The Villainess and I, her Zombie

"Wh-what is going on?! Why did all of them suddenly collapse?!"

Mary, who propped Cranberry's head with her lap, gasped seeing not only the three people she met in the Drian's mansion - but also the silver-haired butler - all collapse into the puddles of their own blood as the sigil monster was leaning back so much that the top of its mutilated head was almost touching the ground while it's was still kneeling down.

"I...! I don't know...!"

Roan's face became pale as a ghost at the sight.

"...!"

Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization.

He saw what was happening!

"The smoke! Mary, it's the smoke! All of them are trapped in a thin cloud of that damn vapor that the monster's flesh is releasing!"

"!!!!!"

Roan exclaimed pointing at the area underneath the sigil Gorut.

Only because they were farther away than the four attacking, Mary and Roan were able to notice that not all red and black smoke was escaping up and mixing with the barrier surrounding the Druian's estate, but in fact, some of it was pouring down creating a thin, barely visible mist.

"That must be it!

The blond prince called out in panic.

"My prince! We need to do something! They will die if they stay there!"

Mary exclaimed, biting her lips.

"And what can we do?! Didn't you see how that woman blinked back down and collapsed in five seconds straight?! Even that healer dropped down, and he had this whole passive healing ability going on!"

Roan shook his head, taking a step back.

"B-but, my prince...! If we don't do something...! The sigil monster is still alive, if it was dead it would...!"

"Disperse into smoke! I know! I was fighting with them too! But this and that is different!"

Mary cried out fearfully, and the blond prince finished the sentence for her, clenching his fists to keep his hands from shaking.

"...but...!"

The brown-haired heroine trembled before she looked down at the pale face of the unconscious villainess.

"..."

She breathed out and raised her head, with a determined expression.

"Your highness, watch over Cranberry."

"...huh...? Your highness...? Since when do you call me like that...?

Mary gently moved the red-haired girl and stood up, causing the blond prince to flinch and turn to her wide-eyed.

"Anry, come here!"

"Scree!"

Mary didn't respond to him and instead called for her champion griffin, who screeched at her eagerly and hurriedly approached her.

"Are you fine? Did he heal you properly?"

Mary asked, gently patting the griffin's beak.

"SCREE!"

Anry screeched proudly, spreading his winds to show that he was completely restored - since Luke got to it while Kopia was holding them all together with her threads.

...speaking of which...

"Eeeh...? Why are you all having so much trouble with just one of those?"

The crimson-haired girl had perched herself on the edge of the wall surrounding the Durian's estate and watched everything from that vantage point.

"Mary, what are you trying to...?"

Roan glanced at Kopia before he turned back to the brown-haired girl and asked.

"..."

But he closed his mouth when he met Mary's cold glare.

"Nothing, your highness. It's just I've been told that in the moments of real danger humans show their true nature."

The brown-haired heroine shrugged her shoulders and turned to the crimson-haired girl on the wall.

"Miss Kopia! Could you help them? Or better kill that monster? You like killing, don't you?"

"...?"

Mary called out, getting Kopia's attention.

"Eh? Help them? But it's your event? I shouldn't even be here in the first place."

The humanoid sword furrowed her brows and tapped her temple with her index finger.

"I know when I can and when I cannot kill things on my own, you know? I don't want to get my master upset."

She shook her head and declared, kicking her feet up like a bored child.

"But your master is in danger! He's in the belly of that monster!"

Mary looked between the wounded sigil monster that was slowly regenerating all the damages that it suffered and the crimson-haired girl.

"Pfffft...! Nah. Master is trying to keep his promise, that's all."

Kopia waved her hand dismissively with no urgency whatsoever.

"Gh...! At least can I ask you to watch over Cranberry?"

She gritted her teeth a single step away from blowing up in anger, but she managed to stop herself and asked Kopia the same question she asked Roan beforehand.

"Oh? Ah! Of course! Master wouldn't want her to get injured while he's playing around! Sure!"

Kopia cheered out and jumped down, happily trotting towards the unconscious Cranberry.

"Mary! Tell me you aren't trying to go there and help them?! You are going to get injured!"

Roan stepped in between the brown-haired heroine and her champion griffin, blocking the girl's way on her tamed monster's back.

"Your highness, if we waste more time people will die."

Mary clenched her fists and glared at the blond prince with ice-cold eyes.

"But...!"

"There's no place for hesitation! You said that you were ready to run away with me and face all the dangers of getting pursued and surviving in the monster-infested lands, but you are too afraid of helping out allies?! What, do you think that just because I was born a commoner I am stupid and can't see what's in front of me?!"

Roan gasped, but that only resulted in Mary losing her patience - the brown-haired girl approached him and scoffed in his face, tapping his chest with her hand.

"You said that you love me but let me tell you something straight - I could never love a spineless coward!"

She exclaimed and angrily wiped the tears that she didn't want to shed.

"..."

Roan froze in place, staring dumbfounded at Mary's face.

"I am grateful that you came for me, but that's that. Now, your highness, please move!"

The brown-haired girl gritted her teeth and tried to move past the blond prince, but he got in her way again.

"No! Mary, you will die!"

Roan shook his head and exclaimed.

"Then I will die with pride, just like any member of Hope family would, and not cowering down like some coward - escaping while they should stand up and fight! Anry! We're going!"

"?!"

Mary did not care in the least for his excuses and called her griffin that pushed past the blond prince with ease, making the young man trip and fall on his but.

"..."

The brown-haired girl spared him a single glance and looked away gritting her teeth.

*WHOOOSH*

The next moment the griffin flapped his massive wings and flew towards the sigil monster that already managed to regenerate more than half of its overall injuries and was actually trying to get back up.

"Mary..."

Roan stared after the brown-haired heroine, reaching his hand after her.

"Mary... no... I don't want to lose you..."

His hand and voice trembled.

"..."

Kopia tilted her head and observed the blond prince with an indifferent expression.

"...please...!"

Roan clenched his fist and gritted his teeth so hard that his gums started bleeding.

"Hooo... a Greed letting go of something they want, well, that's uncommon~"

"!!!!!!!!"

Kopia suddenly smiled and giggled, which caused the blond prince to flinch and go wide-eyed.

"I want...?"

Roan whispered, gulping down his saliva.

"...that's right... I want her... she's supposed to be mine..."

He lowered his head and started to mumble.

"...mine... mine.... mine... mine... mine..."

The blond prince repeated while his body began glowing with intense white light.

"...she is mine but because of that monster she is turning away from me...!"

Roan whispered and his body trembled.

Before Anry and Mary could even reach the griffin, Roan reached to his clothes and took out a simple-looking golden ring.

The next second the ring shone and a massive golden sword with a honeycomb pattern of yellow gems appeared by his side.

"...anything that stays between me and my love, will perish...!"

**********

Roan growled and the white light surrounding him suddenly turned so intensely yellow that it would put the bright gold to shame.

The prince grabbed the golden sword with one hand and stood up.

He raised his head, looking toward the sigil monster that regenerated enough to get back to its feet and...

*crack*

The ring in his hand disintegrated into nothingness and the first prince disappeared...!

"Te-he~! I am so smart~"

Kopia giggled and looked up towards the sigil monster, which head suddenly got illuminated by the bright yellow halo, all coming out from a single furious source.

"My prince...?!"

Mary, on top of her tamed monster, gasped in disbelief, seeing the blond prince suddenly appearing below her, right on top of the sigil monster's head.