Chapter Text
Su Bei has been feeling a bit strange ever since earlier in the day.
It probably was because of all the missions him and his classmates have been doing. They only took breaks when they were on their way to the next mission.
It was really exhausting.
That’s why he knew that his body starting to feel weird was bound to happen eventually.
He barely managed to avoid the mid level nightmare beast he was dealing with right now. He really shouldn’t get lost in thought when there was a whole beast in front of him.
However the odd feeling was very distracting. Maybe he should ask his teacher if he could take a break and go for a check up with a doctor. It would be bad if it affected his health and he was sure that Meng Huai would allow this if he saw Su Bei being serious about the situation.
He avoided another attack from the nightmare beast and threw a few sharp gears at it.
This nightmare beast was rather annoying. It was more slime-like so it was constantly changing shapes and now sharp objects were being absorbed in its body.
He could probably kill it if he went and handled it with his fists.
For a moment he looked at his own fists and then at the slimy monster.
The slime looked very… disgusting to say the least. He didn't want to get that on him.
So instead of fighting it like he normally would to save his mental energy, he’ll just kill it by adjusting its Destiny Compass.
He looked above the nightmare beast and adjusted its big pointer to the lower half, then stepped as far away as he could in case the nightmare beast exploded when it died.
Just like he thought, the nightmare beast did indeed explode. Oddly enough, the nightmare beast wasn't entirely made out of slime. It was only the outer layer that was slimy.
That made him question how it had managed to change shapes so much. Was it an effect from the slimy outer shell or was its body just flexible enough to be able to move like that?
It's not like he can receive any answers now though. The nightmare beast was already dead and he was not about to touch the slime it had left behind.
Not that there was much left of it anyways. Most of it was destroyed when it exploded.
With a sigh, he turned around and left the forest where he'd just killed the mid level nightmare beast.
He was kind of curious why destiny had chosen such an odd death for it. Maybe he should do more research on deaths related to exploding in the Destiny Organisation database.
‘There’s already so much I need to study though…’
The weird feeling came back to him again. Now it didn't feel just weird but really uncomfortable too.
He frowned and cleared his throat.
He should look for the classmates that had come with him. They're probably waiting for him.
It was a bit unfortunate but he couldn't immediately head back for a check up since his classmates were waiting for him.
Looking around himself, he couldn’t see anyone nearby. His classmates must've been chased a bit further away than he thought.
Maybe he should adjust his luck and pick a rando-
He suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot through his chest.
He stumbled forward and caught himself before he could fall on the ground.
The pain didn't disappear, but it did decrease after a few seconds. Now he had an uncomfortable itch in his throat that was making him cough.
Even coughing hurt.
He opened his eyes to look at his shaky hand. He’d felt something hot and sticky on it.
Subconsciously, he was a bit worried that it would be the slime nightmare beasts' remains that somehow got on his hand.
Instead of that however he saw something completely different.
‘Blood…?’
For a moment, all of his thoughts froze. The last thing he’d been expecting was blood.
The pain increased again and another cough came before he got the chance to process what just happened.
More blood landed on his hand.
This wasn't right, he wasn't injured. Why was this happening? Was he actually sick without realising? Had he overlooked something?
The pain was only growing, the chances of it decreasing anytime soon were very low. When he realised that he had no idea what was causing all of this, he called out to the Manga Consciousness in his mind.
‘What is happening?’
After a few wet coughs, he finally received an answer.
“It’s the readers… They believed that your destiny altering ability comes with a backlash…”
‘And you didn’t bother telling me about this before?’
“I didn’t notice! If I had I would’ve warned you!”
That was useless for him now. It was already too late, the backlash already existed.
He didn’t have the energy to argue any more. The pain was getting to him and so was the smell of his own blood.
‘What and when?’
The Manga Consciousness went quiet and only answered a bit later.
“It got added in the last manga update as for what it is… I can’t tell.”
Su Bei sighed loudly when he didn’t receive the answer he wanted.
“You can check the forum…?”
He stared at his own bloody hand and wondered how he was supposed to use his phone in this state. No, even reading would be impossible with this amount of pain.
“Later…?”
That was true, he could try to figure it out later… What he actually needed to figure out right now was how to hide the blood on his hand from his classmates. He needed to clean up and head back as soon as possible.
While thinking about ways on how to avoid questions, he suddenly remembered something that he saw on the forum a while ago.
***
This manga update hadn't really brought anything special. It was mostly just scenes of class S doing the missions assigned to them.
Still, there might be something Su Bei missed while reading so it was better to just check the forum and the reader's thoughts.
While looking through these posts, one of them caught his eye.
《What kind of backlash does Destiny Gear have?》
【FlowerWorldDazzlesNo.0: I don't think anyone has asked this question before but what kind of backlash would Destiny Gear have? There's no way changing destinies is easy. Su Bei can change someone's entire course of life, I wouldn't be surprised if the backlash was severe.
So I think I know why we haven't seen anything yet. We all know how often Su Bei disappears, right? He does one major thing and then he’s gone. I think it's because he’s trying to hide the backlash.
That would also explain why he didn't use his ability as often in the beginning. Either the backlash decreased or he got used to it. Though since it's destiny, I’m more inclined to believe the second option.】
【No.1: OP stop reading so much fanfiction.】
【No.2 replying to No.1: There's fanfiction like this??? Please tell me where I can find it… I need it for research…】
【No.3: I’ve been thinking about it too! Destiny Gear is really powerful yet
Su Bei barely used it at the start of this season…】
【No.4: hey what if his backlash has something to do with why he tried avoiding the fights during the tri-school competition?】
【No.5 replying to No.4: Bro not everyone has a photographic memory explain yourself】
【No.6 replying to No.5: L】
【No.7 replying to No.5: happened recently btw】
【No.8 replying to No.4: oh you mean when he ran away after doing nothing?】
【No.9: replying to No.7: what if he was in pain because his backlash made him repay destiny and he was trying not to show it?】
【No.10: replying to No.8: Repay destiny?? Sounds cool!!】
【No.11: no it's because he’s lazy.】
【No.12: He’s running away because he’s Su Bei, it's his signature move】
【No.13: hehe tactical retreat】
【No.14: It's Su Bei, he definitely found a good napping spot or smth】
【 No.15: RETREAT RETREAT RETREAT】
【...】
【FlowerWorldDazzlesNo.73 (OP): Okay, guys, some people gave good suggestions so I made a theory. Every time Su Bei does something destiny related, he has to deal with the backlash which is replaying destiny. To repay destiny, he has to get hurt which is why he avoided using it in the early chapters of this season.】
【No.74 replying to No.73: OP OP, quick give me the fanfics you’ve been readin. I want to be as delusional as you…】
【No.75 replying to No.73: No wait, that actually makes sense?? Like during the underground human arc when Su Bei barely did anything when he could've helped? Or when he wanted to leave first in the same arc? Was it because he was in pain?】
【No.76 replying to No.75: you're right… Su Bei… sob… you’ve been dealing with it all alone…】
【No.77: how come no one else has a backlash attached to their ability then?】
【No.78: Feng Lan clearly said multiple times that he doesn't like meddling too much with prophecies because of casualty. Su Bei isn’t special he has to deal with it too.】
【No.79 replying to No.78: you type like you’re easily ragebaited】
【No.80: Now I can't stop imagining Su Bei all alone trying to deal with thhe backlash…】
【No.81 replying to No.80: ‘thhe’】
【No.82 replying to No.81: Shut up, show me your typos. 】
【No.83: Speaking of Feng Lan, who would win in terms of looks, Su Bei or Feng Lan】
【No.84 replying to No.83: Meng Huai】
【...】
Seeing how the conversation was derailing, Su Bei decided to click off of the post.
It was some nonsense anyways and it seemed that most people were taking it lightly. In fact most people were arguing about a completely unrelated topic in the comments.
Like his teacher’s looks… He didn't know how to feel about that…
Either way, the point was that this shouldn't affect him too much. This whole discussion about a backlash will probably be forgotten soon enough so there was no reason for him to do anything now.
The other posts were a lot more interesting. Especially when he was looking at stuff related to Black Flash.
The manga readers had quite the imagination so there were all kinds of odd theories flying around.
He clicked on the next post that caught his attention and started reading, completely having forgotten about the post related to his ability.
***
For a moment, he didn't know what to do or think.
Were the manga readers trying to kill him? Is that what it was? Why would they come up with such a painful backlash?
If they wanted a backlash so bad they could've come up with something that didn't completely ruin his concentration and ability to think.
He didn't know the details about this backlash so he still needed to test it when he had time but he already knew that it wasn't going to be a fun experience.
He looked down at his bloody hand and sighed.
He should clean it up before one of his classmates comes by and sees him. Who knows what they’ll do if they saw the mess on his hand.
The only way to get rid of the backlash is by acting like nothing is wrong. Over time readers will start believing that the backlash assumption was wrong and then when most believe it, the backlash will disappear.
If one of his classmates saw this, the chances of it being drawn in the manga will increase exponentially. The moment it's shown is the moment he’ll never be able to get rid of it.
From now on he needed to be careful with how and when he used his ability until he figured out how the backlash works and how to avoid it.
He pulled out a water bottle from his storage ring and began washing his hand.
The smell of blood was still there and he didn't have anything to mask the smell… it would definitely be suspicious if he went back to his classmates with a faint smell of blood.
Since he was still near the forest, he could find something with a stronger smell than the blood.
So that’s what he did, he went into the forest again and began looking for something with a strong smell.
Luckily he didn't have to search long as he found a rather strong smelling plant nearby. He couldn't tell whether he was lucky or not today.
On one hand, he didn't have to search for long. On the other hand, he wouldn't have a need to search anything if the backlash never happened.
After rubbing the plant’s leaves on both of his hands, he began heading back towards the exit of the forest.
While the pain wasn't as strong as earlier, it hadn't completely left him and he wanted to go back and get checked as soon as possible. Whatever happened to him might have lasting effects so just to be sure he’ll ask to visit the infirmary at the academy.
First, he’ll have to find his classmates though.
He hopes that they weren't far off or fighting another nightmare beast.