A Villain's Will to Survive - Chapter 348: The End of All (1)

Chapter 348: The End of All (1)

… Glitheon’s heart blazed like embers, and he was the head of the family who had dedicated all he had to the Iliade house, a torch of ambition willingly incinerating himself for his fervent desire. In his youth, when he challenged the status of archmage, ambition and tenacity erupted like a volcano, and he could not control himself.

Yet in that past, he retreated without even grasping the edge of his fervent desire.

However, Glitheon still remembered that day—the day the child, Sylvia, came into the world, when the last ember ignited in his already ripened heart.

Seeing the child’s soft cheeks, pure skin, radiant blonde hair, and wiggling hands and feet—the child who carried the Iliade bloodline more vividly than anyone—and witnessing the light crying in its swaddling, Glitheon instinctively knew that this child could fulfill the family’s fervent wish—that his own child might reign like the sun above all other mages atop the Floating Island.

… No, it must be so, Sylvia, for you are a descendant of Iliade. Because you are Glitheon’s daughter… Glitheon thought.

***

“No!”

A clear, ringing shout echoed through the gallery filled with paintings, and immediately thereafter, Ria’s body crashed into Glitheon.

“Argh!”

Glitheon groaned as he tumbled. Sirio quickly drew his sword but paused in thought, finding it difficult to cut only one when the two were completely intertwined.

“Stop it!” Ria shouted, her body already wrapped tightly around Glitheon.

“It is already too late,” Glitheon replied, a broad smile spreading across his lips.

True to his words, Glitheon’s blond hair was already blazing like flames, and white spots erupted all over his body like a fungal rash.

“… Hmm,” Sirio murmured, nodding his head in satisfaction.

The grand magic, that spell of such madness happening within Glitheon’s very body, would surely radiate the heat of a supernova, projecting its immense light from the caster’s skin. It is already over, Sirio thought.

“Yes, Glitheon. Well met, and well done. We will make your desires our purpose,” Sirio said, sheathing his sword and giving Jaelon a glance. “Jaelon, let’s head to the priests.”

“Hmm? Why?” Jaelon replied, his expression tinged with disappointment at the thought that there would be no battle.

“I have to deliver this. I also heard that one should not concern oneself with family matters,” Sirio said, fluttering the bound book that Glitheon had given him.

“… Family matters?” Jaelon repeated, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Glitheon.

Glitheon’s body was already swelling with immense mana, and beams of light shone from beneath his withered skin as he appeared on the verge of exploding—whether from family matters or something else. Staying there would only mean getting caught in the blast and dying.

“… Yeah, let’s not get involved.”

Jaelon, in agreement, exited the gallery with Sirio, while Leo, Carlos, Ria, and Glitheon remained within.

Thud—!

From the outside, they locked the door shut.

“Ria!”

At that moment, Leo and Carlos immediately dashed toward Ria, and Ria clutched Glitheon’s whole body in a tight grip.

“Urgh…”

Intense heat seemed to incinerate Ria’s body, yet she neutralized the heat through Elementalization.

Sizzle— Sizzzzzzzle—

Despite it all, Ria’s skin cooked from Glitheon’s intense heat, and at the chilling sound of sizzling meat, Carlos startled while Leo instinctively moved, pressing himself against Glitheon’s body like Ria.

“… Hah, who are you people to be so foolish?”

Glitheon found himself speechless at the two children stuck to his front and back like cicadas on a tree.

However, it is of little consequence, for I have only to burn it all to ash, Glitheon thought.

“Do you think Sylvia would wish for something like this?!” Ria yelled.

However, Glitheon merely scoffed at what he considered too clichéd a line from Ria.

“… The problem is that she does not wish for it. My child’s ambition has grown too faint. The plague that is Deculein has infected her.”

With every passing moment of his muttering, Glitheon’s magic grew denser, and his emotions and mana surged more wildly as he was no longer in human form but was becoming a monster—no, magic itself—with incandescent light erupting from his eyes and the mana of sulfur spewing from his mouth.

Boom!

The trembling ceiling and floor were visible, along with the reverberation caused by the caster’s organs oxidizing with mana, while Glitheon’s body transformed into a supernova.

“Oh, damn it…!” Ria muttered, gritting her teeth.

Extracting all the mana from her core, Ria brought forth Elementalization with the purpose of dismantling all of Glitheon’s radiating mana and destructively actualizing grand magic into simple constituent elements.

Craaaaaaackle…!

Mana and magic clashed, throwing sparks.

However, the difference in their power was evident as Glitheon’s magic absorbed Ria’s mana, churning and flaring into an even more intense heat source.

“You two, get away from here!”

At that moment, Ria’s thoughts turned to Leo and Carlos, and since Glitheon, the mage, was manifesting grand magic by sacrificing his lifespan, it was only right that Ria herself should also stake her own life as she poured out all her mana and talent.

The moment Ria prepared to activate her unique ultimate skill…

… Hisssssssssss!

A strange sound seeping into Ria’s ears was a resonance like fire and water meeting, with one side fading away.

Ria’s eyes widened as she looked at Glitheon, whom she held in a tight grip, wondering if her Elementalization had, even belatedly, taken effect.

Hissssssssss…

Glitheon’s mana was being neutralized, and his body, which had been burning with superheated intensity, gradually lost its heat, growing cold and weak as Glitheon’s grand magic was being extinguished.

“Wow!” Leo said, his eyes wide with admiration.

Ria almost puffed up with a little pride, but she quickly pushed her Elementalization, pouring every last drop of mana from her core onto Glitheon.

Fwooooooosh—

Then, Glitheon’s heat gradually lost its strength, and his body disintegrated like a fragile skeleton, as if his spell had been undone.

Nevertheless, Ria remained vigilant, though it was Glitheon who was peculiar—his eyes, specifically, were deeply recessed pupils expelling hot vapor, and his eyes were directed not at Ria, nor at Leo and Carlos, but at someone behind them.

“… You.”

Glitheon’s only word was, ‘You’.

Thud—

A thudding, measured sound of footsteps was heard.

“You…” Glitheon muttered, his teeth clenched, his body trembling with the most violent rage, contempt, and resentment as he glared at the one he addressed as ‘you’.

With that, Ria realized that it was not she who had nullified and suppressed Glitheon’s spell, nor had she prevented his explosion.

“… Even to the very end.”

Then, she wondered who Glitheon’s immense resentment was directed at, and who possessed the composure to step forward, instantly dismantling the magic he manifested using Ria’s own body as a medium.

Gulp.

Swallowing, Ria turned to look behind her, and simultaneously, Glitheon’s voice tore from his throat.

“How dare a lowborn like you—!” Glitheon shouted.

It was a shout that neared a curse, and Glitheon flailed his already charred arm, stretching it out to her.

However, she displayed no emotion and merely turned to the three children and said, “… The Professor is waiting for you guys up there.”

Then she removed her robe, her long ashen hair flowing down, and Ria, beholding her utterly changed appearance, smiled with a blank expression.

“You guys should make your way up.”

The first sensation was an immeasurable mana, followed by the approach of a warm and gentle character.

“Leave it to me. This place and Glitheon are in my hands.”

Now an adult and very reliable, she thumped her chest, instructing them to trust in her alone because she was an archmage who had finally reached her full potential.

“In Epherene’s hands,” Epherene concluded.

The Child of the Moon, Epherene Luna.

***

[47:26:38]

Forty-seven hours, twenty-six minutes, and thirty-eight seconds remained for Ria, with the meteorite set to fall in only two days, bringing the end—whether game over or some other finale.

Yet this lighthouse was like a maze, and finding a path was challenging because there were far too many rooms—a laboratory, a sanctuary, and a record room, to name a few.

“Where is Deculein, then?” Carlos said, his brow furrowed.

Although Glitheon had been left to Epherene, Carlos himself was unsure of Deculein’s whereabouts.

“If we keep looking, we’ll find… Shh!” Ria replied.

At that moment, a sign of people was sensed, and Ria hurriedly put a hand to her lips.

“Hide.”

They immediately hid themselves behind the wall.

Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat—

Immediately after that, the Altar’s priests ran down the corridor, and their hurried footsteps suggested some kind of problem.

— How are matters progressing on your end?

Suddenly, the communication from the crystal orb chimed with the voice of Empress Sophien, and Ria’s body gave a shudder before she quickly gripped the orb.

“We have now entered the lighthouse, Your Majesty,” Ria replied.

Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat—!

At that moment, the sound of many footsteps vibrated once again, and the three children looked back at the place.

— What is the status of the ongoing matter?

“… The Altar’s priests are in motion.”

The priests were moving with great urgency, a reason Ria could guess from the recent turn of events, specifically because it was all due to Glitheon and Sirio, with Glitheon analyzing Deculein’s lighthouse and Sirio conveying the findings to the Altar’s priests.

“It seems the Altar is preparing to oppose Deculein as an enemy again, Your Majesty,” Ria added.

Ria did not yet know the contents of that analysis… but at the very least, she could tell that Deculein was not entirely on the Altar’s side.

Thud—

The moment Ria was in the middle of her report, a footstep landed right beside them, causing the trio’s hair to stand on end, goosebumps to erupt across their bodies, and cold sweat to break out. Without a word, they turned their heads stiffly, like wooden dolls, to face a certain person in a robe who stared at them that was…

With her eyes going wide in surprise, Ria said, “Hold on, you’re Sylvi—”

“Quiet,” she interrupted, her golden eyes and blonde strands swaying as they would.

“H-How did you escape from there?” Ria asked, swallowing a lump in her throat.

“I have not yet escaped.”

Ria remained silent.

“This body is but a puppet. I am the one who is controlling it.”

I don’t know what that means, but it must be that they’ve succeeded in connecting the painting prison to this place, I guess, Ria thought.

“Glitheon is…” Ria muttered.

“I know. That is for later,” Sylvia replied, cutting her short with a touch of discomfort before stretching her hand toward a bare wall. “Go up.”

“… But, that’s a wall?” Leo said, tilting his head.

However, in the following moment, stairs were drawn on that wall, and a passage leading somewhere was created.

“… Go.”

Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat—!

The footsteps of the priests inside the lighthouse became more violent, and as if understanding their concern, Sylvia shook her head.

“You will not encounter them, as these are stairs I have painted separately. Go up and meet Deculein. Go and…”

Sylvia was silent for a moment, as if carefully choosing what to say or perhaps because she had too much to say.

“… Tell him I will be there shortly,” Sylvia concluded, her voice dropping after a moment of thought.

***

From the uppermost floor of the lighthouse, I looked up at the sky where the meteor being guided toward the continent was now as clear as the moon. My magic spells swirling around the lighthouse were being constructed smoothly with no variables, everything under what I had in my Comprehension.

“The Altar is making its way up, Professor,” Yulie whispered.

“Indeed,” I replied, a smile on my lips as I nodded.

Then, I looked at a single blue flower on my desk—a forget-me-not, a gift from Ria.

“Ria, too, will soon make her way up.”

“Yes,” Yulie replied.

Yulie prepared for battle, putting on the light Snowflower Stone armor I had crafted for her and preheating her mana.

“… Professor,” Yulie said.

Although Yulie’s puppet body had already reached the end of its life and was just waiting to break, her expression held confidence, and her face was filled with happiness.

“I will protect you.”

I merely nodded, as no more words were needed, and now, with the final moment just ahead, to speak of love, thanks, or apology was nothing more than a luxury.

Therefore, I merely kissed Yulie’s forehead.

“… I will take my leave,” Yulie said, her breath trembling.

With a slight bow at the waist, she backed away, never showing me her back as she departed.

Thud.

The sound of a door opening and closing was heard.

“Now…”

Being by myself, I sat down in a chair and pulled an object from the bookshelf’s drawer—nothing special, a wooden board with a fifty-line grid carved upon it for a game of Go where white and black stones were placed to compete for mastery.

“It is now time to see to our promise, Your Majesty,” I concluded.

From my suit pocket, I pulled out a handkerchief.

Squeak… Squeak…

I wiped the surface of the wooden board with my handkerchief solely for Her Majesty, the Empress, and with my utmost sincerity.

***

… The Altar’s priests ascended the stairs without exchanging any words, merely maintaining their formations, their mana preheated throughout their bodies as they climbed to Deculein’s uppermost floor, led by Sirio who had informed the priests of Deculein’s betrayal and was leading this mechanical advance to verify its truth.

“… Hmm?”

However, the moment Sirio arrived at the lighthouse’s uppermost floor, a knight stood blocking the door—a woman as beautiful as a statue, clad in light armor made of Snowflower Stone.

“… Yulie,” Sirio said, letting out a hollow laugh as he looked at her.

With her entire body wrapped in a frigid mana, Yulie opened her closed eyes and then raised her sword, glaring at Sirio and the Altar’s assembly.

“What is it you are about to do?” Sirio asked.

With Jaelon drawing his sword and the three hundred priests of the Altar preparing their spells, Yulie faced a scale that no one could possibly handle alone, yet she remained dauntless and glared at them as she tempered her mana.

“You cannot pass beyond this point,” Yulie replied.

Craaaaaaack…

With those words, the mana that radiated from Yulie froze the air in the vicinity, stagnating the current of mana, and certainly, her class was now utterly different, as she was no longer the imperfect knight of the past but possessed a frigidness similar to that felt from Zeit, the head of the family of Freyden.

“… Well,” Jaelon muttered, his eyes wide with admiration.

“Yes, this is interesting. I believe it will prove to be rather entertaining,” Sirio said with a smile.

Immediately after, Sirio launched himself forward and Jaelon followed close behind, as there was no need for conversation between them.

However, as former comrades and knights who knew that the lords they served were different, all they had to do was cross swords and intensely exchange their convictions.

Yulie calmly gripped her sword and swung its aura, facing the two knights—the Master Swordsman and the Mountaineer—one of whom, in the distant past, would have been overwhelming for her to face alone.

Booooooooom—!

***

In the Land of Destruction, a distance from the lighthouse, Sophien stared at the lighthouse’s uppermost floor, untypically nervous as she thought of Deculein who was waiting for her there.

“Your Majesty, we are left with no more time,” Gawain said.

Gathered there, the knights and Scarletborn, including Ganesha and Gawain, nervously looked up at the sky, for the meteorite was already so clear it seemed as if it had arrived before their eyes.

“Have you all completed your preparations?” Sophien replied.

— Our preparations are complete, and have been since long ago.

The voice belonged to Elesol, and she, as if she wanted to advance this very moment, stared directly at Sophien, accompanied by the Scarletborn she led.

However, Sophien was having a difficult time preparing herself because her advance meant nothing less than the murder of Deculein, which would mean driving her own sword into his heart. Even though she had already steeled herself for this, the reason for her hesitation was, of course, that she felt love for him.

— Deculein’s lighthouse will soon bring ruin to the continent. Your Majesty, I beg you to make a decision.

Elesol’s words—no, the words of a Scarletborn who knew nothing and was merely blinded by Deculein’s intentions—slightly rubbed Sophien the wrong way, but she had already made a promise to him.

“… Then.”

Therefore, this was the duty of the Empress to honor her loyal servant and bring peace to the continent, for the death of Deculein would sever the chain of hatred that had always existed there and his magic would save them from destruction.

If only a single man, Deculein, were sacrificed—his name, his life, and his very existence through the filth, his being remolded into the greatest villain this world has ever seen or ever will—then the continent could become whole once more. The death of Deculein would, at the very least, bring a century of peace to this continent, Sophien thought.

“… All forces,” Sophien said, her eyes sweeping across those around her.

Turning her eyes back to the dozen meticulously selected mages, knights, and Scarletborn, Sophien’s mind calmed down.

“Advance.”

At the sound of Sophien’s voice announcing the beginning, everyone gave a solemn nod and placed a hand on their chest, paying their respects to the Empress.

“I shall go with you,” Sophien concluded.”

Thus, the Empress advanced in the lead, toward the lighthouse where Deculein was waiting, forcing her feet to move despite their boundless heaviness.