Broken Story: Reborn as a Villainess Author

Chapter 51: Grand Redemption

"Grand Redemption..."

...

...

BOOOOOM!

The explosion was so large it tore through the secondary body of the creature, slowly forming cracks above the higher space.

During the build up, Ophelia had cast amplification magic which boosted the skill output by tenfold. The frozen wasteland they fought across for nearly two hours was in an instant wrapped around the immense light enveloping from Acheron.

The impact shook the entirety of the dungeon, destroying every single form of life within a thirty mile radius... If there was even any.

In that same flow of time, a spell Acheron had set up previously just before they made their way into the boss room slowly activated.

Crash!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ground glowed red as they all appeared one after the other, falling down as none of them had the energy to move anymore.

However, despite having been the one with the most movement, William was surprisingly the only one standing.

He stood still for a while, letting the pain he felt pass through him like a flowing river. It washed over and finally took effect.

"Ah..." He said slowly, gripping his chest. The pain had finally caught up to him.

Beside him, Alackster was keeping himself barely conscious with the remaining mana he had. Dalia had already passed out long before the teleportation spell took place, her barrier magic faded away as well.

Acheron finally appeared alongside Arlo. The two of them could barely stand, keeping each other balanced.

Resting on her shoulder, Morena whispered into Acheron’s ear.

"This boy is going to die..."

The words brought Acheron’s movements to a sudden still. As she held on to Arlo, she felt his final life force fading away alongside Morena’s.

Acheron reacted on instinct, immediately pouring every single bit of the tiny mana she had left into the core of Arlo.

As she poured, the system panel flickered in front of her.

[Mana: 134 / 7,411]

[Mana: 89 / 7,411]

[Mana: 43 / 7,411]

[Warning! Mana levels are abnormally low!]

[Warning! Host may lose consciousness!]

[Mana: 27 / 7,411]

...

[Mana: 0 / 7,411]

[Core entering dormant state]

Acheron’s eyes rolled back as she and Arlo began to fall. William quickly stepped up with what energy he had left to grab both of them, laying them softly on the ice floor.

He fell back to a sitting posture and looked up at the ceiling. A cold exhale followed as he closed his eyes and said faintly:

"...We finally won."

The boss room was quiet and the earthquake had died down, leaving the scent of blood in the air.

Upon that deep silence, the dungeon started to tremor once more. A deep groan rolled through the walls, causing chaos everywhere.

William tried to move his body, resist against the pain. The harder he tried the worse it became. Just as he felt like he was close to breaking from the effort.

The tremor stopped and a loud roar resounded against the ice walls, carrying its shockwave for miles into the area.

The signal was clear.

The boss... Was dead.

...

Outside the dungeon, the ground shook with intensity then finally came to a halt.

The professors desperately tried to break through but even with all their efforts, it was inevitable. A dungeon cannot be entered unless conquered.

At the far end of the vicinity, Skye had his back against one of the frozen trees at the dungeon foot. He gripped his fist tightly with pure rage and resentment. The reality of not being able to do anything in such a situation haunted him back and forth, fueling more and more rage as time passed.

Lukene and Eilette were nearby, fully awake and updated on the situation after they had fallen unconscious. All three of them stayed silent the entire time, waiting for the moment the dungeon doors would open... If they opened.

Around them the other students scattered themselves in groups, some talking to the other adventurers while others talked among each other.

Vikram’s staff was placed into the ground and hadn’t moved for over an hour. The worry was obvious on his face.

The same could be said for Professor Julia who stood alongside him. The two Runic Eye devices had long been dead, their wings folded flat.

"What are we going to tell the head professor..." Julia said, eyes still focused on the entrance.

Vikram attempted to speak but the words did not push through. It was the first time he had ever been in a situation like this. He could lose his license as a professor and even be placed in Broken Tomb for the rest of his life.

Several thoughts passed through his head. All he could do was hope.

Then...

In the blink of a moment, the ground began to shake once more.

Then its intensity increased... Higher and higher. Slowly everyone began to grab hold of something for balance.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Vikram was not fazed by the tremor, but as soon as he opened his eyes after blinking... The sight before him sent a wave of relief washing over him.

The dungeon doors were opening for the first time since the students went in. The air parted ways and snow blew out in a heap of wind.

Immediately, Vikram burst forward at maximum speed through the doors, so fast none of the students or adventurers saw him move.

Behind him, Julia and the other professors followed without a word between them.

Skye was already on his feet, ready to charge in as well. He pushed through the wind and was one foot away from reaching the threshold when he felt a hand on his shoulder stopping him in his tracks.

He turned back to see one of the professors who had stayed behind to monitor while the others went in to recover those who had gone ahead.

"You have done enough." The professor said with a firm expression.

Skye’s rage was so fueled he attempted to overpower the grip, however Lukene and Eilette were there to stop him from making the mistake of his life.

"We will emm... Go stay over there." Lukene said, pushing Skye backwards while Eilette bowed apologetically toward the professor.

They could do nothing about the situation other than wait.

...

Meanwhile, somewhere in the world of Illesmtrys, as her body lay unconscious, Acheron’s state of being manifested inside the mind plane.

The familiar warmth of the space settled calmly around her the moment she appeared. She stood for a moment before finally collapsing to the floor.

"Phew! That was rough..." She muttered to herself. Even in this space she felt a little pain from her physical body carry over into this one like an afterimage.

「You look terrible.」

Stellar said from the other side of the room. It was a grand bedroom designed well for nobles to dwell in, originally where the dead god stayed during his time of monitoring the worst of the worst.

Acheron raised her head and laughed softly. "It’s not that bad... Right?"

Stellar stood up from her chair and walked over to sit in front of Acheron on the floor. She summoned the system and began to read out the details.

「Your arcana channels are strained. Your core is dormant and will be dormant for a very long time!」

Acheron felt like she was being scolded by her mother listening to Stellar rage on.

「Do you know what would have happened if Ophelia hadn’t stepped in! You could have actually died! Or worse, lost your ability to use magic forever!」

The words entered one ear of Acheron and went out the next.

After a while of ranting, Stellar finally stopped. By then Acheron was already half dead.

「...Are you even listening to me?」

Acheron blinked. "Mhm... I guess so... Ah, also where is Ophelia? I haven’t seen her or Shinra."

Stellar got up and dusted herself off.

「They are in the master bedroom sleeping.」

"Sleeping?"

「...Yes, sleeping. Ophelia used too much of her mana and was forced into that state.」

Acheron’s expression softened for a moment.

’She’s like that because of me... I better go check up on her.’

Acheron stood up and walked over to the door with the large golden sign and a diamond knob. A true design fit for a god.

Creak...!

She opened it and saw Ophelia lying on Shinra, both of them fast asleep. Around them tiny creatures danced and painted the scenery with beautiful and melodious colors.

The scene was similar to a music tone... No...

’It’s... The Song of Ophelia...’ Acheron recognized the music notes from the first time she had read the spell.

A beautiful sight to behold.

She gently closed the door and walked back to the main room where she first appeared.

The moment she stepped in, a strange aura wrapped around her like a pet clinging to its owner.

It wasn’t hard, it wasn’t tight... It was soft and alluring.

Acheron was falling for the smooth tension before she shook her head, snapping out of the illusion. She instantly looked to the corner of the room and lo and behold.

"My my..." A woman with a lustful smile said. "You really can’t let your guard down even for a bit, can you."

...

TL;DR — Broken Tomb is the equivalent of a prison in their world, where all magic is nullified by the aid of mages specially trained to do so.