Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116: The Awakening of Fire and Ash

[Lavinia’s Pov]

The moments after Soren ran felt impossibly still.

Too still.

The training field—once echoing with the soft clash of blades, Soren’s grumbling, and my not-so-dignified complaints—had fallen silent. But it wasn’t peace.

It was the wrong kind of silence.

The kind that holds its breath before something breaks.

I dropped to my knees beside Marshi, the grass cool and damp against my skin.

"Marshi?" I whispered.

Nothing.

Just that terrible, wretched sound in his chest—like something was tearing itself apart from the inside. It wasn’t a growl. It wasn’t a whimper. It was ancient, something primal, something wrong.

His muscles spasmed under his fur. His jaw clenched so tight I thought his fangs might shatter. And his paws—gods, his paws—they clawed into the ground like he was anchoring himself to this world.

Claws longer than I remembered. Sharper. Gleaming unnaturally.

I couldn’t breathe.

A faint glow—a flicker of gold—rippled beneath his skin like a buried star trying to break free.

"Marshi..." My voice cracked. "What’s happening to you?"

I reached out. My fingers brushed his fur.

And froze.

It wasn’t heat that pulsed beneath him. Not like fire. Not like fever.

It was... magic.

Buzzing beneath his skin like a storm waiting to happen. Alive. Untamed. Feral.

Marshi jerked once.

And then—his eyes opened.

Crimson.

But not the warm, soft crimson I’d grown up with. These were different.

They burned.

Like stars that had fallen out of the sky and had never forgiven the earth for catching them.

I flinched before I could stop myself. Just for a moment.

His mouth parted slightly. A soft, silvery mist slipped from his lips. Not breath. Not steam. Smoke. Like something old and powerful had been sleeping inside him—and had just begun to stir.

"It’s okay," I whispered, my fingers shaking as I stroked his neck. "I’m here, Marshi. You’re not alone."

He glanced at me then. Just a flicker.

And then his eyes fluttered shut again.

But the shaking didn’t stop.

Not even close.

The grass rustled behind me.

"Lavinia!"

I turned.

Brother Lysandre tore across the field like the wind itself had possessed him, his coat flaring behind him, his boots kicking up dirt.

"What happened? Where is—"

His gaze landed on Marshi, and his entire expression shifted. The panic drained out of him in an instant—replaced by something colder.

Something tighter.

Recognition.

He dropped to his knees beside me, his hand already moving to Marshi’s side, fingers glowing faintly with healing magic. But he didn’t cast it. He didn’t dare.

His voice was lower when he spoke again. Tense.

"...He’s gaining his powers."

I blinked. "Powers?"

Lysandre nodded, watching the tremors ripple beneath Marshi’s fur. "Yes. He’s a divine familiar, Lavinia. You know that. But even divine creatures evolve. Unlock parts of themselves. This—" he gestured at Marshi, "—this is an awakening."

Brother Soren, panting as he caught up, furrowed his brow. "But why now? He’s fully grown. Isn’t he late?"

Lysandre didn’t answer right away. His fingers hovered just above Marshi’s ribs, feeling the pulses of something far older than either of us could name.

"Yes," he said finally. "He is. He should’ve gained these powers years ago. During his adolescence."

"Then... why now?" I asked.

Lysandre’s lips pressed into a thin line. "That’s what worries me."

I swallowed hard.

I didn’t know why this was happening now—why Marshi’s powers were awakening so late, or what it meant—but none of that mattered at the moment. None of it.

All I could think was...

"I just want the pain to stop," I whispered, running my fingers gently over his fur. "He looks like he’s fighting something no one else can see."

Lysandre’s voice dropped low and gentle. "He is," he said. "And when it’s over... he’ll be stronger. More dangerous. More... true."

Stronger.

That word didn’t comfort me.

I didn’t want Marshi to be more powerful right now. I wanted him to be okay. I wanted his pain to stop.

I stayed beside him. I pressed my side against his trembling body. Folded my legs beneath me and laid a hand firmly on his chest. Right above his heart.

Anchoring him. The way he had always anchored me.

Around us, the whispers began.

Stable hands. Knights-in-training. Gardeners. Maids. Their quiet footsteps circled the training field like ripples on still water. Curious. Concerned. Cautious.

Then—

"Lavinia!" a voice called. Osric, now sixteen, rushed in, breathless. "What’s—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes landed on me, kneeling beside Marshi like I’d been carved into the ground. My hand still on his heart. My face too calm. Too still.

Osric’s breath caught.

He didn’t ask anything else.

He just stood there, watching, like the others. Silent. Reverent.

And then... What felt like an eternity finally passed.

The rumbling in his chest ceased. The shaking faded. His claws relaxed into the dirt instead of gouging it. And slowly—so slowly—his eyes fluttered open again.

He blinked at me once, as if to say, ’You’re one to talk.’

But everything about him had changed.

Gods, his eyes were different.

He looked at me not just as a companion. But as something meant for me. As if some ancient pact had just been fulfilled.

Lysandre nodded slowly, awe in his voice. "The protector of the realms. One of the oldest. The kind of beast you don’t summon... but who chooses you."

He moved.

He sprang.

BOING.

Marshi leapt straight into the air, did a very unnecessary twist, landed on all fours—and then took off in a zooming circle around the training field like a possessed celestial kitten.

"Playing?!" I squawked. "He just went full divine beast evolution form five seconds ago, and now he’s chasing his own tail."

Marshi skidded to a stop mid-field, his tail puffed like a lion’s and his face gleaming with pure, unfiltered joy.

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