I Got Reincarnated Into a Game I Was a Top-Ranker in and I Became the Leader of a Villain Group That Will Destroy This Shitty Country - 77

Chapter 77: Awakening

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“Uwah?!”

Startled by the sudden rumbling from the ground, Alywn let out a shriek. She hurried outside to see what had happened and then, she saw it. Although the church was located quite far from the bustling downtown, but she could see smoke rising from the direction of the imperial palace. 

“Huh…? That’s…?”

“A purple explosion.”

The one that answered Alwyn’s question was Brien. Thanks to Alwyn’s thorough treatment, Brien had fully recovered. She stood next to Alwyn and continued on.

“That explosion was definitely caused by black magic. Those guys probably got discovered by the empire. After all, there’s no way they would use such a big spell just to gather information.”

“…Do you think everyone will be okay?”

“What are you talking about? Those kids are black mages, aren’t they? They must be the one who caused that explosion.”

“….”

Brien was right, but now that Alwyn knew the Crown Prince could use black magic as well, Alwyn couldn’t stop herself from getting worried. She hoped Kai and the others wouldn’t get hurt. 

Clasping her hands together, Alwyn earnestly prayed for the safety of Kai and the others. 

~*~

“U-Ugh…”

The man standing next to her fell to the ground while letting out a shameful cry. His reaction was understandable though. The once dense forest was completely obliterated by a single spell from Nia. All that remained was a desolate and vast open area. The only area safe from Nia’s magic attack was the area protected by the magic shield I had cast earlier. 

“Well, this should be enough. Everything should be fine now.”

The explosion of black magic earlier didn’t only contain pure explosion power, but was also infused with curse power. It was basically a big ball of curse. Perhaps because of that, all the surrounding enemies had vanished without a trace. 

Standing up, I immediately started looking for Nia. The smoke was still rising, obstructing my field of vision but it didn’t take long for me to find Nia by using magic vision. She was breathing heavily and she seemed to be swaying a bit. Startled by her behavior, I rushed over to her. 

“Nia!!”

“Nia! Are you okay?!”

“Kai, Chloe… Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired.”

Chloe also quickly rushed over to Nia to check her condition. Chloe must be surprised to see Nia staggering. The exhaustion was evident on Nia’s face, probably due to using such a powerful spell. This was to be expected though. After all, the demon’s power residing in Nia’s body had been partially drained from her at the Schwitz Detention Camp. Her magic power was lesser compared to when she was the final boss of the game and given how enormous the spell she had cast just now… It was only natural for her to be exhausted. The spell she had used to create the massive explosion to defeat the Crusaders were already enough to make her feel a bit tired.

“My magic power is a bit low, but I’m okay. I can still fight just fine.”

“But, Nia…!”

“I can still fight. I want to keep on going.”

Nia looked up at me with an unusually determined expression on her face. Chloe glanced at me, waiting for my decision. I turned around to check on the state of the Resistance members behind us. 

“What about all of you? Can you all still fight?”

“Ye-Yes! We’re still good to go!”

“I see…”

I scanned our surroundings. The whole area was in ruin. I contemplated our situation. To be honest, it felt a bit of a waste to go back after we had come this far. Although we were surrounded by a lot of enemies, but Nia already took them out with a single strike. It was safe to assume the most dangerous elements, Kaltz and that elderly knight, were incapacitated by Nia’s explosion. We had already achieved our purpose here, which was to gather information, but I still felt something was missing. My only concern was Nia. She was already exhausted, but I should be able to cover for her.

“Alright. Let’s head straight into the royal palace. But remember, don’t let your guard down. As you all already know, we’re right in the middle of enemy territory.”

“Yes!”

“Chloe, continue to fight as you have been. Nia, I will protect you.”

“Okay, I got it.”

“Alright. Everyone, let’s go. We don’t know what awaits us beyond this point, so it’s better to stay vigi―”

Right before I could finish speaking…

“Amph-?! Cough! Ugh-!”

Everyone stood there, frozen at the shocking turn of events. Another man fell to the ground. Blood sprayed everywhere and at that moment, I realized….

“Kaltz!!”

Although his speed was too fast for human eye to follow, but I could see it. He was swinging his holy sword, which was now clad in black aura.

“U-UWAGGGGH?!”

“Watch out!”

Kaltz aimed for the neck of the man next to me, so I quickly moved my body to block him. I cast a magic shield within the blink of an eye and somehow managed to stop Kaltz’s sword. Then, I could see it…

“Yo-You bastard…. You bastardddddddd!!”

“…Enough. Just drop dead already, will you?!”

Part of his face was already rotting away, but he was still able to glare at me with his red eyes. The Hero’s once handsome face was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was the face of a grotesque beast. How did he even survive that attack?! I had already stabbed him with a sword and Nia’s magic had hit him directly! Could it be… The black magic circulating through his body made him resistant to the explosion since that explosion was made from the same attribute―

“-?! Nia!! Watch out!!”

“Huh…?”

While my mind was too occupied with Kaltz, Chloe suddenly yelled followed by another squelching sound that I was all too familiar with. Shiver ran through my entire spine as I turned my gaze toward Nia and Chloe. Blood splattered everywhere and… It was Chloe’s blood. 

“……”

In order to protect Nia from the elderly soldier who had appeared out of nowhere, Chloe had shielded Nia with her own body, causing Chloe to get impaled in the shoulder by the elderly man’s sword. 

“Argh-! Thi-This..!!”

“Wha-?! Shit! In that case…!!”

Panicking since he had missed his target, the elderly man quickly took out a scroll from his pocket and opened it. 

“Argh-!! Ugh…!”

As soon as the words on the scroll began to glow, Chloe suddenly became limp, as if all strength had been drained from her body. Taking great use of this opportunity, the man pulled Chloe to him. He grabbed her by the neck and pressed the tip of his sword against Chloe’s neck. 

“Don’t move, you demons!! If you value this girl’s life, then back away! Back away!!”

The man’s voice seemed so distant to me. Though I could hear his words, but his words didn’t resonate in my mind. At this very moment, I could only see Chloe and nothing else. 

“…Chloe…?”

Nia’s voice, filled with shock, seemed to echo in my heart. The only other sound I could hear was the weak groan coming from Chloe. Something started to surge from within me. 

Chloe, who was still limp from the curse. Chloe, who was still bleeding from her shoulder. Chloe, who still had a sword pressed against her neck. Chloe, who was still trying her hardest to look at me despite the curse―

My heart started racing.

“…..”

Within the next second, all of my rationality completely vanished. 

“Don’t you value your comrade’s life?! Back away!! Back away now―”

“UGH-?! U-UWAGHGHHHHH?!?!”

The man could only watch. A sudden gust of wind touched his cheek and in the next moment, he saw Kaltz, who had been confronting the young demon, being blown away. Gradually, a massive black storm started raging from the young demon. 

“Wha-What…?”

The man watched again. The demon girl, who had been kneeling and seemingly in shock just a moment ago, was now staring at him. Her eyes were glowing in bright red and from behind her, a visage of a demon emerged. The shadow grew bigger and bigger, until it became big enough to swallow everything. 

“…..A-Ah…”

Even though the elderly man was stuck under the Crown Prince’s mind manipulation, but he understood. He instinctively understood. This emotion he was feeling right now was fear. He realized he had stepped upon an enormous landmine. 

“……”

“……”

The two demons didn’t speak. They simply glared at him with their glowing red eyes, each of them were accompanied by their own demonic visage. The man realized, these two were the true demons. 

He realized he was destined to be crushed by these demons.

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T/N: Now we’re talking! I always love madness episode like this ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧