Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 24

Chapter 24

"Huff!!"

Regina gasped sharply. Staggering up while holding her brother, she urgently grabbed the hem of my robe.

"Miss!! You have to run. That man is a flame mage!"

"Yeah. He is..."

Flame... Puhah! Flame mage, huh. Ha, haha!!!

I want to laugh!!! I want to roll on the ground and laugh my heart out!!!

Flame? Flaaame? Not a candle mage?

Flames did rise, but the firepower was pathetic.

Let's see. One, two, three, four, five, six? The count wasn't bad, but with that firepower, you couldn't even light firewood.

"No! This can't be! How could such flames!!"

Crazy bastard...

Kali covered his mouth with both hands and pretended to be startled, stepping back.

Hey. Hey. Put your hand down. You're smiling!!

"Mwahaha!!! It's too late to beg for mercy now, you bastards. I'll turn you into ashes first!"

Huh? It was Kali who raised your blood pressure, so why are the sparks flying this way? You coward!

I stepped in front of the children and pulled out my club.

Deflecting these weak candle-flame attacks was nothing compared to fending off Kali's ruthless, wide-range fireballs.

"Tch, Bibi! Don't eat that tasteless stuff."

I stopped Bibi, who was flicking his tongue toward the faint flames.

"Let's go ask Dad for something tasty later, okay? Bibi, stay here and guard these kids."

"Woof!!"

I nudged Bibi between the two children and easily knocked down all the flames in the air. The leader's triumphant expression turned to confusion.

Every time I swung my club, it cut through the air with a whoosh. I spun it menacingly and approached them.

"The boss's magic...!"

"Wh-what was that just now?"

"This girl...! What trick did you pull!!"

"Ever since earlier, it's been 'girl,' 'bastard,' 'brat,' 'wench'... Hearing that makes a girl want to swing a club, you know."

I wanted to crack their skulls, but no matter how high I raised my arm, I couldn't reach their heads.

"You bastards!!"

With a series of pops, larger flames appeared in the air than before.

"I told you it's useless!!"

At my words, the alley instantly turned into chaos. While I deflected the incoming fireballs, Kali slipped between the men, avoiding my club.

The most important factor in casting magic is mental strength—unshakable concentration, composure. Something like that.

In other words, if you can shake the opponent, their magic won't activate.

"Aaaah!!!"

Like those men.

Having dropped right in among them, Kali threw punches without a word. Since it was a bit too violent for children to watch, I quickly told the siblings behind me to close their eyes.

'Why is he acting like that? He was so calm just now—why is he so worked up?'

When thirteen-year-old Kali ran wild, I'd never once thought he was scary. But now was different.

Maybe because he was taller with longer limbs, every swing of his hand made a heavy thud. His sharply honed eyes carried a hint of bloodlust.

The sight of Kali rampaging so violently was unfamiliar—for a moment I nearly stepped back. Even though he could have subdued them with magic in one go, Kali was solely focused on throwing punches.

I stared blankly at him grabbing the collars of thugs who were clearly unconscious and punching their faces, then urgently called his name.

"Kali!!"

Whether he couldn't hear me or was ignoring me, Kali kept beating the unconscious men.

'He's not in control.'

Realizing that sent a chill down my spine.

Wait, what was I just thinking? Why do I need to control him?

Of course, I wanted him to grow up without going astray. But I didn't want to manipulate or control Kali to fit my preferences.

"Kali! You'll really kill them at this rate!"

"So what if I do?"

"What?"

"Why not?"

He slammed the man in his grip to the ground and shook off his bloodied hands. Turning to face me, his expression was filled with confusion.

"They're trash. They've probably trafficked people more than once."

For a moment, it was as if Irein stood before me.

You're not even Irein's biological brother—why are you growing up just like him...!

I knew that explaining social contracts or morality here would go in one ear and out the other. This place treated people at a standard far lower than my own moral baseline.

"You said you'd help these kids. We need to treat them."

Kali's gaze shifted to the huddled children.

"Hm. Sure."

I let out a sigh of relief as he left the sprawled men behind without a second thought—but then Kali suddenly stopped.

"Kali?"

"Oh..."

Kali's gaze dropped downward. Following it, I saw something dark faintly gripping his ankle.

"Uh, uh... Leo! What are you doing?"

Regina seemed to know what it was and scolded Leo.

"A shadow. It's quite well-formed. Did someone teach you how to use magic?"

I narrowed my eyes and looked closely—a single pitch-black hand was clutching Kali's ankle.

"Interesting. Can shadows burn too?"

"Hey!! Don't burn it!!"

Leo, burrowing into his sister's arms, wiggled his fingers.

"Leo."

When I called his name gently, Leo looked up at me.

"That big brother isn't a scary one. He's not exactly nice... but he's on our side for now. You don't have to be afraid."

That seemed to be the right answer, as the shadow hand gripping Kali's ankle disappeared.

"Kali, you too. Why were you so angry? Loosen up your expression. Did those guys say something to you?"

"What? You call that 'something'?"

"Huh?"

"They attacked you."

"Those candle flames were technically an attack, I guess..."

"It doesn't matter. Whether it was a candle flame, a pebble, or sand."

The reason he went berserk like a mad dog was because that man had targeted me?

Where did the young Kali who used to glare at me sharply and throw tantrums whenever I said something go—leaving only a grown man making my heart pound for no reason?

I need to snatch that bracelet off him soon.

"I'm sorry! Leo, apologize too. I told you not to use magic carelessly on people!"

"...I'm sorry."

'A shadow hand.'

That unique magic hadn't appeared in the original story. It seemed like it could be useful if properly mastered.

Kali must have thought so too—he crouched in front of Leo with a delinquent posture and spoke.

"You've got a good thing there."

Why does he look more like a villain?

Kali reached out and ruffled Leo's hair roughly. Even though he noticed Leo's shoulders tense up in fear, he didn't stop.

"If you have something like that, why did you just stand there and take it? If you'd grabbed those guys' ankles and tripped or broken them, at least your sister wouldn't have been hit."

"What are you teaching a child?"

Is that really something to say to a scared little kid?

"I've, I've never used it that way..."

Though scared of Kali, Leo answered him obediently.

"Then try it. Practice using it that way. Now, get up. Get up and help your sister."

At Kali's words, Leo shot up. Regina, watching Kali's cues, stood up straight with her younger brother's support.

"Um, thank you. Miss, young master. We don't know what would have happened without you two... Thank you so much."

"Regina, do you have somewhere to go?"

"Ah, no."

Regina's face darkened. If they returned to where they'd been, they'd have to go into hiding for a while.

There was no telling when those men—unconscious but alive—might come after Regina and Leo again.

"Leo, Regina. I can find you a place to stay—if you're willing, would you like to follow me?"

"Huh? You mean us? But we have nothing..."

"Even if you have no skills, it's fine. You're still young—you can learn anything."

I met Regina's brown eyes. Sparkling with the hope of survival, her gaze held resolve.

"We'll follow you. Miss!"

I smiled softly, glanced at Regina once, then lightly tapped the back of Kali's head as he crouched, staring intently at Leo's shadow.

"What are you doing? Get up. Let's go back."

"Hmm."

Kali was staring into the alley where the men lay unconscious. His gaze made me uneasy—I was about to peek in to see what was there, but Kali suddenly stood up and blocked my view.

"Ah, what?"

"Stop dawdling. Let's go."

"It was you who was dawdling. Ah, fine—don't push."

Ugh, that feels unsettling.

He's not doing something behind my back, is he?

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