I Became the Mastermind Who Betrays the Heroines
Chapter 141

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 141 – Drunkard (5)

“I just… sobered up, that’s all.”

Selena had always been intoxicated.

Whether it was with liquor, or longing, or sorrow—

She staggered through life, her steps drenched in regret.

As though she would never rise again.

But in the end—

Drunkenness always fades.

Because reality exists outside of the drink.

The same held true for the drunkard.

Nothing had changed.

She had simply sobered up.

Freed from the long, suffocating intoxication.

From the drink—

From the memories—

From her sister—

“I was drunk for far too long.”

She murmured softly.

The officer, who had been watching her from above for some time, clicked his tongue.

“How noble you pretend to be.”

“…”

“I’ll make sure your death is the most painful possible.”

All it would take was a surge of the mana vow engraved in her heart, and ending Selena would be easier than squashing an insect.

But the officer didn’t kill her.

Instead, he handed her over to his subordinates.

A sneer curled across his lips.

“A traitor shouldn’t be let off so easily.”

He gave the order:

“Throw her in the dungeons. Somewhere no light reaches. I’ll personally strip the flesh from her bones.”

And so—

The black-robed cultists moved swiftly.

The woman was dragged away helplessly.

“…”

Her retreating figure—

For a moment, her frail back seemed to carry a sliver of shadow.

But soon, even that trace dissolved like a dream.

---

A dungeon devoid of even the faintest sunlight.

Selena was bound in chains.

Three days had passed amid the blood-soaked stench.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t been allowed a single drop of water.

“…”

She was utterly emaciated.

Her eyes had lost focus, her blood had dried into crusted black, and her wounds festered and wept.

She looked like a flower that had been crushed underfoot.

Yet—

If asked whether she was broken—

The answer was no.

She was merely waiting.

Waiting for one last chance to strike back.

Creeeeak—

With a scream, the cell door swung open.

A man entered.

The officer who had imprisoned her.

For the past three days, he had done nothing but keep her locked up. But now, it seemed he had finally decided to act.

“Been well?”

A hollow question.

In the man’s hand were tools: a wire saw, a clamp, a knife. Implements of torture.

So the threat hadn’t been an empty one.

Perhaps trying to terrify her further, the officer laid each tool down in front of her—

Letting her imagine the pain that would follow.

“Then let me offer you one last chance.”

Before it began—

The man made a final proposal.

“We won’t worry about the destroyed data. The base you burned down… Let’s just say it was of little consequence.”

He spoke as if offering her mercy.

“The One still desires your power.”

“…Hah.”

“If you agree to cooperate again, the One will welcome you back. He is willing to grant you mercy.”

“Bullshit… It’s not mercy—it just means you still have a use for me.”

“True. It’s not easy planting a spy inside the Academy’s upper echelons.”

“You disgusting bastards…”

“Choose wisely.”

The wire saw gleamed dangerously.

As though it might strip flesh from bone at any moment.

The officer whispered:

“The One’s resurrection is close at hand. And when that day comes… perhaps your sister will be shown mercy as well. After all, haven’t you missed your family for years? And now you’re going to throw all that away?”

Her sister.

That word pierced straight through her heart.

Lianne rose unbidden in her mind.

—Sis!

That voice still echoed so vividly.

How could she forget?

Even from the depths of hell, her sister had been her star—The one precious thing she had ever loved in life.

A sister’s love never fades.

And yet—

“Shove it.”

Tears trailed quietly down her cheek.

But her eyes stayed wide open.

Because she had chosen to stop being shackled.

Selena Drunkard—

To her, family no longer meant only her sister.

There was her teacher, who had pulled her up from the gutter.

There were the colleagues she’d bickered with day in and day out.

There were the students, who always smiled at her with shining eyes.

Gallimard Academy.

All of it was her home. Her family.

Feelings she had realized far too late.

And—

—Professor.

A certain boy.

The one who had taken so many of her firsts.

A student she was both grateful to and sorry for.

If nothing else, she wanted to be proud of herself in his eyes.

Even someone like her—

—Because I’m a student of a good person.

—That’s proof in itself.

—A heart that’s warm beneath a cold exterior—proof of that too.

For the voice that had once called her a good person—

Selena looked directly at the man.

For the first time, life returned to her dim red eyes.

“Five years was more than enough for me to be used by the likes of you.”

“You’ve chosen poorly.”

Sensing that persuasion would no longer work,

The officer clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The saw moved forward.

The end was near.

“Very well… If that’s what you want, I’ll send you to join your precious sister.”

“You won’t find her. Lianne’s in heaven.”

She smiled as if relieved.

Because she knew her end was coming.

“A bitch like me—I'll probably go to hell.”

“What a shame.”

“And you bastards are coming with me.”

“…What?”

The officer’s eyes widened.

Selena didn’t miss her chance.

Her last remaining card—

“Urgh—!”

She poured mana into the seal engraved in her heart.

An apparatus carved into her body just before arriving here, using her own magic.

FWOOM—!

Her inner circuits surged with overload.

Mana whirled at blinding speed.

The [Vow] etched first and the [Rejection] added later—

Clashed violently, generating a massive force.

“You… You’re not…!”

The officer’s expression twisted in panic.

The magic formula triggered an explosion.

By offering up all the mana within her life—

She was executing a self-destruct, or rather, a suicide attack.

Powerful enough to obliterate this entire branch.

Selena sneered.

“Let’s go. To hell.”

Time slowed.

She closed her eyes.

Her body felt hot. Soon, it would scatter into dust—no, not even a trace of ash would remain.

She could feel the mana running wild. It made her smile.

If only.

A meaningless thought.

But in the face of death, we always end up thinking it.

In the final reflections of a long life—

What if things had been different between us?

At the end of her silent musing, there was one figure:

A blond boy, always so kind.

If I hadn’t drowned in grief…

If they’d met in a world where nothing had gone wrong, could she and Judas have shared something better?

She had resolved to face death without hesitation—And yet, only he lingered as her one regret.

She hadn’t told him thank you, or sorry, or I care for you—

Not a single one of her feelings had reached him.

They now drifted like unsent letters in her mind.

How ridiculous.

I… maybe, I—

The thought never reached its end.

A breath caught at the very edge of death.

And just then—

Snap!

A sound like fingers being flicked echoed through the space.

Followed by a voice—

“Break.”

SHATTER—!

With the crash of glass, pitch-black shadows engulfed the drunkard.

The darkness slipped beneath her skin.

In a flash—

The volatile energy that had been about to erupt vanished without a trace.

As if it had all been a lie.

“…?”

Selena blinked in confusion.

She had steeled herself for the agony of death—Yet her body was untouched. Her limbs intact.

Even the crushing pain around her heart had faded.

It didn’t make sense.

Behind her, she felt warmth.

As though she were wrapped in the arms of someone familiar.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

And what she saw—

“…Professor.”

“Student… Judas…?”

Was none other than the boy himself.

The very same boy to whom she had just poured out her heart in silent farewell.

Their eyes met.

A glance that stretched on for both a second and forever.

“I’ve come to save you.”

The Serpent whispered, as if in answer.

A gentle smile rested at his lips—just like always.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would take responsibility.”

Why was it?

A memory replayed of its own accord.

That day they attended the banquet,

When they shared a private conversation in the garden.

Just for a moment, time seemed to overlap.

—Well, who knows.

—If it turns out to be true… would you take responsibility like in some superstition?

—Gladly.

—If that’s what you want.

Just like back then—

The Serpent held her in his arms.

As if he would never let go.

“I’ve come to keep my promise.”

Her eyelids lifted ever so slightly.

And in the depths of her eyes—

There was light.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]