A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 20.2
“Uh, uh…! Milady, Theo! Hold on tight to me!”
Eston, who had been standing there with a blank look, also started running.
“W-What the… Hey, Purifier! W-Where are you going! Hey—!”
The woman, too busy calling for the other villagers, only realized we were escaping a moment too late.
“Stop right there! I said stop! At least heal my child before you go!”
“……”
“No, what about my Andrew! Out of everyone, he has to be purified!”
How far did we run, leaving the woman screaming like a madwoman behind us?
Crash! Clatter—!
Suddenly, a loud shattering sound echoed from behind us.
Eston and I both stopped in shock and turned around at the same time.
The sight that greeted us was something else.
Fwoosh!
The woman had finally caused an accident.
Whether she’d broken her lantern or not, flames were now roaring up around one of the ice chunks.
“Ugh… food! Ngh, guuuh, food!”
“Ack, Andrew! Are you okay? Hold on, just a little longer!”
It must have been her son, as the middle-aged woman frantically beat out the flames on one of the corrupted with her outer garment.
Ssshhh… drip, drip.
With a rush of white steam, the ice melted away in an instant.
The man, whose head had barely been visible before, was soon able to move his shoulders.
Crack, crack!
The violent movements of the corrupted quickly shattered the already-melting layer of ice.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
“Kyaaah! Kyarrk, kyarrk!”
“Grrrr! Kyahaak!”
The oil that had spilled from the broken lantern caught fire, and the flames spread in all directions.
Crack, crack!
More and more corrupted, besides the woman’s son, were starting to break free as the ice melted.
Yet the woman didn’t seem to notice what was happening at all.
“It’s almost done! Just a little more, my son! I’ll make sure you’re purified and go back to normal… cough!”
It happened then.
The man, whose arms had finally thawed, grabbed his mother and bit into her neck.
For a moment, there was only a stunned silence.
“Kya, kyaaa! A-Andrew! Kehk! What are you— guh—!”
And then, a horrible scream tore through the air.
‘Insane…!’
It was the kind of scene you’d only see in a horror movie, and I shuddered.
I didn’t feel particularly sorry for the woman who had dug her own grave.
But I did resent that she had almost dug mine too.
“Grrrk, grrrrk!”
“Kyaah! Kyarrk!”
“Ngh, fooood! Guuuuh!”
One by one, the ice was melting.
The corrupted who could move their bodies now rolled their wild eyes, searching for prey.
Humans taken by miasma lose their reason and become incredibly violent.
Blood-crazed, flesh-crazed maniacs.
Other than the lack of contagion, they were no different from the zombies in old movies.
“Ugh, sis. I’m scared…”
“M-Miss Nancy…!”
Theo whimpered, and Eston called to me in a trembling voice.
The corrupted had already spotted us.
“Run!”
There was no other option. We had to flee.
At my shout, Eston hitched Theo higher on her back and started running again.
It really was good to be young—or maybe it was because she was a healer.
Even carrying her brother, Eston didn’t slow down at all.
The problem was me.
“Hah, hah…!”
I hadn’t even run that far, but I was already out of breath, and my vision swam.
The distance between me and Eston steadily increased.
‘Damn! Why is my stamina so terrible? Didn’t you ever exercise?!’
Resentment welled up toward the original owner of this body.
But it wasn’t just the noble lady’s fault that my stamina was this bad.
It was only natural, considering I’d just barely woken from a coma after almost dying, and had been using abilities on top of that.
“Hah… huff…”
I finally couldn’t take another step and stopped.
If I kept going, I felt like I’d collapse on the spot.
Eston, realizing I wasn’t following, glanced back and was horrified to see me standing still.
“Miss Nancy! W-Why aren’t you running?!”
“Go on ahead!”
“But…!”
“Grrrrk!”
It was already too late.
The grotesquely jointed, shambling corrupted were right in front of me.
“Damn it… whatever.”
There was nothing I could do.
Neither Eston nor I were combat-type Awakeners.
I wasn’t about to get torn apart and eaten like that woman.
So there was only one option.
‘I’ll purify them all.’
Did I actually have confidence?
Of course not.
There was no way someone who had awakened just a few days ago could match the female lead’s power.
But still.
‘As long as I pour everything out, maybe I won’t die.’
With that thought, I spread both hands in front of me.
“Kyaahahaha!”
“Ngh, food! Guuuuh, my food!”
Trying not to look directly at the corrupted closing in, I gathered my panicked thoughts with effort.
“Purif—!”
And just as I finally opened my mouth.
FWOOOSH—!
Suddenly, flames erupted from the bodies of the corrupted reaching for me.
“Ugh!”
The heat was nothing compared to that lantern, and I recoiled, covering my face with my arms.
“Kyaaah!”
“Ngh! Foooood…!”
Fwoosh, fwoosh!
Terrible screams rang out from within the towering wall of fire.
The acrid smell of burning flesh stung my nose.
‘What the…’
I didn’t understand right away.
Why had they suddenly caught fire?
Why were the corrupted burning so fiercely?
‘Did that woman survive after all?’
I forced my eyes open, trying to make sense of it all.
The fire, which had flared up as if from spontaneous combustion, quickly grew into an inferno, consuming the corrupted.
Between the dark smoke and the red flames, I could barely see.
But it was only for a moment.
“Kkiyaaaah…”
In an instant, they were incinerated, leaving not even a trace of bone dust behind.
Whoosh—!
At the same time, the blazing flames vanished as if it had all been a lie.
And through the drifting black ash, a huge shadow appeared.
“…What are you doing here.”
“……”
“Edith.”
With hair as vividly red as the fire that had just raged—
It was Male Lead #3.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
