Chapter 54: [52] The Hidden Villain

"This was not the idea I had. . . " Claire muttered, a trace of pink warming her cheeks.

The wind blew her hair as the scenery of the forest passed below them. Cradled in Alicia's arms, Claire squirmed

"Can't you just turn into a big bat and let me ride you?"

The vampire looked down at her, golden hair flying with the wind, then shook her head, bat wings flapping at her back.

"No."

"Drats!"

Her original idea was to follow Alice with ice below her feet but the vampire shook her head and said she was faster. Her next idea, this one, was to ride a gigantic bat, but the vampire shook her head once more. In the end, Claire sighed, and relented to the princess carry of her partner as the world blurred around them.

"Are you blushing?" Alicia asked, a hint of a smirk on her lips.

"I'm not blushing." Claire denied. 'Sometimes, she's cute, other times, she's teasing.'

The vampire chuckled.

"We're here."

"Finally."

The world suddenly regained focus as Alicia shuddered to a stop. Then, swoosh, the wings folded and the two girls dropped from the sky.

Finally, flap, the wings spread, sending air flying as they came to a new stop. Alicia's foot touched the grass first and Claire quickly descended after.

Patting down her skirt, she looked forward to see a group staring at them both.

"Welcome back, Princess," Via grinned.

Claire frowned for a moment, then straightened herself.

"It's good to be back, Bunny."

"Why you—."

The ponytail having military woman butted in. "Where's the kid?"

At that moment, Claire watched as Alicia tilted her head, looked around, and finally realized she hadn't even bothered about the kid. It would seem Claire had taken up her attention.

The Ice Queen faced the group and shrugged.

"The wielder of the space seed came, took him with his permission, and disappeared." She said.

"Wow, just like that?" Via asked.

"Just like that."

A cough broke the conversation and they turned to Albert Stref.

"Firstly, welcome back," He said. "Lastly, although we might have lost another member, we found both the mana well and the beast right besides each other."

He pointed.

Claire squinted to a clearing within the forest which looked like the optimal place for a boss battle.

The first thing she spotted was a circular hole in the ground that flowed blue and flustered with a liquid which flowed like water. She could feel, however, that it was made of pure mana.

Besides that thing was a beast. If she could describe it simply, it was a massive, house-sized, wolf with silver fur that sparkled with flames. It currently growled in their direction, daring them to try anything.

Claire stared into its crimson eyes with her own.

"Is it okay if us two take care of it?" She asked, ready to get this dungeon thing over with.

"Huh. . .if you want to?" Albert replied.

She nodded and stepped forward.

"Alice, let's kill it, fast."

By the time the two reached halfway towards it, it was ablaze in flames. It was an odd thing to see, Claire thought, as the area around the mana well did not burn.

A growl escaped its lips and it charged forward, sharp teeth bared as if to devour Claire whole.

A fist met its head and the ground tumbled as the creature smashed against the ground. Alicia flapped into a bat, landing back besides Claire as the ice Queen placed a hand forward.

Had mana danced and enveloped the burning beast as white hair fluttered.

"Freeze."

A sheet of ice ran across the staggered beast, which still had trouble standing back up, as its flames froze, then died. In time, it couldn't move. It could only stand there, a statue bound by ice. Evidently, its flames were not nearly as powerful as that of a Psuedo-Phoenix.

The vampire bit her thumb with her visible fang. As blood flowed like water around her fist, she took a step forward and touched the frozen beast.

Her blood become minuscule lines that ran across the statue of ice. Visible cracks appeared but she stared at its crimson eyes with her own.

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"<Death's Glare>."

Its struggling stopped.

Alicia grinned, a bright, innocent smile.

"Explode."

A crimson explosion ripped through the area.

Ice and blood flew along with chunks of meat as the beast became a flash of red.

Then ice crawled upon everything, froze, and shattered into crimson snow, fluttering the blood away.

In the end, all that was left was a Demonic Core, which Claire dutifully picked up.

She turned around.

". . ." The small group stared at them both.

"What?" She asked, "You did say we could kill it, didn't you?"

Half of them hung their mouths open and Via simply sighed, grumbling. Albert shrugged and moved first.

"Indeed I did, now. . .let's see who decides to enter the mana well before using that portal below your feet."

Claire looked down and noticed, indeed, there was now a portal of white below her feet, similar to that which first brought them into the dungeon. It had appeared after the Guardian's death.

In front of her was a well of mana. The small, remaining members of the raid group surrounded it. Claire, Alicia, Albert, Verra, and the two adventurer twins with bald heads.

"You can only soak in a mana well once in your life. If you're pure of heart, it'll bless you with something or another, usually a status increase. If you're deemed 'evil' by it, it'll try and devour you, consuming you to become a part of its mana pool," The leader of the team smiled as he spoke.

Claire decided she did not want to take the chance. Pure of heart? She did not think she was anything close to that. She looked over to her partner and saw the vampire staring curiously at the thing.

For a moment, she wondered if her partner was pure or not.

"Hmm? What's tha—Alice-!"

A kick landed upon the back of the golden-haired girl. A small yelp reached the air as wings sprouted from her back, but. . .

"Oh no you don't."

A hand grasped her head and dragged her down, throwing her into the well. In seconds, the vampire sank within, not another sound escaping her lips.

"What the fuck!?" Via cursed, immediately turning to the culprit.

A glowing red gem as big as a toddler appeared, floating atop the man's hand.

Verra's eyes widened. "Is that a Philosopher's Stone? Albert, what the hell are you doing?"

He grinned.

"I'm reviving our Demon Lord."

As the mana well swallowed Alicia whole, he dropped the philosophy's stone within, along with all the Demonic Cores he had gathered at that point.

"The well shall recognize villainy."

Within an instant, the Mana Well churned blood red as Alicia's body laid inside, frozen in time.

By the time that finished, the person known as Albert Stref had morphed into a different being. His skin became the red of blood, and his eyes turned crimson. Upon his head were two small horns and, on his back, wings like that of a bat's. He laughed, cackling as he flapped into the air, floating above the figure of the submerged Alicia.

"Three years I awaited this," He said, arms flexing as strength began to overflow him and his clawed hands balled into fists. "Bidding my time in this city, but now it all comes to fruition and I hide no longer. Look at your faces. Are you all surprised? Shocked that a demon lived amongst you?"

At that moment, the air chilled and the temperature of the surroundings fell. Four pairs of already shocked eyes came upon a person's whose mana lashed.

"Shocked? Don't kid yourself," Claire said, standing as azure surrounded her. "I knew. We all knew. Heck, even the readers knew. Of course you're the hidden villain, using us to cut through the dungeon and reach your goal, then striking. Do you think I'm dumb with a status screen such as yours right in my face? Did you think we would be surprised?"

The demon's lips hung open, his words caught in his throat.

"Come on," She chided. "Even if it makes no sense whatsoever, this is isekai 101."

He glared back at her, mana burning the air as lines of crimson etched across his already red figure. Just like that, his stats became—or rather, returned to all As like a good student.

"I still have no idea what you're saying, girl, but it's ample time I squash you and welcome our lord. This. . .is going to be worth the wait."

As she watched him power up like the arc boss he was, Claire shook her head.

"Squash me? Idiot, you gave me exactly what I wanted: A plot I can punch my way out of. Honestly, she isn't a side character, did you think I'll just sit still and watch this happen?"

<Loki> appeared in her grasp, ice running along the length of the blade as she glared at the demon with frosted eyes.

"Now, drag Alice back out or I'll show you what happens when hell freezes over."

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