Reborn As The Minor Villain In A Romance Fantasy Novel - Chapter 199

Chapter 199: Always the Worms
In under a minute, the forest had become a battlefield of flashing colors.

A storm of magic and rage that swallowed every inch of ground the awakeners stepped on.

Spells streaked through the air like meteor trails, explosions rippled from tree to tree, and monster screams rose in overlapping waves that made the leaves vibrate.

In the middle of that chaos, one Awakener planted his foot, pulled his bowstring to his cheek, and shouted above the din.

“Don’t hold back! Take all of them out!” His arrow shot forward with a piercing whistle and buried itself deep into the skull of a massive bug-monster, dropping the creature instantly.

He didn’t even wait to see it fall.

Breaking formation, he sprinted toward another corpse lying near a fallen trunk.

Every direction held another explosion.

‘Damn… these monsters really are a lot.’ He thought and shook his head.

He reached the body in seconds and jammed a sharper arrow into its abdomen, ripping the flesh open in a single motion.

When he saw the empty cavity, his expression twisted in alarm.

“They don’t have mana cores!!” he yelled.

A shadow eclipsed him.

Before he could turn, another monster slammed into him and dragged him out of sight.

…

Lucius paused mid-step.

‘No cores?’ He rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked around at the carnage. ‘Then they’re basically worthless. Why are we even wasting energy on them if they don’t drop anything good? Meat? Hardly. Most of these things look like they taste like battery acid.’

A giant fly zipped toward him from the corner of his eye. Lucius tilted his head half an inch.

The monster missed him completely, smacking into a tree with an ugly thud.

He looked unimpressed.

Around him, awakeners were fully immersed in battle.

Lightning forked through the air in jagged arcs.

Fireballs detonated in orange bursts.

Wind blades screamed across the ground.

Water spears nailed monsters through their limbs.

The entire forest resembled a collapsing fireworks festival, and Lucius stood in the center of it like someone taking a stroll in mild rain.

Then his eyes widened slightly. “Oh. I haven’t restocked.”

A single motion of his hand twisted space around him.

Dozens of translucent orbs materialized, expanding outward like tiny gravitational spheres.

They drifted into ongoing battles at perfect angles, swallowing stray flames, gusts of wind, splashes of water, bolts of lightning, and even raw chunks of mana.

When the orbs returned to his side, he nodded and put them in his inventory. ‘Perfect. Fully stocked.’

A low growl on the ground drew his attention.

“Oh, right… you.” Lucius looked down at the oversized rabbit he had pinned under his foot.

The creature stared up at him in trembling terror.

Its earlier monstrous size meant nothing now that it was humbled by Lucius.

“Relax,” Lucius said dryly. “I’ll turn you into a very domesticated pet. Something cute. Something obedient. Maybe something useful.”

He crouched and extended a hand toward its fluffy head.

[@MoonRow12: Domesticated?? Who let this man own pets?]

[@PettyMage: I bet he’s gonna turn it into a murder rabbit.]

[@FurballFan: Bunny training arc incoming.]

[@ArcFluff: Lucius is too dangerous to have a pet, respectfully. He needs me as his pet tho]

Before Lucius’s fingertips reached fur, a wave of scorching fire erupted behind him and shot toward his head with lethal intent.

The blaze flowed around him without touching a single hair… Infinity bent it away in a smooth arc, splitting it into harmless streams.

Lucius lifted his eyes slowly.

A crimson-scaled lizard perched above him on a scorch-marked branch, glaring down at him with molten eyes and its tail smoking violently.

The message was clear: I challenge you.

Lucius’s hand went to his hair.

It was perfect and glorious as usual. He could have forgiven the monster… but it had to aim at his majestic hair, he couldn’t tolerate it. He planned to use this hair for some dreadlocks later.

He narrowed his eyes. “You hairless mongrel.”

He pointed at the monster.

“Die.”

Space exploded forward like a silent cannon.

The impact was instantaneous and absolute.

The lizard didn’t scream… It simply turned into dust with ash drifting down like grey snowflakes.

The shockwave flattened several trees and sent awakeners and monsters alike tumbling to the ground in utter confusion.

[@ArcFlash: BRO HE ERADICATED IT.]

[@MoltenShrimp: That monster got deleted from the server.]

[@CrowdedStars: You don’t mess with Lucius’s hair.]

[@DeepFry99: That lizard died for a HAIR JOKE, I’m crying.]

[@ManaMaid: Honestly… deserved. My glorious king must keep his hair at maximum length always]

|__ [@Eryos: That’s NOT crazy to say]

Lucius brushed non-existent dust from his clothes then he turned back to the pinned monster bunny.

The creature’s fur stood on end.

It looked like its soul had already ascended.

Lucius lowered his voice. “Do you understand now?”

The bunny nodded rapidly, so rapidly its ears flopped like loose cloth.

Then it sneezed.

A tiny squeak-sneeze.

Its form shrank even further into its ultra-chibi state.

Lucius blinked. ‘That sneeze didn’t affect the others this time. So it doesn’t mass-transform everything anymore. Wonder what happened.’

He lifted his foot.

Instantly, the tiny rabbit bounded away like a shot arrow, sprinting straight into Grimm’s arms.

Grimm barely kept his balance as the creature jumped onto his shoulder, spun around his head twice in a blur, and settled against his neck like a clinging child.

[@BunnyDad21: Awww look at it cuddle him.]

[@GrimmSupporter: Protect him, he’s just a baby.]

[@StormWatcher: The bunny chose Grimm over Lucius LMAO.]

[@CuteCrisis: Grimm unlocked Rabbit Affection skill.]

[@MageRhythm: Lucius lost custody immediately.]

Lucius let out a breath.

“Well, that wasn’t so bad.” The forest was now mostly quiet. The last remaining monsters fled into the shadows, and the awakeners began regrouping in smaller clusters.

“Continue forward!” Supreme Man commanded from the front, wiping monster ichor off his gauntlets.

…

The next ten minutes in the winding forest were surprisingly peaceful.

No monsters approached them and none of the expected ambushes were sprung. Even the air felt lighter as if the entire forest had collectively decided it was done with them.

Lucius appreciated the quiet.

It was a rare commodity… the battle was enough to keep viewers interested after all.

Eventually, the trees parted and revealed a breathtaking sight: a vast, silver-blue lake stretching out before them.

Its surface reflected the sky so perfectly it felt like a portal.

Beyond the lake lay a wide clearing, and far in the distance, the great Staircase rose toward the heavens.

“Finally,” Grimm muttered, exhausted. The bunny nuzzled into his shoulder like an affectionate scarf.

Supreme Man turned toward Lucius with a knowing look.

Lucius rolled his eyes.

He rose into the air and floated over the lake with his arms crossed, looking every bit like someone who regretted agreeing to group travel.

‘I swear if they don’t pay extra for using me as a hovering taxi service…’

His reflection shimmered on the water below.

Then the water moved.

The entire surface shifted as if something massive pushed from beneath.

Lucius frowned. ‘That’s not water movement… that’s—’

A titanic earthworm-like monster burst free from the lake with explosive force.

Its mouth opened wide, ringed with jagged teeth and dripping water like acid rain.

Lucius didn’t even have time to swear.

The creature swallowed him whole.

The lake splashed violently as the monster dove back into the depths with Lucius in its throat.

The entire party froze.

Grimm stared in horror, holding the bunny in stunned silence.

Supreme Man’s mouth opened and closed like a malfunctioning automaton. The awakeners stood still as statues.

‘Not again.’ Lucius thought as he was trapped in the darkness once more.