I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 39 - Light (4)

There is a memory that has grown so faint it’s almost blurry now.

The villainess furrowed her brow slightly.

—“Rather than a star that shines alone, I hope you become a star that illuminates others.”

A wish she had once held dearly as a child.

But perhaps due to the harshness of life, the world refused to let her remain a mere child, and she had to struggle relentlessly just to survive.

To stay alive, she had to let go.

Her once pure heart had grown murky with time.

It was part of growing up.

‘If I want to protect my family from the elders… I have to always appear ruthless.’

She hid her fragile sincerity.

To prevent others from underestimating her, she put on a tougher, more venomous exterior.

The villainess layered her soul with pretence.

Because of that, there were times when she felt a profound sense of disconnect.

As if she had become someone else entirely.

The image of herself that she loved when she was a child seemed to wither more and more with age, eroding into something ugly.

Sometimes, in the quiet of dawn, she regretted it.

‘...Honestly, I hated it.’

Forgetting her childhood.

Even though growing up inevitably meant leaving things behind, had it happened too soon?

There were days when such thoughts tormented her.

‘But it was the best choice I could make.’

She forcibly erased herself, transforming in order to survive.

The reflection in the mirror grew increasingly foreign.

As the parts of herself she had once cherished were stripped away, she filled that loss with something else.

The recognition of others.

‘A special person.’

She wanted to be someone exceptional.

A star that sparkled and shone.

What had once been a desire turned into an obsession.

She accepted that she had grown up and stopped feeling the pain of reminiscing about her past.

She thought she had become numb.

“Run for the door.”

Until those unexpected words slipped from her own lips.

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

“Wh-what…?”

“I won’t be able to hold it off for long.”

It was a simple change of heart.

—Emilia.

—You can forget everything else I’ve said, but this one thing you must remember as you live.

Of all times, why then?

Why did that familiar voice flicker in her mind?

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

In the face of death, those words she had long forgotten resurfaced in her mind.

Like a flash of memories racing by.

“It’s fine.”

Maybe she was annoyed.

Annoyed at herself for being so scared, for trembling so pathetically.

She hated that.

“I’m special.”

Perhaps it was nothing more than vanity.

A thought to flaunt to that commoner, to brag about surviving this close brush with death.

Emilia kicked off the ground.

At the same time, she threw her spear with all her strength.

Ssshhhaaak—!

The spear flew at breakneck speed, drawing a blue line through the air, only to be intercepted by one of the monster’s writhing tentacles.

Immediately, the creature’s eyes turned toward her.

<Aah... Aaah?>

It groaned, its massive mouth hanging open.

Hundreds of eyes embedded across its torso all fixated on her at once.

A grotesque sight, to say the least.

Fear tried to seep in, but she refused to stop.

Her mana exploded violently, scattering her killing intent into the air.

She was determined to draw the monster’s attention.

Snowflakes swirled in the air, and a bitter wind followed in their wake.

<Ugh, Aaah...!>

Sharp shards of ice struck the monster.

Perhaps startled by this unexpected resistance from its prey, it flailed its tentacles in all directions.

Soon, a furious roar erupted.

<Uwaaaaah!!>

The scream tore at her eardrums.

With a shrill, grating sound, the monster lashed its tentacles at Emilia, as if enraged by the nuisance she was causing.

Clearly, she had gotten under its skin.

The villainess hurriedly cast another spell.

Crack, crack—!

The small snowflakes merged into a large shield.

The tentacles collided with it.

Boom—!

Perhaps because she had poured every last bit of her mana into it, the hastily formed shield managed to hold.

Blow after blow struck the shield.

Emilia clenched her teeth, gripping the magic with all her might.

“Ugh...!”

It was a brutal struggle.

The size difference alone made it an unfair fight, but Emilia resisted, using her technique to its utmost.

Crack, crack—!

She fine-tuned the flow of her mana.

The structure of the shield became tightly interwoven.

The delicate control condensed the ice, giving it a density comparable to steel.

A control that pushed her to the brink.

“Just a little longer...!”

Winter’s fury gathered around her.

In the midst of the howling storm, Emilia kept her eyes wide open, driven by sheer determination.

Her blue eyes flickered with light.

Boom! Boom—!

Every time the tentacles slammed into the shield, the laboratory resonated with the impact.

The fierce sounds of destruction left her feeling hollow.

She was giving it her all, but it was clear that this was nothing more than a delaying tactic.

Cracks began to form in the shield.

<Kiiiiiieeeeaaah!!!>

The monster let out a scream more terrifying than any before.

As the shield’s durability weakened, Emilia muttered quietly to herself.

‘Still... this should be enough.’

She had bought them 21 seconds.

Surely, by now, Regia would have escaped the laboratory.

‘I think I’ve done my part.’

From the beginning, she had disliked the protagonist.

A commoner who had entered with outstanding grades, someone whose talent shone brighter than her own.

It had been difficult to accept.

Perhaps it was jealousy.

But in the end, Emilia had won.

The protagonist had fled and was no longer here, but Emilia remained, shining until the very end.

A solitary star in the sky.

She clung to that small victory.

“Because I’m special.”

As she braced herself to reinforce the shield once more—

“My lady!”

Whoosh—!

A fireball suddenly flew from somewhere, slamming into the monster’s face.

The tentacles recoiled in surprise at the unexpected attack.

“Ugh...!”

Emilia barely managed to stabilize the shield.

When she turned her head to look, there stood the girl with pink hair.

“You...?”

“My lady!!”

The villainess, spotting the protagonist, cried out in shock.

“Commoner?! Why are you still here?!”

“How could I leave you behind, my lady?!”

“I clearly told you to run, you fool...!”

She began to scold, but quickly realized that now wasn’t the time.

A tentacle was already hurtling toward them from above.

Boom—!

A heavy impact crashed down.

As Emilia struggled to control her mana, she saw Regia kneeling beside her.

The girl placed her hands on the ground.

Mana spread across the floor as if she were drawing something.

“I’ll summon Effrie! It’ll buy us enough time for both of us to escape!”

“I thought you couldn’t use summoning when you’re scared...?!”

“That’s why! I’ll keep trying until it works!”

“You’re insane?!”

“There’s no other way!!”

It was a dangerous plan.

Summoning consumed a massive amount of mana just by attempting it, and if Regia wasn’t careful, she could pass out from mana depletion.

In a situation where even the shield could shatter at any moment, it was a reckless gamble.

But.

It was also their best hope in this situation.

If she succeeded in summoning the wyvern, its overwhelming strength might clear a path for them.

It was, essentially, a do-or-die situation.

“This is insane...!”

Emilia gritted her teeth.

There were no other options.

In the end, the villainess nodded, choosing to place her trust in the protagonist’s potential.

Blue mana rippled through the air.

“The shield will hold for at most a minute! You must succeed within that time...!”

Snowflakes scattered in all directions.

Amid the swirling storm, the two girls stood against the monster.

***

Meanwhile.

In the shadows.

Narrow eyes watched everything unfold, hidden behind a thick veil of darkness.

I had been observing the children’s fierce struggle.

“Hmm.”

I let out a quiet hum, then murmured a single phrase.

It was a reaction filled with surprise.

“That’s unexpected.”

The girl with the blue hair.

My eyes were fixed on the villainess, who was enduring the monster’s attacks.

“I didn’t expect her… to choose to sacrifice herself.”

This stage had been set for Regia.

The plan was for her to gain experience facing a terrifying enemy and to spark the early signs of her awakening.

In other words, it was meant to be a growth event.

I had even pretended to be dead to create a more extreme situation, with safeguards in place to prevent any real harm.

I thought all I had to do now was quietly watch.

“It’s completely off-script.”

The story was taking an unexpected turn.

And at the center of it all was Emilia Vanity, the villainess who had tormented Regia so ruthlessly in the original story.

She had stepped forward, offering herself as bait.

—Run for the door.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected anything from her.

No matter what hidden circumstances there were, she was still the villainess who drove the protagonist to the edge.

I believed in a predetermined fate.

So.

I had planned to give her a passing grade as long as she didn’t backstab Regia.

But Emilia had shown far more potential than I anticipated.

—I’ll hold it off here... You need to survive.

I remembered the fleeting moment when her eyes had shone brightly.

A gaze that sparkled like a star. Tragic in the face of death, yet unyielding.

It was a determination that sent shivers down my spine.

This time, it wasn’t just vanity.

It was the nobility of someone breaking free from a predetermined fate, forging a new path.

In all the 1,943 times I had met her in my past life, this was the first time I had seen such a dramatic transformation.

It was as if she was proudly declaring:

—I’m special.

She was capable of change.

She was telling me not to assume her future, her identity, her character.

“She’s proven herself.”

I couldn’t help but acknowledge it.

The self-obsessed girl who once sought only to be worshiped had learned to care for others, to stand alongside them.

She was no longer a star standing alone.

“I applaud you. This time, it’s well deserved.”

A faint smile crossed my lips.

After brushing away the lingering thoughts, I refocused on the scene before me.

“Well... doesn’t seem like they’re doing well with the boss fight.”

It had been ten minutes since the battle started.

At first, the girls had managed to hold their ground, but now, it seemed they had lost all hope.

Their gamble had failed.

Regia, who had repeatedly pushed herself to summon, had finally collapsed from mana exhaustion.

Emilia sat in a daze, clutching the unconscious protagonist in her arms.

“Have they given up?”

In truth, it was inevitable that those two would lose.

Even if the summoning had succeeded, the result would have been the same.

This stage was designed to be unwinnable unless they used cheats.

[EP5. Midterm Exam]

—The Abandoned Laboratory, The Monster That Cannot Laugh—

The boss monster, the monster that cannot laugh.

It was designed to be unbeatable at this point in the story.

It was the classic unwinnable event you sometimes encounter in games.

“It was just meant to set up the next episode.”

In the original story, Regia also loses here.

The monster captures her with its tentacles and drags her off to an unknown location.

The protagonist is kidnapped.

And that leads directly into the next episode.

[EP6. Bergen Belzen]

—The Lost Girl, The Monsters That Cannot Cry—

In the original, both episodes were meant to showcase the cruelty of the dark mage cult, Baob.

But this time, things were going to play out a little differently.

“I think it’s time for me to step in.”

It’s been done to death—the dark mages tormenting the protagonist and her party.

So, maybe this time, it’s fine if the roles are reversed.

I grinned wickedly.

“Heh.”

Gathering the surrounding shadows, I began walking toward the scene.

***

“...So this is how it ends.”

Emilia muttered blankly.

She knelt on the floor, waiting for death to close in.

Above her, the shield was cracked and on the verge of shattering.

“How pointless.”

Her voice was calm.

In her arms lay the unconscious protagonist.

Emilia idly stroked the girl’s pink hair.

The warmth beneath her fingertips felt so fragile, reminding her that life was still present.

The inevitable conclusion felt even harder to accept because of it.

Boom, boom, boom, boom—!

She tried to maintain her composure, but she couldn’t hide her racing heart.

Her heartbeat thundered in her chest as if it were about to burst.

‘...It’s still so terrifying.’

Even though she had chosen this outcome, tears continued to well up.

She bit her lip.

Boom! Boom—!

The cracks in the shield grew larger.

Through the widening gaps, the tentacles came into view, pulsing with a clear intent to rip their prey apart.

Emilia let out a quiet chuckle.

‘I didn’t think I’d die like this.’

Regret flooded her mind.

She thought of all the days she had fought so desperately to survive.

Life, it turned out, was incredibly fleeting.

‘I’m sorry, Ruska.’

She had wanted to be there for her only family, but in the end, she would meet her end first.

Left alone, her brother would have to face the elders of their family, who wouldn’t let him go so easily.

She had been such an inadequate sister.

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

<Kiiiiiiieeeee!!!>

Crash—!!

The shield finally shattered.

Amid the shards of broken ice, the monster came into full view, grinning with its grotesque mouth wide open.

Its tentacles twisted and writhed menacingly.

The gods were truly cruel.

She hadn’t achieved anything—truth, revenge, happiness, success, love... not a single thing.

To die at her most pitiful moment.

“How unfair.”

She had never uncovered the truth behind her parents’ deaths.

She had never avenged herself on the despicable elders of her family.

She would never see her brother, Ruska, get married.

She hadn’t fulfilled her dream of becoming the Empire’s greatest ice sorceress.

“And the love I saw in the books... I wanted to experience it one day.”

Her bitter words were laced with resignation.

Carefully, Emilia laid the protagonist’s body on the ground.

Then, she stood up.

“...I guess I should’ve lived a little kinder.”

The reflection of a death row inmate.

A single blue spear formed in her hand, carved from ice with the last of her strength.

It wasn’t as sharp or refined as it should have been, likely due to her lack of energy.

But it was enough.

With trembling arms, Emilia raised the spear, pointing it at the monster.

If her future was going to be swallowed by this wretched tragedy, then she would fight to the bitter end.

“Haa, haa...”

As she caught her breath, dozens of tentacles whipped through the air, descending upon her like giant whips.

Emilia slowly closed her eyes.

‘...I hope it doesn’t hurt too much.’

She clung to that faint hope.

The conclusion rushed toward her like a final act in a play. Just as the tentacles were about to engulf them.

Right then.

Shhhkk—!

A clean slicing sound cut through the air.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the severed pieces of tentacles suspended in midair.

Each one had been sliced into small fragments.

“...?”

As she stood there in a daze, staring at the surreal scene, a familiar voice reached her ears.

Dark shadows dispersed before her.

“Well, well... What a moment of crisis we have here.”

A shadow stood behind her.

As if engaging in some sort of affectionate gesture, he rested his chin on her shoulder.

The glint of golden hair brushed her eyes.

“My lady.”

When she turned her head, she saw none other than the snake himself.

The boy who had appeared out of nowhere leaned casually on her, an insidious smile on his face.

His breath, soft and low, whispered into her ear.

Just the sound of it left her feeling dazed.

“Do you require strength?”

The snake flicked his tongue.

Emilia, frozen, stared at him.

Through the slightly open slit of his eyes, she saw something she had never seen before—a white pupil gazing back at her.

A sticky sense of wrongness slithered down her throat.

“I believe I can offer you my assistance.”

His eyes narrowed into a sinister smile.

More dangerous than any tragedy that could unfold.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]