The Villain's Second Time

Chapter 29

In the heart of every living being, there is something called base desire.

Just as a man, upon seeing a passing beauty, might wonder in a corner of his mind, "How can I share a passionate night with her?"

Just as a wealthy man might look down at a beggar and feel a sense of psychological superiority. Or, just as the beggar might look up at the wealthy man and think, "How can I make that money mine?"

It is something too shameful to reveal openly to others, but it is not wrong. After all, whether human, demon, elf, or magical beast, innate desires exist in everyone. Why else would our Lord have instilled desire when creating life? There must be a profound meaning behind it.

However, as living beings form societies and live together, they suppress their desires. They hide their sticky, shameful desires deep within their hearts and wear masks derived from their true selves.

I strip away those masks. To be precise, I coax out the base desires that decorate the bottom of their hearts. To those who crave greed, I offer greed. To those who crave lust, I offer lust. To those who crave pleasure, I offer pleasure.

Most desires are not easy to fulfill, but I am a magician. A villain in fantasy who turns the impossible into possible through miracles.

Those who become aware of their desires drown in them and cannot escape. I enjoy that sight. It’s a kind of transaction. They give me joy, and I give them pleasure.

That’s why I desire anarchy. Society, which blocks natural savagery, may be efficient and moral, but it is utterly unpleasant to witness.

Only once have I seen a being without base desires. Even the 'Hero,' who was among the most righteous I’ve ever seen, chose corruption in the end. But there was one unforgettable, intense woman.

Saint Maria.

The most base desire she harbored in her life was simply to kiss me once. Not a base desire, but a cute one.

I, too, am a living being, so I have desires. I play joyfully. I dye the world with evil and play, always feeling incomplete, but I search for something that will complete me, playing hide and seek.

"Phew... It’s been a while since I had this much fun. I feel so refreshed."

I played again today. I finished the revenge I had been saving. The 'Waltz with the Cross' I realized at the end still makes my heart race. It’s like dopamine flooding my brain.

The Saint’s Rosary, having completed its purification, has returned to its original state. It seems it will be useful whenever I encounter evil things in the future.

Retavis’s corpse has completely vanished. Even the clothes he was wearing burned away in the light of holiness.

"Then... only Leonard remains."

I pushed Leonard off Endros’ Cliff to deal with him. Since I enjoyed the main game, I have no regrets. Instead, I’m just a bit concerned about how to evade the Demon Realm Police. Not that I plan to evade them anyway.

Actually, I’ve prepared for everything. I’m just tired because I just finished the show. The drowsiness keeps calling me to sleep.

But I must not succumb to mere sleepiness. A great magician always cleans up neatly. As a veteran among veterans, I can’t fail at cleanup.

Sssk-

I took off the mask I was wearing. Then, I lightly tossed it over the cliff to where Leonard had fallen.

The concave, stiff white surface cuts through the darkness as it falls. The mask’s scream is the sound of the wind. Not a desperate emotion, but a sense of speed.

Wheee- Thud.

I heard the sound of the mask’s scream ending. I wonder if the mask I threw landed neatly beside Leonard. I’m curious and expectant.

I put the pocket knife in my left pocket and the cross in my right pocket. I straightened my back and stood up, looking around the area once.

The night air is cool and tranquil. This sheer cliff, said to have been created by the enormous breath of the Dragon King Endros, has nothing but a few rocks. The cliff top is covered in dense vegetation.

On such a cliff, I painted. I splattered some red paint and engraved black burn marks here and there. Very satisfying. In the past and future, no one will likely do such a thing.

Later, while showering with cold water, I added another item to the answer when I asked, "Who am I?" 'A demon who marked territory on Dragon King Endros’ Cliff.' Heh... That’s it.

I turned my steps toward where I needed to be. My sanctuary, the Northern Grand Duke’s Residence. I also need to settle things with Adela and my aunt.

The floating moon is so bright.

My shadow, cast by the moonlight, stretches long.

I am clearly wearing white clothes, but my shadow is black. No matter how much I cover myself with a white shell, my wretched essence does not change, as the moon reveals.

What an arrogant moon.

I am now an apostle of God, so how dare the moon define me.

*****

Creak-!

The door opens.

You come in.

"Surprise-! My sister and aunt! How have you been?"

My blood-soaked younger brother and nephew come in.

"...! Ugh! Ugh!"

Seeing the housemaster boldly open the door and enter, my aunt was startled. However, she couldn’t scream, as her mouth was still sealed by a firm gag, trapped inside the closet.

Adela was in the middle of the room. There, she was staring blankly into the air like a hypnotized cat. She didn’t even look at me.

The illusion I laid out worked successfully. The effect of grinding down almost all of Horus’s Egg is evident.

"Ugh! Ugh...!"

My aunt, making a fuss and rattling beside me. I approached her first. She was first startled by the blood on my clothes, and second by the smell emanating from it.

"Haha, judging by your appearance, it seems you haven’t been doing well. I should have been more attentive. I’m sorry."

"...."

"I’ll untie you first, so listen to me. I don’t want to kill you, aunt."

I said, "even aunt." The meaning of these words is clear.

"Ugh...."

The more she scrutinized me, the more fear filled her eyes. She must have guessed what I had done, especially with the smell added.

Still, she must find a way to survive. The basic instinct of life is 'survival.' My aunt nodded once. It was a sign of agreement.

Sssk- Thud.

I removed the gag and untied the restraints. Of course, no matter how free her body is, as long as I’m in front of her, my aunt can do nothing.

She had already been subdued by me once. A defeated person can only tuck their tail. Moreover, with the magician’s hat making me appear taller, my frightened aunt, even with her body free, couldn’t bring herself to leave the closet.

"Come out first. I’ll escort you like a gentleman."

"...!"

"Why are you so startled? Where else can you find a demon as kind as me? You don’t think such a precious opportunity will come again, do you?"

Toward her, I placed my left hand behind my back, palm down, and extended my right hand. My aunt hesitated but eventually stepped out of the closet without taking my right hand.

It’s a bit disappointing that my goodwill was rejected, but what can I do? The moment goodwill is forced, it becomes coercion. Though I love coercion very much, for now, I am the Gentleman Joker.

"Our Senorita seems to lack manners. Hehe."

"Ah, uh, um...."

"Then, let me get straight to the point politely? It’s rude to waste my aunt’s precious time."

I am nine years old. A good child should have manners. That’s the social norm.

My aunt, holding one elbow with the other hand. It doesn’t seem like her arms are numb from being tied up for so long. She’s probably trying to calm her turbulent heart. I should help her.

"First, as you guessed, both Leonard and Retavis are dead! I just killed them! Your dear son, Leonard!"

"...!"

If you explode a shaken heart, it will calm down on its own. Why? Because if it doesn’t calm down, the heart will collapse. All living beings have an instinct to crave life, so if you push them into a corner, they’ll climb back up on their own.

Perhaps because she heard it directly, she was more shocked than I thought. Her unfocused eyes spun in circles.

Thud-

Her legs gave out, and my aunt collapsed weakly onto the floor. Soon after, tears like chicken droppings began to fall from her lost eyes.

As a half-blooded child, I shouldn’t make my aunt suffer. I crouched down in front of her, resting my elbows on my knees, and took a slightly trembling pose. Perfect.

"Are you sad?"

"Sniff... Sob... Le, Leonard...."

"Why are you so sad?"

"Our, our son... Leonard is dead...."

"Ah, so you’re heartbroken because your son passed away? You’re so sad you can’t calm down? The face of your dead son keeps flickering in your blurred vision?"

Nodding endlessly, my aunt wept sorrowfully. Not a hint of false emotion could be felt.

My aunt is genuinely grieving. The real reason can only be understood after careful consideration. I knew it the moment I saw her.

"I thought you were grieving because your investment died, not your son! Our aunt is such a sentimental person, isn’t she?"

"What...?"

"Huh? But that’s strange. Since when did demons have feelings like that? Isn’t that kind of soft emotion something only humans or elves have?"

"...!"

"Hahaha, you acted well. That’s all it was. You should’ve paid more attention to your motives than your acting. There’s no reason for you to grieve, so no matter how well you act, what’s the point?"

At my words that struck a nerve, my aunt raised her head in surprise. Her tear-streaked, damp face met mine.

"Don’t say that...! Our Leonard is dead... How could you...?"

In her crimson eyes, a boy with a smile stretching to his earlobes was reflected.

"Ah, right. Your sobbing was genuine, wasn’t it? The excuse that your son passed away was just a hollow lie. I must’ve misunderstood."

"Huh, how can you say that...!"

"Demons are inherently evil beings. Maternal love exists for the sake of the race’s reproduction, but it completely disappears the moment the child turns five. Leonard is already ten, so there’s no way our aunt’s maternal love could still remain."

Demons are beings born from a mix of human ugliness and demonic corruption. There’s no room for trivial emotions like love.

Then what about Adela, who loves me and her family? Adela is a fool, after all. Fools tend to see everything in the world as beautiful.

"Let go of the veil over your heart. Open your real eyes once. Then, you’ll see a new world."

"What are you talking about now...."

"Face your true self. Look at the despicable abyss lying at the bottom of your heart. Then, the abyss will look back at you too."

"True self...?"

"Yes, your true self. The real feelings you’ve been hiding behind emotions like love and maternal affection. Aren’t you curious? Ah, if you’re confused, should I give you a hint?"

Mixing honorifics and informal speech is intentional. It’s to blur the distinction between superior and inferior. Light exists within chaos. Enlightenment lies at the heart of confusion.

"When the heir becomes an adult and the successor is decided, the successor demon will eliminate the other two demons as a precaution. It’s natural. There’s no guarantee they won’t betray you later and break your skull. Now, here’s a question. When sibling demons are purged, what happens to the demons associated with them?"

"That is...."

"The answer is, they all die too! For the same reason! Why would you leave alive demons who are associated with them, in other words, potential threats!"

"Ugh...."

"Since this is the culture of most demon families, an unspoken trend has emerged in the Demon Realm. Family members choose the most competitive candidate during the succession race and fully support them! To survive! You’re no different! You supported your son out of love? Don’t give me that bullshit! You helped Leonard because you didn’t want to die! Why? Because if Leonard were pushed out of the succession, you’d be as good as dead too!"

Ripples spread. Ripples that hurt someone’s heart. Admitting one’s own dirty inner self is truly difficult.

It’s because of conscience. The conscience that Saint Maria from my past life extracted and provoked from Lilith Clanaein, the Western Grand Duke.

Everyone has a dirty heart. Conscience makes one ashamed of it and refuses to acknowledge it. That’s why I shatter conscience. True feelings and one’s original self are hidden by conscience.

"You must’ve been aware. The fact that it was packaged under a false name means you were originally aware of it. You just covered it up and forgot. The reason you’re weeping sorrowfully is because the tower you’ve invested so much in has collapsed, and your lifeline has been cut. Hehe."

"...."

"Now you understand, don’t you? The difference between the two? You shouldn’t confuse this. At first glance, it might seem trivial, but the motive alone makes a clear difference."

At my straightforward words that awakened the truth, my aunt fell silent. It was a silence to calm her troubled heart and give her time to digest my whispered words.

After a long silence, my aunt opened her mouth.

"What."

"Hmm?"

"What do you want from me...?"

My aunt finally asked the question I had been waiting for.

"What do I want, you ask?"

"Yes, what on earth do you want from me, to say such cruel things...."

"There’s nothing like that. I just genuinely want you to realize your true self."

"What......?"

"Really! I’m not the kind of demon who plans things so meticulously, you know? Haha. Well, now that our business is done, why don’t you leave?"

Clack-.

Saying that, I walked toward the door and grabbed the handle. I set a trap to make sure my aunt could leave smoothly, or rather, to psychologically pressure her.

"...Wait."

Bingo.

Gotcha.

Thud-!

A sound similar to before but different echoed. I turned my head with a bright smile.

"Why?"

Then, in my field of vision, my aunt knelt before me.

"P-Please save me."

"Huh? Save you? Why would I kill you?"

"Everything you said is correct. The reason I grieved was solely out of concern for my own safety. It wasn’t because I was worried about Leonard."

"Didn’t I say that earlier?"

"I, I don’t want to die like this! I’ll help you! I’ll become your second guardian! You know this too, Oscar! If things continue like this, even if you don’t kill me, I’ll end up dead anyway...!"

"Ah, hehehehe."

Oops, I can’t stop laughing. Not that I’m trying to hide it.

"You don’t get along with my mother, are you sure that’s okay?"

"Of course! If, if you just spare my life...! I’ll be completely loyal to you!"

"You expect me to trust the loyalty of someone who’s already betrayed their own child once?"

"Th-That’s...!"

"Ahaha, let’s drop it. Instead of loyalty, I’ll trust your ugliness. Your clever ugliness, which throws away maternal love and affection and only calculates gains and losses, gives me confidence. I’m a gambler who only bets when I’m sure."

"U-Ugliness, you say...."

Anyway, both Leonard and Retavis are dead. I’m the only heir left. The only way for my aunt to survive is through me.

I am a gust of wind blowing toward a kite with a broken string. The only savior reaching out to a pitiful demon. A very exemplary and desirable apostle of justice.

I reached out my hand again. This time, it was a hand with a different meaning, looking at my aunt.

"Now, take my hand. As a commemoration of our partnership, let’s shake hands."

My aunt swallowed once and then reached out to grasp my hand.

"Well then. I look forward to working with you, Senorita."