How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 136

Chapter 136: Ignition

The plan to rescue Karl was simple.

They would use Lochter, whose bounty was a staggering 100 million gold, as bait to draw everyone’s attention, then ambush the shamans and extract Karl in the chaos.

“Half-success,” I muttered, clicking my tongue.

With Karl slung over my back, I quickly surveyed the golden-lit surroundings.

A dazzling radiant glow enveloped the area.

By maximizing the output of my divine energy, I had managed to obscure the surroundings and retrieve Karl successfully. However, I couldn’t help but feel regret.

‘If only I could’ve dealt with the shamans while I was at it…’

Divine power was the natural enemy of black shamans, so a perfect ambush would’ve allowed to inflict serious damage. Instead, I had to hastily resort to Ignition, revealing my presence to the shamans—because I had spotted Karl on the brink of death.

Despite the considerable distance, it only took two breaths to close in and send the Van Dyke puppet flying.

An explosive burst of speed and power.

Ignition, which triggers an instantaneous surge by detonating latent energy and transcending the body’s physical limits, was undoubtedly an impressive ability.

However, the recoil it inflicted on my body was absurdly severe.

[Your vessel is pathetic, but your body is even more so.]

“I know that already,” I muttered through gritted teeth.

Though I hadn’t shown it in front of Karl, the recoil had left with a twisted ankle, making movent difficult. I had used the full power of my runic mark, as Retonicalus had suggested, to buy myself ti for recovery.

Ti wasn’t just essential for —it was crucial for Karl as well. His injuries were severe, and he needed ti to regain his strength.

From behind, I heard the sound of Karl gulping down a potion. It was the special potion I had received from Nella.

‘Just a little more.’

I could feel my twisted ankle quickly stabilizing as Retonicalus relayed information about my physical state.

[You can use Ignition up to five more tis. Avoid complex movents, or you may lose consciousness or suffer full-body paralysis.]

“Five tis, huh? That’s cutting it close.”

[That’s because your divine awakening is still active. Without it, you wouldn’t have gotten off with just a twisted ankle.]

So, this was the benefit of being in Divine Awakening—the power granted to when I designated Lochter Felice as my prey.

‘If I compare Ignition to bullets, that ans I’ve used one round, leaving with four shots.’

I flexed my ankle lightly, and the throbbing pain subsided. Judging by how the shamans had retreated from the light, I figured I still had a bit of breathing room.

But then—

“Move! Now!” Karl’s urgent warning rang out.

It was the Crisis Perceiver ability in action.

Without hesitation, I threw myself to the side.

Massive shadows burst through the golden light, their iron-clad fists slamming into the ground where we had just been.

Boom! BOOOOM!

Four Van Dyke puppets pounded the ground in quick succession, surrounding us in an instant before charging in relentlessly.

Despite the radiant divine energy I had unleashed, it had no effect on the iron-clad puppets. The runic power wasn’t penetrating their defenses.

“Behind you! Watch out!” Karl shouted.

I turned to see five more Van Dykes blocking our escape route, closing in rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, nine Van Dyke puppets had surrounded us.

“Why the hell are these things moving so fast?!”

Their movents were completely unexpected. Normally, without a command, Van Dyke puppets were little more than empty husks. I had concentrated my divine energy above the shamans, expecting it to paralyze their puppets, but the iron puppets showed no reaction to the light.

If the shamans had been exposed to divine energy, they wouldn’t have been able to use their powers recklessly. But sothing was off—I couldn’t confirm the shamans’ condition because my view was blocked by the puppets.

Dust swirled in the air as the massive fists of the Van Dykes tore through it, swinging savagely toward us.

‘We’re trapped.’

With both hands occupied carrying Karl, getting caught would be disastrous. I had to make a decision.

“Hold on tight!”

“...What?”

I gritted my teeth and lowered my stance.

I exhaled deeply, syncing my breathing with the tightening of my muscles.

Ignition preparation process: synchronizing breath with muscle contraction.

Hoo—

With a controlled exhale, I pulled the trigger.

BOOOOM—!

“Ugh… UAAAAAH!”

As soon as we moved, Karl let out a scream.

The scenery blurred around us as we charged forward with overwhelming montum.

Ahead of us, two Van Dyke puppets blocked our path.

“Damn it!”

[Complex movents are beyond your ability right now.]

If I tried to change direction, my ankle would snap.

There was only one option—brute force.

Clenching my teeth, I twisted my body slightly.

‘You damn puppets.’

“Get the hell out of my way!”

“You crazy bastard!” Karl shouted behind .

Shoulder Charge!

I ramd directly into the iron-clad puppet with my shoulder.

BOOOOM—!

“Ugh, Ugh—!”

A chunk of blood surged up my throat, spilling out.

It felt like my entire body was about to shatter.

I staggered but managed to steady myself, sending the Van Dyke puppet crashing to the ground and rolling away. I forced myself forward again, though my left arm dangled uselessly—it was broken.

“Hey Karl! Are you alive back there?”

I couldn’t hear Karl’s voice behind .

The impact had been brutal—had he passed out? I didn’t have the luxury to check.

Another Van Dyke puppet charged in, swinging its massive fist. I ducked low and charged right into the gap under its arm.

The fist brushed past my face, close enough to graze it, eliciting another scream from Karl.

‘Still alive, huh.’

Using the montum, I stomped on the puppet’s head and launched us into the air.

BOOM!

A violent shockwave rippled out as the Van Dyke puppet was smashed into the ground below.

We soared high into the air, rising far above the treetops. Below us, the forest stretched out endlessly, and we seed to be falling toward it.

I wasn’t afraid of falling—Retonicalus could heal .

But Karl had a different opinion.

“YOU INSANE BASTARD!!” he scread.

“Is that how you talk to soone who just saved your life?”

Ignoring Karl’s outburst, I grabbed my dislocated shoulder and activated the Ring of Devotion.

The ring’s effect was simple: survival.

The energy of survival coursed through , rging with Retonicalus’s heart and accelerating my healing at a terrifying rate.

With a red glow, my broken bones knit together, and my torn flesh regenerated rapidly.

‘This really is monstrous.’

The speed of my recovery was several tis faster than usual.

Retonicalus had ntioned that in addition to the body-enhancent effects of Divine Awakening, there was likely an amplification effect tied to my Divine Trait. He suspected that one of my as-yet-unidentified traits was related to healing.

While Retonicalus had warned about possible penalties for using divine powers recklessly, I hadn’t felt any drawbacks so far, so I didn’t give it much thought.

Until—

Ugh!

A sudden wave of dizziness hit , and my vision blurred. An intense headache and a wave of fatigue followed.

The effect of Ignition had worn off.

[You have three shots left.]

Was this what he ant when he said I might lose consciousness? Shaking my head to clear it, I tried to focus when sothing suddenly shot up from below.

A dark red tendril wrapped around my ankle.

It was a black shaman’s curse vine.

I activated my runic mark, and the tendril let out a screech before turning to ash.

Looking down, I saw countless crimson vines surging upward, trying to ensnare us.

There were far too many.

“Go higher! Higher!” Karl shouted.

“As if that’s up to !”

I kicked off one of the vines and propelled us higher into the sky. My runic mark flared again, lting the tendrils that got too close.

As the vines receded, I finally noticed sothing below—a massive black barrier spreading like a dark film over the clearing.

When did that appear?

It was expanding rapidly, covering everything, including the area where we were falling toward.

“Is that…?”

I activated my runic mark and directed it toward the barrier.

But—

‘It’s not working?’

The golden light I released was repelled by the barrier, bouncing off uselessly.

“AAAAH! Wait, wait, hold on!”

“Just hold on tight!”

We were falling fast, and the black barrier was waiting below to greet us.

Would it be safe to enter that thing?

“Damn it. They pulled out sothing really troubleso.”

Just before we hit the barrier, I caught sight of sothing at its center.

A shaman in a blood-red cloak holding a skull-topped staff.

Surrounding him were over a dozen shamans chanting in unison, channeling their power into the barrier.

“I’ve only got three shots left…”

Summoning the Blood Drain Ring, I drew the bowstring back as far as it would go.

With the release of latent energy, I triggered Ignition once more. The summoned arrow grew rapidly, transforming into a massive spear-like projectile.

At maximum power, it only took a second to charge.

THWACK—!

I loosed the arrow, enchanted with Piercing, straight toward the cluster of shamans.

As I prepared another shot, an unbearable pain coursed through my body.

It felt as if every nerve in my body had been severed.

[One shot is your limit. Your body can’t handle more.]

“Damn it!” I cursed, releasing the bow and bracing for impact.

With a brilliant flash, the arrow struck the black barrier just as we plunged through the forest canopy.

I reached out desperately, grabbing at branches to slow our fall.

Branches snapped and tore at my hands, which were soon drenched in blood, but after several painful collisions, I managed to halt our descent.

Breathing heavily, I checked on Karl, who had fallen silent at so point.

“Karl?”

“…If I ever ride on your back again, I’m not a man—I’m a damn dog.”

“Looks like you’re fine.”

Smiling weakly, I exhaled heavily, only to see the black barrier ripple ominously above us.

A chilling scream echoed as the barrier began to thin.

Far off in the distance, I saw the piercing arrow I had fired tearing through the barrier, heading straight for the shamans.

A brilliant blue light flashed as it cut through the air.

“B-block…! Gaaaah!”

A scream—clearly from one of the shamans—rang out.

“Did I get them?” Karl asked hopefully.

“I’d like to think so, but it’s hard to say. I’m really regretting wasting that last shot.”

The scream faded, and the barrier, which had briefly thinned, began to darken again.

The sky dimd, and shadows crept closer.

Dropping to the ground, I gently set Karl down and focused on recovering my strength.

I clenched my teeth as pain shot through my entire body, blood seeping from between my tightly pressed lips.

The aftermath of Ignition was excruciating—so intense that even with my high pain tolerance from Retonicalus’s training, it was difficult to endure.

I had two shots left.

And with each use, the recoil would only get worse.

‘I hope I won’t need to use it again.’

“I’ve got a mountain of questions to ask you, but for now, let’s focus on getting out of here. This black stuff is giving a really bad feeling.”

“Good idea.”

“You okay?”

“Honestly? I feel like I’m going to die. Can you walk? Or do you want to carry you again?”

“Shut up. I’d rather die than get carried by you again.”

“Good to see you’re full of energy.”

The special potion Fenry had given Nella for ergencies seed to be working well.

I stretched, took a deep breath, and stood up slowly.

As I caught my breath, Karl waited quietly, watching as I recovered.

Despite it being broad daylight, darkness continued to spread around us.

Since entering the black barrier, my runic mark had lost its glow and stopped responding altogether.

Silently, I turned my gaze toward the direction where the shamans had been.

With the number of Van Dyke puppets they had, fighting here was out of the question.

We needed to escape, fast.

‘What about Lochter…?’

I used Insight to search for Lochter’s location.

Amid the darkened forest, his aura shone like a beacon of white light.

“Let’s go.”

“Do you know where you’re going?”

“Yes. Very precisely.”

Fixing my direction, I sprinted toward the distant aura.

I had successfully rescued Karl. Now it was ti to find Lochter and get out of this place.