I’m a Villain, but I Want to Live a Long Life - Chapter 124

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Hah, haah…!”

The massive vine wall that Rosette had created was torn to shreds and scattered around us.

A few steps behind, Verain was shaking the unconscious Janet, trying to wake her up.

Every scene was choppy, cutting in and out.

Trying to clear my whitening mind, I looked around with trembling eyes.

Monster eyes glinted all around us from every direction.

“Kyaah!”

“Rosette—!”

At that moment, Rosette, who had been in front, was hit by a wave that cut through the air and was sent flying backward.

Blood briefly showed at the corner of her fallen lips.

I ran frantically toward Rosette, my face pale with shock.

Estelin, who had arrived first, was already half-holding Rosette and emitting divine power from her hands.

“Rose! Are, are you okay?!”

When Estelin sobbed, Rosette nodded with a face that had turned deathly pale.

“When I fell… I bit my tongue.”

“Hah, you, really!”

A sigh of relief rose to my throat.

But Estelin remained silent with her lips pressed tightly together. Her fingertips, from which divine power was flowing, trembled weakly.

Rosette pushed away Estelin’s hand and said.

“…That’s enough now. Stop it, Estelin.”

“No!”

Estelin lifted her head sharply with tears welling in her eyes. She brought her hand back to Rosette’s chest area and sobbed.

“You didn’t just bite your tongue! I have to treat you now or it won’t be okay!”

Doubting my ears, I asked very quietly.

“You didn’t just bite your tongue…? Where, where are you hurt…”

Then Rosette, who had pushed away Estelin’s hand, stood up from her spot. She said coldly while gasping for breath.

“Enough! I said I’m fine! Is this really the time to leisurely receive treatment?”

She quickly looked around at Estelin and me, as well as the other group members scattered around us.

Joseph and Naila were unconscious, and the other group members were also suffering from severe mana depletion.

After Dearmant appeared again, fierce battles had broken out in the forest.

But there wasn’t much we could do as mere prospective students.

Verain had tried to create clones to shake off Dearmant, but it was impossible.

Janet’s ability wasn’t particularly helpful in combat situations, so it was useless.

This forest was essentially the monster’s main stage to begin with.

And I…

“Se, Selene, are you okay? You’re also suffering from severe mana depletion.”

Estelin asked with anxious eyes. I caught my breath and barely managed to nod.

“I, I’m fine…”

“You should take care of yourself first. You must be dizzy and struggling right now with that condition!”

Rosette said while coughing lightly. I looked at her and bit my lips until they nearly bled.

‘Mana depletion, my foot.’

There was no way I, an unmanifested person, could experience mana depletion.

After all, my ability wasn’t one that used my own mana, but Adam and Amon’s.

“How much did you overexert yourself alone to get to this point! Hurry up and fall back.”

Rosette pushed me backward. I couldn’t give any answer and just kept my mouth shut.

The reason I couldn’t use any abilities right now wasn’t because of mana depletion.

‘Where… where did I lose it?’

It was simply because I didn’t have the pendant.

For now, the most likely possibility was that I had lost it while rushing out of the hiding place earlier.

As I rubbed my cold palms against my clothes, the previous situation was vividly drawn in my mind.

‘Selene! You take the back! Selene…?’

Rosette looked at me, frozen as if rooted to the ground, and quickly grasped the situation.

She realized that something was wrong with me. And she shouted cheerfully, pretending nothing was wrong.

‘…I’ll manage somehow. You just help move the fallen ones.’

Estelin also sobbed with a pale face.

‘Se, Selene is also experiencing mana depletion?’

At that time, I couldn’t say anything. It was the same right now at this moment.

“Fall back!”

Rosette, who sensed the monster’s presence not far away, shouted.

But she soon staggered from the tremendous wave that burst out of the darkness and sat back down.

Dearmant was powerful.

Basically, when you got within a certain range, it absorbed the opponent’s mana, and some adults could even mimic the abilities we used.

‘At least Rosette’s ability being plant manipulation allowed us to block it.’

As Adam had said, Dearmant liked plants. Perhaps because of this, it hesitated in front of the vine walls or low trees that Rosette created.

We could buy just a brief moment of time that way, but it was only temporary.

“…Now even this is useless.”

Rosette, who had gathered her strength to make giant tree roots sprout in front of us, muttered in despair.

The roots were bending and twisting under the force that Dearmant was emitting. Soon they turned into grayish ash and scattered in the air.

I hid behind a large bush, then gripped the tracking magic mirror in my hand tightly and called out to Rosette.

“…Rosette. Come over here for a moment.”

Rosette avoided the monster’s gaze and hid behind the giant bush where I was. Then she spoke quickly.

“The situation is bad. Everyone’s in trouble.”

As she said, I could see Janet and Verain unconscious and collapsed in the distance.

Lark and Joseph, Naila and Chepri, who had been members of Anita’s group, were the same.

I nodded.

“…Right. It’s impossible for us to save everyone with our strength.”

Based on the battle patterns so far, Dearmant seemed to steal human consciousness by absorbing mana.

But it didn’t seem to launch physical attacks.

“We need to find some other method.”

Rosette and Estelin quietly looked at me. Then, a small sobbing sound came from a small bush to the side.

“Sniff, uh, Hanod! Snap out of it, okay?! Hanod!!”

Anita was crying loudly while clinging to the collapsed Hanod.

“She’s surprisingly still conscious.”

Rosette let out a hollow laugh. Estelin muttered quietly.

“Then… the only ones conscious right now are the three of us and Anita?”

“Right. So that’s four total.”

I nodded and caught my breath. Then I spoke in a small voice the words I had been thinking about.

“Let’s split up in pairs from here.”

“What?”

“One side draws attention, and the other runs to the nearest building. That’s the only way.”

Rosette’s eyes widened. Then she frowned.

“Wouldn’t that be too dangerous?”

“Staying here like this is also dangerous. We’re already cornered, and if we all lose consciousness here, it’s over.”

If we continue to have our mana drained like this, we’ll all eventually collapse from mana depletion.

When mana depletion became severe, fainting was actually one of the milder symptoms.

In unlucky cases, it could cause a rampage accompanied by mental confusion.

‘If that happens… someone might go completely insane and become violent.’

It would be especially disastrous if Estelin or Hanod, who had large amounts of mana, went on a rampage.

Rosette, who had already developed her abilities significantly, was also dangerous.

“We can’t just keep waiting around anymore. The magic mirrors installed in the forest seem to have all broken down too, so someone needs to go and bring people here.”

If that could happen, we’d at least be able to catch our breath for now.

I quickly looked around and then stood up as I spoke.

“You two will handle bringing people back. Anita and I will distract the magical beasts.”

“What?”

Rosette grabbed my arm. Estelin was shaking her head with tears welling up in her eyes.

But I was firm.

“Anita and I both handle protective abilities. As bait, we’d be much safer than you two.”

“…That may be true, but,”

“Besides, Rosette. You absolutely cannot take the front line in that condition. At times like this, we need to think about efficiency.”

Estelin turned her gaze to Rosette. Her fingertips trembled.

“When we distract the magical beasts, you two run straight to the central building. Then send people this way. Don’t look back and trip. You roughly know the direction, right?”

“…”

After a not-so-short silence, Estelin finally nodded.

“…Selene is right. Rosette needs to see a medic right now.”

Rosette bit her lips tightly. Then she glanced at Anita.

“So you’re going to move with that idiot?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s only possible if she lets go of that damn prince!”

I looked at Anita. She was still sitting on the ground, holding Hanod tightly while sobbing.

It was amazing that she was still clinging to the prince even in this chaotic situation.

I held my breath for a moment and then muttered.

“…We need to make her let go. Leave that to me.”

And I quietly approached Anita.

Sensing someone’s presence, Anita Solb lifted her wet face. When she confirmed it was me, she immediately frowned.

“You…! If you had moved when I said we should go to the central building, this wouldn’t have happened…!”

I swallowed a sigh and ignored her words. Then I bent down.

“Please, just listen quietly.”

And I continued.

“Right now we have two choices.”

Anita looked at me with trembling eyes. I gestured toward the magical beasts around us.

“You can see it too, right? Our current situation.”

Anita reluctantly nodded.

“As you probably know, there’s not much we can do in this situation.”

“…”

“First option. Die here together with the prince and the other group members.”

“What…?”

“Second option. Hide the injured people here temporarily and bring back reinforcements.”

Anita’s lips twitched.

“Which do you think is better?”

When I asked that, Anita looked around with a hardened expression. Then she said quietly.

“Bringing people back sounds good… But what you’re saying means we have to leave Hanod behind.”

I thought ‘exactly’ and quickly answered.

“We’re not abandoning him, we’re just leaving temporarily. If we drag this out, it’ll only get more dangerous.”

“…”

“To save everyone, no, to save the prince, we need to bring people back as quickly as possible.”

A confused light gradually appeared in Anita’s eyes. I continued speaking.

“You said Sorad’s king cherishes Hanod so much. If he finds out we brought reinforcements and saved Hanod, he’d be incredibly pleased… Don’t you think?”

Anita’s pupils trembled. She bit her lips.

After hesitating for a long while, Anita slowly relaxed her grip on Hanod.

“…Fine. I’ll do as you say. Just this once.”

My expression brightened. Anita looked at me with displeasure and said.

“So what exactly do I need to do.”

I hid my relief and spoke as if it was nothing.

“You just need to run with me toward the opposite direction from the central building. We need to draw the magical beasts’ attention.”

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