The Guidebook for Villainesses

Lara looked up. Suddenly, from the midst of the Hell Corps, the figure of the demon lord rose to the sky. The notorious and wicked woman watched the battlefield on the back of a demonic beast.

The war would end only when the demon lord was defeated. And now, she has appeared.

"Defeat the demon lord!"

The soldiers made a commotion, the knights' were focused on their murmurs, and the Allied Knights moved quickly after confirming Lara's location. All of it was to determine the outcome of this war.

In between the magic that Vassago unleashed, a melee battle took place between the Hell Corps and the Allied Forces. Before moving on, Lara said to Valac one last time.

"Valac."

"Yes?"

"Go and check how wide open the gates of hell are."

"Why me? It's a little scary there, and I have to protect you here… Just tell Vassago or Paimon to do it."

"Just take a look. You're good at hiding, go in stealthily."

Lara spoke. Valac could not help but nod his head. The gates of hell were almost completely open. It happened faster than expected, but Lara was still impatient all the same.

Valac turned into a shadow and disappeared without a sound. He had to go to the inner parts of the Gorgon Mountains, avoid the black sorcerers gathering in front of the gates of hell, scout the area, and then return.

"That cowardly vermin is quite useful, at least."

"When he gets back, I will elevate him from a vermin to a snake."

Vassago and Paimon had already been back at Lara's side some time ago. Lara saw the black snakes messing up the battlefield and asked Vassago.

"Can you make those snakes attack its allies?"

"Of course, master."

"Great."

The demonic beast moved. With a wild roar and shaggy mane, the king of the demonic beast ran into the battlefield with Lara on his back. From now on, it was the demon lord's turn to play.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The black demon lord and white hero. They looked like they were in a black and white painting.

Demian gave chase to the demon lord as soon as she appeared. Running after him were those with impeccable skill, as they were the only ones who could keep pace. Meanwhile, the present Hell Corps and demon soldiers threw themselves to protect the demon lord.

Acerus looked at the situation with his eyes wide open from the commander's position. There was a reason why he split the troops into small units. When magic intervened and difficulties unfolded, what was especially important was the past experiences and flexible judgments of experienced soldiers.

"This is a planned gamble."

After Acerus first entered Memoria City, he met with Lara in secret and said.

"With all due respect, saintess, war is not something that can be done like that. Man is equal before death, so in extreme situations…"

"That would be the case if this was any other normal war. If your opponent is the same as you—a human being, then of course it's like that. But, this time, it's not. When you fight against destruction, forget common sense for a moment."

"Then, what should I do?"

"Remember one thing. You have to push them back into the mountains, get everything in there by all means."

Acerus agonized. Lara was a respectable saintess, but she knew nothing about war. Was it fine to do as she said?

Then, Demian appeared to take Lara. The two naturally held hands and disappeared into the mountains, no different from their appearance before the war broke out.

Acerus heard about Abraxas from Lara. A long time ago, there was a god who loved humans so much that he went crazy. In order to correct the mistakes of that time, he decided to stand on the side of humans and end the war. The story sounded just like this. Demian, who loved Lara so much that he went crazy, would end this war for her.

"Your Imperial Highness, did you call for us?"

Acerus' knights gathered. Instead of wearing full heavy body armor, they wore light, comfortable armor. They took off their stuffy helmets and wore only minimal protection. Doing so made them look like Barbarians.

Being called the Crown Prince's escorts and guards, they had fought many battles with Acerus. Even though they were called narrow-minded tight-arses, they were not the ones who would run away even while facing a strong enemy. It was their honor to jump into a dangerous mission and make a contribution in the name of their liege.

Acerus said.

"From now on, I will become a giant bait."

"Yes, Your Imperial Highness."

"You all will also become bait with me."

"Yes, Your Imperial Highness."

"We'll run straight to the gates of hell inside the mountain range. The Hell Corps will of course come after me. Then, the Allied Forces will go after them."

There was no opposition. If their liege told them to do so, they would just do it. The knights stood behind Acerus with weapons and shields firmly held in their hands.

"Let's not die."

Acerus said, finally lifting the shield.

"It's a world worth living in to die now."

41. No Matter What Anyone Says, You…

Fearsome demon soldiers fell one after another at the hands of Demian, running rampantly to punish the demon lord. The Allied Forces witnessed his power up close and were no longer afraid of the Hell Corps. They, too, had weaknesses. They had hearts and their blood flowed. In the face of death, they were no different from humans.

The demon lord had escaped the battlefield and was moving around as if teasing the Allied Forces. At first, they thought it was the demon lord's scheme. Perhaps she was trying to confuse the Allied Forces like that. But as time went on, they felt something strange. What was left in the demon lord's path were not human corpses, but the dead bodies of the Hell Corps.

The black snakes created by Vassago's magic did not seem to be able to distinguish between allies and enemies during the war. So whenever the snakes attacked the Hell Corps, they just thought they were lucky. But that was not the case.

"What? They're hitting their allies?"

A soldier murmured. On closer inspection, the demon lord's magic was not actually aimed at the humans, they were aimed at the Hell Corps. The demon lord's behavior was also very suspicious. It seemed like she was skillfully enticing them to come her way. If they ran towards her, a great victory followed the Allied Forces wherever they went.

It was all Demian's contributions. He only followed the demon lord. He would move when the demon lord moved and stopped when the demon lord stopped. Then, he slaughtered all the demon soldiers there and led the Allied Forces to victory.

A scouting soldier? An inducement strategy? A double agent? No one knew what to call it. As time went on, it all began to feel like a well-written script in the eyes of the seasoned soldiers and knights.

It was then that Acerus jumped into the enemy camp.

"His Imperial Highness…"

There was no time to think. The master of the empire appeared on the battlefield. He was the hero and the representative of humans. Sizzling heat formed in the hearts of the Allied Forces, and a cold bloodthirstiness formed in the eyes of the demon worshippers.

The balance of power that had been narrowly maintained was broken. Though the Hell Corps was not much swayed, the demon worshippers had their eyes set only on Acerus Elin Tarragon.

If they caught the Crown Prince, they could bring down the Empire. Acerus was a golden carp that fell into their arms. They had to catch him no matter what. They must kill him unconditionally. Even if they had to give up this battlefield, they had to dispose of the Crown Prince. Just in time, Acerus and his knights, who appeared in high spirits, fled into the mountains, driven by the mad advance of the demon worshippers.

Go catch him. Catch and kill the Crown Prince.

The enemy began to scatter. Most of the demon worshippers chased Acerus into the mountains, all that was left on the battlefield were the Hell Corps and the demonic beasts.

"Now!"

The long-awaited signal burst out. Starting from Memoria City, huge beacons of fire exploded all over the battlefield. The oiled fire burned fiercely and let out black smoke. The same happened inside the mountain range. When the beacon was lit, flames rose from dozens of peaks and valleys as if there were a sudden forest fire. It was a merciless, hot fire. It burned everything that it touched and turned it into ashes.

The hellfire of destruction shifted from one valley to the next peak, along the side roads of the hunters to the basin of the hillside and along the path created by the genius alchemist.

The giant of fire rose to its feet. The demonic beasts howled in melancholy. For the first time in this war, the Hell Corps took a step backward, but there was no escape for them now.

"All troops, advance!"

The Allied Forces rushed to the Hell Corps all at once.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

"It's almost fully opened. It's only a matter of time. The black sorcerers continued to pile up the altar like a tower and offer sacrifices."

Valac returned and talked to Lara, it seemed like it was urgent. Lara responded to him and called in the demons.

It was the last turn of the game now. Lara got out of the battlefield while the Hell Corps was in chaos. Vassago and Paimon opened the way for her. The demon soldiers and monsters who rushed at her, saying that the demon lord betrayed them, died helplessly at the hands of the two demons.

"Don't jump on master!"

"You boneheads, this is all for setting hell right!"

Acerus did his part dutifully. As Lara told him in advance, he ran nonstop to the place where the gates of hell were open and lured the demon worshippers in. Even as flames broke out from behind and as he could hear the Allied Forces' shouts, he did not look back. All he did was immerse himself in the role of bait.

Hell opened its mouth inside the high cliffs and endlessly deep valleys.

"What should we do now?"

The knights asked. They looked tired but no one wanted to run away.

"Those're the gates to hell, huh?"

Acerus settled on a rock overlooking the valley, he smiled in vain. The demon worshippers surrounded him and shouted. They flocked to the cliff in front of the valley and looked at Acerus. There were thousands or tens of thousands of them.

"Let's dedicate the Emperor of mankind to the demon lord. He will be the most valuable offering in the world!"

"Take out the Emperor's heart and sprinkle his blood! Gouge his eyes and cut out his tongue. Take his skin off and hang it on a pole!"

A mad spell hovered like a scream.

"Disgusting."

Acerus shuddered. He was thinking about whether he should jump into the valley to send them all to hell.

It was then that Lara appeared. She walked proudly and climbed onto the altar made by the black sorcerers. The wind blew her long hair. There was no mercy on her pale face. With every step she took, the surroundings became quieter.

"Saintess…"

The knights muttered in spite of themselves.

Lara was wearing black leather armor and a long cloak. It was a demonic and intense look. However, her reflection in the eyes of the knights was reminiscent of an angel holding a dagger to punish evil.

A saintess or a wicked woman. The one who was once a vicegerent of God but became a demon lord herself. And the offering that was chosen by the world.

Lara held up a sharp dagger with one hand. It was a dagger prepared in advance for this time. Using a big and heavy blade would prove to be difficult, so she purposely chose a small and light one. Actually, it did not matter what dagger she used. Even if she bit her tongue, swallowed poison, or burned herself, it would still be the same. This was a threat with her existence at stake.

Lara held the dagger in her hands and put the end to her chest. Not a single hint of hesitation could be felt in her actions.

She said.

"Abraxas."

The name of God, the one who deserved to appear.