Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel - Chapter 191

Chapter 191: Winding Staircase
Raven let mana surge through every inch of his body until his whole form was engulfed in flames.

The heat around him amplified, distorting the air as the ground beneath his boots cracked from the sheer pressure.

‘I want to kill it…’ he thought, his teeth gritting as the fiery aura intensified.

He kicked off the ground, and in that instant, the stone beneath him shattered.

He soared upward like a flaming comet, his body blazing as he cut through the sky.

The Griffin above shrieked, trying to move aside even while on course but Raven’s speed was unreal.

He shot through its torso with the force of an artillery shell.

The creature’s body exploded in a burst of burning blood and smoke.

Raven emerged from the other side, spinning once before stabilizing midair. The flames around him dimmed, and his hand tightened around something glowing.

It was the monster’s core.

[ @FireWatch: HOLY HELL that was clean 🔥🔥🔥 ]

[ @RaidStream: Raven just turned into a literal missile 😭 ]

[ @MainChatFan: His flames are insane rn, man’s on fire… literally ]

[ @LuciusMain: Bro doesn’t miss 😭💀 ]

Raven landed on a patch of rubble panting lightly when he heard a piercing roar above.

Another Griffin had locked onto him, its red eyes glowing as it dived down at full speed.

Its claws were extended and ready to tear him apart.

“Out of the way, Raven!”

He didn’t even need to think twice.

Luna shouted at him and he instantly shifted his body to the right, rolling off the debris just as she took aim.

The palms of her suit were glowing… no, blazing with orange light.

‘I finally gathered enough mana for it,’ she thought.

Her suit whirred as the mana readings peaked.

Lucius had already sensed what she was trying to do and had been quietly helping by manipulating space to draw in ambient mana from around the battlefield.

It worked perfectly.

The glow in her palms flared brighter.

She extended her arms. “Target locked.”

The compressed mana erupted outward in a single concentrated beam.

It tore through the air… the sound of the beam was like thunder snapping.

The heat from the blast singed the very air, turning it white for a second.

The Griffin never stood a chance… it tried to veer off, but the beam connected directly with its skull.

Raven felt every hair on his body stand on end. He was just a few meters away from the beam, and he could feel the heat coursing through his bones.

It was far hotter and far denser than his own flames.

The beam faded, leaving nothing but a trail of smoke spiraling toward the ground.

When the smoke cleared, the Griffin’s body hit the dirt with a loud thud. Its head was completely gone… burned to nothing.

[ @SuitStream: LUNA WITH THE SNIPE 🔥🔥🔥🔥 ]

[ @TechNerd: That was compressed plasma level heat 😳 ]

[ @ICANSUCKLUNASASS: HOW IS SHE STILL STANDING AFTER THAT ]

[ @THEWatcher: That headshot melted my screen 😭😭😭 ]

The rest of the field had thinned out. Only a handful of Blood Griffins were left now, circling low and picking off stragglers.

Trisha’s sharp eyes caught sight of something in the distance.

It was that same Supreme Guild member.. the one who’d told them not to interfere earlier.

Now he was crawling across the dirt with his arm bleeding heavily as a Griffin advanced toward him, step by step.

The creature’s jaws opened wide and drool dripped from its teeth as it prepared to pounce.

Trisha exhaled softly and knelt, sliding her rifles aside.

From her back, she drew a longer weapon… a sleek black sniper with glowing inscriptions down its barrel.

She steadied it against the ground, the lens lighting up with a blue hue as she aimed.

The distance was immense… around 720 meters from her position to the Griffin.

The shot would have to pass through the wind, smoke, and ash floating in the air but Trisha didn’t hesitate.

‘No way I’m missing this,’ she thought.

She poured her mana into the sniper, the weapon glowed in response as blue lines of energy traveled down the barrel.

She adjusted the sight slightly and slowed her breathing.

“Locked.”

Her finger squeezed the trigger.

A deafening crack split the air.

The bullet ripped through the sky, leaving a streak of blue light behind it.

The force of the recoil blew her hair backward. The bullet traveled faster with every second, gaining power as it tunneled through the air.

Down below, the Supreme Guild man’s bloodshot eyes widened as the Griffin loomed over him.

He dragged himself forward with his last bit of strength. “I need help…” he gasped weakly, his vision blurring.

He looked up just in time to see the Griffin’s shadow cover him.

Then impact.

The bullet slammed straight through the Griffin’s chest. There was a muffled boom from within as the core inside its ribcage imploded and the energy collapsed inward.

The beast jerked violently and toppled sideways, it was dead before it hit the ground.

The man froze and his mouth hung open.

Trisha lowered her sniper slowly with a smirk on her lips.

[ @SharpEye: THAT WAS LIKE A 700-METER HEADSHOT 💀 ]

[ @THEFUCK: She just saved the guy who told them to stand down 😭 ]

[ @BallisticsFan: The bullet didn’t even lose velocity. CRAZY. ]

[ @777Gooner: She’s S-Tier confirmed. That shot was GODLY. ]

[ @Elly: I swear the drone barely caught that frame in time 😭🔥 ]

…

Lucius sighed softly, arms crossed as he watched everything unfold.

‘They really did well,’ he thought.

He hadn’t even needed to step in directly. All he’d done was use his space to strengthen their movements, fortify their reflexes, and pull in spare mana to recharge them mid-battle.

They’d handled the rest themselves.

His gaze shifted to Vanessa.

She was sitting on a large rock nearby, her posture was slouched slightly and there was a tired smile on her lips.

“It’s been a while since I’ve expended this much power,” she said with a yawn.

The blood orbs hovering around her slowly converged, compressing into her palm until all that remained was a small red teardrop marking glowing against her skin.

Lucius sat down beside her.

“It helps you lose fat,” he said casually.

She blinked, turning to him. “Are you trying to insinuate that I’m fat? How rude.”

Lucius just shrugged.

Vanessa puffed her cheeks, placing a hand on her waist as she looked down at her own figure.

“Wait… am I really that fat?”

“I was joking.”

“Idiot.” She bumped her shoulder against his, pouting lightly before chuckling.

He smiled, watching as she stood up again.

His squad regrouped around them, their faces flushed but proud.

Vanessa looked them over and smiled. “You all did very well. Considering the monsters here are far stronger than anything you’ve faced before, this was an excellent showing.”

The squad smiled, clearly pleased by the praise. Lucius gave a simple nod of approval, which made them straighten up even more.

“Begin gathering the cores of these monsters!” Supreme Man’s voice boomed across the area.

Everyone moved instantly, spreading out to collect the glowing red cores from the fallen Griffins.

The battlefield soon filled with movement again as bags were filled and mana tools flickered to life.

…

Half an hour later, the group gathered at the base of a massive staircase.

The structure wound up the tower like a spiral, wide enough a dozen to walk side-by-side.

Lucius tilted his head back to see the top… it disappeared into the clouds above.

Vanessa exhaled. “This is going to be long.”

Supreme Man gave a short wave of his hand. “March!”

The group began ascending.

The staircase curved and twisted, the climb tight enough that people occasionally brushed shoulders.

Despite that, the pace was steady until Supreme Man suddenly raised a hand.

“Halt!” he commanded.

Everyone stopped instantly.

The section of staircase ahead of them had completely collapsed, leaving a gaping hole where the path should have been.

It was wide, at least fifteen meters across and dropped into what looked like an endless pit below.

“This thing’s ancient,” Lucius muttered. “Looks like this part just fell off on its own.”

Supreme Man turned to him and gave him expectant eyes.

Lucius sighed. “Fine.”

He closed his eyes briefly, and space rippled around him.

His body lifted off the ground as the air distorted beneath his feet. He floated toward the gap and extended his hand outward.

The Awakeners behind him felt a gentle pull as space folded beneath them, raising them effortlessly into the air.

The Saintess gasped softly as she found herself lifted across the gap.

Lucius rolled his eyes. “It seems I’ve become the taxi.”