How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Mark of Life

Under the pale yellow moonlight, the battle entered a new phase.

Thanks to the brightness of the moon, visibility wasn’t much of an issue.

Boom!

Rooooaaaaarrr—!!!

With an earth-shaking roar, the crimson beast’s head was struck repeatedly, forcing its massive fra to stagger backward.

A small figure landed lightly atop a mound of Chira corpses.

No, not just a small figure—a small monster.

Arena Huaton had entered the fight.

Her body, wrapped in a vivid violet aura, radiated power as she clenched her fists tightly. Behind her, Dominic floated an enormous book in the air, chanting incantations. It appeared to be so form of reinforcent buff.

With a wave of Dominic’s hand, the massive Chiras moved in unison.

The enormous creatures latched onto the crimson beast’s limbs, pulling and clinging with relentless determination. Even with its overwhelming size, the crimson beast couldn’t easily shake them off when more than a dozen were clinging to it.

Taking advantage of the immobilized beast, Arena climbed onto its head, laced her fingers together, and slamd her fists down with brutal force.

Boom! Boom! BOOM—!

“……!”

The impact was like a series of explosions.

The crimson beast trembled violently, letting out pained howls.

The red, swollen mass that made up its head caved in partially, spilling bright crimson blood as parts of it burst.

‘The attack… worked?’

I narrowed my eyes, carefully observing the crimson beast.

Thanks to the Heart of the Immortal embedded within it, the beast’s wounds healed quickly. However, traces of its injuries remained—evidence of the damage sustained in its battle against the Chiras.

‘Neither Fenry, Dorneth, nor I could even scratch it.’

Yet now, the beast was visibly wounded, especially from Arena’s attacks.

The reason beca clear after only a brief mont of thought.

The common denominator among its attackers.

‘Mana stones?’

The Chiras and Arena were powered by mana stones.

If the energy from mana stones was the only thing capable of harming the crimson beast, then that explained everything.

As I continued observing the battle, my hypothesis beca more of a certainty.

Only Chiras could hunt this crimson beast. The realization sent a shiver down my spine.

‘If this beast escapes the forest and reaches the outside world, who will stop it?’

Not even powerhouses like Fenry or Dorneth could stand against it. If that happened, the Tobaron region would be utterly destroyed.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the thought of not recognizing this disaster for what it truly was earlier.

‘For once, the story has to follow its original course.’

Never in my life did I think I’d be rooting for Dominic to win.

Of course, I wasn’t too worried.

This battle was one Dominic was guaranteed to win.

The real problem would co afterward.

Right after the crimson beast fell.

Screeeaaaach—!!

With a single gesture from Dominic, the Chiras sprang into action.

The coordinated Chiras fought like a well-trained army.

The massive Chiras led the assault, while the smaller ones sward, pressing the crimson beast with unrelenting force. Arena took every opportunity to deliver devastating blows, causing the beast to stagger and wail in pain.

However, the battle wasn’t easily decided.

Just as with the Mimic, any creature with the Heart of the Immortal healed quickly and never tired.

The crimson beast, covered in blood, howled in fury and charged directly at Dominic, as if realizing he was the one controlling the Chira horde.

The Chiras threw themselves in its path to protect Dominic, while Arena moved to kill the beast.

It was a battle fueled solely by killing intent.

The ground turned into pools of blood, the forest warped into a cursed wasteland.

“Phew—”

Overwheld by the carnage, I took a mont to collect my thoughts and prepare myself to move.

The relentless battle, which had raged on through the night, began to shift.

The crimson beast’s movents were noticeably slowing with ti.

Its wounds were accumulating faster than it could heal.

In the end, not even the toughest creature could withstand being ganged up on.

Carefully, I moved along the outskirts of the battlefield, sticking close to the forest’s edge.

Peeking out through the vines, I could now clearly see the crimson beast.

Dominic’s profile was faintly visible in the distance.

After calculating the distance, I shook my head and dropped to the ground. Pushing aside the ssy vines, I began crawling closer toward the center of the battlefield.

‘Just a bit more….’

The distance to Dominic was roughly 300 ters.

Running the simulation of my plan in my head, I realized that at this range, a perfect ambush wasn’t possible.

I needed to get closer.

Using the abundant cover provided by the blood-soaked battlefield, I continued crawling forward.

“Ugh!”

The stench of blood was overwhelming, but it also worked to my advantage.

The ground was littered with Chira corpses, large and small, piled like grotesque hills. Crawling through them, I made steady progress.

Squelch—squelch—

‘…This is hell.’

My entire body was quickly stained red, and chunks of unidentifiable flesh squished beneath my touch.

The slimy, sticky sensation made my skin crawl.

If I ever had to imagine hell, the sight before would undoubtedly be it.

250 ters.

200 ters.

Then, 150 ters.

I stopped.

Crouching low among the corpses, I assessed the situation.

Roaaaarrr—!

Kraaaah—!

“My ears are going to fall off.”

Covering my ears, I buried myself deeper into the pile of bodies.

Any closer, and I risked getting caught in the fight.

I flexed my left wrist, which had been injured by Vandyke. While it still ached faintly, it moved smoothly enough to confirm the fracture had healed.

‘Still, I’m worried about the bug.’

Carrying a volatile insect bomb in my body felt unnerving, like walking around with an active grenade. I’d need to deal with it as soon as possible.

As I grumbled, I rummaged through my bag, only to find it completely empty of potions.

I had used them all in the earlier battles. The bottles I pulled out were dry, their contents long gone.

Looking at the empty bottle, I couldn’t help but think of the Tears of the Fey.

If I’d managed to save even a little, it would’ve been a lifesaver right now. But with thousands of lives on the line, there had been no room for hesitation.

‘Guess I’ll have to call in a potion runner later.’

Pulling out a dagger and a crossbow, I checked and prepared my equipnt before turning my focus to Dominic.

From this distance, I could clearly see his profile.

He looked every bit the calm, scholarly type, the kind of teacher you’d find at a school. But every now and then, the slight smile on his face revealed sothing deeply unsettling.

His eyes, fixed on the crimson beast, glimred with a manic intensity.

Above him, his massive book hovered in the air.

Without taking my eyes off him, I gripped the daggers tightly, waiting for the perfect mont.

Looking up at the sky, I noticed the moonlight fading. A reddish hue began creeping over the horizon as dawn approached, signaling the end of the night-long battle.

The blood-red sun rose over the blood-drenched battlefield.

Perhaps blinded by the sunlight—

“……!”

Thud—!

The crimson beast stumbled, its massive fra collapsing to the ground.

It struggled to rise but kept slipping, its limbs flailing helplessly as the corpses and blood pooling around it hindered its movents.

Dominic didn’t let the opportunity slip.

Screeeaaaach!

Kaaaah!!!

The Chiras sward over the beast like an army of ants.

Their singular target: the burning heart embedded in the beast’s chest.

Large and small Chiras alike sank their teeth into the beast’s chest. In response, the massive mouth on the beast’s chest opened wide to defend itself.

Crunch—crack—crunch—!

With every snap of its jaws, Chiras were torn apart midair.

But Dominic didn’t stop.

He sent wave after wave of Chiras into the beast’s maw.

Swallow. Bite. Swallow. Bite.

Hundreds, then thousands of Chiras plunged into the beast’s chest.

Grrrroooaaaarrr—!

The crimson beast collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.

Once its heart was taken, the beast’s flesh began to decay rapidly. The enormous body lted into a pool of viscous fluid, disintegrating in monts.

Arena rose from the top of a towering hill of corpses.

Under the dawning sun, the small girl stood gripping the heart in her blood-soaked hands.

It was a grotesque yet chillingly captivating sight.

Seeing her, a wide, eerie grin spread across Dominic’s face.

Finally, it was in his grasp!

As he closed his book and began to step toward the hill, it happened.

Woooong—!

“……!”

The air trembled violently.

Dominic’s eyes widened in shock.

High above, the heart began to pulsate, as if it were crying out.

At the sa ti, a blood-red glow seeped out from the heart, staining Arena’s small fra. As the crimson light enveloped her, she slowly opened her mouth, preparing to consu the heart.

Dominic hastily reopened his book.

“No, stop!”

For the first ti, Dominic’s voice was tinged with panic.

He chanted a spell, and Arena’s body beca a battlefield of colors. Crimson and violet hues intertwined, clashing and mixing like paint on a canvas. The two lights struggled against each other, vying for dominance.

Arena’s hand, holding the heart near her mouth, trembled violently.

Monts later, Dominic bit his lip and shouted.

“Drop it!”

Arena flinched and released the heart.

But instead of falling to the ground, the heart floated in midair, glowing ominously. Arena staggered back and hurriedly returned to Dominic’s side.

Dominic stared at the levitating heart with a deeply unsettled expression.

Just as he had tried to control Arena monts earlier, the heart now exerted its own influence, radiating power across the battlefield. Its crimson glow bore a striking resemblance to the energy Dominic had been using—violet light mixed with an ominous essence.

No, it wasn’t just similar.

The abilities of the book in Dominic’s hands, obtained from the Mimic, were fundantally derived from the sa power as the heart itself.

“…Don’t tell …”

Twitch—twitch—

Chiras exposed to the crimson light began hesitating. Slowly, they stopped responding to Dominic’s commands. Monts later, one by one, they turned toward him, baring their fangs.

He had lost partial control to the heart.

As the unexpected turn of events unfolded, Dominic’s face contorted in frustration, his grip tightening on his book.

Roooaaaarrr—!

Kweeeeee!

The Chira horde split into two factions.

Half the Chiras began attacking the other half, snarling and tearing into each other with unbridled fury.

Even the giant Chiras weren’t spared, joining the chaos in a savage frenzy.

A chaotic battle had erupted between Dominic’s forces and the heart’s influence, both struggling for dominance.

“It’s here.”

I nodded as I watched the scene unfold and began surveying my surroundings.

This was the mont of peak confusion, a ti when the Chira horde was wreaking havoc upon itself.

‘And the one and only chance to eliminate Dominic.’

The perfect opportunity had arrived. Closing my eyes, I placed a hand on my forehead.

A cool sensation washed over .

The glyph on my forehead glimred faintly as it ca to life.

It was the mark left by Fenry Chaser—a covenant seal.

The Mark of Life.

Without hesitation, I activated its power, summoning Fenry’s image to mind.

She’d said to visualize her and call her na when the ti ca.

What image should I use?

For her, there was really only one.

“Fenry Chaser.”

As I murmured her na, my shadow rippled under the pale morning light. From the darkness, a black figure erged, solidifying into a form.

Looking down at the shadowy figure that had appeared, I let out a small laugh.

“It’s perfect. Dead on.”

The image I had of her, the one I’d conjured.

It was Fenry, sitting casually and counting stacks of gold with a sly grin.