Chapter 65: Almost Scaring Evileye to Death (Patreon)

The fight between Entoma and Gagaran was rather uneventful.

When Gagaran was on the verge of death, Tia, the assassin of Blue Rose, arrived just in time to save her. However, they both were still quickly overwhelmed and outmatched by Entoma, until Evileye arrived.

With Gagaran and Tia’s support, along with Evileye’s 5th-tier spell Vermin Bane—the natural nemesis of Entoma—the tide of the battle began to turn.

Despite giving it her all and already knowing Evileye's strength, Entoma ultimately collapsed, her flesh torn and bloodied like a marionette with severed strings.

"We won."

Gagaran exclaimed in a hoarse voice. Her body was bruised and bleeding from numerous cuts and gashes, but she still stood upright.

"Let’s finish her off."

Tia suggested stepping forward, and Evileye agreed.

"It’s the smart thing to do."

Although Entoma was on the brink of death, she wasn't dead yet, and she was still trying to stand up to fight because she didn't want to disappoint Aurelius.

Noticing this, Tia hesitated as she stepped forward to deliver the final blow.

However, before she could react, her body abruptly froze. Evileye, who saw this, immediately fell silent as she realized it herself.

Something was wrong.

Crunch!

"What... what is this?!"

Gagaran's startled voice broke through the eerie silence as a block of ice erupted from the ground. The chilling cold seeped through the earth, freezing the lower halves of their bodies in an instant and immobilizing their legs.

A chilling layer of ice spread across the battlefield as the cold energy began to rise and form a large circle around them.

"My feet... I can't move! What kind of magic is this?"

Even Evileye, known for her calmness, spoke with a tremor of panic.

At that moment, Tia, standing stiffly next to Gagaran, raised a trembling finger and pointed toward the sky.

“There... someone's there...”

Right away, all turned their gazes upwards in unison, and the figure of a man hovering in the silvery light of the moon appeared in front of them.

His blood-red eyes locked onto them, glowing with a sinister charm that seemed to reach into the depths of their souls.

For a brief, terrifying moment, they felt as though those eyes were crushing their consciousness, and it took them all their strength to keep their composure and not collapse under the pressure.

The figure’s long, silverish-white hair fluttered elegantly in the breeze as his soft and distant smile transformed into a cold, predatory grin, sending chills down their spines.

When the Blue Rose members saw him landing beside the insect maid, Entoma, they felt a deep sense of dread.

As they stared at him, they struggled to steady their trembling bodies. It wasn’t just fear—it was an indescribable aura radiating from him, pressing down on them like an unmovable weight.

His beauty enchanted them all, yet terror gripped their hearts.

Sweat poured down their faces, their hearts pounding as the pressure grew heavier with each passing moment.

"Who… who are you?"

Eventually, it was Evileye who broke the silence in a shaky but determined voice, trying to regain control over the situation. The man, however, seemed wholly unconcerned with her.

His gaze lingered on Entoma for a moment, his expression softening as he gently touched her chin, inspecting her condition.

Then he nodded.

"Entoma, my child, you've done well. This defeat is not a failure, it's a lesson. When you return, review your shortcomings and weaknesses and think of a way to overcome them. Defeat does not equate to failure, but stagnation and surrender do. Now cheer up, you're a strong girl."

"A… Aurelius…sama…" Entoma muttered in a weak, barely audible voice, filled with deep gratitude.

"Don’t speak. Rest now. I’ll take it from here."

His voice was unnervingly calm, almost tender, as he reassured the bug maid. He spoke to her as if Blue Rose's members, standing before him with weapons drawn, did not exist.

With a wave of his hand, Entoma disappeared, and he finally turned to face the members of Blue Rose.

Opposite to him, Evileye's body trembled, and her instincts were screaming frantically every second. More than just fear, an overwhelming survival instinct surged through her—an innate signal of impending danger roaring crazily.

She could feel it—the true horror of this man in front of her. The overwhelming presence radiating from this man, dominating the atmosphere like a vast, suffocating ocean of malice.

The more you know, the more you understand, and the more you fear.

Evileye had lived for more than 250 years. She had encountered all manner of powerful beings—legends, heroes, monsters. But the aura this man emitted was anything she had ever experienced, even in her wildest dreams.

It was an ugly, twisted malice that sickened her, suffocating her soul.

Evileye gulped down her panic.

“This is bad… extremely bad.”

She suppressed her trembling body, held her breath, and desperately whispered to Gagaran and Tia beside her.

"You two, run... idiots, don't look this way. Just listen. That man—he's too strong... so strong it's desparing... So don’t look back—just run at full speed!"

“...What about you?”

Gagaran’s face was bitter as she asked that question. But unlike the anime, this time Evileye didn't even have the confidence to say she could run using [Teleportation].

She just screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Run! Now! Get away!!!"

Without hesitation, Tia and Gagaran turned and ran, leaving their comrade behind with a heavy guilt, but survival was now the only thing that mattered. They knew they couldn't let Evileye's sacrifice go to waste.

But such a sight only made the man chuckle, and he didn't even lift his hands to stop them from fleeing.

—Kraaaaahh!

—Raaaarghhh!

One by one, monstrous roars rang out, and out of nowhere, multiple dragons, each tens or hundreds of meters long, descended from the sky, circling around in a barrier, cutting off Gagaran and Tia’s escape.

Evileye’s heart sank as she looked up, her breath catching in her throat.

"Those... those are dragons?!"

Countless dragons hovered barely above the ground, each one emitted a terrifying aura.

There was no escape.

Instinct told Evileye what her mind had refused to believe. Every single one of those dragons was as powerful as a Dragon Lord.

Seeing that his little display almost scared this little girl to death, he shifted his gaze to Tia, and a wicked smile curled on his lips.

"It’s disappointing to part so soon. I was hoping to have more fun with such beautiful girls."

His words dripped with dark, predatory intent, sending chills down their spines.

"But... I don’t need all of you. So, [Die]"

In an instant, Gagaran collapsed beside Tia without a sound.

"Gagaran!"

Tia and Evileye stared in horror as Gagaran's body went limp and lifeless.

"What... what did you do to her?!"

Evileye roared in defiance, but the man merely shrugged.

"I simply told her to die. And she obeyed."

A cruel smile twisted his lips. "It’s easy to make lower creatures perish with just a word."

He laughed softly, mocking the Blue Rose members, and continued:

"You won’t be able to bring her back. Even resurrection magic would be useless. But..."

He tilted his head slightly, as if considering something. "Depending on my mood, I might offer you a way to revive her. So, what will it be? Will you beg, or will you entertain me?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Rage surged through Evileye, momentarily overwhelming her fear. Blue lightning crackled at her fingertips as she prepared to unleash her magic.

But...

"You're so impatient. [Disperse]."

With just a single word, her magic vanished as if it had never existed.

"W-what...!!"

Evileye felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness. What use was she as a magic caster if she couldn’t wield magic? With just one word, he had stripped her of everything.

“What... do you want?”

As she looked at the man, her voice, now resigned, trembled.

"What do I want? It’s simple. I want you, Evileye, and that ninja, too."

"Imposs—"

"Little brat, don't interrupt." He raised his hand, putting an end to her protests. "Let me introduce myself first."

"I am the one who will become your master from this day forward. Though perhaps you won’t understand if I say it like that. Let’s put it this way: I am a god descended to this world. You might have heard of beings like the Six Great Gods or the Eight Greed Kings. Those brats call me the Dragon Demon God... or the God of Calamity."

As soon as Evileye heard those words, the related memories flashed through her mind like a kaleidoscope of terror.

"No... it can’t be! That... that’s just a myth!" she screamed, her trembling worsening.

"Ohhh," the man chuckled darkly. "So, you know a bit of the truth after all. Hehe."

His blood-red eyes bore into hers, sending chills down her spine. Tia, watching from the side, shuddered as she noticed the grotesque smile splitting his face, stretching unnaturally toward his ears.

"Well then," he continued, "I won’t waste any more time. I have a proposal for you two. Refuse, and the royal capital might be annihilated."

Evileye’s head spun, the weight of his words sinking in like stones piling up. She swallowed her panic and forced herself to focus on him.

“What is the proposal?”

“My offer is—”

Before he could finish, Evileye lunged at him, cutting him off with a furious scream.

“Don’t spout bullshit!!!”

"???"