I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 92

“You have an idea?”

“Gather only the mages and prepare for teleportation.”

“…Teleportation?”

He furrowed his brows at the sudden request but soon spoke firmly.

“No. Civilian evacuation should be handled by the rear support…”

“This isn’t for evacuation.”

I denied his words while still looking at the hole spewing out monsters.

“I plan to move the monsters to the black lake.”

“To the black lake?”

He seemed to be contemplating. Just as I was about to add an explanation to his hesitation in this urgent situation, he spoke a bit faster.

“Teleportation consumes a lot of magic power. It would be easier to defeat the monsters instead.”

“I’m not planning to move them multiple times.”

Noticing his misunderstanding, I quickly added.

“It’s highly likely that someone is maintaining that hole with magic.”

The unstable trembling of the edges made it obvious. Even Cardinal Hameron nodded in agreement. To fully persuade him, I explained my plan.

“While the search party finds the culprit, I’ll create a barrier to trap the monsters. When the hole disappears or I reach my limit, use the pre-prepared teleportation magic to move the entire barrier to the black lake.”

“…Trap the monsters with a barrier?”

He looked surprised at the unexpected words. It was understandable since barriers were usually created to protect the caster or those around them.

“I’m planning to set a barrier around the hole. Since it’s a barrier made with holy power, just touching it will deal some damage to the monsters.”

“For that, the barrier would have to be very large…”

“Cardinal Hameron.”

I spoke firmly, as if to drive the final nail into his hesitation.

“You know the only thing I’ve been doing recently is creating barriers.”

“……”

“I’ll do my best, so please trust me just this once.”

Perhaps convinced by my words, he called for Priest Rafnia, who was in charge of the mages. Confirming the order to prepare for large-scale teleportation as I had explained, I took a deep breath and looked up at the hole above.

You can do it, Duna. Creating a barrier is a piece of cake now.

[You can do it. You have to do it.]

Maybe this was an opportunity. A perfect chance to show Hameron that I had the qualities of a Great Saint.

For the safety of the village, and for my goal, I had to succeed.

Pop!

As soon as the disgusting centipede-shaped monster emerged, a massive barrier enveloped its surroundings. It was my first time creating such a large-scale barrier, and I was already feeling quite exhausted shortly after completing it.

Roar!

Sparks flew as the monster’s skin met the barrier. Clenching my teeth, I gradually reduced the size of the barrier. Maintaining the barrier was important, but preventing more monsters from emerging from the hole was also crucial. It was time to use every trick in the book.

“The culprit is definitely nearby. Search!”

The Holy Knights, having defeated all the monsters on the ground, began searching the forest. It seemed they were following my suggestion to find the caster who created the hole.

Sweat trickled down my back. I had successfully filled the spherical barrier with monsters, preventing new ones from emerging from the hole, but maintaining the barrier was becoming increasingly difficult as the trapped monsters thrashed and attacked it.

However.

I looked down at the mages forming a large magic circle directly below the barrier.

I must hold on at least until that circle is complete.

“We found them!”

At that moment, a Holy Knight’s shout was followed by the hole in the sky trembling violently. The hole, collapsing from the edges, gradually shrank and finally disappeared completely.

“Valorem!”

As soon as the hole vanished, Cardinal Hameron called out to me. At the signal that the teleportation magic was ready, I used all my remaining strength to dissolve the barrier I had been maintaining.

Roar!

The monsters, struggling to break the barrier, disappeared along with a flash of light. Soon after, a heavy thud echoed from not far away, as if something massive had struck the water’s surface.

Without looking back to confirm the success of the magic, I ran towards the sound of the splash.

“Success!”

The mages, who had arrived in advance to account for potential coordinate errors, shouted in triumph. As they said, the monsters that had fallen in the middle of the black lake were letting out painful screams as if engulfed by a giant flame.

However, the binding magic cast along with the teleportation prevented them from escaping easily. The black water, sensing the approaching presence of the magical energy, created a massive whirlpool as if eager to claim the rare offering.

Shhhh.

The ferocious monsters were captured by the even more ferocious water currents. I watched silently as the monsters, gradually submerged in the bottomless black water, turned into corpses, drained of their life force.

Finally, the dragonfly-shaped monster that had been floating on top sank below the water. Catching my breath as I observed the situation, I slowly moved towards the black lake.

I didn’t know why, but I felt like I could do it now.

“Oh, it’s dangerous to go any further!”

A mage, who had been monitoring the situation near the black lake, shouted to stop me. Ignoring him, I knelt down at the edge of the lake and reached my arm into the water.

“Priest?”

A flustered voice and the sound of hurried footsteps, filled with urgency, reached my ears. But having already made up my mind, I plunged my hand into the water without hesitation.

“Ugh.”

The cold temperature and the damp, eerie sensation I had felt before overwhelmed me. The dreadful feeling of my energy being drained from my body.

[She said she managed to purify it because she wished to feel better.]

Maybe that genius who died young did it that way, but it didn’t apply to me. Wanting to feel better, my foot. You do it because you have to survive.

I had barely survived the ruins of Liche, and the entire village was in danger when the mysterious hole spewed out monsters. This pond, too, had consumed a massive amount of life force, and who knew what other form of threat it might pose in the future after growing significantly from this incident.

“Please, let it work.”

There was no time for feelings; I could only do my best. That was the only choice given to me.

Just like in Liche, I repeatedly visualized a bright light pushing away the darkness. Recalling the sensation of maintaining the barrier earlier, I regulated my breathing to ensure the purification magic wouldn’t break.

“Priest, what are you doing right now…?”

“Shh.”

The hand that had touched my shoulder was removed by someone else. Without looking back, I was grateful that the intruder was gone and focused on the purification.

Push it away. Far away. So it can never return.

Whether it was because of my desperate prayer, an intangible energy surged from my body like a tsunami. It struck the black lake, soon engulfing the powerful vortex and wrapping around the twisted magic.

My dizzy mind gradually cleared. As the energy conflicting with the holy power diminished, the sparks that had been prickling up to my wrist slowly subsided.

“Oh, dear god…”

I heard the trembling voice of Cardinal Hameron right beside me. Pulling my hand out of the rippling water, I confirmed that my unsteady breathing had completely returned to normal and slowly opened my eyes.

“……”

The pitch-black water had regained its original murky green color. I turned my head slowly, looking at the pond reflecting the withered grass and trees around it.

“Cardinal Hameron.”

At my quiet call, he turned to me with a pale face, as if he had seen a ghost. Staring directly into his eyes, I asked as nonchalantly as possible.

“Was my best effort useful?”

“……”

His throat moved roughly, swallowing. Watching the speechless priest, I smiled brightly.

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