The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen-Chapter 310

Falling.

Emotions sink to the bottom.

What went wrong.

No matter how much I thought about where it all started to go astray, all that came back was the cold corpse of Ricardo lying before my eyes.

"...Why."

-...

"Why did you do it."

-...

"Why...!!!"

Mikhail’s voice echoed hollowly through the dark cave. The illusion magic that had forced him to relive his memories shattered completely with Ricardo’s death.

Only now did he realize that this place was not the slum from his memories but a dark underground. He could feel the cold weight of reality pressing down on him.

Mikhail couldn’t understand.

"Why did you give up..."

What had he ever done for him? He was nothing, a useless existence.

Mikhail couldn’t comprehend why Ricardo had chosen the path of sacrifice. He could only.

"Don’t do this... Please."

Shout out his unanswered cries.

"Heh heh heh..."

Yung let out a hollow laugh as he watched Mikhail’s back.

The script and ending hadn’t aligned, but he had achieved his revenge. It left him feeling both satisfied and unsatisfied.

"Throwing away your life for mere friendship? How pathetic. And that’s what makes it all the more entertaining..."

In the end, revenge had been successful.

In contrast, Mikhail’s vision grew darker.

Blood pooled on the ground.

The man from his memories, whom he had desperately denied, now lay sprawled out, struck by his own blade.

"..."

The restrictions were lifted.

"..."

Now, he could move his body freely and wield his sword as he pleased.

But.

"It’s too late."

There were too many sins committed by his own hands to revel in the joy of freedom.

"What makes someone a bad person..."

Mikhail gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, grinding them as he recalled the gesture Ricardo had made when he let go at the end.

"What makes someone a thug..."

Looking down at Ricardo, who remained motionless no matter how much he called, Mikhail clenched his fist.

"What... are you sorry for...?"

-I’m sorry.

"What are you sorry for... leaving so selfishly like this... What are you sorry for!!!"

His fingers trembled.

A sense of powerlessness seeped into his fingertips, overwhelmed by the rising disgust. He loathed himself for being so weak, so foolish, so utterly pathetic, to the point that it made him shudder.

Those parting words Ricardo had spoken.

-You’ve grown splendidly.

They pierced his heart like a dagger.

Mikhail parted his dry, cracked lips with difficulty. There was no trace of moisture on them, but the only words he could utter now were these desperate ones.

"Get up."

-Drip...

"Get up..."

-Drip...

"Please... Get up."

One by one, hot tears fell onto Ricardo’s unresponsive body. This was the reunion he had waited for so long, a moment he thought would never come again in his life...

In a situation that had reverted back to the beginning, Mikhail swallowed his sobs in silence. Just as his tears began to soak into Ricardo’s clothes, Yung’s sneering voice reached Mikhail’s ears.

"You finally did it."

"..."

"Pretending you didn’t want to, but you wrapped it up perfectly."

"..."

"Impressive, kiddo. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d succeed. I thought that guy wouldn’t give up, so I even considered a mutual demise... The result isn’t to my taste, but it was a decent little farce."

"...Shut up."

Yung chuckled indifferently as he spoke to Mikhail.

"Now, it’s just your story and mine left."

"...I said shut up."

"Let’s have a duel to the death. The one who survives to the end will carry these memories."

"I said shut up!"

As the sword brimming with aura sliced through the air, Yung, caught off guard, quickly turned his body to evade Mikhail’s blade.

-Thud.

"Hmm...?"

Yung touched his cheek.

Seeing the blood on his hand, his pupils trembled. A chill ran down his spine as he met Mikhail’s cold gaze.

’How did it hit me...?’

It should have been an unreachable distance. Surely, he could sense the trajectory of that kid’s sword and dodge it easily. So why...

While Yung’s thoughts grew tangled, Mikhail’s icy voice cut through the air.

"I told you to shut up."

Mikhail silently stared at Yung. His gaze, filled with nothing but rage, was fixed coldly on him.

With a lifeless expression, Mikhail spoke lightly to Yung.

"Ricardo is sleeping."

"Have you grown stronger by overcoming the pain of farewell?"

"I said, Ricardo is sleeping."

"Are you still living in a delusion? Let me make it clear for you. He’s dead. You killed him with your own hands. Can’t you tell from the broken magic?"

Yung looked at Mikhail with an intrigued smile. He thought it was still too early for him to die. Originally, he had been willing to give up his life to keep the promise he had once uttered.

"I’ve changed my mind."

A more entertaining story had come to him, so he abandoned that thought.

A duel to the death?

He had thought of a play far more amusing than such a crude act.

Yung rose from his spot, drawing the sword at his waist, and slowly approached Mikhail, whose gaze remained icy.

"Do you want to kill me, kiddo?"

"..."

"Do you want to cut off my arms and legs, keep me alive, and grind me to dust while I’m still breathing? Is that how you feel?"

"I..."

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-Slash.

"Urgh...!"

Mikhail flicked the blood off his sword lightly and spoke to Yung.

"I told you to shut up."

Yung let out a derisive laugh as he looked at Mikhail, who maintained a cold expression.

"Why are you so angry?"

"Shut up."

"In the end, haven’t you come full circle?"

"..."

"That kid was already dead in your memories anyway. Are you making such a fuss over killing him again, acting like some tragic heroine?"

The mask of indifference Mikhail had been wearing began to crack. He couldn’t simply listen and let Yung’s words slide.

"Memories...? Full circle...?"

Even now, my breath trembles, and the chilling sensation lingering at my fingertips refuses to fade. Listening to Yung’s sarcastic jeers as if ignoring it all—it’s revolting to just let it slide...!

"If it weren’t for you... none of this would’ve happened in the first place."

I wanted to tear that vile mouth of his apart while he was still alive.

"Oh, kiddo..."

"Shut your mouth."

"No matter how much you hate me, it won’t change anything."

The root cause of everything.

"Go ahead, curse me all night. Will that bring him back to life?"

"...You’re dying today anyway."

"Who? You...?"

Mikhail swung his sword again, this time with a clear intent to kill.

"There’s no one left in this world who can stop me now."

He unleashed an aura of two colors.

One was silver.

The other was ash gray.

The Sword Energy infused with both auras surged toward Yung’s neck.

-Kagagagak!

Yung barely managed to block Mikhail’s aura, spitting out a sneer to provoke him. In his current state, he couldn’t handle Mikhail. The injuries from his battle with the Archbishop of Greed were far from trivial.

"...No one to stop you? What if I erase your memories? Do you think you can resist? If I set up another puppet, you’ll just..."

"No. This time, I’ll kill them all."

"..."

"What’s so great about justice anyway... when there’s no one left to admire it?"

"You killed them, didn’t you? With your own hands! Hahaha!"

"Yeah... There’s no one left for me now. Why did I even try to be a good person...? I endured like a fool, clinging to that hope... I fought so hard, bleeding through every moment, only to end up right back here...?"

The aura imbued with rage made Mikhail’s sword even stronger.

But.

-Pasasak...

Mikhail’s worn-out sword, already pushed beyond its limits, couldn’t withstand the aura and shattered.

Seeing Mikhail’s broken sword split in two, Yung smirked grimly.

But.

"I’ll kill you."

Mikhail’s sword didn’t stop. It remained steadfast, aimed solely at Yung’s neck.

"W-Wait!"

Yung couldn’t steady himself against Mikhail’s rapidly advancing strides. Blocking the earlier attack had reopened the wounds from his previous battle.

’Damn it... That greedy bastard...!’

Mikhail didn’t miss Yung’s faltering movements. A chilling sound of "Puk" echoed in Mikhail’s ears.

"Gah...!"

Yung looked down at the broken sword lodged in his abdomen and smirked bitterly. The sword’s breakage had spared him a fatal wound.

"This is my victory, kid."

If he could grab the kid’s head and alter his memories again, it would be his win.

Laughing at the thought of turning him into a puppet while keeping his consciousness intact, Yung reached out and placed his hand on Mikhail’s head.

"What are you doing...?"

"...Why isn’t the magic working?!"

"Get that filthy hand off my head."

Hearing the cold voice, Yung felt as though his heart had frozen.

Mikhail was staring directly into his eyes. The wavering gaze from before was gone, replaced only by pure killing intent.

’The magic...’

His hand was definitely on Mikhail’s head.

He should’ve collapsed, his memories erased...!

"I’ll cut off your remaining hand too. Move it."

Mikhail resisted the Dark Magic and twisted the broken sword still embedded in Yung’s abdomen.

He had grown.

No.

He had hardened.

To the point where Yung’s sly tricks no longer worked on him...

"Kuh...!"

With a guttural sound, thick blood began to drip from Yung’s mouth. The sword, pulled out with a rough motion, left a crimson trail on his abdomen as it met the cold air.

Mikhail didn’t give Yung any chance to recover, aiming the tip of his sword at Yung’s neck.

"Die."

"...Wait, kiddo! I can give you happy memories...!"

"Don’t disgrace yourself any further..."

"It’s not over yet! Not yet...!"

-Puk...!

With a heavy voice, Mikhail spoke to Yung.

"It’s time for you to disappear."

-Step... Step...

Finally, it came into view.

The upright figure of Ricardo.

"...I can see it."

Mikhail walked slowly, his weary steps carrying him toward Ricardo, who lay on the ground. Ricardo, who had supported his fight until the very end, remained in that spot.

"I can finally... see you clearly."

With trembling hands, Mikhail gently caressed Ricardo’s cheek and pressed his forehead against his.

The fog began to lift.

The fog that had veiled his eyes for so long was clearing.

"I... took too long, didn’t I?"

"..."

"I’m sorry for coming so late..."

At last, Ricardo’s image appeared as it had in his memories.

Youthful.

Strong.

And kind-hearted.

Just like the boy he had once known.

"I’m so sorry..."

He could finally see him.

-Crunch!

"...!"

Yung, clutching the sword lodged in his neck, staggered to his feet, letting out a rasping noise.

"Hahaha!!!"

Mikhail stared at Yung with shocked eyes. He had thought him dead, yet here he was, coughing up blood and standing.

As Mikhail gathered aura into his hand and reached for Tirbing, which had fallen beside Ricardo, Yung, his face twisted with madness, spoke to him.

"Kiddo! Come with me!!!"

"When...!"

"Wouldn’t it be better that way? Living with such painful memories—wouldn’t it be easier to just die...?"

With a sinister grin, Yung activated the Orb.

-Click...!

A deafening explosion rang in Mikhail’s ears, the sound erupting from deep underground.

"Hahaha! Now this is a masterpiece...!"

"..."

"I should’ve done this from the start. Hahaha... Ha... Huh...?"

Mikhail didn’t hear Yung’s laughter fade. What he saw instead was Yung trembling, his expression frozen in terror.

What Mikhail saw now was a massive flame descending the cave stairs.

The enormous flame created by the Orb was consuming Mikhail’s field of vision.

Mikhail closed his eyes and thought.

’In the end, you’ve only burdened me further.’ Tears wouldn’t stop falling at the worst outcome and the inability to bring about a clean resolution.

’How long...’

The light of the explosion drew even closer to Mikhail.

With his eyes closed, Mikhail gave a sorrowful smile.

"I’m sorry..."

He wished they would never meet again.

If only they hadn’t met, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

"...Truly."

If there were another life, he wanted to be someone who could help him. But he knew that even then, the other wouldn’t want to form a connection with someone like him again. Through his falling tears, Mikhail turned his head toward where Ricardo had been lying.

"..."

Seeing nothing where Ricardo should have been, Mikhail widened his eyes and turned his head in shock.

And then.

"...Look."

A familiar voice reached Mikhail’s ears, making his eyes tremble.

It was red hair.

A broad back he wanted to lean on.

A figure he wanted to hide behind.

Ricardo, who was holding Mikhail in his arms, spoke in a playful tone.

"You’re satisfied with yourself and about to self-destruct, aren’t you? What kind of promise is that, when in the end, you just do whatever you want?"

Yung, with a startled expression, looked at Ricardo and spoke.

"H-How are you alive?! You were definitely dead!"

"Me?

Ricardo shook his head with an expression that said it was utterly ridiculous.

"Why would I be dead? I’m perfectly fine and alive."

Ricardo let out a mocking laugh, his face showing pity.

"How pathetic, even to the very end. No wonder your first love cheated on you."

"You bastard...!"

"I played along. Pfft... Ah, this is entertaining. Oh, by the way, that first love of yours is probably living happily with that man and their child by now. She regained her memory or something... Isn’t that funny?"

"You bastard...!"

"I get it. You can’t fix an ugly face, after all."

With a massive explosion, the underground chamber began to collapse.

Along with Yung’s despondent expression.

"A-Aaaagh! I’ll kill you!"

-Rumble...

"If you can, that is. Ah... You’re already dead."

It all crumbled down.

Ricardo held Mikhail tightly and whispered softly.

"What a beautiful name."

"..."

"Miss Misa."

The name you called me, my name was...

"Thank you..."

It was sweet.