The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 101
Archbishop Salecius.
During her human life, she was known as Charlotte and adored her sister, Alicia the heroine.
Charlotte’s overwhelming talent as a hero shone even before Alicia’s, and she drew the attention of the townspeople.
Her family was like a picture-perfect scene of harmony.
But it didn’t last long before everything fell apart.
The scene of her death, recalled from Alicia’s past, left a profound impact on Alicia and traumatized her deeply.
Alicia lived with the belief that her sister had died, haunted by feelings of helplessness, self-loathing for not being able to do anything, and hatred towards Altife.
Despite Alicia’s direct recollections, she never found her sister’s body.
Although the entire town was mourned, Charlotte was never found, leaving Alicia burdened with the thought.
To Alicia, Charlotte was precious beyond measure.
But in truth, Charlotte didn’t die.
What Alicia saw was not the truth.
So, what really happened?
Altife, which engulfed her village in flames, desired Charlotte for her unparalleled hero’s talents and took her away.
Everyone in the village perished.
Their parents, the kind man from next door, even the distant village chief.
Everyone except Alicia.
Wasn’t that strange? Even though Charlotte hid her sister in a small storage room, only Alicia survived.
This led to another possibility.
Alicia didn’t <survive>, but rather Altife <allowed her to live>.
They did this so that Charlotte’s personality wouldn’t collapse while they were molding her into a new type of Altife.
In the future, when Salecius was fully completed, she would eliminate Alicia to confirm his masterpiece’s perfection.
And so, time passed.
Charlotte first appeared in the story during the first semester of the second year, the <Academia Tragedy> arc.
At that point, she had just become archbishop, and there wasn’t much known about her.
Many were shocked and terrified by her immense power, but the one who reacted the most was, of course, Alicia.
Her sister, whom she thought dead, was alive.
That alone was overwhelming enough. But now she had become an archbishop of the Goddess Church and was massacring people.
How must Alicia have felt?
Her idol, the sister she had longed for her entire life, had become an enemy she had to slay—and didn’t even recognize her.
‘It’s a relief Alicia isn’t here.’
I thought as I fought Charlotte.
No matter how strong Alicia became, she could never face Charlotte, now Archbishop Salecius.
This wasn’t just a matter of power.
It was like the predetermined rule that paper couldn’t defeat scissors in a game of rock-paper-scissors.
Alicia was not designed to win against Salecius.
She was someone born and raised to never cut down her own sister.
However, at that moment⎯
“Ha, so even this curse is broken?”
I muttered when I saw the curse I cast on Charlotte dissipate before it could reach her.
This was the first time I had truly fought since my possession.
I usually had a bit of breathing room or countermeasures prepared, but this time the situation was different.
I had to read and respond to every move, and each spell felt heavy.
Just as when clashing swords, when the opponent’s strength was overwhelming, you felt the sting in your hand and needed skillful techniques, the same was true for magic.
The stronger the opponent, the more powerful and precise the spells needed to cause effective damage.
Especially when the opponent was an archbishop and the older sister of the mad genius Alicia.
Crash!
I stabbed a dagger into the air, dispelling Salecius’ curse for the third time now.
That meant I, who specialized in curses, had already been affected twice by hers.
Knowing that Salecius’ talent included curse magic, I had taught Alicia, but now I see she learned it far too well.
If Alicia continued to grow like this, was this what she would become?
Astonishing!
BANG⎯⎯!
A massive fist from Taesan struck down at Salecius.
The ground trembled from the impact.
However, Salecius, who hadn’t even seen the attack, dodged and cut Taesan down in one blow.
I had no choice but to unsummon Taesan. Any more damage would make him hard to restore later.
Through the swirling snow, I caught a glimpse of Salecius’ cold eyes. Despite the fierce battle, there was no malice or killing intent.
Her focus was solely on her target, empty and hollow.
As if I were fighting a robot or a golem—
A final boss-level one at that.
“Charlotte. Don’t you wonder how your one and only precious sister is doing right now? The one you desperately tried to protect?”
[…….]
“Silent treatment, huh? What a boring act.”
Instead of answering, Salecius drew her sword and charged at me with lightning speed.
It was too fast to track, and her sword strikes were flawless, with no gaps at all.
—Ah, but finally, it’s working.
My neck was slashed, and my head fell.
From the wound, black mold-like matter began to corrode the red aura surrounding Salecius’ sword and crept up to her hand.
It was a curse I had reinterpreted using the principle of Ami’s corrosive magic.
Salecius didn’t flinch, however. She swiftly turned and struck behind her with the now-blackened sword.
She knew she had been affected by my curse and had seen a false image. My attempt to strike her from behind had been detected.
CRACK⎯⎯⎯!
I wrapped a chain of aura around my mace to block her blow. But it wouldn’t hold for long. The aura quality was different.
CLANG!
The mace was cut apart.
I couldn’t withstand her attack, and her sword shot towards me again.
I desperately dodged; but the tip of her red aura sword grazed me.
At the same moment—
⎯Growl, screech!
The six wolves I had summoned earlier lunged at Salecius, biting her. They turned into chains that bound her movements.
The ends of the chains were driven into the ground.
Each time she tried to move, the chains tightened and forced her to stop.
I was no swordsman, nor was I one to fight honorably.
I must use tricks and the environment. The problem was that seal wouldn’t hold her for long….
With that, I successfully put some distance between us and gathered mana around her.
I utilized the magic orbs I painstakingly developed during my training with Helion. These were also used in my battle with Zagan.
Magic orbs.
These mana-filled orbs behaved like laser beams with physical force.
They required a vast amount of mana and precision, but I met the conditions exactly.
Three blue orbs floated around Salecius, the maximum I could create at once.
Without hesitation, I fired them.
A loud explosion and shockwave followed, and I caught a glimpse of Salecius’ split-second reaction.
It was brief, but I saw it.
As the magic beams neared her, she forcefully infused mana back into her blackened sword, drawing out her red aura and cutting through the chains and the beams.
Incredibly, the magic orbs were shattered in a single stroke, and the beams embedded themselves into the ground.
“… that’s insane.”
I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Even though she had become a monster, she still had a human body at her core. Was that really possible?
Each of the wolves that bit her was an elite familiar, and the magic orbs, though not fully perfected, had enough power to pierce through an ordinary bishop in a single shot.
Yet, she had destroyed them in one move.
Although, I guessed she was considered one of the strongest archbishops. She could easily rank in the top 10 if measured as a hero. I was certain of it.
‘… but. My curse is taking effect.’
To be precise, both our curses were affecting each other.
Her level of curse magic was superior, but my vast understanding of mana compensated for that.
I was disrupting her senses, prolonging the battle.
This meant that, aside from Helion, I was the only one here capable of fighting Salecius. I couldn’t afford to leave.
As I prepared another spell, her tightly sealed lips finally opened.
[…⎯⎯.]
It wasn’t a human language.
A bizarre sound, the kind that only Altifes might use to communicate. Was that directed at me, or perhaps…
“……!”
Both internally and externally, things began to change.
First, my vision rapidly blurred, and a massive wave of dizziness hit me, as if all the blood had drained from my body. If I didn’t focus, I might collapse.
Oh, shit.
How many things had I been dealing with simultaneously in the midst of this battle?
Swordsmanship combined with red aura, illusion magic, breaking my own curse… and on top of that, she used debuff curse magic too?
Even after all this, her brain wasn’t overloaded? This was insane!
⎯Thwack!
I stabbed the dagger I was holding into my chest. Then, using the magic imbued within me, I activated a dispel.
This would be the last time the relic could be used before it was destroyed. It had already lasted a long time removing the archbishop’s curse.
Forcing a bitter smile, I called her by her true name to draw her attention and buy some time.
“What’s the matter, Charlotte? You look like you’re waiting for something.”
Behind her, quietly preparing an ultimate ice magic spell, was the dragon Frikkanrisk, who had already recovered enough energy to move.
If she were hit by that magic, the situation would shift entirely, and even if it missed, with the divine beast regaining strength, we could gain some advantage.
Soon.
Perhaps this time, I might just be able to take the heads of not one, but two archbishops.
Though tying this to Alicia could create some benefits down the line, catching them now, swiftly and perfectly, would be the greatest victory.
As the hope of such a future sprouted, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
The longer this dragged out, the more the advantage shifted to our side.
Once Helion had captured Ami and regained his left arm, and with the Judgement Weapon in hand… if he joined us soon…
“… human. It seems she didn’t come alone after all.”
Frikkanrisk’s voice, tense with caution. The first to sense the external change was the ice dragon.
From afar.
A creature was approaching at great speed from a distance, one not yet visible. It was clearly one being, yet it felt like many.
A fusion of multiple essences. Similar to the chimeras made by Craine, but more complete and powerful.
I too recognized what it was and spoke.
I moved the muscles near my mouth to form a natural expression, but inside, alarms were going off.
“Archbishop Glashalabolas….”
The archbishop Craine had mentioned was Glashalabolas.
So, Charlotte, Archbishop Salecius, hadn’t come alone. She had brought along another archbishop.
It all made sense now.
I had wondered why Charlotte would appear at this point. What purpose could she have for coming? But this explained everything!
After using the power of the relic to remove all curses, I shouted.
“Charlotte. I’ll admit it. You are stronger than me. By far, overwhelmingly so!”
There was no denying it. I wasn’t foolish enough to overlook such a difference.
But what truly irked me wasn’t the gap between us, but rather, her master, who had been manipulating everything behind the scenes.
Cardinal Zepard.
It was the fact that I had fallen into his trap that filled me with this feeling.
It had been a long time since I felt an emotion this intense.
“You followed your master’s orders and came to this battlefield with Archbishop Glashalabolas. You’re assessing me, observing our forces, and then you’ll decide whether to eliminate us. Meanwhile, Glashalabolas is handling something else…”
It was always possible to expect an archbishop to appear.
But two?
Those fiercely independent and emotionless beings didn’t cooperate, much less without any prior agreements. Two of them?
Sure, I had considered the extremely unlikely possibility that two archbishops from that faction might come to rescue Ami.
He was too valuable an asset to their cardinal.
But the fact that Salecius, in particular, appeared on this battlefield was the real issue.
Salecius and Glashalabolas were among the stronger archbishops.
Although Ami and Salecius were both archbishops, they served different cardinals.
This meant the purpose wasn’t just a simple rescue mission.
And knowing the cardinal that Salecius served, the moment I saw her, I knew this game had slipped from my control.
That was why I felt so vexed.
“The signal you just sent was long-distance communication with Glashalabolas, wasn’t it? Looks like things are about to get serious.”
It was a twisted show of arrogance, implying that she could escape at any time and manipulate the battlefield as she pleased. A display to <intentionally> emphasize how lightly she regarded me.
No matter how I reacted, she would enjoy it.
It was infuriating.
Completely. Infuriating.
Losing control of the situation was such an aggravating experience.
The relic I had been holding onto shattered, crumbling to dust. I casually brushed off the remains.
“But what now, Charlotte? You won’t easily escape this place.”
I couldn’t just let it end like this.
How could I let them simply take a seat at the table I had so carefully prepared?
Goooo⎯
I summoned an additional familiar. That child served as both a mana reservoir and a focal point for my mana training.
By adding the familiar’s power, six blue orbs of magic gathered energy.
Frikkanrisk’s spell was also ready.
And finally.
I pulled out the one thing that could restrain her, something unfinished, but still her only weakness.
[……!]
It had pure white hair.
When I showed her that specific image through an illusion, she reacted. Her emotionless eyes widened as they tried to capture that shape.
There was no awareness, but the beginnings of emotion started to flicker.
“Hasn’t she grown so much?”
The tragedy of Academia.
Back then, Charlotte had not yet fully become Archbishop Salecius. She killed without regard for human life, but she had shown a clear reaction to Alicia.
Now, this was an even earlier point in time.
So, the likelihood of Charlotte coming here was extremely low. Cardinal Zepar, who was behind all of this, was surely aware of that fact.
… yet he still sent her.
This meant I had piqued his curiosity far more than I had anticipated.
“Don’t you have anything to say to your long-lost sister?”
I said, placing a hand on the shoulder of Alicia, who was formed through the illusion.
Even if people called me cowardly for doing this, what could I do?
This was my way of fighting.
All the calculations and contingencies I had prepared for this moment were focused entirely on this one target. I would go all in with everything I had.
“I enjoy toying with others, but I <hate> being toyed with.”
If I couldn’t control the game, at the very least, I would make sure to give a proper greeting to the one smirking behind the scenes.
To remind him of exactly who he was messing with.