The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl

Chapter 30: You’re Following on Your Own Feet

The atmosphere changed.

It was cold outside because it was nighttime, but after Isaac snapped his fingers, it became even more frigid. The air was freezing. Isaac’s ability was undeniable.

Yet, my body felt fine. There was no pain at all.

Finding it strange, I slowly opened my eyes.

I saw Lena’s face.

She seemed unconscious. There were no wounds.

Phew. It’s a relief that she doesn’t seem hurt anywhere.

But more importantly, what happened? With that question in mind, I turned my head.

‘…!’

Rene was standing with her arms spread wide, as if shielding us.

Her body was covered in frost.

I understood. Rene had taken all of Isaac’s attacks for us.

Since she had taken everything head-on, her body was in a terrible state.

At Rene’s appearance, Isaac spoke in a puzzled tone.

“This is strange. Why are you here? You should be with the Grim Reaper Cult. They wouldn’t go down that easily.”

Oh, now that he mentions it, this is strange.

Isaac’s remark made me question it too.

Rene was standing here. She was undeniably real.

Yet, I could also sense her presence a little farther away. In fact, the presence over there felt even stronger.

Then, what is this Rene standing here?

Rene exhaled deeply before speaking.

“Isaac, what brings you here at this late hour? That outfit doesn’t seem like a cosplay meant to play with kids.”

Her voice was extremely calm. But there was hostility in it.

Despite the sharp question, Isaac remained unbothered. His exposed eyes, visible through his broken mask, curved into an arc.

“Would you believe me if I said I came for fun?”

“For someone just playing around, you sure are making a lot of noise. And your new friends seem quite rough too.”

“This is exactly why I hate this. I planned to quietly take that kid and leave….”

Isaac grumbled as if displeased, then slowly turned his gaze toward me.

Our eyes met.

His eyes seemed to blame me, as if everything was my fault.

Noticing Isaac’s gaze, Lily also tilted her head slightly, glancing in my direction.

Rene, relieved that I was unharmed, had momentarily relaxed her expression.

But she quickly hardened it again, turning back to stare at Isaac.

“If you just hand over that masked kid, I’ll leave quietly. So why not do this the easy way?”

“I don’t know what reason you have, but it’s late today. Come back in the morning.”

“Hah. Do you even know what you’re protecting?”

Rene flinched ever so slightly.

I also felt my expression grow cold.

Could he have known my true identity from the start?

“…Then, do you know?”

Rene’s question made me regret not dealing with Isaac properly from the beginning.

Even if it meant drawing suspicion from others, I should have eliminated him.

If Isaac revealed my identity here, what should I do? Should I take him out before he can even answer…?

I fell into deep contemplation.

Thinking quickly.

I would assume the worst and wait. Let’s see what answer he gives.

Isaac opened his mouth.

“I don’t know the details either.”

His anticlimactic response made me frown.

I tried to determine whether he was lying. His eyes and voice didn’t seem deceptive.

But it was still too soon to feel relieved.

Isaac, with a serious expression, continued speaking.

"But there's one thing for sure. That masked child shouldn't exist in this world."

"What do you mean by that cryptic statement?"

"And I'm doing this to protect the world."

I tilted my head inwardly.

He's saying I shouldn't exist? What does that even mean?

Is he saying this because he knows I'm the Grim Reaper? Or is there another meaning behind it?

I have no idea.

I know nothing about this body.

What this girl really is, why she has this power, or why she woke up in a place where no one else was.

I never thought about looking into these questions.

Even if I was curious about the secrets surrounding me, I was too busy surviving in this world to pay attention to them.

After I got used to my power and gained some breathing room, I didn't bother investigating since not knowing didn't inconvenience me.

I lived without paying much attention to it.

But Isaac's words dragged back the curiosity I had long abandoned in a corner of my mind.

Isaac seemed to know something.

Maybe this was my chance to find out who I really was.

I glanced at Rene.

What was she thinking? Did she believe his words?

I could sense the seriousness in Isaac’s tone.

That meant he wasn’t lying.

But Rene let out a scoff, as if she found his determination ridiculous.

"You sure tell interesting nonsense. Attacking children… and then talking about world peace? Is that all your idea of peace amounts to?"

Isaac shrugged at her scornful tone.

"Well, you might not understand my intentions now, but eventually, you will."

Isaac forcefully pulled out the trowel embedded in his wrist.

His face twisted in pain.

He let out a groan and dropped the trowel to the ground.

Blood poured from the deep wound.

Isaac pulled something like a syringe from his pocket and injected it into his injured arm.

In an instant, new flesh regenerated, restoring its original form.

Then, he extended his hand toward Rene.

"So, just hand over the kid already."

The air grew thick with tension.

Rene spoke.

"Take your friends and leave."

A clear rejection.

His eyes narrowed.

Displeasure seeped from his gaze.

"I see. So that's your choice. But are you sure about this? Do you really think you can stop me with just a clone?"

"…."

What? A clone?

"Besides, can you really reveal your power in front of the child?"

"I had a feeling you were unusual from the moment I first saw you… Just how much do you know?"

"Let's just say I know more about you than you do yourself."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Who knows…? Maybe if you hand over the kid, I’ll tell you."

The atmosphere between them was getting tense.

Before, Rene had kept a level of restraint even when speaking curtly, but now, she wasn't bothering to hide her emotions at all.

Judging by everything I observed, it seemed Rene had a secret.

And Isaac appeared to know what that secret was.

"Perhaps… the problems that happened at the orphanage before. Were those all related to you?"

"…Who knows?"

"I'm warning you again. If you don't turn back with your friends right now, I won’t let you go."

"You think you can protect the kids and still defeat me? With just a clone?"

"Justice doesn’t lose to villains."

Isaac's eyebrow twitched.

"Villain? Me…? You're wrong. I'm a hero. A hero who will save the world! Don't throw around words like that when you don’t even understand."

His voice carried a hint of agitation.

Realizing his own excitement, Isaac took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

At that moment, Rene subtly moved her hand in a way only I could see.

Understanding what it meant, I held Lena and quickly retreated into the building.

'The air… no, the atmosphere inside the house has changed?'

Right after, with a faint noise, the air inside the house shifted.

It felt like I had stepped into the jaws of a beast.

Yet, strangely, I didn’t sense any hostility or malice.

I was trying to figure out what was happening when the muffled sounds of thudding outside repeatedly rang in my ears.

The noises showed no signs of stopping.

The house trembled slightly.

It wasn’t hard to guess what was going on outside.

Five minutes passed.

The noises and the trembling ceased.

The air inside the house returned to normal, and the strange sensation disappeared.

It seemed the battle was over.

Wanting to see the result, I carefully cracked open the door to take a look.

'As expected…'

I felt indifferent since the outcome was predictable.

"As if I’d lose to a mere clone."

Outside, the devastation from the battle was laid bare.

The only one left standing was Isaac.

Rene was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, several ice pillars stood in one area, and I could faintly sense Rene’s presence from within.

Rene had lost.

The situation was against her.

Unlike usual, Rene had been fighting in an incomplete state.

And since she had to ensure the orphanage wasn’t damaged, she was naturally at a disadvantage.

Through the gap in the door, my eyes met Isaac’s.

Isaac's eyes curved into a smile.

He started walking toward me.

At that moment, something resembling long ice tentacles shot out from the ice pillars and grabbed his wrist.

What is that?

Isaac didn’t seem surprised, as if he knew what it was.

With an annoyed voice, he spoke.

"Tch, right. That was your ability. Your persistence and regeneration really are something else."

As Isaac increased his magic power, the ice tentacle gripping his wrist froze solid and shattered.

Immediately after, the ground began to shake.

Isaac let out a long sigh.

"I guess there's no other choice… If you keep interfering, I'll have to freeze this entire orphanage."

Isaac's magic fluctuated violently.

It seemed like he was about to do something dangerous, so before that could happen, I opened the door.

The tremors instantly stopped, and Isaac’s magic also calmed down.

I felt his gaze on me.

I stepped outside and conveyed my intent to follow him and for him to stop now.

If this continued any further, the situation would only get worse for us.

It was better to end it here.

"If you come along quietly, then I have no reason to cause more trouble here."

Fortunately, he understood my message.

However, as if opposing my decision, the ground trembled slightly, so I shook my head.

I approached the ice pillar where I could sense Rene’s presence.

I took a deep breath. I felt a bit nervous.

Slowly, I raised my hand and removed my mask.

It felt really strange.

Showing my face to someone first like this.

Since I couldn’t speak, I had no choice but to reveal my face to convey my emotions clearly.

I stared at the ice pillar for a few seconds, then put the mask back on.

I turned to Isaac.

I nodded slightly, signaling that we should go.

I followed Isaac.

This wasn’t self-sacrifice.

Having a private conversation with him was more advantageous for me.

Just as he had business with me, I also had a mountain of things I wanted to ask him.

Once I got what I needed, I’d deal with things quickly and return.