Maybe I really am a Villian

Chapter 139: Mastermind

All of them instantly transformed into beams of light and rushed toward the site of the explosion.

At that moment, none of them cared about concealing their presence anymore.

The moment the Grandmaster-rank Light Bombs detonated, stealth had become meaningless.

Alger led the group at full speed, and the ten Master-rank members followed closely behind him.

They shot through the forest like falling meteors, heading straight toward the pillar of light rising into the sky.

The terrifying shockwave from the explosion continued spreading across the region, and every one of them understood that whatever had happened ahead was far beyond what they had expected.

Alger was the first to reach the site of the explosion.

However, he didn’t rush in immediately.

The destructive light was still raging through the area, so he waited for the explosion to settle.

One by one, the other Master-rank members arrived beside him.

All of them stared at the devastated scene with tense expressions.

The situation had become far more complicated than they had expected.

What had initially seemed like the actions of a group of crazed believers had now escalated into something entirely different.

A Grandmaster-rank explosion in the middle of the forest wasn’t something that could be ignored.

And the fact that it had occurred exactly where the culprits were supposed to be made the situation even more alarming.

As the blinding light gradually faded and the shockwaves weakened, the Church members prepared themselves to enter the devastated area and uncover what had happened.

But when they finally looked at the site, there was nothing left.

Only an enormous crater remained where the Reaper Guild headquarters had once stood.

No bodies.No ruins.No traces of battle

Everything had been completely erased by the explosion.

The Master-rank member carrying the artifact that tracked the blood of the culprits stared at it for a moment before speaking in a low voice filled with fear, afraid of provoking Alger’s anger.

"There is no trace of them anymore..."

"It seems they escaped."

What none of them knew was that the people whose blood had been used for tracking had already died long ago.

Their bodies had merely been used to lure the Church to this location.

And now, even those bodies had been completely destroyed by the Grandmaster-rank Light Bombs.

At the site, nothing remained that could be investigated.

Only a massive crater and the lingering traces of a terrifying explosion.

Alger remained silent the entire time.

Everyone had expected him to explode in anger, but instead he calmly gave an order.

"Return to your duties. There is no longer any need for you here."

The Master-rank members were confused by his reaction, but none of them dared question him.

They simply bowed and followed the order.

Although they couldn’t understand what Alger was thinking, they had no intention of asking.

One by one, they left the crater behind, disappearing into beams of light just as they had arrived.

Soon, Alger was left alone at the site of the explosion.

For a long moment, he silently observed the devastated crater.

Then he muttered in disbelief,"Two Grandmasters fought here"

"What exactly happened?"

His gaze slowly swept across the crater.

Despite the explosion having erased almost everything, traces of a Domain clash and remnants of Grandmaster-level mana still lingered in the area.

His eyes narrowed as he examined the lingering traces of mana.

"This is far more complicated than I thought."

"The remaining traces suggest lightning and necromancy..."

"But if those traces were left behind deliberately, why?"

"If they truly have connections to the royal family, they shouldn’t be foolish enough to expose themselves so easily."

Alger fell silent for a moment.

Then another possibility surfaced in his mind.

"Were they even the ones who caused the original incident?"

"And if they were..."

"Then why detonate a Grandmaster-rank Light Bomb here?"

"Were they trying to erase something?"

Alger stood silently at the edge of the crater, staring at the devastated land.

The more he thought about the incident, the more unsettling it became.

Assassins pretending to be believers of the Church.

Traces of lightning and necromancy.

A Grandmaster-rank battle.

And finally, a Grandmaster-rank Light Bomb that had erased almost everything.

None of it fit together properly.

"This is no longer something I can handle alone."

"The situation is far too complex."

"If I continue investigating by myself, I may miss something important."

"The higher-ups need to know about this immediately."

"This incident may involve forces far beyond a simple group of assassins."

Alger activated a communication artifact.

A faint golden light spread across its surface as he prepared to report everything—the false Church believers, the traces of two Grandmasters, the necromancy, the lightning, and the Grandmaster-rank explosion that had erased all evidence.

For the first time since the investigation began, Alger felt that this incident might be connected to something much larger than he had originally imagined.

Asher’s Room — The Academy

While the Church struggled to make sense of the incident and the higher-ups prepared to be informed, the mastermind behind everything was sleeping peacefully in his room at the Academy.

There was no tension on his face.

No sign of worry.

As if the chaos that had shaken the powerhouse of Continent had nothing to do with him.

Hours passed.

At 6:30 in the morning, Asher slowly opened his eyes.

The first rays of sunlight entered through the window, illuminating the quiet room.

He sat up from the bed, stretched lightly, and then muttered to himself,"Nothing can disturb a person more than a doubt without any evidence."

Then Asher stood up and started walking toward the bathroom.

As he walked, he casually muttered to himself,"I wonder what the Church will make of that scene..."

"And the royal family and Duke Vermont, who just lost one of their Grandmasters."

His tone was calm, as if he were merely discussing the weather.

For him, the chaos unfolding outside the Academy was already becoming a matter for others to worry about.

Meanwhile, the Church, the royal family, and Duke Vermont were still trying to understand what had happened in the forest.

And none of them knew that the person responsible was simply getting ready for another ordinary day at the Academy.