The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 333: Essence (5)

Heaven Beyond Heaven. Rowen’s sword, surpassing human limits, made hearts pound with terror.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop facing Hannah muttered words of retreat.

—Damn it, wasn't another Apostle supposed to buy us time? —Let’s retreat, Envy. —Grr...! Wait a moment...! Greed, behind you! Look behind...! —Curse you, you wench!

Over Shulia, who was overwhelming Ruin, echoed a voice vowing revenge.

—Next time, I’ll tear you to pieces. —Cough... Screw off.

Standing atop a pile of cultist corpses, Valak looked up at the radiant sword aura falling from the sky and let out a small chuckle.

"A monster."

The aura of the Empire's Sword, unchanged even as time passed, was awe-inspiring. He had thought that through blood and sweat, he had reached the level of a strong fighter, but the Empire's Sword was beyond that category.

"I can't keep up."

Valak let out a bitter laugh as he beheaded another cultist. His massive sword danced forward, moving slowly towards someone familiar, a benefactor.

"..."

I let out a hollow laugh as I watched Rowen’s sword aura fall from the sky.

‘Truly monstrous.’

This was the realm of the Empire's Sword as depicted in the novels. How could one describe it? Perhaps like a wild beast—there was a hollow laugh at the completeness of it, something that one could imitate but never truly replicate.

"Crazy person."

Words failed me. The explosive skill was beyond what I could have imagined. As if the mere presence of the Empire's Sword proclaimed, "I am here."

Still.

It seemed within reach.

I smiled slightly and began to move, working to clean up the battlefield.

The war wasn’t over yet.

I sensed a familiar presence approaching from behind, the footsteps of a fierce and savage man drawing near.

‘Looks like he’s arrived.’

I slowly turned and locked eyes with the man, offering a gentle smile as I greeted him.

"It’s been a while." "..." "From the look on your face, it seems things were resolved well." "..."

Valak, carrying a massive sword, blinked away tears and nodded. Seeing such a strong man tearing up wasn’t entirely a pleasant sight, but the peace on his face brought a smile to mine.

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

With a trembling voice, Valak spoke to me.

"Thank you." "..." "I don’t know how I’ll repay this debt..."

His hand, holding the sword, was shaking. I smiled softly, placing a finger to my lips.

"Shh. Let’s tidy things up first."

I lightly pushed off the ground, heading over to where Hannah was. I approached her, supporting her as she stood with her sword buried in Greed's chest.

"You did well." "...I knew you’d come!" "You were amazing." "Hehe... No, I wasn’t." "Taking on two Archbishops. That’s something incredible." "I didn’t really do much..."

Hannah, held in my arms, grinned and nestled her face against my chest. Though she hadn’t completely defeated Envy’s Archbishop, she’d saved many lives. If even one Archbishop had been left to move freely on this battlefield, the losses would have been far worse. Grateful, I patted her head.

‘I didn’t expect her to kill Greed...’

See? She has talent.

I looked up at the rising moon and smiled.

 "The current casualty count is around 80, with no deaths reported." "That’s a relief." "It’s a miracle, really."

Having quickly set up camp, I gathered with Malik, Rowen, and Valak around a small fire. Though it wasn’t much of a base, it was enough for us to speak openly as we regrouped.

Rowen, arms crossed, hung his head and sighed.

"My late arrival was a mistake." "..." "I tried to get here quickly, but the Chancellor held me up." "We’re grateful you came at all."

Rowen shot me a glance, then let out a small laugh.

"You really are everywhere." "We just happened to cross paths." "Were you here for the Holy Sword, too?" "Just here to watch." "Pfft... I’ve never met someone as curious as you."

Malik nodded, as if to agree, and there was a warmth between us. For the first time, I felt a sense of warmth in the House of Hystania.

‘It feels like things have changed.’

Looking at Rowen’s gaze, I sensed that many things had indeed changed. His expression towards Hannah had a warmth I’d never seen before. No longer telling her to give up the sword, he just stared at her with concern, bringing me a sense of relief.

Malik slowly stood up and began to report on the situation.

"Our side has suffered more losses than we could have imagined." "..." "We didn’t even reach the temple, and 80% of our forces were injured..." "..."

I shook my head at Malik’s words and replied.

"Perhaps it’s a blessing that it ended with these losses." "A blessing...?" "If we’d all entered the temple, our side might have been wiped out except for a few survivors."

Rowen nodded, agreeing with my assessment.

"You’re right."

I turned my head towards Valak, who stood with his massive sword beside him.

"And there’s someone here who can give us more details about the cultists’ losses, isn’t there?"

Rowen looked at Valak with suspicion, wondering if he could truly be trusted. Though Valak had fought against the cultists, Rowen still had doubts.

"Is he trustworthy?"

At Rowen’s undisguised skepticism, Valak nodded and replied.

"Empire's Sword." "...Are you speaking to me?" "Yes." "Such casual language for a first meeting is quite rude." "..." "Go on." "Do you have children?"

Rowen simply nodded in response. With a deep breath, Valak began to speak.

"Thanks to him, I was able to save my daughter’s life."

Rowen nodded and said,

"I see." "..." "Can you swear on your daughter’s name?" -Nod. "Very well. I’ll trust you, just this once." "I appreciate your trust."

Valak began to report on the cultists’ situation.

"Approximately 130 cultists were involved in this operation. Of them, 80 were killed. So they’ve suffered about 60% losses. The cultists have also been heavily damaged."

This was welcome news. Striking a blow to the cultists' forces was significant.

"Thanks to this young lady here, who took down Greed’s Archbishop, the cultists' morale must be at rock bottom." "...That’s my daughter." "Bragging, are you?" "Yes." "How enviable."

I nearly laughed at Rowen’s proud grin as he casually boasted about his daughter.

Suppressing my laughter, I focused on Valak’s words.

"The Archbishops who retreated are in no condition to return to battle. They’ve all suffered grave injuries from your sword." "Just took a swing and hoped it hit something, looks like I got lucky." "Are you serious?" "Not really." "..." "Anyway, there’s almost no chance they’ll return to the battlefield. Dark mages can only be healed by other mages with specific abilities." "..."

This meant...

"We might just have a chance."

Valak shook his head.

"No." "Why not? The Archbishops are injured, the cultists’ numbers are halved. We could seize the advantage if we press on." "That’s true, but..."

Malik looked towards the temple and smiled bitterly.

"There are still Apostles." "...Apostles." "Half of our losses came from just one Apostle." "..." "And there are likely three Apostles inside the temple. Do you think we can break through?" "..." "Even if we got inside, we’d face a problem if all three attacked at once." "..." "In my view, this is our best chance to retreat, now that their morale has fallen."

I raised my hand.

"Excuse me." "Speak." "I’m here, aren’t I?" "...Hmm?"

Rowen tilted his head, as if considering my point.

"True. You are here." "With the purest heart in the world, I’m part of this expedition, which means we might just succeed in retrieving the Holy Sword."

"...?" "...?" "...?"

"Eh?"

Their puzzled faces bore question marks. I scratched my head with an awkward smile.

"Please don’t look at me like that. It’s embarrassing." "..." "What?"

Rowen let out a chuckle and started organizing the situation. If we considered Valak’s opinion, it meant time was pressing.

"Then we need to move quickly to retrieve the Holy Sword. Agreed?" "Yes." "The wounded?" "I plan to send them to a safe location with Valak leading them." "Then let me ask again."

Rowen looked me straight in the eyes, repeating his question.

"Can we trust him?"

I glanced at Valak and spoke with certainty.

[Valak Lv. 91] [Occupation: Archbishop of Despair] [Affection: 100] Favorite topics: Daughter, benefactors, revenge against the cult, swords, trust, repaying debts Disliked topics: Cultists, distrust, illness, shackles

With a confident smile, I responded, having planted this seed long ago, knowing this day would come.

"He’s trustworthy." "Hmm..." "..." "Understood."

Rowen looked at the newly conscious Hannah, speaking in a cold voice.

"We’ll send the most injured down first."

Hannah raised her voice, startled.

"I can...! I can go too!" "..." "Just give me a moment to drink a potion...!" "No."

I firmly rejected Hannah’s request. The risks that would arise if things went wrong here far surpassed our capabilities. I didn’t even know if we’d manage to secure the Holy Sword.

Three Apostles. Two surviving Archbishops. Even though Elicia was on our side, the weight of facing Apostles pressed heavily on my shoulders, leaving no room for reckless decisions.

"Why..."

Hannah bit her lip, her eyes glistening with tears. I let out a faint sigh and nodded.

"Next time, we’ll go on a date, just the two of us."

We had four people heading into the temple.

Rowen. Yuria. Ricardo, and Mikhail.

If necessary, we were prepared to destroy the Holy Sword.

Of course, Malik...

—Take me with you!

...got kicked out for throwing a tantrum.