I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain-Chapter 455

To Ian, it sounded like a deeply unpleasant siren.

Growl!

Moro whipped its head around, tensing noticeably. Ian looked in the same direction, his brow furrowing automatically.

Right... So it's not just mindless ones here.

Far beyond the shimmering, ash-gray sky, pitch-black shadows were soaring upward like a flock of birds. They were too far away to make out their exact shapes, but it wasn't hard to guess that each one was quite large.

—Seems like they sensed the chaos you're emitting, my friend.

Yog whispered casually.

Ian glanced back at Moro. "Do you sense any other survivors?"

Moro scanned the surroundings with gleaming eyes, but instead of turning, it just snorted a long breath through its nostrils.

So Hyked didn't fall here, Ian murmured inwardly.

He nodded and immediately bent down toward Seren. If Hyked had fallen here, they probably would have run into each other already. Hyked might even have woken up first, then found and woken Ian. Just like Ian, Hyked could probably remain conscious in this place as well.

—Just leave her. She looks seriously injured anyway.

Yog whispered as Ian grabbed Seren's arm and started pulling her. Ian acted like he hadn't heard it and dragged Seren completely out of the dirt pile.

This wouldn't have been easy if the dirt weren't so ash-like, considering both the heavy pressure here and Seren's weight.

Pfffft—

Dust scattered from Seren's limp body. Her plate armor was dented and broken in several places. One side of her visor was completely torn off and dangling loosely. Dirt poured out from the gaping hole.

Clank... fгeewebnovёl.com

Ian laid Seren down, positioning her flat on her back. Through the torn visor, Seren's dirt-covered face was faintly visible.

—Huh? So this is why everyone covers their faces.

Yog added, sounding amused. But Ian paid no attention to Seren's face. He patted Moro's side, making it kneel, then slid his arms under Seren's armpits and lifted her straight up.

Shrieeeek!

The shrieks echoing through the sky were getting clearer and louder.

Pushing Seren up onto Moro's back, Ian glanced toward the distant sky.

Below the churning gray storm clouds, the black creatures were flapping their wings, flying rapidly in their direction. There looked to be about a dozen of them.

Shadow enveloped them, revealing only their silhouettes. Even so, he could make out two pairs of large and small leathery wings, long tails, long legs tipped with sharp talons, and multiple tentacles writhing on their heads.

—Doesn't seem like the time to delay. Are you ready to trust me, my friend?

Yog's whisper came again, still completely lacking any sense of urgency.

"Not at all," Ian replied instantly, pushing Seren's lower body up to settle her securely on Moro's back.

He took his hands away, stepped back slightly, and added, "But we have to do it, anyway."

He wasn't trusting Yog;he was trusting the situation. With its own life on the line, it would at least try its best.

Growl...

Moro snorted and got to its feet. Its movements were sluggish, likely weighed down by carrying three people. The purple light gleaming within its flowing mane was vivid.

Meanwhile, Ian was reaching his right hand into his pocket dimension.

"You'd better give it your all," Ian added, keeping his eyes fixed on the distant sky even as he fumbled around in his pocket dimension. "It really feels like everyone's lives depend on you now."

The tentacled fliers were close enough to make out shapes, yet they still looked completely shrouded in black shadow. Maybe that was their natural appearance, or perhaps they had evolved and adapted to this purgatory environment.

Shrieeeek!

Either way, each one looked to be about the size of an ogre.

While they could defeat them in a head-on battle, there was a high chance it would attract more monsters from the rift. On top of that, it wouldn't be surprising if the mindless ones wandering the plains beyond started swarming toward them. These were all situations best avoided if possible, especially now, loaded down with unconscious companions.

—That's a lot of pressure.

Yog laughed. Ian ignored it and pulled his hand out of his pocket dimension. In his grasp rested a small skull.

It was a grotesque skull—a dark, dried-up color, with four distorted eye sockets bored into it. Small fragments of bone attached underneath dangled like a short spine. It was the dark artifact, the Skull of the Rift Walker.

Shwaaaa...

An unnatural darkness swirled around the skull, though it didn't affect Ian, its owner.

Ian placed the skull on the palm of his left hand. A faint purple light glimmered from deep within the warped eye sockets. Holding his open right hand above it, Ian looked back at Moro.

"Stay right behind me."

Moro snorted nervously but moved to position itself behind Ian. Its glowing purple eyes darted back and forth, watching the flying creatures. Meanwhile, Yog slithered up Ian's arm and dangled from the tips of his right fingers.

—Don't hold back on the chaos, my friend.

Instead of replying, Ian looked forward again. Swirling purple light now filled his eyes.

Rumble— Rumble—

He had fully unleashed the chaos power contained within the essence bead. Just as a purple wave pulsed outward from both his hands, Yog swept down onto the skull. It slid along the wave and plunged right into one of the eye sockets.

Shwaaaa...

The purple light glowing from beyond the eye socket instantly flared brighter. Ian kept pouring out chaos power without pause. The bead of chaos essence, noticeably larger now, pulsed like a heart, endlessly spewing forth chaos.

The darkness enveloping the skull surged and deepened. In the very center, only the four eye sockets shone with a vivid purple light.

Crack, crackle—

Right then, vein-like cracks appeared around the eye sockets and instantly spread across the entire surface of the skull.

However, Ian wasn't watching the changes happening to his dark artifact.

Shrieeeek!

He locked his gaze on the approaching black monsters.

They were now only a few hundred meters away. He saw the paired leathery wings shrouded in black mist, the long, multi-jointed legs ending in sharp talons, and the writhing tentacles resembling those of a squid or octopus. The eyeless creatures shrieked gratingly from between their tentacles as they descended at high speed.

Shit…

His Intuition screamed a warning, and tension shot to the crown of his head, but Ian didn't even flinch. While pouring the chaos power into the skull, the most resistance he could offer was maybe taking a small step back. Of course, considering the creatures' speed, that would be utterly pointless unless he broke into a full sprint.

Crack— crackle—

Meanwhile, the purple cracks were spreading beyond the skull, reaching out into the space nearby.

They expanded almost instantly to the edge of Ian's vision. Even with his Concentration skill active, the speed at which they spread felt incredibly fast.

Shrieeeek!

But the descending fliers were just as fast. They angled their leathery wings back like brakes and suddenly pointed the tentacles on their heads sharply forward. Just as their shapes were about to fill Ian's view, the web of cracks overlaid the space directly in front of him.

Crash!

Immediately after, the cracks shattered all at once, cascading downward like falling glass.

The shapes of the fliers vanished as if reflected in a broken mirror, and the purple light from beyond flooded Ian's vision. He felt a sensation like the world flipping upside down, and the very next moment, all his senses snapped back at once.

Feeling like he'd just slammed on the brakes halfway down a steep hill, Ian flailed his arms, barely keeping his balance.

Scrape...

He felt a hard flagstone beneath the soles of his boots. The stone floor sloped downward in front of him. Gray steam swirled off him, and he belatedly realized the skull he'd been holding was gone.

Crack... crackle...

Almost simultaneously, an eerie sound came from behind him.

Up the slope, a large crack glowed in mid-air, looking like shattered glass. The ominous purple light pulsing within it lit up the dim surroundings. The crack was vanishing, starting from the edges and shrinking inward, leaving no trace, like time running in reverse.

Ian turned back, but before he could get a proper look, he had to lunge forward again.

Growl…

Moro, standing behind him, was rearing up on its hind legs, letting out a startled snort. The beast must have felt the same sudden stop and disorientation Ian had.

And on its saddle, Lucia, who had been lying draped over Diana, was rolling off.

Clatter, bang!

Ian caught her in mid-air, twisting to land on his back and rolling across the floor, holding Lucia tightly to shield her neck and back.

Thanks to the sloping floor, they slid to a stop after just a few tumbles. Almost immediately, gray steam swirled off Lucia as well. In his arms, her eyelids fluttered.

"Lucy. Are you awake?" Ian whispered, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Behind him, the purple light from the vanishing crack quickly faded. Lucia slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, looking up at Ian for a moment.

"...I had a strange dream," Lucia murmured in a low voice. The expression in her eyes, visible above the mask, softened into a slight smile. Ian's lips curved slightly in response.

"Funny. So did I."

Lucia's eyes crinkled a bit more at the corners. For a moment, they simply looked at each other without speaking.

Just then, panicked screams tore through the air from nearby. "Aah! Aaah... Aaaack!"

"Diana!" Lucia snapped her head around, her eyes flying wide. Diana, still on Moro's saddle, was shrieking convulsively as she tumbled off.

"Aah! Aaack... Stay away! No!" Hitting the sloping ground, she thrashed violently, gray steam pouring off her.

"I-I'll go!" Lucia exclaimed, jumping to her feet almost instantly.

"St-Stay away... Shit! Get lost—!" Diana screamed and writhed, appearing completely lost in delirium. It looked like she could draw a weapon and start attacking anything at any second.

"Diana! It's me. It's okay!" Lucia called out, running toward her with no hesitation, waving her arms reassuringly.

At the same time, Ian also scrambled up. Seren, who had been arching violently on Moro's saddle, was now falling off the other side.

Clank!

She hit the ground but, unlike Diana, couldn't even scream. All she could manage were choked, gasping sounds as her limbs bent at unnatural angles.

It was then that a lazy whisper drifted into Ian's mind.

—After all the trouble saving her...

The dark artifact was visible, floating in the very center of the rapidly shrinking crack in the air.

Ian frowned and kneeled beside Seren. He used his knee to press down on her unnaturally arched back while carefully turning her strained head to the side—basic first aid to keep her spine straight and prevent suffocation.

—Ah, right. She’s contaminated by that beast's chaos.

Thanks to Ian turning her head, one side of Seren's face was now visible. Ash-gray lines pulsed like veins across her skin, and her eyes were rolled back, showing only the whites.

Right. She’s definitely going to die or mutate soon.

Clicking his tongue, Ian placed his palm flat against her breastplate.

No good.

The bead of chaos essence within him didn't react at all. The chaos infecting Seren must have been too weak or insignificant for his chaos to care about absorbing. Ian hesitated briefly.

—Why not try doing the opposite, Friend?

Is that even possible?

Ian instantly grasped the meaning, his brow furrowing slightly. Despite his doubt, his eyes glowed purple again.

Rumble— Rumble—

Chaos power flowed from his palm, sinking instantly into Seren. For a moment, her convulsions grew even more violent. "Gack... Ghhck!"

However, Ian didn't stop. Gray steam poured from her, and dark, lifeless blood started gushing from her mouth. His chaos was forcefully pushing out the corrupting Chaos left by Inaskurgl.

—Yes. Keep going. You're doing well...

Just then, the crack in the air vanished completely, and darkness fell over the area.

Clatter.

The sound of the skull hitting the ground echoed faintly as Yog's sleepy-sounding whisper continued.

—Just a little more now... Then her source... you can completely taint it with your chaos.

"What?" Ian's brow furrowed automatically.

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