A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 63

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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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63.

Serge didn’t seem particularly interested in hearing my response, turning his gaze away from me.
Then he leaped effortlessly over the debris of the collapsed staircase.
The height was so dizzying that I would have spent considerable time strategizing how to climb it….
It was a moment when I felt the futility of our overwhelming physical disparity.
“What are you doing? Grab on.”
Suddenly, he extended his hand toward me.
My eyes widened in surprise.
‘I thought he’d just leave me to crawl up on my own or abandon me entirely….’
It was truly unexpected.
I walked toward him, feeling bewildered.
And the moment I reached out my hand.
Whoosh—!
Impatient as he was, he couldn’t wait and snatched my hand before I could fully extend it.
And before I could even react, he pulled my body upward with tremendous force.
“Ugh…!”
My feet left the ground, then quickly settled atop the peak of the shattered debris.
“…Thank you.”
I murmured quietly while removing the handkerchief that had been covering my face.
Not only did he help me climb the staircase, but thanks to him, I managed to escape the crisis.
Even if that crisis had been entirely of his own making.
Serge scoffed at my gratitude and turned away.
‘…Conscience-dead bastard.’
I secretly flipped him off as he began ascending the staircase ahead, then carefully made my way forward.
Due to the explosion, even the previously intact landing had been partially destroyed, making the ascent quite perilous.
Crackle, crackle. Whoosh.
Lingering embers spread slowly across the wooden staircase like kindling.
Fortunately, no corpse of an Awakener was visible.
The explosion must have scattered it in multiple directions.
‘Ugh!’
Shuddering at the gruesome thought, I hurried out of the level before the fire could spread further.
Fortunately, I encountered no other Awakeners on my way to the surface.
The building felt eerily silent, almost oppressive.
Constantly glancing upward past Serge toward the upper floors, I cautiously broke the silence.
“…Are there any other Awakeners left?”
“If there were, they would’ve all bolted by now.”
I expected to be rebuked, but instead received an indifferent reply.
“Those two from earlier were probably the ones managing this place.”
“How did you know that?”
“Why would the Awakeners bother showing up just for some intruders? They’d simply send their underlings.”
“….”
“They came rushing over because their precious money sources were getting wiped out one by one.”
In other words, the Awakeners held the top positions within the Sephiroth Cult.
‘The scale is bigger than I thought.’
A heretical organization involving the Empire’s Crown Prince, the sole Purifier, and even quite high-ranking Awakeners….
It certainly wasn’t just some ragtag group of nobodies.
‘Money sources would naturally mean nobles like Baron Gavent, right?’
As I was turning over Serge’s words in my mind, a sudden realization struck me.
“Wait—did you release the Erosion Infected on purpose?!”
“What, you think I’m some blood-crazed maniac? I released them just to watch others get torn apart?”
“….”
I didn’t answer.

― I said I wouldn’t kill them with my own hands, but I never said I wouldn’t let them destroy themselves.

When he’d said that, he truly looked like every epithet attached to him—a blood-drunk slaughterer, a demon incarnate, a butcher, and so on.
He embodied every single one of those titles.
‘So it was a strategy to draw out the higher-ups….’
As my silence stretched on, Serge turned to me with a furrowed brow.
“Why aren’t you answering….”
“….”
“Ha!”
Then, catching sight of my meaningful expression, he let out a low chuckle.
“Wouldn’t our little dance have been more thrilling that way?”
“….”
“So, what do you say? The building’s empty now—want to try again?”
“No!”
I shuddered at his ghostly, unsettling smile.
And I hastily made an excuse.
“It’s not that… I’m just worried. There seem to be quite a few nobles among the followers, and if a large number suddenly die, I’m not sure how it’ll be handled….”
“How would it be handled? They’ll just lump it all together as a mass drug overdose.”
“Without connecting it to the Sephiroth Sect at all?”
“The so-called Cult Leader hasn’t even shown his face yet, and without concrete evidence, if we stir up the hornet’s nest and he goes deeper into hiding, what then?”
“Ah….”
“And if stubborn fools like Baron Gavent start raising hell about religious persecution or whatever, it’ll become a real headache.”
As if irritated just thinking about it, he pressed his temples firmly.
And he muttered like a sigh.
“I heard you’d set up quite the establishment in the heart of the Capital, so I thought I’d take a look at your face… and once again, you’ve slipped away leaving only your tail behind.”
His voice carried the weight of chronic irritation and exhaustion—the tone of someone utterly fed up.
Something felt off about this.
The novel had never shown me this side of Serge before.
‘Of course, this wasn’t the only thing that hadn’t appeared in the story….’
Moreover, listening carefully, it seemed he’d been pursuing the Sephiroth Sect for quite some time already.
So it wasn’t just because of the commotion at the recent banquet.
“…Your Highness, why are you trying to eliminate the Sephiroth Sect?”
I couldn’t contain my rising curiosity and blurted out the question.
In that instant, Serge’s footstep came to an abrupt halt.
But it was so fleeting I almost thought I’d imagined it.
“Who knows. Why do you think?”
“….”
“Why don’t you take a guess, Princess?”
He continued up the staircase without missing a beat, turning the question back on me.
‘How would I know?’
It was somewhat absurd, but on the other hand, I instinctively sensed he was hiding something.
That was when it happened.

93%

The number above Serge’s head rose.
The fact that the number increased without me using my ability meant his state was unstable.
“…!”
Suddenly, the temperature against my skin turned frigid.
Indeed, a murderous aura was now radiating from the man’s broad back.
The air on the quiet staircase, where only footsteps echoed, became taut in an instant.

94%

The number shifted once more.
A chill ran down my spine, sharp and crystalline.
My body remembered this sensation.
‘Last time too, he joked around like that before suddenly coughing up blood.’
No matter how well an Awakener controls their reason, they lose all composure just before a rampage.
Anxiety, rage, incomprehensible emotional turbulence.
‘I need to choose my words carefully.’
Recalling the telltale signs of a rampage, I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.
“…I thought Your Majesty came to take revenge on the Crown Prince and search for The Purifier.”
“Well, it’s all connected, isn’t it?”
“…”
“I’m sorry to disappoint the Princess. I went through all this trouble to summon you so you could meet The Purifier.”
Just then, the end of the staircase came into view.
We had finally reached the ground level.
The man ahead of me by a few steps climbed onto the landing first and turned to look at me.
The corridor was dim, and his face was shrouded in shadow from the backlighting, making it difficult to see clearly.
So I couldn’t discern his expression.
“But…”
“…”
“Didn’t the Princess say she had something to tell The Purifier?”
“…”
“What was it?”

94%

Only when the number refused to climb further did I finally exhale in relief.
I mumbled weakly.
“…I came to apologize.”
“What?”
He repeated the word back as though hearing it for the first time, his tone unfamiliar with the concept.
“Apol…ogize?”
“Yes, apologize.”
I answered firmly and glanced up at him with a sideways look.
“Would you move aside so I can pass?”
Serge reluctantly stepped to the side.
Only then could I see his face clearly.
His expression was utterly displeased, as though he’d heard something incomprehensible.
I swept past him quickly, but he clung to my heels, pressing me with persistent questions.
“Apologize for what?”
“I heard that I’ve been tormenting you all this time, and in Tollen, you nearly came to harm because of me.”
“And?”
“So I wanted to apologize and assure you it would never happen again.”
“Truly…I cannot believe it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You, apologize? They say people change when death draws near…are you ill, Princess?”
His unusually serious tone irritated me.
I quickened my pace to distance myself from him.
“Then I suppose I’m back to square one, having died and been resurrected. According to rumors, Your Highness faced countless trials on the battlefield—why haven’t you changed at all…?”
“…”
“…Your Highness?”
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps behind me ceased.
Puzzled, I stopped and turned around.
And I found him collapsed against the wall, clutching his side.
“Ugh…”
“Your Highness!”

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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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