A Villain's Will to Survive-Chapter 231: Island of the Voice (1)

Ahan swallowed hard, the silence pressing in like a weight on her chest.

“I don’t need a specific reason to ostracize the Scarletborn,” Sophien muttered, a faint smile touching her lips as her eyes wandered toward the sky outside the window.

“... Pardon me?”

“I loathe the Scarletborn. No reason needed.”

Ahan blinked slowly, as if her thoughts had fallen a step behind the world.

“That feeling grows louder with every passing day,” Sophien continued, a faint twist pulling at her otherwise expressionless lips. “It beats inside me now—like an impulse, like hunger. As if I were born for the sole purpose of loathing the Scarletborn.”

Loathe without purpose. Emotion without cause. In the end, the Scarletborn became the personification of Sophien’s flaw—a living reminder that she was not perfect, but fractured, and made whole only by what she lacked.

But then again, what of it? Sophien thought.

From the beginning, the title of the Empress was never meant for some perfect human being. It was merely one of many positions granted to those born into the bloodline of the imperial family.

“Of course, some among them once plotted to assassinate me—and Kreto as well. But a plot is just a plot. Whether it ever came to pass, no one will ever know. There was a time, when I was young, that I believed the Scarletborn were to blame for my curse,” Sophien said, taking a slow draw from her pipe, its ember flaring in the silence. “But none of it matters anymore.”

As a plume of blue pale smoke curled from her lips, Sophien lowered her eyes, while Ahan slowly raised hers from below to meet the Empress’s.

“... Ahan, haven’t I told you before?”

For a moment, the air in the bedchamber thickened.

“That perhaps I was never meant to be anything but a monster.”

Sophien’s crimson eyes narrowed like a hawk’s, curving into a predatory crescent drawn in blood, while a serpentine smile curled around Ahan’s waist.

“No, never, Your Majesty—”

Ahan could barely breathe, her skin damp and stuck with cold sweat. It felt as if blood was pouring in through the open window, flooding the ground beneath her—and in that rising tide, she sensed the quiet terror of drowning.

“... Hmph. That’s enough. Whatever the reason may be—my will remains unchanged. The Scarletborn will be suppressed,” Sophien said.

Tap—!

The tap of Sophien’s pipe against the table echoed through the chamber, breaking the tension like glass under pressure and making the weight in the air recede. Ahan exhaled the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and lowered her head.

“Even the Professor cannot stand against my will,” Sophien added, her voice as precise as a blade, carrying a warning to Deculein—one delivered in the name of the Empress.

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will take it to heart, and I’m certain Professor Deculein will do the same...”

It was Ahan’s responsibility now—to carry the Empress’s words, and with them, her will.

***

... It was late at night. The full moon had risen beyond the window of the Mage Tower, illuminating pale light across the stone. Somewhere around the thirtieth floor, Epherene was likely still locked in an all-night meeting.

Meanwhile, I sat in silence, listening to the trial run of the radio transceiver—a line running from the Imperial Knights’ Order in the Empire to faraway Rekordak.

— This is the Imperial Knights’ Order. Knight Deya, do you copy? What is the situation on your end?

— Rekordak remains secure. The monsters near the wall show no unusual signs, and the collision values remain low. At this time, there is no present threat.

Yulie’s voice from Rekordak came through the radio as clear as ever, like the sound of her own conviction. I listened silently, my fingers brushing over the bracelet.

───────

[Charred Bracelet]

◆ Description

: Charred Bracelet

◆ Category

: Damaged

◆ Special Effect

: The mark of the Track Location remained.

───────

Follow current novℯls on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

It looks like nothing to the eye—charred, broken, barely worth a second glance. But to Yulie, it is likely her most treasured thing in the world, I thought.

— Understood. What is Knight Deya’s current condition?

Something in that transmission caught me wrong, and before I knew it, my brow had drawn tight.

— My condition... is that what you're asking?

— Yes, I was hoping to know the current condition of Knight Deya, the one holding the line at Rekordak.

I listened more closely, and the voice belonged to Gawain—Yulie’s junior and one of the Empire’s most respected elite knights.

— I am well.

— Have you been able to take your meals?

— ... Yes, I have.

Something in that casual exchange disturbed me—unnecessarily. Perhaps this, too, was part of Deculein’s personality. Perhaps this was why he pushed Yulie and those close to her away.

— I’m glad to hear it. The Empire has not forgotten you, Knight Deya. Should the expedition into the Land of Destruction be confirmed, we may be able to meet again.

As Gawain’s voice crackled through the radio, a thought took hold—quiet at first, but underneath it, something bitter began to rise, slow and sour, like a sickness without a name.

“... Should I kill him?” I muttered.

It was meant to be a line for official use, and yet he filled it with nonsense. If that’s Gawain, then he’s already disqualified in my book. I was right to put my weight behind Delic, I thought.

— Understood. Should anything unexpected occur, do not hesitate to report it over the line.

Just as Yulie was about to end the radio communication...

Bang—!

The office door swung open without warning, and I turned toward the sound.

“Oh?” said Adrienne, the petite Chairwoman, clutching a staff nearly as tall as she was. “Professor Deculein! You're still around?!”

“Is trespassing part of your daily routine now, Chairwoman?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

“What?! Trespassing?! This is well within my rights as Chairwoman!” Adrienne replied, flashing a master key that could open every floor from the 1st to the 98th.

“... Is there a purpose behind your visit?” I asked, shaking my head.

“Not really! I was just bored!” Adrienne replied, skipping over to the seat across from me with a smile that said she knew exactly what she was doing. “Oh, and I heard you had the nerve to contradict Her Majesty~!”

God knows when she’d heard it—or how the rumor had spread so quickly—but Adrienne arched her brows.

"And where did you hear that from?" I asked, the corners of my mouth betraying a hint of distaste.

"Hehehe. So it is true! I was only fishing for a reaction—but you gave me more than enough!"

“... Fishing for a reaction?”

"Yes! The word came straight from the Imperial Palace. They say Her Majesty was in a foul mood the entire day—and the grand imperial hall? Tense enough to snap! Of course, I couldn’t help but wonder... was Professor Deculein the reason behind it all? And apparently, I was the only one who thought of this idea!"

Adrienne definitely had a gift for reading rumors and acting on them without missing a beat. That constant smile of hers had been nothing but a poker face. Before I even realized it, she had drawn out exactly the reaction she was looking for.

"And if I had to guess, I'd say it had something to do with the Scarletborn!"

"It’s confidential. I trust you’ll keep it that way, Chairwoman," I said.

“Hmm~?” Adrienne replied with a tilt of her head. “You’re asking me to keep a secret?! How adorably naive of you?!”

I remained silent.

"So that’s it, isn’t it, Professor? You didn’t agree with Her Majesty’s policy on the Scarletborn, right?! Because it wasn’t strict enough?!"

... Fortunately, Adrienne had misunderstood the heart of it, believing I took issue with the policy on the Scarletborn being too lenient.

“But seriously, what part of it did you find so lacking, Professor?! From what I understood, Her Majesty’s policy was harsh enough—executing every elder among the Scarletborn and dragging the rest into concentration camps without a second thought!"

"Why would I speak of it to someone I cannot even trust with the keeping of it?" I said.

“Hmph! I’ll just draw my own conclusions, then!” Adrienne said, narrowing her eyes.

“By all means. But don’t be shocked if the Empire sees it as treason.”

"Treason? Me? Pfft! The Empire treats me far too well—they’re afraid I might run off to another nation! But more than that, isn’t it strange? Why does Her Majesty loathe the Scarletborn so deeply, yet offer such grace to every other minority?!"

Just as Adrienne had said, Sophien held a deep hatred for the Scarletborn, but the reason behind it was never meant to be known. It wasn’t a secret hidden in the corners of the story—just something the setting itself had left unknown. All that remained was to fill the silence with one’s own guesses.

"It makes sense that you’d loathe the Scarletborn, Professor—because you are from the House of Yukline, after all!"

As Adrienne’s chatter passed by me like background noise, a sudden thought surfaced in my mind.

“Yukline can always get away with saying it’s all demons or demonic energy as an excuse! Simply kill people and say, ‘They were demons!’ and everyone will believe it!”

I watched Adrienne as she muttered to herself.

“... What is it?” Adrienne asked as she caught my eyes and fell briefly silent.

"Why don't you speak of it to the world?" I said.

“Sorry?!”

"That Deculein had proposed policies far more draconian than the current ones."

Adrienne spoke with a loose tongue, but her words carried unexpected weight. As the Chairwoman, she had access to the inner workings of the Empire and never repeated a rumor unless more than half of it rang true.

Though her tone was gentle, there was always a thread of reason threaded through her words—enough to earn her a reputation as someone whose charm never lacked credibility.

"That Deculein had once proposed a policy far more brutal than the one Her Majesty suggested—one of complete eradication. And yet, it was Her Majesty who refused. If word got out that such a disagreement took place, it could make for a rather useful rumor."

“... Really?” Adrienne asked, watching my face for a moment before giving a small nod.

“Then let that be the version they hear.”

For Sophien, I could become as cruel as the world needed me to be. From the very beginning, lifting the weight from her shoulders had always been part of the journey—one of many steps I had to take to clear the quest set before me. Of course, some level of contact with Allen was unavoidable, but if I went through Primien, it wouldn’t be too difficult.

“Right! I mean—well! Now that I think about it, it does sound believable!”

Crackle—!

Suddenly, the radio transceiver crackled with a burst of noise, and both the Chairwoman and I turned toward it at the same time.

— Emergency report. An island has surfaced within the Empire’s territorial waters.

“Huh?!”

— There are reports from the island—of the long dead seen walking again.

“What?!” Adrienne said, whipping around to face me like she'd just been slapped.

“The Voice has completed its assimilation,” I said.

The Voice, once locked in the World of the Voice, circling around in the heart of emptiness, had at last begun to reveal its true landscape in this world.

“Assimilation?!”

“Yes. It seems the Voice has become indistinguishable from the world itself.”

This event was never meant to transpire with such urgency. But somewhere along the chain of repeated regressions, something must have gone wrong—something had twisted the flow.

— As of now—

“This is Deculein of House Yukline,” I said, taking hold of the radio mic.

— Oh! Professor! Yes, sir!

“If word has already reached you, it won’t be long before adventurers start swarming the place.”

Adventurers, in that sense, were no better than scavengers. If they crossed over and started causing trouble like some desperate wanderers, the Voice’s difficulty would only spike for no good reason.

“By order of the Lead Elite Guard, I hereby authorize the detainment of all individuals attempting to approach the site. There is no formal statute yet, but if any adventurer is found, they are to be arrested for unlawful entry into Empire’s territorial waters.”

— Yes, Professor. Proceeding now.

“Only a select few will accompany the task force,” I said as I slipped into my coat. “Transmit the coordinates.”

— Yes, Professor.

“I’ll be heading there shortly—”

At that moment, someone grabbed the bottom of my coat.

“Professor Deculein! Can I come too?!” Adrienne asked, her eyes wide with excitement as she looked up at me.

***

Splaaaash—!

A multitude of boats swept across the Empire’s territorial waters. Just within view, there were already more than thirty, and counting those that had already passed or were still approaching from behind, the number easily exceeded a hundred. The moment the news spread, adventure teams from every direction had poured into the area.

"... There are so many of them. Being the first to land won’t change anything," muttered Ria, a member of the Red Garnet Adventure Team, among the long procession of adventurers making their way toward the island.

“You think so~?”

“Yes... If the island gets damaged, it’ll only come back to bite us. I don’t really want to go in, but everyone else is headed there, so we don’t have much choice...”

Ria, now a year into her life as an adventurer, wore a standard vest with pockets hanging everywhere to show it.

“Adventurers are always the same. They’ve all been through the Voice—they know there’s treasure waiting. If there’s money to be made, you’ll always find an adventurer, even if the road leads straight into hell,” Ganesha said, guiding the boat as the sea mist tangled in her hair. “Mmm~ And what about you, Miss Sylvia~? I see you are a bit nervous for some reason~?”

Sylvia had joined Ria and her adventure team's party since before the Voice's assimilation. But now, with her face set like stone, she didn’t offer Ganesha so much as a glance, let alone an answer.

“She must be very nervous... Hehe.”

As Ria watched the tense Sylvia with a light chuckle...

“... Oh,” Ganesha murmured, the composure slipping from her face as she pressed the brake of the boat to a stop.

Splaaaash—!

Suddenly, the boat lurched to a halt against the current, and Sylvia, Ria, and the others were thrown forward, stumbling under the weight of the stop.

“Argh!”

“Ouch!”

“... Captain? What’s going on?” Carlos asked, his voice rough with sleep as he blinked.

“Hmm. Apparently, Professor Deculein is doing something near the entrance,” Ganesha replied, brushing her fingers lightly over the crystal orb earrings hanging from her ear.

At the mention of Deculein, Carlos’s expression darkened, visibly so. For someone so cynical and fearless, there was only one name that frightened him—and to Carlos, Deculein was fear itself, like a terror of tigers and disease.

“Professor Deculein is?” Ria asked, pushing herself upright.

“Mm-hmm. They said that as we step in, we might all be taken away~”

Fwoooooooosh—!

Almost on cue with Ganesha’s words, a boat ahead leapt upward, lifted clean from the water, and tossed into the sky.

“H-Hey! What’s going on?!

“What the?!Are they hitting us from behind?!”

However, they neither soared higher nor fell—instead, they hovered there, caught in the air like puppets with their strings cut...

— ... To all unauthorized vessels within the Empire’s territorial waters—this message is your first and final notice.

Soon after, a voice echoed in the air.

— Unauthorized vessels and personnel are prohibited from approaching the island. Disregarding this warning will be considered a violation of Empire maritime law and will result in immediate detainment.

The voice that followed needed no introduction—Professor Deculein’s voice, filled with contempt and far too familiar, echoed from the speaker.

— Should anyone wish to raise an objection, I welcome you to find me. I am Deculein of Yukline—and the lines of communication are always open.

To say the lines of communication were always open—was, of course, just another way of saying he had no intention of listening.

“Sigh... if only we’d gotten here a bit sooner,” Ganesha said as she dropped onto the deck.

Deculein... I’m not sure what’s happening, but if that Professor made the first move into the island, it might be wise to hold our breath and wait, Ganesha thought.

“... For now, why don’t we stay here and talk it over? Figure out what we should do next.”

“Okay!” Ria replied with a bright nod.

Carlos had already slipped below deck, leaving only Sylvia standing on the deck, her eyes burning with silent hostility as she stared across the water.

“Alright. I’ll take that as a yes from everyone~” Ganesha said, grabbing Sylvia by the wrist and pulling her below deck.