through the air, with the ground slightly shaking.
This tremble, however, completely took away the last balance that the petrified student had as his body slowly tilted to the ground.
"No!"
Harvey was about to catch him, but alas, it would seem that a few of his ribs were broken, causing him to grovel to the ground instead.
"!!!" Harvey could only close his eyes, waiting for the shattered pieces of his classmate to whisper in his ears, but contrary to his expectations, it did not come. Instead, as he opened his eyes once more, one of his classmates was there, catching the petrified student into her arms.
Harvey then felt his body getting lighter as a warm embracing feeling enveloped his body.
"This is…"
Another student pulled him away from the cockatrice, which was now back to its feet and shaking its head, its beak, currently releasing fumes. But before the smoke could reach anyone, Beatrice once again pushed it away.
"Now!" Beatrice then shouted.
And as soon as she did so, a wall of dirt and stones erected in front of Harvey, completely separating them and the cockatrice. It would seem that Lang Fish Junior has finally absorbed the Crystal and fully recovered his SP. But for some reason, the walls that he summoned now were much thicker and bigger than before.
"...Oh, I feel like puking." He said before slowly kneeling to the ground. Behind him, was Victoria, her face still emotionless as her hands were suspiciously slightly above Lang Fish Junior's shoulder.
With the eyes of the other students on her, Victoria quickly retracted her hand as she walked towards Harvey to check on him.
"Will they be alright?" One of the students could not help but mutter as she watched through the gap.
"They… should be fine. We're only going to get in the way if we try to fight."
"Let's believe in them! Believe in the Student Council!"
"I know, they were awesome, weren't they!?"
"True! They have just been established, and they are already kicking ass!"
If President Hannah heard the freshmen's words, she wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry. After 3 years of being a Student Council member, her group was finally being recognized, but the freshmen also thought that they were a new club.
"Is my brother alright!?" Gerald was about to smash the wall of earth to check on his brother, but it was a good thing that Harvey replied quickly.
"Gerald, your brother will be fine. Focus on the monster!" President Hannah said as she fought the cockatrice with Gemma.
"Tch." Gerald's hands started to tremble as he stared at the rampaging cockatrice. This damned monster dared to touch his brother!? He howled in his mind as he rushed towards the cockatrice, each of his steps causing the ground to quake.
"I will f*cking massacre you!" He roared as he placed all of his strength in his arms.
"Oh sh*t!" Seeing Gerald approaching them with reckless abandon, Hannah quickly pulled Gemma away from the cockatrice.
"Die!" Gerald continued to roar as he released his fist, creating a thunderous explosion as the grass and foliage beneath his feet flew away in a ripple. The cockatrice was about to fly again, but for some reason, it found itself being sucked closer to Gerald's fist.
Gerald's fist completely made contact with the cockatrice's hard shell. Concaving its body like a pillow as his fist went through it. It only happened in a single second, but it felt more as the air around the two seemed to snap.
And then, the cockatrice shot out like a ragdoll, causing it to trail on the ground due to its heavy weight, only stopping when it crashed into a tree.
Gemma, whose collars were still currently being grabbed by Hannah, could not help but whistle in awe. Gerald might be a psycho, but he's a strong psycho.
Wait…
...Isn't that worse? She thought as she quickly shook her head.
Gerald's breaths were enough to be heard by the students that were inside the wall. They couldn't really get out, as the one who erected the wall was currently lying on the ground, unconscious.
But perhaps, it was a good thing.
"!!!"
As the cockatrice once again started to move.
"It's still alive!?" President Hannah quickly summoned another flame spear. But before she could throw it, the cockatrice suddenly disappeared from its spot.
"..."
"What?"
"Where did it go!?"
A loud cry then echoed not far from where the cockatrice was previously at. They quickly turned their heads towards the noise, only to see the cockatrice shivering its head, its beak opened, showing its tongue.
And just below it was Van...
...carrying Mr. Jacobs, who was carrying what seemed to be the tail of a cockatrice.
"..."
Van let out a deep breath as he gently dropped the large Mr. Jacobs on the ground. He then wiped the sweat on his face as he muttered,
"This strategy always works."