Is The Super Famous Sorceress The Villain?

"Cough, cough… that idiot almost killed us with that attack," I heard Warren's voice, clearly irritated.

However… My vision slowly darkened; I could see things, but I couldn't make everything out clearly.

"Hey, Mila, how are you?" I could see Warren's expression looking at me with incredible concern in the thick smoke.

"Hey, Mila!" Warren started desperately searching for something in the pockets of his sports clothes, but I'm not entirely sure what happened because at that moment, I closed my eyes.

"Ah-ha! Here it is! Mila, hold on!" Warren sounded happy; it seemed he had found what he was looking for. But I no longer had any strength, so I gave in.

Since that Friday, my life has been a rollercoaster of emotions. On one hand, being so active excites me, but on the other, my life has been in danger so many times that I'm not sure if it's good or bad. Though I always try to keep a positive mindset. Hehe.

I wonder, if my brother were watching me right now… Would he be proud of me? Have I been living a life you'd be proud of, Milovan?

I kept hearing Warren's voice, as if it were far away. "Mila, hold on, hold on!"

Suddenly, I felt something on my lips… something liquid. Its taste was extremely sour. Huh? What is this?

All of a sudden, I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was Warren. His face was still worried, though he sighed in relief upon seeing me react.

"Don't scare me like that, idiot," he said in an annoyed tone.

"Huh? W-what happened?"

"That idiot Lara almost killed us with her technique. I'll deal with that brat later."

I looked around and immediately, my mouth opened in shock. The mall was completely gone; we were standing in a massive crater surrounded by metal bars, debris, and countless shards of broken glass on the ground.

Wow, that girl really was powerful to have completely eradicated the entire mall. She's definitely on another level. I heard Warren say earlier that she was a level three. If this is what a level three can do, then a level five must be able to do far more dangerous things!

"Do you feel better?" Warren asked.

"Y-yes, I'm better," I replied. Upon hearing me, Warren sighed once more in relief, but—

Chop!

"Ouch!"

Warren hit me on the head.

"H-hey! Why did you do that?" I complained, rubbing the spot he hit.

Warren stared at me, and I could feel the irritation in his gaze.

"In the park, I told you to stay put, but you didn't listen!"

"B-but it was because of Gris! I had to rescue her; I couldn't just stand by and do nothing…"

Warren kept staring at me intensely, without doubt in his gaze. "I get that, Mila, but you can't be so impulsive," he replied, a little calmer. Then he continued, "Listen, if you keep acting like this—hey, what are you doing?"

Gulp, gulp. I was drinking from a small bottle Warren had in his hand. "Ahhh, this is delicious!" I said, feeling full of energy. The sour taste was my favorite.

"Haaa… I see you're a lost cause too…"

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Huh? What is what?"

"This!" I pointed to the little bottle I had been drinking from.

"Oh, that's a—"

"A…?"

Warren's face suddenly tensed. His lips lost color, and though his skin was already pale, it somehow looked even paler.

"Hey, Warren, what's wro—? Hey!"

Warren grabbed my wrist tightly and started running desperately, exhaling hard. What had him so scared? I wondered.

Suddenly, Warren threw me violently toward a small pile of rubble. "H-hey, wait!"

The speed was so great that I raised my hands to shield myself from the impact… but to my surprise, I didn't crash into anything.

"Huh? What happened?" I opened my eyes cautiously and saw that I was in a completely different place.

Everything was purple; there was nothing around me, just me. But when I turned to the right, I saw a square, like a screen projecting the place I had just been in—the destroyed mall.

"Where am I? Warren…? Mmph!"

A hand covered my mouth. When I turned, I saw Warren's face filled with fear.

"There's no time to explain. We're in the Shadow World," Warren said, breathing heavily. "If you don't want to die, Mila, stay silent!…"

Now that I think about it, earlier he said he could transport objects as long as there was a shadow! So by throwing me into the rubble, does that mean we're inside of a shadow? I wanted to ask so many questions, but Warren's hand didn't allow me.

However, I would soon understand the urgency of his actions.

Thud! Like a lightning bolt hitting the ground violently, a figure descended at great speed.

The person started searching desperately through the rubble until the dust began to clear. That's when I could see her clearly.

Blonde hair, purple eyes, a cape with epaulettes, and a black skirt with a white stripe. It was Dasha Vienna, frantically searching.

Warren's hand trembled even more.

Tap, tap, tap. Agents from the special forces arrived, accompanied by someone else. It was a girl wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, a long black skirt, and short black hair. She wore white gloves. It was Katrina Erlenbaugh.

The agents communicated something to her, and she lifted her hand, signaling for them to leave. Only she and Dasha remained.

Dasha fell to her knees before Katrina, her voice shaking and pleading. "Katrina, I—"

"Silence, Dasha," Katrina ordered, raising her hand. "Did you capture the sorceress?"

Dasha trembled at the question. "I… Katrina, I promise next time I will—"

Slap! Katrina slapped Dasha with such force that a bit of saliva flew from her lips.

"I asked you a question, Dasha. Did you capture the exorcist, or did you fail me again?" Katrina's dark eyes were terrifying.

Dasha lowered her face, trembling even more. "N-no… I couldn't get here in time…"

It was then that I remembered Dasha's face on the TV screens that day, and I understood why she had that fearful expression. She wasn't afraid of the robberies; she was afraid of the monster standing in front of her… Katrina Erlenbaugh.

Warren's hand trembled with even more intensity, and something in my heart told me I was about to witness another horrific episode of the true face of the person I once loved.