I will not die a Villainess's death

*Slash*

The incoming claw was barely avoided by Serina before she attacked back in defense. It caused the monster behind her to retreat in pain and look toward Serina with a hesitant look in its eyes.

She could almost believe it to be intelligent if she did not know how monsters behaved in real life. Those cautious eyes were just afraid of dying.

"Lexus, do we need to run away like this? I am sure we can take these small number of monsters with ease."

Serina suggested as she fended off a few more monsters. Her success was piling up and that made her happy. It proved how much she had improved in her skill level.

It was not long ago that she had been someone who had been utterly dependent on others. But now she was able to fend for herself quite easily. 𝒇𝒓eewe𝒃𝑛𝒐𝘃𝒆𝚕.co𝘮

"You fool. You can take two or three monsters but we cannot kill a horde of these monsters easily. Besides, I don't think these are monsters. They don't feel malicious."

Now that Lexus had said that, Serina noticed the oddities as well. These monsters were not attacking them but defending the lands.

It was as if they were trying to drive out the intruders and they had even spoken the common tongue that Lexus and Serina could understand. Perhaps these monsters were someone you could reason with.

It was weird and impossible to think of but it was one that still moved to the forefront of Lexus's mind for one second.

And then he started running again as the huge white building came into notice. And with that alternative in place, Lexus knew what he needed to do. He quickly entered the perimeter of the building and watched as the other monsters stopped outside.

Now that the intruders had been driven away, the monsters in front of them lost interest in the situation and started to go back.

And just like that, Lexus and Serina had managed to survive this tense situation.

"Oh, you both are children. You don't look like you are locals but the temple is willing to accept everyone in need. Hurry up and come in now so that we can look after you."

Lexus felt his heart jump in his throat as he faced the priest. He had yet to learn where the man had appeared and what he wanted from the pair.

But the enthusiasm he showed was certainly not normal. And to welcome strangers in was weird as well. This temple felt like a scam group to Lexus.

"Hey, are you sure we can trust this man? I don't feel like trusting him so should we leave now?" 𝐟𝓇ℯ𝐞𝚠𝚎𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵe𝚕.co𝚖

Serina seemed to be getting the same weird feeling as him. The building in front of them was new but it was also unsettling for some reason.

"For now, we should comply with the priest. I don't think we are in any position to argue with the priest."

Lexus needed more information and this temple seemed like a good place to start. Elysia had once told him about his place and she had said that the temple was a good place to be.

She had also said that the temple was the best place to get help for commoners and her best friend worked there as the Saintess. As long as Lexus could get to the Saintess, he was sure he would be able to find Elysia.

"You are lucky to have survived the enchanted forest's outskirts. Most people die once they go there but you both must have incredible luck. Or maybe it is the Saintess's blessing that you made your way here."

The priest spoke, not having a filter to keep the information out of his mouth. He was so open that Lexus doubted he would be able to pull off some kind of scheme in the future.

"The Saintess? I thought she was always in the temple. Does the Saintess travel a lot?"

Serina, who did not know much, was asking the questions Lexus wanted to ask. The priest had a worried and pinched expression on his face as he faced the pair.

"Ah, you both must be too young to know. Listen, don't tell anyone but the temple and the Saintess are going through a rough patch. As a result, she is not often in the temple. Look, there she is."

Lexus looked toward the female the priest was pointing toward. It was a beautiful lady with flaming red hair and striking blue eyes. She was fair and her complexion shined with divine light.

There was no doubt that the saintess carried a certain presence with her every step but she was not Lexus's type.

Then there was the white-haired and golden eyes youth at her side who was as beautiful as the Saintess. But Lexus got a feeling that she should never anger that man if he wanted to live.

"That golden eyes man is-"

"Emperor Adam. He's a good man and a justified emperor but the way he treats the Saintess is just…."

The priest trailed off from there, his expression conflicted before he debated whether he should speak of this matter or not. But then he decided to speak about his doubts anyway.

After all, no one could stop someone's love for gossip. Especially someone as bored as the priest.

"There was a rumor that the Saintess and the emperor fancied each other but then the emperor married a no-name noble and had a son. It caused the relationship between these two to break and then the queen also disappeared."

"Now that I think about it, it's weird. I don't think I remember the queen's name or what she looked like."

Lexus did now know why he had a feeling that the queen was Elysia and she had someone managed to find herself in some kind of trouble already.

"It would be so much like Elysia to have done that. Now, what are we going to do?"

Serina's words caused Lexus to take notice of the situation as well. Now that Elysia was missing, it would complicate the plan for Lexus. He also doubted that he would be able to make his way to the emperor or the Saintess easily.

Even if the two of them looked harmless and easy to approach, things would not be so easy for the pair. They must have been guarded quite heavily currently.

"Anyway, I should make my way in now. The Head Priest needs me for something, so I cannot stay here any longer. Feel free to use any of the facilities we have since it's what god would have wanted for you."

The priest left the pair alone and now they had to plan something out.

"What should we do now?"

Serina asked, looking at the temple's building. Lexus thought about what they could do next but there was just one thing that crossed his mind.

Even if everyone else forget Elysia Dirac's existence, there was one person who would never forget her. And that had to be her brother - Lucas Dirac. Lexus had no idea where Lucas was or how to get to him, but that was something they had to do.

"We will be looking for Lucas Dirac. Hopefully, he will be willing to hear us out."

Lexus was not sure if things would work out that well for him but he was hopeful. They would finally be able to make some kind of progress.

"Good idea. But there is one big question regarding this. How are we going to find Lucas Dirac's whereabouts and how are we going to get to him? It's not like you can just walk up to him and talk to him."

Serina made a good point as well. Lexus was well aware that their circumstances were not ideal. But this was what they had to get done one way or the other.

"Ah, you are looking for Lucas Dirac? I think I can help you with it. But only if you tell me who you are and how you know of Elysia Dirac. You see, I am oh so curious about her you see."

Lexus tensed as he got ready to attack the speaker. But the fox-lady seemed relaxed but Lexus had a feeling that they would be killed if they attacked her without any external preparations.

"Hey, you are not going to get us into trouble, right? Who are you anyway?"

Serina looked at the shrewd fox lady in front of her. Her purple eyes were looking at the pair and evaluating them both.

"My name is Sara. Now, if you want me to help you all, you both better keep your mouth shut and follow after me. Also, don't trust the temple at all."

Lexus and Serina changed and exchanged their looks with each other before they looked at the fox lady. They were going to cooperate with her this time.

"Alright, we will follow after you. But if you cross us, then we will lose your life as well."

Three pairs of eyes clashed with each other, evaluating each other's worth.