Reincarnated in a novel: I am the villain!-Chapter 280: Her Choice

Standing at the entrance of the tunnel, the three of them paused for a bit before continuing, as they were shocked by how such an intricate facility could be owned by a group of orcs.

The walls were ribbed with ancient, rusted metal arches that looked like the skeletal remains of a subterranean monster and other demon species.

The air was hot, smelling of grease, ozone, and the copper tang of blood.

"Keep moving," Damien ordered, his voice echoing in the cramped space.

He ran at the front, the Pantheon Sword in his hand glowing with a dull, hungry white light.

Behind him, Elian wheezed, clutching his chest, while Isabelle brought up the rear, her daggers drawn and her eyes glowing a low, warning red.

BOOM.

The ground shook. Dust rained from the rusted ceiling.

"He’s following us," Isabelle hissed, glancing back into the darkness.

"Thraka. I can feel his anger vibrating through the earth. He’s practically tearing the mountain apart to get to us."

"He’s an 8th Order," Damien said, kicking open a rusted hatch.

"If he probably knows he can kill us anytime he wanted, this whole ordeal is probably a game to him."

As he said this, they burst into a wider chamber. It looked like an old maintenance junction, filled with spinning gears and pipes leaking green steam.

But it wasn’t empty.

"Intruders!" a raspy, synthesized voice shrieked.

Standing on a catwalk above them were five Iron-Blood Shamans.

They didn’t look like the warriors outside instead they wore robes made of wire and leather.

Their faces were covered by masks made of skulls with glowing red lenses for eyes. In their hands, they held staffs topped with rotating gears and totem skulls.

"Totem Art: Shockwave!"

The Shamans slammed their staffs down.

ZZZZT.

Red lightning arced from the totems, connecting to the metal floor. The entire room electrified.

"Jump!" Damien shouted.

He grabbed Elian and used [Shadow Art: Flash Step] to blink onto a suspended pipe.

Isabelle on the other hand, stomped her foot.

[Gravity Art: Repulsion.]

An invisible sphere appeared around her, pushing the lightning away. The electricity crackled against her gravity barrier, useless.

"iOrc Shamans in the abyss?" Damien noted, analyzing the Shamans.

"However, Shamans usually use the power of a God to channel their spells, which God is helping them? Or is it the heavenly Demon Lord?"

Unfortumetly in response to his thoughts, the Shamans chanted in a low anger filled roar. The gears in the room began to spin faster. The pipes groaned.

HISSS.

Steam vents exploded, aiming to boil them alive.

"Isabelle, the totems!" Damien commanded. "Break the connection!"

"On it!"

Isabelle launched herself from the floor. She however didn’t use fire as it might ignite the gas in the room, instead she used pure force.

She landed on the catwalk. The Shamans tried to block with mana shields, but Isabelle’s punched right through them.

CRUNCH.

She shattered the first Shaman’s staff. The feedback loop caused his backpack engine to explode, blowing him off the walkway.

Damien moved through the steam like a phantom. He appeared behind two Shamans.

[Will Art: Severance.]

He cut the mana cables connecting their staffs to their suits.

The Shamans convulsed and collapsed, powerless.

"Clear," Damien stated, landing back on the floor.

But as the smoke cleared, they heard it.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Not the footsteps of Thraka. But the sound of hundreds of boots.

From the tunnel ahead, the only path to the Altar, a sea of red eyes appeared in the dark.

"Reinforcements," Elian whimpered. "The tunnel is blocked."

Damien looked. It was a battalion of heavily armored Iron-Blood Orcs, wielding tower shields and steam-powered pikes, completely filled the narrow passage ahead.

And behind them... the ground shook again. Thraka was getting closer.

"We’re pinned," Damien realized. "We can’t cut through that many shields before the Emperor catches up."

He gripped his sword, calculating. If he used [Dual-Core Overdrive], he could blast a path.

But then he would be empty when he reached the Altar. And he needed full power to activate the summons.

Even if he used the Hollow Kings Authority, there was no assurance that he would make it in time

Just as he was lost in thought, Isabelle walked up to him. She looked at the army ahead.

Then she looked at the tunnel behind them, where the 8th Order monster was approaching.

"Master," she said softly.

"No," Damien said immediately.

"You need to reach the Altar," Isabelle said, her voice firm. She turned to him, her ruby eyes clear and calm.

"You need to summon the Duke otherwise, we’ll all die."

She pointed to the narrow junction they were standing in.

"This is a choke point. You already know what has to be done."

"Isabelle," Damien warned, his voice low.

"I am not asking permission," Isabelle said. A smile touched her lips, not the shy smile of a maid, but the feral grin of a demon who had found her purpose.

She stepped between Damien and the Orc army.

WHOOSH.

Purple flames erupted from her body. Her horns elongated. Her skin flushed with the power of the Abyss.

"Believe in me master!," Isabelle whispered, recalling the lessons from the Ash Wastes.

"Let them come. I won’t let you down."

She looked back at Damien.

Damien in return stared at her. He saw the resolve in her eyes.

He saw the absolute loyalty that he had cultivated for so many years.

Making his decision, he stepped forward and grabbed her shoulder.

He pressed a vial into her hand, a High-Grade Sanity Potion.

"If you die," Damien whispered, his mask inches from her ear,

"I will drag you back from Hell myself. So don’t you dare die."

Isabelle clutched the potion. "I promise."

Damien turned to Elian. "Move."

He grabbed the old man and sprinted past Isabelle.

He charged the blockade.

[Will Art: King’s Roar.]

Damien unleashed a blast of pure Intimidation. The front row of Orcs flinched, their shields wavering for a split second.

Damien vaulted over them, dragging Elian. He broke through the line and kept running into the dark.

Behind him, he heard the Orcs roar.

"Kill the girl! Chase the human!"

And then, he heard Isabelle.

"GRAVITY... CRUSH!"

BOOM.

The tunnel behind him collapsed. Tons of rock and metal slammed down, sealing the path, separating Damien from the army, and trapping Isabelle alone with the enemy.

Damien didn’t look back.

He ran toward the Altar, his heart burning with a cold, focused rage.

Just wait, Damien thought, his eyes glowing gold.

I’m going to bring the whole sky down on this place.