Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Villain's Guardian
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Grimoire had fallen into a deep sleep. Everlin gazed at her master's sleeping face for a long while.
Silver hair peeked out between the small, pointed horns that faintly glimmered in the moonlight. The usual arrogance and bravado were gone, leaving only the innocent face of a young girl.
'You made it through another day safely.'
She rose from her seat and quietly closed the door. Now it was time for her night to begin.
"Maids belong to the day, shadows to the night."
Everlin returned to her room and slowly unbuttoned her blouse.
The black dress with its white frills slipped to the floor. The apron followed, loosening and falling away. She carefully removed the headpiece that had been neatly pinned in her hair.
One by one, the symbols of her maid identity came off.
Opening the wardrobe revealed a black suit set waiting for her.
The perfectly fitted jacket wrapped around her shoulders with reassuring stability. The belt cinched firmly around her waist. Unlike the flexible softness of her maid uniform, this outfit enveloped her in the rigid sharpness designed for combat.
Standing before the mirror, Everlin beheld her transformed self. No longer a maid, but a ruthless guardian.
"I can't let blood stain my maid uniform."
Truthfully, there was a more honest reason. She wanted to keep her two identities completely separate. The face she showed Grimoire had to be different from the one she showed her enemies.
"It's enough if Master only knows the warmth of the world."
All the darkness would be hers to bear.
She took a pair of black gloves from the drawer and slipped them into her pocket, then secured a set of silver daggers into the sleeve holster inside her jacket.
Squeak-squeak-
As she stepped into the living room, Darkness and White King called out to her. A map of S City lay spread across the small table.
Squeak!
White King squeaked and pointed to a spot on the map. The eastern industrial district. An abandoned factory zone, the perfect hideout for her "enemies."
"You've done well. I'll handle the cleanup."
Countless eyes and ears infiltrated every corner of the city—sewers, interiors, cracks in walls. No information network in the world could match the rats' web. Thanks to them, her nights were far more efficient.
"Guard the villa and protect Master. I'll be back soon."
Squeak-!
The rats gathered their front paws in a salute, like soldiers at attention.
Everlin headed to the window. It was the third floor, but that posed no problem for her. She opened it and slipped outside with balanced poise, descending the wall silently.
The night air was cold.
The eastern industrial district was S City's old scar. Once the heart of the city's industry, it was now a graveyard of abandoned factories and rusted machinery.
Her senses keenly grasped the surroundings.
Faint vibrations in the air, shadows shifting in the darkness, and above all, the distinctive forms she knew all too well.
Agents in black masks moved around the abandoned factory. Uniform motions, mechanical movements, vacant eyes.
Cherubim.
'The Hermetic Order's intelligence unit.'
The Cherubim were a special force made up of the Hermetic Order's experiments. Loyal servants created by implanting mechanical devices into their brains and nerves. They each possessed the combat prowess of a B-Rank Hero at minimum.
Their presence here meant one thing. The Hermetic Order had found Grimoire.
Everlin observed the building structure and calculated the optimal path. North fence, roof vent, underground via sewer pipe. Of the three, the sewer seemed safest.
'Six... no, eight. There are more inside the factory.'
Everlin circled to the back of the factory. Two Cherubim stood guard there.
Suddenly, a small rat appeared before the Cherubim. It was Darkness.
'You followed me all the way here?'
Darkness stared them down boldly, wagging its tail without a hint of fear. The two Cherubim's gazes locked onto the rat.
Squeak-squeak-!
At the sudden cry, the Cherubim instantly raised their weapons and assumed alert positions.
"Unidentified organism detected."
"Confirmed as common rat. Threat level zero."
It was as if it was deliberately drawing their attention.
'Clever little thing...'
Everlin didn't miss the moment. The instant their eyes focused on the rat, she appeared silently behind them.
Silver sliced through the darkness.
Her dagger flashed, piercing both Cherubim's throats precisely.
The motion was swift yet precise. Restrained, yet lethal.
They collapsed without even a sound.
Green liquid—not human blood—oozed from their necks. Their bodies had been modified far too much.
They were no longer people, just tools.
She dispatched them as enemies, but pity stirred within her too. If she hadn't met Grimoire, she might have ended up the same.
Everlin quickly dragged the bodies into the shadows.
Darkness nodded toward her. Everlin dipped her head slightly in thanks.
She entered the factory. She moved silently between old machinery and rusted conveyor belts.
The Cherubim stationed throughout bore various modifications.
Mechanical arms, enhanced eyes, altered legs... But they were no match for Everlin.
Everlin targeted one Cherub's nape, plunging her dagger in. The sharp metal pierced the reinforced spine, severing the central nerve circuit.
The motion flowed naturally, like water. The beauty of taking a life. A dance of death.
They fell without ever noticing her presence.
A perfect killing machine. An assassin executing her mission without a single mistake or flicker of emotion. Once, that had been her entire existence. But not anymore. Now, it was the purpose behind the act that mattered.
When she reached the wide open space in the factory's center, Everlin halted. Even in the darkness, his figure was clear. The face etched into her memory.
A man sat in a chair there. Late sixties, sharp eyes, impeccably trimmed beard, wearing a lab coat over a custom suit. His left eye had been replaced with a glowing blue artificial orb.
High-end alchemical equipment and monitors surrounded him, screens overflowing with photos of Grimoire.
"Doctor Lazar."
He spotted Everlin and smiled. No trace of surprise on his face.
"Experiment Alpha-001, Avir Epher. Return order."
The Hermetic Order's chief researcher and head of the "King's Return" project. The very overseer who had "maintained" Everlin.
Dr. Lazar spoke calmly.
"Bring back Experiment Omega, and you'll be forgiven. Everything returns to how it was."
Everlin's expression twisted for a split second. How dare he call her master an experiment. Fury flashed in her eyes.
"Alpha, you've caused us immense losses. Destroyed labs, burned data, countless alchemists dead. But it's fine. We only need Omega."
"Master is not an experiment."
"You were designed as the king's knight. Omega's guardian, Alpha. Your loyalty is just programming. The emotions you feel for that girl are nothing but an algorithm."
"My loyalty is voluntary. Unlike the commands you forced into me."
How simple the truth was. If her existence had always been meant for Grimoire, wasn't this fate?
"A name? A reason for being? All delusions. Like a prisoner locked away for life yearning for the outside world— you're just bewitched by false freedom."
"Words like that won't shake me. The chains the Order put on me are already broken."
Grimoire's smiles, her laughter, her playful orders, even her occasional pouts.
The warmth of everyday life blazed hot in Everlin's heart.
Her task was clear. Eliminate the Hermetic Order's pursuers and return to Crown Villa 301. That was where her real life waited.
"Unbelievable. A dog doesn't become human just because it snaps its leash and runs. How many brain wipes will it take to fix you?"
Cherubim began encircling Everlin. Their red eyes glowed in the darkness.
Everlin slowly slipped on her black gloves. No more time to waste. She raised her hand.
Flames of oblivion that consume all. Eternal black fire.
Reduces matter to prima materia—the concept of nothingness made manifest.
Whoosh—
Black flames erupted from her fingertips. Black Flame.
The Cherubim charged at her in unison.
But their enhanced bodies and mechanical implants were useless.
The moment they touched the black flames, life and machine alike vanished. Only ashes remained.
"If you wanted to catch me, you should have brought Metatron. I'll end this quickly. I need to get back to Master."
"Hah, I'm more than enough alone. You're just a fluke prototype. Meanwhile, the Order keeps transcending limits."
Dr. Lazar gestured, and a new type of Cherubim appeared. More evolved than the previous ones, with even more mechanical implants and blue circuits integrated into their skin.
"Could that be...?"
"Yes, Ether. The fifth element that blurs the boundary between matter and energy."
The last time she'd seen it, Ether tech was an unfinished project confined to sealed lab chambers.
"Soon, a new order will replace the world's chaos. The king's return has already begun. Omega will be the king of paradise."
Dr. Lazar raised his hand. The evolved Cherubim assumed attack positions. Their arms transformed into blades and cannons.
"Master is not a king. She's a wicked villain."
"What?"
No matter what cutting-edge tech the Order brought, Everlin had no intention of backing down. The black flames devoured the surrounding light.
The night was still deep, and the battle had only just begun.