I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 150: The Arrival of Jest’s Father

Chapter 150: The Arrival of Jest’s Father

Rumble, rumble, rumble! 

“Whoa! C-Captain, isn’t this shaking kinda bad!?”

The entire cave began to tremble. Simon, who’d never experienced an earthquake, cried out in alarm.

“It’s shaking, yes. But fortunately, the ground seems solid. No stones are falling from above, and it doesn’t look like there are any signs of a cave-in. We shouldn’t get buried alive. Still, I’d advise against exiting through this passage.”

“Glad you’re so calm and dependable, Captain! I wouldn’t go out there even if you ordered me to! I don’t want to get caught in a dragon’s breath attack!”

I wasn’t exactly calm. But I’d experienced similar tremors of around magnitude five in my previous life. And if things were truly dangerous, Jeanne and Jest were bound to me by our familiar contract. They wouldn’t just leave me behind. 

Suddenly, the shaking ceased. And amidst the steam clouding our vision from the evaporated underground lake, a large, dark shadow—likely Jest’s father—came into view.

“The shaking stopped…we’re safe…”

Simon looked relieved. But I couldn’t relax at all. If Jest’s father had been brainwashed by the Evil God and started fighting Jeanne, the cave would collapse for sure.

“Damn you…! It’s inefficient, but I’ll kill you right here and make a sacrifice of your corpse!”

Roots, like tentacles, shot out from Trent and extended towards the dark mass that appeared to be Jest’s father.

“Father!!”

Jest’s scream echoed, followed by a loud crash. The impact blew away the steam that had been obstructing our view. It revealed a jet-black dragon, about the same size as Jest.

It seemed the dragon hadn’t been hit by Trent’s attack; rather, Trent had been crushed by a swiping tail. But, as expected of an Evil God’s lieutenant. Even as Trent’s body was mangled, he staggered to his feet.

“D…damn you! If it’s come to this…O Evil God! I offer you my life!”

With that shout, Trent plunged one of his roots into his own body.

“Gah! Hah… This body, which has lived for thousands of years like an ancient dragon… With this, the Evil God shall be reborn…ugh…”

With those final words, Trent crumbled to pieces. He disintegrated like decayed wood.

This twist wasn’t in the original novel. How did the Evil God’s resurrection scene go again? I’d read it countless times—I should remember it!

“Captain! Look! It’s collapsing over there!”

Simon said in a panicked voice that barely sounded like his own. He pointed to where Jest and the others stood. The sculptures deep within the cave were crumbling one by one. Memories flooded back to me.

“If all the statues symbolizing the gods are destroyed, the Evil God will be resurrected…!”

“What!?”

In the novel, once the statues of the sealing gods were destroyed, a wickedly beautiful woman, the Evil God, appeared and began to spread ruin. It was as if an enormous, invisible hand was crushing each statue in turn.

“Jeanne! Jest! The Evil God is about to be resurrected!”

I yelled towards Jeanne and the others, who appeared to be deep in discussion. Jeanne and Jest chanted a spell and returned to their human forms. While Jest’s father, still in dragon form, continued his conversation.

“Vandière! Are you alright?!”

As the statues were half-destroyed, Ernest and the others arrived through the passage we’d come through. At the rear of the First Knight Order, I spotted Orel and the Saintess. With this, we had the means to oppose the Evil God. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Crown Prince! We’ve eradicated the Evil God’s lieutenant. But if all the statues are destroyed, it’s likely the Evil God will appear. The dragon over there is Jest’s father, so he shouldn’t be our enemy… I think.”

“What? Where’s this dragon?”

“Huh…!?”

I turned at Ernest’s question, only to find that the massive black dragon was gone. Instead, there stood the human-formed Jest and his father. My heart skipped a beat. He looked…just like my father from my previous life. Or rather, like an older version of myself. It was almost as if my father was standing alongside Hinata.

“Why…? There wasn’t any taming or familiar contract…”

“Vandière?”

“Ah… Crown Prince, we don’t have much time, but I’ll go check the situation over there. Have the Saintess prepare herself—the Evil God could emerge at any moment.”

As we talked, the statues continued to crumble one after another. I sprinted at full speed toward Jest and the others.

“Jeanne! Jest! Are you alright!? And… that form… Jest’s father, what exactly is going on here?”

“Oh, you see, Mom suggested that if Dad was going to take on a human form, he should make us look like father and son in human form too. How is it? Do Dad and I look like human parent and child?”

Clinging to me, Jest explained. Sure enough, since both Hinata and I resemble my father, making Jest’s dad look like Hinata means he’d end up looking like me…or my dad.

“I…uh, yes. From any angle, you two look like a human parent and child.”

I glanced at Jest’s father with mixed feelings. He was smiling, but I could feel a clear hostility in his gaze. 

To him, a human who’d made familiar contracts with both his wife and child would be nothing but an annoyance. But seeing that look on the same face as my gentle father…it hit harder than I’d expected.

“Hey, don’t you dare glare at Master like that, Kuro! Jest and I both willingly entered familiar contracts with him. You’re not even a useful fighter right now, so go wait over there with the humans.”

“…….Fine.”

Hearing his voice, my heart skipped a beat. If his facial structure was similar, it made sense that his voice would be too. But it was so startlingly close to my dad’s voice—the voice I thought I’d never hear again.