Fated to Be Loved by Villains

As you could tell from how I came to this world while playing a game, I was very serious about gaming.

I was the type of guy who spent a lot of time digging into things, including the games I played—which weren’t only Savior Rising, but a lot others as well.

That was why…

I could tell at a glance the content of the ‘match’ Mobius had prepared to fight with me.

“It’s a Boss Rush.”

[…A Boss Rush?]

“It’s a thing.”

As Caliban asked from inside the Soul Linker, I replied while bursting out laughing after figuring out the content of the ‘stage’ before my eyes.

It was a common gimmick before a final boss battle. Usually, they’d make players fight with all the bosses they had previously faced in a row.

You could say that it was something that the developer made to help the player who had survived through the games so far to look back on their memories and test their growth.

But that clearly wasn’t the case here.

“…I could clearly see his intentions.”

I said while letting out a chuckle.

It was too obvious.

The things that punk prepared as the bosses were…

[…Aren’t those ‘models’ of the Devils?]

Anyone could tell who these things are based on.

The first thing appearing in front of me was…

An Automaton with a Blue Aura surrounding it.

Its joints were created in such a way that it resembled certain shapes.

Anyone could tell what it was trying to imitate.

[Riru?]

Yup.

As I replied, I scanned through the other Automatons lining up behind this one that Mobius had prepared for me.

And each of them…

Were obviously the exact imitations of people around me.

Look at this bastard.

I automatically muttered so at such an obviously malicious composition.

His malice was expected, of course, but it was clear that he didn’t do it like this just to offend me.

He’s probably trying to block my Demonic Aura with this.

Since I’ve clearly stated that I’d put my all into this, he decided to give up using the ‘experiment’ pretext—even though he had been desperately keeping that pretext up. Which meant, he would be going all out to put me down.

It was obvious that he had put up some kind of countermeasures to my most notable power.

In other words, he’d be able to exert his best, while blocking me from doing so.

[Are you still going to do it?]

You think I can just go back after coming all the way here?

[…Well, I can’t imagine you backing off in this kind of a situation either. But let’s get into it after making sure of one thing.]

Caliban continued with a sigh.

[That punk is still the leader of the Magic Tower, right?]

Yeah?

[The fact that such a punk is obviously trying to offend you this much, meant that he had dug up a trap for you. There’s a high chance that it won’t be a good idea to enter such a place by yourself.]

Let’s worry about that later.

I had never forgiven bastards who messed with people around me.

And this particular bastard didn’t simply mess with them, but also committed something so vicious I couldn’t even bring myself to watch.

I had said this before, but killing him once wouldn’t be enough to satisfy me.

“If he dares to play petty tricks, I’ll just crush his head.”

[…Haa.]

I swept my hair back as Caliban exhaled through his nose.

Well, I understood why he was so worried.

The conditions themselves were extremely disadvantageous for me..

This was his homeground, every resource was available for him to use, and he was taking one of my people hostage.

I organized my thoughts while sighing.

My goal is…

To kill Mobius…

Save Astrid…

And…

“…”

While I’m at it, might as well save that punk too.

I thought so while looking at a certain guy who was standing beside Mobius—who was sitting in the control seat in the distance.

Marquis Bogut.

I heard that their original plan for him was to send him somewhere before they’d ‘dispose’ him, but for some reason, Mobius summoned him all the way here and placed him next to him.

[…That punk? Why?]

Did you not notice it, Caliban?

After obtaining all kinds of abilities while struggling for my survival, there was one thing I had noticed.

That man’s whole existence was rotting.

He didn’t have much time left to live.

Now, that I was aware of that…

And that the situation had developed this far, I couldn’t just dismiss this as, ‘Well, he died,’ and move on if he really ended up dying.

If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve not known that my mother was stuck in that kind of state in the first place.

[…]

…I’d need to give him my thanks at least, no?

Anyone would notice that, unless they were an idiot.

Although I didn’t know from which point I had been going along with his plan…

I knew that that punk…

Had used me to notify me about Astrid’s situation, and give me an opportunity to ‘build’ such a confrontation so that I could save her.

It’s not like I’m all alone either.

I thought so while looking at the chancellor next to me.

Our eyes met and she nodded, looking determined.

“Shall we start running?”

“…”

‘No.’

‘What are you talking about? C’mon already.’

As I looked at her with narrowed eyes, the Chancellor continued in a gloomy tone.

“…But we haven’t completely become one.”

“…”

She was right.

Although it was a funny story…

We had used all kinds of smokescreen tactics as I did my best to ‘practice to combine’ with the chancellor—suffering through all kinds of hardships. But it was difficult to even say that we could control even ten percent of that state stably.

Using a skill with that level of stability in a real battle was the equivalent of suicide.

“Besides, that power is also—”

“Nope.”

I smiled as I cut off the Chancellor’s words.

“It’ll be fine.”

The Yellow Devil’s Authority had deteriorated a lot.

Which was a given, since that Authority was the same one she had used to return from the future.

Compared to Mobius’ trap, where he had poured in everything in the Magic Tower, what I had in my hands now was only a tiny dagger.

However…

This tiny dagger would definitely make short work of him.

[…You’re talking as if you have the grounds for it.]

“-Well…”

I smirked while replying to Caliban.

“You see, when it comes to fights where it would decide my life or death, I had never lost even once.”

The fact that I was standing here alive proved that.

●

Exploring someone else’s memories was like swimming in a sea of emotions made up of colors.

At least that was how Eleanor felt about it.

…They seem to get along well.

That was the thought that came to her mind as she wandered around the times Dowd spent with the girl he was in charge of ‘escorting’.

The previous Dowd seemed like someone whose emotions had been dried up.

That was probably the reason why his sea of emotions was achromatic—it reflected the state of his spiritual world.

Then again, the environment he was born and raised in was the perfect place for someone to grow up that way.

Anyway, even though he was in charge of escorting the girl, all he did was linger around her like a ghost and learn what he was told to learn.

He only put an effort to survive in such a place, without working towards any kinds of emotional interaction.

But that was only in the beginning.

“How about smiling a little?”

“I’ll do it if you order me to.”

“No fun.”

The girl would constantly try to touch his frozen emotions.

Even though he found it bothersome, got very irritated, and sometimes even got angry, she still didn’t give up, fully intent to try and take a look inside his heart.

—Ah.

And seeing that…

Eleanor was able to see someone in that girl.

This girl resembles me somehow…

Herself the first time she met him. The way she dedicated her time, effort, passion…everything, just to woo him…

Every single time she had the opportunity to…

For this man, who would never show his deepest emotion to the others.

Of course even after that, Dowd still didn’t open his heart easily. The achromatic emotions didn’t change easily.

—Ah.

However…

As time went by…

Memories, experiences, recollections, and emotions piled up.

The songs of water droplets splashing through the dazzlingly blue waves and white foams…

Landscaping the infinite potential of the tides, the touch of the wind, the stones, and the things inside the water…

The longer the time Dowd spent with the girl, the more colorful and deeper the emotions passing by him were.

I see…

As someone who had always been watching his every move, and was well-informed of anything about him…

Eleanor could tell…

The ‘origin’ of all Dowd Campbell’s habits…

And most of the ‘foundations’ that made up his personality came from the time he had spent with this girl.

The warm attention he received for the first time in his life, the friendly reception, his first bond with another human…

Everything had piled up from the experiences he had with this girl.

Dowd Campbell’s origin came from this memory.

“…”

Eleanor closed her eyes for a moment before she slowly opened them again.

Since she let her body flow to follow the torrent, she was bound to get the rough feeling of what was there at the end.

…The air turned cold.

Which meant this was a bad memory.

The ‘warmth’ that formed the foundation of Dowd Campbell’s personality had ended here.

Which marked this part as the start of the ‘trauma’ that had been ailing him.

His memories intensified.

Like a spiral that was spinning quietly, but violently.

There was a dreadful feeling…

As everything was painted in red and black.

Is it this way?

Eleanor followed along the remnants of those colors slowly.

And stumbled across an incident that happened on a certain evening.

The day when a certain sole daughter of a rich family was taken /genesisforsaken