I'm in Love with the Villainess!-Chapter 152: A Battle In Two Fronts

Child, your pain tolerance even puts me to shame.

Beelzebub laughed in the distance. Of course he would say something like that; he was a demon prince, and he’d probably never felt actual pain since his creation in hell.

As for me? I sure as hell felt pain—and this was on a different level entirely.

It actually kind of helped keep me awake despite the torture.

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

My footsteps grew louder as I kept sprinting. My legs were heavy, like they were weighed down, the pain making it feel like they alone weighed tons.

But I wasn’t stopping.

Not yet.

And of course, that wasn’t my only problem.

"Shit!"

I stumbled over nothing, slamming my arm and knees directly into the concentrated black flames below. A raw scream tore out of me as I forced myself back to my feet.

From the outside, my body was clearly still moving—probably fighting something strong, something powerful enough to take the [Eye of the Profaned].

If that was the case, I had no idea how I was still alive, relying only on the dark magic in my arsenal.

Well... I guess having [Echo] helped. Not sure how much, though.

GROWL!

A fiery wolf suddenly lunged at me from the side, materializing out of nothing.

I tried to dodge, but I stumbled on nothing again. Its jaws clamped down on my burned arm, and another scream ripped from my throat.

But...

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

I roared as loud as I could, trying to drown the pain with my own voice as I kicked the wolf away.

Just a little farther... I could feel it.

*** Third Person POV

"ARGHHH!"

The Monarch screamed in pain as the pillars finally met in the middle, unleashing a violent burst of black flames that scorched both his clothes and his skin.

Because the damage wasn’t inflicted by [Endless Fang], he managed to recover—barely. Even so, the black flames carried a special effect that slightly weakened his healing.

Albeit in a more accidental way.

Now completely naked, his skin charred as black as coal, the Monarch struggled to stay on his feet. He didn’t have time to rest.

Cael was already on him again, this time dual-wielding his unnatural blades, his onslaught unrelenting.

SLASH!

The Monarch knew he couldn’t dodge in time, so he conjured another clump of purple mass to block, this one far denser than before.

It managed to stop the strike halfway.

[Echo]

SLASH!

But it didn’t last. The second strike echoed the first, driving the blade straight through the barrier and carving a thin line from the center of his chest down to his abdomen.

"Y-You!"

[Profaned Step]

The Monarch tried to teleport far away, but with the damage he’d taken, his mind was too rattled to properly control his destination.

In the end, he only managed to teleport a few rooms away, hoping the secluded location would buy him some time from the mindless husk that was hunting him.

"H-He’s not human. What kind of flames is he wielding? I’ve never read about anything like that..."

He fought to steady his breathing as the flames and his regeneration warred for control over his flesh.

"I-I need to get away... at least get aboveground where I can drag the whole city into the crossfire." The Monarch let out a shaky laugh. "Right, Corvus and Azrael. I heard those two were powerful... I could have them beat him for me while I run. I just need to—"

[Black Sun]

"He found me!?"

[Profaned Guardian]

Once again, he tried to part the torrent of black flames, but with how rattled his mind was, it wasn’t nearly as neat as before. Some of the fire licked at his already sensitive skin, making him wince.

It became even harder to maintain his defensive spell.

"Die!"

Cael burst out of the flames, a massive lance in his hand as he prepared to strike with his swords.

Three attacks, three directions.

[Profaned Bind]

The Monarch tried to stop Cael from swinging the two blades, choosing instead to tank the lance. He felt it stab in right beside the [Endless Fang] already buried in his abdomen.

"Aghh!"

BANG!

The moment the lance pierced him, he twisted his body and kicked Cael as hard as he could, sending him flying. Using the brief distance he’d created, the Monarch turned to flee once more.

It didn’t seem like his opponent could teleport. It was a mindless husk, after all. It couldn’t even choose a destination.

All it knew was how to kill.

Pathetic.

Beelzebub’s voice bored into the Monarch’s mind, making him black out for a fraction of a second before he snapped back to awareness.

"A–a demon!?"

The Monarch wasn’t ignorant of demonic interference; the shadow society had worked with some in the past.

But... this was something completely different.

You have my artifact, an even stronger one, actually, and yet you’re struggling against a child? You don’t deserve to wield the power of darkness. Oh, what am I saying? You’re using the pitiful Nyx’s darkness, not mine. Of course it’s weak.

Beelzebub mocked the Monarch as he fled, unraveling his mind even further while he was already struggling to retreat.

’A demon insulting the goddess Nyx like that? I–Is...?’

The Monarch glanced toward where he’d last sensed my presence, holding his breath as his pupils widened in fear.

’Is a demon prince watching him?’

Where did you think the eye you stole came from, mortal?

’He read my mind!?’

The Monarch narrowed his eyes. This wasn’t just some random child who knew a thing or two about demonology. This was someone who could threaten the entire city.

He didn’t care about the city itself, but he did care about the destruction of his society.

The shadow society could survive without him. But if Cael, the anomaly, lived, they had no chance of surviving, let alone rebuilding.

"Haha..."

The Monarch let out a bitter laugh. If he couldn’t escape—let alone win—then at the very least, he’d drag the demonic brat down with him, along with the entire oblivious Cold Iron District above, as one final, petty act of destruction.