Too Lazy to be a Villainess novel Chapter 221

Chapter 221: Escape into Ashes

[Dark Forest—Lavinia’s POV]

The blade hummed faintly in my grip, its edge pressed to the soft skin of his throat. The only light in this suffocating forest was the pale moon and... Marshi’s divine flames licking the shadows, turning every tree into a torch of judgment.

One push. One breath too sharp—Caelum Virell’s blood would water the ground.

He smirked through split lips, crimson glistening at the corner of his mouth. "I... never thought you’d track me down so quickly, Lavi."

"Lavi?" My laugh cracked like a whip, sharp enough to make even the night recoil. "How bold. Are you hoping to make me your friend now, Caelum? After betraying me all these years."

His chuckle rang hollow, brittle as glass about to break. Fear shimmered in his eyes, but arrogance still coiled behind it—the kind of arrogance that thought shadows would always offer him escape.

"I’ll admit," he rasped, "you’ve grown sharper. But cornering me here?" His smirk stretched thin, his trembling body betraying the lie. "That’s not the same as caging me. I’ve slipped out of worse."

I pressed the blade harder until it kissed blood. A droplet slid down the steel, gleaming in firelight.

"Worse?" My voice dripped like poison. "You scurried like a rat through the dark, Caelum. Tonight—" I leaned in, red eyes narrowing, "—the hunt ends."

He bared his teeth in something between a grin and a snarl. "The hunt ends?" His laugh rattled, ragged but laced with defiance. "No, princess... you’ve forgotten."

His gaze locked with mine, fever-bright, unhinged. "I am not some mutt to be collared, not prey to be chased. I—" his chest heaved as he roared, "—AM A WILD BEAST!"

Marshi growled, flames flaring higher, but Caelum didn’t flinch. Instead he leaned into the blade, blood streaking his throat, his grin feral. "And beasts..." his voice dropped, venomous and mad, "...are never hunted. They hunt back."

Before I could strike, his hand snapped down, clawing up a fistful of dirt—

FWOOOSH!

The world exploded in a storm of grit and ash.

"Ghh—!!" My eyes burned, my throat searing. Marshi reared back with a furious roar, flames sputtering under the suffocating cloud. I staggered, coughing, blade wavering as fire and dust swallowed the night.

"Cough—cough—!" Tears stung my eyes shut. Through the choking haze I heard it—boots pounding, branches splintering, and a horse shrieking as reins snapped.

And then—silence.

When the storm thinned, the space before me was empty.

Empty.

The bastard had slipped away.

"DAMN IT!!" My voice tore through the forest, raw with venom. "That bastard!"

Marshi snarled, flames ripping through undergrowth in furious streaks, but the trail was already unraveling into the dark.

I clenched my sword until the leather dug deep into my palm. My pulse thundered, rage tangling with something sharp, electric—exhilaration. He’d escaped again. Clever. Desperate. Slippery.

But not invincible.

"Run, Caelum," I hissed into the night, my smile colder than steel. "Run until your legs shatter, until your lungs collapse."

Marshi’s flames surged, gold fire roaring with my vow.

"Because no beast—wild or not—can outrun me forever."

I turned to Marshi and pressed my hand against his blazing mane. Heat licked my palm, but I did not flinch. A razor smile cut my lips.

"That bastard thinks he can play hide-and-seek with us, Marshi." My voice sank, cold and verdict-clear. "Let him. Because he’s forgotten—" I leaned toward Marshi’s burning eyes, my own red gaze flashing like wet steel under the moon. "...no one toys with a Royals and walks away."

Marshi answered with a low, seismic growl; the earth trembled beneath his claws, as if even the ground acknowledged my fury.

I sat up straighter in the saddle, cloak snapping like a banner, and surveyed the empty swath of forest before us. The shadows seemed to shrink from the light.

"Come, Marshi." My command was a blade. "Let’s drag him from every hole. Burn every shadow he hides in until there’s nowhere left for him to crawl."

A thin, venomous whisper slid from my lips: "Tonight... the wild beast will kneel."

ROAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!

Marshi’s roar cleaved the night, setting the treetops trembling. Flames spiraled with his fury, a tornado of gold that painted the woods in living light.

I cracked the reins and my horse lunged forward, hooves striking sparks from the earth. Marshi thundered at my flank, fire trailing his steps like a banner of war.

Into the dark we rode—not as hunters.

But as executioners.

***

[Osric’s POV — Everheart Estate, Midnight]

Knock. Knock. Knock.

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