Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead-Chapter 227: Redemption (3)

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"Come," I whispered, dagger raised, my shadowed body trembling with controlled fury.

"Try me."

The Kalki's eyes flashed red, and for the first time, I saw something in them.

Respect, recognition and perhaps even fear.

And I understood then, in that moment, what it meant to truly choose someone over the world.

I had failed Noah once before, in the echoes of history. I had failed my son...but I would not fail again.

Even if it meant I would burn in hellfire for it.

Even if it meant I would be the villain for all eternity.

Because right now, there was only one truth I could cling to:

He is my grandson.

And I will not let him die.

Not today.

Not ever.

And if that means I must damn myself, then let the heavens carve my name into their list of villains.

Let Noah hate me.

Let history curse me.

I will still choose him.

I grip the dagger at my hip, the old steel humming as I draw it free.

The sound was sharp, a song I know well, the anthem of a man who has lived his life as a sinner, and will die the same.

I glance once more at Noah, who lay on the stones, his face twisted in pain and confusion.

My heart trembles until it feels like it will split apart.

"I know you see me as your villain," I whisper under my breath, words only for me.

"And perhaps I am. But tonight, Noah…I'll be your villain. I'll carry the weight, even if it means you live long enough to hate me."

The Kalki roared, his obsidian blade raised. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

I raise mine.

Sparks flew as obsidian collided with cold steel, and the air around us vibrated with

power currents.

I held my feet firmly against the ground, feeling the energy of the shadows flowing through me, steadying me, giving me what I could wield against a being like this.

"You dare stand before me?" the Kalki questioned, eyes burning red like molten fire.

"Do you not see that she is oura? My lost princess, I finally finally found her after years of torment, and you…you dare wish to touch her?"

"I don't care what you call her," I growled, my dagger poised. "If you touch her, if she's harmed in the slightest, I'll stop you.

No matter the cost."

Its laugh was like grinding mountains, a sound that disarrayed the stones beneath my feet.

The creature moved with impossible speed, a blur of black and scarlet, swinging its sword in a sweeping arc that sent shockwaves blasting through the courtyard. I barely managed to deflect with my dagger, the impact sending a jolt of pain through my arms.

"Foolish man," it hissed, circling me like a predator. "Do you know what it means to touch what is mine?

This girl, she is the heart of my world, the blood of my blood, and you…you are nothing but dust beneath my feet!"

I gritted my teeth, countering with a thrust aimed at its side, only to have the blade meet the monster's armor.

Sparks flew, and I felt the reverberation in my hands like a hammer to my chest.

It was fast, precise, almost too perfect. Each strike it made carried decades of experience, of hunting, of loss and rage.

But I could not falter.

Not now.

"Noah…hold on," I whispered under my breath, my eyes flicking toward him.

The boy had finally awakened again as he was on his knees, trembling, his chest moving up and down, blood smeared across his face.

I wanted to scream at him to stay down, to hide, but I knew he wouldn't.

He was a fighter. But right now, he was helpless, and that only fueled my determination.

The Kalki struck again, swinging its sword in a horizontal slash that cracked the stone and sent me skidding back.

I grunted, rolling to regain footing as my

shadow energy flared around me, I lunged forward, my dagger aimed for its knee.

The creature laughed again, voicing a roar of disbelief.

"Do you think your toys, your petty shadows, can harm me? You dare strike me? Your life is done for!" Every strike it made forced me back, every movement demanded everything I had, every ounce of training, every century of fighting ghosts and monsters alike.

Yet I pushed forward, unwilling to give ground, unwilling to let it touch Pixie.

It slammed the sword down towards me, and I barely dodged, feeling the blade's edge whistle past my neck.

The heat of its power burned the air itself.

My muscles screamed, my body ached, and still, I moved, slashing, striking, twisting in any way I could.

The courtyard became a blur of dust, sparks, and shadow.

"Enough!" the Kalki made a shallow sound all of a sudden, leaping into the air.

Its horns scraped the sky as it landed right beside Pixie's lying figure, raising its sword above her with a speed that made my heart stop.

"I have found her again, after centuries of sorrow! And you…you will not take her from me!"

Time slowed.

I saw the sword descending towardz her, and I felt every second stretch, every heartbeat like a drum of war in my chest, I could not understand if that girl was so important to him then why was he trying to do everything in his ability to try and kill her.

I leapt with everything I had, shadows following me, and thrust my dagger between the two.

My cold steel met his obsidian blade with a screech of sparks, and the impact sent us flying back, hitting the stone hard, pain shooting up my spine.

"Coward," it spat, glaring at me, voice trembling with raw emotion.

"You, mortal, cannot even shield her from the air she breathes!"

I struggled to my feet, blood running down my temple from a cut, my muscles trembling, lungs burning.

Yet my eyes never left the Kalki, never left Pixie.

Every ounce of fear, every doubt, every regret in me turned into a single, burning will: to protect them.

"You are wrong," I growled, voice low and steady despite the chaos. "She is not yours. Not as long as I stand!"

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