The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl

Chapter 18: The Ice Prince

We emerged from the darkness and hurried straight to the souvenir shop.

Inside was a chaotic mess.

Screams echoed everywhere, and the sound of fighting didn’t stop.

Caught off guard by the sudden situation, civilians were frantically running around in a panic.

“Move!”

“Save me!”

People weren’t looking ahead as they ran, constantly colliding into one another.

Even if someone fell, no one stopped to help; they simply trampled over them and kept running.

The painful screams were drowned out by the sound of countless footsteps.

No one seemed to have the luxury to survey their surroundings in this unfolding disaster.

If I accidentally tripped here, it would spell trouble.

“Unnie….”

I could feel Bada’s small hand trembling.

To keep her from getting scared or falling, I held onto her tightly.

“Get out of the way, brats!”

As we neared the end of the hallway, a man shoved past us with his arm, overtaking us.

Our clasped hands were separated, and with a startled scream, Bada stumbled and fell backward.

I moved quickly to catch her in my arms.

Phew.

Glad I wasn’t too late.

I frowned as I glared at the man, but he disappeared around the corner.

Three seconds later, the man screamed, and blood splattered against the wall, staining it red.

Bada flinched at the sight.

Her complexion turned pale, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Step, step.

A shadow stretched long against the wall as footsteps approached, and someone emerged from the corner.

Their attire matched the man I had just dealt with.

In other words, a member of the Black Wing Organization.

Ten of them?

There are more than before.

And with Bada here, I can’t move as freely as I did earlier.

What to do?

“We’ve located the target. Proceeding with the mission.”

At that moment, the emergency lights illuminating the corner went out with a snap, plunging the area into darkness.

They were in the darkness now.

It seemed they wouldn’t even give me time to think; I could hear the sound of swords being drawn.

“Lily… what do we do…?”

Bada’s voice trembled severely.

Indeed, what should we do?

Just then, I heard the sound of rapid footsteps coming from behind.

“I won’t forgive you scum!”

At first, I thought it was another enemy and braced myself, but thankfully, it wasn’t.

The person who jumped in front of us wielded a weapon.

Judging by their attire, they seemed to be one of the Problem Solvers hired here.

Bada’s face brightened slightly at the sight of someone coming to help.

The Problem Solver charged at the Black Wing Organization members and began to fight fiercely.

Watching the fight unfold, I furrowed my brow.

It won’t be enough.

‘Should we escape while we have the chance? No, with that Problem Solver’s skills, they won’t even buy us time. They’ll catch up in no time. In that case, it might be better to take them all down here and move on….’

It was a gamble I had no choice but to take.

I steeled my resolve and shook Bada’s shoulder, who was frozen in place.

Bada, snapping out of it, looked at me.

Her eyes were red, likely from fear, and her neat blue hair was disheveled.

I wiped away the large teardrops pooling in her eyes with my fingers and tidied up her hair a bit.

Then, I gestured for Bada to close her eyes for about 30 seconds.

Normally, she would’ve asked why.

But perhaps because of the dire situation, she followed my instructions without a word and covered her eyes with her hands.

She began counting slowly, “One, two, three….”

‘So far, so good.’

I stood up, then pushed off the ground, charging toward the enemies.

“Ugh—!”

As expected, the Problem Solver let out a short death cry after being struck by the enemies.

When the Problem Solver’s weapon slipped from their hand, I caught the falling sword before it hit the ground.

In the same motion, I swung it swiftly, cutting down one enemy.

“Guhh!”

I heard surprised gasps from around me.

Well, I suppose it’s quite shocking for them to see a child move like this.

Not missing the opportunity, I continued my attack.

The enemies finally came to their senses and tried to counter my strikes.

In the strobing emergency lights and the clanging noise of metal, I quickly took them down one by one.

Their attacks didn’t even graze me, but every slash I delivered dealt them critical blows.

Ten seconds later, all the enemies were down.

‘Thankfully, they weren’t strong enough to require my full strength.’

Using minimal mana and simple physical enhancement was enough.

I returned to Bada, who was now counting to 18.

Just as I was about to tell her to open her eyes—

Clack.

I heard a strange sound, causing me to turn my head quickly.

One of them was struggling to stand.

I thought they were all dead.

It seemed this one barely clung to life.

Given their condition, they would likely collapse without me needing to do anything.

But I couldn’t let my guard down.

As I prepared to finish them off, the enemy suddenly joined their hands and extended them toward us.

Their arms made mechanical noises as they transformed into a gun barrel.

I saw a dangerous red glow emanating from the muzzle.

‘Damn it!’

Boom!

A deafening explosion followed as a projectile was fired.

I angled my sword diagonally, deflecting the incoming projectile.

The shell flew past me and exploded in the distance, sending a powerful gust of wind my way.

My silver hair fluttered in the wind.

Before the enemy could prepare a second attack, I quickly swung my arm and threw the sword.

Whizz!

The sword struck the enemy’s head precisely, and the red glow of the muzzle faded.

The emergency lights, which had been off, came back on.

Phew.

It seemed Bada had followed my instructions to the letter.

“What… what happened…?”

I poked her soft cheeks playfully, telling her it was okay to open her eyes.

Bada slowly opened her eyes.

“Eek….”

Her face turned pale at the sight of bodies sprawled everywhere.

Luckily, she didn’t faint despite the shock.

For an ordinary child, it wouldn’t have been strange to burst into tears, but people of this generation were used to such scenes.

Still, being accustomed to it didn’t make it any less unpleasant, and Bada staggered in shock.

I held her firmly so she wouldn’t fall.

Then I motioned to her that we should quickly head to Red.

Bada nodded with heavy breaths.

“Y-yeah… I-I need to get back to unni….”

I clasped her small hand again and prepared to move forward.

But Bada suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Her gaze was fixed on the fallen Problem Solver.

I told her that this Problem Solver had risked their life to protect us.

Understanding my gesture, Bada’s expression turned sorrowful.

“I see….”

Bada closed her eyes.

She was silently paying respects to the one who saved her life.

There was no need to tell her the truth.

It was better for both me and that person to leave it at this.

We hurried on our way.

*

“Unniiiiii!!”

“Bada!”

Fortunately, we met up with Red and the others along the way.

Red opened her arms, and Bada ran straight into her embrace.

Red hugged her tightly.

Perhaps she had been holding it in, as Bada began sobbing loudly, tears pouring down her face.

Red gently patted Bada’s back, reassuring her repeatedly.

The other children sniffled quietly beside them.

‘So she can make an expression like that, huh.’

I was quietly surprised by the look on Red’s face.

Perhaps noticing my gaze, Red glanced at me and extended an arm.

Before I knew it, I was also pulled into her embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Lily. Really, I’m so glad… truly.”

Feeling embarrassed, I squirmed to get out, but I couldn’t escape her grip.

Fine. Have it your way.

I gave in and surrendered, feeling her hand patting my back.

It was a strange sensation.

Embarrassing, but not entirely unpleasant.

“Everyone, let’s move. Stay close to me, alright?”

The children nodded in agreement.

The group started moving again.

Though the place was complete chaos, the children endured well, simply because Red was by their side.

I hoped nothing would happen, but contrary to my wishes, dangers kept cropping up as we moved.

“Prioritize the target!”

Several members of the Black Wing Organization charged at the children.

Red moved swiftly to block them, ensuring none of them could touch the kids.

The enemies were no match for her.

“Trying to target the kids right in front of me, huh.”

However, the enemies didn’t give up.

Every time they saw us, they ignored everything else and rushed toward us.

Their behavior puzzled me.

‘Why are they only targeting the children?’

The enemies were persistently after the kids.

It was as if Red wasn’t even on their radar.

Why were they targeting these children? Who had ordered them to?

Red seemed to share my thoughts but didn’t have the time to question them.

She was too busy protecting the children.

And I couldn’t afford to reveal my strength here.

For now, I decided to observe the situation further.

After some time, we were surrounded by what looked like fifty enemies.

‘We’re completely surrounded.’

“Unni….”

“Noona….”

The children were terrified.

“Tch.”

Red clicked her tongue, clearly displeased.

It wasn’t because the enemies were difficult to handle.

Even if their numbers were ten times this, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Red.

But fighting while ensuring the children didn’t get hurt was a different story.

What should we do?

The enemies took their stances all at once, ready to attack simultaneously.

‘Should I step in…? Huh? This energy…?’

While debating whether to act, I felt an unusual magical power nearby.

I turned my head toward it.

Red seemed to sense it too, as she looked in the same direction.

For a brief moment, our attention shifted.

The enemies didn’t miss this opportunity and launched themselves forward.

But it didn’t matter.

From the source of the magical power, a fierce wind erupted.

““Kyaaa—!””

The children screamed in surprise.

It was a cold wind.

The gust made the children close their eyes, but my mask protected me from the chill.

When the children opened their eyes again, they gasped in amazement at the sight before them.

“Wow~ It’s sparkling.”

“It looks just like snow.”

It did resemble snow.

Small ice crystals floated gently throughout the space we occupied.

The crystals sparkled as they reflected the lights.

The other children were mesmerized by the scene.

As the kids exhaled, tiny white puffs of breath escaped their lips.

The cold air lingered around us.

It’s freezing.

‘More importantly, the enemies….’

I turned my gaze toward the enemies.

Every one of them was frozen solid.

Literally, they had become ice statues.

I shifted my focus again and saw someone approaching with steady footsteps.

“Isaac….”

I heard Red mutter under her breath.

Judging by her tone, it seemed he wasn’t a welcome sight.

The man, with his hair tied back neatly, had a refined appearance.

He wore a delighted expression, as if unexpectedly meeting an old acquaintance.

“I didn’t expect to see you in a place like this, Red. Could this be fate? I hope I didn’t interfere unnecessarily?”