A Star That Shines for Others
There is a memory that has grown so faint it is now barely a concept at all. The villainess quietly furrows her brow.
It was a pure wish she had cherished completely as a child. But perhaps because life was so harsh, the world refused to let her remain an innocent little girl. The young lady had to struggle through fierce, relentless days. All for the sake of survival.
In the end, she forgot it. The once-pure heart had gradually taken on a murky hue. It was the process of becoming an adult.
'To protect the family from the elders... I must always show a venomous side.'
She hid her fragile sincerity. To ensure no one would look down on her, she wrapped herself in an even more poisonous shell. The villainess painted her heart with pretense.
Because of that, she sometimes felt a sense of disconnection. As if she had become someone else entirely. As if the self she had loved as a child was being grotesquely worn away with age.
The villainess would occasionally regret the dawn.
'...The truth is, I hated it.'
Forgetting her childhood. No matter how inevitable the process of growing up was, she wondered if she had said goodbye far too early. There were days when such thoughts tormented her.
'Still, that was the best choice at the time.'
The girl had forcibly erased herself. She had changed in order to survive. The doll reflected in the mirror felt increasingly unfamiliar. As the aspects of herself that she had once loved were torn away one by one, the villainess tried to fill that sense of loss with something else.
Recognition from others.
'A special person.'
She wanted to become a special person. A star that sparkled brilliantly. The obsession had long since settled into fixation. The girl accepted that she had become an adult and no longer ached when reflecting on her childhood. She thought she had grown numb to it.
Until an unimaginable statement flew from her own lips.
"Run out the door right now."
"I'll buy us some time here... so at least you can survive and escape."
"H-huh...?"
"I won't be able to hold out for long."
It was a simple change of heart. Because at that very moment, a nostalgic voice echoed in her ears.
Facing death, a single forgotten phrase colored her mind. Like a flurry of flashing images.
"It's fine."
She must have been irritated. The sight of herself trembling in fear, that ugly shaking, was pathetic. She hated it.
"Because I'm a special person."
Perhaps even this was nothing but vanity. If she survived this threshold of death, she could at least lord it over that commoner. With that thought in mind, Emilia kicked off the ground. At the same time, she hurled her spear with all her might.
Shweeeeeeek—!
The javelin raced forward with terrifying speed. The strike that drew a blue line through the air was soon blocked by writhing tentacles. Immediately after, the monster's eyes locked onto the villainess.
<Aaah... Uwaaah?>
It groaned with its massive maw wide open. The hundreds of eyeballs studded across its torso all stared in one direction at once. A truly grotesque sight. For a moment, fear flooded her, but she did not stop. She exploded her mana even more fiercely, scattering killing intent in all directions. So that she could firmly seize the monster's attention.
Snowflakes danced into the air. A bitter cold wind howled after the pure white afterimages.
Sharp fragments of ice slammed into the monster. Startled by its prey's sudden resistance, it flailed its tentacles in every direction. Soon, a roar of fury erupted.
<Uwaaaaaaaaaa!!>
A scream that threatened to tear eardrums apart. Right after the unpleasant noise, the monster thrust its tentacles toward Emilia as if annoyed. It seemed quite angry.
The villainess hurriedly deployed her magic.
Crack, craaaack—!
The small snowflakes merged together, forming a large shield. It collided with the rapidly approaching tentacles.
Kwoooooong—!
Perhaps because she had poured in every last drop of her remaining mana, even though the barrier was hastily made, it somehow held on by a thread. Continuous impacts battered the shield. The girl clenched her teeth and poured strength into her fingertips.
"Ugh...!"
It was a brutal contest of strength. A fight where their weight classes didn't even match. Yet Emilia resisted by pushing her technique to the absolute limit.
Creak, creeeeak—!
The flow of mana was adjusted with extreme precision. The formations tightly wove themselves together. Such detail condensed the cold and created a density comparable to steel. Control that surpassed all limits.
"Just a little more...!"
An unseasonable winter wind gathered. Within the raging storm, the girl stared ahead with nothing but sheer tenacity. Her blue eyes shimmered with light.
Kwoong! Kwoooooong—!
Every time the tentacles slammed against it, the laboratory resonated. The intense crashing sounds filled her with a sense of futility. She was giving it her all, but in the end, this was nothing more than buying time.
Cracks began to form across the shield.
<Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!>
The monster let out a shriek unlike any before. Sensing her rapidly fading strength, Emilia muttered quietly.
'Still... this should be enough, right?'
The time the girl had bought was a full twenty-one seconds. That was more than enough for Legia to have escaped the laboratory.
'I think I did pretty well, all things considered.'
The villainess had never liked the protagonist from the start. A mere commoner who had entered with outstanding grades and possessed talent that shone brighter than her own. It had been difficult to accept that fact. Perhaps it had been jealousy.
Even so.
In the end, she had won. The other girl had run away and was no longer here, but she herself remained alone, shining until the very last moment.
A noble star floating high above.
She savored the empty taste of mental victory.
"Because I'm special."
Just as she poured strength into the shield once more—
"My lady!"
Kwaaaaaaaa—!
A fireball flew in from somewhere and struck the monster square in the face. The unexpected ambush made the tentacles falter.
"Ugh...!"
Emilia barely managed to repair the shield. When she turned her head, a girl with pink hair stood there.
"You...?"
"My lady!!"
Shaking green eyes. The villainess, upon spotting the protagonist, cried out in shock.
"Commoner?! Why are you still here?!"
"How could I leave my lady behind?!"
"I clearly told you to run, you stupid...!"
She opened her mouth to scold her, but quickly realized this was no time for that. Because a tentacle was flying straight down from above.
Kwoooooong—!
A heavy impact crashed down. While she was trying to stabilize her scattered mana, she saw Legia kneeling right beside her. The girl pressed both hands to the floor. She spread her mana across it as if drawing a picture.
The girl shouted.
"I'll summon Ephri! I'm sure I can buy us enough time for both of us to escape!"
"Didn't you say you couldn't use summoning magic when you're scared...?!"
"That's why! I'll keep trying until it works!"
"Are you insane?!"
"There's no other way!!"
It was a dangerous gamble. Summoning magic consumed a massive amount of mana just to attempt, so Legia could very well collapse from mana exhaustion first. To attempt such a bet when the shield could shatter at any moment.
But.
In the current situation, it was the only hope worth clinging to. If she succeeded in summoning the wyvern, its overwhelming destructive power could carve out a path for them. In short, it was all or nothing.
"This is driving me crazy...!"
Emilia frowned. There were no other options. In the end, the villainess nodded, choosing to believe in the protagonist's potential.
Blue mana rippled in every direction.
"The shield will last one minute at most! You must succeed within that time...!"
Snowflakes spread everywhere. In that scene, the two girls stood together against the monster.
Meanwhile.
Narrow eyes melted into the darkness. Beyond the thick veil of shadows, the fierce struggle of two children unfolded. I watched every single scene.
"Hmm."
I had been quietly humming when I finally muttered a single phrase. It was a reaction steeped in surprise.
"How unexpected."
The girl with blue hair. My gaze was fixed on the villainess who was holding off the monster's attacks.
"I didn't expect anything from her at all... yet she chose to sacrifice herself."
This stage had originally been meant for Legia. The plan was for her to gain experience by facing a terrifying enemy and trigger the signs of awakening. In short, a growth event. I had even pretended to be dead to create an extreme situation. I had also planted safety measures in case of unexpected injury, so I thought I could simply watch quietly.
"It completely missed the mark."
The story was flowing in a completely unforeseen direction. At its center stood Emilia Vanity, the villainess who had tormented Legia so viciously in the original work. She had stepped forward and offered herself as bait.
Honestly, I hadn't held any expectations. No matter what hidden circumstances she had, she was still the villainess who drove the protagonist to the edge of a cliff. I had believed there was such a thing as predetermined fate.
That was why.
I had intended to pass her as long as she didn't stab Legia in the back. But in reality, Emilia had shown potential far beyond that.
I remembered the pupils that had shone brilliantly for a brief moment. Eyes that sparkled like stars. Pitiful in the face of death, yet so fiercely unyielding. A resolve that sent shivers down the spine. This time, it wasn't mere vanity. It was the nobility of breaking free from predetermined fate and walking a new path.
In my previous life, I had encountered her 1,943 times, but this was the only life where she showed such a dramatic redemption.
It was as if she were declaring proudly:
That she was someone who could change. That I should not arbitrarily define her future, her existence, or her character.
"You've proven it."
I had no choice but to acknowledge her. The vain woman who had once craved praise in a world where she lived alone had now learned to care for others and walk alongside them. She was no longer a star standing by herself.
"I praise you. This time, it will be of use."
A faint smile tugged at the corners of my lips. I shook off the lingering aftertaste and focused once more on the scene before me.
"Well... though it doesn't look like the boss fight is going very well."
It had already been ten minutes since the battle began. The children who had seemed to be holding on by a thread at first had now completely lost hope. The two girls' gamble had ended in failure.
Legia, who had pushed herself to attempt the summoning multiple times, had finally lost consciousness from mana exhaustion. Emilia sat there in a daze. In the villainess's arms lay the fainted protagonist.
"Have they given up?"
In truth, it was only natural for the two of them to lose. Even if the summoning had succeeded, the result would likely have been the same. After all, this stage was an event designed to be an inevitable defeat unless one used cheats.
EP5. Midterm Exam
📍 Location: Abandoned Laboratory
📍 Boss: The Monster That Cannot Laugh
The boss monster, the monster that cannot laugh. It was a creature designed to be impossible to defeat in the early stages. You could think of it as a typical "unwinnable event" that occasionally appears in games.
"It was meant to be a stepping stone to the next episode."
In the original story, Legia is defeated as well. The monster binds the protagonist with its tentacles and drags her off to an unknown location. It kidnaps the player. The episode that follows is none other than—
EP6. Bergen-Belsen
📍 Location: Bergen-Belsen
📍 Title: The Lost Girl and the Monsters That Cannot Cry
Originally, both episodes were meant to showcase the brutality of the dark magic organization Baob. But this time, things would be a little different.
"I suppose it's about time for me to step in."
Having the dark mages torment the protagonist's party is such a cliché development. So, wouldn't it be nice to occasionally flip the script?
I smile wickedly.
"Hehe."
The shadows around me recede. I stepped toward the scene outside.
"...So this is how it ends after all."
Emilia muttered blankly. She knelt on the floor, waiting for death as it slowly approached. The shield above her head was covered in cracks.
"How empty."
Her voice was calm as she recited the words. In the villainess's arms lay the unconscious protagonist. Emilia absentmindedly stroked the pink hair. The warm body heat against her fingertips felt painfully faint. It made her painfully aware that the girl was still alive. It made it impossible to remain indifferent to the ending that would soon arrive.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—!
Though she tried to appear composed, she could not hide her violently pounding heart. Her heart raced as if it would burst.
'...I'm still scared after all.'
Even though it was a result she had chosen herself, tears kept flowing. She bit her lip hard.
Kwoooooong—! Kwoong—!
The cracks in the shield grew larger. Through the gaps, she could see the tentacles. They were filled with the intent to tear their prey apart at any moment.
Emilia let out a small, bitter laugh.
'I never thought I'd die like this.'
Only regret remained. The days she had desperately fought to survive flashed before her eyes. Life really was this empty.
'I'm sorry, Ruska.'
She had wanted to stay by her only family's side, yet she would meet her end first. If she were left alone, the family elders would never leave her be. She had been such an inadequate older sister in so many ways.
Hot tears rolled down her cheeks.
<Kyaaaaaaaaa!!>
Kwaaaaaang—!!
The shield finally shattered. Through the fragments of ice, the monster's form was revealed. It laughed with its hideous maw wide open. The tentacles writhed and twitched grotesquely.
God truly was cruel. She had achieved none of the things she desired—truth, revenge, happiness, success, love—and yet He would take her life at her most pathetic moment.
"What a shame."
She still hadn't uncovered the truth behind her parents' deaths. She hadn't taken revenge on the despicable family elders. She hadn't seen Ruska, who had a fiancé, get married. She hadn't become the Empire's greatest ice magician as she had dreamed.
"The love I only ever read about in books... I wanted to experience it someday."
She could only recite bitter soliloquies. The villainess carefully laid the protagonist she had been holding onto the floor. Then she rose to her feet alone.
"...I should have lived a little more kindly, I suppose."
It was the reflection of a death row inmate before execution. In the girl's hand was a single blue spear. It was ice she had carved out with her last remaining strength. Because her output was lacking, it had a crude shape. Still, it was enough.
The girl moved her trembling arm and pointed the spear tip at the monster. If her future was destined to be crushed by fate anyway, she would fight until the very end in this damned tragedy.
"Haa... haa..."
As she caught her exhausted breath, dozens of tentacles suddenly shot toward her at terrifying speed. Massive whips came crashing down from above. Emilia gently closed her eyes.
'...I just hope it doesn't hurt too much.'
With that faint wish in her heart. The rushing finale brushed past her like a scene from a play. Just before the tentacles engulfed the girls—
Slice—!
A clean cutting sound stimulated her ears. When she opened her eyes that she had kept shut, the tentacles floating in the air came into view. Every one of them had been sliced into tiny pieces.
"...?"
As she stared at the unreal sight in a daze, a familiar voice reached her.
Black shadows scattered before her eyes.
"My, my... what a perfect moment of crisis."
A shadow now stood behind her. As if in an intimate embrace, he had rested his chin on the girl's shoulder. Golden hair shimmered in her vision.
"My lady."
When she turned her head, what she saw was none other than a snake. The boy who had appeared from who-knows-where leaned against the villainess with a wicked smile on his face. A sinister whisper stained her earlobe. It was a breath that left her feeling dazed just from hearing it.
"Do you need strength?"
The snake flicked his tongue. Emilia froze as she stared into those narrowed eyes. Through the slight gap, white pupils she had never seen before gazed back at her. A sticky sense of unease crawled down her throat.
"It seems I may be able to help you."
The corners of his eyes curved into a smile. They gleamed more dangerously than any tragedy she had ever known.