I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 131: Found you

"Cadet Lucien!" "Lucien!"

Kael and Elisha finally caught up, staring in horror at the carnage I had unleashed on City Officials.

I ignored them.

I walked over to Irina, who was trembling.

"Irina."

I grabbed her shaking hands.

"Calm down. Breathe."

I lowered myself to meet her eyes. In her violet irises, my reflection looked ferocious—my eyes were burning with a cold, blue light.

"Tell me. Exactly what happened."

She gulped, clutching my coat.

"G-Grandfather and I were returning from your house... he wanted to give you the upgraded bullets... but s-suddenly monsters appeared!"

She sobbed.

"G-Grandfather tried to get me and Sister Alicia out... but Alicia... she pushed us into the escape tunnel!"

Irina’s voice cracked.

"Alicia told me to run! She... she stayed behind! She was fighting the shadow monsters alone! There were so many... so many...!"

Crack.

The wooden grip of my rifle creaked under the pressure of my hand.

Alicia.

She had stayed behind to protect an old man and a child. Because that’s what I would have wanted. Because that’s the right thing.

"...Alright. I understand."

I stood up slowly. I patted Irina’s head gently.

"Rest well, Irina. Kael will protect you."

I turned to face the dark tunnel leading deeper into the sector.

"...."

A burning rage, the most intense I’d felt since coming to this world, consumed me.

It wasn’t the annoyance I felt at the Disciplinary Committee. It wasn’t the frustration with the Protagonists.

This was possessiveness. This was the wrath of a Villain whose property had been touched.

"Alicia..."

I cycled the bolt of the Winchester. A Diamond-Tipped Round—my last one—slid into the chamber.

"She is mine."

I looked back at Kael and Elisha. My eyes were void of humanity, glowing with a cold, sapphire light that froze them in place.

"I hate when someone takes what’s mine."

I stepped into the darkness of the sewer tunnel.

"Hunt start."

As the shadows swallowed me, I pulled up the System Interface.

I didn’t care about the cost. I didn’t care about saving points for the next scenario. Logic had been replaced by a singular need for destruction.

[System Shop Accessed] [Search: Divine Attribute Ammunition]

A list of high-tier items scrolled past. I selected the most potent, volatile option available to a gunner.

"Exchange."

[Transaction Confirmed.] [Item: First Order Divine Bullets x50] [Cost: 500 Points each.] [Total: 25,000 Points deducted.]

Shimmer.

A heavy box materialized in my hand. Inside sat fifty bullets casing in silver, etched with golden runes that hummed with holy power.

I dumped the standard rounds from my Winchester and began loading the Divine Bullets one by one.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

The rhythm was a funeral march.

"You made a mistake," I whispered to the darkness. "You touched my people."

I snapped the magazine shut.

"Now, pray to whatever god you believe in. Because I’m not listening."

****

[The Slums - Sector 7]

If asked to define the Slums of the Capital in one word, ’Chaos’ would be the only answer.

It was a tumor on the side of the golden city. A beggar’s den, a criminal hideout, a stash for stolen goods, and a graveyard for the hopeless.

In a dilapidated two-story house nestled deep within gang territory, a heavy wooden door creaked shut.

Merle leaned against the wall, sliding down until he hit the floor. He clutched his side, where blood was seeping through his fingers.

"We can catch our breath here," he wheezed. "Are you alright, Miss Alicia?"

"I’m more worried about your wound, Manager Merle."

Alicia stood by the window, peering through the cracks in the boarded-up glass. She looked calm, but her maid uniform was torn, and sweat matted her silver hair.

She glanced at the bite mark on the old man’s ribs—a nasty gash left by a shadow beast.

"I’m fine," Merle grunted, tightening his belt to staunch the bleeding. "It’s an honorable injury. Better me than Irina."

They fell into a tense silence.

It had happened so fast.

On a peaceful afternoon, the shopping district had been struck by a sudden nightmare. A black wave of Shadow Stalkers had erupted from the sewers. Alicia, who had been managing her coffee cart nearby, was caught in the crossfire.

If Merle hadn’t been there with his granddaughter Irina to buy coffee, Alicia would’ve been swept away instantly.

"My greetings are late," Alicia said, her red eyes scanning the street outside. "Thank you for saving me back there."

"I’m more grateful for you saving my granddaughter," Merle replied softly.

When the attack started, Alicia had unleashed a torrent of fire magic, burning a path for Merle and Irina to escape. She had acted as the bait, drawing the bulk of the monsters away. But there were too many. Exhausted and out of mana, she had met up with Merle again in the chaos, and they had fled into the deserted slums.

"...Manager Merle, they’re definitely chasing us, right?"

"Based on the persistent mana signature... yes."

"When will this end? I have no mana left."

"Well..."

Merle looked grim. They were in the heart of the capital, yet no help had come. The City Guards were likely being slaughtered. Only the Imperial Knights could stop this, and they were districts away.

Crick... Creak!

Suddenly, a sound froze them both.

It was the sound of disjointed bones snapping into place. The sound of Shadow Stalkers.

Merle pointed upward.

"Upstairs," he mouthed.

They climbed the rotting stairs to the second floor, their footsteps silent.

Just as they huddled in the corner of an empty room, a brash, loud voice echoed from the street outside.

"Oi! What are these tiny things? Goblin cousins?"

"Fearless monsters. Hey, boys! Do you think we run the Capital’s slums for nothing?"

"Must’ve escaped the black market. Wipe them out! How dare they enter the Viper Gang’s turf!"

It was the local gang. Thugs who ruled this block with fear and rusted blades.

’So many empty houses—we must be in their territory.’

The gang members laughed, drawing their weapons. They outnumbered the shadows ten to one.

But numbers didn’t matter against the abyss.

SWISH.

The laughter cut off instantly.

"Argh! M-My leg! Save me!" "Monsters! Don’t eat me! DON’T EAT ME!"

CRUNCH. SNAP.

"Eek! Save me! Save me! It hurts! Hurts, hurts, hurts!"

A scene from hell unfolded beyond the thin wooden wall. The unbearable sounds of flesh tearing and bones snapping slithered into their ears. It wasn’t a battle; it was a feeding frenzy.

Merle squeezed his eyes shut. The noise of dozens dying instantly wasn’t something a normal mind could endure.

He glanced at Alicia, worried she might panic.

But Alicia’s crimson eyes didn’t waver. She was listening, analyzing the number of enemies based on the screams.

’So this is her outside her master’s view,’ Merle thought, a chill running down his spine. ’She is not just a maid. She is a weapon. I wonder if President Lucien knows her duality.’

Then, the screaming stopped.

Silence descended. A heavy, suffocating silence.

Creak.

The front door downstairs opened.

Someone rushed in, slamming it shut and locking it.

"Huff! Huff! W-What are those...!"

Footsteps pounded up the stairs.

The door to their room burst open.

A young woman with pink twin-tails stumbled in, her face pale with terror. She was wearing the prestigious Imperial Academy uniform.

"H-Help me! Please!"

Merle blinked.

’A student?’

Seeing a young cadet, roughly the same age as his granddaughter, Merle’s heart softened.

"Child, come here! Quietly!" Merle whispered, reaching out.

But Alicia moved faster.

Schwing.

She drew a hidden dagger from her garter and leveled it at the girl.

"Stay back," Alicia ordered, her voice cold as ice.

"M-Miss Alicia?" Merle gasped. "She’s just a student!"

"Look at her eyes," Alicia hissed.

The pink-haired girl froze. She tilted her head, her expression of fear faltering for a split second, replaced by a blank, doll-like stare.

’...Right. Suspicious.’

Merle realized it too late.

Surviving the Shadow Stalkers outside was impossible for a lone student without a scratch. Moreover, the monsters outside had gone silent the moment she entered. They weren’t attacking the house.

’In other words.’

It was a trap.

The girl—stared at Alicia’s dagger. The fear on her face evaporated, smoothing out into an eerie, emotionless mask.

"...."

She didn’t speak. She simply turned around, unlocked the door, and walked out.

"Wait!" Merle called out instinctively.

But Alicia grabbed his collar, pulling him back.

"Don’t."

The pink-haired girl walked into the hallway.

Silence.

Then—

Tap. Tap.

A sound came from the window behind them.

Merle and Alicia spun around.

Hanging upside down from the second-floor window frame, peering in through the dirty glass, was the same pink-haired girl.

Gravity didn’t seem to apply to her. She grinned—a wide, unnatural smile that stretched too far across her face.

"Hello," she giggled, her voice distorted. "Found you."

Like calling a friend at the academy on any other day.

Merle drew a card from his deck and threw it. It shattered the second-floor window and exploded, releasing scorching heat.

They’d been found. They had to escape now.