The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 98
[Eat… I will chew and eat it… I can no longer be satisfied with just souls. Me, the Archbishop, running away with my tail between my legs from a mere human…! Helion, I’ll turn your body into jerky and chew it to pieces…!]
Ami, riding atop the dark blood-colored Altife, muttered in fury.
The Altife carrying him was a <special entity> in the shape of a muscular horse, capable of running across rough terrain without any issues.
The special entity caught Ami’s attention by shaking its head.
Momentarily setting aside his anger and raising his head to look forward, he saw that Dortmund had begun to appear in the distance.
A large, one-eyed bishop approached Ami from the side and began speaking. His face was pale as if he was unwell.
[Lord Ami, are you really sure we should proceed like this?]
[What are you talking about now?]
The one-eyed bishop swallowed nervously.
Knowing how proud archbishops, including Ami, could be, it was not easy to speak up.
However, considering the current situation, he forced himself to open his mouth, believing there was a better option.
[… we have a lot of information about Dortmund that we received from the hero Craine. We know when they are most vulnerable, and even who is in charge of the gates.]
Of course, after Craine’s treachery was discovered, the defenses would have been reinforced, and the assignments completely changed, but he left that out.
His first objective was to retreat.
Even if they strengthened their defenses later, it would still be better than attacking now.
Ami pressed him to continue.
Gritting his teeth, the bishop spoke firmly.
[To put it bluntly, now is not the right time.]
[Not the right time? The timing… the timing…]
Muttering to himself, Ami asked.
[Why?]
The bishop was startled. Ami’s eyes had grown so cruel and cloudy, it was hard to believe he was looking at one of his own kind.
It felt like a pitch-black universe that had lost its center was staring at him, unmoving.
The bishop sensed a clear intent to kill.
The feeling washed over him.
One misstep, and he might be dead before the war even started.
Overcoming the fear, he spoke.
[H-Helion… it’s because Helion is currently in Dortmund.]
[……..]
Ami looked down at him without saying anything.
The bishop lowered his head, unable to bear the weight of his gaze. If he was going to die, it might be better to die now without knowing it.
As he waited for judgment.
[You’re right. The Helion of 15 years ago is much stronger now, to the point that he’s a completely different person.]
[Lord Ami…]
Looking up again, the bishop could see that Ami had accepted his counsel.
His once blazing eyes had calmed.
He assessed the situation, accepted it, and proceeded with an accurate analysis.
[If it weren’t for Helion and his group, wiping out Dortmund with our current forces would be no problem. I know that. But…]
Ami asked.
[When will that be?]
How long would it take to repay this humiliation?
When Helion had received another mission and leave Dortmund?
Or when he was too old and feeble to fight, and only then could they finally invade?
The calm in Ami’s eyes wasn’t one of peace; it was the unstable calm before a storm.
[So, do you expect me to wait anxiously until that day, panting from afar like a defeated dog? All because I’m afraid of a master with a stick?]
[L-Lord Ami, please calm down…!]
[Groven. You fear Helion, but not me?]
In the trembling eyes of the one-eyed bishop, Groven, Ami was reflected.
Ami’s appearance was not the simple attire he usually wore. He was clad in grand and brilliant armor like a general heading into battle.
This was his skin, complete and solid.
Ami’s entire body was covered, even his helmet, and the massive scythe he wielded had become part of his body, attached to his tail.
It was his true form, the result of unlocking his <Liberation>.
In this form, Ami had slaughtered and toyed with countless heroes for centuries. Every time he took this form, the scent of blood lingered in the air.
[You seem to have forgotten. I’m an archbishop of the Goddess Church. An archbishop…! Heroes? I’ve eaten souls of those who ranked in the top ten. Their sweet spirits are still trapped inside me!]
Those who fell to Ami’s powers could not die.
Their bodies were dead, but their souls remained imprisoned, living with him for eternity.
Helion’s left arm was also in such a state.
[And you’re telling me to turn a blind eye to this prey, just because it’s gotten a bit stronger, and to target someone else…? Hahaha! Groven, have you gone completely mad?!]
[S-Sorry. I apologize. I meant it for your pure glory, Lord Ami. But it seems my words came across as doubtful… guh!]
Ami pressed the deadly scythe attached to his tail against Groven’s throat, forcing him to raise his head.
[You were one of the stronger bishops, weren’t you?]
Ami’s slit pupils scanned Groven.
Groven was a man with massive muscles, strengthened by Altife’s abundant magic power, crushing his opponents with sheer force.
There was a wide range of abilities among the bishops, and Groven was above average. Among the bishops Ami kept around, Groven was the strongest.
As rude and irritating as he could be, killing him now would be wasteful.
How could Ami best use him?
… ah.
A long smile stretched across Ami’s lips.
He was smiling with his eyes, but there was nothing kind about it.
[Recently, there’s been a kid Helion seems fond of.]
Ami thought of someone.
A rookie hero who had been mentioned frequently among the Goddess Church lately, a man who had beheaded his own younger sister, Zagan.
He had supposedly resisted Cardinal Beleth’s power—though that part was probably nonsense—but the smell of Zagan clinging to him was bothersome.
[I will face Helion in this war.]
Ami’s goal was only one.
In reality, Dortmund was just a side objective.
[You, kill Helion’s disciple, a kid named Vargan Troa Schugenhartz. He reeks of Zagan’s scent, so it won’t be hard to find him.]
Last time, when they had briefly crossed paths while hunting for Frikkanrisk at the cemetery, Ami had left him alone.
Helion had occupied his mind, so he let it go, but it had remained stuck in the back of his mind, and this was a perfect opportunity.
[Bring me his head. I’ll crush it in front of Helion.]
If Helion had taken this boy as a disciple, he must have been somewhat precious to him.
Seeing his disciple die should either cause Helion to snap or show his full strength.
Ami wanted to hunt Helion when he was fighting with everything he had. That, he believed, would repay the humiliation.
⎯Boom!
Ami’s tail plunged into Groven’s heart.
In a moment, it was yanked back out, and the gaping wound quickly healed.
Ami used his power to impose a time limit on him.
[There’s no time to waste, Groven.]
Ami would not stop the war.
Groven’s words had only fueled his fighting spirit.
[Run along.]
—
The ground trembled with the approaching army.
A crimson wave surged toward them.
Soon, the forces of Altifes would crash against the walls with enough force to shatter them.
It was my first time seeing such numbers up close.
Compared to the war that would unfold later, this was a smaller scale, but it was clear that Ami had been steadily devouring villages.
It could be said that this was a situation orchestrated by Craine.
“Oh, are they dividing into formations?”
Without realizing it, I spoke out loud.
Roughly 3.500 mindless beings of priest level moved with perfect coordination, like a well-trained army.
In an instant, they split into three formations and advanced.
There was a difference in their marching speed.
The vanguard consisted of 1.500.
While the two rear guards each had 1.000.
They had separated the assault force from the reserve units. It was a strategy where the front-line troops engaged in battle while the remaining forces waited for an opening.
In the rear formations, there were five peculiar creatures over 20 meters tall, embodying giants. Meanwhile, the front-line troops had ten of them.
They wouldn’t need a battering ram to break through the city gate.
With those creatures, they could break through walls, let alone a gate.
It was fascinating to see that they were not just mindlessly charging but actually employing some kind of tactics.
‘Well, if a proper invasion was their real goal, they wouldn’t be thinking about laying siege at this time. At least, I wouldn’t.’
If it were me, I would have cut off the supply lines and laid siege, even if it took a long time. I would also have infiltrated inside the city… but that was just idle thoughts.
Ami’s target wasn’t Dortmund, and he seemed to have forgotten that his fury had clouded his already poor judgment. Maintaining formation was probably the best they could do.
While I was thinking that.
Helion approached.
Finn, who was beside me, reflexively bowed his head.
Despite the imminent war, Helion looked completely unbothered.
“Student Vargan and Student Finn, you don’t have to participate in this war, but are you really okay with that?”
I was taken aback by Helion’s expression. He sounded so polished, though it wasn’t like he was truly concerned.
“Lord Helion, didn’t you once say something similar about me? That I have this strange tendency to pretend not to notice things even though I do.”
“Are you talking about when I proposed mentoring you?”
“It seems that you’re not much different from me, Lord Helion.”
Upon hearing this, Helion gave a small laugh.
He even added a verbal <haha> to it.
“Your laughter is still awkward.”
“Was it? I thought I was getting better at being natural.”
Then, a brief silence settled in the conversation.
Helion turned his eyes towards the approaching red army.
He looked so calm, like he was gazing at a serene ocean. It was almost deceiving.
He asked me.
“Do you think we can win this war, Vargan?”
It wasn’t that he lacked confidence.
He was genuinely curious about my judgment.
“Well, I’m just a mere student, so I’m not in a position to read the tide of battle. But if I dare to predict…”
I looked straight into Helion’s eyes.
“Victory is certain.”
“You speak with such conviction? Even though the enemy includes an Archbishop who has liberated his divine power along with an army?”
Well, yes, that was true.
Because I’d already read this story before.
“I trust you and your team, Lord Helion.”
When I spoke with blatant hypocrisy, Helion hid his laughter by shrugging his shoulders. That was genuine laughter.
Though I spoke with artificial words, the core of my statement was truthful.
“I didn’t expect to hear that from you, Student Vargan.”
Instead of saying what he wanted to say next, he thanked me and left.
“But your words, coming from a seer, are more reassuring than any other.”
No, saying he <left> didn’t really capture it.
He jumped down from the wall.
He flew to the front of the dozens of heroes standing to defend Dortmund.
As he landed before them, he began his spell.
It was as if all the surrounding mana was being controlled by him. If mana were the wind, he would be the eye of the storm.
In the midst of it all, he began to recite a prayer.
It had nothing to do with any magic technique.
It was purely a prayer for the lives that would soon be reduced to ashes.
“Finn, look ahead. How many enemies do you see approaching from the front?”
Without saying anything else, I asked Finn, who had been mesmerized by Helion and the battlefield.
Snapping back to reality, Finn narrowed his eyes and tried to count the numbers.
“There are four of archbishop level… and around 1.500 priest level beings including those peculiar creatures.”
“No, you’re wrong.”
“Huh? The exact numbers might be off, but aren’t the general numbers correct?”
I laughed as I stared at the vast enemy forces.
Though I couldn’t see my own face, I imagine it looked as innocent as a child discovering something new.
“The entire vanguard consists of just four.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Helion’s magic was complete.
This was the spell that would make Helion famous as a hero. It was the large-scale ritual that saved Dortmund.
Helion’s <First Unique Spell>.
⎯A massive hole was torn open in the sky.
Through that gap, a radiant light poured down like a waterfall, illuminating the world. The warmth of the light, which seemed to caress everything, lifted up the bright and incinerated the dark in holy light.
Even those without faith would instinctively bow their heads and offer praise at the sight of this astonishing wonder.
Thankfully, the battle didn’t begin at night.
Otherwise, every creature in the region would be shocked by the sudden arrival of daylight.
The glory of the heavens descended upon the enemies advancing from the front.
And after their agonized cries of praise.
Only four remained.
The 1.500 priest-level Altifes had vanished from the world.
It was a dazzling opening act to the war.