Chapter 83: Can’t a Villain Get a Break?

Chapter 83. Can’t a Villain Get a Break?

For a while, I seriously considered destroying it.

I stood there staring at the corrupted Radiant Cognition Prism while imagining several extremely satisfying methods involving Blackflame, Obsidian Earth, and enough concentrated destructive magic to make the entire chamber regret being underground. The artifact had ruined Evan Veyr’s mana core, and accident or not, some grudges didn’t particularly care about logic.

Unfortunately, logic was rather annoyingly useful.

If Rey could have destroyed something like this easily, he would have already done it to the original Maledict Sovereign Crystal. Instead, he’d carried that damned crystal all the way into Hollowgrave, buried it deep underground, placed a Sacred Artifact beside it to suppress the corruption, and sealed both behind layers of compressed stone. That told me everything I needed to know.

These weren’t ordinary magical objects. Destroying them probably required ridiculous power, and blindly attacking something containing that much concentrated corruption sounded like an excellent method of turning Hollowgrave into a crater.

Or turning myself into one.

I sighed and activated Abyssal Formation Creation again.

The same high-level containment structure unfolded around the Radiant Cognition Prism. Formation rings layered over one another, sealing its Light Mana, corrupted Mind attribute, and the Dark Lord’s power now fused into it. I even added several additional layers, partly because I understood the danger and partly because this particular artifact had personally offended me.

Only after Abyssal Eye confirmed there was no leakage did I approach and close my bare hand around it.

For several seconds, I simply held it.

The hatred was still there. I knew blaming an object was irrational because the accident hadn’t been intentional.

Still, my fingers tightened around it before I finally sent it into my Dimensional Ring.

Maybe one day I’d forgive it.

Today wasn’t that day.

With both artifacts secured, there was nothing else keeping me underground, so I retraced my path through Hollowgrave while secretly hoping something would attack me along the way. Actually, calling it secretly was generous. A fairly large part of me wanted another monster to jump out because my Eclipse Light Manipulation had almost fulfilled the requirements for Evolution.

I only needed a little more.

Considering how much progress stronger monsters had given me, another decent fight might be enough to trigger its evolution. So I walked through the darkness with Eclipse wisps floating around my shoulders, practically advertising myself as free magical food.

Ten minutes passed without anything attacking.

Then twenty.

Even Abyssal Hunter’s Domain found only distant mana signatures, and most of those were actively moving away from my position rather than toward me.

The deeper mana currents had changed too. Without the Maledict Sovereign Crystal leaking corruption into Hollowgrave, the oppressive pressure I’d felt earlier was gradually weakening. Apparently, the monsters could sense the difference.

Maybe their aggression had been amplified by prolonged exposure to the crystal. Maybe removing it had disrupted whatever instinct had been drawing stronger monsters toward this section of the dungeon. Either way, Hollowgrave suddenly seemed considerably calmer.

"What a shame."

I’d apparently fixed the dungeon.

By the time I finally emerged from the enormous black-stone entrance, several hours had passed. The sun was already sinking toward the horizon, spreading orange light across the northern mountains while distant clouds glowed gold around their edges. After spending so long beneath the ground surrounded by darkness, blood, and creatures trying to remove parts of my body, the outside world looked almost offensively peaceful.

I walked a short distance from the entrance before deciding I’d earned a break.

My body certainly agreed. Even after the Health Potion and Crimson Vitality Elixir, exhaustion had settled deep into my muscles. My clothes were torn in several places, dried blood covered most of my shirt, and enough bruises remained that sitting down suddenly seemed like one of civilization’s greatest inventions.

Before relaxing, however, I preferred to make sure I didn’t become dinner while having a snack.

[Abyssal Formation Creation]

Formation lines slipped quietly across the ground as I created four detection wards around my position, spreading them far enough apart to give me warning if anything approached from either the forest or the dungeon. I didn’t need anything elaborate, so movement detection, mana detection, and a basic hostile-intent response were enough.

Now some opportunistic monster couldn’t discover a blood-covered, exhausted magus eating dried fruit and decide the universe had provided takeout.

I sat against a large rock and summoned water from my Dimensional Ring, drinking nearly half of it immediately. Cold water had never tasted so magnificent. After that came the dried fruit, and I tossed one piece into my mouth while staring toward the mountains.

For the first time in hours, I deliberately stopped thinking.

My researcher brain had spent the entire day running at a speed that should probably require cooling equipment.

It deserved five minutes of emptiness.

So I stared ahead while eating another piece of dried fruit.

My mind supplied a sheep.

Why?

No idea.

Just a fluffy white sheep eating grass. Like me eating this dried fruit.

Then, for absolutely no reason, an old children’s song surfaced from somewhere in Evan’s memories.

’Old MacDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I...’

A roar thundered through the forest.

My sheep continued chewing.

I would check that monster later, after I finished my break.

Then came a scream.

Female.

My eyes lazily shifted toward the trees.

Nope, I was still on a break.

I ate another piece of dried fruit.

The sheep came back.

There was more grass now.

Excellent.

The sheep seemed happy.

Another roar. Followed by another scream.

The imaginary sheep bolted out of my head.

I closed my eyes.

Seriously?

I’d fought enough monsters today to fill a warehouse with corpses, discovered two SSS-rank artifacts, and learned that one of them was responsible for the worst event of Evan Veyr’s life. I’d been clawed, thrown into walls, cut open, nearly crushed, and repeatedly covered in monster blood.

Could the universe give me ten minutes?

Apparently not.

I reminded myself that I wasn’t a hero, only to remember that, unfortunately, Rey Valen was literally one of the Five Heroes.

Ironic.

I rejected the entire concept. Hero duty was currently closed, business hours had ended, and anyone requiring emergency rescue services could kindly return tomorrow.

Rapid footsteps suddenly reached my ears before I could resume eating.

My detection formation reacted immediately.

[Movement Detected.]

[Human Mana Signature.]

The footsteps grew louder, accompanied by snapping branches, and someone crashed through the undergrowth.

A young woman stumbled into the clearing.

Her clothes immediately told me she wasn’t an ordinary traveler. Her dark blue riding dress was made from expensive fabric embroidered with silver thread, while the fitted traveling coat over it probably cost more than some families earned in a year. One sleeve was torn and muddy now, her long hair had partially escaped whatever elaborate arrangement she’d started the day with, and a jeweled ornament hung crookedly beside one ear.

Definitely a noble.

She was also terrified.

Her face had gone pale, her breathing was ragged, and one hand clutched her injured arm while blood slipped between her fingers. She hadn’t even noticed me yet because her attention remained fixed on whatever was pursuing her.

Something enormous smashed through the trees behind her with enough force to snap a young trunk in half.

There went my break. But at least I would get what I needed to evolve my skills.

The monster emerged on four heavy legs, its muscular body covered in dark red armor. Two enormous horns curled forward from a skull protected by layered bone plating, while heat escaped its nostrils in visible waves.

My Abyssal Eye activated almost reflexively.

[Crimson Siegehorn]

[Rank: A]

[Attribute: Fire / Earth]

[Skills: Flame Charge, Earthen Armor, Burning Impact]

The woman looked over her shoulder at exactly the wrong moment. Her foot caught against a root, sending her sprawling onto the ground as the Siegehorn lowered its horns and charged.

I remained seated.

My water was still beside me, and dried fruit rested comfortably in my palm.

The woman scrambled backward before finally noticing me. Desperate hope immediately appeared across her face, which seemed wildly inappropriate considering my current appearance.

’Don’t look at me like that.’

I was covered in blood, my shirt was torn, and I looked like I’d crawled out of a massacre because, technically, I had. Nothing about me should have inspired confidence unless her standards for rescuers had deteriorated dramatically over the last few minutes.

The monster continued charging.

A slow smile spread across my face as the situation suddenly became much more appealing.