I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 179: You’re a better person than I thought!

"What, why...! Eek!"

Elisha fell backward.

’W-What? Why did I fall?’

She scrambled to her knees and looked down. The seemingly solid sand beneath her was swirling into a violent, expanding funnel. It was pulling everything down into the dark depths of the desert. The dreadful name of the trap filled her mind.

"Desert quicksand...!"

She tried to push mana into her legs to jump clear, but the sand was too loose. It absorbed the kinetic force instantly.

"Ah..."

Right beside her, the three unconscious guards were being rapidly sucked toward the center of the quicksand pit.

’No.’

Elisha stopped trying to climb out. She turned around and waded deeper into the sinking sand. She grabbed the nearest guard by his tactical vest and hurled him backward toward the stable edge of the pit. He landed hard in the safe sand.

The other two guards and the cadet were much closer to the center. If she went for them, she wouldn’t be able to escape the suction in time.

’Even so!’

Elisha gritted her teeth, waded through the heavy, suffocating sand, and grabbed the remaining two guards by their collars. She pulled with all her might.

"Ah, ugh!"

It was no use. The suction was too strong. They wouldn’t budge an inch. The sand was already up to her waist.

Sigh.

A heavy, exasperated sigh came from right beside her.

Elisha turned her head. Lucien was standing completely still right next to her, looking incredibly annoyed. He had deliberately walked into the center of the quicksand.

Before Elisha could yell at him, he reached down, grabbed the two sinking guards with one hand each, and hauled them out of the suction with terrifying physical strength. He tossed them out of the pit like they weighed nothing, sending them landing safely next to the first guard.

’I... I didn’t expect that.’

Elisha stared at him, bewildered. ’Seriously, Lucien, how strong are you?’

"Th-Thanks... Eek!"

The quicksand suddenly accelerated. The ground gave way completely, and the sand surged up to Elisha’s chest. Escape was now physically impossible.

She looked over at Lucien. He was sinking just as fast. He was going to die because he stepped in to help her save the guards.

’...What?’

Even facing imminent death, Lucien’s face was completely blank. He wasn’t panicking. He wasn’t struggling. Was he just calm? Was he taking this seriously? Or had he simply given up?

’...I have no regrets.’

Being buried alive in quicksand meant certain death. Using blast magic to clear the sand would only cause the pit to collapse faster. It was called a ’Desert Hell’ for a reason.

Still, dying after saving three people made the end slightly less bitter.

But there was one thing she couldn’t leave unsaid.

"Hey, you...!" Elisha shouted over the rushing sand.

"...?" Lucien gave her a deadpan look.

"...You’re a better person than I thought!"

"...?"

His expression clearly said, What is she talking about now?

Fine. If she was going to die, she was going to be completely honest.

"In the next life, be a bit more honest! Ask for help if you need it! Stop hiding behind that villain act! We’re about to die, so let’s be real! You’re kinder than you pretend to be, right?! I know it!"

"..."

"And you! You were the one who defused the master core at the Grand Plaza, weren’t you?! I know it! I know you fought Kael in that alley! You protected the city... Ugh, sand!"

"..."

"Hey! Say something! ...Hah! I wanted to be buried properly in the Ravenscroft family mausoleum! Pfft, pfft!"

"..."

Spitting out sand and a desperate confession, Elisha sank below the surface of the quicksand.

Lucien’s final look before the sand swallowed him was one of utter, exhausted annoyance. What is wrong with this girl?

Still, as the darkness closed in, Elisha felt a strange sense of peace. He wasn’t a villain. He had chosen to die alongside her to save three strangers.

Please, just don’t let me be nothing but bones rolling in the desert...!

*****

"Time to get up, Cadet Elisha."

"Huh?"

Elisha opened her eyes. She wasn’t buried in sand. She was being held securely in Lucien’s arms. He was carrying her bridal-style.

She blinked, looking around at the dark, stone ceiling above them.

"Is this... Hell?" she mumbled.

"Enough with the dramatic nonsense. Walk on your own," Lucien said flatly.

"Ahh!"

He unceremoniously dropped her. She landed on her feet, but her knees buckled slightly from the shock. Her highly trained body barely felt the impact, but his attitude was still incredibly annoying.

"Hey! You could put me down gently—"

Elisha cut herself off, her eyes widening as she finally took in her surroundings.

They weren’t in the desert anymore. They were standing inside a massive, subterranean stone corridor. Towering pillars lined the walkway, and ancient, glowing geometric symbols were carved deeply into the walls. It felt like they had stepped back in time.

"Where... are we...?" she breathed.

"An ancient ruin," Lucien said, dusting the sand off his coat. "The quicksand wasn’t a natural trap. It was the entrance mechanism. Welcome to the Eudialyte Catacombs."

A herd of border guard camels galloped furiously across the freezing desert.

The expressions of the riders were uniformly grave. Commander Sophie rode at the forefront, her jaw set tight.

"Valerius! Still nothing?!" Sophie called out over the wind.

"The tracks continue straight ahead! Just a bit further... Ah! Stop! Everyone halt!"

Valerius signaled frantically with his hands, pulling back hard on his camel’s reins. The beast snorted and skidded to a stop in the sand. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Sophie pulled up beside him, frustrated by the sudden halt.

"Valerius, what’s wrong? Why did we stop?"

Valerius didn’t answer immediately. He stared silently into the pitch-black desert ahead.

Sophie followed his gaze, glaring into the darkness. At first, she saw nothing but rolling dunes.

"...!"

Then she saw it. Something was charging toward them through the dark at a ferocious speed.

"A monster?" a guard yelled, drawing his sword.

"No. It’s a camel," Valerius said, lowering his bow.

A single, saddled camel came running over the dune, completely riderless.

"Commander," Valerius said grimly, inspecting the ground where the camel had come from. "The tracks end right here. Someone deliberately swept the sand to erase their trail."

Sophie gritted her teeth. She turned to the combat team she had assembled from the surviving guards.

"Spread out and search the grid! No solo actions! If the culprits are organized enough to cover their tracks after an ambush, they are highly dangerous. Move in groups of at least five!"

"Understood!"

The combat team swiftly formed their squads and dispersed into the dark dunes, moving with military precision.

Valerius, confident in his Gold-Rank abilities, intended to scout ahead alone.

"Brother! Wait! Let’s go together!"

Valerius turned in surprise. "Leon?"

His younger brother rode up beside him, a heavy combat bow strapped to his back.

"You followed us?! What about the cadets at the camp?!" Valerius demanded.

"I organized the defense and left the senior guards in charge!" Leon replied smoothly. "They’re high-ranking nobles, Brother. Calming down after a panic is second nature to them. They’re safe behind the repaired barricades."

"...Fine. We need every experienced fighter we can get out here," Valerius sighed, conceding the point.

Objectively speaking, Leon, as a third-year senior at the Imperium Academy, was vastly more capable than most of the active-duty border rabble.

"Alright! I grabbed some tracking flares from the warehouse, Brother. Let me show you..." Leon smiled, pulling a flare from his belt.

Valerius couldn’t help but return the smile. He felt a deep sense of pride looking at his commendable younger brother. Thank you for growing into such a reliable man, Leon.

Valerius knew the dark side of his brother better than anyone. He knew the boy who was consumed by a deep, festering inferiority complex. He knew the boy who was fiercely, quietly jealous of his older brother’s Gold-Rank status.

The day Valerius was appointed as an Academy Professor, he had caught Leon—then just a first-year cadet—strangling a stray cat behind the estate with his bare hands.

As an older brother, Valerius knew he had a duty to intervene, to stop that darkness, to discipline him. But he hadn’t. He had turned a blind eye.

On the surface, Leon was always perfectly filial to their parents and affectionate toward his brother. Valerius had convinced himself that time and maturity would eventually heal Leon’s twisted mind.

Looking at him now, that judgment seemed correct.

Even tonight, Leon had taken the initiative to lead the club during the attack, and now he was risking his life to find the missing guards, Elisha, and Cadet Lucien. Valerius was especially proud because Leon must have felt intensely jealous after losing to Lucien in the shooting match that afternoon, yet here he was, acting like a true leader.

Valerius was genuinely impressed.

He truly believed his brother had grown past his darkness.

"Brother, let’s search that way," Leon pointed toward a dark, rocky outcropping in the distance.

"Why there?"

"It just feels right. A gut instinct."

"Alright. Lead the way," Valerius nodded.

...He was completely unaware that his judgment was a fatal mistake.