Villain: 10x Rewards Begins With The Protagonist's Mother

"Are you sure you don’t want to rest a few more days?" Natasha asked, standing by the open car door with a hint of worry on her face. "You were sick not too long ago."

"I’m fine, master. I’ve rested enough." Dante said, giving her a small smile. "I just need some fresh air. Being cooped up in that room for days was driving me crazy."

Natasha didn’t look entirely convinced, but she didn’t push it either. Ever since that day, she had been careful not to get too close to him.

However, if he kept staying inside, mistakes were bound to happen.

’This might actually be for the better.’ She thought.

"Then at least don’t push yourself too hard." She said after a moment, her tone softening. "Return home early. And call me if anything happens."

"I will." Dante nodded.

"And?" She added, her eyes narrowing.

"Haha, I won’t drink, master. A promise is a promise." He raised both hands in surrender.

That finally pulled a small smile out of her.

"Drive safe." Natasha stepped back from the car.

Dante gave her one last wave before pulling the door shut.

A moment later, the engine rumbled to life, and the car rolled out through the mansion gates.

Natasha stood there watching until the car disappeared down the road.

Then she let out a quiet breath and walked back inside.

The moment she stepped through the door, a familiar blue screen popped up in front of her.

[Daily Mission: Cook a meal for Dante]

[Status: Completed!]

[Reward: 2x Cultivation Speed for 1 hour.]

"...A daily mission now, huh." Natasha muttered, looking at the screen with a relieved expression.

She had been worried after going three days with no mission, so the introduction of daily missions put her heart at ease. Especially since it wasn’t another one of those heavy chain missions.

A part of her was relieved. Another part of her couldn’t help worrying, wondering if it was because she had been keeping her distance from Dante.

Either way, a reward was a reward.

’My realm has almost stabilised.’ Natasha thought as she made her way down the hall.

After absorbing the Phoenix’s Tear, her mana circuits had been fixed, which in turn slowed her declining realm. Now, after a few days of cultivating through some secret techniques and the mana stones she got from the mission, the constant falling sensation that had haunted her for years was almost gone.

’If I use this cultivation boost along with the rest of the mana stones, I should be able to fully stabilise it.’

Once her realm stopped falling, she could finally start climbing again.

With that thought, Natasha walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

****

The car came to a stop in the middle of a long, empty bridge. It stretched over a wide river far outside the city, the kind of place where the only sound was the wind and the water rushing somewhere below.

Not a single soul could be seen.

Dante stepped out of the car, looking around before nodding in satisfaction. "Perfect."

He slipped his hands into his pockets and looked over the railing at the river.

Then he climbed up onto the railing.

"Alright." He said loudly, his voice carrying across the empty bridge.

"I know you two have been following me this whole time. So how about you come out before I do something ’dangerous’?" He added with an internal grin.

He closed his eyes and spread his arms as if he was ready to jump.

He stood there for a few moments, and the silence made his eye twitch.

"...Seriously?"

"If you don’t come out, I’m going to jump."

Still nothing.

Dante waited a few more seconds, his confident expression slowly cracking.

’Are they actually not here? Didn’t master say she would assign the two of them to protect me secretly?’

He cleared his throat and tried again, louder this time.

"I mean it! I’m really going to jump! Last chance!"

The bridge stayed empty.

A vein popped on Dante’s forehead.

’These two...! Fine. Have it your way.’

’Even if they really aren’t here, my body can take a fall like this now.’ He thought, glancing down at the water. ’Worst case, I get a little wet.’

With that, he let himself drop.

The wind rushed past him, the river racing up to meet him faster and faster.

Then two shadows shot out from somewhere.

The smaller one cut through the air like a blade, while the larger one moved straight for him.

A massive arm wrapped around Dante mid-fall, and the next instant, the huge shadow twisted in the air and landed back on the bridge with a heavy thud.

Dante blinked, finding himself staring up at a very familiar face.

"...Felix." He said.

"Mr. Dante." Felix replied evenly, still holding him. "Would you mind explaining what that was?"

"And when did you notice us?" Freya asked with an irritated expression. Being spotted by a normal human while they were supposed to be working in secret was a hit to her pride.

"From the very start, haha." Dante replied with a laugh. "You can let me down now, Felix."

"How... how did you find us?" Freya asked, her face darkening, her body trembling with anger now that she realised she had been played.

He had pulled this whole stunt just to force them out of hiding.

"Did Madam tell you?" She asked in an almost desperate tone, hoping it was true.

She refused to believe they were incompetent enough to be noticed by a normal human. They hadn’t made a single mistake either.

So Natasha telling him beforehand was the only explanation that made sense to her.

"No." Dante said with an amused smile, patting down his clothes after Felix let him down.

"Then how?!" Freya pressed, her voice climbing.

Dante looked at her, paused for effect, then shrugged with a grin.

"Maybe I’ll tell you once you actually manage to hide properly."

’Absolute ragebait.’ Felix thought, fighting back the urge to say it out loud.

If he did, he would need someone to protect him from Freya.