Save the Villainess (1)
The warehouse of the abandoned paper factory.
"......"
In that faded, filthy place, the girl who had been unconscious finally opened her eyes. She didn't need to wonder what had happened to her.
"Y-Yuria."
"......Mad Dog."
The answer was already standing right in front of her.
I don't know why they kidnapped me, but they don't seem intent on killing me just yet.
Having taken stock of the situation, a chilly smile slid across Yuria's face.
"Untie me."
A bewitching, beautiful voice. Not a shred of aura or mana in it — nothing but her voice and the weight of her presence, and yet.
"Y-you bitch!!"
"Stay back, boss!!"
The two men standing guard over Dexter drew their swords and leveled the blades at Yuria's throat.
"Puhah."
Steel bit into her skin. Yuria's smile never wavered.
"Impressive, I'll give you that. How'd you even climb that high with trash like this at your side?"
From her narrowed eyes, a golden gleam spilled forth — wicked, and sharp as a raptor's.
"You crazy bitch!!!"
One of the men took the bait, flung his sword aside, and swung his fist.
THWACK!
Her vision spun violently, and a metallic tang of blood filled her mouth.
"Bark, then!! Go on, bark again!!"
The beating that followed was merciless. Was it the insult? The fact that she'd dismissed their boss? Or—
"Woof."
"Y-you crazy...!!!"
Was it that icy gaze, still looking down on him even now, that he was so afraid of?
I have to kill her while I still can.
Otherwise he was the one who would die. Survival instinct. The talent that had carried this man all the way here — a treasure, in the underworld.
"I'll just kill you!!"
Overwhelmed by Yuria, the man reached for the sword he'd thrown aside.
"Hey."
Thud.
Dexter had already slipped behind him, resting his chin on the man's shoulder.
"Yuria's kinda scary, huh?"
Dark red hair, sharp teeth, and eyes so black they were nearly opaque. Mad Dog Dexter.
The man shook his head frantically.
"N-no, sir!!"
"Like hell you weren't, you bastard."
CRUNCH!!
He bit through the man's throat and tore it out, then grabbed the corpse by the hair the way you'd pick up a doll. With his other hand he seized the corpse's jaw and worked it in front of Yuria, making the teeth clack.
"I'm soooorry. I was just sooo scared I was gonna kill her while I had the chance."
Yuria stared at the display in silence, then turned her head away with a sigh.
"You're getting blood on my clothes."
"Aigoo, soooorry."
Swish, swish. He moved the corpse's hand to wipe the blood off — and only smeared more of it on.
"......Cut it out. If you're not going to kill me, how about we get to the point?"
"Oh, shall we?"
Whoosh — THUD! The heavy corpse was flung aside like a stuffed doll.
"Make your choice, and make it fast. Before I kill every last one of you."
Yuria let out a scoff.
"And you think you can?"
No matter how much they called it the underworld, the Backstreets — this was still the land of the Marcia Empire. The imperial capital, no less. The Empire tolerated the underworld because it recognized them as a necessary evil, and because the underworld's leader had entered a secret pact to keep at least a minimum line. The leader in question being Ian.
"You're still being watched."
Dexter, who had taken the Shadow King's throne through cowardice, had never received the Empire's recognition.
"Go ahead and try, if you can."
That was why he couldn't move freely — and why Ian and the remnants were still alive.
But then—
"That's our Yuria. Sharp mind, plenty of guts. I'm starting to see why the family head wants you."
Someone in a robe stepped out from behind Dexter.
"There's just one little problem, though."
He strode up to Yuria and held out a sheet of paper.
"You're too lowborn to understand power."
The contents were sparse compared to the quality of the paper.
The Eye of the Sun has been veiled.
Yuria understood at once. The sun was the Empire. The eye being veiled meant Dexter was now free. The seal stamped on it was Viscount Ramis's, and the man standing before her was a familiar face.
So the Ramis family is involved.
Yuria grasped the truth.
But how?
The Ramis family was powerful — but only among viscount houses. They weren't strong enough to hide the entire underworld from the capital's garrison.
......Don't tell me?
Was there someone even higher?
The moment that thought formed—
"Last chance, Yuria."
Paloma, having thrown off the robe, whispered into her ear.
"Join us."
"......And what would that change?"
"Everything. We'll treat the former Shadow King. Spare all your people. And I'll tell that rabid dog to keep his hands off you."
Honestly, she wavered. Ever since Ian had been stripped of the Shadow King's throne, Yuria's life had been a walk across thin ice.
"...I—"
But she had to refuse. She knew it in her gut. Whatever it was they served — she could never, ever get involved with it.
"The Ramis viscount house supports you, and later you help us. Simple, right?"
"I'll give you one gold a day."
"We'll supply all your magic equipment, too."
"If you want, they'll even throw in a mansion."
That was why, no matter how many times she'd wavered, Yuria had never accepted.
But now. Now, with her family's lives on the line.
"......"
Would it be so wrong to pretend she knew nothing, and take the villains' offer?
But then—
"W-we've got a problem!!"
The subordinate they'd sent to scout came rushing back. The remaining man guarding Dexter stood and approached him.
"What the hell was that?"
They'd sent him to investigate the white pillar that had appeared out of nowhere.
"H-high-tier magic. A unique spell independently developed by someone of Sage-class or higher!! Twenty of our guys died in a single hit!!"
"What?! You're saying a Sage got involved!?"
"I can't confirm that much, but we identified his epithet!!"
"What is it?"
Gulp. The man swallowed, his face pale with terror, and forced the name out.
"H-Honey Man, they said."
Right after the report.
"I'm going myself."
Dexter assembled a team of his personal subordinates, determined to find Honey Man.
"I should report to the family head first..."
Paloma, his face gone deathly pale, pulled out paper and pen and headed outside.
"What about this bitch?"
"Boss said he'll kill anyone who touches her. It's an iron door anyway — she can't escape. Leave her and just lock it from the outside."
"Let's do that. We gotta get out of here, boss."
And so Yuria bought herself some time.
"......"
Had they converted it into a prison? The iron door was disgustingly thick. That was a blessing, in its way.
CRACK!
"Nngh...!"
It was why Yuria, beaten to a pulp, could finally let herself hurt. She snapped one of her own fingers, and the restraints on both thumbs came loose. The mana that had been completely scattered began to recover, slowly.
RIIIP!
She tore a scrap of cloth from a rag lying nearby and splinted the broken finger. That was all she could do.
"If I want to escape without killing anyone... I'll need at least fifteen minutes."
Thud. She slumped into a corner of the warehouse and waited for her depleted mana to recover.
Yuria lifted her head.
"......It's quiet."
A dark warehouse of brick. Moonlight filtered through a narrow gap, and beneath it, dust floated like stars. She reached toward it. It glittered, so she tried to catch it — but her wounds shifted, and all she felt was pain.
"This...!"
She was angry, for no good reason. She'd moved her body through searing pain, and finally caught a few motes of dust in her hand.
"It's not fair."
Far from glittering as they had before, they clung to her fingers, black and filthy, and only dirtied her hand.
"You're so unfair, Goddess."
Come to think of it, it had always been like this. She'd always reached for happiness, but whenever she closed her hand and opened it, all she found was misery.
"...It's not like I asked for something big."
She hadn't even wished for an ordinary life. Just to keep living as she was — for Ian not to be in pain, for the people of the Backstreets not to go hungry, for them not to die caught up in some thug's brawl. Just to live at the bare minimum, and at least not die tomorrow. Or maybe...
"Is even that too big a dream for me?"
Yuria lifted her head.
"I lived so hard... I never once let myself struggle, not even once..."
Tears joined the blood and wounds covering her face, turning it into a ruin.
"I even saved the time it would've taken to feel sorry for myself...! I spent half my life working that hard, and all I asked was that I wouldn't die tomorrow!!!"
So why.
"......Why won't you even grant me that?"
The moment after she'd poured out that resentment—
"Puhah!"
Yuria burst into a hollow laugh. Even the sliver of sky she'd been staring at, the one she'd been cursing — something had covered it, and it was gone.
"Alright. I understand now."
Yuria finally stopped crying.
"This... you brought this all on yourself."
She wiped her face with a bloodied hand, painting over the tear tracks with blood. A murky haze settled over eyes that had been shining, and a curve traced itself onto lips that had been trembling with grief.
The next moment.
RUMMMMMBLE...!!!
An enormous volume of mana gathered around where Yuria stood. It far surpassed her previous limit — six circles, B-Rank.
"......I finally broke through."
Those who grew through enlightenment. That was what a mage was. What Yuria had realized from the situation just now was this: if you want something, you seize it by any means necessary.
"I should've done this a long time ago."
Yuria reached toward the iron door. It wasn't even a proper spell — just compressed mana, set in motion.
SKRRRRREEEEECH!!!
The iron door tore like paper, revealing the remnants waiting outside. Not a single one of them could move.
"......"
"......"
"......"
The moment they did, their bodies would be shredded just like that iron door. That much was certain. And so Yuria hesitated. The faces of those standing at death's door kept shaking her resolve.
But...
"If I let them live, they'll just come back to kill me."
And just as the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes were about to fall—
"I thought you told me not to come. That you'd be fine."
A familiar voice came from somewhere.
Stealth (A-)
Right in front of her.
"Huh?"
How? A masked man, appearing out of nowhere. Before Yuria could even process the situation—
"The candy was good."
"Eugene?"
"Tasted great. So I bought you some too."
Click.
"......Honey candy."
"It's good, right?"
Sweetness spread through Yuria's mouth.
"......Yeah."
A lump rose in her throat. Yuria nearly cried, but she held it back and asked,
"How did you even..."
As if to say she was asking something obvious, Eugene sighed and answered.
That was her limit. Yuria burst into tears at once, and Eugene quickly pulled her into his arms.
"You done watching?"
Iron Prison (A+)
Shinggg. The iron around them shattered into fragments, forming a hemispherical barrier. It was Cheolsu's skill. Eugene hid himself inside it and grinned at the crowd gathered outside.
"If you want to live, get the hell out."
The next moment. Shhhk. The barrier was complete.