How to Redeem a Trashy Side Villain

Chapter 133: Dragged Up

[Asano Ichiko]

"Was I more helpful than Diana?" I asked. I knew that it wasn't the right place and time to be asking such a question, but my mouth moved before my mind could react.

Realising my mistake, I didn't wait for him to answer.

I wanted him to look at me. Only me.

Even though I agreed on the compromise of taking both me and that "other woman" out for Valentine's Day, I wanted it all to myself. I didn't want to share.

He was mine, and I was his.

The day before this, I couldn't sleep.

I had pressed my body against the cold sheets and was unable to suppress the trembling of my body; half of the trembling was excitement, while the other half was anger.

Surprisingly, despite the third wheel, the day had gone quite well. It would've been better if it were just us two, but that'll have to wait til next year.

However, just because I had a good day didn't mean that my anger from the previous night had vanished. I just hid it because I didn't want to embarrass my fiancé with it.

But now, there was an outlet for me to release that anger.

The monsters who decided today was the right day to interrupt my date with Bell.

With a feeling of anger mixed with relief that I could let off steam, I attacked again. Another wave of demonic monsters had already popped out of the portal.

Irritation was burning hot in my chest.

The audacity and nerve of these monsters!

They had no right to exist in the same space as him.

Inhaling a deep breath, something warm formed in my throat, and when I spat it out, a ball of lava shot out in a wide arc, splashing across the ground and cutting off a part of their advance.

A few of the more nimble monsters tried to leap over it, but they didn't make it, as they were shot down in the air by Bell and others nearby.

With the back of my hand, I wiped my mouth and glanced at my fiancé's side profile. He was already moving again, lightning shooting out from the head of his spear.

After watching him for a few moments, I noticed something. Wherever he stepped, the flow that the monsters would charge at us subtly adjusted to be where he went.

…Are they here for him? Is this revenge for what he did to that demon at the academy?

That thought crept into my mind and even though I tried not to dwell on it, the eerie nervous feeling remained in my mind uninvited.

How dare they! He's not a prey!

I sent a condensed bullet of lava at the skull of a monster that had been less than a meter away from Bell. It left a hole in their head and they collapsed, dead on the spot.

Too close. If even a single one of them so much as grazes him…

"No," I uttered.

I'm not going to let that happen.

❖ ❖ ❖

[Bell]

Authorities had managed to form barriers around the area after the last remaining civilian was evacuated.

It would've been a much more difficult task if it weren't for the fact that the monsters weren't really worried about wreaking havoc, but were more so trying to corner me.

Ichiko was staying very close to me.

I wouldn't be surprised if she had already deciphered why we were being attacked. Spoiler alerts — it was me.

"Young Master," I heard a voice behind me.

My eyes glanced at the mana signature that I had recognised a few seconds before he arrived at where I was.

"Jerman. When did you finish your training?" I asked.

"We're not done yet. But I was given a day off."

A day off? Why would he receive a day off on this day specifically? Wait! Does he also have a date?

My eyes widened and I looked at him, but he clearly didn't want to answer the question that was visibly raised in my expression.

"I have something for you. I brought it on my way here," he said as he handed over Gon.

With a smile, I unwrapped the bandages and tossed my spear into my weak hand. I appreciated Quentin's gift and his analysis that I was meant to wield a spear, but until I found a spear that was better than Gon, the sword would always have a place in my right hand.

If this were Earth and I were a regular human, dual-wielding a spear and a sword would be a foolish decision due to the point of balance being wrong, but I was a superhuman. The weight meant nothing to me.

'It's time to spill blood!' Gon screamed.

Indeed it is.

As I dashed forward with more recklessness than before, I noticed that it wasn't only my bodyguard who had arrived.

Ichiko's maids and her personal bodyguard Renzo had also joined the fray, which made me wonder if they had been contacted by Ichiko.

There was also this blue-colored bird flying above me.

Is that Ichiko's battle pet? What was its name again?

I thought about it for a second while my sword blocked an attack and my spear followed up by stabbing into the monster's body.

Ah! That's right. Aoi.

Allies were arriving, but none of them was exactly what I was waiting for.

Gaps in the battlefield had been filled by the reinforcements that continued to arrive, but none of them was enough to push the balance in our favor.

If anything, it felt like the intensity had risen.

As I dealt with what was in front of me, I was actively trying to understand just how this was possible.

Yes, it could be that one of the dark magic users was responsible for the portal, but that didn't explain how they were able to keep it open for this long.

Something must've been different between the original novel and the current timeline. But no matter how much I racked my brain, I was unable to put a finger on what it could be.

That was the dangerous thing about the butterfly effect.

Just the slightest change could result in something drastically different.

Every step I took forward, skeletons would abandon the humans they were attacking just so they could intercept me.

Demonic monsters that had been leaping at a police officer would redirect their path just so they could clash with my path.

Because of the sheer number, it was subtle enough that most wouldn't notice, but if anyone had been closely watching me, it would've been unmistakable to them that something was off.

Cutting through another pair of skeletons, Gon screamed, 'Master! I'm glad you're using me to kill these evil monsters! It reminds me of how my first master would wield me into battle.'

Bones shattered with every swing and stab of my two blades.

Lightning would follow the flow of my weapons and would explode through clusters of monsters before they could surround me.

.

.

.

Every second felt like an hour.

It wasn't just the monsters who were dying. None of the humans were immortals, so it was obvious that they would start to drop as well.

Whether it was intentional or not, for some reason, I was isolated from the rest of my allies.

I was in the middle, surrounded by a bunch of monsters.

"Bell!" Ichiko called out from behind.

"I'm coming!" Diana screamed.

"No!" I responded to the two of them. Without turning to face either of them, I told them to stay back. I still had Liona's ability at my disposal. If I needed to dash out of danger, I could do so easily.

Ignoring their voices that were filled with concern, I surged forward instead.

This was perfect. Although danger was pressing in from every direction, making me feel like I was the bullseye on a dart board, I didn't panic.

As claws scraped past my ribs, blades of bones whistling inches away from my throat, and blades threatening to split my head open, I was taking this as an opportunity to grow.

Lightning spells were spewed out from my while simultaneously driving my spear forward, skewering a demonic monster clean through the chest. I twisted, ripping it free as Gon came around in a tight arc and cleaved through another monster that had tried to take advantage of the opening.

"You're too slow to be doing that," I said as I twisted my body and kicked the dead monster away.

Sharp claws coated with poison aimed at my side and I shifted at the very last second and met it with the side of my sword, deflecting it away from my vitals.

Another attack came from behind and I ducked, feeling the gust of wind that rushed over my head as the attack struck the monster that was in front of me instead.

"Friendly fire? That's not very nice."

I could feel myself getting stronger. Every near-miss from my nemesis was sharpening the instincts that were trying their best to keep me alive.

Every mistake I made corrected itself faster than the last.

"Come," I muttered under my breath. "Don't stop now. I'm not at my limits yet."

The monsters obliged, which would've happened regardless of what I said.

I was clipped once during a moment where the attack had truly caught me offguard. The attack was hard enough to send me skidding backward.

As the pain stung, I didn't let it affect me as I rolled, sprang up, and was able to parry the two strikes that came from the monsters that had been behind me when I began skidding.

I impaled a third attacker through the jaw.

After that, there were several more times when I had come dangerously close to being overwhelmed.

A misstep here.

A reaction that was a fraction of a second too slow.

Each time, at the very last moment, I either twisted away, raised my blade to meet the attack, or redirected the force just enough to not only survive but to counter.

My breathing was starting to grow heavier as my limbs were burning from being pushed to their limits.

Yet, I was smiling.

I'm reaching my limits. I should probably get out and…

My thought came to an abrupt stop as the monsters stopped. Rather than pressing forward like they had been doing this entire time, instead, they took several steps back in unison, creating this unnatural pocket of empty space around me where I stood alone.

"…What?" I uttered in absolute confusion.

Before I could move or react, a cube snapped into existence directly in front of me. I was inside the cube as it was a barrier.

My eyes widened and I activated Liona, skipping forward through space only to find myself slamming into the half-invisible wall.

The cube wasn't letting me leave.

"What the—!"

I tried again and the space around me warped, but again, nothing.

Then I watched as the cube began to shrink and compress until it wrapped itself entirely around my body. My movement was restricted and although the pressure wasn't crushing as if it was trying to make my body pop, it was strong enough that I could barely move.

Then the barrier collapsed and suddenly, cold metal snapped around my wrists.

"Shackles?"

My arms were yanked violently behind my back before I could react and I grunted as the restraints locked in place.

A chain manifested from the shackles and the next moment, I was airborne.

""BELL!!!"" Diana and Ichiko screamed.

The chain reeled me upward, my feet leaving the ground as the battlefield began to shrink underneath me.

Shouts echoed from below, but they were distant. Allies tried to intercept, but the monsters had focused all of their attention on preventing them from reaching me.

Above me, I noticed that space was opened up and a second portal bloomed into existence.

As I was dragged toward it, what ran through my mind was:

No! I made all those oaths! I need to fulfill them in time, or else I'll be punished!

I began to think about Grace's competition, my deal with Herol, and my agreement to work with Maya to handle Aldo.

My oathsssss!