I Possessed the Villain’s Childhood Friend – Chapter 34

“Let me ask one thing.”

A chilling aura pierced through me, causing my entire body to tremble.

I was the only one standing in this practice room.

I couldn’t move.

The moment I took a single step, the others lying down would surely perish in an instant.

“Do you know which organization the informants of Heros and the Black Wolf belong to?”

The moment I dreaded had finally arrived.

I had thought something would go awry, but it was this man who chose to act.

I absolutely couldn’t win.

Even using all the knowledge from the original story, it was impossible to defeat this man right now.

The final chapter of the original.

The episode in which the confrontation with Avatarara begins had not raised my expectations early on.

It couldn’t be helped.

The forces on Sophia’s side were simply too strong.

Saintess Sophia.

The Crown Prince, the greatest genius in imperial history.

Helen, a student who holds the rank of Knight.

Atal, a candidate for the next Pope.

High-Class Knights, and so on.

Though there were hardships, that was more or less the extent of it.

They would win without much trouble, and the story would end.

That was the evaluation of the majority of readers.

How could they, with such combat power, possibly lose?

No one, including myself, had an answer.

Except for one person. The author.

But Sophia and the Crown Prince perfectly lost from the very first fight with an Avatarara executive.

They were pushed to the brink of death, and three Knights ended up sacrificing themselves for their escape.

And that opponent was none other than Rex.

The man referred to as the worst calamity in the original story.

“If you know their affiliation, how do you know it?”

In the original, Avatarara did not properly operate until the second half of this year.

Although the setting stated that Avatarara had existed for hundreds of years, they didn’t have enough power to directly clash with the Empire until now, remaining hidden all this time.

In other words, recognizing the existence of Avatarara in this world was an impossible feat.

Of course, it was true that I had attacked members of Avatarara, and surely investigations could be pursued in that regard.

But I thought that if I knew the boss of Avatarara, he wouldn’t take any significant measures for something like that.

Revealing Avatarara at this time would be dangerous for them too.

However, did that mean they perceived my existence as an even greater threat?

“Speak only the truth.”

How should I respond?

Though he said that, if I uttered the name of Avatarara, he would undoubtedly kill me without hesitation.

“…I don’t know what you mean.”

“I see.”

At my answer, Rex immediately moved.

He appeared before me in an instant, swinging his greatsword without hesitation.

“Guhh!”

“I hope those words are true.”

I narrowly dodged that attack, retreating backward.

There was no option to fight up close.

All I could do was endure as long as possible while waiting for reinforcements.

Rex’s attacks were like a raging tide, immense and powerful.

Blocking or dodging was a challenge.

If I had lost focus for even a moment, I would already be lying there defeated.

“You’re holding up better than I expected.”

A slight admiration tinged his voice.

“I understand why the Black Wolf died.”

How much time had passed?

When would reinforcements arrive?

Enduring alone like this had its limits.

Most importantly, my head was starting to spin from the blood loss caused by numerous injuries.

“I’ll ask one last time. Do you know their affiliation?”

“I don’t know.”

“What a pity.”

At that moment when disaster was about to move again.

“Gravity.”

“Huh?”

As a calm voice echoed, Rex’s body slumped.

Turning toward the direction of the voice, I saw Reina extending her right hand toward Rex.

“Light, bless all who follow you!”

And then, a clear voice followed.

The owner of that light magic was Sophia.

★

“…Miss Sophia. Miss Sophia.”

“Hmm.”

As I opened my eyes, a bright blue sky greeted me.

I could taste the unpleasant smell of blood in my mouth.

“…Reina?”

The one shaking my shoulder awake was Reina.

She, who always had a cold yet noble aura, appeared completely disheveled, unmistakably so.

“You’re awake. Is your body alright?”

“Yes. I think I’m fine.”

Fortunately, I had no difficulty moving.

But…

“Miss Reina? Your left arm….”

“I’m fine too. I can hold on.”

I recalled her throwing herself to protect me when the mage of the enemy attacked.

As a result, there was a long wound on Reina’s left arm.

The flow of blood was so significant that it was clear to anyone that it wasn’t normal.

Yet, even with her arm trembling, Reina tried to reassure me with a soft smile.

It was the first time I saw her smile.

Certainly, she had been scolding me before, yet I felt no fear from her this time.

It was more reminiscent of the atmosphere when she had apologized to me at the tea party and left.

“Where is everyone else?”

The place where Reina and I were was behind the target board of the Attribute Magic practice room.

There were no other people around.

“I couldn’t use my powers, so I could only move Miss Sophia.”

“Oh. I-I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? No, that’s not it.”

Reina slightly furrowed her brow but soon relaxed her expression.

“Can you help me for a moment?”

“Yes?”

“Right now, Prince Aike is facing the enemy alone. The opponent is clearly someone he cannot defeat alone. He needs help.”

Turning my head slightly to look outside the target board.

“Guhh!”

Just as Reina had said, Prince Aike was seen dodging the enemy’s attacks alone.

His breath was ragged, and his uniform was soaked in crimson.

Even to someone unfamiliar with fighting like me, he looked like he was at his limit.

“What should I do?”

I couldn’t leave someone who was struggling alone while we were all incapacitated.

With that thought, I looked at Reina and asked, and she stared at me with wide eyes in surprise.

“Miss Reina?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Reina calmly began to express her thoughts.

“…Even if I do this much, I don’t think the situation will change significantly.”

“But it means we can buy as much time as possible until reinforcements arrive, right?”

“Yes.”

Slowly, Reina stood up and aimed her right hand toward the enemy.

“Miss Sophia. This might sound strange, but could we have a tea party together, just the two of us, sometime later?”

As she made that statement, she didn’t look into my eyes.

Yet, her face, which had turned bright red, was somehow adorable.

“Of course.”

“…Thank you.”

Though she had seemed awkward and frightening until now.

★

“What a surprise.”

Rex’s movements clearly grew sluggish.

It must be the effect of the magic Reina had just cast.

In contrast, the fatigue piling up inside me began to dissipate, and my wounds started to heal.

“Light, bless all who follow you!”

Just now, Sophia had cast her specialty magic. The effect of “Bless.”

It was a light attribute D-rank magic that alleviated fatigue and healed wounds.

“You little brats.”

“Moving on. Frost.”

“Light, spread the barrier!”

Ignoring Rex’s words filled with rage, they continued their magic.

Reina’s magic was a water attribute C-rank spell, “Frost,” which froze and slowed the enemy’s movements.

Sophia cast the light attribute D-rank spell, “Light Shield,” which provided a defensive barrier.

I could roughly guess their intentions.

Reina would bind Rex’s movements as much as possible.

Sophia would support me to prevent me from taking any fatal injuries.

Having been thoroughly defeated in a frontal battle, they both understood the gap in power between them and their opponent.

Thus, they stretched out time with supportive magic until reinforcements arrived.

Indeed, this seemed like a solid strategy.

However, this alone would not be enough to completely halt the man referred to as “Calamity.”

“You’re becoming quite bothersome.”

Rex approached me step by step, moving slowly.

However, his movements were already remarkably sluggish.

Fast, but not to an overwhelming degree.

As I read Rex’s movements and contemplated my next move.

“I’ve brought the professors!”

Finally, I heard the voice announcing that reinforcements had arrived.

“…You lot. Lucky, aren’t you?”

Rex slowly sheathed his greatsword and leaped backward.

The ice that had been gripping his body shattered and scattered.

“Do you think I will let you escape?!”

Reina tried to hold Rex back for just a second longer.

“Shut up, girl. If it weren’t for his orders, all of you would’ve died.”

With those words, he disappeared in an instant.

It was unbelievable how fast he moved, even while affected by the barrier set by Arcana and Reina’s magic.

Perhaps his words were not a lie.

“Is everyone okay?!”

With Ender Dean’s voice ringing from afar.

“…We survived.”

I slumped down in relief.

★

“How strange.”

In an empty alley.

Rex was staring down at his palm.

He had intended to kill Aike Akses today.

Even if it meant facing the Empire’s pursuit and being unable to return to Avatarara, he had no intention of changing his mind.

It wasn’t his full strength, and although Aike’s talent was higher than expected, it was still not impossible.

But…

“The girl used a C-rank spell.”

It shouldn’t have been so, yet after being caught up in Reina’s magic, Rex couldn’t move properly.

He felt even the barrier of Arcana as somewhat stiff, yet he felt pressure from nothing more than a C-rank spell.

The power was an entirely different realm compared to the magic he first faced from the professors.

That was why he had no choice but to retreat.

If he stayed any longer, he sensed he would accomplish nothing and get captured.

“Reina Rozelia.”

The eldest daughter of the traitorous Rozelia family.

He quietly vowed to remember her name as an enemy.