When the Villainess Died, the Male Lead Went Crazy - Chapter 114
Lilith looked down at her father’s still-young face and smiled.
“Guards.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Open that door and remove all the restraints.”
“But…”
“If you refuse, I’ll have your head.”
“Ah, yes!”
The guards, nervous, saluted Lilith and went to get the key. The prison door required a key to open, a fact that had prevented Kylian from removing Anais when she had been imprisoned here before.
After a short while, the guard returned with the key.
“Well done. Now leave.”
“…Yes.”
Lilith then unlocked the door to the cell where Mephist, the High Priest of Death, was confined. She removed all his restraints in sequence and then handed him a potion she had brought.
“Ugh…!”
The potion quickly went down his throat, and soon after, the High Priest of Death woke up.
“You need to wake up, Father. There’s still work to be done.”
The High Priest of Death, looking haggard, stared at Lilith and then nodded.
Watching from a distance was Duke Percival. He was lying still, pretending to be asleep, firmly convinced that Lilith, appearing as Anais, was not truly his daughter.
“I’m sorry.”
“Such sentiments are a luxury. Just do what you promised.”
The High Priest of Death sighed and nodded in response to Lilith’s cold words.
* * *
“So the gate is connected to the capital?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Kylian had thought that by tracking the gate, he could immediately locate Anais. He had expected it to be on a remote island, a foreign land, or a very high mountain—somewhere secluded.
But the capital? And not just anywhere, but the now-abandoned Temple of Goddess Meviar where all the priests had already been sacrificed.
“Ha.”
He felt a tightening in his chest, sensing that Anais’s whereabouts were slipping further away.
“Bring the tracking wizard.”
“Your Majesty, the tracking wizard has already exhausted all his magic and is in hibernation….”
“Wake him.”
“He will die if awakened now.”
Leviathan interjected.
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“Awaken Lionel, the Magic Tower Master.”
Leviathan was relieved that Phileal had come up with a decent plan. He had expected Phileal to go straight to a distant island. If it was the capital, it would be easier to hide. Moreover, the Temple of Death was overflowing with identification tags of sacrificed victims.
It seemed he had selected a few identification tags that he liked and taken them. The number he had taken was roughly around ten, though he had only shown Anais two of them.
“I will wake him myself, so don’t be too anxious.”
“Anais’s life is running out.”
“I’ll find and capture her before that lifespan ends.”
Leviathan hoped that Anais would die before he found her. He could tell what Phileal desired without needing to be told directly. To prevent her soul from being completely obliterated. If her soul was entirely destroyed, she could never be resurrected. It would be the end, forever.
“Can you swear to that?”
“I don’t make oaths over such matters, Your Majesty.”
“Ha.”
Kylian realized that Leviathan was playing tricks. Feeling that he couldn’t delay any longer, Kylian began to threaten him.
“Don’t you care about your priests?”
“……”
“If Lionel doesn’t wake up within the next hour, I will have all the priests in the palace killed.”
“Then you’ll never find Anais.”
“If I can’t find Anais and she dies, I will die too. And before I die, I’ll kill every priest of death.”
Kylian’s words contained no lie. Leviathan was taken aback, not having anticipated that the crazy Emperor would think that far.
“You must give me two hours.”
“Wake him now.”
Leviathan was frustrated about why he had to bear such responsibility. But his body, driven by a sense of duty, began to move.
* * *
Waking Lionel, the Magic Tower Master, was naturally challenging. All the magical energy from his body had been drained and he had gone into hibernation. Moreover, Kylian had already extracted his magical energy multiple times, without consent, and infused it into Anais’s body while he was asleep.
Thus, his body was very low on energy.
“It seems the World Tree is growing back beneath the tower.”
“Lucky.”
Leviathan spoke as if he had just discovered the young World Tree by chance, but it was actually the priests of death who had planted a new World Tree after Kylian had extracted and used the old one. They believed the energy from it would be useful in the future.
“Where is it?”
“It’s on the very bottom floor.”
“I’m going there immediately.”
“Yes.”
Kylian felt that retracing his steps from the top of the tower to the basement was a waste of time. So, he grabbed Leviathan and jumped straight down through the tower’s central shaft.
“Ugh…!”
Leviathan was startled by Kylian’s actions but took a deep breath to hide his reaction. Kylian quickly reached the first floor and opened the door to the stairs leading further down. The sound of thunderous footsteps filled the tower as his subordinates moved through the stairs.
Kylian ignored his subordinates and leaped straight down to the lowest level.
“……!”
Leviathan endured without making a sound. As they reached the bottom floor in no time, Kylian released Leviathan from his grip as if discarding him. Stumbling, Leviathan barely managed to steady himself on his feet.
“Is this it?”
“Yes.”
Kylian looked at the glowing tree that reached up to his waist. Like the World Tree, it had leaves of various colors and seemed to be imbued with a significant amount of power.
“Even if I pull this out, can it be replanted?”
“…Yes.”
Kylian immediately deduced that the wizards could not have planted it. If they had, they wouldn’t have left it here. Although they were now hiding like eels, they would have regrouped to protect the World Tree they held sacred.
“Then replant it.”
“One leaf should be enough.”
“Is it difficult to cultivate multiple trees at once? One might not be enough for my wife’s energy.”
“It should be possible, provided the roots are left.”
“Then do it that way.”
Kylian drew his sword and cut off the upper part of the tree, leaving the roots.
A brilliant light filled the basement, so intense it almost seemed blinding. Leviathan involuntarily squinted his eyes. When the light eventually dimmed, he saw Kylian holding a small orb.
“We’re going up.”
“…Yes.”
Leviathan tensed as Kylian grabbed him by the nape of his neck. As expected, Kylian leaped up with ease.
When Kylian returned to the top floor, his subordinates were orderly descending into the basement. He appeared to disregard them entirely as he was in such a hurry.
Leviathan placed the branches and leaves of the World Tree he had brought aside and accepted the World Tree’s essence from Kylian. He then used his own power to transfer it into Lionel.
“Ugh…!”
Lionel gasped and trembled as he opened his eyes.
“Get up immediately.”
“Kyl… no, Your Majesty?”
Lionel had once been a close friend of Anais. During the coup, he had trusted Anais and helped her with the sages of the tower. Although, in reality, that relationship had been as false as the rest.
Thus, Lionel had a strained history with Kylian. Kylian knew that Lionel had attempted to kill his wife and was aware of Lilith’s involvement. He also knew that Lionel’s participation in the coup for Anais was a lie.
This was why Kylian had used him as a sacrificial pawn without hesitation. To Kylian, Lionel was merely a traitor and now just a tool to bring Anais back.
“Use a tracking spell.”
“What?”
“Find Anais.”
“Your Majesty, I don’t understand if you speak like that.”
Leviathan, still reeling from the disorientation of rapidly descending and then ascending, struggled with nausea and discomfort.
“Then explain it, Chief Priest.”
“A priest of Death!”
As Lionel prepared to use his abilities with suspicion, Kylian, as if mad, drew his sword and pointed it at Lionel’s neck.
“Just do as you’re told.”
“…Your Majesty.”
Lionel recalled that all his magic had been drained for Empress Anais and that his subordinates had been sacrificed.
“What happened to my family?”
“I kept them safe in case you woke up.”
“I see.”
“Now, just do what you’re told.”
“…Yes.”
Considering what Lionel had done, Kylian’s sparing of his family was something to be thankful for.
Moreover, Lionel had a peculiar confidence that Kylian wouldn’t take revenge on his family. After all, he had saved the families of kidnappers who had abducted his wife several times.
“What should I do? Has Anais woken up?”
Lionel’s mind was muddled as he recalled that Lilith had tried to kill Anais. The memories he hadn’t sorted out while asleep were resurfacing, making him dizzy.
“Track Saint Lilith’s body.”
“What? Earlier, you said Anais…”
“Anais is inside that body.”
“Pardon?”
Kylian, frustrated with Lionel lying in bed, grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
“Ugh…”
“So, stop talking nonsense and track the saint’s body.”
“…Yes.”
Kylian’s mood seemed even more distraught than before. He had thought things would improve once Anais was revived, but it appeared to have worsened.
“Your Majesty, but I can’t walk right now.”
Lionel was unable to walk after lying in bed for so long.
“In that case, we’ll move as is.”
Kylian grabbed him by the collar and began to move.
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