My Wife is a Dead Villainess, and I'm Her Living Weapon
Chapter 141: Mistake

Chapter 141: Mistake

The guild receptionist was so surprised her jaw was practically on the floor.

Seeing the exaggerated response, Elian couldn’t help but chuckle. While their antics have placed his faction on the map, they were relatively unknown. The Big Three were not just big because they had the strongest breakers; it was also due to their political and social influence.

He glanced at the faded posters on the wall. Generations had grown up believing the Big Three were Earth’s guardians. They’d grown so large they eclipsed governments. Compared to that, Crestfall’s recent defense was just a small event.

How would one join the Weapons? What benefits would they get? Would the Weapons protect those fleeing from the Big Three? What is their goal? Unless such questions were answered, their faction would not be an actual organization but a wild mob.

Sigh, I suddenly miss Bianca. She loved worrying about this stuff. But she might need a full day or even a week to recover, so I can’t wait.

The receptionist, having regained her composure, forced a smile—and immediately launched into a tirade.

"Please don’t waste my time with nonsense," she snapped. "The Weapons are so enigmatic that even the Crows don’t know anything. There are only two names tied to them—and unless you’re Elian Reed or Bianca Valestra, I suggest you leave."

Her words were sharp, but Elian didn’t take offense. He saw the stress carved into her face. Her shoulders were too small for the weight she was carrying.

He took a moment to consider things from her perspective.

She’s trying to do her job. The city’s lost its Breakers, it’s blacklisted, and monsters could arrive any day. She didn’t run—either out of duty or because she hasn’t accepted it yet.

Nodding in understanding, Elian could see how that would put anyone in a bad mood.

"Charade, human."

At his command, his body shifted—rising in height, ripping through fabric, his iconic features coming back in full.

The receptionist went pale.

"E-E-Elian... gulp... R-Reed..."

He smiled and pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh. Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

"YES—ACK!" In her panic, she bit her tongue and teared up. "Der’s a spase in da miting rum—pleise folluh meh..."

Despite the pain, she bowed and did her best to gesture politely toward the back. Elian followed.

"Charade, Lucian Alvestra."

Elian transformed once again like a chameleon. But as he ripped the clothes he was wearing earlier. He quickly made a simple pair of pants and shoes from Living Metal and a ashen shirt from Dominator.

Unfortunately, the shirt he crafted matched his skin tone almost exactly—making him look partially naked. Grimacing, Elian sighed and fished out a spare from his bag.

The receptionist who noticed Elian’s transformations kept her head down and quickly led the way. When they finally arrived, she brought him to a conference room and gestured for Elian to take a seat.

She took a deep breath and began.

"Greetings to you, my lord. How should I address you?"

"Just call me Lucian. No titles. I don’t need them."

"I understand. Pleased to meet you, Lucian. I am Katri Valkama. The only receptionist left in this Breaker branch office. Although technically this branch is no longer recognized by the other guilds."

"Why is that?"

Katri pulled out a tablet from a drawer and swiped a couple of times before presenting it to Elian.

"It is because of this, my lord. Days before the actual attack, the Big Three issued an S-Ranked invasion warning. They said it was so big that it would be far better to abandon the city."

Katri’s voice was overflowing with resentment and bitterness. Then she swiped again to show another message.

"They then offered to relocate the families of all Big Three Breakers for a small convenience fee. Anyone else who belongs to a small guild can access the same benefit if they take this chance to disband and join the Big Three instead."

Tears began to fall from the receptionist’s eyes.

"Those that protested the decision were locked up and had their licenses revoked. Critical infrastructure and key systems were systematically shut down by the large guilds. In a single week, hardly any Breakers remained. Of course, we were under a gag order."

She bowed to Elian as she spoke through soft sobs, "Lucian, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much for not abandoning Crestfall. I come from a family of office workers. Crestfall is my home, I didn’t want to leave even if I could."

The Tyrant felt conflicted. It was obvious how grateful Katri was, but Elian wanted the city as a home for Bianca. He didn’t actually care about anyone in it. There was something that struck Elian odd, however.

They knew that Virexar was aiming for me a week in advance.

Then Elian remembered what Tide That Roars had said as they met.

"There shall be enough time to mangle your corpse and eat you. I too am puzzled. I was told this world is inhabited by cowards, yet you face us head-on."

In that moment, Elian had an epiphany.

He began to realize the horrifying truth: Earth’s leaders had normalized retreat. Every time they were invaded, they ran—intentionally wasting the resources of other worlds while sacrificing fringe cities like Crestfall.

Then the things he learned all began to come together like a puzzle.

"Lord Reed. I may not like the way the Big Three handle things, but without them Earth won’t be able to survive what is to come! I was there! The day Vulkanus arrived on Earth! We need them!"

[Yes, but none of them succeeded. Earth has been marked by five worlds for retaliation.]

"An invasion has only one of two reasons. Conquest and Vengeance. It is a common tactic to mask your true intentions. More informed worlds hide spies to determine which to use."

Elian was marked by the System because he killed Veiled Chorus, a Tyrant of Virexar. There were at least three other people who had marks like his.

The other Tyrant candidates. If they kill a Tyrant, the enemy world is given their name and location to instigate vengeance. But as the actual invasion is costly, spies will be sent.

The realizations quickly began to build upon each other. Due to Elian’s high Intelligence stat he had an easier time processing his thoughts. Maybe it was due to relying on Heaven’s Fist, but the leaders were intentionally delaying the retaliations.

Are they really that weak or are trying to do everything to not join the crucible?

Elian could understand that Vulkanus was terrifying, but Earth’s actions were intentionally raising a generation of weaklings. Earth’s path was already set the moment it attacked its first dungeon, humanity had already joined the war.

Wait, if they had aggressively fought, I might not have been born. Whether by design or coincidence, they kept Earth in a stalemate to save it.

It sounded good on paper. Humanity managed to endure all because the Big Three chose the actions that saved the many. If Elian didn’t interfere, the same would have repeated. Earth would be saved, but the millions in Crestfall would be sacrificed.

The Tyrant felt his stomach churn.

"If you are to kill ten. Save a hundred. For a thousand, save ten thousand. If you must kill a million, then save a billion. This is how you show your repentance."

That was the mission his father imposed on him. It reframed the logic behind the Big Three’s actions. Elian considered such actions unheroic, but by avoiding officially joining the Crucible, the chaos was still manageable.

Did I make a mistake?

Elian already knew that it was impossible to protect everyone. Once Earth joins the Crucible for real, many would die. Millions, perhaps billions, that was what the Big Three were trying to achieve to stop the war before it began.

However, before his thoughts could spiral out of control, a comforting chill came from his chest. The origin? Bianca’s soulgem.

Bianca.

Even without her words, he began to imagine her answer to him. She would refute him vehemently and say he was heroic, handsome, and the best thing since sliced bread. When it came to praising him, Bianca was quite lavish with her praise.

All of a sudden, the dark clouds in his mind vanished.

Unknowingly, Elian began chuckling at the absurdity of it all. The proof of his way of life was already in front of him. The people whom he saved due to ending the invasion. Rather than let them die, these actions contributed to their continued existence.

Yeah, I am different. I can’t be wrong. They are just justifying being cowards. Their greed awoke the monster, yet they choose to ignore it.

Elian placed his hand over his chest and whispered tenderly, "Thanks, my Anchor."

Katri tilted her head in confusion.

Seeing her reaction, Elian shook his head and replied.

"You are welcome, Katri. I won’t blame their actions, but I have my own ways of doing things. For one, Weapons do not run. We fight until we win," Elian announced with a wide grin.

"I will take note," Katri nodded before taking her seat, "Then Lucian, what do you wish to do? I came into this office to wait for the end. I might look busy, but I am unemployed at the moment."

"I see. Then I will hire you. My faction and I do not have experience managing a guild. I want you to be our adviser. I will pay you five times what you are making now."

"Are you certain? I was only a clerk; I didn’t even become a manager. Although I have seen how the guild operates, I lack the connections and experience to lead a guild branch..."

Elian waved his hand as Katri began to list the reasons she was unfit for the role.

"You misunderstand. I didn’t ask what your experience is. All I know is that despite your managers and branch heads being of higher stature and pay, they all left, didn’t they?"

The woman nodded with a face full of resentment, "Yes, they made excuses to escape."

"Then I do not need them. Katri, I will give you everything you need. In exchange, help the Weapons establish ourselves on Earth. For now."

"For now? Where else could you go?" she repeated in confusion.

"Where else?" The Tyrant smiled, gaze drifting skyward. "I’m going to invade the other worlds."