The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen - Chapter 192

Chapter 192 – The Story of the First Time I Met That Man (7)

Right now, I’m terrified.

“So, it’s you?”

‘Damn it.’

“The one this kid’s been looking for.”

There was an insurmountable wall before my eyes.

It was my first time seeing a high priest.

No, to be accurate, it was my first time seeing the villain who would become a high priest.

Name: Jung
Lv. 48
Occupation: Apprentice Priest
Affinity: 10
Favorite Conversation Topics: Isolation / Revenge / Memories / Killing with the Hands of a Loved One / Severance / Threats to Life / Unattainable Love / Gore / Suffering.

Such eerie topics.

Such a malevolent aura.

Everything felt like a first.

Until now, I thought I had encountered many villains while rolling through the slums, but none could compare to the man standing before me.

They, at least, had a goal—money. But this guy was a villain who killed simply out of interest. The thugs who wandered the slums seemed laughable in comparison to this overwhelming presence, and my shoulders trembled at the overwhelming evil before me.

It felt insurmountable.

I couldn’t even think of how to escape, let alone solve this situation. No matter how you looked at it, against this man—who would one day become a high priest—my meager strength was nothing more than child’s play.

It was absurd to imagine that a snot-nosed kid like me could stand a chance against a future high priest who could easily overpower a knight. Sure, I might be physically and mentally stronger than other kids, but that was still within the context of being a child.

I was far too weak to do anything, and I knew that nothing I did would change the situation. Honestly, running away seemed like the only answer.

Otherwise, I would die.

The High Priest of Oblivion was one of the worst villains in the novel.

He had a fragmentary power that could manipulate the memory archetype, and with that ability, he had a twisted hobby of manipulating people’s memories to make them kill their family members with their own hands. Even Michail loathed him, and he was the one character I dreaded meeting the most.

There was no need to weigh the scales.

I needed to run immediately, a desperate situation where survival was paramount.

Instead of standing frozen like this, it was the moment I needed to abandon Michail and escape.

‘Run.’

‘After all, Michail is the protagonist, isn’t he… He’s going to survive.’

‘Damn it, you’re just an extra. You’re nothing.’

‘So, move already.’

The risks involved in protecting Michail were far too great for me to handle.

And yet…

Damn it, my legs wouldn’t move. My heart was screaming at me to run, but my legs stubbornly refused to move, telling me to stay in place as if they were glued to the ground.

I took a deep breath and spoke.

“Let him go.”

I mustered every bit of pitiful courage in my chest and spoke as calmly as I could.

“I said, let him go.”

No matter how I looked at it, I must be a fool. What was so precious about Michail that made me act this way? Even when I asked myself, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

I looked like a fool.

Even though I had heard such hurtful words, I didn’t think abandoning him and walking away was the mature thing to do.

Isn’t it a waste? I’ve fed and sheltered him up until now. The future, where I could build connections and acquire wealth, was right in front of me, and it would be such a waste to throw that away like this.

I kept providing myself with excuses to stay where I was. If I didn’t, I might run away right this moment.

Even if I seemed greedy, I couldn’t help it. This was the only way I could summon the courage to stay; it was the only comfort I had.

I approached Jung slowly, trying to keep my trembling heart in check.

“He doesn’t like it. Let him go.”

The only thing in my hand was a thin wooden stick.

Not a holy sword or a sharp blade, just a flimsy wooden stick that seemed like it could break at any moment, but it was fine. I wasn’t trying to win this fight anyway.

I held back my trembling breaths and gave Michail a gentle smile.

It’s okay now.

Michail’s eyes, which met mine, began to tremble.

“…”

Was it a feeling of relief? I hoped it was.

I didn’t know what Michail was feeling right now, but I was just glad it wasn’t something negative.

I was relieved.

I was relieved that he wasn’t upset with me.

I thought he was angry because of my harsh words—’Handle it yourself’—but I was grateful that the feeling hadn’t lasted long.

Jung was watching me quietly.

He seemed to be contemplating how to toy with me, wearing an intriguing smile as I slowly approached.

He seemed fascinated by my approach without fear. Normally, when a kid sees their friend being tormented, they either freeze with fear or run away.

I kept my composure and looked at the man before me.

“What are you staring at?”

“…Haha.”

“Is this the first time you’ve seen someone this good-looking?”

“How strange.”

“I find your face even stranger. No matter how I look at you, you look like you’re in your 50s.”

“You’re scared out of your mind, but your mouth is still running.”

“You’d rather it be dead?”

‘What a perceptive bastard.’

It already seemed clear that he wasn’t planning on keeping me alive. The way he was fiddling with the dagger on his waist made it look like he was about to sacrifice me.

If I was going to take a beating anyway, I figured I might as well talk to make myself feel better, so I kept running my mouth at him.

“Let the kid go.”

“And if I refuse?”

-Squeeze…

Jung began to tighten his grip around Michail’s neck. Struggling in pain, Michail flailed on the ground, desperately trying to escape the man’s grip.

Michail looked at me and shouted.

“Run…!”

I dug my ear and responded.

“What are you talking about? Where would I go without you?”

“Run…!”

“No. I can’t run.”

I chuckled quietly, watching the sinister aura emanating from Jung.

“It’s already too late.”

If I had meant to run, I should have done so earlier. If he was going to tell me, he should have said so earlier—now he’s making me look awkward.

I slowly pointed the tip of my wooden stick toward the man. I had to do everything I could now.

The outcome was obvious, but doing something was better than nothing. And who was I, after all? Wasn’t I the one who could turn the impossible into the possible, the one who created countless variables? I had already devised a plan in my head to find a way out of this situation.

Of course, the sacrifices that would entail were obvious.

I tightly gripped the wooden stick in my hand and gathered my strength.

[The “Limit Break” is testing the limits of “Strength.”]
[The “Limit Break” is testing the limits of “Master of Weaponry.”]
[The “Limit Break” is…]
·
·
·

Maybe that thing called “God” made me into a disposable tool for this very moment.

I mouthed to Michail in silent reassurance.

‘It’s okay.’

I would find a way, just as I always had.

I spoke briefly to the man.

“Let go of him. This is your last chance.”

“No, I don’t want to.”

“Then I have no choice.”

I charged at him, pushing off the ground.

In this predetermined balance, I pinned all my hopes on a scale weighted with life, praying that it would tip even slightly in my favor.

*

The High Priest of Greed, Jung, watched the boy throwing punches and smiled in amusement.

The kid’s stance was odd, his punches hurried.

He darted in sharply the moment he saw an opening, trying to grab hold of Jung’s clothes.

It seemed like the boy had received martial arts training from a young age. His moves were annoyingly tricky.

-Clang.

No matter how you looked at it, it was baffling how such a small body could produce that kind of power. Jung smirked at the sight of the boy.

‘Interesting.’

The wooden stick the boy had been wielding was long broken. It had shattered with just one strike against his wrist.

‘I didn’t expect him to target the wrist.’

The boy had swung the stick down onto Jung’s wrist, which had been pressing down on Michail. He had assumed he could easily withstand a strike from some slum brat, but his judgment had been off.

‘It worked…!’

-?!

-Crack…!

It seemed the boy never intended to use the stick as a weapon. Rather, it appeared to be a means to remove Michail from Jung’s grasp.

Jung smiled faintly, watching Michail as he gasped for breath.

“Huff… Huff…”

It seemed like the boy still needed more time to recover his wits. This was a good sign. It meant that the boy could play a role in the scenario Jung had in mind.

He wanted to experience a terminal kind of despair.

“Where do you think you’re looking, Casanova?”

-Smack…!

Jung intercepted the boy’s punch with a sinister grin.

His wrist throbbed dully. It seemed the bone had cracked from that initial hit; Jung struggled to grip anything, his right hand refusing to obey. Gritting his teeth against the mounting pain, Jung’s smile widened.

‘Interesting.’

He wanted to plant despair in this boy who burned so brightly as he fought him.

Greater stimulation.

He wanted to create repercussions for himself in the future.

Jung had always had a peculiar fondness for revenge. He didn’t know where it came from. Perhaps growing up in a world full of betrayal had made Jung relish the feeling of being hated.

It became a vessel for his strength, a means of fueling his dark powers. And it excited him.

He imagined someday hearing someone say, ‘You avenged my friend…’ only to die pitifully at his hands. Jung thought there was no greater joy than that.

Jung chuckled as he began to mentally script his scenario.

To evoke even more despair.

To figure out how to inflict the most delicious kind of despair, he continued his fight with the boy.

“Stop with the weird thoughts…!”

First things first. He needed to end this.

-Slice.

Jung pulled a small dagger from his waistband and stabbed the boy in the shoulder. He didn’t stab deeply—he didn’t want the boy to die yet.

He hadn’t decided on the main course yet.

Should he choose this boy?

Or that kid, Michail?

Jung laughed softly as he covered the boy’s mouth and spoke.

“Let’s see what you’re made of first.”

Just as the dark magic began to dig into Ricardo’s mind.

-Flash.

Jung was suddenly overwhelmed by excruciating pain.

End of Chapter.