133
My Villains Chapter 133
35. The Legendary Bloodline (1)
"Ugh, that's it."
A young man with a flushed face was struggling. The creaky support of the noose-caught witch let out a shrill scream.
"...What?"
It was stuffy. To me, over 190 cm tall, this one-room felt too cramped.
...Me? Who am I?
I slowly looked around the entrance.
A bed with a rumpled blanket, a pile of laundry, dusty old textbooks, and a computer with a photo displayed on the screen.
On the computer screen, Ellen was smiling brightly.
No, looking closer, it wasn't Ellen. She had straight black hair without double eyelids. Why did I mistake her?
"Ugh."
The young man with the noose around his neck seemed about to suffocate. His bulging eyes glared at me.
Eyes like Karamek's, longing for death.
Without realizing it, I wiped away the tears that had fallen and stepped forward to grab the witch's support. The thick metal rod snapped in an instant.
"Huk, huk, haa!"
The panting breath of the young man who was once me.
Then, the world shattered with a clang.
In the wide corridor surrounded by the cross-section of the sea, a party of six was battling corrupted spirits.
At the forefront, Utequais was swinging a stone mace, laughing.
"Woo- ha, ha, ha!"
Empowered by the Mage Siren's 'Enlargement' spell, the warrior Utequais had grown about twice his normal size. Intoxicated by this, he was cackling like a drunk.
Flaraflak!
With Utequais's movements, the red and white feathers of the Exarch flapped violently.
The spirit resembling a woodpecker or a crow was crushed by the swinging of the massive stone mace, six or seven at a time.
Simos shouted while swinging a lightning-crackling longsword.
"Here they come again!"
Sure enough, frog-like spirits were bursting through the water barrier where she pointed.
Chanting a spell in advance, Ellen flung her wand.
"Lumfere (Explode)!"
The small fireball at the tip of the wand instantly swelled in size.
Boom!
The explosion of the fireballs engulfed the corrupted spirits in flames. The following spirits were slowed down by the wax thrown by Mage Ethan.
"Rrrrr-!"
Utequais, whose enlargement had worn off, let out an inhuman roar and trampled the sluggish spirits, crushing them.
"Req, ne, shiko (Look at me)!"
Utequais, who had been smashing the spirits, suddenly turned his head and pointed his finger.
"Girl, look over there!"
"Ugh-"
Ellen rose high into the air, covering her ears. Then she spotted the floating azure water droplets in the distance and her eyes lit up.
"Phew."
Exhaling, Ellen looked at the crystal ball in her left hand. The magic filling the crystal ball rose like smoke.
"Aaah-"
Ellen, having deeply inhaled the magic, closed her eyes and puffed out her chest.
Flicker.
Blue magic gushed out of her opened eyes. Chanting a spell, Ellen extended her control in all directions.
The rift, now without an owner, surrendered its dominion far too easily. At this moment, Ellen had completely taken control of the surrounding space.
Goooo.
The water walls on both sides receded greatly. In addition, the distant azure water droplet shrank into a tiny size. Ellen quickly extended her wand.
"Thulam (Shoot)!"
The ice spike shot like an arrow and burst the azure water droplet.
Kuguguugu-! A roar sounded, and a whirlpool appeared where the water droplet had burst.
Seeing the whirlpool that was sucking in everything around it, Ellen shouted.
"The rift is about to collapse! We have to retreat!"
"But the escape route!"
As Simos shouted, the raging waves were crashing where the six had come from. The collapsed water barriers were like pouring water into a narrow ditch with a bucket.
Seeing this, Ellen drew more power. Blue light poured from her eyes, and the waves stopped, the water parting to the sides.
Gaping at the sight, Ellen yelled at the group.
"I've only temporarily delayed the collapse! Hurry!"
Leading the way with Utequais, whose enlargement was starting to wear off, the six began to flee desperately.
"Huh? There." Ethan, riding the wolf, pointed ahead. They had just entered the slope, but the surface of the water was already visible.
"The space is shrinking."
"The space is shrinking?"
"It's a precursor to the collapse. We have to get out of here quickly."
At Siren's explanation, Ethan's face paled.
As the group emerged onto the surface, they encountered a strange sight.
Kiiiii-
The souls that had flowed out from the cracks of the Underworld were swarming in one place. Whenever a purple glow flickered beneath them, the gray mist formed by the gathered souls would part.
"That aura, it's Atilia!"
At Ethan's voice, Ellen quickly scanned the surroundings.
"Where's Phoenix, Phoenix isn't here!"
"...No, there he is."
Utequais, whose enlargement had worn off and calmed down, just said that and dashed off. The rest quickly followed him.
"Ventum, Av-em (Wind, Raven)!"
At Ellen's spell, a fierce whirlwind appeared. This was a rift connected to the Spirit Realm, and the Raven Spirit was summoned much more powerfully than usual as a result.
Surrounded by the whirlwind, Ellen shot like a bird. Overtaking the group in an instant, she fired a volley of flaming arrows at the souls.
Kiiiii-
The souls, gathered like a swarm of flies, eventually gave up their attachment and retreated towards the cracks of the Underworld.
"Haa, haa, did you... Succeed?"
Ignoring the sweat-soaked Atalante, Ellen landed on the ground.
"What... What is this?"
Her blue eyes were flickering wildly, and her fingertips were trembling. Suddenly turning deathly pale, Ellen dropped to her knees.
"I dealt with Akanku Karamek, but..."
Though Atalante said something, Ellen seemed not to hear anything. Her trembling hands groped for the sling bag and pulled out a glass bottle.
"Phoenix, Phoenix."
Despite her desperate calls, Phoenix curled up on the ground gave no response.
"Ah, aah, this, this..."
Ellen kept fumbling with the bottle, but her shaking hands couldn't open the cap. Leaning on the staff and panting, Atalante snatched the bottle from her.
"Phew- I've already used three potions."
"Give it back to me."
"You idiot, if you use more potions, Nix will just dry up and die!"
"Ugh, ugh..."
With a distorted face, Ellen began to cry. It was around then that Utequais and the rest of the group arrived.
"Oh, Mother Goddess..."
Utequais muttered softly, and the five of them held their breath in unison. The state of Phoenix was that horrific.
His legs were horribly torn off below the knees, his left arm was twisted in all directions, and his right arm was completely burned below the elbow.
His eyes had melted in, leaving sunken eyelids, and his mouth was covered in blood, as if he had vomited it.
"Phoenix, Phoenix. This, please."
Ellen buried her face in Phoenix's chest and wept bitterly.
"This is not the time, girl."
Utequais placed his hand on Phoenix's nose and spoke calmly.
"First, we have to get out of here. We need to take him to a priest."
"No, I've already tried."
Sitting down on the other side of Ellen, the grim-faced Atalante shook her head.
"Something is holding Nix back."
"Holding him back? I don't understand."
With a furrowed brow, Utequais tried to wrap Phoenix, but...
"Ugh!"
Even the mighty Utequais, the best of the best, couldn't budge Phoenix, his veins popping from the effort.
"What is this?"
"It's the lingering will left by Akanku."
With a stern expression, Druid Zhanabas said, and Utequais shook his head.
"A lingering will doesn't have this kind of power."
"It's not just a lingering will. The power that flowed in from the cracks of the Underworld is clinging to him."
Zhanabas' sunken eyes turned to the cracks of the Underworld.
"The beings of the Underworld are coveting Phoenix's soul."
"Is there a way to undo this?"
"...Unless you're a master of exorcism, it's impossible."
Even as they discussed, the rift was rapidly collapsing. Glancing back, the Mage Ethan spoke with an anxious expression.
"Sister, Zhanabas. We have to get out of here quickly."
"Be quiet, Ethan."
"What do you mean be quiet! Look, it's practically the same as being dead anyway!"
As Siren tried to restrain the outburst of Ethan, Utequais let out a fierce growl.
"Shut up, you brat, before I tear your mouth apart."
With his face pale, Ethan closed his mouth, and Simos carefully spoke up.
"...But it's true that there's no way. We can't let the rest die trying to save one person."
"Simos;"
Disappointment welled up in Siren's large eyes, and Zhanabas wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Siren, Simos is right. We have something to do."
"Zhanabas, how can you too..."
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Atalante gave a cold smile.
"You're all important people, so I'm sure you have something urgent to do. Enough with the gratitude and all that, right?"
"Don't say it like that, Atilia. This is an unavoidable choice."
As Zhanabas frowned, Atalante's eyes gleamed coldly.
"Choice, huh. If you don't want to do it, just get lost quickly."
At her unusually cold demeanor, Zhanabas fell silent.
At that moment, Utequais readjusted his stone mace.
"This is not the time to fight among ourselves."
The other companions followed Utequais's gaze. Along the horizon, hordes of corpses were pouring out from the cracks of the Underworld.
As Utequais prepared for battle, Zhanabas hesitated before speaking.
"...I will respect your choice, Hatanka. But we have a reason we must survive."
"There is no life more worthless than death. I'll mock your choice, diridi."
As Utequais muttered menacingly, Ellen suddenly spoke up.
"Atilia."
Drawn to the strange atmosphere, the group's attention turned to her.
"...Huh?"
"Where is Phoenix's sword?"
The girl, who had been sobbing just moments ago, spoke in a calm, no, cold voice.
"Oh, s."
Atalante looked around with a reluctant expression and pointed.
"It's over there."
"Bring it to me."
"What?"
"Hurry, bring it to me."
Her blue eyes shining like glass beads, Atalante found herself nodding unconsciously.
Lifting the crystal ball in her left hand, Ellen continued.
"Utequais."
"Hmm?"
"Those are not just ordinary undead, but an army of the dead."
Utequais suddenly turned to look at the undead. Indeed, the corpses that had emerged from the cracks of the Underworld were arranged in a military formation.
"Haa."
Having drained the magic from the crystal ball to the bottom, Ellen met Utequais's eyes.
"Reduce their numbers as much as possible until the commander appears. Retreat when the commander comes out. I'll provide support."
"...Understood."
Kneeling next to Phoenix, Ellen put the empty crystal ball back in her sling bag. As Utequais rushed towards the undead, Ethan tentatively spoke up.
"Let's just go now. There's nothing we can do anyway."
"No. You all have a role to play as well."
Receiving the Hrunting from Atalante, Ellen said calmly.
"What do you mean?"
"Zhanabas, bring all the troll blood from outside."
Ellen placed Hrunting in Phoenix's broken left hand.
"Do you mean to give orders now?"
Tracing a long line on her white palm with the ivory blade of Hrunting, Ellen nodded.
"Yes. The rest of you hold off the spirits. There are surely some left, and they'll be coming up soon."
"We were saying we're leaving."
"No, you can't leave."
Doubt crept into Zhanabas' eyes.
"What do you mean we can't leave?"
"The reason this area hasn't collapsed yet is because I'm controlling it."
As the blade of Hrunting pulsed slightly, Ellen took a short breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the blue in her eyes had lost its moisture.
"I can even accelerate the collapse if I want to."
The four's expressions hardened. Simos asked with a reluctant look.
"Are you... Threatening us right now?"
Suddenly, Phoenix's skin began to crack. The fissure starting from his left fingers slowly spread along his hand.
Continuously pouring blood into Hrunting, Ellen quietly caressed Phoenix's face.
"If you don't follow my instructions, you'll all be swept away and turned to dust in the collapse."
Ellen raised her head. The group was frozen by her eyes devoid of any emotion.
Siren struggled to speak.
"...Is there a way?"
"Yes. But I don't have time to explain."
Saying this, Ellen looked like a doll or a statue. Her eyes without emotion and her expressionless face - a chilling beauty.
"Go."
Simos silently prepared her magic, muttering the spell inaudibly - her trump card technique.
Ethan also reached into his pocket, grasping the rune characters.
Thud.
"Aaaaargh!"
The scream dragged on.
Blood splattered on the blue surface. Somehow, there were ice shards the size of a palm embedded in Simos' shoulder and Ethan's forearm - Ellen's ice spikes.
Forgetting that her brother and escort were injured, Mage Siren gaped.
'She split the ice spike in two and shot them. She did that silent chanting? Unbelievable.'
"Ugh, ugh."
Simos, whose magic had backfired, vomited blood, and Ethan trembled, clutching his wound.
"Aaah, sis, sis, this, the blood-"
Ethan, with his arm pierced, whimpered and fell on his butt, but Siren and Zhanabas couldn't move a muscle. Those sapphire-like eyes were calmly watching them.
Seeing the two bleeding and the two frozen, Ellen spoke.
"Go."
Siren felt terror.
It was a more vivid and intense fear than when she had seen wyverns, trolls, or giants.
"...Let's go."
Siren's group retreated. Siren supporting Ethan, and Zhanabas transforming into a wolf and dashing towards the exit, Atalante watched with a sardonic smile.
"Cowards. Ugh, I feel so refreshed."
Ellen was gently caressing Phoenix's face. By now, the fissure had covered his entire left arm and reached his chest.
"You're surprisingly violent, our little Mage Miss? Ah, I don't mean it in a bad way,"
"You too, go."
"In a good way, right?"
"You too, go."
The white fingers wiped the moisture from Phoenix's cheek.
"Even Utequais alone won't be enough."
"...Hmm, I'm pretty tired too? My arcane power is almost depleted,"
"Atilia."
Ellen's eyes turned to Atalante.
"You're fine, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
"Phoenix is a complete mess, but you're fine."
Due to her slightly paler complexion than usual, the blue veins were clearly visible through Ellen's translucent skin. The flickering blue eyes in her expressionless face were captivating.
Atalante understood Siren's group.
"Go."
"...Well, I'll, do that then."
Watching Atalante retreat, Ellen began to caress Phoenix's lips. Only after the Nude woman with the spear had gone far enough did Ellen's gaze return to Phoenix.
The azure world was crumbling.
"Don't worry, Phoenix."
Phoenix's lips were drying up, and his skin was peeling off. His soft flesh had turned into a rough husk, but the white fingers continued to caress it.
"I'll protect you."
Ellen's eyes shone a vivid blue.