A Villain's Will to Survive

Chapter 335: Deculein (3)

In the meeting room of the Demonicide headquarters, furnished only with a wooden round table, Ria blinked, scanning the members of the Deculein Assassination Team. From left to right were Gawain, Leo, Carlos, Ganesha, Dozmu, Reylie, and then the crystal orb of Scarletborn Elesol, who had sent it alone, claiming her lack of full trust in them.

“… What should we do now~?” Ganesha asked with a bright smile. “Should we directly raid Deculein’s mansion~?”

“To begin, here is Deculein’s schedule,” Gawain said, dismissing Ganesha’s suggestion as he held forth the document—Deculein’s schedule, supplied by Yeriel. “This too serves as testimony that Miss Yeriel stands with Her Majesty, the Empress.”

At that moment, Ganesha’s face became stiff.

“Is it true that Yeriel will be participating in this team?” Ganesha asked, looking back at Ria.

“Yes,” Ria replied with a brief nod.

“Why?” Ganesha asked.

“… Sorry?”

“Don’t you know the reason why yet?”

“That’s because…” Ria said, her lips barely moving as she mumbled.

The reason, in truth, was something Ria knew, as she was familiar with Yeriel’s and Deculein’s settings. Of course, their relationship wasn’t as bad as in the original game. But Yeriel wouldn’t like Deculein much, and even if it had slightly improved, it wouldn’t be enough for her to prioritize the house.

“Because if we just leave it as it is, her house will be ruined?” Ria continued.

As Deculein was Yukline’s head of the family, if he betrayed the Empress, the entire house would betray the Empire. Yeriel would not want to bear such a risk, nor desire it in the first place, as there was no great cause for Deculein, who cooperated with the Altar for unknown reasons. For Yeriel, everything was about the house.

“Miss Yeriel will come to regret this~”

“Regret?” Ria asked, pretending not to know.

“… But I wonder why the Professor changed all of a sudden~” Ganesha said, pretending not to know as she chewed on the squid, falling into thought with a discontented jaw movement.

Perhaps, is it about Yeriel’s origin and birth? Ria thought.

Ria watched Ganesha, sensing that the Red Garnet Adventure Team likely knew of Yeriel’s secret.

If Yeriel herself knew that secret, that alone would be reason enough for her to cooperate with them. If she did not kill Deculein, she would die because she was not of the Yukline bloodline.

“… I wonder why the Professor would join the Altar and try to bring about the destruction of the continent~” Ganesha muttered.

“Because he is a person who has already lost so much.”

At that moment, the door burst open, and a resonant voice filled the room, prompting everyone to turn and look.

“He has lost too much,” continued Yeriel, the daughter of Yukline and Deculein’s younger sibling, looking at them with a serious expression and a voice tinged with bitter melancholy. “It’s not just his fiancée.”

Yeriel approached and sat down, spreading out all the newspapers she had gathered. All of them featured Deculein’s gossip as their headline. The media of the Pro-Empress faction, joining the Floating Island’s offensive, criticized and insulted him as a false mage.

They accused him of plagiarism in all his submitted theses, an allegation supported by several other noble houses. The media tore into him, as if waiting for his disgraceful conduct to be exposed.

“You might consider it mere public opinion,” Yeriel added, twisting the corner of her lips in a sneer. “But for Deculein, it is not.”

Deculein was characterized by an extreme obsession with outward appearances—public reputation, status, position, and social standing—which was at least how he was known to the world.

“So, he just wants to get everything back—the people, his magic, his pride… all of it.”

Without a word, Ria looked at Yeriel.

However, Ganesha averted her eyes from Yeriel, her face showing an expression of displeasure—or perhaps sadness.

“… I see,” Ria replied.

Ria contemplated Deculein’s motives—what he desired, why he was becoming a villain, and what kind of ending he sought.

Unfortunately, she could not reveal that thought to everyone. Even setting aside whether it was true or false, the moment she revealed it, she would go against Deculein’s will and his intention to keep chasing him, ruining his plan.

“Well, it’s Deculein, so it might be possible,” Ria said, merely shrugging off the topic.

Of course, all of this could have been Deculein’s trick, as he might have genuinely cooperated with the Altar to bring about the destruction of the continent—potentially conspiring with God—and his actions with Ria might be psychological manipulation to evade detection.

Therefore, Ria’s mind lingered in a transitional period, caught at a crossroads where Deculein’s true nature was too ambiguous for disbelief and too insufficient for trust. The truth would likely be revealed only at the very end.

“Then, welcome, Miss Yeriel, to our company,” Ria added, smiling brightly and offering Yeriel a handshake.

***

In the Chairman’s office of the Mage Tower of the Empire, I was reading a letter, which contained Yeriel’s sentences transmitted through magical Message Paper.

I attended as you instructed. I made you out to be a complete villain.

The progress was proceeding as I had thought—no, as we had thought. Yeriel, who understood me well, did not resist the current, nor did she bring back the completely useless fraternity or complain that she didn’t want to.

Rather, she would diligently prepare. As in the original game, she was a formidable and malicious person, capable of killing Deculein with poison. Therefore, my desired reputation would be established within a month.

Continue to report.

I was about to end the conversation with that single, businesslike phrase, but a sudden thought made me pick up the quill pen I was about to put down and add a short sentence.

… You must not question yourself, for you are doing well.

— Professor.

At the unexpected appearance of a voice, I hurriedly overturned the Message Paper and, pretending to be calm, looked at the crystal orb on the desk.

— Head Professor Louina and Mage Ihelm are in motion.

It was Yulie’s report.

“… Is that so?”

Currently, Yulie was at a university because she was an imperial knight named Yurie.

— Yes, those two are definitely unconnected to the Altar. Rather, they appear to be investigating the Altar’s mastermind, stirring up activity in the Mage Tower basement. Even the new professors are with those two.

This was a task of distinguishing allies from enemies, separating the wheat from the chaff, and ironically, I would become an enemy to my allies, and an ally to my enemies.

“Maintain your vigilance over them, but verbal reports are unnecessary. What you see is also revealed to me with the help of this crystal orb’s shared sight.”

— Yes. However, is everything alright on your end?

“… I repeat for the thirteenth time that I am perfectly alright.”

Whenever there was an opening, Yulie would ask if everything was alright, treating me as though I were a child left alone near water.

— It is because I am worried for you, Professor, that I came here alone. Of course, I know that now the only person you can trust, Professor, is me.

“I must have stated that my magical capability is now completely superior to my previous state,” I replied, fiddling with the handle of the mana tree staff.

This staff was implanted with a circuit and, as a type of Magicore, there was no doubt about its performance.

“… As it is the circuit of those I killed.”

I had the corpses of the Floating Island’s Purgers, as I had sent people to acquire them before the Floating Island could recover them. Although I struggled a bit to obtain the necessary materials due to the fragmented corpses, I succeeded in separating the fragmented veins and circuits and transplanting them onto the staff.

[Snowflower Staff Wreathed in Wrath and Curse]

As a result, my staff was given the decidedly negative name of wrath and curse.

The curse was the most malicious Status Effect in this world. It drove Yulie to an incurable death, to such an extent that most humans could not curse anyone. Those who were cursed generally could not survive. It was no wonder Sophien self-deprecatingly referred to her authority as a curse.

“My magic is, at this moment, in its most pristine state.”

Of course, while over ninety percent of my magic relied on equipment, if I were to briefly list the effects inscribed upon this staff, they would include—a level one increase in Mana Quality, Mana Capacity [6,666/6,666], 66% amplification of magical calculation speed, and 100% Snowflower Stone Comprehension.

For a mere staff, its mana capacity was greater than mine. The staff itself could comprehend and perform magical calculation spells and completely understand the Snowflower Stone… However, even disregarding all of these, I could not overcome the first paragraph.

The meaning of a level one increase in Mana Quality was that, by using this staff, I would be able to operate level two mana, which was on par with Adrienne. The price for all these tremendous effects was merely a single line of curse—the caster would suffer from the Status Effect of Wrath and Curse.

Of course, as I said before, the curse was the most malicious Status Effect in this world, or rather, it was the price paid for such tremendous effects.

Furthermore, Wrath and Curse was a curse of the spirit, not the body. Even if it affected the body, my mental strength was not overwhelmed by a mere curse.

Therefore, any soul curse was laughable to me.

“… Die, die, die, die, die, die.”

Sometimes, I only needed to ignore such whispering sounds. Not all curses were so one-dimensional, and the curse that remained after penetrating my mental strength was merely that much.

— Professor, Professor Louina and Mage Ihelm are now entering the basement of the Mage Tower library.

At that moment, Yulie’s report stated that Louina and Ihelm were entering the Altar’s cave in the basement of the Mage Tower library.

“I will proceed there, and you are to remain on standby at that location,” I concluded, standing up from my place with my hand firmly upon my staff.

***

… In the basement of the Mage Tower of the Imperial University, another ecosystem was being created—another temple established by university professors, mages, and knights who had joined the Altar. In this basement, they offered prayers to God and, in return, received a potion that gifted them talent, enhancing the strength of knights and the intellect of professors.

“Shh!” Louina murmured, placing a hand over her mouth.

“But I didn’t say anything,” Ihelm replied while following Louina, frowning as he read the Altar’s holy book.

“Shh! Shh!”

“Those sounds are louder, though.”

This place was a dark passage. Louina and Ihelm had arrived in the basement of the Mage Tower of the Imperial University library, drawn by rumors circulating about the Mage Tower.

“How bold. How dare they, such a facility in the basement of the Empire’s Mage Tower library…”

“It must mean that their strength has increased considerably.”

In this distant place, like a long cave where the only light source was candlelight flickering along both sides of the wall, Louina and Ihelm were trying to unearth the roots that threatened the foundation of the Mage Tower of the Imperial University.

“Wait.”

Whooosh…

At that moment, a chilling mist was seen descending.

Rattle, rattle, rattle—

As if sensing an intruder, a group of skeletons were seen rising with the sound of bones clashing.

“Hmm… that magic and that skeleton—I feel as though I’ve encountered them before, often,” Ihelm said, scratching the back of his neck as he looked at it.

“You are right. By an unfortunate coincidence, so did I. I saw it at our Mage Tower of the University,” Louina replied, also gritting her teeth.

It was a spell from the Mage Tower of the University—a spell created by one of its professors, whose name was also known.

It’s Relin. That mad obese professor betrayed us in the end… Louina thought.

Thud—

At that moment, clear footsteps echoed from behind them, making Ihelm’s and Louina’s spines tremble. The two turned to look and both made horrified expressions, for a man was standing there, looking at them.

“Chairman… Deculein?”

“Interesting indeed. Did such a place exist within the Mage Tower of the University?” Deculein muttered, looking alternately at Louina and Ihelm with utter nonchalance.

And for some reason, at Deculein’s sneering expression, Louina gulped, chills running down her neck like goosebumps, while cold sweat trickled down her temples.

“You would agree, would you not, Louina, Ihelm?” Deculein inquired.

However, Ihelm and Louina merely remained silent for a little while until the clattering and clashing skeletons drew near and approached them…