The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 263 - The Escape Begins

He stared up at Shuna, his eyes wide, the fog of the dream suddenly clearing.

[Though I don’t know why, it’s definitely gotten easier to break free from the dream.]

[Easier than the first time, easier than the second time, and even easier this third time.]

[Maybe the mountain of lies is finally crumbling under its own weight, unable to sustain the dream’s reality anymore.]

[Or maybe...]

[The sweetness of the dream can’t hide the blood and fear underneath.]

[The world in front of me feels paper-thin... like I could poke right through it with a finger.]

[But still...]

[This kind of life...]

Will glanced at Treya’s silhouette, crouched down in the dim candlelight, her diaphanous dress barely visible. She wasn’t the same helpless girl anymore, overwhelmed by her siblings’ schemes.

Now, she stood strong, independent, and incredibly reliable.

She does love you.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t whisper sweet nothings in your ear day and night. She wouldn’t grant you, imperfect as you are, a life of happiness. She wouldn’t have brutally dismembered the person who hurt you.

[Is it really so unacceptable?]’

[...]

His mind spun, unable to land on an answer. Lingering thoughts from a dream he couldn’t fully wake from were just chaotic whispers.

Unless...

There’s some “external force”—an alarm clock, maybe even your nagging mom—to physically pull you out of bed—

Wait, what was Treya looking for here anyway?

If she’s searching for someone hiding in the room...

Will took two steps back.

And then...

He looked up.

It wasn’t a conscious decision, more like a deeply ingrained reflex.

Shuna.

What is she doing here...?

Ugh!

A sharp pain, like a nerve being yanked, shot through his head—felt like it originated from his memory center.

The instant he saw Shuna, especially her long black hair and dark eyes...

An image surfaced from the deepest, most distant corners of his memory—

An image that predated even the “memories” and “life” Treya had fabricated for him, supposedly starting from the moment he was born in this world.

And because of that...

Shuna seemed to bypass the dream woven by Treya’s “demonic” power...

Yelling right into his ear— “GET UP ALREADY, YOU IDIOT! ARE YOU GONNA SLEEP FOREVER?!” —she yanked him back to reality.

Awake.

Will’s deep blue eyes snapped open, sharp and clear—completely different from before. It felt like waking up refreshed and energized after a long, satisfying sleep.

Holy crap.

Instead of relief at “being awake,” Will’s first clear thought was—

Did I actually consider just staying asleep here forever?!

That’s not something I would ever think! How did that happen?

It seemed Treya hadn’t just trapped him in a simple dream this time; she’d tried to pull even his deeper, distinguishing thoughts into the illusion.

Thank goodness...

Shuna showed up just in time.

—Shuna, my savior!

She wasn’t the type to randomly sneak into the palace. Appearing now almost certainly meant she was here to rescue him. She wouldn’t just be here because she thought palace thievery sounded fun... right? Wait, actually, she might be that kind of person.

“Shu—na—save—me!” he mouthed silently, testing.

Shuna read his deliberately spaced words and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

So she had been worried he’d actually prefer living like this. Guess not.

Right.

A happy grin spread across her face.

That’s the Will I know.

Screw up? Sure. But even after screwing up, he’s the kind of stubborn loser who’ll fight tooth and nail to make a comeback.

Yeah, she couldn’t just leave him like this, especially since she planned on investigating the dungeons’ biggest secrets with him. How could she abandon him here?

Though unsure why he’d failed so spectacularly, Shuna decided, under the principle of “might as well since I’m here,” to get him out—

Seeing Shuna’s grin, Will understood they were on the same side now.

The entire exchange took less than ten seconds.

“Three—” Shuna mouthed, holding up three fingers.

“Two—”

Will nodded. Their synchronicity needed only a shared countdown.

To execute a perfectly coordinated plan!

“One!”

Now!

“Treya,” Will called out.

“Hm?”

The instant Treya turned her head towards him, Will blew out the candle.

“Will?!”

Treya reacted incredibly fast. The moment the candle went out, she shot up and turned, trying to grab Will’s hand in the darkness.

But she missed.

Even half-elf eyes struggled to adjust instantly from bright light to pitch black. By looking at Will and the candle just as he extinguished it, she had fallen right into his trap.

In that moment, she couldn’t see a thing.

Thump—

She only heard and felt someone rush past her.

When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw only moonlight—Will, who had been standing behind her moments ago, was gone.

“So, the filth really was here...”

She heard the door being kicked open. Her brow furrowed calmly as she drew the black Shadow Wraith Sword Will had given her from her waist.

Moonlight glinted off the blade as she dragged the sword, step by step, towards the door.

Tap-tap-tap-tap—

Rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway, receding into the distance. Treya looked downstairs as the sound ascended the spiraling staircase.

“......”

She remained silent, but her frown deepened with clear anger. Following the sound, she descended the stairs.

Finally, her footsteps halted on the first floor.

“Looks like she went downstairs.”

—Meanwhile, Will, hiding behind the door, peeked out. Confirming the floor was clear, he carefully closed the door and stepped out.

“And... she didn’t come back up.”

After a brief pause, Will glanced outside again. He could see Treya talking to the knights.

For now...

Victory.

He took a deep breath.

Treya had been lured away.

Since arriving here about three weeks ago, this was the first time he’d successfully escaped her “surveillance.”

As for why they were still on the third floor and who had actually left—

Simple. Shuna had just thrown an echo device. In dungeons, such tools were often used to lure away specific mobs to avoid combat or split enemy groups.

Seeing Shuna use it, Will realized for the first time that it could work on people too—and perhaps even better on “certain people” than on monsters. freēwēbnovel.com

After all...

If anyone among the ‘Morning Star’ group knew the least about dungeon strategies, it was definitely Treya.

Leah had strong academic knowledge, Eir had learned a lot by following him, but Treya...

He hadn’t intended to teach her much about “dungeons” back then, knowing her survival depended more on navigating the royal court.

Except, that plan...

He looked over at Shuna beside him. She wore the same clothes they’d bought together, hood up, her long hair, as usual, messily tucked between the hood and her shoulders.

Even so, thanks to Shuna’s natural beauty, she looked stunning even without much effort.

Her dark eyes shone sharply in the dimness, like an owl’s.

Right. Even after nearly two weeks of being asleep, his coordination with Shuna was as smooth as ever, just like during their two weeks adventuring together.

And...

She was still as strong as ever. Even against Treya, who theoretically had “S-rank” power, Shuna could infiltrate her territory undetected.

This is a protagonist.

She felt very similar to Shu from the original story—always reassuring, the stable “support” type, the team’s reliable fallback.

Except, Shuna wasn’t just mentally stable; she was also much more cheerful.

Just as Will thought this, Shuna spoke.

“Oi, mission accomplished?”

Shuna flashed a bright grin and raised her arm.

Getting ready for a high-five.

Whenever they succeeded in a dungeon run, he and Shuna would always celebrate with a “high-five, fist bump, handshake” sequence.

Okay.

Even though this was just the first phase, and they still had to figure out how to escape the “palace”—Treya’s domain—it still counted as—

“Mission accomplished,” Will replied with a small smile, slapping his palm against hers.

The next move should be...

Will formed his hand into a fist mid-air, but Shuna’s fist never met his.

Instead, what he received was...

A surprisingly soft and warm hug.

!?

As he reached out, Shuna pulled his hand and drew him into her embrace.

“Shuna?”

The usually cheerful Shuna said nothing. All he could hear was her heartbeat...

Thumping wildly at first, thump-thump-thump-thump, then gradually slowing down to a calm rhythm. Her breathing followed suit, evening out from rapid gasps to a steady pace.

Back within a normal range.

Even the mentally stable Shuna wasn’t completely immune to emotional fluctuations.

At least...

The change in her heartbeat was noticeable...

From the “surprise of reuniting” to the “relief of confirming his safety.”

Right.

For him, it felt like waking up from a “two-week” dream, not a huge time gap.

But Shuna...

Must have genuinely not seen him for at least three weeks.

During that time, she probably only saw news about him in the papers.

He hadn’t even managed to send a single letter out from the palace in his own words.

No, forget letters.

He hadn’t even been able to remember her.

At least...

Her worry for him was real.

Shuna slowly released Will, looked him up and down, tapping her chin.

“Whew... Haven’t seen you in a while. You still look the same, but...” she paused dramatically.

“...Have you gained a little weight?”

“...Ahem, the palace... the palace food is just too good, can’t help it.”