I Am a Villain, So What?

Chapter 208: Winterguard [11]

’...Horrible.’

Viktor reached the top of the wall and looked out. This was the total, apocalyptic onslaught of monsters that Lucien had warned them about. Facing that tidal wave directly, everything seemed pitch black. The air itself smelled like inevitable death.

The crumbling, patched barrier. The exhausted penal soldiers and freezing knights. The enemy’s highly competent, hidden commander successfully bleeding out their tactics over the past week.

All of it was delivering a grave, undeniable sentence of defeat to Viktor.

’...Haha. Well, good.’

Viktor let out a dark, grim laugh. It was a kind of detached, euphoric sensation that only seasoned warriors felt before a final stand.

Whatever the political reason for him being exiled here from the Ashen Knights, it didn’t matter anymore. This was a chance to regain the absolute pride of a true knight. He would not hide behind the Capital’s walls like the cowards in his Order. Today, right here in the snow, he would end his life as a definitive, legendary warrior.

"Archers! Prepare to fire!" Viktor roared, his voice cutting through the panic like thunder.

The familiar, reassuring sound of wood and iron clashing was heard as thousands of archers stepped up to the crenellations, knocking heavy, armor-piercing arrows.

Unintentionally, Viktor looked to his right.

Lucien was standing quietly in his usual sniper position on the corner tower, a heavy winter coat hiding his frame, his deep hood pulled entirely over his head.

How many lives had been saved by the boy standing in that exact spot until now? Even in this desperate, pitch-black situation, Viktor felt a small, pathetic glimmer of relief knowing that the terrifying ’Executioner’ was still holding the high ground.

The other knights clearly felt the exact same way. They kept glancing up at the hooded figure. Lucien had already become an absolute psychological lifeline for them.

’...Huh?’

But as Viktor watched, he noticed something incredibly odd.

As the order to fire was shouted, Lucien, who should have already brandished his thunderous firearm and started picking off the aerial threats, just stood perfectly still. His hands remained deep inside the pockets of his coat.

Did his mysterious weapon break? Is he out of mana? Viktor thought frantically.

But Lucien didn’t even move his head. He just stood there, motionless as a statue.

Viktor was forced to look forward again. He couldn’t afford to focus solely on the boy. The massive, roaring horde of monsters had already closed the distance and entered the kill zone.

"Fire!!!" Viktor screamed.

Thousands of arrows flew through the freezing air. As a precaution against this exact scenario, Commander Arthur had deployed every single reserve archer in the fortress, and as a result, the sheer volume of arrows momentarily darkened the grey sky.

But that was it.

There were no deafening cracks of gunfire. There were no streaks of golden, holy light tearing through the flying chimeras. There were no divine bedrock spikes erupting from the earth to crush the behemoths.

"...?"

It was then that a few of the knights near the tower realized something was horribly wrong. Viktor snapped his head back to look at the hooded figure.

Lucien still did absolutely nothing.

It was so bizarre, so completely unnatural, that Viktor narrowed his eyes and focused his Aura, taking a much closer look.

A chilling, terrifying sensation ran straight down Viktor’s spine.

Under the intense scrutiny of a veteran’s trained eyes, the illusion began to fray. The edges of the hooded figure’s coat seemed... translucent. The physical proportions—the width of the shoulders draped in the heavy hood, the length of the arms, the exact height—were subtly, undeniably wrong. The figure actually looked slightly plumper than the lean, athletic boy.

Viktor’s mouth dropped open in pure horror. The absolute worst-case scenario, one he hadn’t even conceived of in his darkest nightmares, hit him like a physical blow to the chest.

The Madman had completely abandoned his post, and vanished into thin air right before the apocalypse hit.

Viktor sprinted across the parapet and grabbed the hooded figure by the shoulders. He spun the boy around roughly.

It looked exactly like Lucien. It had the same face, the same coat, and the same bored expression. But as Viktor’s armored fingers dug in, the figure flickered.

It was an illusion. It was fading into blue mana particles right before his eyes.

"That bastard and his tricks!" Viktor cursed, his jaw clenching so hard his teeth nearly cracked.

The tension in Viktor’s muscles bulged against his plate armor. This was a battlefield where winning was already almost impossible. Lucien’s sudden escape made the word "almost" completely waver.

With a feeling like he was vomiting blood, Viktor drew his broadsword and roared at the top of his lungs.

"Kill them! Do not let a single beast set foot on the land of Winterguard!!"

*****

"What—what’s going on?"

Down in the inner courtyard, Celestia was startled by the sudden commotion on the battlements. Viktor was shouting at someone and gesturing aggressively at the empty air.

Rumina narrowed her amber eyes. Even from a distance, her sharp vision caught the blue particles scattering in the freezing wind.

"...A fake."

"Huh?"

"I believe Cadet Lucien used a magical trick and fled," Rumina said smoothly.

Celestia looked up. The sniper tower was indeed empty. "...So, Lucien is not up there?"

"No. He is gone."

For a moment, the two royal sisters were utterly speechless. It was an absurd situation. The ’hero’ of Winterguard had just vanished seconds before the main horde hit.

But unlike Viktor, they weren’t immediately consumed by blinding anger.

"What do you think?" Rumina asked, tilting her head. "Did he finally break and flee in fear?"

"If it were the old Lucien? Of course," Celestia replied, her brow furrowing. "But you have observed him over the past week, Sister. If he was going to flee, he never would have come to this frozen hell in the first place."

"Indeed," Rumina nodded thoughtfully. "You spoke with him last night by the fire. Did he mention anything? His real purpose here? I refuse to believe that ’vacation’ bullshit. From what I have gathered, whenever Lucien Ashborne gets involved in something, it is always a major event."

Celestia thought back to their conversation. A sudden realization hit her.

He had casually asked the knights about the stables. He had asked which horses were the fastest in deep snow. He had mentioned people ’changing’ to do what they needed to do.

The sisters locked eyes.

Oddly, they didn’t think he had escaped south back to the safety of the Empire. A far more horrific assumption crossed their minds.

"Could it be... he crossed the barrier?" Celestia whispered.

"To go Outside."