Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

It wasn’t that she didn’t want him to gain more abilities, but this Crystal Core, after all, was from another human—from Sheldon Reid. The very thought of absorbing it made her deeply uncomfortable, as if that man’s life were continuing on through it.

If she had a choice, she really didn’t want Marcus Monroe to use it!

Just as she was feeling relieved at his softened stance, Sean Raines, who had been warily watching Marcus Monroe from behind her, suddenly spoke in a lighthearted tone. ”Yeah, I think you should just give that Crystal Core to me as a thank-you gift. You know, I definitely deserve a lot of the credit for you waking up safe and sound. You wouldn’t be stingy enough to refuse, would you?”

’This is bad!’

The moment she heard him speak, Paige Summers had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, by the time he’d finished speaking, Marcus Monroe’s recent softening had vanished, and his mood had clearly soured.

He narrowed his eyes at Sean Raines and stated bluntly, ”I refuse!”

Caught completely off guard, Sean Raines was dumbfounded. His mouth hung open, and for a moment, he was too stunned to speak.

’Did he have to be so ruthless?!’

’I did save your life, you know!’

’He’s really changed so much!’

Back in the day... Sean Raines rubbed his forehead, a headache coming on. ’All right, so the old Marcus definitely wouldn’t have given me the Crystal Core either, but he absolutely wouldn’t have made things this awkward!’

’In other words, what he’s missing probably isn’t just his feelings for Paige Summers, but also his social graces, and who knows what else...’

’What a disaster!’

Sean Raines decided it would be best for him to part ways with Marcus Monroe sooner rather than later.

’Otherwise, who knows? One of these days, the guy might just decide he doesn’t like me, and if he doesn’t have to worry about Paige Summers, he might actually try to take me out!’

For a moment, the three people in the cave were each lost in their own thoughts, and silence descended.

Paige Summers closed her eyes for a moment, then turned her head toward the cave entrance. ”Sheldon Reid’s men—the ones he sent out looking for people—are back. There’s a lot of them. Let’s deal with the situation outside first. We can talk about the Crystal Core later.”

With that, she was the first to charge out.

Sean Raines shot Marcus Monroe a look, then followed.

Watching their two figures depart one after the other, the-left-behind Marcus Monroe pressed his lips together in displeasure. He felt a sudden, vague discomfort somewhere deep inside him.

’He didn’t actually want the Crystal Core that badly; it was just that the energy fluctuations within it were somewhat appealing to him.’

’But the way those two acted, it was as if they’d planned it, teaming up to keep the Crystal Core for themselves.’

’That really pissed him off!’

’Paige Summers... was supposed to be *his* woman!’

’Even though his current self didn’t feel any particular closeness to her—or anyone, for that matter—his memories told him she was his. And that they had been extremely intimate!’

A cold huff escaped his throat, and Marcus Monroe darted outside.

Outside, the battle was already underway.

The men who had been sent out to find Chubby had returned one by one. In fact, the first two Superpower Users to come back had already been ambushed and eliminated by members of the Orange Team. The remaining seven were still stubbornly resisting, refusing to give up.

The fact that their opponents could come and go from the cave as they pleased made the implication all too clear.

’The Young Master... He was probably killed by them!’

At this thought, the eyes of Sheldon Reid’s subordinates turned red. Every move they made was a desperate, all-or-nothing attack.

Therefore, despite being at a numerical disadvantage, the Orange Team members couldn’t finish them off immediately.

It wasn’t until Paige Summers, Sean Raines, and finally Marcus Monroe joined the fray that they fell, one by one, resentful to the last.

The bloody battle that truly marked the end of it all was over in less than an hour.

The scattered corpses were piled together and burned without ceremony. Among them was a skeleton. The tattered scraps of cloth clinging to it allowed Paige Summers to recognize it as the remains of Chubby, which must have been brought back by those men.

As for the cave where Sheldon Reid had once lived, Eric Xen stepped forward and used his power to collapse it completely, burying it for good.

The huge commotion drew out the Mutant Beasts from the surrounding mountains.

But right now, neither Paige Summers nor Marcus Monroe had any desire to fight. The members of the Orange Team were utterly exhausted. They all made the same decision: head back to Silvanus Base.

Paige Summers hesitated for a moment before calling Sweetie over and climbing onto its back.

”I’m still not feeling well, so I’m going to go on ahead. I’ll wait for you all at Silvanus Base,” she said to Marcus Monroe. Unconsciously, her attitude had become somewhat distant.

Honestly, she didn’t know how to face Marcus Monroe in this situation. His iciness showed no sign of thawing, and he treated her little better than a stranger.

Even though she knew it wasn’t his fault, she couldn’t help but feel hurt.

Besides, there was no longer any danger. His superpower had advanced, and he himself had become even more calm and collected. There was no way a situation where he could be ambushed would happen again. So, this was a good opportunity for her to take some space for herself.

Sure enough, Marcus Monroe merely glanced at her before nodding in agreement.

A shadow passed through Paige Summers’s eyes. She averted her gaze and said, ”Sweetie, let’s go. Back to Silvanus Base.”

Sweetie was flapping its wings, about to lift off, when a figure suddenly leaped on, landing squarely behind Paige Summers. ”We came here together,” Sean Raines said with a pout. ”You can’t just leave me behind!”

Paige Summers’s hand froze for a moment. She finally reached out to stroke the neck of Sweetie, who had dipped under the added weight. ”Let’s go,” she said.

Sweetie gave a cry and obediently flew up into the sky.

Sean Raines turned his head to wink at Marcus Monroe. When he saw the gloomy look his stunt had provoked, he smiled in satisfaction and turned back around.

Paige Summers sighed to herself. ”Why did you have to do that?”

Sean Raines shrugged. ”I realized that whole thing with the Crystal Core backfired, so I’m trying to make up for it.”

”Make up for it?” ’This is what you call making up for it?’

”Yeah. Didn’t you notice? He’s not completely emotionless. At the very least, he gets upset when I get close to you. We can ignore the degree for now, but it’s obvious this method can be used to stimulate him.”