WeTried Translations

Translator: Goku

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Villain Perfect for Leveling Up

Chapter 042

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42. Eagles and Horses (5)

Because the fight had been intense enough to collapse the Labyrinth of Fissures itself, finding Dina’s tracks was not very difficult.

However, the fact that Sigrun’s tracks remained alongside hers made me suspicious of whether she had joined forces with her when fighting Eirene.

If Sigrun had committed crimes while working with Dina, could I really think of her as an innocent victim?

As I briefly pondered the paradox of this journey, I steeled my resolve, reminding myself of the other purpose: Eirene’s revenge.

The trail they left led out of the Labyrinth of Fissures.

Checking the direction of their footsteps as they moved leisurely after the battle ended,

“…Pesoniac?”

The path they were heading toward was Pesoniac, where the Valkyrie Knights were stationed.

“…….”

Why were Dina and Sigrun heading there?

The Valkyrie Knights should currently be preoccupied with corpse excavation and evacuating the citizens of Pesoniac.

“…No way.”

A chilling thought crossed my mind.

“Commander. I think we need to run from here on out!”

Every second was critical.

If we were even a little late, disaster would swallow not just the Fortress of Training, but Pesoniac as well.

To arrive faster than Dina, I began moving along the shortest path.

I bypassed public roads and hacked through untrimmed thickets.

It was obvious that Sigrun didn’t know what she had been a party to.

She had helped Dina out of necessity to protect the Valkyrie Knights, but if she were to face the despair of losing everyone the moment she gained her freedom…

I put more strength into my feet and picked up the pace.

…….

Moving along the shortest route to Pesoniac through the night, I soon saw the city surrounded by the royal castle.

Seeing it looking so peacefully undisturbed, I let out a sigh of relief, thinking we had arrived before Dina.

“…Dean. I will wait here.”

“Commander…?”

Just as I was about to enter the city, Altair, unlike before, stopped with an uncomfortable look on her face.

“…I have some… awkward business here.”

It seemed something had happened in this city in the past.

I couldn’t force her to come along, so I explained Dina’s appearance to her and left her to keep watch at the entrance.

I entered Pesoniac alone and ran toward the Fortress of Training.

Evacuation efforts had not yet begun, and citizens were going about their day naturally.

Before long, I entered the familiar fortress, passed by the female knights greeting me, and knocked on the Commander’s door.

“Come in.”

“Mother… in-law.”

“…Dean? To arrive so soon… Did you find Vice Commander Sigrun?”

“You must evacuate immediately.”

“…Huh?”

The Knight Commander was taken aback by my sudden declaration.

“Dina is coming. Probably… to cause a disaster.”

“…….”

“You must withdraw the knights at the Fortress of Training immediately and evacuate the residents settled nearby.”

“…Understood. I will trust your words.”

Perhaps thanks to the trust we had built, evacuation work began without a hitch.

Unlike before, temporary bulkheads had been erected on the mountain where the corpses were buried, so it felt like it would withstand whatever disaster might come.

As I informed the citizens that they needed to evacuate, they followed the instructions in an orderly manner.

“The evacuation is mostly complete.”

“…….”

“So. When will Dina arrive here-.”

-Thud!!

As the evacuation wrapped up, a thunderous boom rang out, right on cue.

“I leave the city to you, Mother-in-law.”

“Yes. Understood.”

I pinpointed the location, it was the checkpoint where Altair was keeping watch. I entrusted the defense of the city to the Valkyrie Knights and ran immediately to the source of the noise.

Before long, another explosion echoed, followed by sparks of lightning. At the same time, magic feathers imbued with moonlight shot high into the sky.

The sheer pressure alone made my heart feel like it was being constricted.

“How dare you show your face here!!!”

“Kugh!!”

As I neared the checkpoint, I heard someone arguing and the fierce sound of swords clashing.

Suddenly, a woman with a blue aura flew toward me, caught me in her arms, and rolled across the ground.

“Dina said there would be something fun…. And now she lets me have my revenge?”

A voice filled with fury swallowed the space.

“…Sigrun?”

“…Dean, stay out of this. I have to take revenge on the bitch who killed all our sisters.”

Sigrun, who had approached threateningly while brandishing her twin swords, immediately took her stance.

Altair, who had been holding me, stood up without a word and adjusted her greatsword.

“What on earth is this….”

Contrary to my expectations that Dina and Altair would be fighting, the ones actually clashing were Sigrun and Altair.

I didn’t know the exact circumstances, but Sigrun and Altair knew each other all too well.

In the form of perpetrator and victim, an unforgivable relationship.

“Do you want to play with me?”

“Kugh?!”

Just as I was looking for a moment to stop their fight, a jet-black woman suddenly appeared, grabbed me by the throat, and soared into the air.

Soon after, Dina slammed me down in the middle of a garden at some mansion, landed lightly, and took a haughty posture.

“I didn’t know you were still alive, Dean.”

“…Dina.”

“I have one thing I want to ask.”

She fiddled with her black suit and acted coy.

“Eirene picked a fight with me, demanding I bring you back to life, so I gave her a little education. That bitch was stronger than I thought? What on earth did you do to her?”

“…None of your business.”

“The power of love, perhaps?”

Wiping the blood from my mouth, I pulled Freud’s Fang from my embrace.

“Hmph…. You’ve become quite strong, haven’t you?”

“…I won’t let you tear my heart out helplessly like last time.”

“Too bad. It was a delicacy, more than I expected.”

With a smile, Dina pulled out Freud’s Fang from her own embrace.

As if separated by a mirror, we aimed our weapons at each other.

Soon, as if following choreography, we fed blood to Freud’s Fang in the same motion. The blood seeped into the daggers, and our weapons transformed into sword-whips.

“As expected, this is the only weapon for a duel, isn’t it?”

“…….”

“Give me an answer. We have the same blood flowing through us, after all.”

Unlike me, whose personality had been broken by countless experiences, Dina’s personality was playful and chatty, much like I used to be.

With our genders completely reversed, we swung our sword-whips.

Our blades, moving along the same paths, collided, sending fierce sparks flying.

Our habits when wielding weapons were surprisingly identical.

“…Kugh.”

“Level 999. Not as strong as you thought, right?”

But the status gap due to our levels shifted the tide of battle rapidly in one direction.

Even if I attacked along the same path, Dina’s attacks were dozens of times faster, and whenever we locked weapons, her strength always exceeded mine.

“…….”

Eventually, I allowed an opening, and the blade slashed my cheek. The paralyzing toxin spread through my veins, stiffening my body.

Dina grinned, retracted Freud’s Fang, walked up slowly, and thrust her face toward mine.

“Why was I born, Dean?”

Her emotionless gaze turned toward me as she recited her hatred.

“An Alter with a lower level than me. Are you really the genuine article?”

Soon, she stroked my cheek shyly and then grabbed my hand, making me stroke her own cheek.

“If there is a fake that is more perfect than the incomplete genuine one, can you distinguish between the real and the fake?”

Dina let out a laugh mixed with fury.

“That’s why I planned to prove that I am the genuine one and you are the fake. I will plunge this world back into ruin. I will erase your existence and become the god who saved the world.”

As she summoned a black orb emitting ominous smoke and crushed it in her fist, giant hands began to sprout from the Fortress of Training.

“This world is too peaceful, Dean. Thanks to someone, no ruin comes, and everyone is at peace. I don’t want that.”

Dina stroked my left chest and tried to tear out my heart again, but I seized the moment the paralysis wore off and threw myself backward.

“…Too bad. I thought I could eat it again.”

“Fuck off.”

“That’s been gone for a long time.”

“Ha….”

Talking to myself as if looking in a mirror made me feel drained, so I let out a dry laugh.

“I’m sure if I eat your heart one more time, my memories will fully return. Something about this world being a game, or whatever?”

“Go tear your own heart out. It hurts like hell.”

“Sorry, but unlike you, I only have one life.”

With those final words, Dina turned into black smoke and disappeared somewhere.

Having achieved her goal, it seemed she had no reason to stay here any longer.

Without even being able to dwell on the fact that my revenge had been postponed, I hurried to where Sigrun and Altair were fighting.

Lightning bolts tore through the clear sky, and an eagle imbued with moonlight obscured the sun.

“My precious people died because of you!!!”

“Kugh!!”

An uncharacteristically agitated Sigrun swung her twin swords as she rushed at Altair, who barely managed to block the attacks with her greatsword as she stumbled backward.

“After killing everyone in the Valkyrie and Aquila orders with your own hands…!! How can you be so shameless?!”

As the truth hidden in Pandora’s box was pulled out, Sigrun rode a horse made of lightning and struck at Altair with her twin swords.

“…Ack.”

Throwing myself in to block the attack seemed like a mad choice.

With both lungs pierced by the twin swords, I could clearly feel the sensation of air leaking out.

“…Dean?”

“Dean!?”

At the sudden intervention of an outsider, both women were startled and called my name in unison.

“…Altair.”

“Dean…! Why on earth did you do that!”

“Is it true… that Altair killed everyone in the Valkyrie Knights and the Aquila Knights?”

“……….”

As I pressed Altair for the truth while spitting blood from my mouth, silence was my only reply, so I turned my gaze to Sigrun.

“…Yes. That woman is a murderer who killed everyone.”

Sigrun removed her twin swords from my chest and delivered the truth in a trembling voice.

“Altair…. Why did you do it?”

When I demanded the truth from Altair again, she caught me as I collapsed and confessed everything.

“…In my 1st Playthrough, I was injected with the Abyss by someone with malice. I lived as a killer who truly enjoyed seeing blood spilled…”

Past Altair, unlike now, had been infected by the Abyss.

Driven insane by the infection, she eventually became a blood-crazed killer, slaughtering the Aquila Knights she had founded with her own hands, as well as their sister order, the Valkyrie Knights.

“When I came to my senses, the hearts of my precious comrades and subordinates were clutched in both my hands…”

After countless people had lost their lives at Altair’s hands, only then, after a long time in the wrong, could she break free from the Abyss.

“…I am unworthy of forgiveness.”

After spilling the whole truth, she bowed her head and wept silently.

“I know all too well that I should not have returned, having enjoyed myself while staining my hands with the blood of so many…”

Knowing she had no right to make excuses, Altair clamped her mouth shut and remained silent.

“…….”

Sigrun stared at her with eyes full of contempt, then turned her gaze to the hands rising from the Fortress of Training.

“…If you are truly pure and innocent, help me.”

“…….”

“I never want to see… the things I hold dear destroyed before my eyes again.”

They could have continued the fight, but since the Fortress of Training could be destroyed, and Pesoniac with it, the two formed a temporary alliance.

Sigrun looked at me as I lay dying from the twin swords, then forcefully pulled out the blades.

Blood gushed out, soaking the ground; Altair, who was holding me, shuddered for a moment.

“Get a grip. Dean revives even if he dies. Deal with those hands first.”

Having made a cold-blooded tactical decision, Sigrun showed agile movement as she sprinted toward the hands rising in the fortress. Altair, steadying her inner self, closed my eyes and chased after Sigrun, gripping her greatsword.

《 Perk ‘Addicted to Defeat’ activated!

- Target ‘Sigrun’s’ level increases by 70. 》

《 Resurrecting at checkpoint. LOADING… 》

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