Novel Full Chapter 1844: That NPC Made Us Look Like NPCs
Chapter 1844: That NPC Made Us Look Like NPCs
Villain Ch 1844. That NPC Made Us Look Like NPCs
“I’m serious.” Elio pushed himself up, staggering but forcing his body to obey. His wings twitched, sore from Allen’s cuts, feathers half-scorched, but his posture straightened with every word. “You saw what he did. You saw all of it. If he’s going to be there, I don’t have a choice. I have to be there too.”
Red_King squinted, then huffed out a laugh. “Man, you’re dead serious. That’s worse than I thought.” He got to his feet too, brushing dust from his battered armor. “The way you’re talking, you’d think you were in love with that thing.”
Elio shot him a glare, but Red_King’s grin widened.
“Don’t give me that look. Half the server’s already simping for the succubi—the kiss, the lock-thighs attack, the whole damn package—and you’re over here simping for the Emperor’s sword arm.”
“Shut up.”
“No, really—” Red_King chuckled, then grew serious. “You think you can actually catch up? Elio… that wasn’t just a gap. That was a canyon. That was—hell, I don’t even know what that was.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “That NPC made us look like NPCs.”
Elio exhaled hard. “I know.”
“And still you’re saying…”
“I’ll train.” Elio’s eyes gleamed now, something raw in them. Determination, feverish and sharp. “I’ll break myself if I have to. But I’ll climb that ladder.” He looked down at his sword, the blade still slick with dried blood. His reflection looked back at him, tired, pale, but burning. “Because if he’s there… then I need to be too.”
Red_King studied him for a long beat. Then he sighed. “Shit. I hate that I kinda get it.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I mean…” He shrugged. “I’m not chasing him like you are, but… I get it. A guy like that? He’s not just a boss fight. He’s the wall. You either smash against him and break, or you climb high enough to see over.” He smirked faintly. “And you’re planning on climbing.”
Elio nodded once, firm.
Red_King laughed softly, bitterly. “Then you’re gonna need more than buffs and band-aid heals.”
“I know.”
“You’ll need a team. Real training. Real grind.” Red_King’s smirk twisted wry. “And maybe a brain surgeon to fix whatever cracked inside your skull when you decided this was a good idea.”
Elio almost smiled. Almost. “Will you help me?”
Red_King blinked. “What, me?”
“Yes. You’re strong. Stubborn. You don’t back down.”
Red_King rubbed the back of his neck, muttering, “You just called me stubborn like it’s a compliment.”
“It is.”
Silence stretched. The plaza around them was filled with the shuffle of players logging off, complaining, laughing, crying. Elio and Red_King stood in the middle of it all like the last two idiots at a funeral.
Finally, Red_King sighed and stuck out his hand. “Fine. I’ll help. But only because I wanna see you try. And maybe, just maybe, because I’m tired of losing too.”
Elio gripped his hand firmly. “Then let’s not lose.”
Red_King smirked. “Don’t say cheesy lines like that unless you plan on backing them up.”
Elio’s grip tightened. “I plan to.”
The two stood there, wings battered, armor ruined, but something new sparking between them. Not hope. Not yet. But resolve.
Elio glanced up at the broken sky. His chest ached, his wings twitched with phantom pain, but his heart beat steady.
The tournament was waiting.
And Allen would be there.
Smirking. Waiting.
The thought alone sent another shiver down Elio’s spine.
Not fear—okay, maybe a little fear—but mostly disbelief. Disbelief that he of all people had gotten that close to the truth.
He still hadn’t told anyone. Not Red_King. Not Alex. Not a single soul.
Because deep down, Elio knew the truth didn’t belong to him. Not yet.
But someone was watching him.
Azura didn’t say a word. She stood at the edge of the plaza ruins, her armor still pristine somehow, her face unreadable under the glow of the post-event sky.
She’d been watching him since the match ended.
Not like the others—with tired sympathy, shared embarrassment, or that annoying ’we tried our best’ energy. No.
Her gaze was sharper. Calculating.
And for a moment—just a blink—her eyes met Elio’s.
That’s when it clicked.
She knew.
She knew he knew.
It wasn’t anything she said. Just the way her expression flinched when he said tournament. The way she didn’t ask why. The way her lips parted, then closed again like she’d almost said something and stopped herself.
Because she’d made that same face once.
Now Elio had the same look.
And Azura saw it.
’He knows.’
That truth settled between them like fog.
But Azura didn’t speak.
She just inhaled—deep, sharp—and turned away, pretending to be watching the post-event cleanup like everyone else.
Because what was she supposed to do?
Tell him “congrats, you figured it out, welcome to the cursed knowledge club”?
Let him carry the weight of the truth too?
Risk it all because someone else pieced it together on their own?
No. She couldn’t.
Not yet.
So she did the only thing she could do.
She acted.
She furrowed her brows like she was still pissed. Let her shoulders tense just enough to look stressed but not suspicious. Crossed her arms. Shifted her weight like someone thinking about loss or failure or strategy. Not like someone calculating if Elio was a threat now.
And when Red_King walked past and asked, “You good?” she even threw in a frustrated sigh.
“Fine,” she muttered. “Just tired of getting stomped by villains with cheat codes.”
“Preach,” he said with a grunt and limped off, still holding his ribs.
She nodded once. Convincing. Controlled.
But her eyes slid back to Elio.
And he saw it.
Not just the glance. The question behind it.
’Are you going to say something?’
He didn’t.
He just stared at the ground and clenched his fists like a man trying to contain something that could shatter the whole damn game.
Azura let her breath out slowly.
Good.
For now, she didn’t have to make the call.
She didn’t have to pick between Allen and the rest of them.
Not yet.
But she knew it wouldn’t last.
Eventually, the tournament would come.
And when it did, Elio wouldn’t just be a random paladin swinging for pride.
He’d be the one chasing truth with a blade.