I Will Fulfill the Role of the Villain-Chapter 160

The moment Luke laid eyes on the room’s interior, his brow furrowed instinctively. What lay before him was a massive magic circle that defied all common sense.

“......”

Drawn in thick black lines, the circle was so large it took up nearly half the room—and it pulsed, as if it might come to life at any moment. The overwhelming surge of mana emanating from it made Luke cover his mouth without thinking. If he hadn’t, he might’ve thrown up everything in his stomach.

That was how unnatural and overpowering the energy pouring from the circle was. It felt like he had plunged into a massive pit filled with unclean mana. In all his life, Luke had never experienced magical pressure like this.

It was beyond comparison with any high-ranking monster. And it was through the throbbing pain in his right hand that Luke finally understood—the one who had infused this place with mana, the one who had created this circle, was the head of NOX.

“What kind of magic circle is this...?”

There were all kinds of magic circles. But this type—he had never seen anything like it before.

As Luke examined the lines woven within the great circle and the intricate sigils formed between them, his eyes landed on a certain point and he let out a breath.

“This is... a summoning circle.”

He was sure of it. The base pattern matched that used in summoning magic. A summoner would draw this to call forth a bound monster—or to seal one back in.

Luke had seen a version of this before when fighting Benzie and Hays. He vaguely remembered the moment this sigil appeared as they summoned creatures. But compared to what those two had used, this one was vastly larger. Even with only limited knowledge of summoning, Luke had a hunch that the creature to be called forth through this circle would be monumental.

And with mana this dense and vile—there was no way the summoned being would be anything less than high-level. But the question remained: why? Summoning something of this scale in the heart of the imperial palace would destroy it. What were they trying to do?

Luke’s eyes swept across the circle—and then he noticed something. A part of the lines didn’t connect. One segment, positioned directly opposite the center, had been deliberately left broken.

“It’s not complete.”

It was an incomplete magic circle. Then Heath’s occasional visits to this room—were they related to finishing the circle? But Heath was merely under the leader of NOX’s influence. He didn’t have the ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) capability to create something like this himself.

And right now, Luke was alone in the room. He had wondered if the NOX leader might be here—but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Luke reached into his cloak and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. Swiftly, he began copying down the magic circle exactly as he saw it. When he finished, he signed his name at the bottom—to mark the origin of the drawing.

After carefully checking for errors, he rolled the paper and tucked it away.

Four minutes remained. Luke bit his lip without realizing it. There had to be something else. Maybe a change in perspective would help.

He moved to the side of the circle, trying to observe it from another angle—but no new pattern revealed itself. He exhaled a long breath. Then, just as he stepped back, his foot crunched down on something.

Rustling.

Luke crouched and pulled the glowing orb closer to illuminate the floor. Scattered sheets of paper lay all around. Hoping they might hold clues, he crouched lower and began flipping through them, one by one.

Half were meaningless scribbles. The other half appeared to be diagrams—rough sketches of the magic circle's components. Likely notes made during its development.

“Tch. Everything’s so vague.”

Time was running out. Luke anxiously rubbed at the corner of his mouth—when he caught a whiff of something metallic.

“......”

Slowly, he looked down at his hand—and flinched. Red smears caught in the orb’s glow. It was blood. Realizing what it was instantly, Luke turned the light behind him.

“Ha...”

Sure enough—just behind where he’d crouched, there were dried bloodstains. Though time had passed and they had mostly flaked over, the splatter pattern and faint scent left no doubt—it was blood.

Whose blood was it? Why had it been spilled here?

It was clearly related to all of this—and whatever the connection, it couldn’t be good.

Luke examined the traces carefully. At the end of the blood trail, there was a bookshelf—nearly as tall as he was.

He brought the light to it, inspecting the shelves. But they were all empty.

Irritated, he ruffled his hair and dropped to the floor again, intending to recheck the scattered documents. But just then, something jammed between the shelf and the wall caught his eye.

Cautiously, he pulled it free. It was stained with blood, and at first, he couldn’t tell what it was—but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a letter envelope.

The dried blood had sealed the flap shut. Unable to open it cleanly, Luke tore it open with force. A half-folded paper slipped out.

A letter—from one person to another.

Without hesitation, Luke unfolded it and read the contents. His eyes, upon finishing, turned cold.

Paul paced around the room in a nervous frenzy. Even Levi, who had snapped at him earlier to sit still and stop making noise, was now biting his nails and glaring at the tightly shut door.

“Do you think... something went wrong?”

“Paul! Don’t say things like that!”

Levi shouted, as if the words themselves might curse them.

“Yeah, Paul. If something had happened, the palace would already be in chaos. We wouldn’t be sitting here like this.”

Jade gently patted Paul’s shoulder, trying to calm him. Paul nodded with a sullen face.

Today was the day Luke, with Cailern’s help, had snuck up to that floor.

The three of them were gathered in Paul’s room, anxiously awaiting his return.

“Maybe we should’ve just insisted on going with him. I’m so worried I can’t sit still.”

Paul collapsed onto the bed in frustration. He didn’t doubt Luke’s abilities—on the contrary, the things Luke said had a strange way of inspiring trust. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid.

“I don’t even care if we come up empty-handed. I just wish Captain Luke didn’t have to take such dangerous risks...”

Levi murmured, and the room fell quiet. Everyone agreed.

“If it were the old him, I never would’ve thought like that.”

“Jade’s right.”

Paul nodded weakly, thinking back to the Luke of the past. Then or now, he always tried to shoulder missions alone. But in the past, it was out of ambition—he wanted results, wanted to claim credit. Now, it was different.

Paul understood. Luke didn’t want to drag them into something this dangerous.

Since joining the delegation, Paul had noticed some things about Luke.

“Hey, that’s enough of the outside investigation. If you’re a soldier, take care of your own stamina. Do you have any idea how exhausting it is, running all over the place like that? I’ll handle the rest.”

“Eat properly. Stamina comes from food. If you’re not born with power like I was, at least take care of the basics.”

“What I’m doing now is way too dangerous. I’m sneaking into Prince Heath’s personal space. That’s why I can’t take you guys with me. One of my jobs is making sure the three of you get home safely. If any of you get hurt, how am I supposed to face Leo?”

Luke had a warm heart. Sure, he got irritated easily, snapped often, and sometimes came up with ridiculous, absurd ideas—but they couldn’t see him the same way they once had.

“I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to go check the hallway—just for a minute.”

“Paul, he told us to wait here!”

“But... he should’ve been back by now.”

Paul brushed Levi’s hand aside and started toward the door—just as the doorknob turned with a click. All three tensed and swallowed hard, ready for battle.

When the door slowly opened, they let out a breath of relief and welcomed Luke inside.

“Captain, how did it go—”

Paul began to ask, but stopped.

Luke pulled back his robe, and his eyes gleamed with intensity. But behind that—rage was burning bright.

“Captain...”

In his hand was a paper, stained with red.

“From this moment on, I have a task for you. This may be the last order I give here.”

His voice sank low—and all three men instinctively straightened their backs.