Life Of A Nobody - as a Villain

Chapter 423: lies and illusions

In a dilapidated building that was all broken and battered, covered in cracks and spiderwebs, a place where every step left a mark of footprints on the dusty floor.

"Why do villains always gather in shady buildings like these?" Rebecca said while waving her hand to push the wooden door open without touching it. Only to feel speechless when with a heavy thudding sound it fell down.

"This is the last one of their camps, let's be careful." Amy said while using her bloody sword to clear the hanging webs. "Apate must have known and warned her pets by now. We should hurry."

"I can't believe she called the guards on us last time. What kind of criminal plays the law and legal card? Can't they fight fare. Now I'm worried my parents are gonna know all about our little escapades." Rebecca complained with a sour tone, remembering how to avoid trouble with the city guards, she had to use her identity to leave.

"Apate must have known it wouldn't work, but she did it anyway. My guess is to buy her puppets more time." Amelia voiced her thoughts.

"So either they ran away. Or we're likely to walk into a trap, or an ambush?"

"Yes, so let's just be careful." Amy replied, without caring at all, "Apate's too prideful to ask for help from others, and her own followers are all known for their mental strengths and their manipulation tricks."

"With our last slaughters, she should know normal magic or low level skills won't work against our treasures, let alone break our defenses, so what would she do now?" Becca pointed out.

Amy took the lead, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she took a step forward. "Something like this.."

Her words had just finished as her feet touched the ground again, and instantly a barrier rose from the ground and covered the entire building. A fog rose from nowhere and covered the entire surroundings, throwing everyone into a frenzy of blindness.

"A formation." Rebecca's voice sounded as she tried to summon her element of water and spread tiny droplets into the area around her. Turning the cold air into mist. Every shallow drop, enhancing her senses.

But she was surprised to find that she didn't find anyone around her.

"Amy?" Rebecca shouted, calling her friend and shadows one by one, yet got no response in return.

The blinding fog from the barrier seemed to have a blocking effect that nullified all communication magic, while dampening the effect and presence of mana, making the circle similar to a null/zero zone.

Despite the unexpected situation and dulled senses, she didn't lose her calm. Instead the more something unexpected happened, the more she seemed to be focused.

"I would love to wander in this fog and find the core myself, but I'm in a rush, so _." Rebecca said, not in the mood to waste more time being trapped here and miss meeting Rio. "Let's end this." She said, bringing a shield from her ring and pouring her mana into it. Before throwing it away like a frisbee.

The shield gleamed in a golden light, before cracks began to appear on it, and then with a loud explosion, it blasted the fog around her. But the next second, the fog floated back in, filling itself instantly.

"Well, if one won't do the trick, how about a few more. Let's see if your barrier's endurance lasts longer, or a princess's pocket money." Rebecca said and next second various kinds of magical artifacts poured out from her ring, before floating further and self exploding.

The chain of blasts soon started causing ripples among the barrier and the fog around her started taking longer and longer to gather again.

'Still nothing, looks like her followers really spent a lot of effort on setting this barrier.' Becca thought and frowned. If not for the fear of hurting her fellows in collateral, she would have brought out more expensive and destructive equipments and set them ablaze.

"Fuck it, they can handle it. If not, I'll just give them a few pills." Becca muttered and brought out a small bead from her ring, preparing to explode it, _ when a familiar voice sounded in her ears.

"Tsk tsk tsk, quite rich, aren't you? I'll have to eat soft rice all my life since we're together, right?"

Rebecca looked up in confusion as a figure walked out from the fog, with wings on his back, which released an angelic light with a fluttering move and cleared out all the fog surrounding her.

As the fog disappeared, and her vision cleared, she could finally see the person standing in front of her. "Rio?" She muttered under her breath.

"One and only." Rio said, waving his hand with a smile.

Rebecca looked at him up and down for a few seconds, while seeing her actions the cheeky narcissist just started giggling and posing in arrogance.

"I gotta say, these guys really outdid themselves. This thing_ it looks just like him." She said, raising her hand in an effort to touch his cheek.

But as the distance between them closed, she just shook her head and increased her speed, intending to give him a solid slap.

"But he's not here." She said to herself. Her other hand, already gathering a wave of water arrows, ready to stab this illusion.

"Hold it, princess. It's really me." Rio said as he pulled his head back, dodging her slap narrowly. Before grabbing her other hand and interrupting the skill.

"It even has a physical form. I'm impressed." Rebecca said her hand turning into a stream of water as she slipped from his grip and raised her leg to kick him. "But as I said, I'm not in the mood to play."

Rio dodged her kick with a smile by stepping sideways, "Hey, stop it. It's really me."

"I was really worried that you girls would get hurt so I came to check on you." Rio said, constantly dodging her attacks or redirecting them, while making sure not to hurt her at all.

"Nice try." Rebecca said and backed away all of a sudden. Her hand holding the magical hand now empty. "But it's over."

After her words finished, she waited for a few seconds, as if expecting something to happen, only to feel stumped as nothing did.

"I told you, it's me. Don't forget who taught all these tricks. They won't work on me." Rio said, waving his hand, where a silver bead was vibrating violently. Trying to break free.

Rebecca could see it struggle under his grip, feel the energy which gathered and was on the verge of collapse, but just before it could explode, small threads of darkness covered it all and swallowed it whole.

"Now do you trust me?" Rio said, throwing the bead back at her once it was stable. "Now, let's go, and search for my stupid sister." Rio said and turned around and started walking away. Not at all worried that she'd stab him in the back.

Rebecca looked at him, and couldn't help but doubt herself, 'Is it really him?'

"Tell me something only he knows?" She shouted hoping to solve her doubt.

"You're a terrible kisser."

"No, I'm not." Hearing his answer she protested immediately, before shaking her head and stopping him, "I'm serious. Tell me something only the two of us know. Otherwise I'm not following you."

Rio chuckled and without looking back, he started speaking, "Before saying yes to your proposal, and announcing us being together, I made you swear that you wouldn't come between my and Alfred's hatred. That you'd be free to pick a side, plead for him, support him, and even try to save him_ but never at the cost of betraying me."

"..."

"That when the day finally comes, you'd say what you want to my face, instead of stabbing me in the back."

Rebecca kept staring at his back while he answered, his words making her face darken, before she took a deep breath and relaxed.

"Idiot." She said as she started following him.