The Strongest Villain, Who Had Secluded Himself Deep in the Mountains To Avoid the Destruction Flag, Is Forced Onto the Main Stage by the Heroine He Helped

“Alba! Alba! Alba!!”

Alba couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as he watched Sheria calling his name repeatedly, her face buried in her chest.

‘…Thank goodness.’

He had made it just in time. Seeing Sheria’s unscathed presence was evidence that she was still alive.

More than anything, this fact brought him immense joy, and he felt the urge to hold her close just as she was doing it.

However, their current situation wouldn’t allow for such sentimentality.

There was Yuris, looking slightly surprised while still being slammed against the wall, and a little girl, who was worn out amidst the devastation.

It was likely that the girl was Mina’s sister. The relief surged even stronger with the knowledge that she was still alive.

“Sheria.”

“Yes.”

“Tend to Yuris’ injuries. After that, ask him to release Mina’s sister and run away from here with her.”

“Understood!”

Alba gently put Sheria down from his lap and then Alba headed straight for Yuris.

Though Sheria was clearly in a battered state, her injuries would likely heal quickly with the goddess’ blessing.

‘Still, as expected of the protagonist. Even in this dire situation, he didn’t hesitate to stay here and buy me some time.’

Debris lay scattered, fires flickered in places, the ground was scorched and torn apart. Darkened masses here and there were unmistakably human remains.

For an ordinary person, this situation would have sent them fleeing long ago. Moreover, seeking help from a complete stranger in this situation was remarkable. They weren’t even close, having only met briefly.

Yet, the fact that he stood his ground instead of fleeing spoke volumes about the protagonist’s nature.

“…Thank you.”

Alba whispered his gratitude softly.

In that moment, amidst the distant rubble, a figure suddenly emerged.

“Hahahaha! Well done there. I must admit, I was genuinely surprised by that last move!”

Her cheeks scraped as blood dripped from various places, her robe was soiled with dust, Yoru wore a somewhat manic smile as she looked at Alba, clearly enjoying the current situation.

“Are you not dead after that? The sensation I felt when I hit you was a little strange, did you do something?”

“Oh, just a little enhancement magic on my body. Though it may not look like it, I’ve raised it by four levels. It’s rather robust.”

However, Yoru slowly advanced toward them.

“But it hurts. It still hurts! What the hell, how does this work? I couldn’t even see you coming at me!”

In this world, only a handful knew of Alba’s magic traits. Among the characters in the game, only the disciple of the sage, even among the heroines, was only slightly familiar with the technique that Alba used.

Only those well-versed in magic understood the principle of embedding magic within the body.

Even if he was a madman who wielded powerful magic, grasping this principle in just a moment was difficult.

“Shall I teach you, fool? This isn’t a training ground; you’ll have to learn by experience.”

“Haha! Well then, let me experience it!”

A massive ball of flames burst forth from Yoru’s hand.

Carving into the ground, scorching the surroundings, it came straight for Alba.

“Alba-kun!”

Sheria, who was heading to where Yuris was, was surprised by the background scene turning red, and when she saw what was transpiring before her, she cried out in concern.

However, Alba just smiled faintly, his gaze fixed on the flames approaching him.

And then, he simply dashed straight at them.

“Huh?!”

A surprised exclamation slipped from Yoru.

With a blink of an eye, the ball of fire before him scattered into mist.

Just as she thought that he might have burned to ashes, Yoru felt a hard sensation against her cheek, and then her consciousness blanked out for a couple of seconds.

“Wha—?!”

“Let’s change locations. I don’t want the sparks of flames to reach Sheria.”

The wall behind Yoru shattered as if it were a blunt instrument, sending her tumbling out into the open expanse beyond the ruins.

Her vision flipped up and down repeatedly, her momentum gradually halted by the friction with the ground.

“Wait… What in the world…?”

Yoru was confused, but Alba’s action was quite simple.

He merely ran, using his momentum to bend his knees and smash his fist into Yuris’. face

There was a fireball in front of his eyes, right? You might question that, but it wasn’t really odd.

It took time for matter to transfer heat to the human body. If you briefly touched a candle’s flame, would you get burnt? The answer is no, it’s the same principle.

Even if he rushed in at a speed difficult to track with the naked eye, it wouldn’t affect Alba’s body.

Therefore, the scenario of him crashing into Yoru and sending her flying worked perfectly.

Noticing this logic a bit too late, Yoru wiped the blood from her nose and staggered to her feet.

What she saw before her was a boy, surrounded by a faint blue-white light, slowly emerging from the ruins.

“…It’s been a while since I used my prowess. I’m boiling over.”

His eyes were cold, yet smoldered with intense heat.

His intense gaze was fixed on Yoru.

“Why did you abduct Sheria? Why did you need Mina for all of this? Was your purpose accomplished before we arrived?”

He wasn’t that interested in their plans initially. That was not the issue.

As Alba took a step closer, even without saying the words, the message was clear to Yoru.

“Do you think you can just raise your hand against someone precious to me and get away with it?”

The pale blue light surrounding his body grew even stronger.

—Zap!

The sound of impact echoed in Yorus’ ears multiple times.

Clearly, the boy in front of her was in a league of his own. Stronger than the boy who appeared first, stronger than the knights she had faced, stronger than Mina, the princess of the demonic beasts.

For the first time today, Yoru’s survival instincts sounded an alarm in her head.

However…

“Hahaha!”

Yoru rose to her feet, her maniacal laughter echoing in the surroundings.

“That’s good, that’s good! It’s been a while since I’ve been pushed this far. It seems you’re the main course before I take a swing at God!”

There was no choice but to run.

The boy in front of her was surely a knight protecting the envoy of God.

If she killed this boy, she could finally kill God’s messenger. She could finally land a punch on God.

“Now, now, let’s begin, hero! Unless you kill me, you won’t be able to save your beloved saintess, you know?”

“Don’t bark, fool. I’ll protect Sheria without you telling me.”

It was his duty to protect her no matter how dire the situation was.

With those words as a prelude, both of them charged forth as their weapons clashed against each other.