Why Did I Reincarnate as the Heroine When I Wanted to Be a Villainess?

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: The Betrayer’s Promise

The footsteps beyond the Threshold fell silent.

No one dared breathe.

Then—

A voice echoed from somewhere above.

"Boss!"

Everyone flinched.

Something small shot through a shattered window, tumbled across the floor, bounced off Daren’s shoulder, and landed squarely in Seraphina’s arms.

Tax.

He was breathing heavily.

His usually smug expression had vanished.

His fur was covered in dust.

One of his ears had a small tear.

Seraphina’s eyes widened.

"Tax?!"

She immediately held him up.

"Where were you? What happened?"

Tax struggled to catch his breath.

"I... I went back..."

He gulped in air.

"...to the Way Station."

The room went still.

Kael’s expression sharpened.

"You went back alone?"

Tax ignored him.

His eyes remained fixed on Seraphina.

"...That thing..."

His voice shook.

"...It killed everyone."

Silence.

Or...

"It did something worse."

Nobody interrupted.

"It isn’t staying there anymore."

Tax swallowed hard.

"It’s coming."

Every face stiffened.

"It’s on its way here."

Even Lyra’s calm expression cracked.

"...Impossible."

Tax snapped his head toward her.

"It already left."

A heavy silence settled over the hall.

Then Tax spoke again.

"There isn’t just one."

Everyone looked at him.

"There are three."

His words echoed through the mansion.

"One beneath the Way Station."

"One here... in Valemont."

"And one sleeping beneath the Golden Nest."

Even Lyra stared at him in disbelief.

Tax lowered his voice.

"If those three ever become one..."

He looked directly at Seraphina.

"...this world won’t survive."

Nobody spoke.

Not even Daren.

For the first time since entering Valemont...

The greatest warning had not come from Lyra.

It had come from Tax.

Tax’s words settled over the hall like a death sentence.

No one spoke.

Not even Daren.

Finally, Kael broke the silence.

"...If what you’re saying is true..."

He looked toward the black corridor.

"...then waiting isn’t an option."

Tax nodded grimly.

"It isn’t."

"The thing from the Way Station is already moving."

"The one beyond the Threshold is awake."

"If they meet..."

He didn’t finish.

He didn’t have to.

Rowan clenched his fists.

"My uncle went through that Door..."

His voice trembled.

"If there’s even a chance he’s still in there..."

"I’m going."

Corvin rubbed his forehead.

"I officially vote against every decision we’ve made since entering this town."

Daren raised a hand.

"I second that."

A pause.

"...I’m still coming."

Lysette smiled faintly.

"I knew you would."

Seraphina had been unusually quiet.

Her eyes remained fixed on the darkness.

Then...

A grin slowly spread across her face.

Not madness.

Excitement.

The familiar, impossible confidence everyone recognized.

"There she is."

Daren muttered.

"Our walking disaster."

Seraphina stretched her arms lazily.

"So..."

She looked at Kael.

"We’re breaking into Hell today?"

Kael sighed.

"You sound way too happy."

"I know."

She beamed.

"I love being me."

Then her smile faded.

Only slightly.

She looked back toward the Threshold.

"But..."

Her voice became calm.

"...Nobody dies."

She turned toward everyone.

"I mean it."

Her gaze rested on Daren.

"You."

"What?"

"No heroic sacrifices."

"I wasn’t planning—"

"I know."

She pointed at Corvin.

"You either."

"I have no objections."

"Good."

Her eyes finally met Kael’s.

"You stay close."

Kael almost laughed.

"I was going to say the same thing."

She smirked.

"Great minds."

"Terrible personalities."

"Rude."

Tax climbed onto Atlas’s head.

"I approve of both."

Atlas snorted.

Fen gave Tax a look that clearly questioned every life decision leading to this moment.

Even Ash fluffed his feathers in what looked suspiciously like agreement.

For one brief moment...

Everyone laughed.

Then Lyra stepped toward the ancient doorway.

Her expression was unreadable.

"The Door will only remain open for a short time."

"If you’re truly going..."

"Now is the only chance."

The black stone began to move.

Ancient symbols ignited one after another.

The mansion trembled.

A deep groan echoed beneath the earth.

The Door slowly opened.

Darkness.

Not ordinary darkness.

It seemed alive.

Watching.

Waiting.

Cold wind poured from within.

None of the three marked guardians crossed the line.

Atlas stopped.

Fen stopped.

Ash landed above the entrance.

All three watched silently.

Lyra looked at them once.

Then stepped aside.

"The path is open."

Kael drew his sword.

"I’m first."

Seraphina immediately grabbed the back of his cloak.

"Nope."

Kael looked back.

"...Nope?"

"If something wants to jump us..."

She cracked her knuckles.

"...it can try me first."

"You literally just told me to stay close."

"I changed my mind."

"You change your mind every five minutes."

"I like character development."

Before Kael could answer, she stepped into the darkness.

Without hesitation.

Without fear.

The others quickly followed.

The Door closed behind them.

The moment the Door sealed behind them—

Every sound vanished.

No footsteps.

No breathing.

No heartbeat.

It was as though the world itself had forgotten how to make noise.

Seraphina frowned.

"...Okay."

She looked around.

"This is officially creepy."

No answer.

She blinked.

"Huh?"

She turned toward Kael.

His lips moved.

She couldn’t hear a single word.

Seraphina pointed at her ears.

"I CAN’T HEAR YOU!"

Nothing.

Kael immediately understood.

He reached out and gently grabbed her wrist before she wandered off.

She grinned.

"Smart."

She squeezed his hand once before letting go.

The silence shattered.

The sound returned all at once.

Corvin groaned.

"My ears..."

Daren covered both sides of his head.

"I think I preferred the silence."

Tax jumped onto Seraphina’s shoulder.

"I definitely didn’t!"

He puffed himself up dramatically.

"For a second I thought I forgot how to talk."

Seraphina gasped.

"That would’ve been the greatest tragedy in history."

Tax nodded proudly.

"Exactly."

Kael pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I was enjoying the peace."

Tax looked offended.

"I bring culture."

"You bring problems."

"I bring interesting problems."

Seraphina pointed at Tax.

"See? That’s why we’re friends."

Atlas let out a loud snort.

Fen rolled his eyes.

Even Ash clicked his beak as if silently judging the entire conversation.

The tension eased.

Only for a moment.

Because when everyone finally looked ahead...

Their smiles disappeared.

There was no sky.

Above them stretched an endless sea of shattered stone floating in darkness.

Entire castles drifted upside down.

Broken staircases led nowhere.

Fragments of mountains hung motionless in the air.

Rivers flowed upward into a crimson moon.

Rowan whispered,

"...How is this possible?"

Corvin answered quietly.

"It isn’t."

Tax slowly turned in a circle.

"I hate this place."

Seraphina tilted her head.

"...I kinda love it."

Everyone stared at her.

"What?"

She shrugged.

"It looks like someone gave reality a concussion."

Daren couldn’t help it.

A laugh escaped him.

"You are unbelievable."

"I’ve been told."

Then...

Seraphina stopped smiling.

Her eyes narrowed.

She crouched and touched the ground.

The black stone wasn’t cold.

It was warm.

Like living flesh.

She pressed her fingers against it.

"...It’s breathing."

Every face changed.

Kael stepped closer.

"What?"

"The ground."

She looked up.

"It’s alive."

As if responding to her words—

The earth beneath them pulsed.

Once.

Twice.

Then thousands of crimson eyes slowly opened across the landscape.

Watching.

Waiting.

Tax’s fur stood on end.

"I..."

He swallowed.

"I don’t think those are decorations."

Every eye shifted toward the group.

At the same time.

A pressure unlike anything they had ever experienced descended upon them.

Daren’s knees buckled.

Lysette struggled to remain standing.

Even Corvin’s confident expression cracked.

Kael instinctively moved in front of Seraphina.

She immediately stepped beside him instead.

"I told you."

She smiled.

"We’re staying together."

He glanced at her.

Despite the overwhelming pressure...

She was smiling.

Not recklessly.

Excitedly.

Her golden eyes sparkled with the thrill of facing the unknown.

"This..."

She whispered.

"...is exactly why I love being Seraphina."

A distant laugh echoed through the endless darkness.

Deep.

Ancient.

Neither male nor female.

It sounded as though the entire world had laughed.

The crimson eyes closed.

One by one.

Until only a single pair remained.

Far beyond the floating ruins.

Far beyond the broken horizon.

Something enormous slowly stood.

It was so large that the drifting castles barely reached its knees.

Nobody could make out its face.

Only two burning crimson eyes.

Watching them.

Waiting.

Then...

It took one step.

The floating world shook.

Tax’s voice trembled.

"...Boss."

Seraphina didn’t look away.

"Hm?"

"I think..."

He forced himself to finish.

"...it noticed us."

Seraphina’s grin widened.

"I noticed it first."

Then she rolled her shoulders, stretched her neck, and cracked her knuckles.

"Alright."

She looked at Kael.

"Let’s go say hello."

Kael sighed the sigh of someone who had long accepted that traveling with Seraphina meant charging toward impossible things.

"...One day you’ll learn what fear is."

Seraphina flashed him a mischievous smile.

"And ruin my perfect record?"

She took one confident step forward.

The colossal figure in the distance smiled.

The first move had been made.

Another step.

Then another.

The colossal figure didn’t rush.

It didn’t need to.

Each step sent ripples through the floating world, as if reality itself bowed before its presence.

Seraphina’s smile slowly faded.

Not from fear.

From focus.

For the first time since entering this impossible realm, she could feel it.

An opponent powerful enough to truly threaten the people standing beside her.

She quietly flexed her fingers.

Golden mana flickered across her hand for the briefest instant before disappearing, unnoticed by everyone except Kael.

Their eyes met.

No words were exchanged.

None were needed.

Kael rested a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Seraphina rolled her shoulders once.

This time...

Neither of them intended to hold back.