Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead-Chapter 73: Failed?

The child’s trembling voice echoed in my ears.

"Please… I don’t want to die."

My hands curled into fists.

I could feel the heat of the wasteland pressing against my skin, the weight of the masked figure’s gaze drilling into me.

The sword that figure held seemed to be shining under the blood-red sky.

"That child is bound for a reason," the figure had warned. "If you free them, you will doom an entire world."

But how could I just walk away?

I looked at the chains again. The metal was old, yet the glowing symbols looked freshly carved.

The magic surrounding the girl was strong—almost unbreakable.

The child sniffled, wiping her snot-streaked face with the back of their hand. Her eyes were wide and desperate as she continued staring at me.

"Please…"

A sharp pain twisted in my chest.

What would she have done if Noah had been here instead of this girl child?

My face went pale just thinking about it, I would never be able to bear my baby boy suffering like that.

Ughhh

Suryi had faced this same moment.

What had she done?

What did she choose?

I didn’t know.

All I knew was that I was here now.

This was my trial.

Turning to the masked figure, I asked. "Who are you?"

The figure didn’t answer. Instead, it raised the sword in its hand slightly, as if preparing for an attack. "Make your choice."

A warning.

I clenched my teeth.

I wasn’t someone who could ignore a plea for help.

Not when a child was crying at my feet, bound by chains and terrified to death.

Maybe this was a trap.

Maybe I was being tested.

Maybe I was making the biggest mistake of my life.

But I had already decided.

I reached down and gripped the metal chains.

The moment my fingers touched them, pain exploded through my body.

It felt like fire was burning into my skin, eating me from the inside out. A violent force resisted me, fighting back with everything it had.

The child gasped, flinching as the glowing symbols flared brighter. The ground beneath us trembled, sending cracks through the scorched earth.

I gritted my teeth and pulled harder.

"Break!"

The chains snapped.

A blast of energy surged outward, throwing me back. I hit the ground hard, coughing as dust swirled around me.

The girl breathed roughly, her body shaking as she looked at her freed wrists in disbelief.

Then, the air shifted.

A deep, low hum filled the space, vibrating through the ground.

The sky darkened, the red and gold hues twisting into a deep, suffocating black.

The ruins in the distance trembled, as if something ancient had just awakened.

I forced myself to my feet.

The masked figure stood completely still.

It’s sword was no longer raised, but their presence felt even heavier than before.

"You made the wrong choice."

Those words sent ice chilling through my veins.

I turned to the child—only to freeze in place.

Her small frame convulsed, body trembling as if something changed.

The fear in the girl’s eyes was gone.

Her soft, trembling form twisted, stretching taller.

The skin lost its pale and her weak appearance, started glowing with an unnatural energy.

Robes which were once torn and ragged, mended themselves, turning into flowing black and crimson silk.

The air around her pulsed with power.

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Then, she lifted their head—and I saw their eyes.

They were no longer human.

No longer innocent.

Golden irises burned with a cruel, inhuman light.

The soft, weak voice was gone, replaced by something deep and resonant, something that made the very ground tremble beneath us.

The child—or whatever she had been—smiled.

"You were foolish."

A wave of force slammed into me before I could react.

I flew backward, my body crashing against the cracked ground.

Pain shot through my ribs as dust and ash moved around me.

Coughing, I struggled to push myself up. My head spun.

The masked figure hadn’t moved.

But I could feel it now—the weight of their gaze. The way they watched me without surprise.

They had expected this.

They had known.

"You… knew this would happen," I blamed it, wiping blood from the corner of my lips.

It nodded at once. "Yes."

I gritted my teeth. "Then why didn’t you stop me?"

The figure tilted it’s head slightly. "Because this trial is not about making the right choice."

The air grew heavier.

The being I had freed stepped forward, each movement slow and deliberate.

Power coiled around them like a living thing, crackling through the air.

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Her voice was layered, overlapping with something deeper, something ancient.

I pushed myself to my feet. "Who are you?"

She laughed softly. "You should be asking what I am."

The ground split beneath us, molten cracks searing through the earth. Flames burst forth, licking at the air, twisting unnaturally.

I swallowed hard.

I had made a mistake.

A very, very big mistake.

The masked figure finally moved, gripping its sword tightly. "Now, we fight."

I barely had time to react before the being lunged forward.

Everything exploded into motion.

I jumped back just as the two figures clashed Chunks of rock shattered, dust rising in thick clouds.

I summoned my mana, feeling it rush through my veins, raw and wild.

The masked figure was already moving, it’s sword slicing through the air in a blur of gold and crimson.

The girl’s figure dodged effortlessly, laughing as she twisted around the attack.

"Too slow."

Her hand flicked upward, and fire erupted.

A massive pillar of flames shot toward us, roaring with unnatural intensity.

I barely managed to throw up a barrier, gritting my teeth as the heat seared against my skin.

The masked figure moved through the flames like a ghost, its blade cutting through fire itself.

But the girl was faster.

Faster than anything I had ever fought.

Her movements were fluid, almost playful, as if she were toying with us.

"This is not even a fraction of my power," She mused.

I clenched my fists. "Then you’ll regret underestimating me."

I gathered mana, pouring everything into a concentrated attack. Light pulsed around my hands as I shaped it, compressing it into a single, sharp spear.

With a deep breath, I hurled it forward.

The being didn’t even try to dodge.

The spear struck them dead center—

And passed right through.

I stared in horror.

She smiled.

"Did you think a mere human’s power could harm me?"

The girl raised her hand, and before I could move, a crushing force slammed into my chest.

I hit the ground again, gasping as pain ran through me.

My vision blurred.

And the last thing I saw was the masked figure stepping closer, it’s golden eyes burning with amusement.

"You failed."

Then, everything went black.

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