Chapter 41: Repeating the same mistakes

After knocking Simon unconscious while he was completely defenseless, Lila finally had the chance to unleash her full strength.

In an instant, a vast surge of sword intent burst forth from within her, spreading rapidly through the surroundings.

Fixing her gaze ahead, she saw those invisible blades emerge once more, like agile serpents, coiling tightly around her body.

Naturally, she hadn’t brought any weapons while acting as the shopkeeper, so Lila decided to try the item given to her by that foolish goddess.

Holy light gathered along her arm. In the blink of an eye, the soft white glow condensed into a brilliant golden radiance, like flowing molten gold.

Then the holy light solidified, forming a dazzling longsword in her hand.

At that very moment, dozens of thick black vines shot forward like arrows released from a bowstring, tearing through the air with a roaring force as they rushed toward her.

This rampaging, mindless beast had no patience, nor any courtesy to wait for its opponent to act.

Lila didn’t take a single step.

To her, the unseen blades formed an impenetrable barrier, and in the next instant, the vines were shredded into fragments.

Simon was still unconscious behind her, she had to protect him.

Better to draw this monster away quickly, she thought.

Using the safe space created by her sword intent, she placed Simon gently at the edge of the street.

Then she faced the creature and shouted,

“I don’t know if you can understand me, but if you’ve got the guts, come catch me!”

She even pulled down her lower eyelid with a finger in mockery.

Perhaps provoked by the taunt, even as a mindless beast, the creature’s body began to convulse violently.

More and more black vines wrapped around it, twisting its form further and further away from anything human, until it became a grotesque sphere of tangled branches and flowers.

After confirming that its hostility was fully locked onto her, Lila leapt onto a wall as it roared and gave chase.

She moved swiftly, bounding across walls and rooftops, quickly widening the distance.

But when she glanced back, the creature was nowhere to be seen.

‘Too slow?’

Had she overestimated it?

Just as she considered turning back to lure it again.

A deafening crash erupted from below.

Lila’s expression sharpened as she looked toward the source.

A violent tornado had suddenly formed, sweeping up debris from collapsing buildings, howling as it tore through everything.

At its center floated the spherical monster, letting out hoarse, inhuman roars.

Only now, from that sound, could Lila truly recognize…

This monster had once been Alice.

And Alice’s wind magic had now become its weapon.

“Tch… troublesome.”

Fortunately, her restaurant wasn’t in a crowded district, many regulars preferred the quiet.

So Lila sprinted toward an uninhabited area.

Behind her, the monstrous sphere surged forward within the tornado like a black shadow of death, leaving destruction in its wake, buildings crumbling into dust.

Before long, she stopped.

This was an undeveloped area of the academy, wide, empty, with distant structures looming like silent beasts in the night.

The ground was littered with rubble and dust, swirling in the violent winds.

She turned to face the pursuing monster.

‘Don’t think I’m actually afraid of you.’

A radiant blade formed in her hand once more, blazing brightly in the night.

Though most believed holy light was only for healing, at this moment, Lila felt its overwhelming destructive power.

This time, she would attack first.

The monster struck first with ice magic, Alice’s specialty.

Frost spread across the ground, freezing everything in its path.

But Lila charged forward without hesitation.

Just before the ice could touch her, it retreated, rejected.

The monster unleashed a barrage of spells, ice crystals, slicing wind blades, erupting vines.

Yet Lila remained unfazed.

Every attack either dissipated midair, veered off course, or was reflected back at its source.

She rejected them all.

This didn’t mean her sword intent could deny everything, only that the creature’s magic wasn’t strong enough to surpass her rejection.

In the blink of an eye, she reached it.

The mass of writhing vines resembled a grotesque egg.

‘Disgusting.’

With a swing of her radiant blade, the vines were severed effortlessly, green fluid splattering into the air.

Sensing danger, the monster reacted.

More vines surged forth, thicker, sharper, deadlier.

They lashed out rapidly, trying to bind her.

Lila leapt back, her blade flashing as she cut them down, but they came endlessly.

She couldn’t drag this out.

Focusing completely, she fused her sword intent with holy light, pouring everything into her blade.

The sword shone brilliantly, illuminating the dark battlefield.

Then she charged again.

This time, she poured every ounce of power into a single strike.

Leaping high, she brought the blade down with overwhelming force.

A thunderous impact.

The tangled mass of vines exploded apart.

Deprived of power, the vines collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.

At the center, Alice lay quietly, like she had fallen into a peaceful sleep.

A vivid flower bloomed from her eye socket, shimmering under the moonlight.

Lila felt a chill.

Suppressing her unease, she asked,

“Are you still conscious, Alice?”

No response.

Alice lay still.

Lila cautiously approached.

‘Is it over?’

‘Finally…’

Just as she relaxed…

A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air.

‘What-’

Warmth spilled from her back.

Pain exploded in her chest.

She had been pierced through.

“I hate you!”

The “sleeping” girl twisted into a hateful expression, eyes filled with venom.

A grotesque vine erupted from her body, driving straight through Lila’s chest.

Blood dripped along it, staining the earth in vivid crimson.

Lila’s pupils shrank.

The pain surged like a tidal wave.

But she didn’t give up.

Driven by an overwhelming will to live, she activated her sword intent instantly.

The vine inside her body shattered into dust and was expelled.

She staggered back, quickly channeling holy light to heal herself.

The wound began to close, but her strength was gone.

She could no longer form a blade.

She wasn’t dying, but she could no longer fight.

The monstrous girl laughed wildly.

An ocean of vines surged toward her.

Like a tide meant to drown her world.

‘So this is the end… caused by misplaced mercy again?’

Lila stood still.

For a moment, she felt oddly at peace.

Perhaps… she truly wasn’t suited to be a villain.

At the boundary between life and death…

She heard a light, playful male voice.

“Need a hand, miss?”

‘That perverted old man?’