The Genius Villain Dies Tomorrow

Rian reached the bottom of the stairs quickly and found something that confirmed his initial theory right off the bat.

A room, that had been crudely made and was so old that pretty much everything was coated in a thick layer of dust and grime. There was a bed, dining table, and even a few books on a bookshelf.

However, just off to the side, a lantern was dangling on a hook. On it, the insignia of a rose was present. There was only one house that bore such an insignia, and it was Rosenheim.

"Young Master, wait for me...!"

Alicia said as she climbed down the steps. Her dress was obviously too long to be functional in combat, but Rian wasn’t going to comment on it.

Instead, he picked up the lantern, trying to inspect its mechanisms and figure out why the founder had left such an object here.

But as soon as Alicia made it to the bottom of the steps, her eyes widened in recognition as she saw Rian hold the lantern.

"A portkey..."

"Really?" Rian responded, not really believing the item he was holding was that valuable.

Portkeys were objects that were imbued with teleportation magic, usually to some other place. However, they were long-lost devices of past civilizations. One existing here might be more of a sign than he initially thought.

"Seems like this is how we’re going to get to it."

"Get to where?" Alicia asked, finally unable to contain her worry any longer. "Young Master, where are we even going?"

Rian answered simply. "The Forgotten Temple of Ephenia. You’ve heard about the myth, haven’t you?"

With the name being mentioned, his maid’s eyes finally snapped wide open, realizing what Rian’s plan was all along.

There was a common myth going around Rosenheim, that in exchange for worshipping the Goddess of Nature, Ephenia—she would give the people a relic that would guarantee them good harvest and abundant life.

"Young Master," Alicia frowned. "Wouldn’t the land become infertile if you take away the Seed of Abundance?"

But Rian shook his head, completely aware of what he was doing. "No, the land has already soaked enough of its magic to go on for at least another century. And once I figure out how to cure my curse, I’ll simply return it."

"You’re going to use a divine relic to cure yourself?"

"The Seed can’t cure my body. I’m borrowing its vitality. That’s all."

Alicia still didn’t look particularly convinced, but Rian had already turned his attention back toward the portkey.

There was still one problem. If this thing really led directly into the Forgotten Temple, surely anyone who stumbled across it could’ve done the exact same thing.

That was when the particular myth caught his attention. If it had been real, the Goddess would’ve probably made someone with a lot of influence to become the seed’s protector.

And who else but the lord of the territory to do so? Not to mention that he spent all this time creating this hidden staircase, it wasn’t much of a reach.

’He was probably its guardian. Which probably means...’

Rian reached down and took Alicia by the wrist.

"Come here."

"What are you—?"

He pulled her tightly against himself before she could finish.

"Y—Young Master...?"

"Stay close."

"That’s not what I’m—"

If the Founder really had been the Temple’s guardian, then there was a good chance the portkey had been designed to recognize his bloodline.

And Rian could think of one very literal way to test that.

He bit down on the tip of his thumb. Immediately, a bead of blood welled against his skin until it finally fell over.

Plip—!

The droplet struck the rose engraved into the lantern. And for half a second, nothing really seemed to happen.

’Well, that didn’t work...’

Then the rose lit up a crimson color, before—

FWIIIIP—!

Rian stumbled forward, and Alicia had crashed into his chest a short moment later, only barely managing to keep both of them upright.

"...Ow."

"...Young Master."

"Yeah?"

"Please warn me next time."

"I wasn’t entirely sure it would work."

"...You weren’t sure?"

Rian wisely looked away, deciding that any more would cause him to get into big trouble with her. Well, not like he isn’t already.

The lantern in his hand remained, although he couldn’t really feel the mana coming from it anymore.

’Seems like it was a one-way trip...’

Alicia tried to look around, however, the entire place was completely dark. Squinting only barely helped, but just barely.

"Young Master," she said calmly. "Could you provide some light? I’m not compatible with the Light Element."

"Ah...right."

Rian was hesitant, as the math in his head told him that each [Ars Lux] would effectively be seven minutes of his lifespan gone in an instant. But well, not having light would be worse.

〈Ars Lux〉— Manifest Light.

[Estimated Lifespan: 19 hours, 32 minutes]

A ball of light appeared in his hand, yet as soon as it did, the spell was ripped straight form his hand and swallowed by the lantern. And just a second later, a pale white flame flickered to life, illuminating the space.

’Huh...neat.’

Now that the entire place was visible, Rian realized how dilapidated the place really was.

The entire place was massive, and really was the size of a temple. Yet everything was now buried underground. Enormous roots protruded through cracks in the walls, coupled with vines curling around broken supporting columns.

And finally, directly ahead of them...was a headless statue of a woman with one hand pressed against her chest. Even Rian recognized her.

’Ephenia...’

But almost as soon as the awe settled in, something else did too.

Small tapping could be heard in the dark, as glowing yellow eyes could be seen from within the veil of shadows. A horrid stench came from deeper within the ruins, followed by guttural voices speaking in a language Rian didn’t recognize.

"Young Master. Don’t move...’

As soon as her words rang out, a thin object traveled through the dark and toward Rian’s face at high speed. His eyes widened, seeing the object in time but not being able to react.

But instead of reaching its target, Alicia had pulled out a set of twin daggers and deflected the arrow to the side.

’Ahh...I could barely see that. Am I really going to be okay?!’

So with the best impression of a dignified Young Master, Rian crossed his arms behind his back and spoke in a deep voice.

"Alicia."

"Yes?"

"I’ll leave it to you."

"..."

"What? I’m dying. You got this, right?"

With a sigh, all she could do now was to follow her Young Master’s orders. Alicia readied the twin daggers to her side—

And dashed forward, into the dark.

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