Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!-Chapter 44 -: 43 Did everything go as planned?

Not far from the messy city of Nightspire, in a place everyone called Good Luck Charm City, there was a tiny secret group called the Black Nights.

They were super small, only a handful of people, but their boss was scary strong.

Nobody knew much about them, and that’s exactly how they liked it.

Inside a dark, smelly tavern hidden behind a fake wall, two men sat at a corner table.

One was a huge, burly guy covered in old scars and fresh cuts.

His name was Zalanara. He looked like he fought bears for fun and won every time.

The other was the same creepy masked man from before, black robe, white mask with the giant twisted grin, hood hiding everything else.

Zalanara took a big gulp of his drink and laughed loud enough to shake the table.

"Are you really telling the truth? Did Great Sanachi actually think that highly of me?"

The masked man chuckled. "Yes. He said only you can be trusted for the big mission coming up."

Zalanara’s tough face suddenly went soft. His eyes got shiny.

"Ahh..." He sniffed hard. "I didn’t know Great Sanachi saw me that way..."

Tears rolled down his cheeks. Big, fat ones.

He tried to wipe them with his huge hand, but more came. Then his nose started running too.

The masked man quickly leaned back.

’Ugh...’ he thought. ’So disgusting.’ But on the outside, he kept smiling under the mask like nothing was wrong.

Zalanara cried for a full minute, gulping and sobbing between drinks.

Finally he slammed the mug down and wiped his face with his sleeve.

"I, Zalanara, the biggest admirer of Great Sanachi, promise you—I will do whatever he asks! I swear it on my name!"

"Clap! clap! clap! clap!"

The masked man clapped slowly. "Good, good. That’s exactly what Lord Sanachi saw in his vision."

Zalanara sniffed one last time and sat up straight.

"Okay. Tell him when I come back, I will go see him in person."

"There’s never been a safe way to contact him, he’s too important, too secret. But if he really sent you, his only servant... then this mission is serious."

The masked man stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"There is a new saint candidate in the Holy Empire."

Zalanara raised one thick eyebrow.

"Really? Don’t they pick a new candidate almost every year? And they all fail anyway. I’m sure this one will—"

"No," the masked man cut in. His eyes under the mask were shining bright.

"This one will not fail. Great Lord Sanachi already divined it. He saw everything clearly."

Zalanara blinked. "Wait... what?"

The masked man nodded. "That’s why he sent me seven months ago to gather strong people.

He saw it all a whole year ago. The child named Uriel will definitely pass the Saint Trial."

Zalanara’s happy face turned serious. His big brows came together in a frown.

"Then this is very bad news for us Zlycons..."

He rubbed his chin, thinking hard.

"Seven hundred years ago, in the last big war, the Saintess was a huge pain in our side. She messed up so many plans... If a new real Saint appears now, it will be hard for us."

He looked up at the masked man.

"But if Great Sanachi is so sure... then this is a big problem."

The masked man spread his hands. "Exactly."

Zalanara cracked his knuckles. "Alright. I’m in. When is the trial happening?"

The masked man shrugged. "We don’t know the exact day yet. The Church will announce it to everyone when they’re ready."

"It’s a Saint Trial, they have to do it in front of the whole world."

Zalanara nodded slowly. "Makes sense."

The masked man smiled under his creepy grin. "Okay then, take care, my friend."

His boots started turning into black smoke. The vanishing began again, legs first, then knees, then robe.

Zalanara raised his mug. "You too, friend! And when you go back... give my love to Great Sanachi!"

The masked man almost tripped over nothing.

’Love...?’ he thought. ’What are you, his secret boyfriend?’ But he kept his mouth shut.

"Goodbye, friend," Zalanara called out.

"See you at the Saint Trial!"

With one last "hehehe" laugh, the masked man disappeared completely.

Zalanara stared at the empty chair for a second.

Then he grinned wide, showing all his teeth.

"Time to get ready," he said to himself. "A new Saint, huh? Let’s see how holy this kid really is."

He slammed his empty mug down and laughed again—loud, deep, and excited.

The real fun was about to start.

Meanwhile, the masked man’s visits kept going all over the Holy Empire.

The empire was huge, mountains, forests, big cities, tiny villages, everything.

But somehow, that creepy guy in the black robe and white grin-mask popped up almost everywhere.

One day in the hot south, next day in the cold north. No horses, no carriages, no transportation gates. Just *poof*, he was there.

How? Nobody knew. And almost nobody noticed the pattern. The groups he talked to didn’t had any frequent contact with each other for secrecy.

Criminal gangs, dark cults, angry rebels, they never showed themselves openly. So the masked man’s trips stayed secret... for now.

But because of him, trouble started bubbling up.

People who didn’t like the Church’s rules began moving. Quiet plans. Secret meetings.

Weapons hidden. The whole Holy Empire started feeling busy and nervous, like a storm was coming.

Meanwhile, far away in the fancy Royal Arcane Academy...

In one of the special cabins given only to candidates for student council president, a door was locked tight. Inside, soft blue light glowed.

Julius opened his eyes slowly.

The second his eyes opened—bam!, a big smirk spread across his face.

"You worked hard, babe," he said in a teasing voice, turning his head to the side.

Right there, floating in the air, was a huge blue magic circle.

Tiny glowing letters spun around it like fireflies. The circle shimmered and pulsed, full of power.

Behind the circle stood Rosalina.

She looked exhausted. Her pretty face was shiny with sweat.

Her chest went up and down fast as she huffed and puffed, hands shaking while she kept the spell going. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Did everything go as planned?"