I Thought I’d Reformed the Villainous Heroine. But Their True Nature Remained Unchanged, and They Were Still Being Doted On—I Just Don’t Have Enough Lives. - Chapter 20

Natural Enemy

The clearing of the great labyrinth kept moving forward.

After taking down who-knows-how-many flying fish, I leaned back against the passage wall. The part touching the water wall got soaked, but I didn’t care.

“Brother… would you like to rest?”

Ilza looked at me quietly. Her spotless, delicate figure was impressive as always.

I, covered head to toe in grime, answered.

“I just felt like leaning on the wall for a bit… Hang on, I’m gonna take some medicine now.”

I pulled out a long, thin test-tube-like bottle from my waist pouch.

I tried to open the cap, but my hands had zero strength left and I started to panic. Then Myris took it instead, opened the cap, and handed it to me.

I barely said thanks before gulping it down in one go.

“Haaah-ha-ha! I’m back! This is what I live for!”

Man, the taste is like it’s shortening my lifespan!

Feels exactly like chugging an energy drink!

Ugh, the heartburn is brutal. I’ve been slamming recovery potions for magic and stamina nonstop.

Ilza and the others didn’t say a word about it. Maybe they figured they had no right to comment, or maybe they were just stunned.

“Young master. I’m getting tired too, so how about we take a break?”

“…Yeah. No point pushing myself for no reason.”

I stayed leaning against the wall instead of sitting down. From experience, if I sat I probably wouldn’t be able to stand back up.

The situation was extremely bad.

But that was only for me.

Ilza, of course, and even Myris still had plenty left in the tank.

Just like the demon wanted, I was the only one getting worn down. Sure, I’m still a kid, but the gap with my little sister is overwhelming to begin with.

『—Humans are so fragile, Princess.』

I remembered the demon’s words.

Damn… that was a good target.

It’s coming after the heart of me, the great sinner. Maybe it’s also trying to prove to Ilza that I’m a human who’ll break right away.

It’s not seriously trying to kill me.

But the real problem is that even if we drive it off this time, it’ll just come back again.

This thing is going to keep coming after my spirit forever.

It’s trying to make me leave Ilza’s side, that’s why it’s not killing me. It probably doesn’t want to leave any lasting grudge with the Dark Princess.

“Gant brother.”

Those bottomless eyes were staring at me.

Ilza didn’t continue. I wondered what she wanted to say. Maybe she was silently telling me “Of course you won’t leave my side, right?”

If my spirit broke and I left, would my little sister just give up on me and be done with it?

“…Hey, Ilza.”

If she’s already awakened her unique spell code, why isn’t she using it?

I almost asked, but stopped myself.

Myris’s unique spell code is [Provisional Fix].

And Ilza’s unique spell code is [Absolute Domination].

In the original story, when Ilza had deepened her understanding of magic and become something close to a demon, those were the words she wove. With a frail tone of voice, she would scatter madness and malice across the whole world.

If she used it, wouldn’t this be solved right away?

Maybe Ilza is testing me too.

Swallowing down all kinds of doubts and anxiety, I forced a smile.

“…Just watch your big brother try a little harder, okay?”

“Yes. I really love it when you work hard, Gant brother.”

I couldn’t betray that delicate smile.

In more ways than one, really.

…Anyway, I did my best. From the very edge.

Let me make one thing clear first—humans have limits, after all.

If I’m making excuses, it’s because I’m the decoy villain Gant who never awakened any unique spell words.

Myris helped me out over and over.

Ilza also used her spells to hinder the monsters’ movements for me.

I mean, to survive in a dungeon that feels like the last dungeon, you need that kind of support or it’s impossible.

Every time a monster attacked, every time I was shown the gap between me and Ilza, despair crept in little by little.

It felt like the demon was whispering right in my ear: “This is how you’ll keep walking from now on.”

Even so, I kept walking through the dungeon with dignity.

Sorry, that was a lie.

“Young master, can you walk?”

“Look at me… I’m walking toward tomorrow…”

I used my sword like a cane as I moved through the labyrinth.

There was a suggestion for big brother number three to carry me, but I turned it down because I might become a target. Considering the demon’s aim, it was better to keep walking on my own power even if I was dead tired.

It was my big-brother pride at this point.

“Uwooooooh, big brother power———!”

“You still have energy to yell, huh.”

“Of course! I’m the child of ordinary, average, and peaceful life!!”

“Ahaha, I don’t really get it but it sounds good!”

Myris laughed cheerfully, cheering on my fake energy.

Ilza, on the other hand, wasn’t looking at me anymore. She was staring hard at the fountain in the small open chamber.

“…We’ve arrived. With that much interference, it’s possible to trace the distortion in the mana.”

Ilza poked her index finger into the fountain’s water jet.

Right away the water column started to glow dully, swirling with a deep purple vortex. I watched it from a distance.

“Ilza, is that the source of the mana contamination?”

“Yes. It was hidden quite cleverly… but once I take control, it’s ours.”

Ilza twirled her index finger around, and the vortex gradually calmed down.

In sync with her finger movements, the dungeon that had spread across the entire lakeshore started sinking underwater one after another. Like a video playing in reverse, the palace, the fortress, and the labyrinth itself all vanished as if they had never existed.

And the area returned to a quiet lakeshore.

The fog was still there as usual, but the presence of monsters had thinned out a lot. They probably wouldn’t keep spawning endlessly now.

“Well, let’s stop the mana correction here.”

When Ilza pulled her finger away, the fountain disappeared.

But the deep purple vortex was still there. If we corrected the mana contamination any further, we wouldn’t be able to stand on the water surface anymore.

“T-Thanks. I don’t think I can swim right now…”

“If that happens, you can hold on to me.”

Ilza wore a charming smile, but her gaze stayed fixed on the water. She hadn’t let her guard down.

Of course—she knew that demon was still around.

[Hmm. You endured it? How boring.]

A voice that didn’t see people as people, fitting for a higher being, spread across the lake.

D-Damn it, getting all cocky!!

Does it have any idea how hard I was trying?!

“I don’t exist to entertain you!! You dumbass! Is looking down on people from above your specialty?! That’s why the world rejects you guys!”

“As expected of young master! The second he thinks something’s bad for him, he doesn’t hold back with the language!”

Stop hyping me up in weird ways, Myris!

We could finally see the goal point, and that gave me a bit of energy back.

Plus, unlike the previous demon, Ilza being on our side was huge. She looked cool and composed, but I could feel the seething anger bubbling under the surface.

Ilza let an evil aura drift around her while asking in her delicate voice.

“…Could you stop acting so dramatic? It shows how low-class you are as a demon.”

[Kuhaha! Princess, you want me that badly! Fine! Behold my form!!]

The demon shouted proudly, confident in its power.

Since it was a higher demon, even Ilza might be at a disadvantage. But no—she had been growing at incredible speed thanks to clearing the labyrinth. I thought we had a real chance.

In the end it probably came down to compatibility, though.

Then the water surface churned wildly like it was boiling.

From between the waves, from the spray, shadows stretched out one by one and gathered in the air.

The pitch-black shadow, amoeba-like, had eyes and mouths all over its body and kept growing bigger.

“…A collective of shadows… You think I can’t dominate this?”

Ilza didn’t lose her composure. She probably prided herself on being able to control shadows. Myris didn’t look shaken either, like she was calculating the same thing.

Only I was turning pale, I think.

Bad bad bad bad bad!!

This is the worst possible development!!

I know this one—the intangible… shadow demon!!

That thing is the demon with the worst compatibility against Ilza!!

“Ilza—”

I tried to warn her, but I got blasted away hard.

A black demon over thirty meters long had flung a shadow at me. The shadow wrapped around my right arm and pinned me to the water surface.

Guh?! So it really did throw a shadow—!

“Myris! Guard Ilza—”

“Sorry, a shadow came up from under my feet and caught me.”

Myris frowned slightly, sitting on her butt on the ground. She was trying to peel the shadow off her legs, but it didn’t look like it was working.

“…Brother? Myris? …Why?”

[KUHAHA! You tried to control my shadow! Princess, I’m well aware of how dangerous you are! Remember that a counter being exists!]

The shadow demon that looked like a giant amoeba laughed with countless eyes and mouths.

It was a young being created by the demons to support the Dark Princess, to discipline her… and to prepare for the moment when Ilza’s madness turned outward.

That thing was a demon made as a special anti-Ilza weapon.

[My name is [Void Lilah]!! I am the disciplinarian for the selfish princess! Now it’s your turn to be tested, Dark Princess!!]