The Villain Bought the Heroine

Chapter 11

【Creak!】

The eyes of the monster, looking as solid as pumpkin crystals, narrowed unpleasantly, forming an upside-down crescent moon shape, felt like it was mocking Alicia after a long time.

She wants to scream.

She wants to scream until her voice breaks, even if her vocal cords tear apart, she wants to resist like that.

“Ugh… sto…p.”

However, the words stuck in Alicia’s mouth did not come out, clinging as if glued, far from functioning as language. They stubbornly stick.

It was the same back then.

Alicia, sheltered in a safe warehouse under her sister’s protection, watched her death unfold.

She didn’t even scream. She could only look in horror at the sharp tools scattered around, too terrified to imagine fighting alongside her.

She couldn’t say a word, make a sound.

Why?

Because her sister told her not to say a word and be quiet when she pushed her into the warehouse? In case she would hinder her sister fighting?

hahahaha, hilarious.

It’s not entirely wrong. If that’s the reason, it is a reason. But there’s something more fundamental, trivial, and prickly. It’s not just that she couldn’t react because of that reason.

Someone speaks to her.

A familiar voice. A familiar accent. But beyond the distant memories, now a stranger’s voice.

Rustle.

Stepping on the red chunk of flesh that looked solid on the ground, it crumbled. Crunch, squish. The place where the former village head’s body was trampled on, blood spurting in all directions.

The alien and eerie being approached Alicia. It was cautious, like a crow stealthily approaching its prey, but with a slightly different feeling.

If a crow approaches a relaxed prey, this is different.

【Crackle.】

It seemed to enjoy the prey’s response, unable to resist.

Slurp! A tentacle-like thing protruding from the monster’s body pierces Alicia’s head. It knows the creature’s weakness. Contrary to the attitude of enjoyment, it intends to kill instantly.

“…!”

Instinctively throwing her body, Alicia yelled a silent scream. She narrowly avoided the attack that came flying towards her.

However, her hands trembled, protecting her head, and her legs, trembling in fear, could not lift her fallen body.

Like a newborn defying the gravity of the world, Alicia fell and rose repeatedly.

Her head urged to flee, but her body did not follow. That girl.

“Thud…!”

Alicia’s abdomen was struck by something as solid as a monster’s tail, causing her to fly lightly and collide with the wooden boxes behind her.

The impact caused the dust piled in the warehouse to swirl, various tools that were stacked up fell to the ground.

Some even fell on Alicia’s head, causing her some shock, but she couldn’t even feel that they had fallen on her head.

Her senses were already infected by fear and shock, rendering her unable to pay attention to the mild pain.

Rustling. It approached again. Emitting deep, colorful breaths, it seemed slightly excited as its prey resisted.

Alicia heard the sound too. Driven by survival instinct, her eyes searched for an escape route. There was already a prophet there.

The body of an old man, whose head had disappeared, turned into a pool of red blood. As cruel as the villagers scattered around in the nightmare.

“Sto…p…!”

Once again, Alicia tried to scream, but no words came out. It felt stifling, as if something was blocking her, making her feel pathetic.

【Crunch!】

The creature’s sturdy, muscular legs approached Alicia step by step. She had to resist. Without doing so, she would die! Alicia started throwing whatever she could see.

Thud, thud. The indiscriminate throws couldn’t even scratch the creature’s thick skin, falling off like leaves. If they hit the face, they showed a look of discomfort, but that was it. They had no effect at all.

No, to be precise, they did have an effect.

【Rumbleee⎯⎯⎯!】

The creature began to rage.

Thump, thump! It decided to stop playing and charged fiercely. Being quite massive, the sound of it hitting the ground was tremendous.

Alicia, seeing this, was even more eager to find something to throw, but there was nothing around anymore.

With nothing left to defend herself, Alicia scratched the ground. Not to dig, but to create distance.

Trying to move away with both hands scraping the ground, she realized there was no place to retreat due to the warehouse walls. Panic-stricken, Alicia didn’t know that she was not moving and pushed against the ground so hard that blood dripped from her fingers, but her body wouldn’t budge.

Then.

⎯Crack.

She ended up holding a piece of iron that she had on her body.

Thump, thump!

Kwahng. The red monster, with a loud roar from its large mouth, collided with Alicia, breaking through the wall without slowing down. As Alicia’s legs were dragged on the ground, the pain of her skin tearing and twisting was excruciating.

However, in the midst of colliding with the monster and being thrown away, Alicia, in a struggle to survive, stabbed the blade she had grabbed into the creature’s eye. It was a simple stabbing, well-practiced but devoid of any magical power.

【Craaack!】

The creature, charging fiercely, stopped its legs and howled in pain. With its own force, it flew through the air at a rapid speed. Thud. Alicia managed to stop herself by colliding with a tree.

“…Cough!”

As Alicia’s throat collided with the tree, a vomit of agony erupted. Her body, having lost momentum, fell limply.

“Ugh, ugh. Cough.”

Every time her heart throbbed, bile rose. Although there wasn’t much inside her, it writhed as if trying to expel something.

Before being hit, she couldn’t control anything, but when the definite pain struck her body, she could regain some sense of clarity.

She was conscious. She didn’t lose her mind. But she still couldn’t get up.

As the piercing wail vibrated in her ears, Alicia turned her face to survey her surroundings. Her breath was shallow and rapid, as if she would pass out at any moment, and her eyes had no focus.

“aaah⎯⎯⎯!”

“Help…! Help…!”

“Ughhhhh… Ughhh!”

Screams and cries echoed from all directions. A collective of negative human emotions reverberated.

The small stone walls that stretched out were collapsed in various places. Houses made of wood were burning or had large holes as if something had crashed into them. The village was crumbling. Alicia’s hazy pupils captured the rapidly changing, vivid village.

Ha-ha-ha.

What is this, it’s just like before.

The village being destroyed by monsters.

The bloody footprints all around.

The heads of people bursting.

It’s just like back then!

Once again, a familiar yet unfamiliar voice reached Alicia. Her heart throbbed roughly as if in response to him. It felt like it was moving more than several times faster than usual.

It can’t be.

This voice shouldn’t be heard by her. Even in countless nightmares, she never heard her voice. Not a single breath, not a loud gasp. The voice coming from that warehouse was different from her heartbeat and breathing. But now…? Hearing it here?

Alicia, with unfocused eyes, tries to find the source of the voice. Even though she thinks it can’t be, she searches for what vividly sounds like it.

Nothing has really changed.

Everything is the same.

You’re the same too.

He may have called you a genius or something, but look at yourself now. And look around you.

“Uh… Uh….”

Alicia stuttered like someone opening her mouth for the first time or like someone under the influence of a drug unable to regain consciousness.

She still hasn’t found her. She hasn’t found the owner of the voice. They’re definitely here. They’re nearby.

Ha-ha-ha.

Still not coming to her senses.

What good is it if your body grows bigger?

What good is it to learn magic?

In the end, you can’t do anything.

Something is approaching Alicia. Reflexively, she reaches out towards it. She doesn’t know what it is. But she heard the sound. It’s coming towards her. That alone was enough reason for Alicia to reach out.

However.

“Ah…?”

【Crackle.】

What touches Alicia’s outstretched hand is not soft flesh but a sticky, hard epidermis. A viscous liquid is flowing. As she brings the stained hand closer to her eyes, she realizes it’s red blood.

This is not the owner of the voice.

“Ke, Kek…!”

The monster’s tail tightens around Alicia’s neck, lifting her into the air. Limp. Alicia’s feet flail in agony, like a puppet on a string.

Alicia tries to prevent the hands from tightening around her neck. She scratches with her nails, squeezes with all her might. But it’s futile. The more she struggles, the more her strength drains, and the monster increases its intensity.

Ah, there was one other thing different!

It was the most important thing.

In Alicia’s fading vision, the face of the monster, with its right eye gouged out and muscles contracting, appears. Veins like snakes are visible. And next to that monster.

It’s been a while, Alicia.

The smiling face of the young girl, blossoming with laughter, is about to disappear as if it were an illusion.

It’s tormenting like a stab to the heart every time she thinks of it, but even if she endures that pain, she wants to see that face.

“…Ke, Uh…!”

Whether it’s a wound on the cornea or the monster tightening its grip, Alicia’s vision keeps blurring. More than blood, a hotter liquid pours from her eyes.

Alicia.

It’s different from back then.

I will protect you.

There’s no ‘me’!

hehehe.

At that time, a 14-year-old girl. She was the pride of her hometown and a 4-year-old sister to Alicia.

Charlotte.

With her bright smile, Alicia, who had been struggling until the last moment, came to a halt.

***

“Oh my… Thank you, lovely young lady. Thanks to you, things have become much easier.”

The village chief straightened up after bending for a long time, relieving his stiff spine. His waist was aching more from the sudden busy movements.

The old shed of the village chief’s house. This place, filled with dust, was full of all kinds of miscellaneous items.

“But… Is it okay for you to help us like this? We have things to do, and it might not be right for you to help us for no reason.”

“……”

“Uh…?”

With no response from her, the village chief turned his head. They had been having a smooth conversation so far, but suddenly, the silence felt odd.

Turning around, the young woman who had been working and smiling just a moment ago was in a terrible state.

“Why, young lady? Are you in pain? Your face is as pale as if you’ve had a nightmare!”

Even breathing seemed painful. Whether it was due to lack of air or excessive breathing, it continued.

In a hurry to check her condition, the village chief was shocked when he touched her face. An icy coldness, ignoring the basic body temperature of a person, was felt in his hands.

“It’s serious…! In this case… yes! Just wait here for a moment. I’ll go fetch warm water quickly!”

As Alicia tried to leave the shed, the village chief reflexively grabbed her hand. Though she didn’t speak, her face expressed sheer terror as she lowered her head.

“Just wait here for a moment. I’ll be back with warm water soon.”

Not understanding what Alicia was trying to say, the village chief patted her back and left to get the water.

As he crossed the doorstep to leave the shed, he vanished. …Vanished? What? What disappeared?

No, that’s not it.

Alicia, you know, right?

Let’s quickly move on from this.

【Crunch?】

Beyond the doorstep, the red figure revealing itself as if waiting there was definitely not something new. Those pumpkin-colored eyes were not new either.

It absolutely couldn’t be new.

Well, it was the creature that had killed her just a little while ago.

“What… on earth…?”

Facing an unbelievable situation,

Alicia finally found the right words to say.