A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 99

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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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99.

After the commotion had settled.
“I really don’t understand what kind of person you are, Princess,” Eston muttered, regarding me with bewilderment.
“One moment you’re saying ‘life is solitary, damn it all’, claiming to distrust humanity to your very bones, and the next you’re sacrificing everything to save those same people…”
Her words were accurate—my actions contradicted everything I had once proclaimed.
But what could I do about it?
‘Humans are inherently contradictory, damn it all.’
Purification wasn’t impossible.
If I could do it, I couldn’t simply abandon them to become Corruptants and perish.
The milk was already spilled.
Dwelling on it would only exhaust me.
“Don’t dig too deeply into it. You’ll hurt yourself,” I replied with a shrug and a playful tone, causing her to furrow her brow.
“What will you do now?”
“What else? Everything’s been revealed, so I’ll register as an Awakener with the Security Bureau and take up the role of Purifier.”
Once we returned to the Capital, they’d likely begin grading me immediately.
‘Now that I think about it, how did they conduct grading here? Something about ancient artifacts, if I recall correctly.’
In the modern era where I once lived, grades were determined through a comprehensive assessment: ability wavelength measurement, blood tests, and various simulated trials.
But this being a fantasy world, the process had been remarkably straightforward from what I remembered.
The thought of being shuttled about for some time left me sighing involuntarily.
“More importantly, what happened with the Subjugation Tournament?” I deflected, turning away from the harsh reality.
“Who won?”
“We won’t know until the announcement, but from the atmosphere, it seems like Prince Ethan will be the victor.”
“I see.”
Perhaps my lukewarm reaction prompted her question.
“You don’t seem very surprised,” Eston asked with evident curiosity.
“Well… isn’t it rather obvious that one of the S-rank Awakeners would win?”
“I suppose that’s true…”
She nodded in agreement.
In fact, I’d half-anticipated this outcome even before arriving on the island.
Without a female lead to protect, only the male leads one and three would give their all in the tournament.
I hadn’t foreseen the absurd catastrophe where the female lead would actually die…
But no major upsets occurred.
If anything, it was somewhat unexpected that male lead one possessed greater mental fortitude than male lead three.
In a situation where there’s no female lead to be bound to, the only male leads who will do their best in the subjugation battle are male lead 1 and 3.
I never anticipated that such a maddening incident would unfold—one where the female lead doesn’t just disappear, but actually dies outright…
There was no incident.
It’s somewhat surprising that male lead 1 is mentally stronger than male lead 3, if you could call it that.
‘Fair point. Dylan’s mental state must be in shambles.’
Unlike Ethan, who had frozen his feet in place with his ability, Dylan had been swept up in the gale winds alongside Vincent the entire time.
On top of that, he’d witnessed Ruellin’s murder happen right before his eyes.
In contrast, Ethan had been too preoccupied with Serge to pay much attention to Ruellin.
I hadn’t thought about it at the time, too frazzled to notice.
But looking back now, something about Ethan’s passivity struck me as odd.
‘Why would that Ruellin fanatic act that way?’
Normally, he would have been the first to chase after Ruellin, just like Vincent and Dylan, yet he’d been strangely passive.
‘Did he not want to lose face in front of others?’
The novel had only highlighted Dylan, but Ethan harbored complexes about his status just as deeply.
Perhaps his confrontation with the Grand Duke had only aggravated it further.
With that reasoning, his passive behavior made sense.
Lost in thought, Eston suddenly spoke up.
“Still, I genuinely thought Count Frederick would win. It’s impressive he competed despite his injury, but….”
“An injury? What injury?”
“You didn’t know? Right after Sephiroth disappeared, Count Frederick entered the Gate and slew Queen Talos.”
My eyes widened in shock.
I had no idea.
I’d been too busy struggling with Ethan as I tried to rush toward the berserk Vincent.
Eston’s explanation went like this:
While I purified the berserk Vincent and fired energy waves to eliminate the Magi, Dylan had entered the Gate and slain the leader alone.
Talos, a wyvern-like monster, hunted in packs like hyenas and wouldn’t stop attacking until their queen was dead.
But that queen spawned offspring once per minute and possessed defensive capabilities among the highest-tier monsters.
‘No wonder… even with X-level magic and constantly being swept up in tornadoes, they kept crawling out endlessly.’
There was a reason the Deer-Masked Maid—no, Sephiroth—had retreated so easily without counterattacking.
‘They were aiming for prolonged exposure to the Magi.’
Realizing the creature’s cruelty belatedly made my chest tighten.
There would be no Purifier.
The plan was to create a situation where multiple Awakeners would go berserk while facing an endless stream of monsters.
When I thought about how close we’d come to witnessing multiple Awakeners losing their minds all at once—not just Vincent—the world spun dizzyingly before my eyes.
“…In any case, thanks to the Count, the Gate closed early.”
Eston finished his explanation and added:
“Of course, because the Princess purified the Magi in time, everyone was able to escape without secondary casualties.”
Dylan had sustained a severe arm injury fighting Queen Talos.
But because a lunar eclipse began while the Gate was open, he couldn’t receive proper treatment and went straight into the subjugation mission.
‘With injuries that severe, you’d think he’d sit this one out….’
Truly a persistent one.
Listening silently to Eston’s account, I was struck speechless by Dylan’s tenacity and venom.
Then it suddenly occurred to me—what had the one person who came out unscathed been doing?
“…And the Grand Duke?”
“Ah. That person…”
For some reason, Eston’s expression grew troubled at my question.
She answered hesitantly.
“…He returned just thirty minutes after the subjugation began.”
“What? Thirty minutes?!”
Of course, I knew full well that given his nature, he wouldn’t pour his heart and soul into a subjugation with no real merit…
‘Still, thirty minutes is absurd!’
I was dumbfounded by how brief his participation was—practically as if he hadn’t shown up at all.

― Why, were you cheering him on to take first place? I hadn’t realized you were aiming for the Equinox flower as well.

‘…When does he ever talk like that.’
Lost in thought, I suddenly jerked my head in denial as if seized by panic.
‘What am I saying? What does it matter to me whether he takes first or not!’
Eston regarded me with a puzzled expression as I suddenly made a fuss by myself.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. Never mind. But what did he do that he stayed for thirty minutes?”
“Well, actually…”
It was the moment Eston was about to answer.
Knock, knock—
Click.
The door suddenly opened with a knock, and Nancy entered.
In her hands, she carried a tray covered with a lid.
“Young lady, please drink your medicinal broth.”
Nancy approached the bed, lifted the cover, and offered me the bowl placed on top.
I asked in confusion.
“What kind of medicine is it?”
“Actually, this is from the sea…”
“Wait!”
It was then.
Eston urgently cut off Nancy’s explanation about the medicine.
“It’s a tonic for vitality, so please drink it while I explain.”
“A tonic for vitality?”
“Yes. Your stamina isn’t good, which is why you keep collapsing. Since things have come to this, it would be best if you took better care of your health.”
At those words, I looked down at the bowl Nancy offered.
Inside the white ceramic bowl, a dark, viscous liquid sloshed.
It looked terribly bitter at first glance.
“Ugh… Do I really have to drink it? I hate bitter things.”
“At your age, complaining about medicine?”
“Eston brewed it carefully all night long…”
Eston and Nancy spoke in turn.
Hearing them put it that way, I couldn’t very well refuse.
I reluctantly squeezed my eyes shut and drained the bowl in one gulp.
Gulp, gulp.
As expected, it tasted bitter and revolting.
Moreover, the viscosity was so high that it barely went down.
‘Ugh! I’m going to throw up!’
I was forcing the medicine down in portions, fighting back the rising nausea, when—
“It’s made from genuinely beneficial ingredients, so please don’t misunderstand.”
“….”
“Actually… it’s medicine made from a sea serpent’s head that the Grand Duke caught while fishing.”
“Pfffttt―!”
I spat out everything in my mouth.
Naturally, Eston, who was sitting directly across from me, took the full brunt of it.
She slowly closed her eyes.
“Oh my… I should have told you after you finished it all.”
Nancy let out a small gasp and handed us something to wipe ourselves with.
“You should have said something first――!”
Eston opened her mouth to protest at Nancy, but fell silent under the sharp edge of my glare.
“W-what did you just say? A s-sea serpent?!”
“…Sea serpents are apparently excellent for restoring vitality.”
Eston deliberately avoided my eyes and wiped her face glumly.
“But after hearing rumors that the specimens caught in this area are much larger and rarer than those in other regions, the Grand Duke….”
“You’re insane…! No, that insane bastard―!”
I was absolutely horrified.
Goosebumps crawled across my entire body.
‘How disgusting!’
Snakes were the one thing in this world I despised most!
Yet horrifyingly, the bowl was already nearly empty. Damn it!
“How could you tell me after I’ve eaten it all…! Ugh!”
My stomach churned.
Just as I reflexively began to gag—
Thud, thud!
A heavy sound suddenly echoed through the room.
“Who is――”
Before Nancy could even finish asking, the door burst open.
And then.
“Did you take the medicine well?”
The culprit behind this wretched situation made his entrance.

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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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