I will not die a Villainess's death

Serina was frozen in fear as the huge beast headed her way. She was not ready to take on such a big challenge alone.

She might have suggested going after the bigger prey in the surroundings but that did not mean that Serina could handle them herself. She had been counting on everyone to contribute to taking beasts down.

But this sudden change in momentum caused her to falter.

'I-I am certainly going to die here. I can see those huge jaws separating my head from my body if I close my eyes.'

Serina had a vivid imagination ever since she had been young. It had been a cause of her joy as well as sorrow.

But right now, all it gave her was a deep-rooted sense of fear that she could not shake off.

Those huge canines were heading toward her and Serina closed her eyes. Maybe if she did not see the death coming then it won't hurt that much? It was wishful thinking but that was the best Serina could do right now.

Despite her mature behavior and thinking, Serina was a child where it mattered and it showed in her current thinking process.

Thick liquid dripped onto Serina's body and she waited for the bite to come and end her current life.

A few seconds passed when nothing happened but Serina did not count her lucky stars yet. But when a minute passed, she could no longer ignore her curiosity. She finally decided to open her eyes.

Warm blood was coating her face and her body. It was thick and unlike any blood Serina had seen before.

The beast lay dead in front of Serina's body, its huge claws separated from its furry body inches away from Serina's face.

"W-What happened? How am I still alive right now? Who saved me?"

Serina had a lot of questions and she only needed to look around to get answers. But her body was paralyzed due to the near-death experience she had suffered from. She could not even lift her head to see the face of her savior.

Whosoever had managed to kill this beast in a matter of minutes could not be a normal human being.

"Serina, snap out of it. You are the only person who is conscious right now so you will have to help me gather everyone up."

Elysia's familiar voice snapped from Serina's right and she felt tears of relief hit her eyes. She knew who had saved her and Serina could finally let go of her fears.

She was safe.

"I-I did not mean for this to happen. I j-just wanted to prove myself to everyone and…."

"Serina, it is not time to be crying. Your regrets can wait later but these kids cannot. We need to take them to a safe place or they will become food for other creatures."

Serina knew in her heart that Elysia was right and she was not saying all this to make her feel bad. But her emotions could still not take all that scolding.

Tears ended up falling down Serina's face even as she picked herself up. Guilt circled her mind while sorrow circled her heart.

"Serina, I know that you are feeling bad but your feelings can wait for now. These people likely cannot wait around. That beast was venomous and these people will die soon."

Serina quickly snapped out of her daze as soon as she heard that threat of death. She had never wanted someone to die by following along with her plan. She had just wanted recognition from the elders.

"W-What should I do now? H-How can I help."

Serina was still a little out of it but she finally seemed to be coming around. She was ready to do what was needed.

She might have a dislike for Elysia but Elysia was also the only one she could rely on for now.

"First, calm down and follow along with me. Your core magic specializes in defense, right? Create a barrier around the group and I will defend you all in the meantime."

"B-But, what about-"

"It will be alright. We have our guides looking after us if something does go wrong. I am confident that Lexus will be able to take care of any life-threatening threat."

Serina felt her nerves calm down as she heard Elysia's words. Serina had never liked adults or those people who behaved like adults.

In her experience, adults never came in handy and only liked to flaunt their authority because of their age. They were not worth considering.

"H-How can you remain this calm even when the situation is like this? Do you not feel afraid of the unknown or that things could go wrong? How can you be so confident that everything will be alright?"

Serina questioned as she felt her heart give a painful tug. This situation was getting more and more out of control of her emotions.

"Calm? I am far from being calm right now. I feel stressed and worried about what would happen as well but I cannot allow it to take hold of my feelings. That is why I emptied my mind of any worry. It's all because I am the adult here."

Even Serina knew that Elysia was not an adult by any means. Calling her an adult had just been a way to insult her for being older and so mature.

But maybe it was not her age but her actions that defined Elysia as an adult. It was so reassuring to have her with them right now.

"Serina, barrier up. Put the barrier up right now."

Serina pulled her barrier up without paying attention. Her body put out as much energy as it could afford to save everyone.

The energy filled Serina's being and she felt lighter than she ever had before. Unexpectedly, she was having a breakthrough in this matter of crisis.

"Serina, are you alright?"

Elysia asked as she dashed through the enemies like they were made out of paper. Her lightning-sharp moments managed to cut through them all in a matter of seconds.

Serina had never believed in the rumor about Elysia's skills but she had to admit it now. Elysia was too good at whatever she did.

The energy was shining around her body as lightning snapped around her. The beasts seemed too scared to come close to her and the others.

Serina tried to feel Elysia's energy to know more about what kind of core Elysia had. But the energy felt neutral to her probing.

It was behaving unlike any kind of spiritual energy Serina had ever seen before.

Soon, the end of the test approached and the bell rang. But the monsters did not leave. Serina was drained of all her energy but she still tried her best to keep the barrier up.

Her vision went in and out of focus as she tried to force more energy out. She was on the verge of a deviation already but Serina could not allow herself to fall.

"It's alright now. You can allow yourself to rest. The test is over so I will take care of these annoyances soon."

Serina wanted to ask how Elysia would do that. Did she even have enough energy left to cast more spells?

As Serina's vision blurred and her mind forced her to rest, she watched Elysia being covered by light. It was spreading around the ground and killing off the beasts.

It was strong and it should have been scary. But all Serina felt was warmth and safety. She felt like she could leave everything in Elysia's hands from here on.

"Y-You better be alive by the end. I won't forgive you if you di…ed…"

In the end, Serina lost the battle to sleep and her eyes closed. Elysia watched that happen as the clearing was devoid of any external beasts.

She knew that it was only a matter of time before Lexus would come here and scold her for releasing her power carelessly.

"But still, wasn't these beasts not supposed to be here? It was too much for a kid candidate to handle."

The only reason Elysia had gotten started on these larger beasts was that the smaller ones did not like to approach her. They were already afraid of her predator aura and liked to avoid her.

That was also the reason she had been assigned to team 3 as the leader.

The elders of the noble families might not like Elysia but they did acknowledge her.

"This incident was not normal. I better tell Lexus about it."

Elysia had a feeling that all these accidents were not actually accidents but deliberate attempts to harm them. And as such, this was of utter important for Lexus and the elders to know.

"Elysia, I got your signal and I saw the recording as well. I cannot believe these beasts managed to slip past our notice. I wonder what is making this world so agitated to birth these monstrosities."

The thing was, Elysia had an idea why these beasts were showing up and she didn't like what she was thinking about.