BJ Villainess Chapter 347

Ilya Special Story 2: The New <God’s Play>

 

It was in a dark alley where stagnant water on the ground had rotted and given off a pungent stench. There, I scratched at a wall, marked with white lines drawn with a sharp stone. 正正正正正正一

 

A boy, who had been resting against the wall, rebuked me. “That graffiti again? What kind of pattern are you always drawing?”

 

“It’s the date.”

 

“How is that a date? You’re weird.”

 

The boy shook his head and treated me like an oddball. He must’ve thought I was just scribbling random stuff and insisting it was a date, because I never learned to write properly. I couldn’t blame him. Only people from where I was from would recognize these marks.

 

It’s already been 31 days since I came into this world. The marks I left on the wall were my way of counting how long it had been since I transmigrated. I stared at the wall for a moment, then tossed the stone aside.

 

31 days. It had already been 31 days since I possessed this woman’s body. At this point, it was almost laughable to keep denying reality.

 

Yeah. I was no longer Shin Jiwoo from Korea, but the 18-year-old Theresa, roaming the back alleys.

 

“Hey… what’s wrong all of a sudden? Not everyone can write dates, you know. I only know a few numbers myself. Want me to show you?”

 

The boy comforting me was Ugo, a fellow from the same slum. Despite his burly build, Ugo had a gentle heart. Maybe that’s why he escaped that horrible place with me.

 

If it weren’t for him, I…

 

The Theresa I possessed, even in rags and looking dirty, was beautiful. Because of that, the slum overseer tried to sell me off at a high price to a noble family. It was common enough here, at least in this world. But luckily, Ugo noticed it and took me away, saying, ‘I didn’t like it here either,’ and ran away with me.

 

The place we escaped to was the estate of Viscount Langbert, in the neighboring city. Having barely crossed over, we found the estate was wealthy, and even petty theft allowed us to live more comfortably than in the slums.

 

“Thanks for cheering me up, Ugo.”

 

Ugo grinned. “What are friends for?”

 

No one acts like you just because you’re friends. But I didn’t say this out loud, just gave a faint smile.

 

Ugo pulled out some stolen bread from his pocket and suddenly asked, “Do you remember your parents?”

 

My parents… That was a topic I didn’t like much. Because mine were what you’d call worse than strangers.

 

Whenever I recalled my childhood, a terrible depression and lethargy would wash over me. At the same time, I’d start to question why I was even alive, the meaning of my existence.

 

Still, I might not have cared much about living, but getting transmigrated into a game? And out of all people, to become Theresa…

 

The game I’d been developing, <God’s Play>, was a role-playing game set in a fantasy world. A brief description of the game was about Libby, an ordinary clergy, as she grew and defeated the cultists of the Evil God.

 

And as luck would have it, the Theresa I possessed was one of those evil cultists.

 

Cultists of the Evil God don’t stand out under normal circumstances. But when they use their powers, a black butterfly mark appears on the back of their hand—that’s how you identify them.

 

If anyone finds out I’m a cultist, it’s over.

 

At least the game hadn’t reached the starting point yet. So, since Theresa’s identity hadn’t been revealed, there was still a chance I could keep hiding who I was. I just don’t need to use my powers.

 

The more you use the Evil God’s power, which swallows anything into the shadows, the stronger it gets. That’s why the imperial family, nobles, and the temple all hunt down cultists so relentlessly—they kill them as soon as they find them. The sooner they kill them, the weaker they are.

 

Since I’d never used my powers, I’d be easy to deal with if caught. It was kind of funny when I thought about it. Facing death somehow made me want to live more. Maybe the reason I’d felt so lethargic as Shin Jiwoo was simply because I’d had no goal in life.

 

I’ll end up singing an ode to life at this rate.

 

I shook off my wandering thoughts and took a big bite of the bread Ugo handed me. It wasn’t soft, buttery bread, but the fact that it wasn’t moldy was enough to make it a good meal.

 

Just then, footsteps echoed down the empty alley where people rarely passed.

 

What’s this? A bad feeling made me put down my bread and stand up. Just then, I locked eyes with the men who appeared on the other side.

 

“There they are! Get those brats!”

 

“…Let’s run!”

 

As soon as Ugo and I realized who they were, we started running.

 

For the slum overseer to track us all the way here! He’d even brought thugs. We were hopelessly outnumbered—if we got caught, it was over. At least we knew this area better than they did.

 

Ugo and I hid in an abandoned house. Step, step, step! Footsteps echoed nearby. The overseer had chased us all the way here.

 

“Damn it, where did those brats hide? You think I can’t find you? Come out right now!”

 

Kids running away from the slums wasn’t uncommon. If he had the energy, the overseer sometimes dragged them back, but he’d never been this obsessed. Judging by his fixation, he must have already gotten money from the noble who wanted to buy me. If he didn’t deliver me, he’d be executed for cheating a noble—so he was desperate.

 

At that moment, rats living in the house scurried out, startled by the noise. Damn it. Rats in a hidden spot were common enough, so I just hoped they wouldn’t draw attention…

 

“There they are!”

 

Suspicious about the abandoned house, the overseer finally found us.

 

When the entrance was blocked, Ugo charged at the overseer before I could stop him. “Run, Theresa!”

 

“Where do you think you’re going!”

 

Ugo might’ve been big for his age, but the overseer was an even bigger, stronger adult—and he had a club.

 

Whack!

 

“Ugo!” I ran to Ugo, who had been struck on the head and fallen to the ground.

 

“Stupid brat.” The overseer spat on the floor and swung his club at the unconscious Ugo again. He really meant to kill him.

 

Realizing this, I screamed. “Stop!”

 

Sssss! A black butterfly mark appeared on the back of my hand as the overseer’s shadow rose up like a mass of tentacles.

 

“W-What the! Ahhhh!”

 

They wrapped around the overseer, dragging him into the shadows. Then, like a tar pit closing, the black shadow that had covered the floor disappeared. That was the power used by cultists of the Evil God.

 

“…Ahhhh! It’s an Evil God cultist!”

 

“Run!”

 

The thugs who’d come this way, hearing the commotion, saw this and turned to flee in panic. I reached out toward them, and, like the overseer, the thugs disappeared into the shadows.

 

With every witness eliminated, the abandoned house fell quiet again.

 

“…”

 

I killed them. The realization that I’d committed murder made my whole body tremble. I wanted to throw up, but there was something I had to check first.

 

“Ugo! Wake up, Ugo, please…!”

 

Blood had pooled beneath Ugo’s head. His breathing was faint. If things stayed like this, Ugo would die.

 

In exchange for swallowing several people into the shadows, a new power awakened in me, and I used it on Ugo. Even as a cultist of the Evil God, I was still a cultist with a healing power. To think that a power I would never have gained unless I killed someone was the power to save someone’s life. Ironic.

 

“Haa…”

 

We’d survived the crisis. Thankfully, Ugo’s wounds healed completely, but he didn’t regain consciousness.

 

We needed somewhere to hide… I looked around nervously.

 

Did the overseer really only bring three thugs here? If there are more, we’re in trouble.

 

We weren’t far from where we’d first escaped. So it was dangerous—we needed to get to a safer place.

 

Praying desperately for a bit of mercy from the gods, I dragged the unconscious Ugo and kept running, over and over. Gradually, I felt my limits. I hadn’t been that healthy to begin with, and dragging someone as big as Ugo was nearly impossible.

 

They say people show superhuman strength when facing death, but even that has its limits.

 

“Ugh… huff…!”

 

A searing pain tore at my throat. My head throbbed. I wanted to vomit, to faint, to just give up on everything. All kinds of symptoms crashed over me like a wave, when suddenly, as if by a miracle, I spotted a warehouse with its door wide open.

 

I had no other choice. I could only hide inside and hope to survive another day.

 

“Haa… haa…”

 

Panting heavily, I realized one thing. All I could do now was find a new way to survive, even if it meant truly becoming an Evil God cultist. But I prayed that wouldn’t happen. That I wouldn’t become the real villainess…

 

As hot tears welled in my eyes and curses against this damned reality rose to the tip of my tongue—Clack. Someone opened the door, and light flooded the dark warehouse. Squinting, I checked who it was.

 

It wasn’t anyone from the slums trying to take me back, nor a noble’s soldier. The person was a middle-aged woman in a white apron. Her eyes widened when she spotted us.

 

“Oh gosh!”