A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 20

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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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20.

Bloodshot eyes sunken deep into their sockets, hair disheveled and matted.
A haggard middle-aged woman, as though she hadn’t slept in days, held aloft a massive lantern and stared at me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
‘What? Where did she come from all of a sudden?’
Apart from the Erosionists who had become skilled hunters, there were hardly any places to hide.
Frozen in bewilderment, the woman approached me with eager, bounding steps and an expression of pure delight.
“How fortunate you’ve arrived! While you’re here, would you examine our son as well? I’ve already melted away nearly all of him!”
“Ugh.”
I reflexively stumbled backward from the heat radiating off the lantern.
‘So that’s why there was a lantern in broad daylight….’
The melting ice wasn’t a matter of weather at all.
‘Is she insane? If an Erosionist goes berserk because of this, what then…!’
I furrowed my brow and glared at the woman.
Eston quickly stepped forward.
“Sophie, please don’t do this.”
“Eston? You….”
Only then did the woman’s gaze, which had been fixed on me like a nail, shift away.
‘Does she know her?’
I watched the two of them standing in confrontation with careful attention.
Suddenly, the woman’s voice erupted like a thunderclap.
“Were you trying to sneak your brother away again? You’re truly selfish! If the Purifier has come, shouldn’t you tell the others as well!”
“This person isn’t the Purifier.”
“Don’t lie!”
The woman vehemently denied Eston’s words, her voice sharp as a blade.
“I saw it myself! You clearly used a green ability on your brother―!”
“She’s my colleague, a healer! I’m currently unable to use my abilities, so she came to treat my brother’s wounds in my stead!”
Eston’s voice rose to match the woman’s intensity.
Though she should have been flustered, I found myself momentarily impressed by how effortlessly she lied without so much as a blink.
“I, I see….”
Faced with Eston’s unwavering confidence, the woman hesitated for a moment.
But it didn’t last long.
“…But then, why are you taking your brother away?”
“That, that is….”
“Didn’t we all agree to keep everyone exposed to Magi gathered here? That’s why I’ve left our son’s body alone….”
“Auntie, surely… you didn’t melt the ice yourself?”
Only now realizing this, Eston’s voice trembled with alarm as she asked the question.
The woman’s gaze flickered away in discomfort.
“W-wait, you’re just going to leave the child in that ice block in this freezing cold? Shouldn’t we at least feed her something?!”
“Ma’am! Do you have any idea how dangerous the Devourers are?!”
“I’m not the only one doing this, am I? The baker’s daughter does it too, and the blacksmith, and even the village chief….”
“Sigh….”
“W-we’re all family, so of course we worry! You come here every night worried about your sister, don’t you?!”
Eston sighed repeatedly at the woman’s words as if exasperated, then eventually gave a reluctant nod.
“…Fine. Whether you melt the ice or not is none of my concern. We’re leaving now, so please step aside.”
“Not so fast!”
But the woman swung her lantern again, blocking the path.
“Healing your sister is one thing, but taking her away is out of the question!”
“Why not?”
“Why? Have you already forgotten? Your sister bit how many villagers?!”
“And I healed all of them!”
“That’s just the bare minimum! Wait, this isn’t the time for this! You stay right here. I need to gather some people…!”
“Um… Sister….”
It was at that moment.
The child who had been sleeping peacefully on Eston’s back opened her eyes wide.
“…Huh? It’s Aunt Sophie.”
In that instant, a suffocating silence descended from above.
The woman, who had been looking back and forth between me, Eston, and Theo with a dumbfounded expression, slowly contorted her face.
“So you really are a Purifier after all!”
“Aunt Sophie, this is….”
“You shameless girl! How could you lie so brazenly? Is that how your parents taught you?!”
The woman, who had been pointing and scolding Eston, suddenly spun around toward me.
“Purifier!”
“Ah!”
She seized my garment with one hand, gripping it firmly.
And dragged me along forcefully.
“Please just come look at my son! I’ve already melted everything to make it easier for you to purify!”
“Let go.”
Faced with this troublesome turn of events, I sighed and wrenched my hand free from the woman’s grasp.
“I’m not a Purifier.”
“Don’t be modest! You returned Theo perfectly fine like that!”
“That child’s healing ability prevented the Devourer corruption from progressing in the first place….”
“Villagers! Come over here!”
Suddenly the woman shouted at the top of her voice.
She didn’t seem to hear a word I said.
“A Purifier has finally come to our village! Now we can save all our families―!”
“Ma’am! Please stop!”
“Villagers! Over here, over here!”
Eventually, the woman bounded toward the village, shrieking at the top of her lungs.
‘She’d beg me to heal just one more of her sons, and I’d probably refuse.’
I regarded her with a crooked expression.
Her motives were transparent.
Hostility toward Eston, and a desperate desire to showcase Theo’s purified form to as many people as possible—making it undeniable.
‘But what can I do?’
Unfortunately, I was in no condition to purify anyone else.
I had no desire to do so unless it benefited me directly.
‘Am I gradually becoming corrupted by inhabiting a villain’s role?’
But there was no helping it.
I had never been a paragon of virtue like the heroine in the first place.
‘And why should I shoulder a purification the heroine herself refused to perform?’
Defiance surged within me.
At that moment, Eston, who had been watching the middle-aged woman with a flustered expression, turned to me.
“…W-what do we do?”
“What do you mean? We run.”
I whispered low enough that the woman couldn’t hear.
“Isn’t there a path that doesn’t go through the village?”
“If we keep going back this way, there is a back route… but it might take quite a while to get around.”
What Eston pointed to was the Dead Forest behind the ice chunks we’d just escaped from.
The branches, drained of all vitality by the miasma, hung limply and looked thoroughly ominous.
But we were in no position to be choosy.
“I’ll count to three. Then we run.”
“What?”
“Three, two, one.”
Tap!
I counted to three in an instant and bolted forward.
“W-wait…! Damn it, Theo! Hold onto your sister!”
Eston, who had been standing there dumbfounded, began running after me.
“W-what… Hey, Purifier! W-where are you going! Hey―!”
The woman, occupied with calling people together, realized our escape only a moment too late.
“Stop right there! Don’t you dare move! You have to heal my child before you go!”
“….”
“No, Andrew! You especially must receive purification!”
We had run some distance when the woman’s frenzied screams faded behind us.
Crack! Bang―!
Suddenly, a tremendous explosion erupted from behind.
Eston and I stopped dead in our tracks, startled, and spun around simultaneously.
And the scene that unfolded was spectacular.
Whoosh!
The woman had finally caused a disaster.
Whether she’d shattered a lantern or not, flames erupted violently around a massive block of ice.
“Ugh… Food! Gah, food, give me food!”
“Oh no! Child, Andrew! Are you alright? Just wait a moment!”
Apparently the boy was her son—the middle-aged woman beat at the flames with her outer garment, extinguishing them around the infected creature.
Hiss… drip, drip.
The ice melted away in an instant, releasing pale vapor.
The man, whose head alone had been visible, could soon move his shoulders.
Crack, crackle!
The infected creature’s violent thrashing shattered the already-melting ice layer.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
“Shriek! Screech, shriek!”
“Growl! Roar!”
Oil from the broken lantern spread the flames in all directions.
Crack, crackle!
More and more infected creatures emerged from the melting ice, writhing.
Yet she seemed completely oblivious to what was happening.
“Almost there! Just wait a little longer, my son! Mom will make sure you’re purified, make you normal again… cough!”
That was when it happened.
The man, whose arms had finally thawed completely, grabbed his own mother and tore into her throat.
A brief moment of silence.
“Scream, screeeam! Child, Andrew! Gasp! What is this… guh―!”
Then came a horrifying shriek.
‘Insane…!’
I shuddered at a scene that could’ve come straight from a horror film.
I felt little sympathy for the woman who’d dug her own grave.
Only regret that I couldn’t stop her from digging mine as well.
“Growl, grrrrowl!”
“Shriek! Screeeech!”
“Ugh, food! Gah!”
One by one, the ice melted away.
The infected creatures, now able to move, began scanning for prey with wild eyes.
Humans possessed by magi lose all reason and become brutally violent.
Bloodthirsty killers intoxicated by flesh and gore.
Save for the lack of contagion, they were no different from zombies in old films.
“Sis, I’m scared….”
“Nancy…!”
Theo’s whimper was followed by Eston’s trembling voice calling out to me.
The infected creatures had already spotted us.
Run!”
There was no other way. Only escape.
At my cry, Eston hoisted Theo onto her back once more and bolted forward.
Youth certainly had its advantages. Or perhaps it was her gift as a healer.
Even carrying my sister, Eston’s pace never faltered.
The problem was me.
“Huff, huff…!”
I hadn’t even run far before my breath came ragged and my vision blurred at the edges.
The distance between Eston and myself grew wider with each passing second.
‘Damn it! Why is my stamina so pathetic? Did the original owner never exercise?!’
Resentment surged toward the body’s previous inhabitant.
Yet my wretched condition wasn’t entirely the fault of that pampered noble lady.
It was only natural—I’d been resurrected from death mere days ago, had only awakened from a coma recently, and had already exhausted my abilities.
“Huff, gasp…!”
I managed only a few more steps before I had to stop.
Any further and I would collapse where I stood.
When Eston glanced back and saw me standing motionless, she gasped in alarm.
“Nancy! What are you doing? Keep running!”
“Go ahead!”
“But…!”
“Grrrrrrgh!”
It was already too late.
The Corruptors, contorting their joints grotesquely as they pursued, had nearly reached me.
“Hell… I don’t care anymore.”
I couldn’t run any further.
Neither Eston nor I were combat-type Awakeners—this situation was hopeless.
I had no desire to be torn apart like some middle-aged woman, so there was only one option.
‘Purify them all.’
Confidence?
I had none.
I’d only awakened days ago—there was no way I could wield power rivaling the heroine.
And yet.
‘If I pour everything into it until I die, maybe I won’t die.’
With that thought, I spread my hands and thrust them forward.
“Kyahahaha!”
“Ugh, food! Uuugh, my food!”
I tried not to look at the Corruptors closing in mere inches away, forcing my panicked mind to focus.
“Pur—!”
And the moment my lips parted.
Whoooosh—!
Flames suddenly erupted across the bodies of the Corruptors reaching toward me.
“Hah!”
The heat was far more intense than any lantern could produce. I shielded my face with both arms and stumbled backward.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Ugh! Noooooo…!”
Whoosh, whoooosh!
Terrible screams pierced through the monstrous inferno.
The acrid stench of charred flesh invaded my nostrils.
‘What….’
I couldn’t comprehend it at first.
Why had the fire ignited?
Why were the Corruptors burning so fiercely?
‘Could that woman still be alive?’
I forced my eyes open wide, struggling to grasp the situation.
As if spontaneously combusting, the sudden sparks swelled into a towering inferno that consumed the Corruptors whole.
The thick gray smoke and crimson flames obscured my vision.
But only for a moment.
“Kyieeeee….”
In an instant, they were incinerated, leaving not even bone dust behind.
Whoosh—!
And just as suddenly, the raging inferno vanished as if it had never been.
A massive silhouette emerged through the black ash drifting down through the air.
“…What are you doing here.”
“….”
“Edith Blake.”
Hair as vivid crimson as the flames that had blazed moments before.
It was the male lead 3.

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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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