Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 96

Episode 96. The Wicked Child (2)

Swish.

Linne wiped a drop of sweat running down her cheek with her hand.

The Black Widows we are currently facing have abilities befitting the title of the Sacred Nation's special forces.

Each individual has skills similar to a knight, but when combined, their abilities far surpass them.

However, the reason Linne can withstand these two is because she can suppress their attacks to some extent with the quality of her 'Aura'.

“You’re holding up well.”

But that too will soon end.

Her total mana was fixed, and the more she used up, the more difficult the fight became.

“That’s right, you know, she’s about the same age as my daughter, but she’s gotten to this point.”

Even though he was dressed like that and spoke while swinging a sword in a fierce manner, he somehow seemed to have a human side.

Separately from that, Linne brought out the aura that was scattered all over her body.

'Further war of attrition is dangerous.'

A situation where victory cannot be guaranteed unless at least one person is eliminated in one blow.

“Let’s stop this useless fighting here.”

Meanwhile, one of the black guards who looked a little lighter opened his mouth.

'You want me to go this far? Are you trying to lull me into letting my guard down?'

Linne was thinking like that, but the two black guards put away their weapons.

“What are your intentions?”

“The reason for the fight has changed. That’s all.”

The reason has changed?

“……Aren’t you a special force that receives orders from the High Priest?”

“That’s right. To be exact, I take orders from the ‘High Priests’.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means not all the ministers think the same way as Garrot.”

Linne turned her head at the sudden voice.

“Please meet the High Priest Shallana.”

At the same time, the two black guards who had been confronting him until now knelt down and paid their respects.

“Foreign knight, although it is regrettable that we are meeting for the first time in this way, it is nice to meet you anyway.”

A middle-aged looking woman, High Priest Shallana, greeted Linne first.

There were many servants around her, some of whom were holding an umbrella for Shallana.

“Just as the Black Guards said earlier, there is no longer any reason for us to fight. From now on, the Black Guards must prioritize my orders over those of the High Priest Garrot.”

“……Chief Garrot? Are you saying that everything that happened just now was done by Chief Garrot?”

"yes."

Shallana nodded once to Linne's astonishment.

“Oh, please don’t think that his choice represents our entire Holy Nation. Originally, people tend to pursue their own interests before the interests of the entire nation.”

Are you saying that? You are a priest of the Holy Nation?

Linne had those words on her mind, but she didn't dare say them out loud.

I can't fight her anymore, because I've almost lost the strength to even lift my sword.

“So, what is your purpose here?”

Linne glared at the High Priest Shallana, her hostility still undiminished.

“Haha, it seems like you’re still young and your head isn’t working very well.”

Chook.

Shallana unfolded her fan.

“If you listen to the story so far, can’t you guess it? It’s to deal with the unexpected actions of the Archimandrite Garrot.”

Linne almost frowned, but held back this time too.

“You guys, go down to the basement and retrieve the sacred artifact that Garrot smuggled out, the ‘engraved lie.’”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After Shallana gave orders to the Black Guards, she turned her gaze to Linne.

“What will you do, young knight? How about coming with me to the castle safely?”

“After seeing what just happened, are you still saying it’s safe there?”

At Linne's poisonous words, Shallana shook her fan slightly.

“Haha, then do whatever you want.”

“Yes, I will do as I please, ma’am.”

"……auntie?"

Crackle.

When Linne spewed out provocative words to Shallana, who kept calling her young, wrinkles appeared on her face.

“Ho, hoho……. Maybe it’s because you’re young, but your thoughts are really shallow. If it weren’t for this situation, I would have scolded you…… Hey! Listen to what I have to say!”

Shallana, who was hiding her wrinkles as best as she could with her fan, did not listen to the end of her words and continued to shout at Linne, who was heading underground.

Be as careful as possible about the wrinkles around your mouth.

***

Although she had entered without any hesitation, Linne, who was visiting the Manjong Arena for the first time, had no idea where the underground entrance was.

“Hey, it’s over here.”

The ones who began to guide her were the 'Black Widows' who had been fighting swords just a moment ago.

Linne had no choice but to follow the two down, but she didn't let go of the tension.

Because these two still haven't forgiven themselves for following them and swinging their swords.

“Don’t be so hostile. We, would we have wanted to do that? We had no choice but to do it because we were ordered to do so by our superiors.”

“If you were told to do it from above, would you kill people?”

“If it’s an order, then yes. Are you killing because you want to kill? We don’t have such a madman in our Black Widow.”

“I don’t think there won’t be any.”

“Well, there are only one or two.”

When they spoke, one person immediately came to mind: Linne.

First, Yurian goes to rescue Prince Yulsis.

'Is it okay?'

Then… … it'll be okay. Maybe.

He was known as the Imperial Sword's Edge and the Smiling Executioner, and had a bad reputation, but his swordsmanship skills were superior to anyone else's.

Surely, just like last time, he might be waiting for you with a sly smile and handling things on his own.

“……Ugh.”

With that thought in mind, she followed the black dragon and walked down the stairs to the basement, where a terrible magic aura greeted her.

It seemed to be a demon for 'Matu', which I saw when I first visited the capital.

But it is too powerful a magic to be emitted by a demon without horns.

I was dizzy from the incomprehensible situation, but I couldn't stop walking down.

Eventually, as she arrived underground, her anxiety turned into reality right before her eyes.

A space so wide that it was hard to believe it was underground. It was filled with demon corpses and blood, and a head-splittingly unpleasant smell wafted around.

And what you see in the center is a huge humanoid demon.

It seemed like he was the master of the magic he had felt.

– “He’s dead. Is he dead?”

The guy was muttering strange words and holding a bright red lump in his hand that looked like a person.

“What the hell is going on?”

Whirlwind.

The demon's head turned towards the black widow's soliloquy.

Three horns.

'It's a triangle.'

Just as the difference between a unicorn and a bicorn demon is enormous, it is no exaggeration to say that the difference between a bicorn and a triangle is like heaven and earth.

Unlike other demons, it has special characteristics, so there are countless cases where even skilled knights cannot kill it.

"crazy……!"

Because of that, the black guard who came with him muttered curses as if he was scared.

'His Highness the Prince?'

Looking at the number of horns, Linne judged that there was no chance of winning and looked around.

Fortunately, he was knocked down quite a distance away from the triangle demon.

'Then, what about Sir Yulian?'

Looking around again, he could see that he, like Yulsis, had collapsed quite a distance away.

“Nonsense…… That’s impossible.”

Linne, who checked his condition, was almost at a loss.

Because it was dark, it was difficult to confirm whether he was alive or dead, but several spears the size of forearms were stuck in his torso.

In any other case, it would have been an injury that would have resulted in instant death.

But we must leave him alone and prioritize His Highness Yulsis.

He is a member of the guard that must protect the prince.

… … I know. That it’s valid.

Still, Linnaeus's feet turned towards him.

“Sir Yurian!”

“It’s okay… Ugh.”

Upon closer inspection, Yurian's condition was more dire than expected.

There are three spears the size of a forearm embedded in the body.

Although they narrowly avoided hitting the heart, they were all lodged in places that could be called fatal wounds.

'Ppo, don't pull it out.'

Linne, who was trying to pull them out without realizing it, barely stopped her arms.

Because the moment I pulled this out, it was obvious that I would die from excessive bleeding.

What should I do?

“What should I do?”

One of the Black Widows muttered, as if he had thought the same thing.

“What are you going to do? Are you planning on fighting the Triangle Demon? It seems like the priests have all been defeated, so we just need to take the holy relics as Shallana ordered.”

The black guards nodded at each other and kicked the ground as they ran towards Yulsis.

– “Krrrrr.”

The triangle demon, which had been still for a while, finally began to move.

But the first thing the man burning with magic and enmity did was not to rush at the Black Widows.

Wheeeeeek, bang──!

A sharp object shooting out from the demon's hand.

By the time I figured out that it was similar to the 'window' embedded in Yulian's body.

Woof, bang!

They collapsed the stairs they came down from, blocking the entrance.

“The guy is exiting…….”

The black guard, who had taken the laurel wreath from the fallen Yulsis' head, muttered a curse.

“From this angle, the demon’s intelligence increases abnormally.”

Linne muttered instinctively as if she had lost her mind. It was as if she had heard it somewhere before.

She tried her best to concentrate, but in this desperate situation, there was no solution in sight.

‘What would the Master do here… … .’

I tried to calm my mind with that thought, but my pounding heart wouldn't calm down.

The word 'Black Sword', which used to magically help him whenever something like this happened, no longer has the same status as before.

Demonization and exile to the Holy Land.

The status that had always been noble was no longer the 'black star' she had thought of.

'If it were you, what would you do?'

Glance.

Linne turned her head and looked at the fallen Yurian.

'……uh?'

A strange scene caught my eye.

Like a pitch-black shadow, something writhing was filling his wounds.

'A creature with magical powers…?'

Strangely enough, Linné was not unfamiliar with that 'black shadow'.

And then I vaguely realized that it was time to get Yulian up and running.

'If I could buy some time… … .'

Will he be able to rise again? And if so, will he be able to overcome this desperate situation?

I'm not sure. Not sure what's for sure.

“We have to fight. If it’s a triangle demon, there will be a core inside… a soul stone. If we destroy it, its activities will stop.”

You shouldn't run away. To be exact, you can't run away.

The two black guards nodded at Linne's words.

“You’re cooperating with a kid your daughter was fighting with just a moment ago…….”

Once again, they pulled out their swords and drew the aura within their bodies.

Likewise, Linne drew his sword and prepared his stance.

“It seems like that demon generates spears from within its body and flies them.”

“The key would be to somehow avoid that window and destroy the core.”

"yes."

– “Hah, heh heh.”

As if mocking their own determination, the exhalation of the triangle demon was heard.

Being intelligent means being able to laugh at others. It's certainly not an illusion.

“Is there only one chance?”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have taken a vacation.”

Looking at the collapsed entrance, the Black Guards took a deep breath as they realized the power of the spear once again.

"song!"

With Linne's shout, the three kicked the ground and jumped out.

Usually, the two who were in sync seemed to know how to get the other's attention, and they rushed at each other from opposite directions.

– “Krrrrr.”

Because of that, the triangle demon's first target was the black one that fell to the left.

Tukan──!

A spear was fired from the demon's body with a loud noise like a catapult in operation.

A speed so fast that it is difficult to follow with both eyes.

“Kuaaaah!”

The first target, Black Widow, was hit in the leg by a spear and flew far away.

In the meantime, the distance is narrowing.

If it sticks, is there any hope?

I can't be sure, but I don't think they will allow a unilateral attack.

"shit……!"

The remaining black one flew into the air and rushed at the demon.

Tukan──!

The Demon's Spear was fired at him again.

“Ugh!”

He barely managed to avoid the spear by twisting his body in the air, but the immense kinetic energy sent the black shield flying towards the entrance.

'thank you.'

Linne knew that he had jumped to get the demon's attention, which is why he was able to get so close.

“Ugh……!”

Squeezing every aura from her body, she put everything into her sword.

A flash of blue light burst from her sword, which contained a condensed aura of high quality.

There is no more room to retreat.

With that in mind, she swung her sword at the demon's left chest where she expected the 'soul stone' to be.

Kang──!

"ah."

But her attacks were ineffective.

Her black steel, imbued with aura, could cut through it, but the demon's skin was harder than that steel.

‘… … Shooting out spears wasn’t this demon’s specialty.’

Perhaps, the ability to harden the body is a demon's ability. Shooting spears is merely an additional ability.

– “Kick, kick, kick kick.”

The underground became quiet.

As deathly silence descended, the demon's laughter became more pronounced.

– “Speculation is about to…… begin…… begin.”

The demon swung his arms, muttering incomprehensible words.

Linne, who stepped back to avoid the attack, felt something strange about the demon's behavior.

'I could have killed him, but I didn't.'

“You seem to think this is a game.”

Seeing the demon's actions, the black widow who had bought time muttered.

“Play?”

“Yes, this is…… the final destination of the demons used in the Manjong Arena. It seems like they remember what they heard there. Cool.”

He vomited a handful of blood and smiled bitterly.

He knows it too.

How vulgar is the speculation between demon and demon, between demon and human.

“I’m sorry about this.”

“……If you know that I’m sorry, then just shut up.”

Linne, who spoke sharply, turned her gaze to Daemon.

'Playing?'

This clash made her keenly feel how strong the Demon Triangle was.

It was an all-out attack.

Moreover, two members of the special force, Black Widow, sacrificed themselves to create an opening for the attack.

'This demon felt like it was playing a game?'

I'm angry. And I'm scared.

The dark future that awaits us once this game is over is frighteningly scary.

'Still, I wouldn't give up on you.'

Because that was the Yurian he knew.

A person with a monstrous competitive spirit that far surpasses the realm of humanity.

'At least a way to save His Majesty Yulsis… … .'

– “Of the Hyrans family…….”

At that moment, I felt that the triangle demon's speech had changed.

More distinct, almost like an imitation of something human.

– “Greatness must be known.”

An indescribably thick hostility seeped from his body.

It is a strong hostility, almost like 'hatred'.

“……Uh, how did you get up?”

Listening to the black monologue, Linne turned her head to where the demon's gaze was directed.

“Sir Yurian?”

There stood Yurian, so tattered that it wouldn't have been strange if he collapsed at any moment.