Chapter 189: A Villain’s Resolve

Iris’s hands began to tremble with a sinister premonition.

There was no reason for Teresa to go deep into the Enraka Temple, let alone to where the black shadow was.

Since the effects of the Curse were appearing slowly, she wondered if Abellus had made a move and kidnapped Teresa, the person closest to her.

Why hadn’t she thought of that?

For Abellus or the Enraka, finding out where she had moved was child’s play if they put their minds to it.

Since two Heroes were living there, she had let her guard down, thinking they wouldn’t dare invade.

No, in truth, she had been anxious but tried to convince herself it would be fine.

Even for two, it was an uneasy situation, and if there was only one Hero instead of two, it would be easier to commit misdeeds.

Moreover, since Teresa was currently in a very weakened state, she wouldn’t have been able to withstand an attack from Villains.

Her eyes grew red as she thought of Teresa being dragged away helplessly.

‘Is there any chance it wasn’t a kidnapping? No, it’s definitely a kidnapping.’

Anywhere else might be different, but the possibility of Teresa walking deep into the Enraka Temple of her own accord was extremely low.

Because Abellus looked quite normal on the surface, she had completely forgotten.

Wasn’t he a ruthless Villain who handled a Hero’s corpse as if it were nothing?

Kidnapping and threatening an innocent Hero would be so ordinary to him that he’d consider it a Villain’s virtue.

In the worst-case scenario, he might decide that the kidnapped Teresa’s Superpower was useful and use her as material for an Experiment.

Recalling the purple eyes that had looked down callously at the Heroes’ corpses made her feel the blood drain from her feet.

She had to save Teresa this time, the one who had always helped her. Iris grit her teeth, trying to summon her strength.

‘Entering that place on my own feet might be a suicidal act. Still, I have to do it.’

The black shadow and other Villains of the Enraka might be there as well.

However, she didn’t have the luxury to prepare thoroughly.

If she moved slowly, Abellus might harm Teresa.

Thinking that Teresa, who had helped her so much with her life as a Hero and cared for her like a real Grandmother, might come to harm, she began to feel suffocated.

After thumping her tight chest, she looked back at Rainbow Girl.

“I’m sorry, something urgent has come up, so I have to go quickly!”

“Oh, Angel Girl!”

Leaving behind the worried Rainbow Girl, she hurried out of the Dungeon.

Without delay, she climbed into her junk car and headed toward the Enraka Temple.

Her hands gripping the steering wheel were soaked with sweat.

The possibility of things going wrong there and the thought that this was a Trap flashed through her mind, but she had no choice.

She didn’t want to lose Teresa.

* * *

“Ha…”

At that time, Johannes, lying on the Bed in his room at Home, was lost in sorrow while staring at his Handphone.

It was because since that day, when he sent a Message to Iris, the reply would come much later.

And she wouldn’t answer his calls at all.

Furthermore, whenever he tentatively suggested meeting up, he received a roundabout rejection: ‘I’m busy, so maybe later.’

He thought about visiting her house out of frustration, but he stopped because he was afraid Iris would look at him with contempt if she found out he knew her new address.

‘I was planning to tell her about the Goddess’s Crown when we met…’

He let out a sigh and pulled the covers over his head.

He thought the atmosphere had been very good that day, but was it just his own delusion?

No matter how much he retraced his memories of that day, there was nothing problematic.

No, perhaps there was a problem, but he was too dense to notice.

Thinking that he had ruined something that was going well made his heart feel like it was tearing apart.

The only silver lining was that the endless despair, like falling into a swamp as before, didn’t come.

This was because if he sent a Message, a reply would eventually come from Iris, even if it was late.

‘There’s still hope. Iris must be really busy. I shouldn’t mind what James said.’

After hearing the whole story, James had accidentally muttered, “Isn’t that just stringing you along?” before covering his mouth.

Then, seeing Johannes’s murderous gaze, he backed away and disappeared.

Was it as James said? No matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t think so.

Because the mind he had read from Iris then was not a lie.

Iris had a romantic interest in him and was happy to find out that the woman he was in love with was herself.

‘Yes. Iris’s feelings were sincere. Even if it wasn’t quite love yet…’

Compared to his own feelings, it was a very small amount, but Iris definitely had feelings for him.

He was clumsy but did his best, and since Iris was filled with Satisfaction, there couldn’t have been a problem with the sex.

Then what was the problem?

Since worrying was useless, he had no choice but to believe Iris’s words.

She must really be busy. In fact, it seemed like she really would be.

‘It must be because of the Relic. I can’t just bring up the Relic in a Message when she won’t even pick up the phone… Ha.’

No one touched Johannes, who had been depressed lately.

Thanks to that, he stayed cooped up at Home all day, thinking only of Iris.

His Father, perhaps realizing that Johannes had changed, was refraining from forcing him to attend Enraka events.

In fact, he really had changed. As he became close to Iris, he gradually gained confidence and felt happiness.

After feeling the joy of being with someone he loved, he no longer craved fake paternal affection.

Thanks to that, he was able to stage a small rebellion against his Father, who tried to use him.

What he realized then was that his Father couldn’t do anything to him even if he acted this way.

And he didn’t seem to have any intention of casting aside a Superpowered Individual like him.

Seeing his Father’s restless appearance because he couldn’t show him off or use his Superpower to his heart’s content as before, Johannes regretted not rebelling sooner.

If he had realized earlier that he was his Father’s only option, he wouldn’t have had to spend such painful days.

Ring—

“Hello?”

Ah, Heir Johannes. I have something to report.

While lost in thought, a call came from the Watcher.

It was a report that Iris was currently parking her car in front of the Enraka Temple.

Johannes recalled the Watcher’s words from last weekend, saying that Iris seemed to have stopped by the Temple without attending the service.

After finishing the call, Johannes’s face, which had been narrowing its eyes to gauge Iris’s intentions, soon brightened.

This was because he reached the conclusion that Iris’s words about being busy were indeed true.

‘Iris really was busy. To think she went to the Temple but didn’t attend the service; she must be looking for the Relic in the Enraka Temple. Haa, if she had told me, I would have taken her there myself.’

It wouldn’t be easy to steal the Relic because ‘That One’ was guarding it.

However, if they were together instead of alone, it might be possible.

Thinking that far, Johannes’s smiling mouth pulled into a firm line.

If that happened, he would be completely betraying his Father, and he would end up turning the Enraka into an enemy.

Dropping out of the candidates for the Next High Priest was a given.

‘But so what?’

To Johannes, the Enraka wasn’t important. To be precise, there was nothing more important to him than Iris.

‘Yes. It doesn’t matter if we become enemies. As long as Iris can be happy…’

Originally, he hadn’t wanted to cross the Enraka or ‘That One’, who wasn’t human, so he thought taking Iris to where the Relic was would be best.

But after not seeing Iris for a while and being heartbroken, his thoughts changed.

If Iris couldn’t meet him until she collected all the Relics, and if she was really busy rather than stringing him along as James said, then he wanted to help her as much as he could.

Then, wouldn’t Iris’s feelings for him deepen a bit more?

And he would also shed the stigma of being a Villain.

‘There are no Villains who help Heroes. Even if I was a Villain, I’d become a reformed one. Ah… I see.’

Suddenly, he realized one more reason why Iris was avoiding him.

Because Iris thought he was a Villain deeply involved with the Enraka, that’s why she was avoiding their meetings.

Since she was trying to steal the Relic from within the Enraka, she couldn’t comfortably hang out with someone associated with it. In a way, he had realized it too late.

His heart felt heavy because he wanted to tell her that he could help her whenever she reached out, and that he wasn’t the kind of Villain she thought he was.

It would be great if Iris had <Mind Reading> as well; then she would be able to immediately realize how much he loved her.

‘Ah, that’s right. Iris knows I have <Mind Reading>. She knows I’m a Villain… right. Why was I hesitating? I don’t need to hide it anymore. I want to tell Iris that I’ll help her.’