I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up - Chapter 041

WeTried Translations

Translator: Goku

◈ I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up

Chapter 041

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41. Eagles and Horses (4)

The first thing I did after taking Altair as a companion was to search for Eirene.

Although the immediate goal was to rescue Sigrun from Dina, finding Eirene, who had vanished somewhere, was a more urgent priority.

“I learned tracking in the past, so I shall search.”

While I was struggling to find traces of Eirene, Altair, who possessed knowledge related to tracking, offered her help.

“There are three sets of footprints that do not belong to you, Dean. Judging by the stride, they all seem to be women. What is the shoe size of the one you are looking for?”

“…It is about this much.”

Knowing Eirene’s shoe size, I gave her an estimate with my hands. Altair nodded and distinguished the footprints.

“This size should be correct. Let us follow them.”

Soon, we followed the continuous trail and arrived at the site where the ambush had taken place.

Altair quickly searched the small clearing and analyzed the remaining marks.

“That tree, and the floor. There are many deep gouges and scratches. It seems there was a fight here.”

“…I was ambushed here about a week ago and lost my life.”

“…Do not worry. The trail of the one you are seeking continues further.”

Taken aback by how lightly I brought up the fact that I had experienced death, Altair couldn't continue her sentence. She tactfully changed the subject and followed the trail.

We discovered that Eirene’s footsteps had lingered in one spot.

“…It seems she waited for you here.”

I realized she had been waiting for me endlessly after I disappeared.

However, at the three-day mark, her footsteps began to head somewhere.

It appeared she couldn’t wait any longer and had moved to find me herself.

“…She doesn't seem to have headed to the altar but somewhere else. Given that her footsteps are somewhat irregular, her condition doesn’t seem to be very good…. We must hurry.”

“Yes.”

Worried that she might be wandering aimlessly while injured, I quickened my pace.

The trail was connected haphazardly, without rhyme or reason.

There were times she crossed hills, dense forests, and valleys.

Whenever the trail broke, we would search the area, often finding signs that she had leaped up slopes that should have been impossible to climb.

“…The path continues in one direction.”

If I had to describe the trail Eirene left behind in one word, it would be ‘straight’.

She had set a destination and was moving along the most efficient path.

“Looking at the direction the path leads to…. She is heading to the Abyss.”

“The target might be there. She might think that you, Dean, are there.”

Altair, who added certainty to my personal deduction, climbed a hill with a steep slope.

Every time she showed a light movement with her greatsword on her back, I was struck with admiration.

…Not that I’m one to talk, being someone who carries the Beast’s Hammer in one hand.

I grabbed Altair’s outstretched hand to climb the steep hill, and in the distance, I saw fog thickening like a giant barrier.

“…This gives me chills.”

As a majestic landscape that made one contemplate the meaning of existence unfolded, she rested her hands on her hips and lightly commented on the atmosphere.

“If the one you are truly looking for went in there…. It is nothing short of a suicide mission….”

“Eirene is not that kind of person, Commander.”

“…I apologize.”

Altair, having immediately apologized for the mistake of overstepping, wiggled her fingers.

“…So, there was already a woman you had feelings for.”

I passed her, who muttered to herself so softly it was almost unheard, and slid down the hill.

Altair followed, and I, having had my eyes opened to tracking, found the trail myself and headed toward the Abyss.

She could have reunited with me if she had waited just a little longer. Why on earth did Eirene head to the Abyss?

Just as questions were piling up, the ground began to shake.

“…….”

It was a familiar vibration.

It wasn't a human with two legs, nor was it a beast with four.

Because eight subtle vibrations echoed out, I sharpened my senses.

“…….”

Without a word, I drew the Beast’s Hammer and aimed it at Altair.

“…Dean? Suddenly, what is this…!”

In a situation she couldn't understand, Altair calmly drew her greatsword and aimed it at me.

“Is this a betrayal…! I trusted you, Dean!!”

“Behind you.”

“Behind…?”

The moment she turned to look back, I lunged at her and swung the hammer.

“…!!”

The hammer was driven down as if to impale Altair, who wore an expression of belated realization that she had been deceived.

“Whoosh!”

Crash!!

I slammed the hammer down into the head of the Arachne that was charging behind her back.

“…Arachne?!”

I delivered a finishing blow to the Arachne, which was thrashing its legs madly with its head crushed while I stood with my back to Altair.

“Why is a monster imprisoned in the Abyss here?”

Altair, having belatedly realized that this was not a betrayal, was left in shock at the sight of the giant spider dead with its head smashed in.

The Abyss was built to ensure that no monster could ever escape, no matter what.

The fact that the Arachne, which was kept contained even in the game, had escaped to the outside made cold sweat bead on my forehead.

“Wait, Dean!! Let’s go together!”

Clearly, something extraordinary was happening in the labyrinth, so I hoisted the hammer onto my shoulder and sprinted at full speed.

The dizzying thought that Eirene might have resolved to die added acceleration to my speed, cutting through the space.

Even though Altair was hastily chasing me, the distance between us did not close; rather, it grew wider and wider.

Before long, I pierced through the fog and arrived at the massive wall leading to the Abyss.

“………….”

“Dean…! The reason you ran out so urgently was…”

The Frozen Kingdom.

A demon realm for which I couldn't think of any other word to describe, it left me spellbound.

Sharp ice thorns had smashed the labyrinth and taken its place.

Giant ice roses, blooming so beautifully it made me wonder if such flowers could truly exist.

Struck by a chill that felt as if the terrible ending I had once experienced was drawing near, I began to search the surroundings madly.

Even leaving the Beast’s Hammer behind, I searched the Abyss, which was completely covered in ice, not long after arriving.

“…Eirene.”

I was able to find Eirene.

“…You’ve returned.”

I reached out to her, frozen cold.

When I pressed my forehead against the ice and conveyed my emotions, Altair carefully approached and placed her hand on my shoulder.

“I will get you out soon, Eirene….”

I tried to bring the Beast’s Hammer to break Eirene, who was sleeping like a fetus inside a giant ice rose, but Altair stopped me and shook her head.

“…Do not stop me.”

“Face reality, Dean.”

“If I can just rescue her from that ice…. I can…. Please, let go of my hand.”

“Eirene, she is already….”

As if to deny Altair’s words, I struck away the hand that held me.

Eirene was dead?

That couldn’t be.

Because she wielded cold itself as her ability. She was likely just taking a brief sleep.

This was the first time we were meeting after I had faced the truth.

That’s why Eirene must be waiting for me too-.

“…”

A stinging pain grazed my cheek.

Perhaps my lip had burst, as the scent of rusty iron spread sharply through my mouth.

“Snap out of it, Dean. Eirene is dead.”

“….”

“No matter how much you loved her… That form is something that cannot be reversed… Dean?”

I moved with staggering footsteps toward the frozen Eirene.

As I took out Freud’s Fang to pierce her neck, Altair reached out to the blade to stop me from committing suicide.

Even though her own palm was pierced by the blade, Altair showed no sign of pain.

“…Ah.”

After letting out a breath filled with many emotions, I knelt and was about to slam my fist into the floor.

“……….”

I saw a shattered dagger in front of me.

Eirene’s weapon.

The tool that had killed me countless times.

The blade was smashed far more severely than I remembered.

…As if she had fought someone desperately.

There was only one person who could have fought a battle large enough to shatter a dagger.

“…….”

The reason why Eirene had headed here to the Abyss.

What if it was to take revenge on Dina, who had killed me?

What if Eirene, driven into a corner at the end of the fight, had fallen asleep in this ice rose to protect herself?

“…Commander.”

“Yes.”

“…Eirene… is not dead.”

“….”

Altair, who had pulled out Freud’s Fang from her palm, had thought I was in denial of reality and intended to tell me the cruel truth.

But when I plucked a small ice rose that had bloomed on the floor, her eyes changed.

“The rose…. Has it grown back…?”

The rose grew beautifully again, not long after being plucked, as if it were breathing.

When I placed the ice rose in Altair’s hand, the rose melted and permeated her wound.

I told her, as she stared blankly at her hand, where the wound had been perfectly restored.

“…Eirene has merely received a fatal wound and fallen into a brief sleep.”

“Does that mean…. That she fought someone?”

I carefully nodded.

“Arachne? Or the Giant Serpent Freud? If she fought someone enough to destroy the entire Abyss, perhaps she fought a monster even greater than that….”

“…No. It was Dina’s doing.”

Mentioning the culprit, I approached the giant rose where Eirene was frozen. I placed my hands on the ice, which felt cold but held warmth.

“…Ugh?”

Altair also placed her hand on the rose following me, but perhaps due to Eirene’s jealousy, her armor instantly froze, and she hurriedly pulled her hand away.

“Eirene…. Can you hear me?”

I softly spoke to Eirene, who was in a brief sleep.

I was certain she could hear me. I had no doubt.

“I’ve come back…. I’m sorry I’m late.”

‘……….’

No answer came back, but I felt Eirene would have given me a reply mixed with love and hate.

“When you wake up again… Come home. There are so many things I want to tell you.”

After gently brushing the place where Eirene’s cheek was located, I left the broken dagger beside the rose.

I wanted to stay by her side until she woke up, but there was something I had to resolve before that.

“…Let’s go.”

As I turned my back and moved, Altair followed me without a word.

The journey to rescue Sigrun, who was held hostage by Dina, was now reinforced with the powerful motivation of Eirene’s revenge.