The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 146

Chapter 146 – Protecting Yuria (3)

The red Raining Thunder continued to pour down upon the heretics without stopping.

Once toward Hans.

“Argh…! What is that monster?!”

Twice toward the Archbishop of Slander.

“What is that monster…?!”

Thrice toward Ruin, reigning supreme on the battlefield.

“Goddamn bastard…!”

“Sorry, I need to maintain balance.”

The red Raining Thunder separated the heretics from the students who had lost their fighting spirit, pouring down relentlessly. The heretics were crumbling miserably under the incessant strikes.

The red lightning differed from the commonly known electrical magic.

-Rumble…

In terms of power.

In terms of the speed of casting.

It overcame the disadvantages of the electrical attribute.

Commonly known electrical magic took significantly longer to cast compared to other spells.

The inherent nature of ‘electricity’ made it difficult for people in this world to visualize, and applying it required considerable time.

While it had explosive power, it also had clear drawbacks, but those limitations did not apply to the red-haired magician.

As someone from a world where electricity was commonplace, Ricardo had learned efficient mana usage from the novel.

Ricardo was overwhelming them, showing a significant difference in skill.

Whenever Ricardo snapped his fingers, red Raining Thunder fell to choke the life out of the heretics repeatedly.

“Is magic really this easy?”

Ricardo mocked them with a light smile.

*

Hans was deeply troubled.

A significant error had occurred in the meticulously progressing plan.

As the mastermind behind all the schemes, Hans had not anticipated Ricardo’s intervention.

He hadn’t expected Ricardo, who was in Hamel, to attend the Academy ball, nor did he think Ricardo would recognize Yuria.

The plan was to isolate Yuria, who had lost her beauty, in an empty place and kidnap her when no one was around, but Ricardo’s appearance disrupted everything.

There were plenty of fools blinded by jealousy who could be easily manipulated.

A guy with overwhelming martial prowess compared to his peers, who had hidden so much, was once again obstructing his plans.

Everything had gone according to plan until Ricardo arrived.

Just like a well-wound thread unwinding smoothly, seeing Ruin torment Yuria more severely than expected had thrilled him.

Hans had even considered delaying the plan to reveal Yuria’s true identity in front of Ruin, imagining the shock and scorn on Ruin’s face when Yuria coldly rebuked him. But everything had gone awry with the appearance of that monster.

The well-unwound thread had become tangled and knotted with the monster’s appearance, now stuck in an unmovable knot.

‘To catch that monster… I’ll need to bring an Archbishop of Despair, or even an Apostle.’

Hans thought Ricardo was merely good with a sword, but what was that guy?

Hans watched Ricardo calmly casting spells and felt nauseous.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one thinking this.

The Archbishop of Slander, who was confronting Michail, also glanced at Ricardo with disbelief and let out a hollow laugh, while Hans’s close friend watched Ricardo with a grim expression.

“What the…”

Hans heard his friend’s voice, drenched in despair.

“What the hell is he?”

*

Ruin looked down at his own hands and laughed bitterly. Despite being able to create more fireballs than others, he couldn’t help but compare himself to Ricardo, who effortlessly cast spells.

Jealous to death of his unique attribute, Raining Thunder, Ruin felt a strong sense of inferiority watching Ricardo use it as easily as breathing.

Even if he used the secret technique taught by the Tower Lord, he felt he wouldn’t be able to defeat that guy.

Ruin’s confidence stemmed from the secret technique taught by the Tower Lord. The unique magic created by the Tower Lord was known only to the Tower Lord and Ruin.

He thought he could defeat anyone with it, but seeing Ricardo, Ruin slowly realized that such thoughts were sheer arrogance.

He had known, but he didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Taking even magic away is too much.

As Ruin looked down at his trembling hands, a black sphere began to approach rapidly without making a sound.

Barely dodging the sphere that aimed to choke him, Ruin looked ahead.

“Hans…!”

“Ruin.”

Hans loosened his wrists as he walked toward Ruin.

Thinking that since he couldn’t achieve the goal of kidnapping Yuria, he might as well satisfy some personal desires, Hans aimed to steal Ruin’s unique magic, ‘The Runes of Fire,’ which he had failed to take last time.

Somehow, Ricardo didn’t seem to have any intention of helping Ruin.

For some unknown reason, Ricardo was only standing still, supporting Yuria and Hanna with magic. Moreover, the Archbishop of Slander was keeping Ricardo in check.

Taking advantage of the Archbishop of Slander’s distraction, Hans aimed to gain at least a minimal benefit.

Hans used wind magic to close the distance to Ruin.

“Get a grip, Ruin.”

A chilling tearing sound echoed.

“Argh…!”

The black sphere created by Hans directly hit Ruin’s chest.

Hans’s attack echoed through the ballroom, making Ruin cough and clutch his chest. Hans once again closed the distance and spoke as he pushed into Ruin’s space.

“We’re in a battle right now.”

“…Ugh. You get a grip, Hans!”

“Stop talking nonsense and get a grip.”

-Rip…!

Ruin was thrown against the ballroom wall, covered in dust. Without even a moment to feel embarrassed in front of the many students, Ruin focused all his attention on defending against Hans’s barrage of magic.

“You’re nothing. You’re not as strong as Ricardo, and you’re weaker than me.”

“I can beat a bastard like you. Shut up.”

“Haha! Ruin, you’re really funny. You could be a comedian.”

Hans grinned as he shot black spikes at Ruin.

“I used to think you were really amazing. Your magic and learning speed were extraordinary, and I was so jealous and thought you were great….”

Hans’s mocking laughter pierced Ruin’s ears.

“You’re a hopeless case, aren’t you?”

Ruin’s grinding teeth were audible to Hans. Filled with rising anger, Ruin glared at him with eyes ready to charge at any moment, and Hans felt thrilled.

The plan had failed, but he could still toy with Ruin.

“Couldn’t see through the magic and insulted Yuria.”

“I told you to shut up.”

“Acted up to Ricardo out of pointless pride and got thoroughly beaten.”

“Keep yapping, and I’ll sew your mouth shut.”

“And now, you’re just babbling without knowing the situation.”

Hans’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.

“You’re really pathetic, aren’t you?”

“You bastard!”

A blaze of fire skimmed Hans’s cheek. Feeling the fiery rage from his friend, Hans smiled with interest and poured another spell on Ruin.

The playful exchange was over.

There was nothing more to say to Ruin.

Though Hans wanted to tease him a bit more, the Archbishop of Slander wouldn’t hold out much longer.

-Stop showing off, Michail, watch your blind spots.

-Stop making weird noises.

-Argh…! Shut up!

-Just focus ahead.

The black magic the Archbishop of Slander poured out with all his might wasn’t affecting Ricardo. Seeing the Archbishop struggling to breathe, Hans realized there wasn’t much time left.

Even while fighting, Michail was rapidly growing, and Hanna of Histania, who was behind Ricardo, was slowly gathering aura to join the battle.

If those two joined forces, Hans estimated the Archbishop of Slander’s time would be under ten minutes.

Therefore.

Hans believed it was time to end this twisted fate.

“Ruin, I’ve always been jealous of you.”

Unable to withstand Hans’s black magic, Ruin was pinned to the wall, gasping for breath. Covered in blood, Ruin felt the overwhelming difference in power and seethed with frustration.

“Dammit…dammit…!!!”

Hans, feeling burdened by Ruin’s glaring eyes, kicked him in the head.

A tearing sound echoed.

Hans looked at Ruin’s slumped shoulders with a bitter expression.

“We both grew up as orphans, but you were so much better, and I was so pathetic.”

“…Cough…cough.”

“Being loved by the Tower Lord, and having friends who accepted you no matter how awfully you behaved, it made me so angry.”

“You were the same…”

“Shut up.”

Hans grabbed Ruin’s hair roughly and spoke.

“Ruin, people should know how to be humble.”

“…”

“If you were lucky enough to be taken in by the Tower Lord, you should have lived quietly. We both came from nothing, so you shouldn’t have looked down on me.”

“I…”

“Shut up. I know you’re going to deny it again.”

Hans stomped on Ruin’s face and slowly placed his hands on Ruin’s body. A black magic that steals the opponent’s magic.

A magic that he possessed.

The greatest black magic that made him superior to Ruin exuded a sinister aura as it began to choke Ruin.

“Let’s see how you live without your precious magic.”

“What are you doing…”

Ruin spoke in a trembling voice. Shaking with foreboding, Ruin grasped Hans’s hand, but Hans brushed him off and replied.

“What do you think I’m doing.”

A red orb slowly emerged from Ruin’s body.

Hans looked at the orb with greedy eyes and answered.

“I’m taking what you treasure most.”

With those words, Ruin’s vision went dark.

And then.

“Are you done?”

Ricardo’s figure stood over the body of the Archbishop of Slander, casting a shadow over Hans.

Hans rubbed his forehead and shook his head.

“Dammit.”

*

The aftermath of it all in the ballroom.

Malik, who had arrived as a member of the Royal Knights, sighed as he looked at the mess.

“So, what happened here?”

Sitting atop the corpse of a priest in white robes, I gave Malik an awkward smile as I saw his confused expression.

“Surprise?”

“Sigh…”

Malik looked at me, smiling innocently, with tired eyes.

“Whose name should we resolve this under this time?”

“I appreciate your quick understanding, bro.”

“Don’t call me bro. Monster.”

“Calling me a monster is too harsh. It hurts my feelings.”

I looked at the collapsed Michail and smiled.

“Let’s say it was Michail.”

End of Chapter