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Chapter 86 - Chapter 86: The Infinite Library (1)

[Third Person PoV] 

Veins began to pulse visibly around Lois' temple as her fingers furiously hammered across her laptop keyboard. The rhythmic clack of keys filled the otherwise silent rooftop, echoing her growing frustration. She had already lost count of how many times she'd hit backspace, erasing yet another paragraph because her temper got the better of her. Every other line ended up starting with something petty and venomous like, 'Stupid Clark…', 'He's nothing but a coward!', or 'How dare he ignore me!'

Each time she deleted one of those impulsive lines, her irritation only deepened. The more she tried to refocus on her article, the less progress she made.

At long last, the shrill ring of the bell snapped her out of her daze. She blinked in disbelief at the empty page still mocking her on the screen. Her shoulders slumped as she realized she had barely written a single usable paragraph. With a long, frustrated groan, she threw her head back. 

"How am I supposed to finish my work like this!?" she exclaimed, her voice sharp with anger.

She could feel the heat crawling up her neck as she clenched her fists. "It's all his fault!" she shouted suddenly, slamming her laptop shut and pushing it off her lap. The poor device tumbled to the floor with a dull thud.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Lois was on her feet, her emotions finally spilling over. "You coward!" she yelled, voice echoing through the area. "Ignoring me just because we almost kissed!?"

Her cheeks were flushed bright red, a mix of anger and embarrassment twisting her expression. "It's not like it's a big deal anyway! What's so wrong about kissing me that you have to start avoiding me?" She stomped her foot like a frustrated child. "You—coward, coward, coward of a man!" she repeated, her voice cracking slightly with emotion. "How can someone so big behave so cowardly!?"

Her tirade continued for another moment—kicks at the air, angry muttering under her breath—until exhaustion began to creep in. Her breathing slowed, and her energy drained away as quickly as it had flared. Finally, she crouched down, pushing her hair back with both hands, letting out a long, shaky sigh.

"I get that he has a fiancée and everything…" she whispered, her voice barely audible now, "…but that doesn't mean we have to stop being friends. He doesn't have to ignore me like I don't exist."

Her eyes softened as she stared down at the floor. "And I was really starting to enjoy his company too," she murmured, a small, bittersweet smile forming before fading just as quickly. "What a bummer, man…"

She ruffled her hair one last time, exhaling a defeated sigh before gathering her things. With a saddened, faraway look in her eyes, she closed her laptop gently this time and walked out off the rooftop.

---

Meanwhile,

"The doors aren't working!" Nino grunted, her arms straining as she and Ichika pulled with all their might. The metal handles didn't so much as budge.

"Hiyah!!" Miku cried, hoisting a chair over her head before hurling it toward the window. The chair bounced back with a loud clang—almost comically—sending her stumbling.

Before it could hit her, however, a blur of movement appeared behind her. Clark caught the chair effortlessly, one hand gripping the leg with ease. Miku froze mid-flinch, looking up at him like a kid caught doing something bad.

He gave her a calm, slightly disapproving look. "Careful," he said simply before setting the chair down beside her.

"...Sorry," Miku muttered, rubbing the back of her neck. After a quick glance toward the others, she added, "The window won't open either. We're really stuck here."

Nino crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Clark, her suspicion kicking in. "You know," she began, "you seemed to instantly realize we were trapped in an alternate dimension. How exactly would you know that?"

Clark's mind went into overdrive. 'God damn it, I reacted too quickly,' he thought, his outward composure unshaken. His super brain calculated a dozen potential excuses in a fraction of a second before settling on the most believable one.

"My grandmother's an exorcist," he said evenly, adjusting his glasses with practiced nonchalance. "Dealing with supernatural stuff isn't exactly… new to me."

"W–Wait," Ichika stammered, looking both terrified and fascinated. "So the supernatural actually exists!?"

Clark blinked at her, then motioned subtly around them— They were literally stuck in an alternate dimension, why was she having so much trouble believing it?

"Oh, right…" Ichika said awkwardly, rubbing her arm. "I guess this does count as supernatural. Not to mention the whole alien superhero flying around out there. Crazy world we live in, huh?" she added with a nervous laugh.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Move," he said curtly. "I'm going to break the door down."

Nino's brow furrowed. "Wha—wait, hold on! You can't just—"

But one look from Clark—calm, determined, and far too serious—made her swallow her words. She grabbed Ichika by the arm and pulled her aside.

'It would be too suspicious if I break it in one hit,' Clark thought as he stepped back and squared his shoulders. 'Better make this look like effort.' 

He charged forward, slamming into the door with a powerful thud. The sound reverberated through the room as he staggered back, pretending to be rebounded by the impact, wincing theatrically.

Clark smashed his shoulder against the door again and again, each impact booming like a cannon blast that echoed through the sealed chamber. 

"Woah… he's like a charging bull," Ichika muttered in awe, stepping back as Clark rammed into the door once more, the sound of his impact vibrating through the floor.

Nino nodded, equally amazed, her eyes wide as she watched him relentlessly throw himself into the barrier. Miku, however, wasn't fooled. Her sharp gaze flicked between Clark and the others, a knowing glint in her eyes. She could tell exactly what he was doing—holding back, pretending to struggle so they wouldn't suspect a thing about his true strength.

To sell the act and help him maintain his cover, she quickly spun toward the others. "We're not helping by just standing around gawking" she said with a frown. "Let's give him a hand"

Ichika and Nino exchanged a quick look before nodding in unison. Without hesitation, the three sisters ran up beside Clark and began shoulder-charging into the door alongside him. Their combined effort sent loud thuds echoing through the room. Clark glanced briefly at them and realized this was his chance—he could finally put in a bit more power without looking suspicious.

With a thunderous crash, he slammed his shoulder into the barrier with renewed strength. A sharp, cracking sound followed immediately—thin fractures snaking across the invisible surface like spiderwebs of light.

"It's working!" Nino exclaimed, her voice full of excitement and disbelief.

"Keep going!" Ichika shouted.

They rammed into it again and again, each strike making the cracks widen and spread like veins of breaking glass. The air around them began to hum with strange energy, the distortion flickering brighter with every hit.

Then, with one final explosive impact from Clark, the entire door shattered into fragments of translucent energy. A surge of wind-like force rushed past them as reality itself seemed to ripple and unfold.

Instantly, the illusion around them dissolved—revealing the true nature of the dimension they were trapped in.

"Woah…" all three sisters whispered in unison, their voices echoing faintly in the vast expanse before them.

Stretching endlessly in every direction were towering shelves, each stacked with countless ancient books and scrolls. The place seemed infinite—an endless library that reached beyond the horizon. There was no ceiling, only a white void stretching upward forever.

"Where… are we really?" Ichika breathed, her voice trembling in awe. She tilted her head back, eyes wide as she tried to comprehend the impossible space around them.

"An… infinite library," Miku whispered, her voice a mixture of disbelief and reverence.

Before anyone could take another step, Nino pointed forward, her tone tight with worry. "Uh, guys… up ahead."

They all followed her gaze—and froze.

Books were beginning to float off the shelves, one after another, as though pulled by invisible strings. Dozens, then hundreds lifted into the air, pages fluttering like wings. They hovered for a moment, vibrating with strange anticipation before suddenly shooting forward.

"Watch out!" Ichika screamed as the swarm of books hurtled toward them.

They threw their arms up, shielding their faces, eyes squeezed shut as the first wave closed in. But… nothing hit them.

After a few tense seconds, Nino cracked an eye open. Her breath caught in her throat.

Standing between them and the incoming barrage was Clark—arms crossed in front of him, expression focused and unflinching. The flying books slammed against him one after another, bouncing off harmlessly before scattering to the ground.

"Clark!" the sisters cried out in unison, their voices filled with shock and concern.

Clark didn't answer. His attention was drawn upward as a dark shadow began to spread over them. He looked up just in time to see the books coalescing together—forming a massive, cube-like block that hovered ominously above them before plummeting downward.

"Move!" he shouted.

In an instant, he lunged forward, wrapping an arm around all three sisters and tackling them out of the way. They hit the ground hard and rolled across the dusty floor as the gigantic mass of books slammed into where they'd just been standing. The impact made the ground quake violently, a cloud of dust billowing around them.

Coughing, Ichika looked up through the haze. "W-What was that!?"

Clark groaned as he pushed himself to one knee, brushing dirt off his jacket. His expression hardened as he looked over at the three of them. "Are you three alright?" he asked firmly.

"Y-Yeah…" they muttered in shaky unison, still stunned by what had just happened.

"Good. Then find a place to take cover," he said in a commanding tone, rising fully to his feet. His gaze locked onto the swarming books that were already reforming into aggressive shapes.

"What about you!?" Nino called out, panic creeping into her voice.

Clark didn't respond immediately. Instead, he dashed forward, drawing the libraries attention to himself, springing into a series of handsprings and flips, narrowly dodging another volley of books that blasted toward him like cannonballs. Each one smashed into the floor with explosive force, scattering shards of paper and debris.

He spun into a corkscrew mid-air, evading two books that whistled past his head, then landed in a crouch, rolling just as another slammed into the ground where he'd been a second earlier.

Miku grabbed Ichika and Nino by the wrists and began pulling them away, her tone calm but firm. "Clark will be fine. Remember what he said? His grandmother's an exorcist—he knows how to handle himself. We'll only get in his way."

"But—" Nino started to protest, looking back at Clark as he vaulted over a wave of flying tomes.

"Trust Clark," Miku said again, her voice steady and filled with quiet conviction. The determination in her tone was infectious—it silenced their fear, even if just for a moment.

"…Okay," Nino finally muttered, though her worried eyes lingered on Clark a moment longer before following her sisters into cover.

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