When I Finished Playing the Terminally-Ill Villainous Omega C11

Chapter 11

Cassian had arrived before the others and was polishing his sword with a dry cloth.

“We dropped him into the Labyrinth Forest, as ordered.”

“It’ll start raining this afternoon. I’ll keep the barrier open—stay nearby so Aiden doesn’t grow suspicious. The moment the rain falls, bring him straight back to the estate. Then return alone and confirm whether he’s dead or alive. You understand what that means, don’t you?”

“Do we need to confirm? The terrain is rough, and the mana there is unstable. Once he’s dropped, there’s no way he survives.”

“If he does survive, your head is the one that’ll roll.”

“…Yes, my lord. I receive your command.”

The knight knelt, swearing loyalty.

“Handle it cleanly, and when I become lord of the house, the captaincy of the knights will be yours.”

At that same moment—

Left alone in the Labyrinth Forest, Locke remained still until the sound of the departing horse hooves faded. Only then did he calmly close his eyes and press his right hand against the ground.

“…Erebus.”

The air of the forest shifted with his low murmur.

Branches scraped together with an eerie resonance, leaves shivering as though seized by terror. From the cold soil, black smoke seeped upward, coiling up his hand and wrist. It condensed—into the shape of a beast’s sharp claws—before gripping tightly around his forearm.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The scattered raindrops swelled quickly into a fierce downpour. Between the violent patter of rain ripping across the leaves, he heard wet footsteps climbing the slope at unnatural speed.

A knight appeared at the mountain’s peak, breathless. The silhouette holding a sword in his left hand—solid, immovable—could be none other than Locke.

Shing—

The knight drew his sword and leveled its gleaming tip at him.

“Following my master’s orders is a knight’s duty. So do not resent me.”

“Then whom should I resent for dying unjustly?”

The knight’s face twisted, displeased at the servant’s insolence. He assumed it was merely the weakling’s final whimpering.

“Resent your lowly birth, perhaps.”

Locke gave a faint laugh and flicked the sword in his hand. Even drenched, wearing plain servant’s clothes, he possessed an oppressive dignity that rivalled the highest nobles.

Unwilling to be cowed, the knight barked:

“I’ll kill you without pain!”

He tightened his grip on the hilt so it wouldn’t slip in the rain, then lunged forward—aiming straight for Locke’s heart. Locke’s expression was far too relaxed for someone moments away from death.

The knight thrust his blade—

—and it pierced nothing.

Locke’s form dissolved into black smoke and vanished.

Before the knight could comprehend what had happened, Locke’s voice slithered around his ear like a whispering hallucination.

—Unlike you, I prefer dragging people to the brink of terror before they die.

“You filthy beggar! You dare speak of terror to a proud knight?!”

The knight spun wildly, slashing the air in all directions. His foot slipped in the mud. He stumbled forward—and froze.

Below him was a sheer cliff.

Damn.

He realized it was an illusion at the exact moment it was too late.

❖ ❖ ❖

Tap. Tap. Tap tap.

The harsh drumming at the window jolted me awake. I blinked slowly to regain my senses.

“Wow… how long did I sleep?”

I’d felt feverish since morning and had taken my usual medicine along with something for colds. I only woke once evening had settled. Touching my forehead revealed heat worse than before.

These useless medicines.

Even the finest healer couldn’t fix this body.

“…Wait. Am I dying?”

Maybe the system was done with missions and planned to kill me outright. Heart pounding, I checked the status window. The heart wasn’t only for missions—it reflected my physical state too.

[♥]

The vivid red heart glowed on the screen.

Whew. Relief washed through me.

“It’s similar to awakening symptoms… but it’s not time yet. It must be a cold.”

Sleeping without covering myself properly was probably to blame. I sat up and reached automatically toward the bedside table—

“Huh?”

It was empty. No medicine dish, no water, not even the flower vase.

“What?”

Don’t tell me Locke said all that stuff about revenge yesterday because he was actually planning something?

I laughed it off—then froze.

My own heart plummeted.

What if he misunderstood something? Or what if Cassian hurt him while I was unconscious?

I needed to find Locke before it got worse. I swung my legs over the bed to put on my slippers when—knock, knock.

Of course!

See? Locke isn’t the type to hold petty grudges. I sat back down, relieved—

Only for Anna to walk in instead.

“…Where’s Locke?”

She hesitated, clutching the medicine tray, and bowed her head. My expression hardened.

“I… do not know.”

She hurried forward, placing the medicine down like she was fleeing from a beast. Her fingertips were wrapped in bandages, fresh blood soaking through.

“Who ordered you to bring this?”

“I’m sorry. I truly don’t know.”

As if. She had clearly been threatened.

Only a very small number of people in this house could do that—and the top of the list was Cassian.

I suppressed a sigh and tried a different question.

“Your hand. What happened?”

“I cut it while cleaning up some glass.”

“You picked up broken glass with your bare hands? Why? Did you get proper treatment?”

“Yes.”

“Liar. If you had, it wouldn’t still be bleeding. You kept working without treatment, didn’t you? Good grief—just stay still.”

I opened the drawer and pulled out the last remaining ointment.

“No, my lord! It’s fine!”

“It’s not fine if you bring me medicine with an injured hand.”

“Even if you help me… I’m telling you the truth… I really don’t know anything…!”

“No one asked you to. Let me treat your hand, at least.”

I pressed the ointment into her hand. She lowered her head, unable to force out a single word—but that didn’t matter. I wasn’t helping her for information anyway.

After Anna left—

Scrape, scrape. Scriiish, scrape.

I stepped into the hall wearing slippers, searching for Locke. His room was empty. Every servant said the same thing—they hadn’t seen him since breakfast.

Weird.

Locke usually stayed in his room at night just in case I needed him. For him to be gone… and for no one to know his whereabouts…

Don’t tell me…

I froze, staring up at the third-floor railing.

Anna’s involvement meant Cassian’s involvement. But servants also claimed Cassian hadn’t returned from the hunting grounds.

Aiden mentioned that Cassian had found one more person to bring on the hunt.

Could that have been—Locke?

No matter how awful Cassian was, Locke had no magic, no training. Surely—surely—he wouldn’t bring him to a monster hunt?

I had believed Cassian retained some faint scrap of human decency.

I learned, very abruptly, how wrong I was.

I was heading back to my room in defeat when I ran into the bowman Cassian had supposedly taken hunting.

“…What? You didn’t go hunting?”

“Sir? I’ve been at the estate all day.”

My heart dropped.

“Hah… hah…”

Why was the staircase so wide? My weak body usually managed walking just fine, yet today I could hardly breathe.

“Haah…”

Gripping my chest, I finally reached the third floor and walked the long hall to the easternmost room. In the past, I had always avoided Cassian’s room—I wasn’t just intimidated by his blunt personality, but his cruelty as a hunter.

But I didn’t have the luxury to be afraid anymore.

I knocked.

Knock, knock.

“Who is it.”

So he had returned. Damn those servants—they really were all in on it.

Grinding my teeth, I answered:

“It’s Cedric.”

Cassian looked up from grooming his Bael Wolf as the door opened.

“You never showed your face around here because you were terrified of my room. What wind brought you today?”

I remained glued to the doorway, cautious of the monster.

“Locke isn’t anywhere. I thought maybe you sent him on an errand.”

“Why bother with him when you have your own servant?”

His innocent blinking only intensified my suspicion.

“…Then have you run into him today? Or when you left for the hunt—”

Clack!

He slammed the comb onto the table, making me flinch.

“I haven’t seen a hair of him today. And why are you acting like a man possessed? People will think your lover went missing.”

“He has never once missed my medicine time. I was only worried something happened.”

“Maybe he ran off with someone he fancied. Servants eloping isn’t new. Stop making a fuss. I’m exhausted from the hunt. Leave.”

Run away?

My vision turned white.