A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 207

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

207.

Whiiiish―!
Just before the cascading ice spears could engulf us.
“Edith Blake!”
“Ugh!”
With incredible reflexes, Vincent seized my waist and hurled us both off the cliff’s edge.
Crack! Crackle-crack!
The ground where we’d been standing moments before bristled with densely packed spears of ice.
Ruellin, spotting us suspended in midair a fraction too late, let out a furious cry.
“Where do you think you’re going! Get back here! I said get back here!”
Whoosh, whish―!
Crude chunks of ice, more brutal than refined spears, came hurtling after us in succession.
Vincent swiftly conjured a gale to deflect them, then surged upward with a sharp thrust.
Ruellin responded by generating ice indiscriminately, launching it from multiple angles.
She was practically begging for at least one strike to connect.
Her command over Ethan’s ability was still clumsy—lacking finesse and precision—yet the raw power was staggering.
Vincent countered immediately, but after a gash opened on his cheek, Ruellin seemed to grasp something and surrounded herself with an armor-like glacial wall.
The solidly frozen fragments resisted Vincent’s blade wind, which could ordinarily slice through stone.
Fighting at a restricted altitude—neither too high nor too low—while carrying me was profoundly disadvantageous for Vincent.
“Damn it. This is Frederick’s specialty.”
He ground his teeth, then asked in a pleading tone.
“Edith, will you be angry if I suggest we retreat?”
I answered with obvious irritation.
We’d finally found Sephirot’s headquarters, yet this madwoman’s rampage prevented us from even entering. I was ready to lose my mind.
We couldn’t hover in the air dodging forever.
“Drop me above her when you see an opening.”
I pointed to the space directly above Ruellin’s head.
The glacial wall she’d erected had an opening at the top, likely for visibility.
Sized for a petite woman’s frame, it was far too narrow for Vincent to pass through.
“Drop me in there and then what?”
“I’ll attempt a purification.”
“What? You said she’s not even an Awakener anymore! If purification doesn’t work and she’s still conscious, what then?!”
Vincent protested vehemently.
I myself harbored doubts about purifying Ruellin.
I was simply trying anything at this point.
“If it fails, I’ll buy us as much time as I can. You finish her.”
“You really have no fear, do you―!”
“But can you actually do it?”
Vincent stiffened at my question.
It was only a fleeting moment, but his golden eyes trembled ever so slightly.
I was grateful that he’d brought me this far and protected me from Ruellin, but I didn’t trust him.
In truth, there had been countless opportunities to kill Ruellin.
When she first revealed herself from hiding, or when he slashed her cheek.
‘At this point, with everything already exposed, he could have simply gone for her throat.’
I couldn’t guarantee that the monster would die from it, but Vincent had undoubtedly hesitated.
Whether from shock at the demonic nature lurking beneath her surface, or because of lingering affection he couldn’t let go of.
“Either you keep wasting your power like this until you go berserk, or you go now and apologize profusely while coaxing her back.”
“….”
“Since you hate direct confrontation anyway, the latter would suit you better.”

77%

I spoke flatly while checking his magic barrier reading, which couldn’t be called favorable by any stretch.
Vincent then bit his lip until blood threatened to spill.
I hadn’t intended to wound his pride, but he looked as though he’d suffered a tremendous humiliation.
After staring down at me intently for a while, he seemed to reach a decision and held me firmly against him.
Then he shot forward like an arrow toward the ice mass that was newly forming in front of the cave.
A sharp wind stung my cheeks painfully.
My heart was already pounding from the sensation of my body suddenly dropping as if I were on a roller coaster, but faced with Vincent’s reckless decision to hurl himself directly at his weapon, I couldn’t even scream—I simply froze.
Whoosh, whoosh—!
Twisting his body this way and that, Vincent narrowly dodged the incoming shards of ice, steadily closing the distance to the cave.
It was clear he wasn’t aiming for the spot above Ruellin’s head as I’d suggested.
I gasped for breath and barely managed to force out my voice.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to throw you into the cave, so don’t grip too tightly.”
He glanced at my hands, which were clenched around his collar as if I were trying to dig in.
“I’ll try my best, but a gentle landing will be difficult. Do your best to execute a falling technique or something.”
“What are you talking about! How am I supposed to—!”
“Now.”
The one who had been speaking mockingly suddenly released his arms and hurled me away.
“Ahhhhh!”
I plummeted.
The cliff that had loomed in the distance below rushed toward my face.
‘I’m going to crash—!’
I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed.
Thud!
But the collision with the cliff never came.
There was a sensation of my body being hurled through the air, but no pain accompanied it.
The moment my eyes snapped open, I found myself sprawled ungracefully at the entrance of a dark cave.
‘He told me to deploy my falling technique…’
He must have said that much while carefully regulating the wind to cushion my impact all the way through.
I was rising to my feet, caught between gratitude and irritation, when—
A sickening sound pierced the air.
“Ugh!”
A chilling cry echoed through the cavern.
I jerked my gaze upward to see Vincent still suspended in the void before the cave entrance.
Long shards of ice were embedded in his right chest and ribs.
He hadn’t managed to evade them while ensuring my safe passage into the cave.
My heart clenched.
Unlike the monster wearing the guise of a woman, blood erupted from his lips.
“V-Vincent!”
The moment I lurched forward, he shook his head urgently.
“I’ll handle Ruellin. Go inside first—I’ll catch up shortly.”
“But—”
“Now!”
There was no time for further argument.
Whether Ruellin knew of his injuries or not, that damned woman unleashed another barrage of ice shards.
The impact rang out like shattering crystal.
Vincent deflected it even as blood scattered from his wounds.
Unshackled by my presence, his movements had grown considerably faster and more fluid.
Soon he vanished from sight entirely.
A deafening boom erupted.
It seemed he truly intended to settle things with Ruellin—moments later, a tremendous crash thundered from the cave ceiling.
I stared into the empty air, then forced my reluctant feet to turn away.
‘Worrying won’t change anything. This isn’t the time to be weak.’
Even if I remained at Vincent’s side, I would only be a burden.
I couldn’t heal him, nor did I possess the power to strike a fatal blow against Ruellin.
Besides, I too faced a decisive confrontation ahead.
I steeled myself and pressed forward, deliberately suppressing the image of Vincent’s anguished face that kept pulling at my resolve.
As I moved deeper from the entrance, the thunderous sounds from outside gradually faded.
In stark contrast to the narrow mouth of the cave, the interior was vast and desolate—spacious enough for even massive monsters to traverse without difficulty.
Contrary to my concerns about traps or obstacles, the passage was swept clean with almost artificial precision.
Moreover, torches scattered along the walls cast a faint glow sufficient to light my way.
Yet the wavering blue flames dancing at the torch ends kept my nerves taut.
‘…Is it magic?’
The pale blue firelight, barely illuminating where my feet fell, only deepened my unease rather than dispelling it.
The depths of the cave beyond the passage lay shrouded in absolute darkness, impenetrable even an inch ahead.
Walking into that pitch-black darkness felt like stepping into the belly of a monster—far from pleasant.
Honestly, I was terrified.
I had no idea what awaited me at the end of this path.
And even if something was there, I had no confidence I could overcome it and protect everyone.
‘Well, there’s bound to be some deranged cult leader waiting, isn’t there?’
I forced a bitter laugh and mustered false bravado.
Though it wasn’t entirely hollow—after all, I had landed effective blows on Sephiroth before.
‘I’ll just purge her the moment I see her.’
I clenched my fists and quickened my pace.
After walking for some time in that state, the narrow passage gradually widened.
Like skin peeling away layer by layer, the dark corridor slowly revealed itself in the faint firelight before suddenly opening into a vast expanse.
A cavernous space comparable in size to the Security Bureau’s underground bunker stretched before me.
Thanks to far more blue torches than in the corridor I’d traversed, the interior was so brightly lit it was hard to believe we were inside a cave.
And at the far end, exactly as I’d anticipated, stood Sephiroth.
She stood with her back to me before what looked like an altar—a broad stone slab.
“Please drink, Theo! It’s the blood of quite a capable Awakener. So please…”
She muttered like a madwoman, clutching the arm of someone lying on the slab.
Drip, drip—
Blood cascaded from someone’s wrist like a faucet, wrung mercilessly by her grip.
She’d been at this for some time—a crimson pool had accumulated at her feet.
“Glug, glug…”
Submerged in that gruesome puddle was the upper half of a human body, emitting bizarre groans.
It was a corpse—assembled piece by piece from the remains of Count Frederick, painstakingly stitched together by Sephiroth.

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