The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me-Chapter 257

In the end, the most important thing is to escape. Somehow, I need to get out of here to throw myself into the frontlines of the story. Only then can I protect my comrades.

Of course, since I’ve already infiltrated the enemy’s stronghold, I also need to consider a way to inflict significant damage before escaping. A kind of internal wound.

Internal wounds and escape.

The first step to achieving both goals is the Blood Witch.

With her, a high-ranking member of the Bloodstone Cult, I would be able to move freely here. More importantly, no matter what anyone says, she was my steadfast watcher.

The Blood Witch would never let me go.

That must be why the cult leader entrusted me to her.

So, I need to persuade her.

Even if only for a moment, I need her to stand on my side.

*

“… Are you saying this place is the cult leader’s dantian?”

I silently nodded.

The Blood Witch’s hand, which had been caressing my face, suddenly stopped.

Her crimson lips parted slightly.

I could see her swallow a gasp of surprise.

A flicker of distrust appeared in her gaze.

But she quickly shook her head.

Her jet-black hair floated briefly before settling again. Then, she pressed her hands together as if in prayer.

“… I’m sorry. I must have lost my mind for a moment. To doubt you, Ian… I won’t do it again. Yes, I will always believe in you. I’ll never doubt you again.”

“I would’ve doubted me too, at least once.”

“No, this was my fault. A brilliant child like you would never lie. Please forgive me. I’ll beg if I must.”

The Blood Witch clasped her hands together and bowed her head.

Her blind faith was so extreme that it felt almost deranged. Answering her felt unsettling. I had a feeling that indulging her would only make her fanaticism worse.

What I feared were the consequences.

If her fanatical belief in me were to shatter, the aftermath would be catastrophic. After all, I knew better than anyone how obsessive she could be.

So rather than making her believe in me, I made her believe in the situation.

“Sit cross-legged and observe your body. Don’t focus on circulating your energy—just concentrate on the things that dissipate naturally within you. Then you’ll feel it. The life force that should naturally erode over time is actually being drawn somewhere else.” Ɍ𝙖NỘᛒЁṥ

The Blood Witch sat cross-legged on the spot.

Experts like her usually never meditate in front of others. If an enemy had ill intentions, they could take advantage of this most vulnerable moment to inflict deviation.

Yet, she didn’t hesitate. It was proof that she genuinely trusted me.

— Rumble

Her energy rippled.

A pristine, pure red.

‘…’

I was inwardly amazed.

Just as I had gathered the purest great elemental essences, the Blood Witch seemed to have gathered nothing but the most refined life force.

She was no ordinary person.

After scanning herself, she opened her eyes.

“… It’s true. The air here is naturally absorbing my life force as I breathe.”

“You didn’t know?”

“I thought it was natural for life force to evaporate over time.”

“The cult leader exploited that.”

“… The cult leader?”

“Who else but him could orchestrate something like this?”

“… You’re right. Ian, you’re right.”

The Blood Witch’s gaze darkened with hostility.

“The cult leader… as expected, that man…”

She bit her lip.

Was it resentment she had bottled up?

Or had she simply been refusing to acknowledge it?

I had witnessed the tension between her and the cult leader ever since I was captured and brought here.

‘… I can use this.’

Seeing her current attitude, I was certain I could make use of her.

Of course, I didn’t trust this demoness.

I was merely leveraging her eccentric nature.

She was emotional, unpredictable, and obsessively fixated on what captivated her.

Impulsive.

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Which meant that, even if only briefly, I could make her believe in me.

I could make her act for me.

The situation worked in my favor, too.

No woman would enjoy the sensation of her own energy being siphoned away by someone else.

The Blood Witch was always the predator—never the prey.

A spider that slowly drained the life from its prey ensnared in its web.

There was no way she would enjoy being the prey.

That was likely a major part of her anger toward the cult leader.

Seizing the moment, I spoke directly.

With people like her, beating around the bush would only backfire.

“I want to turn this place upside down. Blood Witch, I want your cooperation.”

She blinked and stared at me.

“… Are you asking me to help you escape?”

“No. I just want you to help destroy this place. You hate this, don’t you?”

“Ahaha—”

The Blood Witch let out a wide, amused laugh.

The fury in her eyes was quickly replaced with her usual desire.

“Ian… Ahh, my dear Ian.”

Her gaze swept over my face.

“How are you so… delicious? Your words, your actions, your eyes, your very presence—everything about you makes me salivate.”

She grabbed my face with both hands.

As if she wanted to devour me whole.

But I was no longer afraid.

I met her gaze head-on. The Blood Witch swallowed hard.

“… Ahh. This is so exciting.”

Muttering to herself, she suddenly stood up.

Then, she grabbed my sleeve and pulled.

“?”

“Come with me. I’ll guide you.”

— Click, Thud.

The Blood Witch led me to the back entrance of the dwelling.

Unlike the front entrance, which faced the main street, the back door opened to a long, winding trail.

For a while, we pushed through the garden or forest.

“This is the place.”

The Blood Witch came to a halt.

I stopped beside her.

“I’ll show you.”

She picked up a small twig from the ground.

Then, she extended it forward.

— Woong!

Something trembled in the air, and the twig, unable to withstand the repelling force, snapped clean in two.

“If you try to force anything out, this is what happens.”

I had imagined it in my mind, but seeing it firsthand was mesmerizing.

A transparent barrier encompassed this entire place.

I focused on sensing the barrier.

Without realizing it, I took a step back.

It was invisible to the eye, but with my mana perception now heightened and more sensitive than ever—

What stood before me was an impossibly vast and towering wall.

The Blood Witch chuckled.

“This isn’t an artificially created barrier. It’s a naturally formed one, refined through our cult’s doctrine. That means it only grows stronger and more resilient as time passes.”

She looked at it as if admiring something grand.

And indeed, it was.

But at the same time, I sensed something.

‘It’s not entirely impossible to break through.’

It was an overwhelming wall—impossible to climb.

But if there were even the tiniest gaps, I could dig into them, widen them, and create an opening.

And if that barrier held an immense amount of energy inside, once a gap formed, everything would burst outward like a tidal wave.

The problem was the direction of that gap.

It had to clearly lead outward.

“If only there was some external trace left behind…”

I muttered, staring at the barrier.

Every inch of it was flawlessly smooth.

Not a single crack or weak point in sight.

It felt like staring at a wall that was never meant to be crossed.

◆

At the portal checkpoint in the southern region of the academy—

Danya, Lina, and Elena swiftly passed through.

The air that greeted them was all too familiar.

“… It’s been a while.”

Elena murmured.

They had traveled across the continent searching for Ian and had finally arrived at the academy.

But there was no time for nostalgia—

Because the sky was too red.

Compared to the eastern front of the Great Central Forest, where they had just been, the sky here was far redder.

“We’ve been expecting you.”

The coachman bowed his head to them.

It was a carriage that Silvia had arranged in advance.

The magitech carriage quickly set off toward the Shadow Forest.

“The sky is definitely unsettling.”

“Danya Sister, it’s even stronger here. It feels like it all started from this place.”

“… Do you sense something, Danya?”

At their questions, Danya nodded.

“Yeah… It’s getting more and more ominous—nyah.”

Ominous.

A word too simple to describe this instinctive premonition.

Something overwhelmingly dangerous was lurking here, yet it hadn’t begun—not yet.

It was, in a way, a primal warning.

“… Then, Sister Danya, do you believe the Bloodstone Cult’s base is in the Shadow Forest?”

It was uncertain.

But something was about to happen.

More than anything—

“Ian is here—nyah… I think it has something to do with that red energy.”

That was the reason they had come.

Lina chimed in.

“The cult leader showing up at the academy so suddenly was already strange.”

“… But would he really have a reason to be obsessed with the academy?”

“I don’t know—nyah. But…”

Danya fell silent.

This time, she was relying entirely on her instincts.

That red sky was the problem.

As they approached the Shadow Forest, as they neared the origin of that crimson hue, her body began to tremble.

“… Danya, are you okay?”

Lina reached out and held Danya’s hand.

By the time Danya realized she had been tensed up, her tail was already tightly curled.

She nodded and squeezed Lina’s hand in return.

— Clatter!

Just like that, the carriage arrived at the Shadow Forest.

Caw! Caw!

The sound of crows echoed in the distance, as if welcoming them.