Page 310 of The Villainess Whom I Had Served for 13 Years Has Fallen

Falling.

His emotions sank to the bottom.

No matter how hard he tried to figure out what had gone wrong, all that remained was the cold corpse of Ricardo lying before him.

"...Why."

-...

"Why did it have to be this way?"

-...

"Why...!!!"

Mikhail's anguished cry echoed through the dark cave. The illusion magic that had been making him recall his memories shattered along with Ricardo’s death.

Now, Mikhail finally realized that this place was not the slums from his past, but a dark underground cavern, and the cold reality hit him with full force.

Mikhail couldn’t understand.

"Why did you give up...?"

He wasn’t worth anything to Ricardo. He was neither useful nor important. So why had Ricardo chosen to sacrifice himself? Mikhail couldn’t comprehend it. All he could do was...

"Please... don't."

He cried out into the void, but there was no answer.

"Ha ha ha..."

Yung let out a hollow laugh as he watched Mikhail's back.

Though the script and the ending didn’t line up as he had hoped, he had still managed to exact his revenge. It was both satisfying and unsatisfying at the same time.

"To throw away your life over mere friendship... how pathetic. And yet, how entertaining."

In the end, he had succeeded in his revenge.

But for Mikhail, his world only grew darker.

Blood pooled on the ground.

The man from his memories, the one he had long denied, now lay dead by his own hand.

"..."

The restraints were lifted.

"..."

He could now move freely, and wield his sword as he wished.

But it was too late.

"What's the point of being the bad guy now...?"

Mikhail gritted his teeth and muttered quietly, thinking back to the last movement of Ricardo's hand when he had let go of his sword. He ground his teeth even harder.

"What makes me a thug...?"

Looking down at Ricardo’s motionless body, Mikhail clenched his fists.

"What makes me sorry...?"

—I'm sorry.

"What are you sorry for... when you left so selfishly... what are you sorry for!!!"

His fingers trembled. The rising wave of disgust made his fingertips feel powerless. He was consumed with hatred for himself—angry, weak, and stupid. It made him shudder with loathing.

That final message from Ricardo.

—You've grown up well.

It pierced Mikhail’s heart like a dagger.

Mikhail opened his lips, which wouldn’t move easily. They were dry and cracked, but all he could say was one desperate plea.

"Get up."

—Drip...

"Get up..."

—Drip...

"Please... just get up."

Tears began to fall one by one onto Ricardo's lifeless body. This reunion, which Mikhail had longed for so much, this moment that he had thought would never come again... was now over before it had even begun. Swallowing his tears in silence, Mikhail bent over Ricardo's body. But just as his tears began to stain Ricardo's clothes, Yung’s mocking voice rang in his ears.

"You finally did it."

"..."

"You pretended not to want to, but you finished the job."

"..."

"Well done, kid. I honestly didn’t think you would succeed. I thought Ricardo wouldn’t give up, and I was even prepared for you two to die together... The outcome isn’t ideal, but this was quite the performance."

"...Shut up."

Yung laughed heartlessly, staring at Mikhail.

"Now, it’s just you and me."

"...I said shut up."

"Let’s settle this in a duel. The last one standing keeps all the memories."

"I told you to shut up!"

As Mikhail's sword, infused with aura, cut through the air, Yung quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding the strike.

—Thwack.

"Huh...?"

Yung touched his cheek. Seeing blood on his fingers, his eyes widened. He looked at Mikhail’s cold, unflinching gaze and felt a chill run down his spine.

'How did that hit...?'

It should have been out of range. He should have easily sensed the swing of Mikhail’s sword and dodged it, but somehow...

Before he could process it, Mikhail’s cold voice cut through his thoughts.

"I told you to shut up."

Mikhail stood there, glaring at Yung with only rage in his eyes, his expression cold.

His face devoid of emotion, Mikhail spoke softly.

"Ricardo is sleeping."

"Have you grown from your grief?"

"I said, Ricardo is sleeping."

"Are you still lost in delusions? Let me clarify something—he’s dead. You killed him with your own hands. The spell broke; didn’t you notice?"

Yung’s voice was filled with amusement as he smiled at Mikhail. He believed Mikhail was far from his limit, even if it seemed like he had changed. If Mikhail had followed through on his earlier vows, he might have been ready to die, but now... things had taken a different turn.

"My mind has changed."

A new, more entertaining idea had come to Yung. A battle to the death? That crude story was far less appealing than the one he had just thought up.

Yung stood and drew his sword, walking slowly toward Mikhail, who still wore a cold expression.

"Do you want to kill me, kid?"

"..."

"Are you filled with a desire to sever my limbs and keep me alive, to drink me dry while I’m still breathing?"

"I..."

—Slash.

"Argh...!"

Mikhail casually shook his sword, wiping off the blood as he spoke to Yung.

"I told you to shut up."

Yung, seeing Mikhail's cold face, couldn’t help but laugh.

"Why are you so angry?"

"Shut up."

"In the end, aren’t we back to square one?"

"..."

"The boy you remembered was dead already. You killed him with your own hands, and now you’re acting like the tragic heroine."

The cracks in Mikhail’s stoic mask were starting to show. He couldn’t stand listening to Yung’s words any longer.

"Memories...? Back to square one...?"

Even now, Mikhail’s breath trembled. The feeling in his hands, the cold sensation of the sword cutting into Ricardo, it was all still there, and he couldn’t ignore the vile words Yung was spitting out.

"If it weren’t for you... none of this would have happened."

He wanted to rip Yung's mouth apart. He wanted to tear that sneering face to shreds.

"Oh, poor kid..."

"Shut your mouth."

"No matter how much you hate me, nothing will change."

The root of all evil.

"You can scream all night if you want. That won’t bring him back."

"...You're dying today."

"Who, me? By your hand...?"

Mikhail swung his sword again, this time with the intent to kill.

"There's no one left to stop me in this world."

Two auras mixed in his blade. One was silver. The other was ash-colored. The combined aura headed straight for Yung’s neck.

—Kagagagak!

Yung barely managed to block the aura, sneering as he tried to provoke Mikhail. In his current condition, Yung knew he couldn’t handle Mikhail. The wounds from his previous fight with the Archbishop of Greed still weighed heavily on him.

"...No one to stop you? I can still erase your memories. And what can you do then? You’ll just go back to being a puppet..."

"No. I’m going to kill everyone."

"..."

"What's so noble about justice anyway? There’s no one left to impress now."

"You killed them all yourself. With your own hands! Hahaha!"

"Yeah... there’s no one left for me. I tried to be a good person. I endured all that pain... I fought so hard to survive, but in the end, it brought me right back to this...?"

Mikhail’s aura, now burning with rage, made his sword even stronger.

But...

—Crack...

Mikhail’s worn sword, unable to withstand the force of the aura, shattered.

Yung, seeing the broken sword, grinned maliciously.

But.

"I’m going to kill you."

Mikhail didn’t stop. His sword, though broken, was still aimed squarely at Yung’s neck.

"Wait... wait a moment!"

As Mikhail closed the distance between them, Yung couldn’t regain his stance. Blocking that previous attack had reopened his wounds from the last battle.

'Damn it... that greedy bastard!'

Mikhail didn’t miss the opening, and with a swift thrust, his broken sword found its mark in Yung’s abdomen.

"Gah...!"

Yung looked down at the broken blade embedded in his stomach and sneered. Since the sword had broken, it hadn’t pierced deep enough to be fatal.

"I’ve won, kid."

If he could just reach out and alter Mikhail’s memories, it would all be over.

Yung, thinking of how he would turn Mikhail into a puppet, smiled as he reached for Mikhail’s head.

"What do you think you're doing...?"

"Why isn’t the magic...?"

"Get that filthy hand off my head."

Yung felt his heart freeze at the cold voice.

Mikhail was staring directly at him, his eyes no longer clouded with hesitation. He glared at Yung with pure murderous intent.

'The magic...'

Yung’s hand was on Mikhail’s head. He should have lost consciousness. Why wasn’t it working...?

"I told you, I’m going to cut off your other hand too. Move it."

Mikhail twisted the broken sword still lodged in Yung’s stomach.

He had grown stronger. No, he had become tougher.

Mikhail had grown to the point where Yung's cunning tricks no longer worked on him.

"Cough...!"

Thick blood began to spill from Yung’s mouth. The broken sword was removed with a sharp pull, leaving a deep crimson wound on Yung’s stomach, exposed to the cold air.

Without giving Yung a chance to catch his breath, Mikhail aimed his sword at Yung's neck.

"Die."

"Wait a second, kid! I can offer you...!"

"Don't make this any uglier."

"It's not over yet! Not yet...!"

—Shluk...!

With a heavy voice, Mikhail delivered his final words to Yung.

"Now disappear."

—Step, step...

Finally, it became clear. Ricardo’s figure came into focus, standing tall and proud.

"...I can see you."

Mikhail, with weak and trembling steps, walked over to Ricardo’s lifeless body. Lying there motionless, Ricardo had stayed with him until the end, supporting him in his final battle.

"I can finally see you clearly."

Mikhail, with a trembling hand, gently caressed Ricardo’s cheek and rested his forehead against his.

The fog lifted. The fog that had clouded his eyes for so long was finally gone.

"I’m really late, aren’t I?"

"..."

"I’m sorry I came so late."

At last, Ricardo’s face appeared as it had in Mikhail's memories of him as a boy.

Youthful. Strong. Kind-hearted.

"I’m really sorry..."

It was clear now.

—Crack!

"...!"

Yung, clutching ? Nоvеl?g?т ? (Continue reading) the sword embedded in his neck, managed to rise to his feet, uttering a final, gurgling sound.

"Kuhahaha!!!"

Mikhail looked at Yung in disbelief. He was standing, despite coughing up blood, a man who should have been dead.

Gathering aura in his hand, Mikhail reached for Tyrfing, Ricardo’s sword, which had fallen beside him. Yung, with madness in his eyes, addressed Mikhail one last time.

"Kid! Come with me!!!"

"When...?!"

"Wouldn't that be better? Rather than living with these painful memories, it would be easier to die...!"

As Yung grinned madly, he activated his orb.

—Click...!

A loud explosion echoed in Mikhail's ears. It began deep underground, slowly rising toward them.

"Kuhahaha! This is what a masterpiece looks like!"

"..."

"I should have done this from the start. Hahaha... but wait... huh?"

Mikhail didn’t hear Yung’s laughter die off. Instead, he saw Yung’s expression twist in fear, trembling as he stared at something.

What Mikhail saw was a massive fire making its way down the cave stairs.

The enormous flames created by the orb began to fill Mikhail's vision.

Closing his eyes, Mikhail thought, You’ve burdened me with even more in the end. Tears streamed down his face, the worst outcome having been realized, a clean conclusion nowhere in sight.

How long...

The light of the explosion approached Mikhail, and as it grew nearer, Mikhail smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry..."

He wished they’d never met. If they hadn’t, there would’ve been no need to suffer through this tragedy.

"If only I could have..."

In the next life, he wanted to be someone who could help Ricardo, but deep down, he knew Ricardo wouldn’t want to reconnect with him again. As tears fell from his eyes, Mikhail turned his head toward where Ricardo had been lying.

"..."

But Ricardo was no longer there, and in his place, there was nothing.

Mikhail's eyes widened in disbelief, and he turned his head, scanning the area.

And then.

"Look."

A familiar voice whispered in Mikhail's ear, and his eyes quivered.

It was red hair. A broad back he wanted to lean on. A figure whose presence made him feel like he could hide behind it.

Ricardo, standing protectively over Mikhail, spoke with a mischievous voice.

"You were going to blow yourself up and act like you’d kept some noble promise, huh? You just do whatever you want in the end, don’t you?"

Yung, now panicked, stared at Ricardo, his face twisting in disbelief.

"H-how are you still alive?! You should be dead!"

"Me? Dead?"

Ricardo laughed and shook his head as if it were the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"Why would I be dead? I’m perfectly fine."

With a bitter laugh, Ricardo gazed at Yung with a pitying expression.

"Pathetic until the very end. No wonder your first love cheated on you."

"You bastard...!"

"I played along. It was fun. Oh, by the way... your first love? She’s living happily with some guy now. They even have a kid together. I found my memories after all... Isn’t that funny?"

"You...!"

"I understand. Ugly faces are hard to fix."

With a loud explosion, the underground cave began to collapse.

Yung’s face twisted into pure despair.

"A-Aaargh! I’ll kill you all!"

—Crash!

"If you can, sure. Oh... looks like you’re already dead."

As the cave crumbled, Ricardo gently embraced Mikhail and whispered softly into his ear.

"By the way, that’s a lovely name."

"..."

"Misa."

The name you called me was my name...

"Thank you..."

It was sweet.