AROML 08

Chapter 08 …

“Ugh…… cough.”

I slumped down and cleared my throat.

I had almost been hit by debris from the pavement—only barely managed to dodge it at the last second……

“Lowell. Are you okay?”

“Ugh… I think I’m fine……”

That was thanks to the grape-head.

Right before the black mist swung at me—

‘This bastard grabbed my collar!’

Because of that, my neck got briefly strangled, but it was better than having my face crushed.

Still, looking at the scene in front of me made fear creep in.

“What is going on?”

Black mist was swirling in a circular motion around the heroine.

Wherever the mist touched, it split open as if sliced by a massive blade.

‘Wait! Is this a black magic rampage?’

It was something that occasionally appeared in the original story to drive events forward.

A phenomenon where a person affected by black magic becomes emotionally unstable and goes on a rampage powerful enough to collapse everything around them.

But for that rampage to happen in the middle of the imperial palace?

‘And it’s happening to the heroine?!’

No, there was no reason for the original plot to deviate this much.

Grape-head glanced at me from the side and asked.

“Lowell. Do you know any magic?”

“Me, me? Only basic stuff……”

“Tch.”

……Did he just click his tongue at me in this situation?

But there was no time to get angry.

The black mist extending from the heroine was rapidly approaching.

“Pinley! Move!”

I shouted urgently and turned around—but grape-head was already casting a spell.

He stretched out his wrist, and a purple flash burst toward the black mist!

It seemed effective; the black mist slightly scattered.

Grape-head looked back at me and shouted irritably.

“Run. Get inside the building!”

I immediately turned and ran toward the building.

“Hah… huff……!”

A strand of mist that grape-head had missed was chasing after me.

‘If I just close the door, I might be safe!’

Allison was looking outside through the corridor window.

The moment I grabbed the door and pulled it open—

“Hey, where do you think you’re going!”

“Ugh!”

Allison shoved me backward!

She was so strong I was flung straight back.

Bang!

At the sound of the door slamming shut, I lifted my head—

the black mist was hissing like a snake, charging toward me as I lay there in front of the door.

‘F*ck!’

I died in a traffic accident in my past life, and now I’m going to die in some occult disaster in this life?

Bang!

But then a loud blast rang above my head, and the black mist scattered like dust.

My eardrums rang sharply.

“Ugh……”

Still, all my limbs were intact, so I should be grateful.

‘What just happened?’

Did grape-head chase after me and help?

But the voice behind me was……

“Lowell!”

“Ma—!”

The male lead.

The male lead had come to help.

I pointed toward where the heroine and the sub-male lead were, gasping for breath.

“Right now! Yuriana—!”

The black mist sphere was growing larger and larger.

At this rate, both of them were seriously in danger.

The male lead stared straight ahead.

“Cover your ears and get down, Lowell.”

“Yes sir!”

I immediately covered both ears and crouched flat.

‘I have no idea what he’s planning!’

A silver pistol appeared in the male lead’s hand.

And without hesitation—

Bang!

He shot the heroine.

‘……Huh?!’

In an instant, the genre of this romance office fantasy completely changed.

Into a blockbuster full of gunfire.

The bullet fired by the male lead hit the black mist surrounding the heroine dead-on, but……

Crackle!

After a sharp breaking sound, the bullet only wrapped the mist in white light before disappearing.

It could not reach the heroine beyond that.

The male lead gritted his teeth beside me.

“At this rate… it’ll take her lifespan.”

“W-what?!”

What! Is this actually a “heroine dies” ending?!

I could barely see her figure, but the mist was getting thicker and thicker.

The male lead ran toward her while shouting at me.

“Lowell. Get out of here!”

“Y-yes sir!”

I scrambled to my feet, but—

where could I even run?

‘It’s already everywhere……!’

Trees touched by the mist had withered completely.

Some pavements had cracked into fine fragments.

‘The only safe place is the building.’

But the door Allison shoved me away from was already tightly shut.

There was nowhere left to escape.

‘Then……! Is there no way to stop the heroine’s rampage altogether?’

At that moment, grape-head’s attack briefly cleared the mist, revealing Yuriana clearly.

‘Huh?’

A white stone was floating near the heroine’s heart.

It had no shine, bone-like and eerie……

My eyes widened instantly.

‘That’s the core of black magic!’

The origin point where black magic is released.

A condensed mass of mana that amplifies human emotions!

Because it is so highly condensed, it becomes unstable—so if it takes even a small shock, it stops.

‘In theory, anyway. But why is it visible like that?’

Wasn’t it supposed to appear only after the black magic was fully dispelled?

‘Whatever! I’ll think about it later!’

Just then, the male lead was rescuing someone about to be struck by the mist.

I ran toward him, and his face immediately twisted.

“Why didn’t you run!”

“There’s nowhere to go! More importantly, senior!”

I pointed again toward Yuriana, briefly exposed as the mist was struck.

The white stone was still floating near her heart.

“Can you see that?!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Senior! Near her heart—how can you not see it……!”

“Lowell, are you trying to kill Crosswell……!”

“I’m not trying to kill her! I’m saying there’s a core there!”

“……!”

“If you touch it—!”

I didn’t even know if he would believe my sudden claim.

But the male lead immediately adjusted his stance and nodded.

“Lowell. If I create an opening, can you reach it?”

“Me?!”

“I can’t see it—so it’s even more dangerous!”

“But—!”

You expect office workers to do something like that?!

‘If I touch that, won’t I get infected too?’

Meanwhile, the black mist covered the heroine again, and the male lead began firing bullets into it.

Bang! Bang!

The mist staggered slightly, but—

“Run!”

The command that followed was terrifying.

‘Damn it!’

I dreamed of a comfy easy life, so why are my legs running for their lives now?

I shouted toward the heroine, who looked ghostly pale and almost corpse-like.

“Yuriana!”

But she seemed unable to hear anything—her eyes had turned gray.

Meanwhile, the strange white stone was shining even brighter.

As if it were sucking her lifespan away!

I slowly approached her and reached toward the stone.

‘Ugh, it’s hot!’

The moment the stone slipped into my hand, I grabbed it tightly and pulled.

Then the black mist melted away like snow.

“Hah… huff……”

I collapsed onto the ground.

My hand was burning in pain, and adrenaline was racing through my veins.

‘The heroine……’

Thud.

The last black particles vanished, and Yuriana, who had been floating midair, collapsed to the ground.

I crawled over to her.

“Is she… dead……?”

“She’s not dead.”

A tired voice came from behind.

Grape-head walked over, wiping sweat with his sleeve.

“Grape… Pinley!”

“You…… what’s that in your hand?”

“Huh? Ah. This?”

Was he talking about the black magic core?

I opened my hand and looked at the stone, tilting my head.

‘Huh? Was there always this pattern on it?’

It looked like a black crescent moon……

But grape-head’s voice changed.

“How did you know there was a core there?”

“Huh?”

“Even people from the Magic Tower can’t easily see it.”

His black eyes flashed sharply.

For the first time, I truly felt he was also a sub-male lead, and I instinctively shrank my shoulders.

The male lead also approached at some point.

“Lowell……”

The male lead’s red eyes stared straight through me.

I alternated between looking at the two men staring down at me and swallowed dryly.

My survival instinct whispered:

I thought I’d be living an easy, cushy life…

but it looks like everything has already gone to hell.