CHAPTER 244: CHAPTER 243 - “VIBRATOR OUT~”

It was Clara’s turn.

Arietta raised her arm, fingers barely lifting as her glyph flickered weakly. "Next up—Vibrator versus... Level Nine Beast—Reverberax, the Echoing Horror."

A thunderous chime rang out across the realm.

From the sky cracked open a jagged rift, and through it slithered a monstrous centipede-like creature, its body made of overlapping stone plates and vibrating crystal shards.

Its many legs clicked in rhythm, and every twitch of its segmented body let out a piercing pingggg, like a chorus of broken tuning forks fighting for dominance.

It hissed—not with breath, but with resonance.

The creature was like a soundwave given form.

Clara landed gracefully in the arena, one foot tapping softly on the ground. She smiled sweetly. "A creature made of sound? How thoughtful."

BOOOM!

Reverberax screeched, sending a wave of concussive resonance toward her.

It had used its most powerful attack from the start.

It was a breath attack made of vibration.

Clara, however, didn’t panic.

"Acceleration," she muttered, and the next second, her body vibrated, her speed increasing exponentially as she appeared on the other side of the arena.

It was one of the few abilities she had learned that utilized vibration.

It was a risky ability, as she had learned it with Raven and Arietta keeping a close eye on her because she was using vibration on her body, but it had worked out in the end.

After reaching plate eight, her body was strong enough to bear the weight of vibration for a while without getting harmed.

Of course, using it for long would rupture her internal organs, so it was only a short speed-boost ability.

Reverberax realized that it had missed its target, so it turned toward her, screeching again. This time, it was an angry cry.

Clara merely shrugged. "Not my fault your attack’s so damn slow."

Then, before the beast could do anything else, Clara had already made her next move.

The moment she had spoken, altering its frequency to make the beast see things.

For the beast, she had vanished.

No—six of her appeared.

Then eight. Then twelve.

Clara’s illusions danced around the beast, each moving with the same poise, every footstep creating a different frequency of sound designed to dazzle the creature’s sensory system.

The beast’s head twitched in confusion, trying to hone in on the source—but its own echoing pulses were interfering with its perception.

"I call this performance... ’Screech Meets Shatter.’"

The Reverberax launched itself toward one Clara—miraculously, the real one.

As soon as her eyes locked with the beast, Clara whistled. "Damn."

WHAM—!!

The beast’s claw slammed into her.

But the beast immediately regretted it.

SKKRREEEEEKKK—!

The impact met Clara’s Vibrational Shield—a humming field that surrounded her like a buzzsaw made of silk and fury.

The beast’s limb shuddered... cracked... and exploded outward in a mist of shattered bone and splinters.

Clara didn’t flinch.

"I don’t know if I should call you lucky or unlucky," she cooed, walking toward it calmly as the other illusions dissipated. "Would you like to try again? You still have nine legs left."

The beast shrieked in what sounded oddly like a panicked modem scream.

Selena leaned toward Raven. "...Is she enjoying this?"

"She hummed just now," Siris noted.

"She’s swaying like she’s at a concert," Rufus added, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, it is a concert," Clara said mid-twirl, palms glowing with a soft violet tone as she approached the trembling beast. "And now, the grand finale."

She placed both palms on the air in front of her—no contact necessary—and let loose a wave of focused vibration.

THUUMMMMM—!!

The very space between her and the monster shimmered. Ripples danced through the air like heat mirages, slamming into the beast’s exoskeleton with crushing force.

CRACK!

A chunk of its armor popped off like a bottle cap.

It was the attack that took the longest for Clara to master, as she had to manipulate vibration until it had reached her target.

Manipulating vibration nearby was different from one that was done from a distance.

It was like she was trying to clench her fists as hard as possible with an egg in her palm.

The problem was that she had to keep the egg from shattering.

The creature, on the other hand, screeched again, trying to retreat—but Clara was already beside it, gliding through the air.

She ducked a flailing claw, spun, and punched—her palm coated in focused vibrational force.

BOOMF!

A ripple cascaded through the monster’s body from the point of impact, imploding one of its thorax segments like a detonated barrel.

"Oops," Clara said with a wink. "Was that important?"

Reverberax turned, half its body smoking, limping now—but Clara’s illusionary doubles swarmed it again.

It panicked.

Which was exactly what she wanted.

She snapped her fingers.

The doubles sang—a shrill, overlapping sonic wave that vibrated every crystal embedded in the beast’s form.

Clara stood under it all, hand raised.

"Last Verse."

Her voice echoed unnaturally as a concentrated orb of vibration formed above her palm.

She tossed it gently like a tennis ball—

—And as it touched the Reverberax’s head, it detonated inward, sending a chain reaction of internal ruptures.

SKRRAA-KOOOOOM—!!

The beast didn’t just die—it fell apart like someone had pulled the zipper on reality’s pants.

When the dust cleared, Clara landed softly, brushing a stray bang behind her ear.

"Next time," she beamed, "use earplugs."

The others stared.

Jessy was the first to speak. "We all terrify people in different ways, huh?"

Raven nodded solemnly. "She’s mine too."

Clara blew him a kiss and returned to the group, arms swaying. "Vibrator out~"

Arietta, still shivering slightly, muttered, "Finally..."

Raven, however, frowned. The shiver had gotten worse.

He looked down at Arietta in his lap, concern rising in his heart like a silent tide. ’Something’s wrong...’

His expression was caught by others—especially Selena, who was sitting beside him.

"What’s wrong, Raven?" She asked, making everyone turn toward Raven, even Clara, who had just returned from the arena.

Even Arietta turned toward Raven, trying to act as if nothing was wrong, but Raven had already felt it, so there was no way she could hide it.

So, Raven, instead of answering Selena, questioned Arietta.

"What’s wrong, Arietta?"

His voice was quiet but firm, clearly not in the mood for jokes.

Arietta blinked from her spot in his lap, eyes widening just a bit too fast, smile just a bit too strained. "W-What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong! I’m perfectly—"

"You’re trembling," Raven cut her off. "You flinched when Clara’s final attack went off, and your domain glyph flickered during the last two battles."

The group grew quiet.

Even Clara—who had been dramatically twirling a loose strand of hair—froze mid-motion.

Arietta’s fingers curled slightly. "I-It’s just... a little divine feedback. You know, a side effect. Happens all the time. Totally normal. Teehee~"

Raven didn’t smile. "You never blinked when I used Destruction at full blast. But now you’re flinching at vibration-based shockwaves. That’s not ’normal.’"

Selena leaned in closer. "Wait. He’s right. You’re always scarily unfazed."

Jessy narrowed her eyes. "Now that I think about it, she looks pale. More... strained."

"Maybe she has indigestion?" Graye offered, trying to be helpful, but everyone ignored her.

Arietta looked away, lips twitching. "I can handle it. I am a goddess. What’s a little... fatigue going to me?"

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone realized that Arietta was tired.

Raven’s voice softened. "Arietta... how long can a divine domain like this last, normally?"

Anyone could tell that the domain must be the cause of all this, as this was the only thing Arietta had kept activated.

Arietta froze at those words.

The air went still.

Finally, she sighed. Her glyph flickered again, barely a candle in a hurricane. "...Not long. Usually? One day. Maybe two. If you’re desperate."

There was silence.

Then—

SQUEAK?!

Nibbles raised a sign of alarm. "WHAT!?"

That question, however, was on everyone’s lips.

Alex had even dropped the lava underpants he had made just now.

"One day!?" Jessy shouted, eyes bugging out.

"You mean to say this entire realm—" Clara gestured to the shimmering heavens, to the vast arena. "—is meant to be active for one day, and you’ve kept it running for—more than two hundred days?!"

Arietta winced. "Two hundred and twenty-four, actually..."

The entire group exploded into chaos.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"THAT’S LIKE RUNNING A VOLCANO OFF A TEACUP BATTERY!"

"W-WAIT, IS THAT WHY THE SKY LOOKED LIKE IT HAD A COUGH EARLIER?!"

Raven didn’t speak. He just stared at her, his expression a mix of concern and something deeper.

Arietta, ever the yandere goddess, smiled faintly through the exhaustion in her eyes.

"If it’s for Raven... then this much is nothing."