I'm the Villain, But the Heroines Keep Choosing Me-Chapter 139: Sacrifice

"The Emperor needs to send reinforcements. Pull troops from other kingdoms, establish defensive coalition, something. We can’t face this alone."

"Imperial forces are committed elsewhere. By the time they could mobilize and reach us, the battle would be decided." Damien traced attack vectors on the map. "We’re on our own."

"Then we evacuate. Pull civilians to the interior, establish fallback positions, prepare for siege warfare."

"That just delays the inevitable. If Valdara falls, other kingdoms follow. The entire defensive structure collapses."

Seria was quiet for a long moment. Then: "What are you actually saying? That we fight despite the odds being impossible?"

"I’m saying we need force multiplication. Something that changes the tactical equation enough to matter." He took a breath. "Lyristae thinks I should deliberately increase my corruption. Push it to double what it is now to unlock additional capabilities that might make the difference."

"That’s insane."

"Probably. But looking at these numbers, I’m not seeing better options."

Seria studied him, her tactical mind clearly processing implications. "How would we even manage that level?"

"Lyristae’s been managing higher for years. She says it’s possible with discipline and proper anchoring."

"Lyristae says a lot of things that serve her interests rather than yours." Seria’s voice was flat. "She wants you more corrupted so you’re more like her. More willing to accept the moral flexibility she’s been pushing. More dependent on her understanding rather than ours."

"Maybe. But the threat is still real. The numbers are still impossible. And we need something that changes the equation."

"What does Elara think?"

"Haven’t talked to her yet. Wanted to run it by you first since you’re better at tactical assessment."

"My tactical assessment is that deliberately corrupting yourself is a terrible idea that might also be our only option." She slumped into a chair. "I hate this. I hate that we’re even considering it. But you’re right about the numbers. We can’t win conventionally."

They sat in silence, both staring at maps that showed overwhelming force approaching and inadequate defenses to stop it.

"If you do this," Seria said finally, "if you push it that much, you need to be prepared for what that does to you. How it changes your thinking, your emotions, your relationship with us."

"I know."

"And if we lose you to the corruption, if the anchor bonds break and you become something else entirely, then saving the kingdom doesn’t matter. We’ll have lost what we were trying to protect."

"I know that too."

"But you’re going to do it anyway."

"I think I have to. The alternative is watching everyone die while knowing I had the option to maybe prevent it."

Seria reached across the table, taking his hand. "Then we’ll help. We’ll anchor you as hard as we can, push back the corruption with everything we have, refuse to let you disappear into the darkness. But Damien – " Her grip tightened. " – you have to promise you’ll fight to stay yourself. That you won’t just accept the corruption as inevitable and let it consume you."

"I promise."

"Good. Because losing you to save everyone else isn’t an acceptable trade. We find a way to do both."

---

They told Elara together. Her reaction was immediate and visceral.

"Absolutely not. No. You’re not deliberately corrupting yourself to fight demons. That’s literally what demons want – for you to become like them."

"Elara – "

"No, Damien. I’ve watched you struggle with less. Seen how it makes feeling things difficult, how it pushes you toward isolation and thinking that treats people like resources. This much would be... you wouldn’t be you anymore."

"I’d still be me. Just more corrupted."

"That’s not a small distinction!" Her divine magic flared unconsciously, golden light mixing with the shadows that always clung to him now. "The entire point of the anchor bonds is keeping you human. Deliberately pushing past what we can handle is abandoning that foundation."

"What’s the alternative? Let tens of thousands of demons massacre everyone while I stay safely human?"

"We evacuate. We call for imperial reinforcement. We – "

"There’s no time for evacuation or reinforcement. The assault is three days out. This is the choice – increase capability or accept defeat."

Elara looked at Seria. "Tell him this is insane."

"It is insane," Seria agreed. "It’s also probably necessary. I’ve run the tactical scenarios. We can’t win conventionally."

"So we lose conventionally rather than winning by destroying what we’re trying to protect!"

"Damien isn’t all we’re trying to protect," Seria said quietly. "The people are. The kingdom is."

"Not if it means losing him." Elara’s voice cracked. "I didn’t fall in love with his tactical capabilities or his shadow magic. I fell in love with the person underneath all that. That person disappears if the corruption becomes that much worse."

"You don’t know that."

"I do know that. I can feel it through the anchor. Every percentage point makes him more distant, more calculated, less capable of genuine emotion. Double would be... he’d still look like Damien. Still talk like him. But the person I love would be gone, replaced by something that just uses his face."

The fear in her voice made Damien’s chest ache despite the corruption’s muting effect.

"I won’t disappear," he said. "The bonds will hold. You two will keep me grounded."

"We couldn’t keep you grounded at that much. That’s beyond our capability." Elara moved to stand directly in front of him. "Please. Don’t do this. Don’t trade yourself for tactical advantage. We’ll find another way."

"There is no other way."

"Then we die fighting with you still yourself rather than surviving with you gone."

The statement hung in the air, absolute and uncompromising.

Seria spoke quietly. "Elara, that’s not practical – "

"I don’t care about practical! I care about him. About us. About not losing what we have because some situation forced impossible choices." Elara’s hands gripped Damien’s shoulders. "Please. Trust that we can find alternatives. Trust that your value isn’t just in how much power you can generate."

Damien looked at her – at the genuine fear and love in her expression, at the desperate hope that he’d choose safety over necessity.

Then he looked at the maps. At the numbers that didn’t lie. At the reality that caring about what Elara wanted wouldn’t change tactical facts.

"I’m sorry," he said. "I think this might be our only choice."

Elara’s face crumpled. She pulled away, golden light flaring brightly before she controlled it.

"Fine. Become the monster you think you need to be." She left the war room, her steps echoing in the sudden silence.

Seria watched her go, then looked at Damien with complicated expression.

"She’ll come around. When the assault actually starts, when people are dying, she’ll understand why this was necessary." But her voice carried doubt.

"Maybe."

"I hate this, and no matter how much I want to say I care more about the lives it’ll save, I’d be lying...I don’t want you to this, even if it’d be cruel to stop you."

"I know."

"And you’re doing it anyway."

"I’m doing it anyway."

Seria nodded slowly. "Then I’ll help. Not because I think it’s right, but because leaving you to manage that much alone guarantees failure."

"Thank you."

She returned to studying the maps. "Three days. That’s how long you have to prepare mentally for what you’re about to become."

Three days to prepare for becoming something that might save everyone or destroy everything.

He looked at the System interface, at the Second Demonic Core locked behind fifty percent corruption.

Soon, that lock would open.

And Damien would discover what he was actually capable of when he stopped being afraid of his own darkness.

And it seemed just like Lyristae, Seria and Elara would sacrifice lives to save Damien.