The Villain Is Destined to Die: But as the Creator, I know All Endings-Chapter 237: Day - 2: Survivors of the Cycle

[Inside the Captain’s Room]

Shatterrrrr—!!

Zade’s frozen skull, still pierced by thick ice, fell forward and shattered like a glass ball. The insides were crystalline and still somewhat distinguishable, whether it was an ear or a frozen, cubed brain.

Bronze, who was still under Leon’s pressure, didn’t understand what had just happened in front of him. Just a moment ago, Zade had been frozen in fear just like him, and then out of nowhere, a magic formula glowed beneath his feet, and from it, a spear took his life.

Bronze watched in silence. With his uniquely built eyes he could see Zade’s soul drifting away from his corpse. He was still processing it, his mind running at full speed, trying to understand who could possibly have done it.

But he couldn’t possibly mistake this familial power.

Which confirmed it.

"N-No way.... T–this feeling... A Calamity?" he muttered without realizing it himself.

The power he had just felt, it’s way similar to her. Only Silvermoon was capable of this.

This was bad news.

"Shit... what would she possibly be doing in this reality?!"

’Nah, don’t tell me they finally decided to end us all!’

Bronze clicked his tongue as he finally felt the pressure suppressing him begin to dull.

"...?"

He looked around the room and saw the two captains still alive, stunned and frozen in place, along with Zade’s diced, headless corpse.

’I need to tell Black.’

Bronze needed to run to Blackscar, because there was no way he could beat her. And even if he grouped up with all the disguised guards on this ship, he would still have a very, very slim chance of running away.

"Alright..." he sighed, forcing himself to calm down and think of a way to get out of this place as soon as possible, because Zade had been killed far too easily, and if things continued like this, he would be next.

But the problem was that he was in the middle of nowhere, so the only ways to survive were either to fight back or to hide and hope that she couldn’t find him.

In his case, both options were suicidal and carried almost no chance of survival.

’Shit...’ Bronze cursed inwardly. He never predicted this, and even as a pirate operating under Captain Blackscar’s orders, he had only expected interference from other pirates, but not from an actual Calamity!

No matter how much he tried to think, everything led to a deadlock.

Bronze clenched his chest and bit down on his tongue.

He didn’t want to use it so soon, knowing full well that activating it would cause him to lose all his senses, but he had no other option.

Captain Blackscar’s face appeared in his head. The promise they both made to finally meet the True Calamity in the current world cycle.

After surviving for this long, severely weakened from their past self in the current form, hoping to meet their destined cause of endless suffering.

He can’t just give up, after getting this much closer.

’I have to survive.’

Agony was so painful that it made even his soul feel it.

Bronze took in a deep breath and channeled his mana into his corrupted core, allowing it to expand and take full control of his mana pathways.

"Ghhh—!!"

He was weak, far too weak in this world cycle. If only it wasn’t for their infinite suffering, he could have reached Calamity Rank in the one too.

Bronze fell to his knees with a pathetic loud thud, clutching his heart as he felt his mana core being consumed by dark mana.

At last, he had no option but to rely on the power of their nemesis.

At this time, he wondered, what would Blackscar would think? If he saw him in this state.

He doesn’t want to think.

Slowly, his veins began to bulge, and his skin darkened slightly as several bumps appeared across his once handsome face.

His bloodshot eyes snapped open.

Just as he was about to stand, he felt the space around him distort.

Zoooooopppp—!!

"Hm...?"

Bronze’s eyes pricked at the sound as he saw a white-haired woman with red eyes suddenly appear near Zade’s corpse.

Her crimson eyes glanced at the headless corpse, then turned slowly at Bronze’s direction.

The pressure earlier which was dimmed down once again returned.

Still channeling his dark mana , Bronze took out the revolver from his side and aimed at women’s spotless face, and shot a fire.

BANG–!!

Clang–!!!

The bullet hit something metallic right before it hit the face. A pure white sword blocked it.

The women’s ruby red eyes reflected on the white edge of the blade as it glared at the Bronze.

* * *

[Condition Satisfied]

[Restoring Mana... Success!]

Several lines cascaded in front of Leon’s vision before he teleported inside the Captain’s room.

The first thing he saw was a headless frozen corpse, pierced with a thick piece of ice.

’This must be another pirate,’ Leon thought inwardly. He glanced to his left and saw two men in sailor uniforms, still breathing.

"—!!"

"...hm?"

Leon slowly glanced at another person still alive in the room. He had bronze wire like thin long hair and green eyes.

To Leon, he looked rather young. If he had to be specific, then he looked around Eula’s age. Except for the fact that his skin was slowly turning into a smoky dark color.

Still, Leon wasn’t interested in the young man himself, but in his mana core.

It looked dull, and dark mana was gathering around it.

’Is it fractured?’ Leon asked Rumi.

’Umm... Haru, take a closer look. Even though it’s said that a human mana core is unsuitable for handling dark mana... his core is somehow resonating with it normally.’

Leon activated his [Mana Sense] and inspected the young man’s mana core.

Rumi was right. It was indeed unnatural.

Normally, a human’s mana core would become corrupted when exposed to dark mana, eventually shattering and exploding due to instability.

But here, the mana core showed no such reaction. It had no problem resonating with it, as if it had been built to handle dark mana from the start.

’How could this be possible...?’ Leon questioned the logic.

As a developer who understood the mechanics of the game, he quickly arrived at a possible explanation.

But before he could ask Rumi about it, the young man suddenly took out a revolver and aimed it at Leon’s head.

"..."

BANG–!!

Leon raised his Moonblade and blocked the bullet.

Clang–!!

The bullet shattered.

Due to the number of pirates he had killed today, he was not afraid of running out of mana.

Leon quickly teleported right in front of the man and severed his wrist.

"Ghhaaa–!" The man agonized.

The wrist holding the revolver fell on the floor, as a stream of blood dripped from the cut.

"How did this–?!" The man looked at his severed wrist, and then finally at the face of the white haired women glaring down at him.

’It was not the Silvermoon!’

His eyes widened. Earlier due to the pressure which he felt, he thought that Silvermoon had descended to this reality, but this was not her. Even though she had her mark.

"Huh? Wait. Who are you?" The man asked, gripping his wound with other hand. At the same time he was still channeling the Dark Mana to his entire body.

Leon, still looking down at him, didn’t say a single word. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Instead, he pointed the moonblade at the man’s chest, and asked directly.

"How are you doing that?"

The young man paused.

Did she literally just ask that? Of all the things, she was interested in his mana core.

That means this woman had guessed it.

"Haha." The man sneered at Leon, he grinned and said. "I asked you first. Who the hell are you, and how are you imitating Silvermoon’s presence?"

"...!"

Leon almost shivered by the mention of her name.

’How did he sense her? No wait...’ Leon thought, then he noticed, ’don’t tell me he’s—!"

~

[Hire of the Crimson Moon]

[Passive: Under moonlight, your presence grows stronger. Ordinary people feel unease, while higher beings would recognize the mark of the Blood Calamity upon you.]

~

Leon gripped the Moonblade and shifted it toward his throat.

The young man on the ground noticed Leon’s reaction.

He laughed at her.

"HAHAHAHAHA–!! Oh maaaan~ I was getting scared for no reason! Sigh... turns out it’s just one of her blessings."

The fear on the man’s face vanished, but inside, he was still cautious. Even if the woman in front of him was merely someone blessed by her, it didn’t mean she was harmless.

Leon read that as well. He observed the man’s body language, his slight movements, and his heartbeat.

’Haru,’ Rumi tried to warn Leon. ’If he recognizes the Blood Calamity’s mark bestowed by Silvermoon on you, then that means—’

Leon finished, "Yeah. He’s someone from the upper reality."

But what Leon didn’t understand was the identity of this man. It was seriously his first time seeing this face.

Clearly, he was powerful. But if that was the case, then why hadn’t he appeared in the game?

Leon didn’t remember ever adding someone with these facial features. And on top of that, the man wasn’t even wearing a disguise. It was his real face.

The man dusted his shirt with his free hand and stood up. Leon still kept his sword pressed at his throat.

"Hooo... so she sends one of her blessings to kill me now?" the man spoke up. "Silvermoon sure hates us regressors, huh?"

’Regressors?’ Leon narrowed his eyes at him. ’What is he talking about?’

Before Leon could think further, something jumped up from the ground.

"...?!"

It was the severed wrist.

Leon’s eyes followed it as the wrist crawled forward using all five fingers.

The blood had turned black, and as the hand reached the wound, its bones and muscles reattached themselves.

The man twisted his wrist twice, rolling it in smooth motions, before locking eyes with Leon.

"Now then," he said calmly, "where was I?"