Young Master's PoV: Woke Up As A Villain In A Game One Day - Chapter 321: Valley Of The Forgotten

Chapter 321: Valley Of The Forgotten

My mood was terrible.

Apparently, getting thrown around like a weightless ragdoll by an ancient Demon Prince tends to put you in a terrible mood.

I was also disappointed.

But not at our performance. Oh, no.

On the contrary, I doubted anyone else at our age and rank could’ve fared better against Vaeghar the Devourer, even if he wasn’t in his true form and was heavily nerfed.

So no, I was disappointed in my own lack of preparation.

Our plan from the start was simple.

Once we got closer to the caldera’s peak, I could immediately tell from the amount of fear-inducing aura radiating down the crest that the Moon Eater was not as restrained as I’d hoped he would be.

That was when we began brainstorming.

We knew we had to fight a fight we couldn’t win.

As such, the solution that was proposed was to push Vaeghar toward the caldera’s exit.

From the game, I already knew that his restraints bound him to the center. So I made an educated guess that pushing him toward the edge would only put more pressure on him.

And I turned out to be right.

As soon as Vaeghar got closer to the exit, which was at the edge of the caldera, he had to split his focus between fighting us and preventing our escape. From there, the task became easier.

But by then, Alexia was already down, and most of us had taken a serious beating.

Maybe we could’ve avoided that by making a run for the exit when I’d knocked Vaeghar toward the edge earlier with the help of my giant golem’s baseball bat…

But Vaeghar had already displayed the ability of instantaneous teleportation. We had to account for that.

There was no way to make an orderly retreat at that point, because he could’ve appeared anywhere around us and attacked while we were out of formation.

So we had no choice but to hold our positions.

…Right?

We had to… right?

Was there something else I could’ve done?

Could I have made other plans or searched for other solutions?

Could I have pushed him toward the exit sooner?

Did I make a mistake?

At the start of this journey, Michael told me he was ready to be the bait for any of my plans.

Could I have taken him up on that? Was that an option?

He was strong. But more than that, he had Xaldreth. And while the Sixth Demon Prince was no match for the Moon Eater, I was certain he wouldn’t have let Michael die.

So I could’ve placed Michael at the very forefront, had him shield our retreat, and used him exactly as he wanted me to use him — as bait.

Then why didn’t I?

“…Why didn’t I?” I muttered softly under my breath, kicking the ground in pure indignation.

The dark cavern stretched into a long, rocky tunnel that led straight toward the light on the other side.

Everyone else had already gone ahead, even Michael, after lifting Ray over one shoulder like a sack that weighed nothing.

Only I stayed back alone until Vaeghar stopped paying attention in our direction and instead began staring off into the distance, as if he could see something I couldn’t.

But what I could very clearly see was the faint ghost of a smirk tugging at the edge of his beastly mouth.

It boiled my blood.

Because there’s nothing more humiliating than wanting to bash someone’s face in while knowing you’re not strong enough to do it.

Clenching my fist, I turned my eyes toward Kevin… or what was left of him. His torn body floated a few meters away in the lilac pond, bleeding inky shadows that turned the water murky.

He… wasn’t regenerating.

Was it because he’d been shredded by Vaeghar’s claws? I had no idea.

I waited for a few minutes, expecting him to feed on my negative emotions and stitch himself back together as he always had…

But he didn’t.

Kevin was dead.

…Or at least presumed dead by me.

As much as I’d come to like that thing, I wasn’t going to risk diving back there just to retrieve a corpse that I wasn’t even sure would resurrect.

So I didn’t.

I turned around and left him there.

•••

The rocky tunnel opened into a grand canyon thousands of meters wide.

Stepping outside into the crimson light of the bleeding moon, I saw steep cliffs rising so tall on either side that they nearly blotted out the view of the shattered sky, layer upon layer of fractured stone carved into sharp terraces and jagged overhangs.

And behind me was the caldera’s slope.

That meant the only way out of here was to either scale the cliffs, go back to the Moon Eater through the narrow tunnel… or move forward.

I let out an anxious breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding until then.

We had… entered the Valley of the God Who Eats Is.

Looking around, I spotted Kang and Ray seated against the canyon wall, both still unconscious.

The rest of the party had gathered around a flat rock a short distance ahead, silent panic filling the air between them. Splatters of blood on the ground led a trail toward that spot, telling me Alexia was there.

I quickened my pace and joined them. Lily was obstructing my view, so I gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

She flinched, then looked at me. Her voice was soft, almost trembling, when she said, “Sam, she has stopped bleeding, but…”

Her words trailed off as she clenched her teeth, then quietly stepped aside, letting me see for myself.

Up close, after a careful look, Alexia’s condition was… sobering.

She lay atop the flat rock, her upper clothes discarded and folded beneath her head as a makeshift pillow.

Her bare chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. There was blood. Not much, but enough. A thin red line trailed from the corner of her lips, already darkening as it dried.

But what terrified me most were the wounds on her torso — or rather, the lack of them.

Earlier, Alexia’s chest was pierced by Vaeghar’s sharp claws. His every nail was as long and razor-edged as a short sword.

…Yet the gaping holes they left behind were already filled. And not with flesh or scar tissue, either.

But with a viscous, pulsing, pitch-black mass.

The smooth, glossy substance plugged her every puncture wound perfectly, as though it had grown there instead of being forced inside.

Thin, dark veins branched outward from each sealed wound, spreading across her torso and vanishing beneath her ribs and collarbones.

With every shallow breath she took, those blackened veins throbbed in sync.

It was a harrowing sight.

“Curse,” I said quietly. “Vaeghar’s curse. Her soul is being corrupted. This black mass will keep spreading until it takes over her entire body.”

No one spoke for a long time.

Not until Vince finally found the courage to muster up a shaky voice. “I’m guessing she won’t simply die, then?”

I shook my head. “She’ll be possessed.”

“…Any way to stop the corruption?” Juliana asked. Her tone was dangerously close to concern as she stood with arms crossed, expression solemn.

“No,” I replied immediately.

My voice came out flatter than I had intended.

In truth, there was one way, but it would put the rest of us in mortal danger. I wasn’t willing to gamble the lives of every other main character just to save one.

Not even for Alexia.

And before you say it…

…Disgusted.

I, too, was disgusted with myself for even thinking that way.

But I had

to.

Michael was crouched near Alexia’s feet, elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly. He looked up at me with dark resolve. “Solution?”

I sighed, clearing my head as I gazed down the canyon. “If we reach the Golden Sanctuary, my father should be able to extract the curse. But we’d have to hurry.”

“Then we hurry.” Michael didn’t even stop to think for a second and stood immediately. “Sam, carry Ray. Vince, take Kang. We move full—”

—GHAAAWR!!

All of a sudden, a sound like a mountain cracking apart echoed through the canyon, vibrating in my very marrow.

THWAAACK—!!

My lungs seized as the air was violently ripped from them. I didn’t even have time to process the sound before a crushing force slammed into me, throwing me off my feet.

Midair, while still falling backward, I had just enough time to snap my gaze around.

Everyone else looked just as stunned as I was. Most had pale faces and wide eyes, seemingly stuck somewhere between frozen shock and instinctive dread.

And the one who’d shoved me away was…

Michael.

It was Michael.

—Swiish!!

Thwaam—!!

A massive silhouette blurred past me as I slammed into the rocky ground, skidding several meters before rolling once and pushing myself upright.

But by the time I managed to stand up and look back ahead, a creature was standing at the spot where I’d been moments ago.

…And simply looking at it directly made my skin crawl.

The creature stood nearly nine feet tall, slightly hunched forward, and humanoid only in the loosest sense.

Six arms unfurled from the side of his body in uneven pairs. Each arm wielded a different weapon, each weapon radiating a suffocating menace.

A khopesh the size of a guillotine blade. A crooked staff made of bone and gold, etched with crawling sigils that moved along its surface like ants.

A serrated chain sickle dripping something that hissed upon touching stone. A warhammer whose head absorbed light instead of reflecting it.

A ritual dagger carved from black crystal.

Finally, in its sixth hand, the creature held a needle.

Oh, and I don’t mean a small, delicate needle.

I mean a massive, brutal spike of polished obsidian that was longer than my arm and engraved with spiraling runes.

That needle… was currently plunged into Michael’s sternum.