I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

Chapter 149:

2 months ago.

“So… why is armor on the equipment purchase list?”

In the reception room, which was undamaged at the time, Til scratched her head roughly and glared.

“I heard you decided on the equipment count shadow corps will purchase.”

“I did.”

“Setting other things aside, isn’t armor a waste of the budget?”

“Did the Finance Head throw a fit?”

“Hmph… It’s not that….”

He did plead with me a bit about buying only high-end equipment, but that wasn’t why I brought it up.

“It’s just a simple question. Aren't there many people who don't use armor? For example….”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Because I don’t need it.”

She said it so confidently and loudly that I was a bit dumbfounded.

At my silence, Til crossed her arms with a face full of dissatisfaction.

“What, are you doubting my skills?”

“No, it’s not that, but.”

“There are two conditions for using armor. One, you don’t know how to deal with magic. Two, you know how to handle magic to some extent. I’m neither of those.”

“So you mean you don't use it because you have no talent for magic.”

“Are you trying to pick a fight?”

No, she said it with her own mouth, so why was she getting angry at me?

Of course, I didn't say it out loud.

No need to needlessly get on her nerves.

“Well, for someone at your level, armor must seem ridiculous. An average one wouldn’t even be able to block your magic.”

“Is that so?”

“If a mage’s level is even a little low, the power of their magic drops drastically just from the interference spells or interference paint applied to the armor. From the perspective of a sword and spear user, that alone makes it worth wearing.”

Ah, so it was meant for anti-magic purposes.

It makes sense, otherwise it would be useless.

“What do you mean by ‘you need to know how to use magic’?”

“It means you use magic to cover the disadvantages of wearing armor. Like, while taking a weaker hit with the armor, you charge in with acceleration, or you guide an attack to an unarmored part and block just that part with a defensive spell.”

I roughly understood.

She was surprisingly knowledgeable about the theoretical side, too.

I thought she was just good at fighting.

“…What’s with that ‘you’re smarter than I thought’ look on your face.”

“Me? I wasn’t thinking that at all.”

I made the excuse quickly, but seeing as she was still glaring, it didn’t seem very effective.

I decided to change the subject.

“What if someone with solid magic skills wears armor that nullifies all of my magic?”

“Well, I doubt there’s anyone who would wear something that ridiculously expensive, but….”

Til became quiet, as if running a simulation in her head.

After standing motionless for a long time, Til finally opened her mouth.

“Drop him in water.”

“What?”

“Even if they assist themselves with magic, the weight doesn't just disappear. No matter how much of a monster they are, they won't be able to crawl out of the water quickly while wearing that much armor.”

***

I glanced at the river.

It was a disappointing size compared to the Han River that Koreans think of when they hear 'river', but it was still large enough to be called a river.

I didn't know how deep it was, but it was at least deep enough to submerge a person.

A monster like that was unlikely to drown, but he would at least have to flail around for a while.

The problem was how to drop him....

Looking at Ragion blocking the middle of the bridge, just figuring out how to get him to the railing was a headache.

‘I have no choice but to just try it.’

I didn't have time.

Rather than making a plan, it was better to just clash and improvise.

As I got closer, the sharp tip of his blade cut through the wind with a vicious sound.

Even so, Ragion didn't move much from the spot where he stood.

‘Does he intend to stay in the center as much as possible?’

His movement was quite different from when we had the chase in the street.

This wasn't the same momentum he had when he swung his sword recklessly at the street or walls.

It wasn't that he wasn't sharp.

It was just that he was being a little more careful.

‘To put it another way, did he also know that falling into the water was dangerous?’

He had made a place that could be dangerous for him into his defensive line, but it had its advantages.

There was no way something like light body skill existed, so I couldn't walk on water or jump over Ragion.

And I didn't have time to go back.

I could see why he'd gone so far as to perform a stunt to position himself on the bridge first.

The bridge was too narrow to look away and break through.

As for blowing up the bridge, Ragion had already occupied the side toward the Royal Palace.

If I showed any sign of trying to blow it up, he just had to take a few steps back, and that would be it.

In the end, it meant I had to face him head-on one way or another.

“You seem to be itching for a fight.”

“My top priority is to prevent you from reaching the Duke, Count.”

It was a tone full of confidence.

Confidence that he could at least stall for time if we clashed with strength against strength on the bridge, where tricks wouldn't work.

It was an annoying, but perfectly valid, judgment.

“In this situation, Count, you cannot go to the Royal Palace.”

“Is that advice, or a mockery?”

“I heard you awakened your eyes in the Stetten territory and fought old man Tarif. If you want to get past me, you will have to show a resolve befitting that.”

The voice flowing from within the helmet was tinged with anticipation.

I let out a shallow sigh without realizing it.

This is why I hate battle-maniac characters.

They want a life-and-death clash, not a formal fight, yet they believe there's no possibility of them failing their mission; it was the height of arrogance.

Of course, I didn't have a good way to pierce that arrogance.

It's not like I could just use Revealed Eye as he wished.

“Unfortunately, I don't think I have the luxury of using that much power on you, Mr. Ragion.”

“That's a shame.”

It was literally a disappointed voice, but he didn't press further or threaten me.

“Then you cannot cross this bridge.”

“We'll have to see about that.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I rushed straight at Ragion.

Head-on, unlike how I had been twisting my body to avoid a blow until now.

Ragion also reacted keenly to my movement.

I didn't know the exact swordsmanship or techniques, but I could vaguely tell what kind of stance he was taking.

He gripped the two-handed longsword, which he had been holding lightly and swinging like flowing water, with both hands and rested it on his shoulder like a baseball bat.

Anyone could see his intent to swing with all his might.

To the point where I thought I'd be split in two if he struck me.

But if I backed down here, it would all be for nothing.

I accelerated even more toward the giant lump of metal.

The light spells I cast all scattered before even reaching the armor, but it didn't matter.

Shwiik!

The blow, which had gathered all his strength, made a sharp noise.

Not a heavy whooshing sound, but literally a sound that tore the air.

It was obvious I'd be bisected if it hit.

A sense of fear wrapped around my body, but I ignored it and took another step forward.

The distance to Ragion closed to point-blank, and I activated the defensive spell embedded in my staff.

Kwajik!

As the defensive spell shattered helplessly, I felt something dig into my left shoulder.

I turned my head slightly and saw the two-handed longsword embedded in my shoulder.

My blood ran cold seeing the blade lodged in, just short of cutting it clean off.

The pain… did I even need to say it?

It hurt like hell.

No matter how recklessly I could treat Valheit's body, it couldn't endure something like this.

Even as I grimaced in pain, I tried my best to twitch my lips into a smile.

“You have quite the gentle personality. If you had swung as planned, you would have split my head in half. Or were you just a coward who didn't want to make your master deal with the aftermath?”

“…The match is decided.”

“I don't think so.”

“!”

Ragion, sensing the movement of mana, reached for my right hand.

He must have judged that if I were to use magic, it would be from that hand, and tried to block it with the power of his armor.

It was a natural and obvious judgment.

“A shame you got the 50/50 guess wrong.”

[Skill ‘Experimental Medicine’ activated!]

The status window flickered, and my left hand moved with a creak.

I could see the eyes inside the helmet widening in shock as they saw the almost-severed arm move.

“Then let’s enter the water together.”

Cracks formed in the stone bridge with a splitting sound.

Mana inserted into the tiny cracks materialized and expanded, creating new cracks, and more mana flowed into those cracks.

Ragion prepared to retreat, but it didn't go as planned.

Most of the surrounding mana was being channeled into collapsing the bridge, so there wasn't enough mana left to move his massive armor nimbly.

Kuu-rureung!

The bridge, having reached its breaking point, began to collapse, and Ragion and I fell together.

Watching Ragion fall toward the water's surface, I smiled faintly.

“Let's meet again later.”

A black hand extended from my shoulder and grabbed the still-intact railing.

Unlike me, who was hanging, Ragion fell straight down and disappeared beneath the water's surface with a loud splash.

‘He won’t die.’

He’s the type to crawl out even if it means tearing off his armor.

Of course, it would take a while, but at least he wouldn't be able to follow me while I went to the Royal Palace.

I climbed onto the intact top of the bridge and examined my left arm.

It was a huge relief that it wasn't cut off.

In other words, it was a miracle it was still attached.

‘That was close.’

I used Mana Grasp to forcibly hold the dangling left arm against my shoulder.

This sloppy plan working was purely luck.

I had figured that Ragion couldn't make the decision to kill Valheit on his own without the Duke's order, and that the defensive spell could reduce the power of the blow to some extent.

In reality, Ragion had diverted the sword aimed at my head to target my shoulder, and the defensive spell had done its job, somewhat.

Even so, my arm was almost completely severed.

If it had been cut off, I wouldn't have even been able to use the Experimental Medicine skill.

Because it was specified that it couldn't be used if physically detached.

If Ragion had put just a little more force into it, I would have become a one-armed Count.

‘…Can this even be fixed?’

I clicked my tongue, looking at my twitching left arm.

I doubted whether even Valheit’s healing factor could fix this.

‘…First, I’ll deal with the urgent matter.’

There's no point in sacrificing an arm if the First Duke ends up dead.

At the end of the straight road, the Royal Palace came into view.

I quickened my pace and ran toward the Royal Palace.

***

When Hendrick's endlessly long-winded speech finally ended, Victor clapped hard.

This damned event was finally over.

“This concludes the press conference.”

“Wait a minute! You have to take the picture!”

A squawking voice burst out from among the reporters.

He glared at the reporter who had made the rude noise, but the wolves didn't back down.

“Taking a picture is a legitimate right of the newspaper company!”

“That’s right! Do you know how much we spent for this one picture?”

Like I care.

Just as he was about to ignore them, Johann Geller grabbed Victor’s shoulder.

Victor, reading the permission in Johann’s expression, shook his head in exasperation.

“Old man, this is….”

“The Geller Family has nothing to hide. There's no need to avoid it. And we shouldn't look weak.”

“This isn’t the time for political considerations.”

“No. Political considerations must always be made.”

This damned stubborn old man.

Victor swore internally and searched for words to refuse, but eventually gave up.

In the end, the Three Blades were an organization that existed to carry out the First Duke's will.

“We will take only one picture.”

“Ah, of course. Hey! Photographer! Let’s hurry up, take the picture, and let the Duke leave.”

Unlike the excited reporters, the taciturn-looking photographer and his assistant quickly set up the camera.

Hendrick, the rest of the Investigation Team, and Johann Geller stood in front of the camera.

In that moment, Victor felt a sense of unease from the scene.

He had checked the identities of all the reporters attending the conference.

But the guy next to that photographer was a face he was seeing for the first time.

“That bastard, who is he.”

“He’s a local assistant. Their camera supposedly broke, so they had no choice but to hire a local.”

“A local?”

“He's someone who’s worked as a photographer in Gellihain for a long time. We checked the camera and the photographic plates, and there was nothing wrong.” Get full chapters from NoveI~Fire.net

“Taking the picture.”

The photographer draped the black cloth over himself and operated the camera.

A sense of dread washed over him.

“Wai….”

Paaaang!

The moment Victor opened his mouth, the camera flashed brightly and let out an ear-splitting explosion.

“Old man!”

Before the dust even settled, Victor leaped forward and then froze.

Someone was standing between the place where the camera had been and the Investigation Team.

“I'm not late, it seems.”

Through the thick dust, an unwelcome face appeared.

Even with his left arm half torn off and having been caught in the explosion, Valheit was grinning.

“You shouldn't leave me out of this kind of event.”