10pm, in a deserted area.
"Hey guys, have you heard about that bitch Sarah? She’s really popular right now! Hahaha!"
Blair, the leader of a group of bullies, laughed heartily while sitting on a "chair".
His underlings, who were standing, nodded at the same time.
They all put on fake smiles, just to please Blair.
"To be honest, I’ve hated that bitch for a long time."
"Because she’s always arrogant, thinking she’s the boss. And her father is a duke, while my father is just a marquis."
The moaning continued, but no one paid any attention.
"And now she dares to touch the special homicide investigation team!? What an idiot! She deserves to be punished!"
Like puppets who only know how to obey orders, Blair’s henchmen laughed.
"After today, that bitch Sarah will definitely not be able to be arrogant anymore! Hahaha! Serves her right! This is retribution!"
Silence filled the air.
Blair’s good mood was drained in the blink of an eye.
He gritted his teeth, then stood up from his beloved chair.
"Hey, can a chair talk? No."
His deep black eyes were fixed on a skinny commoner, whose body was covered with wounds, and was not wearing any clothes.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This is no good. Apologies are not accepted."
Blair shook his head.
"If apologies work, what use is punishment?"
"Please... I’m sorry..."
He held out his palm to his henchmen.
"Hey, you guys, any of you, give me my familiar whip."
But strangely, nothing happened.
His henchmen, who had always been as loyal to him as dogs, were now disobeying his orders.
"Are you deaf? My palm is still empty."
Blair glared at his henchmen.
But he realized something was wrong.
They were standing still, as if frozen.
Everyone’s faces were pale, as if they had been drained of blood.
And the strangest thing was that their eyes weren’t on Blair.
But on something behind him.
Suddenly, Blair felt a chill run down his spine.
His body began to tremble.
"Hey, what’s going on? Tell me, you idiots! Don’t play with me!"
But like before, no one responded.
Blair turned around, startled.
And that was when the nightmare began.
Dozens of Tower Creatures were standing there, watching their delicious prey.
"Arghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"
"Where are the professors, where are the guards!? Are they all dead!?"
Standing on the top of the tallest building in the area, Kael calmly and quietly watched the tragedy below.
Of course, together with Evelyn Evernight.
The corners of his lips twitched slightly.
Feeling quite satisfied that everything was happening just like the picture in his mind.
Explosions from the use of magic were happening everywhere.
Forming flames that had covered 1/3 of the area.
The noble students were screaming, crying, running around in panic, like bees when their hive was broken.
Some were injured, quite seriously.
But fortunately, no one had died yet.
After all, they were students of Atlas Academy, the world’s top academy.
And they were also the descendants of nobles, who had been trained since childhood.
Furthermore, in Kael’s plan, no one was allowed to die.
Kael was just a normal person who was slowly corrupting.
"How cruel." Evelyn said, voice cold, silently watching the hellish scene below.
The corners of her lips curled up.
Perhaps she was enjoying it quite a bit.
"Thank you." He returned her smile with another one.
"Don’t you feel guilty? Even just a little?"
Kael hesitated for a moment.
"Guilty? Maybe I do, just a little. After all, there are some innocent people down there. But so what?"
In the game, on the 21st floor, the number one villain was Rust Seraph, or Evelyn.
And the second place belonged to the bullies in the academy.
90% of the people below were demons in human form.
So, what he was doing was eliminating evil and protecting the world.
"Oh right, did you put that Artifact in Sarah’s room?" Evelyn continued.
Kael gave her a thumbs up.
"Of course, who do you think I am? I will always complete all your missions."
Those ruby eyes looked at him, not leaving.
Making him feel a little stuffy, hot too.
Then, a smile appeared on the villain’s lips.
Not too ostentatious, just like the smiles she usually gave him.
He felt like he could do anything to please Evelyn.
Her smile was priceless.
"As long as you’re happy"
Kael then took a deep breath.
Filling his lungs with the cool night air, mixed with the faint scent of blood from the Tower Creature and the humans, and the distinct acrid smell of fire.
He thought, feeling elated.
His sapphire eyes, sparkling with stars, locked onto the villainess’s face.
Then, he smiled brightly, as if he could dispel the darkness and warm the world with sunlight.
"Isn’t that great, Evelyn?"
The moment she saw that smile, the villainess’s heart stopped beating.
Evelyn didn’t know when this phenomenon started.
But by the time she realized it, that seed had sprouted, and now it had become a complete tree.
Beautiful and strong.
Honestly, at first, Evelyn didn’t care about Kael’s existence, nor his sudden, lightning-fast confession.
She had thought that nothing could affect her anymore.
But, the villainess was wrong.
Who would have thought that one day, Kael would be able to break down the solid wall surrounding her heart?
And then become a special existence to Evelyn.
Having an important place in her heart.
No matter how cold an iceberg was, it would eventually melt flow.
A starving person can feel satisfied even when eating a bowl of white rice, without any seasoning, without any food.
That was the case with Evelyn.
She had been hurt so much since she was a child, so just receiving love from someone was enough to make her heart flutter.
And he took advantage of that.
Yes, Kael was a piece of shit.
Evelyn’s always cold face was now... slightly blushing.
The villainess was a genius, so she understood what all of this meant.
No, she had realized it long ago, but she chose to abandon it.
But this time, Evelyn didn’t want to deny that feeling anymore.
’I love Kael Draven...’
She closed her eyes, gently raised her hand to her chest, and felt the heartbeat.
Her heart was pounding, faster than usual.
It also agreed with her conclusion.
Evelyn, still closing her eyes, still maintaining a cold expression, slightly raised her lips.
However, that smile did not last long.
All because of the appearance of an uninvited guest.
A voice rang out from behind, a voice that only the villainess could hear.
— You love him, but are you sure he feels the same?
— Come on, stop fooling yourself.
— Didn’t you realize from the very beginning that Kael was a strange and mysterious person?
— And you choose to love such a person?
— Do you want those scenarios to repeat themselves again?
Slowly, Evelyn turned around.
Ruby eyes were fixed on the owner of the voice.
There, she saw a girl who was pitifully skinny, and had a face exactly like hers, as if it had been cast from the same mold.
Noticing the villainess’s gaze, the girl let out a mocking smile.
A smile that did not suit her age.
She was not a monster.
She was... Evelyn’s past.