The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me

Chapter 21 - Time Stop

The Gray Duchy was actively buying up children.

Of course, most of them were used as sacrifices, but some were recognized for their abilities and inducted into the Blood Cult.

Lloyd and the children who had ridden in the same carriage were prime examples.

Strictly speaking, those children were also meant to be used in a different way as part of the Duchess\'s plans, but...

"Hector, Lloyd, that bastard, is right here."

The Duchess had changed her mind.

She decided to keep the children alive, and that was entirely thanks to Lloyd.

The Duchess\'s curiosity about Lloyd and her desire to further develop his abilities made her see the value in keeping around children who could provoke him.

In a way, the other children owed their lives to Lloyd.

But Hector and his gang had no idea.

Standing in front of the servants\' quarters, Hector, holding a dagger, asked one of the other kids.

"You\'re keeping watch properly, right?"

"Yes, there\'s no one around. We have someone watching the surroundings, and they\'ll shout if they sense anything."

"Good."

"So, are we going to finally give Lloyd a proper beating this time?"

"Just a beating?"

Crack.

Hector cracked his neck and smiled wickedly.

"I’m going to leave him half-dead."

To Hector, Lloyd was an infuriating existence.

From the first moment they met in the carriage, Lloyd had been a thorn in his side.

Despite not being physically imposing, Lloyd\'s eyes had been cold and empty, like a machine.

Even when Hector had picked a fight, those eyes looked at him as if he were some insignificant insect.

Who does he think he is?

Lloyd had been a constant source of annoyance ever since.

And it only got worse when Lloyd started receiving special treatment.

Not just Hector, but all the other kids resented and envied Lloyd.

Despite the grueling training, Lloyd showed no signs of struggle.

This was due to Lloyd\'s overwhelming talent and skills, but the others refused to acknowledge it.

— While we worked, that bastard was playing around.

— The Duchess’s advisor? I could do that too.

— He’s just a whore selling his body.

Hector took advantage of this resentment to rally the other kids.

And today was the day to put an end to that frustration.

— Creak.

They opened the door.

Inside, they found Lloyd injecting something into his arm.

Hector immediately threw his dagger.

— Whizz!

A thin red line appeared on Lloyd\'s cheek.

There couldn’t have been a better way to establish dominance.

\'Can’t kill him.\'

But they could beat him within an inch of his life. It didn’t matter how much favor he had; Hector was determined to assert his dominance.

‘I\'m going to rise through the ranks of the Blood Cult.’

Hector had already made up his mind to climb as high as he could within the sect.

Grinning, Hector asked.

"Doing drugs?"

"...Hector."

Lloyd\'s voice, as always, was emotionless.

Even though a dagger had grazed him, there was no fear in his eyes.

\'Annoying bastard.\'

Hector’s only thought was to fix that attitude.

He failed to notice how clear and focused Lloyd’s eyes were.

"...What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions, like about your relationship with the Duchess, or maybe you could give me some tips on how you satisfy her with that tiny thing of yours."

Hector smirked as he heard the other kids snickering around him.

He intended to break Lloyd’s spirit with words before breaking him physically.

With their numbers, he figured Lloyd would eventually try to run away.

"Just come at me."

"...What?"

"Stop flapping your mouth and just come at me. I\'m getting tired of humoring you."

Hector flinched.

The passive Lloyd he knew was gone. Instead, Lloyd was taunting him. What was he so confident about? Did he have something hidden up his sleeve?

Something about this was unsettling.

\'No, don’t be scared.\'

Hector shook his head. It had to be just a bluff.

He raised both hands and started clapping.

Clap, clap, clap.

Slowly.

Clapping, Hector began to speak.

"Look at that nerve. Did you really think acting tough would scare us?"

Hahahah!

The group behind him erupted in laughter.

Lloyd calmly spoke again.

"Stop clapping"

"Why? You embarrassed?"

Clap, clap, clap.

Hector’s clapping grew louder.

Lloyd\'s brow twitched.

Finally, his calm was breaking.

The other kids noticed too and joined in Hector’s clapping.

The room filled with laughter and applause.

"Stop."

"Stop it!"

"AHAHAHA!"

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

As the clapping and laughter reached an unbearable level, Lloyd\'s eyes glowed red.

Hector blinked.

\'Did I see that right?\'

But he didn’t have time to process it.

His eyelids froze mid-blink, and he became utterly still.

What the hell is this?

Hector’s mouth opened in confusion.

"Ah...?"

But even his mouth froze as he tried to speak.

It was then he realized.

Everything around Lloyd had come to a complete halt.

Lloyd calmly spoke.

"I told you to stop."

Naturally, the clapping had ceased.

◆

The sound of clapping.

That damned sound of clapping.

Lloyd gritted his teeth.

"No matter how you think about it, it doesn’t make any sense."

I asked them not to do that.

I said they could do anything else, just not that one thing.

"So why did you insist on doing it?"

Lloyd asked earnestly.

Of course, no one answered.

Time had stopped.

And the one who had stopped it was none other than Lloyd himself.

"Aaah."

Lloyd knew something was seriously wrong with him.

It felt like a part of his brain had shattered.

Perhaps it was the part responsible for morals, common sense, and empathy.

He felt at peace.

It was a euphoria he hadn’t experienced since possessing this body.

"Not bad."

A grin spread across Lloyd’s face.

Maybe he had gone a little mad.

But it wasn’t that Ortega had taken over.

In fact, Ortega was eerily silent now.

Why had this happened to him?

Everything had been fine until Hector and his gang showed up.

The effect of the [Sedative] had calmed his mind.

But then things went wrong.

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

Hector and the others clapped.

Those damned bastards.

Lloyd gritted his teeth.

Seeing this, the other kids had only clapped louder.

It was a poor choice.

"No, that\'s not right."

Let me rephrase that.

It was a poor choice for \'them.\'

For \'Lloyd,\' it was a good choice.

Because it led to his awakening.

Lloyd looked around the room.

Everything was frozen in place.

"Aaah."

It was beautiful.

Not just the people, but even the fluttering sheets and the specks of dust suspended in the air.

It was too mystical to be called magic.

Lloyd knew what he had done.

— You little brat, you dare use my technique...!

That’s what Ortega had said.

Lloyd must have subconsciously copied his technique.

[Time Stop]

In hindsight, it hadn’t been that difficult.

— How insolent! I won\'t let you off!

Ortega’s voice thundered in his mind.

Lloyd laughed and muttered.

"Shut up."

He then placed his fingers on his temple.

"Because if my brain explodes, you die too."

Ortega’s voice immediately went silent.

"Ah, yes. As long as I have control, it’s my body."

Lloyd grinned.

After silencing Ortega, Lloyd felt like he finally understood what state he was in.

[Rampage]

Members of the Blood Cult were known for their suicidal attacks.

Before self-destructing, they would unleash a surge of superhuman strength.

People called this phenomenon \'rampage.\'

After taking the [Sedative] and calming his mind, the combination of Ortega’s whispers and the clapping had drilled into his brain.

And with the Blood Cult’s mark fully charged, Lloyd had entered [Rampage].

He was now an amalgamation of Lloyd’s sharp talents, Lee Han\'s experience of his second life, and the Blood Cult\'s unique \'rampage.\'

His current abilities were several times greater than usual.

But there was one problem.

Blood Cult members who enter [Rampage] die.

They get consumed by madness, wreak havoc, and then... boom!

Their mana explodes, and they die.

"Hmm."

Lloyd quickly inspected his mana circuits.

A strange, gray energy was leaking from the mark.

It was dark and elusive, something he wouldn’t have noticed without entering [Rampage].

Was it heading toward the mana circle?

— Crackle.

Lloyd easily suppressed the energy.

He wasn’t going to die from rampaging.

"Aaah."

This feels good.

It wasn’t a bad sensation at all.

A wave of euphoria washed over him, as if he were floating on a cloud.

This room was entirely Lloyd\'s domain.

In the perfectly frozen time, Lloyd flicked at a speck of dust.

— Flick.

The dust drifted through the beam of light and landed on Hector’s hair.

"I\'ll deal with you later."

Step by step, Lloyd walked toward the nearest boy.

Had he not realized what was happening?

The boy was frozen in the middle of clapping.

"Why would you insist on doing what I told you not to...?"

Lloyd grabbed the boy\'s fingers.

They were slightly thicker than average for a younger boy, with well-formed muscles that felt quite heavy.

"Hmm."

Holding a boy’s hand wasn’t a pleasant sensation. But being able to punish someone? That was satisfying.

Lloyd gently squeezed the boy\'s fingers.

How should he punish him?

"Hmm."

They didn’t understand when I told them nicely.

"I guess the simplest way is to make sure he can’t clap anymore."

Lloyd smiled as he tightened his grip.

The boy\'s fingers, surprisingly, resisted with some elasticity.

Tendons stretching.

"Oh."

The tendons are more flexible than I thought.

Even with the fingers bending backward, there was still some resistance.

I guess I just need to avoid blood to prevent Ortega from awakening.

— Creak.

The boy\'s finger muscles made a gruesome sound as they reached their limit.

It felt like a rubber band stretched to its breaking point.

"Pathetic."

Lloyd chuckled.

— Snap, crackle, pop!

The sound of bones breaking.

The fingers bent backward, hanging limply from the hand.

The grotesque sight remained perfectly frozen in time.

"You won\'t be clapping anymore."

Lloyd grinned in satisfaction.

Now, it was Hector’s turn.

Despite being frozen in time, Hector, as if sensing Lloyd\'s magic, had his eyes fixed on him.

Lloyd didn’t like those eyes.