The villainess will survive!

Part 86: Explosion

Right now, the only way out we had was to somehow stop Ivy and her pet. 

Clearing out my mind, I took a deep breath. 

The Principal had already set aside the task of calming down nobles, which would take a long time, to drag Nurse Molly away. 

"Molly, this is no longer a concern of mental instability, it's lives."

Nurse Molly had a few cuts on her arms and faces from the mana shards that bounded back to her, and eventually nodded her head in resignation. 

She knew what she could do, and what she couldn't. 

She may have unbeatable knowledge and skill in medical subjects, but magic in terms of defence or offence wasn't her range of knowledge or practice. 

"For now, our priority is to calm those nobles down. I'll help." 

The Principal helped her get up, and they walked into the crowd of angry and scared nobles banging at the entrance. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know the situation is dire, but I'll have to ask you to believe in us. The Academy will waste no effort in stopping the explosion, I guarantee that all of you will walk out alive today." 

This only ignited more fury within the crowd, because clearly, to them, it didn't seem like they had everything under control. 

I wasn't close to middle of the ball where Ivy stood, having been displaced by people rushing for the door, so I couldn't exactly see the situation there. 

But the bird definitely wasn't a weakling, and it would definitely be hard to take down. 

I rushed to the middle of the ball where the time-ticking spell was currently residing. 

Adriana was shivering in pain, the blood leaking from her arms and legs visible to all. 

Ivy seemed unresponsive to even that, mana still whipping out uncontrollably. 

Onii-sama had already set down his formerly-made spells, and was yelling for Adriana to stop her attempts at still believing that Ivy could be taken down peacefully. 

"My Lady! I ask you sincerely to stop! I know that you cherish Ivy as a friend, but don't you see how— surely, you can feel those wounds, right?"

If Ivy could be considered unresponsive to all actions around her, then Adriana would be the exact same save for the girl in front of her. 

Was she so bent on pulling Ivy from her madness that she couldn't even bother to those cuts and hits?

Somewhere deep within my mind where I wasn't focused on the casualty, I marked this off as true friendship, something the original Roselyn had likely never experienced. 

Sometime after Onii-sama spoke, Ivy's hysterical laughter started once more, filled with more lunacy than ever. 

"...Not even you, Big Brother........." 

Onii-sama froze right on spot, eyes wide and pupils dilating. 

His lips started to shiver, and he forced out, "T-that's not what I meant......." 

As a bystander, I could only watch as this scene unravelled before me. 

"LIAR! YOU LIAR! YOU NEVER CARED ABOUT ME ANYWAYS!" 

At this moment, Ivy's dark mana exploded completely and aimed directly around her. 

Luckily, everybody had already evacuated far away from her and to the door. 

Except Adriana and Onii-sama. 

Adriana was pushed to the side, still conscious but clearly not being able to move much. 

But Onii-sama, face plastered with guilt, stood standing there with no plan of dodging away. 

I knew I had to move, and so I did and pushed Onii-sama out of the hitting range while taking a few lashes myself. 

I grunted in pain while holding my slashed right shoulder, but still in relief that it did not hit Onii-sama too hard. 

"You said.......You told me you would always be standing on my side, when we were little." 

A small whisper, barely audible unless you were close enough like me and Onii-sama. 

"I....I really didn't poison anyone.....I swear....I really didn't....." 

My mind was stuck between this newfound knowledge and the fact that clarity had once returned to her eyes. 

But good things don't last for long, because the dementia sat back into their places again right after. 

I spared a second to look at Onii-sama, who looked like he wasn't doing much better than the person in front of me, except with a more sane expression but guilty nevertheless. 

It must have hit harder than it affected me.

While I only took this as an uncovery of the original otome game, to Onii-sama, it must have been as if a whole different perspective was unlocked. 

I didn't say anything to him, knowing that I wasn't very welcome in their sibling business, but I couldn't help but worry a bit about Onii-sama's state. 

Looking sideways on the other side to my shoulder, I did start panicking a bit, being reminded of the poison that flowed through my blood-veins. 

If I didn't get artificial healing soon, with this big of a wound, I was most likely to bleed to death. 

If not being blown into bits first, that is. 

I hurriedly summoned a fire attacking spell with my left arm, despite it not being my dominant arm and not being as familiar with it. 

This was when I truly regretted not practicing and training enough with my non-dominant hand. 

My right arm was currently probably difficult to use right now due to imbalance of mana, namely the injuries. 

I didn't want any spells backfiring on me because I failed to cast it, so I chose the safer option. 

Right now, I didn't have the heart or preparation to shake Onii-sama out of his trance, so I decided to do it myself instead. 

Aiming a deadly spell while barely missing Ivy by a hair-length, it hit the bird, allowing another screech to come out of its mouth. 

I couldn't let it to finish filling the spell with mana, nor could I yank Ivy directly out of there in fear of hurting her like a flower being pulled out of the soil. 

But just like the first time, a flicker of burnt smoke winded up in the air but the yellow - almost blinding - form of the bird looked absolutely unaffected. 

I gritted my teeth, and turned my head to snap Onii-sama back into reality, whom was far more talented than me.

But just before I could even open my mouth, a small plea entered my hearing. 

".......Ivy......please......I beg you......snap out of it...........I know you're really not this kind of person.........." 

Adriana clung on Ivy's robes, despite not being able to stand and a trail of blood flowing behind her kneed position. 

And it seemed, that at these words, Onii-sama also managed to stand up with the guilty expression wiped out off his face.