I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 38 - Light (3)

Ssshhhaaak—!

A sharp shadow sliced through the air.

The black blade became a thin line, cutting through the moment, its elegant trajectory tracing through the void.

The blade had already reached its mark, cutting through flesh.

Shhhhk—.

The head of the charging monster split in two.

It didn’t even have time to let out a scream. The beast’s lifeless remains crumbled to the ground.

Black, rotten blood splattered at his feet.

Narrow eyes stared at the death in silence.

“Hmm.”

A brief, low hum.

By now, the ground was littered with the dismembered corpses of wolves, all torn apart mercilessly.

The boy casually shook off the residue from his sword.

Despite the laboratory being drenched in blood, not a single speck had stained the snake’s clothing.

A truly overwhelming sight.

A chilling aura of killing intent spread through the cold air.

“Well, well... Are they scared now?”

The mutants hesitated, reluctant to attack.

Watching the trembling creatures, the boy smiled as if enjoying himself.

It was the cruel mockery of a predator.

Kreeeek—!

Perhaps provoked by the taunt, several at the front swung their tentacles and charged, only to be met with a waiting strike.

The shadow swallowed the monstrosities’ grotesque forms whole.

Thwump...

With a faint, unimpressive sound, gaping holes appeared in the wolves’ chests.

A single blow, perfectly severing their hearts.

The beasts, deprived of their life force, soon collapsed.

They were being toyed with like mere playthings.

“Given that they’re failed experiments, the quality isn’t that high.”

Chimeras made from wolves.

Typically, the focus was on enhancing their regenerative abilities, modifying them so they could survive even if their heads were severed.

The goal was to create beasts that couldn’t die.

But these wolves were different.

Though they possessed ferocious strength, their vitality was significantly lower than expected.

It felt as though they had been mixed together carelessly, ignoring proper technique.

As if someone had been experimenting out of boredom.

“If they were bored, they could’ve read a book... Cultists never make any sense.”

The snake clicked his tongue softly.

After wearing a regretful expression for a moment, he turned to look at the others.

There, the girls were battling against the mutants.

Boom! Thud, crack—!

The loud, violent sounds were quite striking.

The two of them were handling things calmly.

When Emilia held back the approaching monsters, Regia would intercept them with basic magic.

But there was one unfortunate issue.

“Hey, commoner! Can’t you summon that oh-so-special familiar this time?”

“S-sorry! I’ve been trying, but...!”

“You’re nothing but dead weight!!”

“S-sorry!!”

“Forget it! Just stay out of the way!”

Summoning was a mess once again.

Perhaps due to the sudden attack, Regia’s concentration kept faltering, causing her spells to misfire.

Eventually giving up, she resorted to preparing basic magic.

“What do you even hope to accomplish with such weak attacks...!”

Perhaps Emilia had deemed her efforts useless, as she harshly criticized while channeling her mana.

A dense flurry of snowflakes began to form in midair.

Watching the scene quietly, the boy let out a bitter smile and murmured to himself.

“...It seems it’s still too difficult for her.”

It seemed the path to awakening was still a long one.

The snake calmly walked forward, snapping his fingers toward the mutants threatening the girls.

A sharp crack filled the air.

Snap—!

“Now.”

The wolves, bared teeth and all, were lifted into the air.

As they flailed pathetically, dripping with slime, a barrage of ice arrows pierced through their bodies.

The snake’s eyes met the vain villainess’s.

Breathing heavily as if exhausted, Emilia muttered under her breath.

“Haa, haa... They just keep coming.”

“You seem to be struggling.”

“I know you love provoking people, but could you give it a rest in this situation?”

“I was genuinely concerned.”

“Sure you were.”

Her brows furrowed in irritation.

Her blue eyes reflected her mounting frustration.

“Those monsters... They were made here in this basement, right?”

“That’s what I believe.”

“Chimera experiments... We’ve really gotten involved in something terrible.”

“It’s been forbidden knowledge in the Empire for a long time. They must’ve been conducting research in a hidden space where no one could find them.”

“This is a nightmare.”

“Heh.”

It was a troubling situation, but not entirely hopeless.

“At least it’s manageable at this level.”

“We’ve got skilled people on our side. Even Miss Regia seems to be adapting.”

“As expected.”

The wolves, though numerous, were not particularly strong.

Any decent student from Gallimard could handle them calmly.

Emilia charged her mana at her fingertips.

“We should clean this up quickly and start looking for an exit.”

“I’ll draw the wolves’ attention.”

“I’ll assist from a distance with the commoner. It seems inefficient to fight them directly.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Snap—!

With a brief chuckle, the snake leapt forward, diving into the swarm of mutants.

From a distance, the two girls began casting their spells again.

Just as they resumed the battle.

Boom—!

Suddenly, a massive tremor shook the basement.

“...?!”

It was as if an earthquake had struck.

The tremor was so intense it made it difficult to keep balance.

The thunderous noise rattled their ears.

Boom! Boom—!

The sound came from the ceiling of the laboratory.

Something was shattering, crushing down from above.

The children, unable to hide their confusion, looked up.

In the next moment.

Crash—!

A portion of the ceiling collapsed with a deafening impact.

A wide hole opened up, and something unknown fell through.

A massive silhouette landed on top of the mutants.

“Oh dear.”

The narrow eyes of the boy watched from below.

Without a chance to react, the enormous figure crushed everything around it.

Boom—!

Dust billowed thickly into the air.

Shattered debris flew in every direction.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The children, standing in stunned silence, soon screamed in terror.

Shouting toward where the boy had been.

“My lord...?!”

“What just happened...?!”

Their eyes fixated on the spot.

A space filled with confusion and chaos.

As the two frantically searched for any sign of the boy, they soon found themselves staring into the gaze of ‘something’ looking down at them.

Their breath caught in their throats.

“...”

The simultaneous silence wasn’t a coincidence.

A sticky, suffocating sense of dread filled the air, like an actual weight pressing down on their necks.

Their breathing trembled.

<Aaaah... Aaaah>

A pulsating, jellyfish-like mass.

Its surface, sealed with what seemed like the stitched-together intestines of beasts, was covered in a sickly pink hue.

Its enormous, grotesque form must have been at least 15 meters tall.

Hundreds of tentacles stretched out in all directions.

Its body was covered with countless large and small eyeballs.

<Aaah...>

In the center was a mouth.

Its torso split open into five sections, revealing rows upon rows of jagged teeth inside.

A foul, rotten stench filled the basement.

The creature twisted and writhed, letting out strange noises.

<Aaaaah... Aaaaaah!!!>

With its scream, the entire laboratory shook.

[EP5. Midterm Exam]

–The Abandoned Laboratory, The Monster That Cannot Laugh–

The monster that cannot laugh.

The boss monster had appeared.

***

Emilia stood frozen, holding her breath.

In her sight were countless eyes staring back at her.

And the writhing tentacles.

<Aaaaah... Aaaaaah!!!>

The monster screamed, baring its mouth.

Rows of sharp teeth filled the gaping maw, as if ready to devour everything in its path.

Emilia couldn’t react at all.

“...”

A fear that crushed the soul.

Just facing it dulled her consciousness. Its overwhelming presence was suffocating.

If she let her guard down for even a moment.

It felt as though her entire body would be crushed.

Regia, standing beside her, was no different.

Her face had turned deathly pale, frozen in place, unable to move even a finger.

Both girls instinctively knew they stood on the brink of death.

<Aaah... Uuuaaah?>

Perhaps by sheer luck.

The monster’s attention shifted elsewhere.

Toward the mutants sprawled on the ground.

Its gaze fell on the now-lifeless chunks of flesh.

It moved its tentacles.

Sssk, sssk—!

One by one, it picked up the remains of the wolves and stuffed them into its gaping mouth.

It chewed through the bloody chunks that still held some form.

Crunch, crunch—!

The sound of uncrushed bones being ground filled the air.

Just hearing it was enough to make one nauseous.

<Aaah... Uuaaah>

Was the boy’s body in there too?

They couldn’t tell. Among the mangled corpses, it was impossible to find him.

Death had come swiftly.

There was no chance he had survived.

A monster like that crashing directly onto him—it was fortunate if he hadn’t even felt the pain before he died.

Emilia’s vacant gaze lingered.

Crunch, crack, crunch—!

As the grotesque feast continued, spraying blood and bits of flesh everywhere, her fear-stricken mind slowly began to regain some clarity.

Only one thought occupied her mind.

‘I have to run.’

It was instinct.

The primal urge to survive.

Her blue eyes scanned the surroundings quickly.

Searching for an escape route.

‘If I run just a little, I can reach the corridor.’

Emilia glanced toward the nearby exit.

The monster had a massive body.

While the laboratory was spacious, it was clear that its size would prevent it from easily passing through the corridor door.

It was the best chance for survival she could see.

‘The problem is…’

There was no way the monster would just sit back and watch her run.

From her current position, it would take her about ten seconds to reach the door.

Plenty of time for one of those hideous tentacles to grab her.

That meant she needed something.

A decoy that could buy her those ten seconds to make it to the door.

“...”

Emilia’s gaze shifted slightly to her right.

There stood a girl with pink hair, her shoulders trembling in fear.

The useless dead weight that had been dragging her down the entire time.

‘A decoy.’

If she could freeze Regia’s legs so she couldn’t move and use her as bait, Emilia might be able to buy enough time to escape on her own.

She wasn’t sure if she could reach the door, but it was worth a try.

For Emilia, survival always came first.

‘I have no choice.’

Her green eyes wavered pitifully as she looked at Regia’s half-crying face, but Emilia forced herself to ignore it.

She whispered to herself as if trying to hypnotize her own conscience.

‘Someone has to make a sacrifice.’

Someone had to serve as bait.

To save the other.

Naturally, the role of sacrifice should fall to the one who was more useless, the lower, more insignificant person.

Emilia bit her lip.

‘I’m special.’

She wasn’t like this commoner with no background.

Emilia was born under the grace of the Vanity family, of noble blood, destined for greatness.

The difference between them was fundamental, something that couldn’t be bridged.

‘I’m special... I’m special, so I’ll be fine.’

She justified her cruel decision.

By exalting herself, she created a reason for her survival, and by demeaning others, she found a reason to make them the sacrifice.

Her slender fingers began to gather mana.

—“May I ask why you so desperately want to be at the top, Lady Vanity?”

Why now?

Why did the words of that Snakes boy suddenly echo in her ears?

Back then, Emilia had answered like this.

—“Because I’m exceptional.”

—“Unlike you, an unqualified fool, I deserve to stand at the top.”

Her thoughts hadn’t changed since then.

Emilia still believed she was someone worthy.

Her eyes narrowed.

A dangerous light gleamed in her blue pupils.

‘I will survive.’

She prepared her spell.

As the temperature around her dropped, lethal frost bloomed from her palm.

She could feel Regia’s panicked gaze on her.

—Emilia.

—Forget everything else, but remember this one thing as you live.

Because I’m special.

Because I’m someone who matters.

Her resolve hardened.

—Light... only has value when there is someone to shine upon.

Even if it meant throwing the person next to her to the monster as bait, she would survive.

Yes.

That was the plan.

That was what she had resolved to do, but...

“Commoner.”

“L-Lady Vanity…?”

Why couldn’t she act the way she had planned?

“Run for the door.”

The villainess’s voice was sharp.

She was speaking to the protagonist, who stood frozen with a stiff expression.

“I’ll hold it off here… You need to survive.”

“Wh-what…?”

“I won’t last long.”

Her voice rang out steadily.

The sharpness in her tone was an attempt to suppress the trembling in her body.

Shhh—

In her hand, a spear made of ice had materialized.

Emilia spun it in her grip as she took a step toward the monster.

The air around her carried a faint scent of winter.

“It’s fine.”

Emilia murmured, as if once again hypnotizing herself.

“I’m special.”

And then.

She lunged at the monster, spear in hand.

Meanwhile.

The narrow eyes of the boy had been observing all of this.

With a look of great interest.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]