Light (4)
There is a memory that has now become blurred even in concept.
The villainess furrows her brows slightly.
- Rather than shining, you wish to be a star that illuminates.
A wish she had cherished completely during her childhood.
But perhaps because of the harshness of life.
The world did not leave her as just a child, and the girl had to struggle through a fierce daily life.
Just to survive.
In the end, she forgot.
Her pure heart now bore a murky hue.
It was part of growing up.
'To protect the family from the elders... I must always show a venomous side.'
She hides her fragile sincerity.
To prevent others from looking down on her, she dons an even more vicious shell.
A villainess painting hypocrisy in her heart.
Because of this.
Sometimes, she felt a sense of dissonance.
As if she had become someone else.
The self she loved as a child seemed to erode hideously with age.
The villainess occasionally regretted the dawn.
'...Actually, I hated it.'
Forgetting her childhood.
Even though it was an inevitable process of becoming an adult, wasn't she saying goodbye too early?
There were days when such thoughts tormented her.
'But that was the best choice.'
The girl forcibly erased herself.
She changed to survive.
The doll reflected beyond the mirror felt increasingly unfamiliar.
As the aspects of herself she loved were stripped away one by one, the villainess sought to fill that sense of loss with something else.
Recognition from others.
'A special person.'
She wanted to be a special person.
A star that shines brightly.
The obsession soon turned into fixation.
The girl accepted that she had grown up, and no longer hurt from reminiscing about her childhood.
She thought she had become numb.
"Run out the door immediately."
Until an unimaginable statement burst from her lips.
"I'm going to try to buy us some time here... At least you should get out alive."
"What, what...?"
"I won't be able to hold out for long."
It was a simple change of heart.
- Emilia.
- You can forget everything else, but you must live remembering this one thing.
Of all times, then.
A familiar voice lingered in my ears.
- Light only has value when there is someone to shine it.
Facing death.
A forgotten phrase colors my mind.
Like a fleeting vision.
"It's okay."
I think I was annoyed.
The sight of myself, terrified, trembling pathetically.
I hated that.
"I'm a special person."
Perhaps even this was vanity.
If I survive on the threshold of death, I thought I might at least show off to that commoner.
Emilia slams the ground.
At the same time, she launches her spear with full force.
Who—!
The spear races swiftly.
The strike, drawing a blue line, is soon blocked by writhing tentacles.
The monster's eyes fixate on the villainess.
<Aah... Ugh?>
It groans with its massive mouth open.
Hundreds of eyes attached to its body simultaneously focus one spot.
A bizarre scene.
Fear creeps in for a moment, but she doesn't stop.
She explosively unleashes her mana fiercely, scattering killing intent around.
To draw the monster's attention.
Snowflakes fly into the air.
Following the pure white afterimages, a cold wind swirls.
<Ugh, ah...!>
Sharp ice shards strike the monster.
Perhaps surprised by the sudden resistance of its prey, it reacts by flailing its tentacles in all directions.
Soon, a roar of anger echoes.
<Uwaaah!!>
A scream that seems to tear through the eardrums.
Immediately after the unpleasant noise, the monster extends its tentacles toward Emilia, as if annoyed.
She seemed to be quite furious.
The villainess hastily deploys her magic.
Swish, swish—!
The small snowflakes merge together to form a large shield.
They collide with the rapidly approaching tentacles.
Boom—!
Perhaps due to pouring all her remaining mana into it,
Even though it was a hastily made shield, it managed to hold on precariously.
The successive shocks pound the shield.
The girl clenches her teeth and tightens her fingers.
"Ugh…!"
It was an intense contest of strength.
A fight where the physical disparity was evident. However, Emilia resisted by pushing her skills to the limit.
Crack, crack—!
The flow of mana is meticulously adjusted.
The arrangement intricately weaves together.
Such detail condenses the coldness and forms a density comparable to steel.
Control beyond the limits.
"Just a bit more…!"
An unseasonable winter wind gathers.
Amid the swirling storm, the girl kept her eyes wide open solely with determination.
Her blue eyes, flickering with light.
Boom! Boom—!
Each time the tentacles collide, the laboratory reverberates.
The intense explosion produces a feeling of emptiness.
Although she was doing her best, it was ultimately just a matter of buying time.
Cracks slowly appear in the shield.
<Kiiaaa!!!>
The monster emits a roar like never before.
Feeling the decreasing durability, Emilia mutters softly.
'Still, isn’t this enough…?'
The time the girl bought was a whole 21 seconds.
That should be more than enough time for Regia to escape the laboratory.
'I think I did my best.'
The villainess never liked the protagonist from the start.
A commoner who entered with excellent grades and had talents that shone brighter than hers.
She found it hard to accept that fact.
Perhaps it was jealousy.
Still.
In the end, she was the one who won.
Though she had fled and wasn’t here, she remained alone, shining until the end.
A star floating high and aloof.
She chews over her hollow mental victory.
"Because I'm special."
Just as she was about to put strength into her shield again.
"Lady!"
Boom-!
A fireball from somewhere strikes the monster's face.
The unexpected ambush causes the tentacles to hesitate.
"Ugh...!"
Emilia barely manages to recover her shield.
Turning her head, she sees a girl with pink hair standing there.
"You...?"
"Lady!!"
Shaking green eyes.
The villainess, upon discovering the protagonist, shouts in shock.
"Commoner?! Why are you still here!"
"How could I leave you alone!"
"I clearly told you to run away, you fool...!"
She opens her mouth to scold but soon realizes it's not the time for that.
Tentacles were flying right above them.
Thud-!
A heavy impact lands.
While adjusting the disrupted mana, she sees Regia kneeling right beside her.
She places both hands on the ground.
Drawing mana on the floor as if painting a picture.
The girl shouts.
"I'll summon Ephri! It should buy us enough time for the two of you to escape!"
"Weren't you unable to use summoning magic when you're scared...?!"
"That's why! I'll keep trying until it works!"
"Are you crazy?!"
"What other choice do we have!!"
It was a dangerous plan.
Summoning magic consumes a large amount of mana just by attempting it, so Regia could collapse from mana exhaustion first.
In such a situation where even the shield could break at any moment, this was a gamble.
But.
Given the current circumstances, it was the most hopeful option they had.
If they succeeded in summoning the wyvern, its overwhelming power could clear a path for them.
In short, it was an all-or-nothing situation.
"This is driving me crazy, really...!"
Emilia furrowed her brows.
There were no other options.
The villainess decided to believe in the protagonist's potential and nodded.
Blue mana rippled in all directions.
"The shield will last only a minute! We must succeed within that time..."
Snowflakes scattered everywhere.
In such a scene, the two faced the monster.
***
Meanwhile.
Eyes squinted in the darkness.
Beyond the thick shadow curtain, the children were fiercely battling.
I was watching every scene.
"Hmm."
As I quietly hummed, I muttered a word.
It was a reaction steeped in surprise.
"Unexpected."
A girl with blue hair.
My eyes were fixed on the villainess enduring the monster's attack.
"I didn't expect it at all... choosing sacrifice there."
Originally, it was a stage for Regia.
The plan was to gain experience by facing a terrifying enemy and trigger the prelude to awakening.
In short, a growth event.
I even pretended to be dead to create an extreme situation.
I had set up safety measures to prevent any unforeseen injuries, thinking I could just watch quietly now.
"It completely missed my intention."
The development took an unexpected turn.
At the center stood Emilia Vanity, the villainess who tormented Regia relentlessly in the original story.
She volunteered as bait and stepped forward.
-Run outside immediately.
Honestly, I had no expectations.
No matter the hidden circumstances, she was still a villain pushing the protagonist to the brink.
I thought there was a predetermined fate.
Therefore.
I intended to pass her as long as she didn't betray Regia.
But in reality, Emilia showed more potential than that.
-I'll buy us some time here... you must survive and get out.
I remember those eyes that shone brilliantly for a brief moment.
They sparkled like stars. Despite the sorrow before death, there was an unyielding determination, strong enough not to break.
A chilling resolve.
This time, it wasn’t driven by mere vanity.
It was nobility, breaking away from a predetermined fate and advancing towards a new path.
Although I had encountered her 1,943 times in my previous life, this was the only life where she showed such a dramatic rebirth.
She seemed to say boldly:
- I am a special person.
That she could change.
That no one should prematurely decide her future, her existence, or who she is.
"You’ve proven yourself."
I couldn’t help but acknowledge it.
The vain person who once craved praise in a world only she lived in had now learned to care for others and walk alongside them.
She was no longer alone in her constellation.
"I praise you. This time, it will mean something."
A faint smile crept across my lips.
Shaking off the lingering aftertaste, I refocused on the scene unfolding in front of me.
"Well... It seems like the boss strategy isn’t going too well, though."
It had been 10 minutes since the battle began.
At first, it seemed like the kids were barely holding on, but now it looked like they had completely lost hope.
The gamble between the two had failed.
Regia, who had tried summoning several times beyond her limit, had finally collapsed, most likely from mana exhaustion.
Emilia was sitting dazedly on the ground.
The protagonist lay unconscious in the villainess's arms.
"Have they given up?"
Honestly, it was only natural for those two to lose.
Even if the summoning had succeeded, the result would have been the same.
From the start, this stage was designed to be an unwinnable event unless someone used a cheat.
[EP5. Midterm Exam]
- The Abandoned Laboratory, the Smiling Monster -
Boss monster: the Smiling Monster.
This creature was designed to be impossible to defeat in the early stages.
It’s easy to think of it as a typical unwinnable event that occasionally appears in various games.
"We were close to the stepping stone leading to the next episode."
In the original work, Regia also loses.
The monster binds the protagonist with its tentacles and drags her to an unknown place.
It kidnaps the player.
And the episode that follows is:
[EP6. Bergen Belsen]
-The Lost Girl, The Monster Who Cannot Cry-
Originally, both episodes were parts meant to show the cruelty of the black magic organization called 'Baob.'
But this time, it was going to be a little different.
"It seems like it's about time for me to step in."
It's quite a cliché for black magicians to torment the protagonist's party.
So, wouldn't it be nice if things sometimes went the other way around?
I smirked slyly.
"Hehe."
Shadows gathered around me.
I took steps toward the outside scenery.
***
"······Is this how it ends?"
Emilia muttered blankly.
She was kneeling on the ground, waiting for the slowly approaching death.
The shield above her head was full of cracks.
"It's so futile."
A calm voice murmured.
In the villainess's arms lay the unconscious protagonist.
Emilia absentmindedly stroked her pink hair.
The warmth she felt at her fingertips seemed particularly thin. It made her feel alive.
She felt she couldn't remain indifferent to the imminent end.
Thump, thump, thump, thump-!
Though she tried to appear composed, she couldn't hide her pounding heartbeat.
Her heart raced as if it would burst.
'······I'm still scared.'
Even though it was the result of her own choice, tears kept falling.
She bit her lip gently.
Boom-! Boom-!
The cracks in the shield grew larger.
Through the gaps, tentacles could be seen. They were filled with the intent to tear their prey apart at any moment.
Emilia lets out a small laugh.
"I didn't think I would die like this."
It was nothing but regret.
The days she struggled to survive flashed before her eyes.
Life was so futile.
"I'm sorry, Ruska."
She wanted to be there as the only family member, but in the end, she faced the end first.
If left alone, the elders of the family wouldn't leave him alone.
She was an inadequate sister in many ways.
Hot tears fall down her cheeks.
<Screeeeech!!>
Boom-!!
The shield finally shatters.
Through the shards of ice, the monster's figure emerges. It is laughing with its grotesque mouth wide open.
Its tentacles writhe and twist bizarrely.
God is truly cruel.
Truth, revenge, happiness, success, love... She achieved none of them.
To die at the most miserable moment.
"It's a pity."
She still hadn't uncovered the truth about her parents' death.
She hadn't avenged herself on the despicable elders of the family.
Ruska, who had a fiancé. She hadn't even seen her brother get married.
She hadn't fulfilled her dream of becoming the empire's greatest ice mage.
"The love I read about in books... I wanted to experience it someday."
She muttered bitterly.
The villainess carefully laid the protagonist's body on the ground.
Then she stood up alone.
"...I should have lived a bit more kindly."
It was the reflection of a condemned prisoner awaiting execution.
In the girl's hand was a blue spear. It was a piece of ice she had carved with her last strength.
Due to the lack of power, it had a rough shape.
Of course, it was enough.
The girl moved her trembling arm and pointed the tip of the spear at the monster.
If her future was destined to crumble anyway.
She decided to fight until the very end in this damned tragedy.
"Haa, haa..."
As she caught her breath, dozens of tentacles suddenly flew towards her.
Giant whips descended from above.
Emilia gently closed her eyelids.
'...I hope it doesn't hurt too much.'
With a faint wish in mind.
The rushing conclusion passed by like a scene from a play. Just before the tentacles engulfed the girls.
At that moment.
Swish-!
A clean slicing sound tickled her ears.
When she opened her eyes, fragments of the tentacles floating in the air came into view.
Each one was cut into small pieces.
"...?"
As she stared blankly at the surreal scene, a familiar voice reached her ears.
Dark shadows scattered before her eyes.
"Oh dear... It seems to be a moment of crisis."
A shadow standing behind her before she knew it.
As if engaging in an affectionate act, he rested his chin on the girl's shoulder.
Golden hair shimmered in her vision.
"Lady."
When she turned her head, what she saw was none other than a snake.
A boy, whose origin was unknown, leaned against the villainess with a sinister smile.
A wicked whisper colored her earlobe.
Just hearing it made her feel dazed.
"Do you need power?"
The snake flicked its tongue.
Emilia stared with narrowed eyes, frozen in place.
Through the slightly parted gap, white pupils she had never seen before gazed at her.
A sticky sense of discomfort traced her throat.
"I believe I can be of assistance."
His smiling eyes glinted more dangerously than any tragedy.
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