The Villain has Perished

Chapter 81 Her Curse

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Once upon a time, a child was born to the elven king.

The elven king was the strongest elf in history, had a dearer-than-life wife, and a loving country where all looked up to him.

But when he first laid eyes on his daughter, everything else became worthless. She was his world. The light that illuminated his life, filling it with new colors.

He named her 'Lumine'.

As she grew, everyone showered her with love. Her childhood was without a single thorn. She hadn't come of age yet already possessed the quality of becoming a priestess. 

Lumine lived the life of a princess from fairy tales. 

So when the genie appeared in her dreams and said "What do you wish for?" she didn't hesitate to answer.

"I want to be loved more.

I want all to listen to my every command.

I want to become the most beautiful.

I want to have a face that steals all glances and never lets them go.

I want to meet my prince charming."

The genie smiled and said what the fairy tales did "Then your wish shall be granted…. 

You will be a beauty that every man covets. All will love you. They will listen to you without fail.

But this blessing is also your curse.

Wars will be fought over you.

Lives will be lost for you.

And yet your curse won't break.

Only he, your prince, can be your salvation."

At first, Lumine didn't understand what the genie meant. 

However, the next day a revolt happened.

A wish that the child — Lumine — asked for foolishly, stripped her of everything. 

She saw the people burning yet moving with hollow eyes, muttering her name like mindless dolls.

Her friends trying to force themselves on her. Losing all reason, becoming an animal driven by instinct.

Lumine decided to accept, to not resist. 

It wasn't her fault as she was a child who didn't know what her wish would do? 

Was that going to return the homes the elves lost, the family that broke, the minds that lost their will?

Yet the Lumine remained unharmed.

The Elven King fought the hundreds of thousands elves — with half of his mind already corrupted to the curse.

He didn't let anyone taint his light, fending off the hands trying to steal her. The farmers who greeted him daily, the guards who stood at his palace doors, the magicians who taught the children.

He bloodied his hands to let his world live freely.

While fighting against the curse, he never let any evil intent touch his daughter.

Sindar razed the elven kingdom to the ground to protect Lumine. 

The elven kingdom was destroyed in a civil war over the treasure 'Lumine' and reduced to a village.

Finally, the father sacrificed himself to seal the curse afflicted over Lumine and reduce its power as much as possible.

It was a foolish fairy tale.

The child was banished from the village. 

She wandered human kingdoms, bringing tragedy wherever she stepped.

Despite that, she never tried to end herself. It was a desperate attempt to hold on to what she had left – the life the foolish elven king fought to protect.

Wouldn't it have been better if the king killed her to save his kingdom? A single-life could never match the thousands of deaths.

Lumine built a wall around her heart, she tried to stop her emotions, to forget about her wretched curse. 

If she didn't, sooner or later she would succumb to grief and take her own life. She couldn't do that. She couldn't waste her father's sacrifice.

As she continued to live in that fashion, her life suddenly took an inconceivable turn. The Illusive Dragon King attacked and…

"S..stop." 

A broken voice left Lumine's sore throat.

The dream illusion of the elven king was bleeding heavily, protecting her and the dream illusion of her younger self in her hands. However, he was no match for the Dragon King.

"Did you say something? I'm sorry got too into the battle~"

The elven king acted as if the injuries didn't hurt at all. He hid his pain and stood tall. The younger Lumine in her arms had fallen asleep from crying too much.

Why was he trying to protect his dignified image? Did he know he was an illusion and so was his daughter? Would he continue to shield her if he knew what she was going to cause in the future?

"Move. I don't have any interest in you."

The cruel voice of Qantal echoed and a hurricane of wind blades attacked Sindar.

A faint light encased Lumine and her companions. The elven king reacted quickly but….

Thud—!

…his right fell to the ground, detached from his shoulder.

He lost the exchange in order to protect the ones behind him.

"Hahaha, this might be a tiny bit serious." laughed Sindar.

Lumine understood. He was acting. The elven king couldn't defeat Qantal even so he didn't want Lumine to be agitated.

He knew.

He knew who he was in this world.

He knew the face hiding behind the wooden mask.

So he acted.

He acted as he didn't want to worry his daughter.

He acted as he fought to protect his light.

"St..stop… please…" cried Lumine.

He was an illusion. However, not again. Lumine couldn't bear to watch him die for her again.

Suddenly, a thick mist covered the sky. 

"It's not like he can escape." said the Dragon King and unleashed her magic.

[ Fallen Mist (A+++) ]

Purple clouds descended. They carried a strange ambiance yet felt unthreatening. Sindar's brows creased. He could sense the dangerous energy of the simple-looking purple fog.

"Oh, spirits become my blade"

A blob of water and darkness appeared beside him.

"With my mana as your nourishment and my will as your medium."

He unleashed the spirit magic without hesitation.

"Transform into a disaster, unleash destruction unto my enemies."

A green vortex mixed into the blob of water and darkness.

The energies spiraled each other at terrifying speed and slowly increased in size. 

Strong winds thrashed as a massive black cyclone materialized, the ground shook and the space quaked.

[ Water Magic (C) + Darkness Magic (C+) = Black Water (C++) + Piercing Tornado (C) = Black Rising Tornado (B-) ]

The purple fog touched the edges of the sky shattering tornado. Sindar burned his mana, empowering the spirits, raising the output of spirit magic to unnatural levels.

"Mhm, it's weak. 10 Points. But it's flashy and looks strong, +30 points for that." 

Suddenly, a peculiar sensation passed through Lumine and Sindar's bodies. They felt an invisible wall go through them.

At that moment, the tornado subsided and died down. 

There was no activation chant, neither magic circle, nor mana moved. The elven king's magic was erased as if it was never there to begin with and the purple clouds continued to descend unceasingly.

Sindar fell to knees, spouting a mouthful of blood. 

"He.a…" Lumine hurried to her father and tried to heal the backlash from failed spirit magic.

However, her parched throat didn't allow a single syllable. She found speaking impossible, no matter how much she attempted to talk.

Qantal looked at her who suddenly couldn't utter a word and clicked her tongue.

"Tsk, why aren't you using word magic? The appearance of that elf doused all my excitement and it even made you useless."

The purple clouds finally touched the ground, and slid toward her.

Lumine found breathing becoming increasingly difficult. She slowly lost strength in her limbs, and her eyes rolled back.

Sindar struggled to stand back but the fog messed up his senses. He attempted to call his spirits, but they were also rendered useless.

Their entire group was slowly dying.

At the end, a thought passed Lumine's end.

'Maybe this is the perfect conclusion for a wretched soul like me.'

Tears fell down her eyes unconsciously. 

Cr..ack–!

A faint noise pulled her gaze at the last second.

Cr..crack—!

In the ceiling of the sky, a crack appeared and widened slowly.

Craaaaaaack—!

A silver meteor fell through the shattered sky. It tore the atmosphere and crashed into the ground, causing an earth-shaking explosion.

"An intruder?"

The purple fog rushed at the crash site on Qantal's words.

Schwing!

But before the fog followed its master command, a silver streak appeared. The fog split apart as if creating a path, footsteps echoed and someone stepped out of the crater. 

A familiar presence entered Lumine's mana sense.

She saw the abyss-like black hair through her blurry consciousness.

His viridescent eyes stared back at her.

After noticing Qantal in the sky, his gaze scanned the surroundings apathetically and he opened his mouth.

"Stand up. How long are you going to lie on the ground?"

He mercilessly ignored her battered body. When Lumine failed to follow his command, his black sword moved.

Schwing!

Hundreds of silver lines appeared in the air. The space distorted. She felt the restrictions on her body lifting while the purple fog disappeared completely.

"Stand up."

As he spoke, he continued to close the distance between them.

However, suddenly Lumine's eyes widened. He stopped a few steps away from her and…

Spurt!

…stabbed his sword at the elf king's heart.