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

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The Price of Delay

The First Fragment continued walking.

Nothing Lyra said mattered.

Not because he disagreed.

Because he simply didn’t care.

"Stop."

No response.

"Listen to me."

Nothing.

"You don’t understand what’s behind that Door."

The creature never even turned its head.

Each step carried the same steady rhythm.

Forward.

Forward.

Forward.

Toward Valemont.

Toward the Door.

Toward whatever waited beneath it.

Lyra followed.

Stumbling.

Bleeding.

Desperate.

Every warning she shouted vanished into the wind.

Every argument died before reaching him.

Because arguments required two people.

And the First Fragment wasn’t interested in conversation.

Fen moved first.

The great wolf planted himself directly in the road.

Silver light erupted from the mark on his shoulder.

The air trembled.

The creature stopped.

Not because Fen scared him.

Because Fen occupied space.

Nothing more.

The wolf bared his teeth.

A low growl rolled through the forest.

A final warning.

The First Fragment looked at him.

Then stepped forward.

Fen attacked.

Silver light exploded.

The forest shook.

Trees bent.

The road cracked.

The wolf fought with everything he had.

Everything.

The creature answered with one movement.

One.

Fen crashed through the trees.

The impact echoed across the valley.

Yet somehow—

The wolf climbed back up.

Again.

Blood stained his fur.

His legs shook.

Still—

He returned.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Not because he thought he could win.

Because Lyra stood behind him.

Because Atlas would have done the same.

Because some promises mattered.

The First Fragment watched him.

Then quietly said:

"...Loyal."

Fen growled.

The answer required no translation.

Then the creature moved.

Faster.

For the first time.

The distance vanished.

The world blurred.

And Fen fell.

The silver light shattered.

The wolf hit the ground hard.

Too hard.

This time—

He didn’t stand.

Lyra’s heart stopped.

"Fen!"

The creature kept walking.

Not cruelly.

Not maliciously.

Simply continuing.

As though a storm had knocked over a tree.

Nothing more.

Ash screamed.

The sound tore through the sky.

The crow dove.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Silver wings became flashes of light.

Every strike bought seconds.

Tiny seconds.

Meaningless seconds.

Precious seconds.

The First Fragment never fought back at first.

He simply endured it.

Until Ash attacked one final time.

Then the creature raised a hand.

The silver light vanished.

Ash dropped from the sky.

The forest became silent.

Completely silent.

Lyra stared.

Fen.

Ash.

Neither moved.

The two creatures who had protected her.

The two creatures who had returned for her.

Gone.

For a moment—

The world disappeared.

No Door.

No mission.

No Valemont.

Nothing.

Only loss.

Again.

Always loss.

The First Fragment continued walking.

Lyra laughed.

A broken sound.

A terrible sound.

Then she stood.

Her body screamed.

Her wounds screamed.

Her mind screamed.

She didn’t care.

Not anymore.

She charged.

Not because she could win.

Not because she believed.

Because she was done watching.

Her sword struck.

The creature finally turned.

Actually turned.

He looked directly at her.

Then he moved.

One strike.

One motion.

Nothing dramatic.

Nothing spectacular.

Just overwhelming.

Lyra flew across the road.

Stone shattered beneath her.

The world spun.

Pain exploded through her body.

She couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t stand.

Couldn’t move.

The First Fragment looked at her for a single second.

Then looked away.

Back toward Valemont.

Back toward the Door.

She wasn’t his enemy.

She never had been.

She was simply something standing in the road.

And now—

Nothing remained between him and the mansion.

The First Fragment resumed walking.

Behind him—

Lyra lay in the ruins of the road.

Broken.

Bleeding.

Alone.

And for the first time in years—

She wished Seraphina were here.

Not because Seraphina would save her.

Because Seraphina would have refused to give up.

The thought made her laugh weakly.

Then cough.

Then laugh again.

The Door waited.

The First Fragment approached.

And the final disaster had already begun.

The First Fragment resumed walking.

No triumph.

No celebration.

No glance backward.

Fen and Ash lay where they had fallen.

Lyra lay several meters away, struggling to breathe.

None of it mattered to him.

The mansion stood ahead.

That was all.

The front gates opened wider as he approached.

Not by magic.

Not dramatically.

Simply—

Opening.

Like something inside recognized him.

Like something had been waiting.

The silver-haired woman lying in the road forced herself onto one elbow.

Pain exploded through her body.

Her vision blurred.

Still—

She watched.

Because after everything...

She needed to see what happened next.

The First Fragment crossed the courtyard.

Marble statues lined the path.

None remained still.

As he passed, dozens of stone heads slowly turned.

Watching.

Following.

Remembering.

For the first time in centuries—

The estate was awake.

Far below the mansion—

The bell rang again.

Not once.

Not twice.

Continuously.

Deep.

Ancient.

Desperate.

The sound traveled through every corridor.

Every staircase.

Every forgotten room.

The entire estate trembled.

The First Fragment stopped.

Only for a moment.

Then continued.

Faster.

At the same time—

Hell.

The First Guardian smiled.

A real smile.

Not amusement.

Not mockery.

Joy.

The sight chilled everyone more than the sword.

Because nothing about that expression looked sane.

The colossal guardian looked upward.

Beyond the battlefield.

Beyond the crimson sky.

Beyond the realm itself.

Listening.

Waiting.

Then—

He laughed.

A thunderous sound.

The endless legion immediately halted.

Every demon froze.

Every banner stopped moving.

Even the winds died.

The First Guardian planted his sword into the shattered island.

The impact shook the realm.

"At last."

The words echoed everywhere.

Kael’s expression darkened.

That tone.

He hated that tone.

The tone of someone whose plan was finally succeeding.

Daren spat blood onto the ground.

"Why are you smiling."

The Guardian looked at him.

Then at Atlas.

Then at Seraphina.

Finally—

Toward somewhere impossibly far away.

"Because the path is opening."

Nobody liked that answer.

Not even slightly.

Corvin felt his stomach drop.

Lysette immediately tightened her grip on her sword.

Rowan’s compass began vibrating violently.

Even here.

Even in Hell.

The thing practically tried tearing itself from his hand.

The Guardian noticed.

Of course he did.

His smile widened.

"The First returns."

Silence.

Tax froze.

Again.

The crow’s feathers puffed instantly.

Seraphina noticed.

Again.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

And deeply terrible.

"Tax."

The crow looked genuinely unhappy.

A rare achievement.

The First Guardian continued speaking before Tax could answer.

"The oldest path."

A pause.

"The oldest mistake."

Another.

"The oldest brother."

The battlefield went silent.

Atlas roared.

The silver light beneath him exploded outward.

The Guardian immediately stopped smiling.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Whatever Atlas represented—

The Guardian disliked it.

Whatever the First Fragment represented—

The Guardian welcomed it.

Those facts did not belong together.

And Seraphina knew it.

Back at Valemont—

The First Fragment finally reached the entrance hall.

The massive doors opened without resistance.

Dust did not exist here.

Decay did not exist here.

Time itself seemed hesitant.

The creature entered.

The mansion shuddered.

Portraits tilted.

Candles lit themselves.

Ancient chandeliers began glowing.

The entire estate seemed to awaken room by room.

Like blood returning to a sleeping body.

The First Fragment ignored all of it.

His footsteps echoed through the hall.

Slow.

Steady.

Certain.

Toward the Door.

Behind him—

Lyra finally managed to stand.

Barely.

Every breath hurt.

Every movement hurt.

Her sword felt heavier than iron.

Still—

She walked.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

Not because she thought she could stop him.

Because she couldn’t.

Not anymore.

But if the Door opened—

If what waited behind it escaped—

Then everything she’d sacrificed would become meaningless.

And that...

That she could not accept.

Not yet.

Not while she was still breathing.

The mansion groaned.

Somewhere below—

Something answered the bell.

And for the first time in many years—

Fear spread through House Valemont.

Not human fear.

Not monster fear.

The final disaster was no longer approaching.

It had arrived.

Lyra stumbled against the wall.

Blood dripped from her fingertips.

Every breath felt wrong.

Too shallow.

Too painful.

The First Fragment never looked back.

Not once.

He moved through the entrance hall as though he’d walked these corridors before.

As though he remembered them.

Even if nobody else did.

The portraits watched him pass.

Ancient nobles.

Forgotten families.

Lost generations.

One by one—

Their painted eyes followed him.

The First Fragment ignored them all.

Only the Door mattered.

Deep beneath the mansion—

The bell stopped.

Silence followed.

A dangerous silence.

The kind that arrived before storms.

The kind that arrived before endings.

The First Fragment paused.

Only briefly.

Then continued downward.

Far above—

Hell shook.

The First Guardian laughed again.

A horrible sound.

The endless legion remained kneeling.

Waiting.

Watching.

The Guardian’s enormous blade lifted from the broken stone.

Its crimson edge burned brighter.

Almost eager.

"You feel it now."

Nobody answered.

The statement wasn’t for them.

It was for himself.

For the realm.

Tax finally found his voice.

A bad sign.

Because when Tax stopped joking—

People listened.

The crow stared toward the horizon.

Toward something nobody else could see.

Then quietly said:

"He’s getting closer."

The battlefield froze.

Again.

Seraphina turned immediately.

"How close."

Tax didn’t answer.

Not right away.

His feathers remained puffed.

His eyes fixed somewhere impossibly far away.

Then—

"Too close."

Nobody liked that.

Not even slightly.

The First Guardian smiled.

"Worried?"

Tax looked at him.

For the first time—

The crow genuinely looked angry.

Not playful.

Not offended.

Angry.

"Shut up."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The legion froze.

Corvin froze.

Lysette froze.

Even Daren stopped moving.

Because nobody had ever heard Tax speak like that.

Ever.

The Guardian’s smile widened.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

"You know him."

Not a question.

A statement.

Tax looked away.

Which was answer enough.

The Guardian laughed.

Again.

"Then you understand."

The crow didn’t answer.

Because he did understand.

That was the problem.

Atlas roared.

The silver light exploded outward.

Ancient symbols raced across the floating islands.

Faster now.

Brighter.

The Guardian immediately stopped laughing.

A tiny victory.

But a real one.

Kael noticed.

Of course he did.

The Guardian welcomed the First Fragment.

The Guardian feared Atlas.

Those facts still didn’t fit together.

Which meant they were missing something important.

Something obvious.

Something dangerous.

Meanwhile—

Valemont.

The First Fragment descended.

One staircase.

Then another.

Then another.

The mansion seemed endless.

Not physically.

Wrongly.

Distances stretched.

Corridors shifted.

Rooms felt larger than they should.

Reality bent around the deeper levels.

The way it had in Waystation.

The way it had near the Door.

The First Fragment never slowed.

Never hesitated.

Never questioned.

He knew exactly where he was going.

Which terrified Lyra more than anything.

he walked like someone returning home.

Behind him—

She kept moving.

One hand against the wall.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

Pain followed.

Blood followed.

Regret followed.

Old companions.

Familiar companions.

A memory surfaced.

Unwanted.

A warm summer afternoon.

Laughter.

Family.

A future.

Gone.

All gone.

She almost stopped.

Almost.

Then the bell rang again.

And she forced herself forward.

Because if she stopped now—

Everything she’d sacrificed would truly become meaningless.

The staircase ended.

At last.

The First Fragment stepped into a circular chamber.

And stopped.

For the first time since arriving.

The Door stood before him.

Not the one from Waystation.

Not the giant gate.

The real Door.

The final Door.

The one hidden beneath Valemont.

The one generations had died searching for.

The one generations had died protecting.

It was smaller than expected.

Human-sized.

Black.

Featureless.

Except for one thing.

A silver mark.

The same incomplete symbol.

The same broken circle.

The same design that had haunted every clue.

Every road.

Every mystery.

Every death.

The First Fragment stared at it.

Motionless.

Silent.

Waiting.

Then—

Very slowly—

The symbol began to glow.

And something on the other side...

answered.