A Villainess Should Be Strong

She retracted her mana from the other blocks and tried to gather it all around G1, wanting to pry into this particular area and get a grasp of what they were trying to face.

However, instead of receiving a response, her attempt was nullified and she felt a sharp pain course through her body as she hurriedly retracted her magic altogether, giving up on trying to sneak.

Facing the backlash, she quickly assisted herself and recovered.

"Did something happen?" Estelle questioned, sensing Aleksei's change in his temperament. He too must have encountered a rock in the otherwise smooth path. "Did they say anything? I can't feel their presence,"

"It's hard to tell. Those two might've gotten into trouble," Aleksei clicked his tongue, constantly calling into the shell but receiving no response in return. "But who could oppose and subdue them this quickly? Surely they are not on the same level as our previous enemies?

Both Frey and Liviera were the same case, unable to be detected or communicated with.

"Damn it.. do we go there right now?" Estelle slowly opened her eyes, diverting her focus from the radars to facing Aleksei with knitted brows.

The two's disappearance meant a lot. Not only would it be a huge loss if they were lost, but it would also signify their enemies' absurd power.

Noir? The organization that Liviera warned them about? Were they this strong, that they are able to take on the 'unbeatable duo' of two supreme figures?

"I think that is the best solution. G1 center area, was it? I will rush there right now, please follow after me once you retract your spells," Aleksei nodded as he began to rush towards the area that Estelle specified.

Within seconds, Aleksei's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Estelle then stood up from her sitting position, hurriedly chasing after Aleksei's tracks the moment she was done with erasing all her magic.

During her run, her expression was not pacified in the slightest. Somehow, she felt unconfident. Like she was a small animal waiting for the large predator to come and munch on her. This was strange, since she never felt this kind of restricting feeling.

Not even when she faced against Arayle or Elias.

"..I don't have a good feeling about this," Estelle muttered as she sped through the forest area. "I really don't, but I hope.. it's just my imagination,"

[Something feels off, terribly off.] Estelle racked her brains to think about what parts were lacking in this big mystery.

At first, she wasn't suspicious of anything since this was Alfheim. A country with little to no connections with her, and all the people whom she met were newly introduced people. Nothing tied her down.

But now, she felt like something was amiss. A strangling feeling.

This feeling, she actually had felt it once before. When she was made helpless by one of her mortal enemies.

[Heine?] Estelle suddenly had an epiphany. The colleague that she once treasured.

That day, when she realized that she had been betrayed since the very beginning, she became lost, helpless, and experienced a sensation comparable to what she had right now.

The unknown enemy.

Estelle's emotions fluctuated.

Right, the magic that flowed through this forest held a similar tinge with that man's magic. But the similarity was too little, and the chance that Heine was even here, considering the time line and preparation this particular havoc had been going for, did not match.

Estelle's breathing pattern went astray as fear crept up inside her heart. The incident with Heine was the worst that she had gone through, it was the one that left the biggest mark on her soul. It shook her both physically and mentally.

The chance was low, but not zero. Estelle had doubts. What exactly was Heine's objective if he was the culprit?

She remembered that both Minerva and Yulia were currently in the lands of Alfheim. The pair of siblings that were close with the hateful Heine. The ones who were introduced to her from that same hateful person.

Estelle silently cursed inside her heart.

[People who could contend against the likes of Liviera and Frey...] Estelle bit her thumb as she was nearing the supposed location, only seconds away from peering into the battlefield.

Then, she was stopped. She felt the sickening feeling increase tenfold and not stopping there, but instead still continuing on climbing up the parameters. Her stomach twisted and turned as she came to a halt, standing alone in the middle of the lush forest.

An eerie presence began to grace her surroundings.

A living being intruded her area. Carrying a confident smirk on his face, his eyes laced with adoration and madness.

Estelle gnashed her teeth and clenched her fists until her nails dug into her skin, breaking the barrier apart and drawing blood. She felt no pain, because the man now only meters away from her was much more painful to see.

"..Indeed, if there can be people who had the ability to beat those two, then who else would it be aside from you?" Estelle spat out, her gaze filled with scorn and hatred.

Fresh laughter, sounding crisp like ringing bells came to live.

"I will take that as a compliment. That would mean that you think highly of me, right?" The man chuckled. He was not trying to conceal their identity in the slightest bit.

His prized emerald characteristic was clearly displayed, gently carried by the wind.

If there were people who could beat those two, it should be Heine.

If there were people who could bypass her radar, Heine fits into that criteria too.

If there were people who had a motive to track and hunt her down, wouldn't Heine be the closest answer to the entire riddle?

Heine, Heine, Heine. The wretched man that plotted against her all these years, that same Heine, was currently once again in front of her, his intentions unknown.

"I must've been crazy. During all our years of being acquainted, how come I've never noticed that you were this much of a hindrance?" Estelle laughed darkly, creating a spear and casting all sorts of enhancements over herself.

She couldn't hold back the surge of emotions that rushed out after her eyes fell upon his familiar figure. She clenched her chest tightly with her free hand, restraining her sanity and keeping her calm. Her bloodlust, the need to take revenge, everything spiked up.

Her breath was shaky as Heine approached her with slow steps, with a serene smile plastered on his face. Like always. The man who always knew the answer to everything.

He would always show up with vital information whenever she was stuck, could it be that he had known all along? Before she even started to crack down on the mystery, did he already possess all the answers.. because he was the one who concocted the entire plan in the first place?

Laughable. Truly laughable. This twisted riddle, she was entirely captured within it. She thought that she was clever, that she was slowly figuring out the world, that she was going through the process one by one and would piece out the giant puzzle one day.

She thought that her colleagues, due to their massive support and power were the ones she was lucky to find, a blessing granted to her out of nowhere.

But the truth was different. It wasn't just out of nowhere.

Indeed, too much of a series of lucky coincidences couldn't happen.

It turns out that instead of being another puzzle solver like her, one that assisted and lent a hand to her, Heine was actually the one who made the puzzle itself. While she was a gullible person that played into his hands, dancing on top of his palm without realizing it until it was too late.

"Heine, tell me. 'Noir', this bizarre organization, was it done by your hands?" Estelle questioned. "The monsters, our meetings, the things I went through.. everything! Heine, was it your doing all along?"

"..What are you talking about, I wonder?" Heine

Estelle brandished her weapon, prepared to retaliate against the man using her utmost power.

Instead of reacting in a hostile way, Heine continued his 'kind' act.

"Give it up, Estelle. The current you won't be able to beat me.. you will only hurt yourself. I wouldn't like that very much, you know? You are still my big sister after all.. Despite being hated this much, I am willing to suffer under the injustice. Am I not the best younger brother?" Heine said with a happy tone.

"If you are the best younger brother that ever existed, then I would go around the world and burn every single younger brother, declare them as blasphemers, and not let any of them live. Heine, I would not dare acknowledge a younger brother like you. I'm afraid that if I turn my back around for just one second, you would already have an entire stack of plots ready to be used against me," Estelle mocked.

Heine's gaze darkened and the smile on his lips disappeared.