The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 261

***

“…Oh.”

Hiding behind a tree, I observed the rapidly unfolding battle.

Watching Mikhail’s fight in the east.

-Huff… Huff…

-You ruined everything.

-…

-Because of you, that child got hurt.

Looking at Yuria struggling to escape in the north of the forest.

-Why can’t you remember?

-I… I!

-You stabbed them. With your own hands, you stabbed them and then said you hated them!

-Shut up…!!!

-Why? Because you weren’t hurt, so it doesn’t matter?

Watching Ruin’s defeat in the west.

-Incompetent bastard.

-F*ckk!!!

-Opportunist and hypocrite.

-I know, so don’t follow me!

-Why? Didn’t you say you’d look inside? Then you should look into your own depths too.

They were fighting quite well.

The Crown Prince had won his battle.

Mikhail was struggling.

Yuria was slowly overcoming.

Even though their appearances differed from the doppelgangers described in the novel, everyone was holding their own. Except for Ruin, that is.

“Hmm…”

The problem seems to be the center.

Lightly landing on the ground, I moved the unconscious Student Council members to a safe place and nodded.

“This should keep them from getting swept up and killed.”

At this distance, they shouldn’t get caught in the clash between Rowen and Elissia. Battles between monsters are too unpredictable.

More importantly, for now… the center.

“This is tricky.”

I was worried about Hanna, who was facing the Apostle. Since she wasn’t a character in the novel, it was impossible to predict what might happen.

I was both curious and fearful of how a character saved by the whims of the Possessor would navigate this situation.

I was concerned she might get caught up in the Apostle’s whims.

Still, she was doing well.

Originally, the story had Chartia overcoming her inner fears and shattering the gem of the ring, but this process left Chartia heavily injured.

-Ah… Ah… Ah…

-I… I can’t do anything…

-I’m scared… I don’t want to do anything…!

I was relieved that the tragedy could be avoided.

“That’s a relief.”

Thanks to Hanna, the episode where Chartia falls for Mikhail would also disappear. Ah, an unnecessary worry.

She’s a woman, after all.

‘Damn.’

That aside…

-Splat!!!

-Ugh..!

Hanna seemed to be struggling quite a bit.

Although she was putting up a good fight against the Apostle, to be precise, Elissia was merely toying with her. A closer look revealed she wasn’t actually winning.

It was pure luck that her ambush succeeded. Perhaps even that ambush was within the Apostle’s expectations.

After all, the Apostle was a monster.

Elissia was overwhelming Hanna. She transformed the surrounding trees into thin strands and shot them, softened the ground to restrict her movements, and toyed with her.

It was all out of curiosity to see how much of her attacks this girl could endure.

-Senior…! How much longer?!

-The signal’s been sent, so the Knights’ Order will be here soon!

-I’m really struggling right now…!

-Kraaaack!!!

Seeing Hanna gradually reaching her limit, I began gathering mana at my fingertips. I couldn’t recklessly intervene, so I waited for the right timing.

‘Not yet.’

The story was still progressing smoothly. Elissia hadn’t revealed her true power, and Chartia could still join the fight.

Holding my breath, I waited for the right moment.

If Hanna could hold out for just three more minutes, the Knights’ Order would arrive, and neither the story nor the character’s growth would be disrupted.

Even so, red sparks of electricity flickered at my fingertips. I was gathering mana as if ready to fire immediately in case of unexpected developments. Growth was important, but so was protecting someone as precious as Hanna.

I wanted to protect the people important to me, even if it meant bearing the burden.

“I really need to stop doing this.”

I can’t help her forever.

“…”

But what can I do? I can’t just ignore it.

It seems to be an unavoidable instinct of the Possessor. Or perhaps it’s just the pride of a man faced with a beautiful woman.

I smiled awkwardly and focused all my attention on Hanna.

Elissia was looking at Hanna with an amused smile.

“As expected, Histania is different.”

“Hoo…”

“Is it because of your chosen bloodline?”

Elissia effortlessly dodged Hanna’s rapidly approaching sword strike, maintaining her relaxed smile.

And then, she began to shift the flow of the battlefield.

“I suppose I should show some respect as well.”

“Here it comes…”

“Respect for the Empire’s hero.”

Elissia didn’t make any grand movements. She simply gestured lightly into the air and extended her tool.

-Rumble…

The heavens and earth began to tremble.

A dark cloud formed in the empty space.

A massive thundercloud started swirling above Hanna’s head, waiting for its master’s command.

“What the…?”

Hanna looked up at the thundercloud with a defeated expression, unable to believe that such a massive storm could be created by a person. She let out a hollow laugh.

“Haha… Damn.”

The dark cloud, brimming with thunder as if ready to strike at any moment, began pouring down toward Hanna at Elissia’s small gesture.

-Crackkk!!!

The ground vibrated with the impact.

Hanna, who took Elissia’s attack head-on, staggered with a bitter expression. The attack was of an immobilizing nature—’thunder.’

I shook off the tingling sensation in my hand with a wry smile. While I had used magic to lessen the impact, there was a limit to how much I could help without being noticed.

“This won’t do.”

Seeing the situation take a dangerous turn, I reached for my sword and prepared myself. I had to stop this before anyone got seriously hurt.

Drawing on my aura, I aimed for Elissia’s neck.

[Limit Break is…]

“Huh…”

As I gathered my aura, I released my grip on the sword hilt, sensing a violent energy rising from the base of the mountain. A monster was approaching.

“It’s here.”

“I thought you’d arrive late, but you came sooner than expected.”

Fortunately, it seemed like I wouldn’t need to intervene in this episode. After all, reinforcements would be arriving here soon.

“Phew…”

Relieved, I let out a sigh of contentment with a satisfied smile. Occasionally, even outings like this were necessary to fulfill the duties of a Possessor.

The end was finally in sight. Or at least, it should have been. Elissia had to leave because she sensed Rowen’s presence.

-This is interesting.

Elissia smiled as she spoke to Hanna.

“Histania Hanna, Holy Apostle.”

“…”

“I like you.”

“Bullshit.”

“I like how you’ve struggled to survive, even without recognition from your Household.”

Elissia approached Hanna with a sly smile.

“I wonder why. There’s a strange scent coming from you. A very strong scent of someone who should be dead.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I’ve never died before, but… why do you carry such a scent?”

“…You’re insane, aren’t you?”

“Hehe… Maybe I am.”

Elissia took another step closer to Hanna and expressed her feelings.

“I see potential in you, Miss Hanna. If you serve our god, I can clearly see your potential to grow into an Apostle like me.”

“Shut up and get lost.”

“Haha… That makes you all the more tempting.”

Elissia smiled as she spoke.

“Have you ever lost someone precious to you?”

“What?”

“Someone you’d wish to bring back, even if you had to die, even if your existence vanished from this world.”

“…”

“You must have lost someone. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for you to carry this scent. The overwhelming stench of regret clings to you. I haven’t mentioned it, but a few others also carry a similar scent.”

“If anything, theirs was worse, not better.”

Elissia glanced at the spot where the Executives had departed and sighed regretfully.

“Still, when it comes to talent as an Apostle, you seem to be the best.”

“…”

“Do you have someone precious to you?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“If you do, I can kill them for you, so you’ll turn to our side.”

“Shut up.”

“Haha…!”

Elissia let out a laugh like a madwoman. Then suddenly, she stopped laughing and glared at Hanna.

“Say it.”

“…”

“Just like I lost my son to their hands, you should be broken like me.”

“What?”

‘Ah. This is bad.’

Startled by Elissia’s words, I quickly gathered mana in my hands. The moment Elissia lost control was always when she began speaking about her past.

That was the sign she would start fully unleashing the power of an Apostle.

“This won’t do.”

It seemed Rowen had already joined up with a few others. He appeared to be steadily and quickly approaching while fending off Elissia’s attacks.

However.

Hanna didn’t have enough time to block Elissia’s attack. Elissia’s power was strong enough to move the entire mountain.

Gritting my teeth, I advanced toward Hanna.

[Limit Break is testing the limits of ‘Agility.’]

As Elissia’s mana enveloped Hanna’s body and her hand reached toward her, I dashed forward like lightning.

Red Lightning poured down from the sky.

The unstoppable lightning surged rapidly, sealing Elissia’s movements.

Through the rising cloud of dense dust, my figure emerged.

And then.

When Elissia saw my face.

“Who are you… huh…?”

She began to vomit uncontrollably.

“Ughhh!!!”

Staring at me with disbelief in her eyes.

“Wh… What are you?!”

She screamed at me.

“You…”

Looking at me with terrified eyes, she spoke.

“How many times have you died…?”

To Elissia, Ricardo appeared like a demon.

Regret, anger, envy, hatred, sacrifice.

All emotions blended into a swirling black mass in her vision.

Elissia could see the sorrow of a person.

A fragment of that person’s life, to be exact.

But Ricardo’s life.

Was tangled like a cobweb, as if he’d experienced countless deaths.

In the most grotesque way imaginable.