Cursed Villainess' Obsession-Chapter 34

Of course, the dolls didn’t actually speak. It was nothing more than the wild imagination of Raphne’s despair-riddled mind. But even these imagined voices played on her insecurities.

“No… no. Ken said he would come back… Ken promised he would come back.”

Tears, long absent, began to well up again as Raphne mumbled to herself, while the dolls around her seemed to mock her.

[Raphne, you’ve been fooled again, haven’t you?]

[Don’t get your hopes up. That’s why you keep getting hurt.]

[Give up on him. He’s probably living a happy life with someone else now.]

“No… no… no…”

The whispers born of loneliness and anxiety fed into themselves, dragging Raphne deeper into her despair.

Then, one of the dolls spoke again.

[Then why don’t you go check, Raphne?]

“…What?”

[If you don’t believe it, why not see for yourself?]

Raphne lifted her head, her gaze drawn toward the door Ken always entered through.

The following day, after joining Emily.

During a meal, we held a meeting to discuss our strategy for the remaining days of the Survival Event.

“…Wait, we’re doing nothing?”

“Is that really okay?” Emily and Alicia both questioned my plan.

The event was set to end at noon on the fifth day. Until then, I suggested we hide and wait.

“I don’t mind if that’s what you think we should do, Ken… but why?” Emily asked.

“W-what?! Emily, are you really okay with this?!” Alicia exclaimed, incredulous.

“It’s not like Ken would say something like this for no reason, you idiot!” Emily snapped.

Alicia’s confusion was understandable. We had formed a team, so collecting as many badges as possible seemed like the logical course of action.

But I had a different idea.

“In the end, all the badges will end up in one place.”

“…The golden goblin?” Emily asked with a confused expression.

“A goblin? What do you mean?” Alicia blinked.

Of course, I wasn’t talking about a real goblin. The "Golden Goblin" referred to Adrian Ferreday, the likely number one contender in this event. If I were alone, Adrian would be someone to avoid at all costs.

But now that I had Emily and Alicia, we had a chance.

As the days went on, the number of participants would decrease while the remaining participants would accumulate more badges. It would be more efficient to target someone with a large number of badges instead of fighting several battles against unknown opponents.

Most importantly, it would help us avoid the risk of encountering unpredictable abilities from other participants.

I knew Adrian’s strengths and weaknesses, which made him the best target.

“Let me explain the plan.”

Time passed, and it was now the morning of the fifth day.

A lone figure wandered the silent forest.

‘As expected, no one in sight at this point.’

His elegant blonde hair glistened as his red eyes scanned the surroundings. Adrian Ferreday was combing the forest.

Five days had passed, and many participants had been defeated. Adrian, at the center of it all, had accumulated a large number of badges with his overwhelming strength.

Yet, he continued his search for any remaining hidden participants.

That was when, through the trees, he saw a figure in a clearing.

“…Help… please…”

A soft, weeping voice of a girl carried through the stillness of the forest.

The unnatural sound of her sobs echoed clearly, catching Adrian’s attention as he moved toward the clearing.

‘…Is this a trap?’

In the center of the clearing was a small girl.

This forest was under the Academy’s control, with strict measures preventing outsiders from entering. Therefore, this girl had to be one of the participants.

‘How obvious.’

Adrian had encountered this type of trap multiple times over the past five days. Teams would send one member out as bait while the others waited to ambush anyone who took the bait.

‘…But.’

The Survival Event was nearing its end. At this stage, securing badges was less important than protecting the ones participants already had.

So, it was possible this wasn’t a trap.

‘Maybe she really is lost…’

It was possible one of the defeated participants was wandering aimlessly, unsure of how to exit the forest.

Adrian decided to approach.

Even if it was a trap, the group laying it would be no match for him. It could even be an opportunity to gain more badges.

And besides, his kind-hearted nature made it hard to ignore a crying girl.

“What’s wrong? Did you lose your way?”

“A-ah…!”

When Adrian stepped into the clearing, the girl stopped crying and looked up, relief washing over her face.

“Th-thank goodness! I didn’t know how to get out of here…”

While she explained her situation, Adrian checked the area around her.

‘…Nothing out of the ordinary.’

There were no signs of magical traps.

“I’ll help you. Come on, let’s go.”

The girl was alone, and Adrian was confident in his abilities to handle any situation. He smiled and extended his hand to the girl.

“O-oh, you’re so kind… and so handsome,” the girl said, blushing as she took his hand.

The girl, who had been weeping just moments ago, suddenly seemed playful.

“Your eyes are beautiful, too.”

Her voice grew more seductive, and as their eyes met, her gaze turned mischievous.

Then, a strange pattern appeared in her eyes.

‘…Mind control!’

Realizing the danger, Adrian tried to pull away, but it was too late.

There are many types of enchanted eyes.

The girl, Alicia, possessed the hypnotic kind.

The moment their eyes met, Adrian was trapped in her grip.

“For the next ten minutes, don’t move,” Alicia said with a chilling smile, her voice dripping with malice.

Her words penetrated Adrian’s mind, and his body froze.

“Gotcha! Operation Golden Goblin is a success!” Alicia cheered, bouncing on the spot, thrilled with her victory.

“I didn’t expect mind control,” Adrian muttered, his body stiff and immobilized.

“See! That’s why you shouldn’t let your guard down!” Alicia taunted, wagging her finger playfully in front of Adrian’s face.

Despite her arrogance, Adrian remained calm, assessing the situation. His body may have been immobilized, but his control over magic hadn’t been severed.

‘I can’t move… but.’

Though his movements were restricted, his magic still flowed.

Adrian’s body began to tremble as he concentrated his energy.

Suddenly, flames erupted around him.

“Did you really think you’d won just by freezing my body?” Adrian smirked, as fire blazed from his form.

“W-what?!” Alicia jumped back, startled by the sudden burst of flames.

‘Just ten minutes. I need to hold out for ten minutes.’

The mind control may have been unexpected, but as long as he could use magic, Adrian knew he had a fighting chance.

As he intensified the flames, something sharp pierced his body.

A shimmering chain of energy snaked into Adrian’s form.

“…This power, is it… Emily?!”

Adrian instantly recognized the ability that had infiltrated his body. Chains made of magic flowed into him, cutting off his power and snuffing out the flames that had surrounded him.

“Sorry, Adrian. I really want to win this prize,” Emily said, stepping out from the shadows with Ken by her side.

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“Well, I guess that leaves me no choice,” Adrian muttered.

He couldn’t move. His magic was sealed.

He was completely cornered.

“As expected of Ken’s plan! I knew it would work!” Alicia boasted, jumping up and down.

“Liar. You didn’t believe it at all,” Ken retorted.

“Ugh…”

Alicia's face scrunched up, caught in her lie.

It was understandable why she didn’t believe the plan would work. It seemed absurd to think Adrian would fall for such a simple trap.

But Ken knew Adrian well.

His confidence in his abilities and his kind heart wouldn’t allow him to ignore a girl in distress.

“Well, Adrian, I’m sorry, but we’re taking your badges.”

“Emily, isn’t that a bit harsh for a friend?” Adrian teased, still smiling despite the situation.

“I-I’ll make it up to you next time, I promise,” Emily stammered.

“There’s no need for that.”

However, Ken had overlooked one crucial detail.

“It’s not over yet,” Adrian warned.

“What do you mean…?”

Ken had assumed Adrian was working alone.

“I have allies, just like you do.”

At that moment, a massive wall of ice erupted around Adrian.

“Ahh!” Emily screamed.

“Emily!” Ken leaped forward to shield her from the shockwave of ice, catching her just in time.

“How pathetic, Adrian. We agreed to gather badges separately before meeting up, didn’t we?”

A cold voice cut through the air, and a girl with blue hair and icy eyes emerged from the shadows.

“Mary…”

Mary’s arrival turned the tide of the battle.

Ken, Emily, and Alicia could have handled Adrian alone, but with Mary joining forces, the situation had drastically changed.

‘Of all the people, it had to be Mary…’

Ken cursed his luck. He hadn’t anticipated this alliance.

One of the Academy’s rare elementalists, Mary’s strength combined with Adrian’s made this a completely different battle.

Mary’s cold gaze settled on Ken’s group.

When her eyes met Ken’s, she blushed and looked away.

“S-sorry, Ken. But I need to win that meal ticket,” she said, her voice soft.

‘How good is that restaurant for her to be so serious about this…?’

Ken couldn’t help but question how much the meal ticket meant to Mary.

Still, despite Mary’s arrival, Ken knew they couldn’t afford to give up.

With Adrian still immobilized, this was their best chance.

“Emily! Do you have the badge pouch?”

“Y-yeah! I managed to grab it earlier!” Emily responded, showing the pouch she had taken from Adrian.

With the badges secured, there was only one thing left to do.

“Emily, run! Alicia, hold off Adrian!”

“Y-yes!”

Caught off guard by Ken’s sudden charge, Mary froze in place as Ken darted toward her.

“…K-Ken?”

Ken swiftly circled behind Mary, wrapping his arms around her.

“Kyah! W-what are you doing?!”

Mary let out a startled cry as Ken hugged her from behind.

“I’m sorry, but this is the only way right now!”

Though it may have been an awkward position, Ken couldn’t afford to let Mary use her powers. He needed to hold her back so Emily could escape.

As Ken restrained her, he realized something odd—Mary wasn’t struggling.

“…Ken.”

‘Huh? She’s not fighting back as much as I thought.’

Ken had expected her to thrash around and try to escape, but she wasn’t resisting.

Instead, Mary blushed and glanced back at him shyly.

“W-well, I suppose I can’t move like this…”

‘I guess she’s not that strong physically.’

Seeing that Mary wasn’t putting up much of a fight, Ken felt reassured.

“Alright, Emily! Run while Alicia and I hold them off!”

“There’s no way I’m letting this go!” Emily shouted, her face red as she pointed at Ken and Mary.

“Mary! Stop acting like that and break free! You can’t let him trap you so easily!”

“But I really can’t move…”

“And Ken! Why are you the one holding Mary? You should have made Alicia do it!”

“W-well, Adrian can’t move right now, so… never mind! Just hurry, Emily! We don’t have much time!”

“Agh! Fine!”

Grumbling in frustration, Emily turned and ran into the forest, leaving the rest of the group behind.

“Well, this certainly is an interesting situation,” Alicia commented, watching the scene unfold with a mischievous grin.

“Yes, it’s quite entertaining,” Adrian added, despite being immobilized.

A short while later.

“Ahhh!”

Ice arrows rained down from above as Alicia shrieked in terror.

“Wasn’t ten minutes supposed to be enough?!”

“It is! The hypnosis only lasts for ten minutes!” Alicia retorted.

After buying enough time for Emily to escape, Alicia had placed a restriction spell on Mary to slow her down, and the group had fled.

But now, Mary and Adrian were hot on their heels, chasing them through the forest.

Luckily, Emily had sealed Adrian’s powers, preventing any fireballs from being launched at them, but Mary’s ice arrows were more than enough of a threat.

“Ken! Can’t you use that calorie-burning skill of yours to fix this?!”

“Sorry! It won’t help in this situation!”

Sure, he could power up using Calorie Burn and try to fight them off, but there was no guarantee they could secure food afterward.

The risk of using the skill and running out of energy was too high. They had to keep running until noon.

“Emily!”

As they ran, Ken spotted Emily’s familiar figure up ahead.

“Ken! Is that Mary behind you?!” Emily’s voice trembled with fear as she saw Mary gliding after them on a sheet of ice, skating effortlessly.

‘What should I do?’

They had planned to regroup at a designated spot, but meeting Emily here was unexpected.

The original plan was to immobilize Adrian, grab his badges, and hide. But with Mary’s sudden appearance, everything had gone awry.

Suddenly, a massive wall of ice erupted in front of them, blocking their path.

“What the—?!”

“We’re trapped!”

The wall prevented them from moving forward.

‘She was guiding us into a trap!’

Ken realized that Mary had been intentionally herding them into this spot.

“Alright, Ken. Hand over the pouch.”

Mary and Adrian slowly approached, their expressions calm and confident.

“Ken…!” Emily gasped.

“What do we do now, Ken?!”

Both Emily and Alicia looked to me for guidance, their faces filled with fear.

I tried to think, but my mind was a jumble of conflicting thoughts.

If we lost the pouch, we’d lose all the badges we’d worked so hard to collect.

What should I do?

Should I use Calorie Burn to fight them?

Mary and Adrian weren’t likely to underestimate my power. It could work, but the risk was too great.

If the timing was off, we could all end up dead.

‘Damn it, what should I do…?’

As the two forces of ice and fire drew closer, my mind raced to find a solution.

Then.

“Caw! Caw!”

The sudden cry of a bird broke through the tense atmosphere.

Everyone turned to look at the bird.

It wasn’t an ordinary bird but a familiar made of magic, one I’d seen frequently recently.

The familiar soared down and perched on Adrian’s shoulder.

Then, in a voice clear as day, it spoke.

“Raphne Bel Martinez has escaped. Raphne Bel Martinez has escaped.”

The familiar’s unexpected arrival—and the name it uttered—left everyone stunned.

Both Mary and Emily’s faces showed confusion.

But Adrian and I, we knew the weight of that name.

“She is approaching this location.”