Saving You, Villain - Chapter 86

Lila’s words were so cryptic, I had no idea what she was getting at. I almost wished I could open up her mind and peek inside to make sense of her thoughts.

“You’ve got more life in your face now,” she remarked, scrutinizing my expression with her large eyes. Her odd comments and bizarre plants had managed to relax me a little. Had she been trying to ease my nerves with her strange banter all along? The thought made me feel awkwardly grateful. Lila was eccentric and unpredictable, but beneath that, she seemed to be quite considerate.

She was strong, full of energy, and had a way of pulling people out of their gloom, traits I certainly lacked. As I spent more time talking to her, I found myself growing more drawn to her. It was no wonder Camian had become captivated by her after spending time together. It made perfect sense.

Lila, who had the maturity and ability to soothe others, seemed like a much better match for Camian than someone like me—a burdensome presence that constantly needed to be looked after.

I wasn’t capable of showing the same level of thoughtfulness as Lila, but I could at least try to mimic her calm demeanor. I straightened my expression.

“I’m ready for whatever you’re about to say. I won’t be surprised, so please just tell me.”

“‘It’s my blood,’” she said.

“Huh?”

“‘Camian told me himself.’ That’s what you said.”

The expression I had carefully put on wavered. What was she talking about? Then, a memory I had buried deep within suddenly surfaced.

‘My weakness is your blood.’

‘My blood?’

‘It can overpower me, more effectively than holy water or relics.’

‘How does that work?’

‘Can’t tell you everything.’

No. No way. A chill ran up my spine, tingling all the way to the nape of my neck.

“And didn’t you feel a prick, like something sharp pierced your neck?”

“……”

“You’ve had your blood taken,” Lila concluded.

The calm I had tried so hard to maintain shattered violently. I had no words—only an overwhelming sense of nausea rising within me. I managed to stammer out, my voice shaky, “Luke… took my blood… which means…”

“You know better than I do why he did it.”

Lila’s cold fingers traced along the back of my neck, and I couldn’t suppress the wave of revulsion that hit me. I heaved, almost gagging at the sheer disgust I felt toward myself.

“See, I knew you’d cry,” Lila muttered, even as I struggled to regain my composure.

Luke’s intention to kill Camian was now undeniable. And worse, I had been the one to give him Camian’s weakness. If something happened to Camian, it would be my fault. I squeezed my eyes shut, overwhelmed by the horror of it all.

I never should have taken that assistant job. My chest tightened with panic as my mind spiraled. The Luke from the novel was not someone who would kill Camian without reason. But the Luke here—this Luke who hated demons, who had drugged me to learn Camian’s weakness—felt like a completely different person.

What had happened to the story? It was as if the universe had betrayed me, distorting everything I thought I knew. The book’s plot had fallen apart in the worst way possible.

“Are you alright?” Lila asked, patting my back gently.

I wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand and took a deep breath, trying to steady the nausea in my stomach. I couldn’t afford to panic right now. I needed to warn Camian before Luke made his next move. I looked up at Lila, determined.

“Lila, can you tell Camian to avoid being alone with Luke? Please?”

“Why should I?” she replied, her tone casual and indifferent.

Her unexpected response left me speechless.

“W-what do you mean, ‘why’? Luke is…”

“Camian can handle himself,” Lila cut me off, reclining on the sofa and crossing her legs. She tapped her foot lightly, as if weighing something in her mind. Her relaxed attitude only made my anxiety worse.

“Lila, please!” I pleaded.

“Fate doesn’t change so easily.”

Lila’s face was somber now, her voice soft and resigned, as if she was speaking more to herself than to me. Despite my repeated attempts to call out to her, she had already retreated into her own thoughts, her gaze fixed on some distant point. The desperation I felt earlier surged back, stronger than ever. Any admiration I had for Lila’s maturity and kindness was gone now.

Even if Camian didn’t believe me, I had to tell him myself. I had to try. My business with Lila was done, and I needed to get home and clear my head.

“Thank you for everything today, Lila. I’ll make sure to repay your kindness,” I said, standing up to leave.

“You don’t have to struggle so much. Everything that’s meant to happen will happen,” Lila murmured, her voice heavy with an eerie certainty.

“…I’ll be going now,” I said, leaving her house.

As I walked away, I couldn’t shake the chilling feeling that had settled over me. Lila’s face, at the end, had looked almost resigned, like someone resigned to fate—or death. Her expression had been so cold, so detached, as though she had already accepted the outcome of events. It was unsettling, like she had already seen the future and was waiting for it to play out.

I felt like I was swimming against a current, knowing I would eventually be swept away by the waves, but still stubbornly fighting against it. I forced myself to move faster, trying to outrun the rising dread.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I paced around my room anxiously, the lights blazing brightly as I tried to figure out what to do next. It was late, and the house was silent, but suddenly I heard footsteps in the distance. Without thinking, I ran to the door and opened it.

“Camian!”

I was startled by how loud my voice came out. Camian, who had just reached the top of the stairs, stopped for a moment before walking quickly toward me.

“Camian, I need to tell you something—wait,” I began, but Camian scooped me up into his arms and carried me back into my room without a word. He carefully set me down and then began inspecting me, turning my head from side to side, lifting my arms, and even spinning me around.

“What are you doing?!” I exclaimed.

“That bastard… no, Lila, did she do something strange to you?” Camian asked, his voice filled with concern.

“…No, nothing like that.”

I was trying to keep my visit to Lila’s house a secret… but it seems she told someone. However, Camian didn’t ask me why I went to Lila’s house. Either Lila covered it up well, or he simply wasn’t interested enough to ask. Most likely, it’s the latter.

“More importantly, Camian, I have something serious to tell you. It might sound like a bad joke… but, why did you turn off the lights all of a sudden?”

Camian barely listened to me as he suddenly turned off all the lights in the room. In the darkness that rushed in, my eyes lost focus. No matter how much I looked around, the only thing I could see was complete darkness.

“Come here.”

His deep voice came from right next to my ear. The low, penetrating tone made me jump. Startled, I felt his hand grab my wrist. Slowly, I followed him as he led me.

“If you sit down, that’s the bed.”

I obeyed. While Camian fiddled with my collar, I continued with what I hadn’t finished saying earlier.

“Camian, you need to be careful of Luke. I saw a strange book in his lab. I mentioned it to you once before. Well, that’s not the important part. Anyway, the book was filled with countless ways to kill demons. And last time, when he said he would ‘take care of the impurities,’ it didn’t feel like an idle comment… Ah!”

My eyes widened. There was a soft, stabbing sound, and sharp pain spread through my body.

I grabbed Camian’s hair.

“Ah, wh-what are you… Ugh!”

A tingling sensation traveled from the tips of my toes. I blinked rapidly. Has it already been a full moon? I had been so preoccupied with Luke that I didn’t even realize the full moon was near. My mind was being clouded by lust. No, this is bad. I have to warn him. I struggled to hold onto my slipping sanity, forcing myself to speak.

“Camian, b-be careful of Luke. Avoid being alone with him at all costs… Ah, Luke knows my blood is… Ah, stop drinking so much!”

Camian didn’t stop, as if trying to drain every drop of blood from me. This is it. My lust was growing uncontrollably. My thoughts blurred. At this point, I didn’t care about Luke or anything else. All I wanted was to passionately intertwine with Camian.

“Camian…”

My body fell backward. As Camian pinned me down, he sucked my blood even more intensely. My head spun. I couldn’t see anything in front of me; it was like the darkness was spinning around me. Panting heavily, I stroked his hair.

“I’m dizzy, ah… so dizzy.”

Before I could even deal with the overwhelming desire, my consciousness started fading. I was being swallowed by the black darkness. Just before I completely lost myself, Camian removed his teeth from my neck. His gentle hand caressed my face.

“Hang in there a little longer. Almost done. Just a little more…”

As I was on the brink of unconsciousness, his desperate whisper tickled my lips. I couldn’t understand what he meant, and I sank into oblivion.

“I don’t want to die… It’s too scary, Camian. Promise me… promise you’ll save me. Don’t let me rot away beneath the ground.”

With each step I took, blood clung to the soles of my shoes, sticking to the ground. Squelch, squelch. The sound of thick blood falling was like the earth screaming in agony.

The trees, which used to change their attire with the seasons, now stood as piles of black ash, like graves. The creek, once a cool respite in summer, was now filled with dark, crimson blood. The sun beamed fiercely, illuminating the torn flesh and entrails scattered across the streets, as if passing judgment, forcing me to witness the consequences of my actions.

But the man who had plunged this land’s teeming life into death in an instant—Camian—felt no guilt. His once red eyes had turned ashen gray.

It was the third time. Once again, he couldn’t save her. Another suicide.