Broken Story: Reborn as a Villainess Author-Chapter 33: Howl of Virtue
The subtle air faded slowly. Nieves felt the solid ground under her feet again, she wasn’t floating mid air anymore.
She turned her head to the side where she felt someone hold her hand. It was Baron Shen... he walked with his eyes closed, smiling as he pulled her toward the villa.
Nieves looked down at the blade in her other hand and swung.
Slice!
Baron Shen’s arm separated from his body at the elbow joint. The severed limb dropped to the ground, fingers twitching slightly.
"Ahhhhhhh!" The Baron’s scream tore through the courtyard. He stumbled backward, his other arm grabbing the wound as blood spurted out, pooling heavily on the ground.
The Baron made no attempt to wait and see what Nieves would do to him, he used a nearby pillar to raise himself up, leaving a red handprint on the white marble.
Then, he pushed off and ran with all his might, going around the back.
"Help! Someone Help me!!" He shouted out loud, his voice filled with desperation.
Nieves walked behind him slowly, monitoring his movement like a prey.
Baron Shen tripped over his own feet and crashed forward into the dirt. He turned back and saw Nieves approaching.
"No! no! no!" He tried to crawl, dragging himself with one arm, his knees scraped against the gravel, blood smearing in a long streak behind him, marking his path.
Nieves stopped beside him and placed her boot on his back.
"Please! Please, I’ll give you anything! Money, gold... Whatever you want!" Shen’s voice came out in sobs.
Nieves looked down at him in disgust as she pressed her boot harder into his spine... leaning down to question him. "Who else was involved in the attack on Grimoire Island?"
"I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!"
C-Crack!
Nieves pressed her boot harder, enough to crack his spine bone. The Baron screamed in agony... but Nieves didn’t care.
She kicked him onto his back, then knelt down and pressed the tip of her blade to his throat.
"Try again..." Her voice was much colder this time.
Baron Shen’s whole body trembled, tears mixed with sweat and dirt on his face. He didn’t know the island she was talking about but if it was one of the many islands he ordered people to raid and destroy... then he had an answer.
"I-It was a guild! A guild hired me!" It was a blatant lie he said to protect himself. If he had told her it was him... she would kill him on the spot.
"What guild?"
...
Sylvester saw the person in front of him change and knew in an instant. His lord was in trouble.
Before he could land on the ground to help the Baron.
A simple word came out of Acheron’s mouth.
"Predominance."
Thud!
His face smashed into the dirt. He struggled to move but this invisible weight pressed down on him from above. He was pinned down completely.
...
"T-T Howl of Virtue!" Baron Shen blurted out.
Nieves paused for a while, thinking back if she had ever heard such a name.
The Howl of Virtue... a guild with only seven members, each one of them were considered so dangerous, they were banned to only receive offers from S ranked dungeons only. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶
"What is the guild master’s name?" Nieves asked.
Baron Shen’s face went pale, his mouth opened but closed repeatedly. He knew the moment he says the name of "That Man" he is as good as dead but if he doesn’t he is dead anyways.
"I-I can’t..."
Slice!
Baron Shen’s other arm came off his shoulder, the limb fell beside him.
His scream was inhuman, tearing from his throat, the scream was painful to the human ear, the sound of a person facing real pain and suffering.
"What is the guild master’s name?" Nieves repeated, still unfazed by his screaming.
"H-H-H—" Baron Shen’s mouth filled with blood. "H-His name is..."
Thud!
His head rolled across the ground, separating cleanly from his body, it stopped at the fountain edge, his eyes and mouth still open.
Nieves froze up instantly.
Behind from where the baron had been, a figure blurred in. A man stood, holding a sword with blood dripping slowly from its edge.
Each drop hitting the stone with a soft...
plink!
She did not hear him approach at all nor did she feel his presence, breathing... nothing.
The man was tall and lean, wearing a dark coat that reached his knees. His hair was all brown and messy, falling across his head. His eyes looked like he hadn’t slept in days, creating a disgusted looking expression.
He pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket and wiped his blade with it slowly, then sheathed it behind him.
Nieves tightened her grip on her sword on instinct. Her legs tensed up but she didn’t move. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to leave that area immediately.
It was a rare feeling for her but she felt... fear.
This man was different... even without sensing his aura, she knew she would die if she dared attempt to fight.
The man walked towards her then stopped a few feet away, then raised his head. "Unless you want to lose your life... I suggest you continue living as you are..."
He took a while to bend his neck, releasing tension.
"Our master has taken a liking to you... Nieves Evergreen. Don’t throw away your life."
Nieves didn’t respond, at that moment, her throat felt dry. She knew she was looking at him but it felt like he wasn’t there at all.
The man simply walked past her, vanishing into thin air.
Nieves collapsed to her knees, staring at the empty space where he had been, her hand shaking from the adrenaline.
...
Acheron watched from the skies, the moment the man appeared, her visions were flooded with constant warnings from the system.
[Warning: hostile entity detected!]
[Retreat immediately!]
On the other hand, Stellar and Ophelia were in support of the complete opposite.
「 Acheron, don’t move... not a muscle... Ophelia is masking your presence right now so that monster doesn’t feel you. 」 Stellar warned.
『 Arg! I am trying my best but his sensory detection is too keen... he might find out at any moment. 』
「 Hold it off! 」
Acheron stayed perfectly still. She watched as the man spoke to Nieves then disappeared.
Gasp!
She finally was able to breathe again as she dropped down her arm.
