I Became The Villain The Hero Is Obsessed With

Chapter 269: Running by the Moonlight

Honestly, I was nervous.

[chhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

-Kaaaaaahhhhhhh.

“Ha, ha, ha.”

The deafening binge, the constant rush of beasts on the ground.

And

“This is… What the…”

The glowing oval gates floating in the darkened sky resemble portals, like something out of a space movie.

Up in the sky, one by one, like stars shining sullenly in the moonlight.

[-gurgle, gurgle, gurgle]

In the air and on the ground

-Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud.

Bizarre things, the size of bears, not of this world fell through the gates, one by one.

As soon as they got up, they attacked anything and everything around them

There were so many of them and they were relentless, even for the experienced Stardus.

“…Though it’s a good thing they’re so weak.”

[Aaaahhhhh!]

She thought to herself as she smashed the beasts with a single punch.

The only good thing was that they died from a single blow, but there were still too many of them.

“Ha, ha, ha…”

And the most terrifying thing was that she didn’t know when this disaster was going to end.

“Are you okay?”

“… Thank you…”

After saving a man who was pinned under the rubble of a building that had been attacked by monsters and wiping the sweat from her brow, she thought that the only good thing was that people had gotten away earlier.

Partly because the Association had reacted immediately and led them out the moment the gates appeared and so far there don’t seem to be many victims, but…

“…..”

I wonder how much longer they can hold out.

I wonder if all the monsters I’ve seen so far are less intelligent, roaming the ground and unable to climb buildings. Or the flying kind could only fly and not attack the ground or something like that.

…What if there was a monster that attacked underground? What if there was a monster that was stronger than any of them?

She could feel it in her gut that this is just the beginning and that there would be something stronger to come.

“…Ha.”

A ruined city center, a sky so black you can’t see a thing without streetlights, smoke billowing from everywhere, and the creepy cries of monsters. The world seems closer to destruction than ever before.

Even as she calmly swept away the monsters around the giant tower that had so suddenly appeared in the sky deep in her heart, there was still a lingering sense of unease because the situation seemed to have no answers.

Now more than ever, he was the only one who could provide answers in situations that always seemed to have no answers.

The image of him kept coming to mind.

‘…Egostic.’

[Yes. There’s probably something. Something big, maybe, something so big that you’ll never be the same again.]

…Surely, he had said something like that.

I think he was somewhat predicting today’s events.

[And, when that moment comes, I’ll be there to help.]

Yeah.

Obviously, he said he would help and he’s always a man of his word.

And so, with that one hope in her heart even in the midst of disaster, if she could just stay calm and shoot through the sky, she could hunt down the monsters and make the best of the situation.

Then, finally, Egostic appeared and called out to her.

“I have a plan to stop this catastrophe.”

And so, in the middle of the mess, we met again.

Seeing him, looking the same as he always had, looking back at her, with eyes full of conviction, she, in turn, told him she knew.

She followed him in silence, watching his back as he walked away, his eyes fixed on the road ahead and then she realized.

Ah.

I’ve been relying on him more than I realized. I’ve been trusting him.

Just looking at his face and hearing his simple words was reassuring.

…I did.

You said you had an idea, a plan.

Then I believe you. I’ll believe in you and support you, like you always did with me.

She thought those thoughts silently to herself, her blonde hair whipping around as she followed after him.

…ignoring the stinging glare she felt from the villainess next to her, the Moonlight Maiden, for some reason.

***

The story so far.

I, Egostic, had joined Stardus halfway through and was heading to the bizarre tower where the Moonlight Lord was supposed to be, along with Eun-wol, to stop the gate situation.

The end.

…If only the story were that simple.

As it turned out, the Moonlight Church wasn’t going to stand still.

“Wait…!”

The city center filled with a strange pinkish smoke.

With Stardus leading the way, we flew as fast as we could, smashing through the powerful beasts guarding the tower but Stardus’ urgent cries brought us to a halt in midair.

What the hell, what’s going on?

I stopped in midair and only when I looked up did I realize what Stardus was doing.

“Haha…I see.”

Stardus, said so because of the dozens of blue giants in front of us.

[Crouching…]

They had massive bodies, hideously raised, pink veins and grotesquely twisted faces and bodies but the eyes burned a vivid red.

Something I’ve seen before, to be precise.

Yes.

“Soul Eaters.”

I said.

The one that the Moonlight Church unleashed without warning in the original story, forcing Stardus to fight to the death.

Soul Eaters are one of the Moonlight Church’s most elite weapons that feed on souls to grow stronger.

…The problem was, there wasn’t just one, there were several and somehow, they’re even stronger than before, cloaked in a strange aura.

“….”

Stardus’ face hardened and her lips pursed at the sight.

She’d fought them to the death before, and she knew how strong they were.

They parried most of her attacks, bringing back nightmares of the day she attacked alone.

…Of course, she is much stronger than she was then and unlike then, when she was still inexperienced, she can use the power of the stars freely.

But, as her perceptive mind might have noticed, they’ve grown stronger as well.

These Soul Eaters appeared in the final battle of the Moonlight Gate exactly as they do now.

They were one of the two final weapons of the Moonlight Church and the more souls they devour, the stronger they become.

…By the looks of it, they’re now up to Tier 3, which means they’re stronger than ever. That means they’re strong enough to fight even with the current Stardus.

“Hmph…”

Stardus gritted her teeth as she looked at the creatures that were about to charge at her.

Hmm… Perhaps if they fought, Stardus would win in the end. After all, the hero always wins.

But…It would take a long time and a lot of scars, and by then the Moonlight Lord would be long gone.

That’s not much fun, is it?

So, I decided to skip this boring scene.

“Stardus, excuse me, I’ll take care of this.”

“…Huh?”

I gritted my teeth past Stardus, then casually flicked my fingers at Eun-woo’s side and called out to her as I had practiced before.

“Soul Catcher Counters, Eun-woo, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Shoot!”

I said, smirking.

The last time Stardus had struggled against a Soul Eater, I’d taken her place and sniped it down without her and the Moonlight Church realizing it because, as strong as they were, they naturally had a weakness: silver.

A weakness they didn’t discover until years after the catastrophe but I decided to use it right away the last time, and this time.

And this time, I knew they were coming, so I prepared myself more thoroughly.

I confidently shouted with my arms outstretched and the result.

“…..”

“….”

…hmm. Nothing happened.

What is it? Is something wrong?

I’m just sitting there with my arms outstretched.

[[[Grrrrr!]]]]

When they finally leapt at us.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua-qua

Pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-pah!

Fubber fubber fubber fubber fubber fubber fubber fubber fubber.

In the sky behind us, giant drones appeared, accompanied by small magical circles.

Kwagga-kwagga-kwagga-kwagga

They began to indiscriminately bombard them with missiles of all kinds, including missiles made of one hundred percent silver.

[[Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!]]

The screams of those caught by surprise were deafening.

Soon enough, there was nothing but a river of molten silver where they stood.

…Phew, before evolution, a single silver bullet killed them, so I guess this is what it takes to eliminate those on this level.

Just as I was making my judgment Stardus, was looking at me with a very puzzled expression so I chuckled.

“…..?”

“Easy, let’s keep moving forward.”

“…No, you’re the one who did it for me again…No.”

Stardus, who was about to say something, shook her head in disbelief, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

I don’t know what she meant, but I’ll just keep running.

“Stardus.”

I paused, turned to face her, and said.

“…In the face of this, we’re going to need your skills more than ever, that’s for sure.”

Yes. They had one final weapon left.

“When that time comes… I’ll help you, we’ll all help you. You have to get through this. No, you can win. Because I believe in you, and everyone believes in you.”

I tell her words that she doesn’t understand now, but will in time, in advance.