The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 260

“Clear your mind… Clarisma!!”

As Yuria’s divine power spread, the suffocating fear that had been crushing their entire bodies began to dissipate. Freed from the oppressive force that made even breathing feel forbidden, the Student Council members prepared for battle without hesitation.

Their opponent was the sister standing before them.

It was Elissia, the Apostle of the Heretics.

Feeling as though she were staring into an endless abyss, Chartia slapped her own cheek and turned her head to regain her composure.

-Smack..!

“Get a grip..!”

There was no time.

They had to use the artifact as quickly as possible to summon reinforcements and escape this situation.

Her instincts screamed, as if piercing her skin, that there would be no second chance.

“The artifact…!”

-Clang!!

“Mikhail!”

“I’m fine. But Rohan…!”

Before Chartia’s eyes, flashing blades were clashing back and forth.

Rohan’s blade, wielded with tears streaming down his face, and Mikhail’s sword, intercepting it, danced mere inches from Chartia’s face.

Chartia thought to herself.

She couldn’t hesitate—she had to break the ring.

‘Crack.’ Chartia clenched her fist and began channeling mana into the gem of the ring.

“Please, shatter.”

And at that moment.

“Princess.”

-Crunch.

At the sound of Elissia’s voice, Chartia’s body froze as if encased in ice. It felt as though something inside her had shattered.

‘Beeeeep.’ A ringing sound filled her ears, her mana flow was severed, and her body refused to move.

“Huh…?”

With a small murmur of confusion, Chartia’s legs gave out beneath her. She collapsed so helplessly that she couldn’t even muster an excuse.

As her gaze fell, Elissia’s smile flickered past her vision. It was a gentle smile, as if she were witnessing something inevitable, yet it weighed heavily on Chartia’s heart as she fell.

‘I can’t… collapse… like this…’

Elissia approached the kneeling Chartia and spoke in a kind voice.

“Our dear princess carries so much pain in her heart.”

‘Move… Please, move…!’

“Your blood relatives scorn you as an illegitimate child. Your father only cares about your older brother.”

‘Get a hold of yourself, Chartia… Don’t let that woman’s words sway you!!!’

“And your dream is to live happily with your mother? Oh my, isn’t that far too modest a wish for the great Empire’s princess?”

‘Clap.’ Elissia clapped her hands, gazing at Chartia with a look of pity. As if lamenting the world’s unfairness, she spoke words of consolation while stroking Chartia’s hair.

“How could it be so tragic?”

When Elissia’s hand touched her forehead, a strange peace washed over her. Even as swords clashed nearby and her name was called, her heart remained as calm as a still lake.

-Clang!

-President!!!!!

-Ka-ka-ka-kang!!!

-Damn it!

She didn’t want to move.

From within the open church doors, people began to emerge.

Clad in white ceremonial robes and armed with weapons at their waists, familiar faces appeared one by one, moving in unison like valiant heroes.

Chartia smiled as she looked at them.

“Ah…”

She didn’t know why, but seeing them brought her a sense of relief.

These were the missing students.

The ones they were supposed to bring back.

Yet, seeing these students, their eyes unfocused as they charged forward with weapons, inexplicably put her at ease.

Chartia looked at Elissia with trembling eyes.

Asking what she had done to her.

“What… what did you do to me…!”

“I merely redirected your feelings of anxiety elsewhere.”

“…What?”

“Like this.”

Elissia mimed grabbing something from the air and then made a throwing motion toward Yuria, who was wielding divine power.

And then.

-Aaaaaaah!!!!

A scream erupted from Yuria’s mouth.

Yuria clutched her head and collapsed to her knees on the ground, her hands trembling as she was consumed by fear.

-Ah… Ahh!!! I want to run away…! I want to escape from this place…!

-Yuria!!

-Haa… Haa… Ricardo! I want to see Ricardo…!

Elissia watched Yuria trembling in terror and smiled faintly.

“Isn’t it amusing?”

“What… what is this…?”

“I simply transferred a portion of your anxiety onto that timid girl.”

“What have you done…!”

Elissia roughly grabbed Chartia’s chin and spoke.

“How does it feel? Your heart feels at peace, doesn’t it?”

“Shut… up…!”

“Your worries are gone, and your mind is at ease, aren’t they?”

“Shut up, you lunatic!”

Elissia exhaled softly as she surveyed the blood-soaked battlefield. With unfocused eyes, she watched the student council members fighting against the brainwashed students, a satisfied expression on her face.

“There are so many fascinating emotions here.”

She beamed at Yuria.

“That pink-haired friend of yours carries a heavy burden in her heart from an unerasable mistake she made with someone she loves.”

She smiled at Ruin.

“The wizard, consumed by vanity, still believes he can change the world if he so desires. Ah~ I see it. That unyielding arrogance, even in the face of ruin.”

Then, looking at Mikhail, she smiled with intrigue.

“That one… looks so sorrowful.”

The brainwashed students were being pushed back. It seemed there were limits to the power drawn from manipulating their minds, as the executives were slowly gaining the upper hand.

Elissia smiled as she lightly extended her hand toward the sky.

And then.

“Shall we take a look into the mirror of our inner selves? After all, self-reflection is at the core of faith.”

Before each of them stood a figure identical to themselves, shrouded in a dark aura.

In front of Yuria, who was struggling with a splitting headache, stood a crying girl holding a pink dagger.

In front of Mikhail, who had defeated Rohan and was about to join the others, stood a girl with long silver hair, glaring at him with a grim expression.

Everyone’s nightmares had materialized before their eyes.

Elissia smiled and spoke.

“Love the Lord.”

Preaching her fanatical love, she began to move the doppelgängers born of their emotions.

Everyone was frozen.

All who had seen their own nightmares were paralyzed, unable to move.

Yes.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

Everyone trembled in fear and fled.

The student council members, upon facing their inner emotions, began running into the forest as if trying to escape. It was a fear their instincts recognized.

The fear of running, not wanting to show others the past you wish to hide, and dreading to face that past again.

Seeing the figures disappearing one by one into the forest, Chartia shouted at them with a flustered expression.

“We have to stick together!!!”

-I can’t do it!!

-I said I can’t do it!

Elissia smiled faintly and kindly explained the reason they were fleeing.

“Everyone is so weak-hearted. I merely amplified the emotion of fear a little, and yet they’re this terrified. Just imagine how much it would hurt to succumb to that emotion…!”

Elissia gazed at the sky, her eyes steeped in ecstasy, as she ran her hand down her face.

“Oh, how delighted the gods must be!!!”

A chill ran down my spine.

It felt as though every sweat gland in my body was screaming, leaving me utterly parched.

Elissia turned to Chartia with a smile.

“Now, let’s have a one-on-one conversation. There’s so much I’ve wanted to discuss. How we’ll lead the Empire from now on, what you’d want to do without the Crown Prince…. I want to hear the evil within you.”

Elissia’s hand slowly reached out to grab Chartia by the hair, roughly dragging her toward the Church.

Unable to move her body, Chartia stared at her unresponsive hand with trembling eyes.

She had tried everything she could.

She bit her lips.

She held her breath and tried everything else she could think of.

Nothing worked.

“No…”

And at that moment.

“You crazy bitch!!”

With a flashing brown light, Elissia’s body was flung deep into the forest.

Powerlessly and without resistance.

Swept away by Hanna’s unleashed sword, she vanished from the battlefield.

“Hah… Hah…!”

A wave of exhaustion washed over her entire body.

Now that she was out of Elissia’s sight, she could finally move again.

Chartia barely held onto her spinning mind, exhaling ragged breaths in relief at having survived.

“Hah… Hah… Hah…!”

“Senior! Are you okay?”

“No… I’m not okay.”

“For now…”

Hanna bit her lip and clicked her tongue as she stared into the forest, where a cloud of dust was rising.

“Use the Artifact.”

-Nod.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Chartia shattered the Artifact. She didn’t think such an opportunity would come again.

With a cracking sound, the Gem broke, and a crimson Sphere rose high into the sky.

Chartia exhaled heavily and asked Hanna.

“How did you get here…? What about your clone?”

Hanna shrugged and answered nonchalantly.

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“What about the others…?”

“They’re all fighting hard, of course. Some of them even lost.”

“And how did you manage it?”

“Me?”

Hanna gave a faint smile and thought of the Red-Haired Butler, who was somewhere out there.

“I’m not afraid of anything except the Butler. If he had appeared as my clone, that might’ve been a different story. Haha.”

“You…”

-Bzzzzzz…!

“It’s coming, Senior.”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll cover you for now, so catch your breath.”

“Got it.”

Before the words even left her mouth, thin tree branches shot out from the dust cloud like spears. Moving too fast for the eye to follow, one branch grazed Hanna’s cheek before embedding itself in the ground, writhing as if alive.

Thorns began to sprout.

-Crack…!

Tiny thorns wriggled like veins along the extended branches, amplifying the sense of dread.

Hanna quickly turned, grabbed Chartia, and moved them out of the way. And at that moment, with a cracking sound, new branches began to extend from the original ones.

Like a cobweb spreading out, the branches stretched as if to skewer them. Hanna clicked her tongue and raised her sword.

“Damn…!”

-Slash…!

Hanna gritted her teeth and swung her sword.