Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead-Chapter 218: Fallout (4)

[New Mission Unlocked!]

[Fate Stabilization In Progress...]

Mission: Kill the Romero Household and shock the world with your strength and ruthlessness.

Rewards: ???

Penalty: ???

***

Pixie was collapsed on the floor, her horns slick with blood, face pale and wrong as her chest rose in faint, uneven breaths.

She had fainted, making it a little easier to deal with these bastards.

Although I had no real feelings towards this girl and it was only Noah, I didn't really feel like making that pitiful girl go crazier.

And Venus, that bastard?

He was still standing there with his arms crossed, face too calm and eerie.

Like everything that had just happened… was all according to plan.

I couldn't hear whatever the people around me said anymore.

After all, I was more focused on the system and this mission right now.

And in the silence of the Romero estate, my lips moved.

"Devour."

The word sounded like something older, something crawling out of the pit of hell itself.

The moment it slipped from my mouth, everything around me seemed to be slowing down.

A pale lavender liquid seeped out of my skin, dripping from my arms, my chest, and my back.

But it wasn't normal...it wasn't sweat.

It wasn't blood even blood either, for it seemed alive.

Bubbling and slithering like it was hungry, spreading across the floor with a hiss that burned into the stone.

The liquid oozed outward, consuming everything it touched.

The floor seemed to burn and melt, getting absorbed into this pale liquid while even the stones covering them started to erode out.

Venus's face shifted as he seemed unable to recognise this strange technique.

And the others came running.

I stood in the middle of the pale liquid, my breath slow, while everyone else froze in horror.

The guards were the first to react.

"Contain it! Protect the lords!" one of them roared.

Dozens of armored men rushed in, forming a line between me and the heirs still in the hall.

Their heavy boots clinked against the floor, shields raised high.

The first layer of defense had been formed.

They thought they could hold it back but the liquid hissed louder, rolling forward like a wave, licking the edges of their iron shields. For half a second, nothing happened.

Then?

CRACK.

The metal started disintegrating slowly.

A jagged scream tore through the guards as their shields started breaking down, crumbling into pieces before melting completely into the pale ooze.

The men didn't even have time to run. The liquid clung to their legs, bubbling as it climbed upward.

Loud, crazed screams echoed in the 4 walls of the estate, making me almost smile with ecstasy.

They screamed, high and broken before collapsing one by one as their armor, flesh, and bones dissolved into the mass.

Their bodies melted into nothing more than liquid fuel.

Everyone started gasping, unable to believe what they just saw.

The elders were already moving.

Felix, tall and broad, a man who had always been known for his calm strength and scheming mind, stood at the front.

His black robes fluttered as he raised both hands, summoning a circle of fire that spun into existence above me.

A burning cage dropped like a meteor, crashing down to trap me from the inside.

The flames licked high, hotter than the sun itself as I realised that this man might be a tough opponent, he had been one in the book.

Felix Romero was a figure who was supposed to be one of the main pillars of this house in the future with the help of his inferno based powers.

But the liquid didn't seem to care.

It climed upward, twisting, splitting into crossed shapes, claw-like extensions as they reached up to devour the fire itself.

The cage flickered, and vanished into smoke as if it had never existed.

Felix's eyes widened.

His jaw clenched.

"Impossible—" Before he could finish, the liquid shot forward, faster than before.

"MOVE!" another elder shouted, trying to drag Noah's uncle backwards.

But Felix didn't retreat.

He stood firm, hands glowing as the man poured his entire core into one last defense.

His body glowed crimson as he created another barrier, a blazing dome of molten energy that scorched the air itself.

The pale ooze crashed against it with a hiss. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

At first, the barrier held. The two forces clashed, sparks and steam exploding everywhere.

The heirs shielded their faces, coughing from the heat.

Then came the sound.

Crkkk…

The barrier cracked.

"NO!" Felix shouted, pouring more energy into it, his body trembling, veins bursting across his arms from the strain. "I won't let you through!"

But the liquid didn't stop. It pressed harder, hungrier, slamming into the dome until it shattered with a thunderclap.

The ooze surged forward, wrapping around Felix's legs.

He screamed.

The sound cut through the chaos like a knife.

The man's robes melted away first, his skin blackening and peeling as the liquid ate him alive.

His hands reached out, trembling and desperate to cast another spell, but the ooze was already climbing his chest, his neck, and his face.

And then, with one final, broken cry, Felix dissolved completely, leaving only a bubbling crater where he had stood.

"FATHER!!!"

Dario's scream seemed to push everyone awake.

The young boy, Noah's teammate, he appeared in a blink, literally, his body shaking, face twisted beyond recognition.

I'd observed the boy from Noah's eyes, and the look he gave right now looked completely different from his usual cheerful and bratty self.

The boy's eyes were bloodshot, wide with rage and despair.

"No…no, no, no…" His hands trembled as he stared at the bubbling ground where Felix had been.

His entire body shook like it couldn't decide whether to collapse or explode.

Then his gaze locked on me.

And something inside him snapped.

"You…" His voice cracked, low and dangerous, trembling with hate.

His aura exploded outward in a storm of violent energy, rattling the walls, sending cracks spiderwebbing across the floor.

"HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM?

NOAH!"

His teleportation triggered again, faster, sharper, uncontrolled.

One second he was across the hall, the next he was right in front of me, his dagger screaming with compressed mana as he slashed down toward my throat.

I raised my hand, calm, and the pale ooze rose to meet him.

Our clash sent shockwaves through the hall.

Dario's speed tore through the liquid, scattering droplets that hissed against the walls.

His dagger burned with his father's rage, striking again and again, teleporting from side to side in a blur, trying to tear me apart.

But the ooze never stopped.

Each strike only broke it apart for a second before it reformed, reaching, hungry, devouring the ground beneath our feet.

Dario's screams filled the hall, raw, unending, fueled by grief and fury.

"...I'll kill you!

I'LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!"

***