A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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19.

It was quite a shocking revelation.
‘They freeze people alive?’
I’d never encountered such a detail in the novel.
Of course not. The story was too busy celebrating the protagonists’ dazzling growth and magnificent abilities to bother with dark underbellies like plot holes.
‘There’s no Isolation Facility here… well, naturally there wouldn’t be.’
Even in the modern era where I came from, human rights concerns had only recently surfaced, prompting an expansion of Isolation Facilities.
Before that, people exposed to Magi were simply exiled to abandoned cities before they lost their reason, or so I’d heard.
While not as dangerous as Awakeners, ordinary people corrupted by Magi posed a genuine threat nonetheless.
‘No wonder Eston resents Edith Blake….’
Given what I’d heard about the princess, I could have guessed that Ruellin wouldn’t come to purify them.
And that suspicion had proven correct.
Once the shock faded, only bitter reality remained.
Perhaps the villagers considered Ethan’s use of his ability a stroke of divine fortune.
With nowhere proper to quarantine them, they wouldn’t want to kill their own family and neighbors with their own hands, even if those loved ones now thrashed about like the undead.
“My younger brother is right in the middle of there.”
At that moment, Eston spoke in a subdued voice.
“Since he’s bound with stakes, I don’t think I can bring him out separately. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve been coming and going here alone every time?”
“….”
Eston didn’t answer, his gaze sliding away from mine.
I realized his silence was an affirmation, and my brow furrowed deeply.
‘They could have quarantined him elsewhere, but they chose this.’
It had to be the villagers’ doing.
They’d probably resented that only Eston’s brother hadn’t been frozen, and envied her healing ability, so they took out their frustrations on him.

― Wretched people. Despicable bastards…! When did they ever beg on their knees for me to save their families….
― Just because my brother asked about that one thing, how could they do this to him! He’s not even a beast—how could they treat that child like this…!

Now I understood why Eston had spiraled yesterday and said those things.
“Let’s go.”
“D-do you mean to go there yourself?”
“What other choice is there?”
I stepped forward without hesitation, and she hurried after me in alarm.
“W-wait, it could be dangerous! And it’s not exactly a pleasant sight either.”
“They’re all trapped inside ice anyway.”
“Well, some of the ice has thawed around certain people. The smell is quite foul too….”
Despite her warnings, she couldn’t bring herself to stop me.
She seemed to feel guilty—as though her brother’s purification efforts were insufficient, and bringing a noblewoman to such a gruesome place was a grave transgression.
Her concern was unnecessary.
For the Cure-1 experiment, it was my daily work to face not only the Devourers but corpses as well.
‘I’ve never seen humans frozen alive before, though….’
It might prove somewhat interesting.
Shortly after, we arrived.
Up close, I could see why Eston had warned me so early.
“Grrrrr… Gack!”
“Kyahahaha! Kyaruk! Kyahak!”
“Ugh, uuugh! Food! Uuuugh… Food!”
Indeed, some of the Devourers had partially thawed, their shoulders exposed to the air.
Their lower bodies still trapped in ice, they thrashed their heads wildly while black blood streamed from their eyes, noses, and mouths—a grotesque and chilling sight.
“B-be careful!”
Some had thawed in different places—an arm here, a leg there.
Flap, flap-flap!
I grimaced as I dodged hands flailing desperately through the air, grasping at nothing.
“The weather’s cold too—why have they thawed so much already?”
“I’m not sure. It might be because the sun’s been out well these past few days….”
Ethan’s ability to freeze so many people at once was impressive, but it was only a temporary measure.
It was only a matter of time before they all melted if the temperature rose even slightly.
“Why don’t you tell your employer?”
“It doesn’t seem that serious yet… Is there really a need?”
Eston’s expression as she spoke was remarkably indifferent.
‘She never intended to tell Ethan in the first place.’
Whether the fully thawed Devourers overran the village or not seemed to be none of her concern.
I said nothing more and quietly followed her.
Just as Eston had said, her younger brother was in the midst of those eerie ice blocks.
“Theo, I’m here.”
“….”
“Everything’s been fine?”
The gaunt child, who appeared to be eight or nine years old, stared blankly into empty space without any response.
Sitting there without a single safety restraint, completely defenseless, looked terrifyingly precarious.
Still, compared to the Corrupted I’d seen on the way here, his condition was remarkably stable.
He wasn’t bleeding black blood, his body wasn’t rotting, and he wasn’t shrieking or lunging at me.
If not for those grotesquely dilated pupils stained pitch-black, I might have believed he was an ordinary person.
‘To delay the Corruption this much, he must have poured an enormous amount of healing power into himself.’
Which explained why he’d ended up going berserk.
The real problem wasn’t his condition—it was the shackle locked around his ankle.
“Never mind the purification. How are we supposed to get him out of here?”
When I pointed at it and asked, Eston rummaged through her belongings and produced something.
“I’m sorry.”
“…!”
What she handed me was none other than a key.
My head throbbed as though I’d been struck hard across the back of the skull.
I glared at Eston and spoke sharply.
“You’re apologizing for not bringing him out yourself?”
“…I thought you’d only agree to purify my brother if you saw his condition with your own eyes, Miss.”
“Do I still look like someone who’d be swayed by such sentimentality?”
When I snapped back irritably, she lowered her head and murmured another apology.
It seemed she’d suffered so much at the hands of the villagers that she was terrified I might refuse.
I couldn’t fault her reasoning, but I couldn’t help feeling exasperated.
‘True. I didn’t sign any contract, and words alone are easy to doubt.’
Still, I quickly came to accept it.
Just as I didn’t trust Eston, it was only natural that she didn’t trust me either.
“Just to be safe, hold both his arms. Keep him from moving.”
I crouched in front of Theo and spoke, and Eston’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You’re… not angry?”
“Are you joking? We’ve already come this far—there’s no time for anger. Just cooperate.”
“Yes, yes!”
She, who had been standing there looking utterly dazed, finally rushed over and grabbed both of her brother’s arms.
I reached out and placed my hand on top of Theo’s head.
Concentrating my focus, I whispered softly.
“…Purification.”
Whoooosh—!
Just like yesterday, my palm grew hot, and a brilliant emerald light with a refreshing scent burst forth powerfully.
It was a wondrous sight no matter how many times I saw it.
‘When I used purification in modern times, there was never any light like this….’
Of course, being able to purify a Corrupted was something I’d never even dreamed possible.
Amid all this cursed possession, to gain the very ability I’d yearned for….
Could there be any situation more ironic than this?
Fortunately, purifying Theo proved far easier than suppressing Eston’s rampage.
Not long after I began the purification, the pupils that had expanded pitch-black regained their original luminescence.
They were brown eyes, identical to Eston’s.
Once I confirmed this, I withdrew my hand immediately.
Thump.
At that same moment, the child’s body collapsed sideways like a puppet with its strings cut.
“T-Theo!”
“You lost consciousness the exact same way yesterday. Once you open your eyes again, you’ll be perfectly fine.”
“Ah….”
At my calm explanation, Eston’s pallid complexion brightened somewhat.
It was absurd how she remained wary of me yet believed my words with such absolute certainty.
She clutched her younger brother to her chest, and tears soon glistened in her eyes as she bowed her head.
“Th-thank you so much, Miss! I truly cannot thank you enough!”
“…Just stop that and undo the shackles.”
Eston wiped away her tears and unfastened the chains with trembling hands.
Whoooosh….
At that moment, the green light that had been seeping from my palm finally ceased.
‘How do I control this? Do I need separate practice?’
As I gazed quietly at my hand, now returned to normal, I attempted to rise.
“…Ah.”
Suddenly, the world spun before my eyes, and dizziness overwhelmed me.
“A-are you alright?”
Eston, witnessing my unsteady gait, asked with alarm in her expression.
I pressed my brow firmly and nodded.
“I’m fine.”
In truth, I was not.
Though the dizziness passed quickly, my body felt heavy, as though weighted down by cold water.
It seemed that using my ability on consecutive days had taken its toll.
“Let’s hurry, Nancy!”
Meanwhile, Eston, with her younger brother on her back, quickened her pace.
I followed her through the ice shards once more, driving home a final point.
“As you can see, I’m not a remarkable ability user like Ruellin, so your brother is my limit.”
“That’s fine. They weren’t my family anyway.”
I had worried she might harbor guilt for failing to save the others, but it seemed I was mistaken.
Eston answered with a coldness so complete that all warmth drained away.
The absurdity of it drew an involuntary laugh from me.
“Ha! If that’s the case, why did you throw such accusations at me—calling me names and all?”
“Th-that was… I already apologized for that.”
“You were quick enough to criticize when the others were leaving, yet you’re quite the pragmatist yourself, aren’t you?”
“…I suppose I’m the type who doesn’t get swayed by sentiment like you do, Nancy.”
“In any case, your mouth certainly never stops running.”
“….”
It was just as Eston and I were bickering our way out of the desolate Ice Tomb.
“Wait, please!”
Someone suddenly darted forward, blocking our path.
“You—you’re the Purifier, aren’t you? Why are you just leaving like this? What about the others?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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