The Sponsored Heroines Are Coming for Me

The whole world turned red.

The ground, the trees, the grass, the rocks.

Everything was dyed red, as if covered by a blood-colored filter.

And then, everything stopped.

An infinitely silent stillness.

— Click.

A sharp footstep sliced through the silence.

Following the elegant yet sensually curved line of a high-heeled shoe, the gaze naturally rose, taking in a black dress that clung seductively to the curves of her legs as it fluttered.

And in one hand, she lightly held a whip.

Pale white fingers, bare shoulders.

A beauty sculpted into human form, perfected by a subtle, wicked smile curling at the corners of her lips.

Even her jet-black hair was breathtaking.

— Click.

But above all else, it was her endlessly blood-colored eyes.

Looking into them, there was no doubt whose domain this was.

The ruler of this space—

The Blood Witch stood before Two.

His entire body was frozen in place, only his lips moving with a shocked expression.

“You, you b*tch!”

It was a pitiful response, considering he had barely managed to force out the words.

Even more so because it had come from the mouth of the second strongest warrior of the Bloodstone Cult, now completely immobilized.

“Why so startled, Two?”

“How… how did you do this?”

“What do you mean?”

“How did you stop me?! I—I’ve never fallen for your strange techniques before!”

No. Perhaps he was no longer the second strongest of the Bloodstone Cult.

Considering how he was now frozen like a statue, it was clear that the Blood Witch was stronger than him.

Her lips curled into a knowing smile.

A faintly raised corner—

A smile that only the truly powerful could wear.

She spoke to Two in a gentle tone, as if explaining something to a student.

“We instinctively listen carefully to our opponent’s heartbeat.”

Her fingers touched Two.

His pulse quickened ever so slightly.

Her lips curled further.

“For someone like you, a high-level expert, it’s even more pronounced. Naturally, you were listening to my heartbeat without realizing it, weren’t you?”

“D-damn it!”

“Yes. It makes for an excellent hypnosis trigger, don’t you think? You were drawn in without even knowing it.”

…As expected.

He had noticed that her heartbeat was different from usual.

It had been beating rapidly, almost as if she were afraid—

But knowing the Blood Witch, a being without fear and driven purely by desire, it was obvious that it had been intentional.

The reason he hadn’t fallen for her spell was because he had sensed it beforehand.

“You wretched woman!”

Two shouted.

And for once, he completely agreed with his own words.

The Blood Witch—

She possessed an innate understanding of human instincts and, at the same time, instinctively wielded them to her advantage.

Unorthodox, unpredictable.

One of the many reasons why it was fortunate that she wasn’t his enemy.

“Thanks for the high praise, Two.”

“You damnable wench! I’ll kill you somehow! I’ll rip your limbs apart, you hear me?!”

Another reason was that she was infuriatingly skilled at provoking people.

Having successfully driven Two to the brink of fury, she smiled and stepped right up to him.

“Your words are far too crude.”

Her fingers lightly touched Two’s lips.

“Ghhkk!”

A mouthful of blood spewed forth.

His voice dropped lower, hoarse and ragged.

“Blood Witch, you… you cannot do this to me!”

Two spat out blood, his golden eyes gleaming like those of a wild beast.

Yet the Blood Witch was unfazed.

Even as his body gradually regained some movement, he was still within her domain.

She tilted her head to the side.

A playful gesture.

“Was there ever a reason I shouldn’t?”

“Have you forgotten our past?”

“What past?”

“I was the one who picked you up when you were dying in a brothel!”

“Ah… Ahaha.”

The Blood Witch laughed as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

As her shoulders quivered in amusement, her long, dark hair swayed gracefully.

“And wasn’t it simply to drain my life force? The amount of blood I offered you over the years would be enough to fill several jars.”

“That was natural compensation for raising you, you ungrateful wretch!”

“Was it really just that?”

Still smiling, the Blood Witch began to recount, one by one, all the things she had endured under Two.

Each time, Two’s expression darkened.

Had he finally realized he would die here?

Enraged, Two shouted.

“I should never have taken you in! You were a disaster from the start!”

The Blood Witch covered her mouth and laughed.

A refined, elegant smile.

“You’re mistaken, Two.”

“What?”

“You didn’t pick me up.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Her pale fingers extended gracefully.

From Two’s forehead to the crown of his head—her hand hovered just above him.

At the tip of her finger, a drop of blood formed.

With a smile, the Blood Witch murmured.

“It was I who chose you.”

— Drop.

The droplet of blood touched the crown of Two’s head.

And with that, the blood-red domain faded away.

◆

— Whooosh.

The wind blew.

The ominous red aura that had filled the air dispersed, carried away with the breeze.

Standing on the vibrant green grass—was the Blood Witch.

Beneath her hand, Two had vanished without a trace.

She turned to me, smiling.

“How was it? My revelation?”

She didn’t seem to be fishing for praise.

It was just curiosity. Her obsession leaned more toward seeking attention than affection.

Even so, admiration slipped from my lips.

“It was incredible. Compared to the time-stopping technique you used before, this one felt… far more overwhelming.”

The blood-colored space had appeared suddenly.

Not only had movement stopped within it, but within that domain, the Blood Witch truly felt like the absolute ruler—capable of doing anything.

If this were a game, it would be as if she had every possible buff applied to her.

“As expected. You noticed it. Impressive.”

I wasn’t sure how the conversation had shifted to praising me, but the Blood Witch continued explaining.

“This was a manifestation of my mental image. Since I stand within my own manifested world, it is only natural that everything moves according to my will.”

Ah.

A phrase from the Bloodstone Cult’s secret techniques surfaced in my mind.

An externalized domain of the mind.

I had only skimmed through it, but seeing it in action like this…

That meant not only the Blood Witch but also the Cult Leader could use this technique.

A terrifyingly powerful ability.

Stopping time might be unique to her, but even without that, simply having complete dominance within the domain was devastating enough.

As if they weren’t already in the realm of absolute masters, now they were getting stat buffs on top of that.

“How large is the range?”

“Hm… I suppose I could extend it to cover a small city.”

Her domain could freeze time.

Meaning, she could bring an entire city to a halt.

…What kind of monster was she?

Then again, she was the Blood Witch—one of the Three Overlords of the Bloodstone Cult.

When I looked at her anew, she simply smiled.

“But compared to me, you are even more brilliant and magnificent. You remained unaffected within my domain, didn’t you? Ahh… my judgment was right after all.”

Breathing heavily, the Blood Witch stared at me with fervent interest.

Suddenly, I recalled what she had said to Two earlier.

That it wasn’t he who had saved her—

It was she who had chosen him.

…She really wasn’t a normal person.

But there was no time to dwell on that now.

‘How far has the final chapter progressed?’

At last, I had reached the final scenario.

The problem was figuring out just how much of it had already played out.

Unfortunately, I had never experienced the final scenario before.

Neither had any other player of Fantasy X Academy.

Forget clearing it—most players had abandoned the game midway through the story.

Thus, I had no information about the final scenario.

‘But I can make deductions.’

I just needed to work my way backward from the information I had gathered so far.

[Final Chapter]

Let’s keep the name simple for now.

The most crucial element of any scenario was, of course, the boss—the ultimate objective.

> Final Boss: Cult Leader (Blood Demon)

Naturally, the Final Boss of the Final Chapter would be none other than him.

Of course, no scenario leads directly to the Final Boss right away.

In Fantasy X Academy, there were typically two major mid-bosses before reaching the final confrontation.

> Intermediate Boss 1: ???

> Intermediate Boss 2: ???

Mid-bosses, huh…

I paused to think.

Two seemed like the perfect candidate for one of them.

The second-in-command of the Bloodstone Cult.

The one right below the Cult Leader.

He was a fitting mid-boss.

The problem was figuring out whether he was Mid-Boss 1 or Mid-Boss 2.

Some might say the order doesn’t matter, but…

‘If Two was Mid-Boss 1, then that meant Mid-Boss 2 would be someone even stronger than him.’

It was a difficulty issue.

At that moment, something the Blood Witch had mentioned in passing resurfaced in my memory.

I turned to her and asked,

“You mentioned something before about the Cult Leader’s minions. What exactly did you mean?”

“I don’t know the full details myself. But I’ve heard rumors that he’s planning to summon something on the level of a Demon’s Servant from the Void.”

A gut feeling struck me.

That must be Mid-Boss 2.

Damn it.

This was exactly the kind of Final Chapter I expected from Fantasy X Academy.

There was never an easy path forward.

But in a way, it was a relief.

I—no, to be precise, the Blood Witch—had already eliminated the first mid-boss.

By removing such a major piece from the board, the situation outside should have improved, even if just a little.

Danya, Silvia, Elena, Lina…

My companions’ safety.

I had to rejoin them as soon as possible.

“We need to escape. But the cultists will be swarming in, won’t they?”

The Blood Witch nodded.

“We shattered the barrier spectacularly. Of course they’ll come.”

“How much of the Bloodstone Cult’s forces are left here?”

“About one-third of the cult’s total power.”

That was a lot.

This was going to be a brutal fight.

Just as I was bracing myself—

—Kuuuuung!

A thunderous noise echoed from above.

“?”

We instinctively looked up.

No—everyone in the cult’s stronghold must have looked up at that moment.

After I had broken the barrier, it had started to restore itself naturally, covering the gap with a thin film.

But now, that film was cracking violently.

“Oh… right. We’re underground.”

The earth above must have become too unstable.

The ceiling was starting to collapse under its own weight.

Screams erupted from all around.

But for me, this chaos was an opportunity.

“This way. I know a way out.”

Without hesitation, I followed her lead.