A Villain's Will to Survive novel Chapter 252

Chapter 252: Sacrifice (2)

There’s so much I want to ask. There’s so much I’m desperate to hear. There’s so much I want to give, and just as much I hope to receive. I want to stay beside you through all the seasons to come. But... maybe loving someone doesn’t mean you’ll always be loved back. Did I understand this too late, or was I too afraid to know? Sylvia thought.

... Even now, Deculein continues to kill himself. Because of my selfishness, he lives every day in the agony of letting himself die. Watching him die—over and over again—feels like my heart is being ripped to pieces. It’s all because of me. Everything is, because of me...

“No, sweetie.”

Sylvia turned her head, drawn by the sudden, tender weight of Cielia’s voice and words, as if unseen arms had gathered her into their warmth.

"Deculein said it himself, Sylvia—it’s not your fault," Cielia said, her smile as light as a breeze as she wiped the tears from Sylvia’s cheeks.

However, Sylvia still found herself doubting, even at this very moment.

“Mom, Cielia,” Sylvia called.

“Yes?”

"... Cielia, are you really real?"

Cielia once told me that she was real—not something fake I created, but real, Sylvia thought.

"Yes, of course. I'm real," Cielia replied with a blooming smile.

"You're lying," Sylvia said with a slight narrowing of her eyes.

"I'm telling you, I am real~ You don't even believe mommy anymore?"

"... It's okay. I'm not running away."

"Sylvia, mommy won't run away too."

Sylvia still wore a face clouded with doubt, while Cielia, playing along, chuckled and flashed a knowing smile.

As the moment passed, a small wave broke against the shores of Sylvia’s heart.

— Sylvia.

It was the voice of a demon imprisoned within Sylvia, spreading like the faint ripples of a silent lake, its tone hauntingly similar to Deculein’s. Sylvia, however, pressed it down and turned away.

— Sylvia.

You're too late, you foolish demon, Sylvia thought. _{fɾēewebnσveℓ.com}

And with that, the Voice fell silent.

Sylvia looked back at Cielia, who was already waiting with open arms. Without hesitation, Sylvia stepped into her arms, and only then did she raise her eyes to the window—for the first time that year.

"... It’s so clear," Sylvia muttered.

For a year, only snow had fallen, but she noticed how much the island had changed now that spring had come—flowers bloomed, bees took flight, new plants sprouted, and migratory birds crossed the skies. Sylvia had never brought such life into the world herself. It could only mean one thing—the Voice was beginning to awaken.

"It’s almost time for him to come," Cielia said.

“And it will be a goodbye,” Sylvia replied, a faint smile touching her lips.

At Sylvia’s words, Cielia’s eyes rounded in surprise, only to melt a moment later into a radiant smile of pride as she hugged Sylvia even tighter, pressing her daughter close to her heart.

"Yes, it will be a sweet goodbye..."

***

Swoooosh...

"... Hey, Idnik, when’s he coming?" Jukaken asked.

Along the island’s golden shore, the waves whispered against the sand as Arlos, Jukaken, and Idnik stood waiting in the calm between tides, watching the horizon for someone they knew would soon arrive.

Because the real Deculein is coming across the sea.

"Soon, since the Voice hasn't been opened completely for long," Idnik muttered.

"But Idnik, why would Deculein hide the fact that he was taking his own life from everyone?" Arlos asked, briefly glancing at her.

"Because that's how you make it dramatic," Idnik replied.

"... Dramatic? What is this, a performance?" Jukaken asked, tilting his head.

"Yes, Deculein planned all along to be found out, as it was his plan from the beginning—because his only purpose was to persuade Sylvia," Idnik replied with a shrug.

“... That makes sense,” Arlos said, nodding.

Though it was Deculein who drew the magic circle, without Sylvia’s cooperation, its manifestation would have been nearly impossible.

"Between being found out after a few dozen deaths and after a thousand, the latter is far more convincing. With that, he coerced Sylvia."

It was through Idnik that Arlos and Jukaken heard the idea of coercion—and they understood its meaning.

“Well, that’s a big problem.”

Because Sylvia had already become one with the Voice, her sacrifice was the inevitable price for the only way to kill it. Also, even if the Voice were successfully exterminated, Sylvia could never leave the island—and under no circumstances could she ever return to the continent. Not for a long time, and perhaps, never.

"So, does that mean Sylvia has to watch over this island—managing the place as if she were some kind of lighthouse keeper?" Jukaken muttered, glancing up at the tall lighthouse at the island's center, where Sylvia lives.

"Yes. Sylvia may not die, but she will have to spend her years on this island—until she can retrieve the Voice spread across the entire continent, until she can tear away the last of the Voice latched onto her."

Now, Sylvia had become the Voice itself—the inevitable price of a moment's loneliness that had led her to swallow a demon whole. The demon’s power was so tenacious that even if the magic circle succeeded in exterminating its original form, the remnants would haunt her, tormenting Sylvia for at least ten years to come.

"Deculein knew it all from the start and coerced Sylvia into sacrificing herself—for if she would not sacrifice herself, there was no choice but for him to kill her."

A kind of threat—if Sylvia refused to accept her sacrifice, Deculein would continue to take his own life without end.

"... It really was the best that could be done," Jukaken said with a nod.

Arlos turned her eyes back to the sea.

"Oh, hey, look. Sylvia—she’s over there."

At that moment, Jukaken pointed toward the breakwater, where Sylvia sat alone, silently staring in their direction.

"Holy shit. Did she hear everything we said? Is she going to rage again?" Jukaken asked, a shudder running through him.

Then, Sylvia's brows drew together as if Jukaken's words were too pathetic to deserve a response.

Wham—!

Idnik smacked Jukaken on the back of his head.

“Argh! Oh, you motherfucker.”

"Don’t be ridiculous. Sylvia is ten times smarter than you, so she already knows. Sylvia’s just waiting for Deculein—and keeping Gerek in check."

"... Ahem," Jukaken murmured, clearing his throat.

As Idnik had said, Gerek was hiding somewhere nearby, waiting for a chance to strike at Deculein—who, to be fair, had achieved this result without lifting a finger.

After all, it was the fake Deculein who’s been taking his own life.

"Over there!" Arlos said, pointing into the distance.

Jukaken and Idnik both widened their eyes as splashes broke across the distant horizon, heading toward them.

Wait, no—that's not just splashing.

"Whoa, what the hell? Is he a whale or something?"

Deculein was tearing through the sea, storming toward them at a speed almost too fast for the eye to follow.

Fwooooooosh—!

The waves of the sea grew rougher, stirred by nothing more than a single man forcing his way through the water. In silence, Idnik, Arlos, and Jukaken watched the Professor thrash toward them, looking for all the world like a fish.

Splaaaash—!

Riding the crashing waves as if to overturn the sea itself, Deculein stepped ashore, planting both feet in the sand like some merman, yet there was no sign of exhaustion upon him, and his soaked clothes flowed neat and smooth, draping over him like flowing silk.

Bathed in sunlight that settled like a blessing, Deculein straightened his attire, casting Cleanse to dry away the last drops of seawater, and surveyed those waiting for him with his piercing blue eyes.

Arlos tensed as the words of the previous Deculein flashed through her mind, now standing in her original form—and there was no puppet to replace her.

"Arlos," Deculein called as he looked upon her.

Arlos nodded, the thundering of her heart loud in her ears—but she stood her ground, not running from him.

Did I make the right choice? Arlos thought.

"Oh, what?" Idnik muttered, a bitter laugh slipping from her lips.

Shake, shake— Shake, shake—

Ruuuuuumble—!

"Necessary, is it?" Deculein replied, his hand reaching for Arlos.

"Sigh~” Idnik murmured, breathing out a long breath.

Whooooooosh...