The Novel’s Antagonist: I walk the path of a Villain - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: Odius

“…Huh?”

That was the first word to escape my lips as I regained consciousness.

I just stood there, holding a sword in front of me—its blade pointing towards… Lucas?

No.

More like the lifeless body of Lucas.

Wait.

Is he dead…?

What the fuck just happened?!

[DING!]

I looked down at my watch.

[Your opponent is now deemed incapacitated. You win.]

…Really?

I glanced around. Everyone else was still fighting.

Weird.

Well, whatever.

With that, I walked away, leaving him to his fate.

‘Ryan…’

‘Nelia?’

‘…You’re dead.’

‘Wait… what?!’ My eyes widened as I tried to process what I had just heard.

Dead?!

‘Hey, Nelia!’ I called out, but there was no response.

It took a moment, but I finally understood.

Fuck.

Is that what happened? Did my blessing take control…?

…Come on, Nelia. I really had no control over it.

…Nelia.

…Can you stop the silent treatment? I know you can hear me.

Nelia.

I sighed.

I walked towards the corner of the stadium and sat down at the topmost row.

“You’re pretty tough, aren’t you?”

Just as I settled in, a voice reached my ears. My head snapped to the far-right corner, where I saw someone approaching.

“Who… are you?” I asked.

The guy only smiled.

“No one important. You’re still as proud as ever, Prince Lorelle, or should I say… El.”

“Who. Are. You?”

“Someone you took everything from…”

His voice carried an unnerving calmness.

Okay.

Who the fuck is this creep?

“Look… Either talk or fuck off—I’m not in the mood for edgy bastards.” I exhaled, my eyes scanning the battlefield below.

What really happened?

I remember fighting Lucas.

I remember the moment I felt limitless. Invincible.

And…

…Darkness.

No.

There’s more, but it’s as if my mind refuses to remember.

“….You cannot escape fate, dear child of prophecy,” he said before turning away, a knowing smile on his lips.

White hair.

Blue eyes.

I don’t remember anyone like him. Not from the novel. Not from my childhood in Lorelle.

But… he called me child of prophecy.

Something’s not right.

I took everything from him?

“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!” I shouted after him.

But the guy didn’t stop. He just walked out of the stadium—while combat class wasn’t even over.

Wait.

Is he even a student?

I frowned.

He called me ‘El.’

No one except those who knew me from childhood calls me that.

What the fuck is going on here?

‘…Hilary.’

‘What?’ I frowned at the name.

‘Something isn’t right with that… child…’ Nelia’s voice echoed in my mind.

‘What do you mean? Why call him a child?’

‘His soul… it’s like that of an infant. Yet…’ She trailed off.

‘Yet what?’ I pressed, a bad feeling settling in my gut.

‘…Just. Avoid him. At all costs.’

‘Why?! You’re not making any sense!’

‘Do you remember the Resurrected Demons?’

I froze.

A deep frown settled on my face.

How could I forget?

Nelia must have seen this from my memories.

The Resurrected Demons — that was the name of the dark church that sought to resurrect the fallen demons from the era of Demons and Gods. But… I made sure I killed them all.

No. I didn’t kill them with my own hands, but I utilized my status as a prince pretty well back then—at least before everything went to hell.

From the novel, I knew all their hideouts and secret locations. I exposed them, and they were wiped out. I wasn’t stupid enough to leave such a valuable threat alive when I could just eliminate them and save myself the trouble.

But… Hilary?

Wasn’t that the last-born of the Silverwing family? The very family that was discovered to be affiliated with the Dark Church?

I remember it all clearly.

They were charged with treason, and every single member of their family, even relatives, was beheaded. The only person who survived was…

…the baby.

Hilary.

That’s the last child—the last born of the Silverwing family.

I mean, I wasn’t so degenerate as to kill a baby.

Wait.

No.

God, no.

“You understand now, right?” Nelia’s voice echoed in my mind.

I gulped.

This was a problem. A very huge problem.

“I have to kill him, Nelia,” I said, my voice tight with urgency.

“…Not now,” she replied, her tone colder than ever.

“…Why?” I asked, frustration creeping in.

“Something doesn’t seem right with him. Plus, at my weakened state, I can’t accurately gauge his power.”

Fuck.

I should have killed that child when I had the chance.

FUCK!

To think that bastard, Odius, the leader of the Dark Church, used that damn spell of his on the child before he was beheaded?

This was a variable I had never once considered.

Odius was the leader of the Dark Church, a very dangerous man. It took the combined power of the strongest knights under the emperor to finally capture him after all their hideouts were raised. But after he was caught, it was discovered that Odius was actually the head of the Silverwing family, and he had been in disguise the whole time.

Yeah, shocker.

But… I still can’t believe it.

So, he used that cursed resurrection spell on his own son?!

Is that why Nelia sensed an infant’s soul within him?

Damn it.

Odius had been one of the most powerful villains in the game. What made it even more frustrating was his resurrection spell—it was a spell of forced reincarnation.

The main reason I had tried to wipe out the Dark Church without revealing it was me who leaked the information was because of one thing—and one thing alone.

Eloisa.

She was the reason I tried to destroy the Dark Church in the first place. There was a certain arc in the game where she got kidnapped by the Dark Church—it was the catalyst event leading to the death of Lorelle. She was nearly raped.

And being insanely obsessed with her back then, the thought of it drove me to the brink of madness.

So, I destroyed them.

…Or so I thought.

“Damn it.”

‘Come back now, the connection is breaking. I can’t protect you if I can’t reach you!’ Nelia’s voice was urgent, nearly frantic.

She was really scared.

But, I couldn’t blame her.

There was a chance those bastards might try to repeat what they did to Lorelle in the novel… here.

Tsk.

This was problematic.

‘RYAN!’

‘I hear you, I’m coming,’ I replied, standing up and quickly exiting the stadium.

I had to be careful.

I already had enough enemies as it was. What made it even more dangerous was the fact that I couldn’t remember most of them.