Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

’If it’s not a natural disaster, could it be man-made?’

Paige Summers’s mind raced with wild theories as she searched the area for Sweetie.

Sweetie hated being confined and hadn’t wanted to enter the city, so she hadn’t forced it. Now, she was regretting that decision immensely!

「Inside Southreach」

Colin Koenig was directing the City Guard to help evacuate the residents, while Keith Preston personally commanded The Power Corps, trying to find a way to stop the Vortex.

Defense was impossible. The only option left was to go on the offensive.

But when he ordered his people to strike the Vortex with their various abilities, he discovered something even more terrifying!

The Vortex... it was growing larger!

That approach was a dead end. He quickly ordered his subordinates to stop.

The only thing left to do was salvage as many supplies as possible!

Beyond that, they were completely helpless against the phenomenon.

After observing for a while, however, he discovered that the Vortex was advancing very slowly. It would only move on after sucking up everything underneath it—stones, dust, and all—until the ground was bare.

This meant they had time to escort the evacuees, but salvaging supplies wasn’t proceeding as smoothly.

After all, Space Ability Users were few and far between, and their storage dimensions weren’t large to begin with—typically just a dozen or so cubic meters. It wasn’t even enough to hold one family’s belongings, so they could only grab the most important items.

Residents could carry their own Crystal Cores, of course, but their stockpiled food was another story.

It was agonizing for him to watch as meat that couldn’t be packed in time, edible plants, family cabinets, and other daily necessities were all sucked away by the Vortex one by one.

In an apocalypse defined by shortages of food and clothing and by fluctuating hot and cold temperatures, how were people supposed to survive without anything to eat, wear, or cover themselves with? Whatever reserves The Government had were nowhere near enough to go around!

The Vortex was like a bottomless black hole, instantly swallowing all hope of survival.

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous mountain pass south of Southreach, another strange phenomenon was occurring. It was another Vortex, but unlike the one in the sky over Southreach, this one was on the ground!

Another difference was that this Vortex was grayish-white, and it even seemed to emit a faint glow.

Five people sat cross-legged around the oval-shaped Vortex.

A faint light emanated from their bodies, and their hands, held before their chests, were formed into strange hand seals.

At the entrance to the pass, two men in black stood guard.

One of them was none other than Sanford, the Rovarian who had once colluded with Leo Joyce. Beside him stood his apprentice and subordinate, Theodore Pierce.

The two lay motionless at the entrance of the pass. After a long while with no activity, Theodore Pierce finally relaxed, a smug look on his face. ”Master, no one’s coming! I told you, those idiots would never detect Mr. Sherman’s Magic. They probably think it’s just a tornado! Lying here is exhausting. Can I move around a bit now?”

Sanford shot him a glare but ultimately agreed with him.

”Just sit up and stretch your arms and legs. Don’t make a sound!”

”I know.” Theodore Pierce rubbed his stiff back and peered curiously into the pass. ”Can Mr. Sherman’s Magic really transport all of that stuff to the island?” he whispered.

Sanford nodded. ”It should. Didn’t you look into the Vortex earlier? All sorts of things were appearing—food and various supplies. We’re just a relay station here; there are others on the island casting magic to receive everything. The scene there must be spectacular, with supplies raining down from the heavens!”

Theodore Pierce couldn’t help but marvel, ”That’s amazing!” Then he muttered, ”If only I had a superpower that could tear through space!”

Sanford shot him a cryptic smile. ”Silly boy. That’s not just a superpower. It’s Mr. Sherman’s family’s Telekinesis Technique. Otherwise, the leader wouldn’t have spent so much time and effort bringing Mr. Sherman and his disciples to Astoria.”

As he spoke, a flicker of resentment crossed his face. If Sherman had arrived earlier, he could have coordinated it with his own meticulously laid plans. While the goods were being moved, he could have unleashed the Zombies he had psychically cultivated to cause chaos in the city. It would have caught those Astorians completely off guard, making them lose both lives and resources!

But now...

Because Sherman had delayed his arrival, Sanford had been forced to release his Zombies early to complete the leader’s mission. As a result, while he did manage to kill some Astorians, he lost control of all his Zombies, and his secret base on Mount Gorrow was destroyed!

Years of his hard work had been wiped out in an instant. The loss was so painful his heart felt like it was bleeding.

’Now that Sherman is here... Hopefully, I can redeem myself through this mission. Otherwise, the leader will most likely punish me severely...’

A chill ran down Sanford’s spine just thinking about it.

The leader was not a merciful man.

Aside from beautiful women, who might receive some small favors from the leader, no one else could expect such leniency.

Theodore Pierce, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking so deeply. He was used to simply following his master’s orders, so after stretching his limbs, he returned to his prone position.

After a moment’s thought, however, he asked again, ”Master, all those Eldorians are dead, so the payment they promised us is gone. Won’t the leader blame you when we get back?”

Sanford waved his hand, annoyed, and didn’t answer.

His collaboration with the Eldorians had started as a deal for Crystal Cores. Later, it was because they claimed to have grain seeds developed by the Astorians. Those seeds were, of course, extremely important. It wasn’t that Sanford hadn’t tried to get them for himself, but he had failed repeatedly and even lost a few of his men in the process.

’But thinking about it now, those Eldorians were probably lying to me!’

’How could they possibly have had them?!’

As Sanford considered this, his brow gradually unfurrowed.

It didn’t matter whether they had truly been lying. He just had to decide that they were.

They were all dead anyway.

This way, as long as he could transport plenty of supplies back this time...

The leader probably wouldn’t say another word about it.