Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 11
“Is everyone ready?”
Kyle looked around at the group with a serious expression.
“A lot has happened, but this will be our final journey.”
In the original story, the hero’s party returned in glory after defeating the final villain, the Black Flame Dragon. There was more that came after that, but that’s not exactly important right now.
“Yeah, yeah. We’ve got to kill the Black Flame Dragon and collect those rare materials. Wings, scales, teeth, claws. Nothing should go to waste.”
Unaware that the very subject of their hunt was right in front of him, Gerard casually spouted off disturbing lines.
“Then let’s go!”
With Kyle’s resolute declaration, the party followed behind him as if responding to a rallying cry. I trailed at the very back, dragging my feet, utterly unwilling.
“Lysian, why aren’t you coming? Are you going to stay in the forest alone? It’ll be dangerous. Kakaros said earlier that there’s a very strong monster nearby.”
“…I’m coming.”
Since that very strong monster was me, I wasn’t especially worried. But I still followed with a slightly nervous face.
The plan was to tour the empty lair with them and then make a clean break—say goodbye coolly, with no loose ends. Just thinking that made me feel a little better.
As we stepped into the lair shrouded in darkness, Gerard raised a staff that emitted a bright light and stepped forward. Kyle followed behind, scanning the surroundings.
“Everyone be careful. There might be traps. But seriously, why is this place so huge?”
“Do you have any idea how fat the Black Flame Dragon is? A creature that massive would need a lair this big to live in.”
Gerard’s comment was so absurd that I nearly let out a hollow laugh.
I didn’t know what the average dragon’s build was like, but I was definitely not on the fat side. If anything, recalling the appearance of the dragons I knew, I was rather slim—unfairly so.
“I heard the Black Flame Dragon hid tons of treasure in this lair.”
“We should recover it all and return it to those it was stolen from.”
Kyle said this with needless heroism. Gerard didn’t seem to agree, his expression sour.
“Why is it so quiet, though?”
It hadn’t been long since we started looking around the lair, but Kyle had already begun to sense that something was off.
“Kakaros doesn’t feel anything either.”
“There’s no treasure. Not even a hint of it. The entire cave is just empty.”
Kakaros and Gerard, who were scouring the cave, chimed in one after another.
“Could it have run away knowing we were coming?”
At Elonen’s suggestion, Kyle muttered in disbelief.
“Then where would that giant lizard have gone? Did it burrow underground or fly up into the… Actually, that might be possible.”
As Kyle questioned and answered himself, Gerard turned to Kakaros with a suspicious look.
“This is the Black Flame Dragon’s lair, right? We didn’t get the location wrong?”
“Kakaros’s nose never fails,” Kakaros replied curtly, apparently annoyed by Gerard’s doubt.
I wished they’d just give up and leave, but Kyle seemed intent on investigating the lair further. Whether it was because he was meticulous or just couldn’t let go, I figured it was probably the latter.
“Let’s split up and look around some more. Maybe it left something behind.”
Saying this, Kyle walked off alone. Not that he’d find anything—I had already taken care of all that.
But just as I thought that, a faint buzzing sound reached my ears.
The moment I heard the familiar sound, something I had completely forgotten came rushing back.
‘The mirror!’
It only now occurred to me that I had left the mirror behind. I hurried toward where it was.
But by the time I arrived, Kyle was already standing in front of it.
“Lysian, perfect timing. Doesn’t this mirror seem strange? It’s making weird noises and vibrating.”
Kyle murmured, running his hands over the mirror. The more he touched it, the more violently it vibrated.
According to the magic book left behind by ‘Lysian’, this mirror only appeared inanimate on the surface—it was actually a type of monster.
‘Lysian’ had likely used it to monitor the outside world, but that wasn’t its true ability.
This mirror possessed a will of its own. It could read the anxieties, fears, and desires hidden in the heart of whoever looked into it and reflect them back.
In doing so, it would bewitch and brainwash them, feeding on their mental energy.
