The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 11
[Creak!]
The eyes of the monster, hard as if made of pumpkin crystal, narrowed unpleasantly into an inverted crescent moon shape.
To Alicia, it felt as if it were mocking her after meeting her for the first time in a long while.
She wanted to scream.
Even if her throat tore apart and her vocal cords ruptured, she wanted to fight back somehow.
“Huh… kkk… guh.”
However, the words that welled up in Alicia’s mouth neither fully formed nor functioned as language. They clung to her like sticky gum, sticking tenaciously.
It was the same that day.
Alicia watched her sister die from the safety of a warehouse, under her sister’s protection.
She didn’t even scream. Grabbing the sharp farm tools scattered around and fighting alongside her sister was something she couldn’t even imagine. She was too terrified to do anything but watch.
She couldn’t make a sound or say anything.
Why?
Because when her sister shoved her into the warehouse, she told her to stay quiet and not make a sound? Because she was afraid of getting in her fighting sister’s way?
Hahaha.
It’s funny. So funny.
It wasn’t completely wrong. That was part of it. But there was something more fundamental, more trivial, more abrasive. It wasn’t just for those reasons that you couldn’t respond that you got choked up.
Someone spoke to her.
A familiar voice. A familiar intonation. But now a stranger’s voice, lost in the depths of old memories.
Rustle.
The straw on the floor crumbled under a solid red chunk of meat.
Crunch, crush.
Then, where the former village chief’s body was trampled, flesh splattered in all directions.
That bizarre and grotesque thing approached Alicia. Cautiously, like a mantis sneaking up on its prey, but with a different feeling.
If a mantis approached an unsuspecting prey, then this…
[Krrk.]
It seemed to enjoy the reaction of prey that couldn’t resist.
Slash!
A tentacle-like thing extended from the monster’s body and struck Alicia’s head. It knew the weaknesses of living beings. Despite its playful demeanor, it intended to kill her in one strike.
“…!”
Alicia instinctively threw herself, screaming silently. She narrowly avoided the attack that flew at her.
However, her hands trembled in fear, shielding her head, and her legs couldn’t lift her fallen body.
Like a newborn chick unable to resist the gravity of the world, Alicia fell and stood up repeatedly.
Her mind screamed to escape, but her body didn’t follow.
“Ugh…!”
A solid tail-like appendage of the monster struck Alicia’s abdomen, sending her flying lightly into wooden crates behind her.
The impact caused dust in the warehouse to rise, and various tools fell to the floor.
Several struck Alicia’s head, but she didn’t even feel them.
Her senses were already overwhelmed by fear and shock, making mild pain insignificant.
Rustle.
It approached again. Its heavy breaths suggested excitement at the prey’s attempted resistance.
Alicia heard it too. Instinctively, her eyes darted to an escape route. But there was already a visitor.
A pool of red blood with the body of an old man whose head was gone. It was as cruel as the villagers scattered in her nightmares.
“Ugh… ah…!”
Again, Alicia tried to speak, but no words came out. She felt stifled, pathetic.
[Krrk!]
Its muscular legs strode towards Alicia. She had to resist. If she didn’t, she would die! Alicia started throwing anything she could see.
Thud, thud.
The randomly thrown objects couldn’t even scratch the monster’s thick skin, falling like leaves. If one hit its face, it showed a hint of displeasure, but that was all. They had no effect.
No, to be precise, they did have an effect.
[Krrrk⎯⎯⎯!]
The monster began to get angry.
Thud, thud!
It stopped playing and charged furiously. Its mass caused the ground to shake with each step.
Seeing this, Alicia desperately searched for something else to throw, but there was nothing left around her.
With nothing left to defend herself, Alicia scratched the ground. Not to dig, but to distance herself.
Scratching at the floor with both hands, trying to move away from the monster, but unable to retreat due to the warehouse wall. In her panic, Alicia didn’t realize she wasn’t moving, her fingers bleeding from scratching so hard.
Then.
⎯Clink.
She touched a piece of metal on her body.
Thud, thud!
Crash.
The red monster roared and collided with Alicia. It smashed through the wall, carrying Alicia with it, not slowing down. Her legs were dragged along the ground, skin tearing and pain twisting through her.
However, in the moment of collision, Alicia grabbed a blade in a desperate bid for survival and stabbed it into the monster’s eye. It was a simple thrust with no magic or power.
[Kreeeek!]
The monster halted its charge and howled in pain. It threw Alicia, sending her flying.
Thud.
She collided with a tree and finally stopped.
“… guh!”
A cry of pain burst from Alicia’s throat as she hit the tree. Her body, losing momentum, fell to the ground.
“Ke… keh. Guh.”
Her heart pounded, bile rising with each beat. There was hardly anything in her stomach, but it kept trying to come up.
Before being hit, she had no control over anything. Now, the clear pain hitting her body brought some clarity.
She was conscious. She hadn’t lost her mind. But she still couldn’t stand up.
As the monster’s wailing shook her ears, Alicia turned to scan her surroundings. Her breath was still shallow and rapid, her eyes unfocused.
“Ahhh⎯⎯⎯⎯!”
“P-please…! Save me…!”
“Ahhh… ahhh!”
“Mom! Dad!”
Screams and cries echoed from all directions. A collective of negative human emotions filled the air.
The long stone walls were collapsing in places. Wooden houses were either burning or had gaping holes as if something had rammed into them. The village was being destroyed. Alicia’s dull eyes captured the ever-changing scene of the Rubid Village.
Hahaha.
What’s this? It’s exactly the same as before.
The village being destroyed by the monster.
Blood splattered everywhere.
People’s heads exploding.
It’s exactly the same as back then!
Once more, the familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached Alicia. Her heart pounded wildly in response, beating faster than ever.
That couldn’t be.
There was no way this voice could reach her. Even in countless nightmares, she never heard this voice. No small breath, no loud shout. In that warehouse, the only sounds were her heartbeat and breathing. But now, after all this time…? Here?
Alicia’s unfocused eyes searched for the source of the voice. Though she believed it was impossible, the vividness of it drove her to search.
Nothing has changed.
Everything is the same.
The same goes for you.
That person called you a genius, but just look at yourself now. Look around you.
“Oh… oh….”
Alicia muttered as if she were speaking for the first time, or like someone delirious from a fever.
She still couldn’t find her. She hadn’t found the owner of the voice. But it was clearly here. Nearby.
Hahaha.
You still haven’t come to your senses.
What good is it to grow up?
What good is it to learn mana?
You still can’t do anything.
Something approached Alicia. Reflexively, she reached out. She didn’t know what it was. But she heard it. It was coming towards her. That was reason enough for Alicia to reach out.
But.
“Ah…?”
[Krrk.]
What her outstretched hand touched wasn’t soft skin but a slimy, hard surface. Sticky fluid flowed. Bringing her hand closer, she saw it was red blood.
This wasn’t the owner of the voice.
“Ke, kek…!”
The monster’s tail wrapped around Alicia’s neck, lifting her into the air. Her legs flailed helplessly, kicking the air.
Alicia tried to pry it off with her hands, scratching at it with her nails, gripping as hard as she could. But it was useless. The more she struggled, the more her strength waned while the monster tightened its grip.
Ah, there was one difference!
The most important one.
In Alicia’s blurring vision, she saw the monster’s face contorted with pain, its right eye pierced by her blade. Veins bulged like those of a snake. Next to the monster…
Long time no see, Alicia.
The image of a young girl, smiling brightly, flickered as if it might disappear at any moment.
The face that tormented her every time she thought of it, but one she still longed to see despite the pain.
“… ke, ugh…!”
Whether it was from her scratched corneas or the monster choking her, Alicia’s vision kept blurring. Blood pooled in her face, and hot tears streamed down.
Alicia.
Unlike back then.
There’s no <me> to protect you now!
Hahaha.
Back then, a 14-year-old girl. The pride of the village and Alicia’s older sister by four years.
Charlotte.
Her bright smile was the last thing Alicia saw as she stopped struggling.
***
“Thank you so much, young lady. Thanks to you, my work has become much easier.”
The village chief straightened his back, which had been bent for a long time, grimacing in pain. It had been a while since he moved so busily, and his back ached more.
The village chief’s old warehouse. This dusty place was filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.
“But… is it really okay for you to help us like this? You must have things you need to do, and I wonder if we’re making you help us for no reason.”
“……”
“Huh…?”
When she didn’t respond at all, the village chief turned his head. They had been having a smooth conversation until now, so her sudden silence felt strange.
Looking back, the state of the young woman who had been cheerfully working with him just moments ago was alarming.
“What’s wrong, young lady? Are you feeling unwell? Your face is as pale as if you had a nightmare!”
She seemed to be struggling even to breathe. Her breaths were coming too fast, as if she were suffocating.
The village chief quickly grabbed her face to check her complexion and was shocked. Her skin was as cold as ice, ignoring the basic warmth a human body should have.
“This is serious…! In times like this… ah, right! Just wait a moment. I’ll quickly get some warm water!”
Alicia reflexively grabbed his hand as he tried to leave the warehouse. Though she said nothing, her face, filled with fear, shook from side to side.
“Just wait a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Misunderstanding what Alicia was trying to convey, the village chief patted her back and moved away.
As he crossed the threshold to leave the warehouse, the village chief disappeared. … disappeared? What disappeared?
No, no.
Alicia, you know.
Let’s move past this quickly.
[Crrk?]
Beyond the threshold, something red appeared as if it had been waiting. Those amber eyes weren’t new to her either.
They absolutely couldn’t be new.
After all, they belonged to the monster that had just killed her.
“What… is this….”
Facing an unbelievable situation, Alicia finally managed to utter coherent words.