Villain Hides His True Color - Chapter 111

 

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[Translator –  Yasi ]

[Proofreader – Karane ]

 

Chapter 111

 

In life, there would often be moments where you wish you could turn back time.

Like when you miss the deadline of an important company project, or when you suddenly hear about the passing of a precious person…

The reason varies, but most probably have had a similar thought at least once.

You didn’t have to look far to see that it was true. 

Take for example the popularity of science-fiction movies related to time travel released annually, or our ancestors who didn’t understand time travel but had written similar stories in their myths.

Although countless people had dreamed of returning to the past, it wasn’t something people of the modern era thought seriously of.

Afterall, who would want to be treated like a fool?

Let alone the Theory of Relativity, it had already become common sense that you couldn’t turn back time.

Even witches who could foretell the future would instantly snort if they heard such nonsense.

In any case…

“S-so what you’re saying is…that this world had gone through a regression and it’s actually the second world?”

“To be more precise, we can be certain that the ‘minimum’ is second. Maybe there had been other regressions before it.”

“N-no way! Do you want me to believe that?”

The words from the self-proclaimed first round Elizabeth’s mouth fundamentally went against all the science and magic common sense that had existed in the world.

Elizabeth stared at the existence that looked just like her.

Regression? Second round? And the one in front of her was her future self?

It was difficult for her to come to terms with what first-round Elizabeth had said.

If it hadn’t been for the special circumstances surrounding their meeting, she wouldn’t have even entertained such ridiculous words in the first place.

Frankly, it wasn’t much different from the babbling of a delusional patient.

But…

“You already know it well. ‘We’re’ not the type to lie about such things.”

“…”

Elizabeth’s intuition she had felt ever since their meeting was shouting that everything she had heard so far were true.

If this existence was really herself… No, she could be certain because it was her.

The other ‘her’ in front of her now had only told the truth.

But to accept her words as they were, there were still some parts she didn’t quite understand.

“If, as you say, the whole world had regressed… Why were you unaffected?”

A logical fallacy that would appear regularly in works based on time travel.

The so-called Time Paradox.

If they were truly the same person, then they could never exist here at the same time.

When she gave a suspicious look, first-round Elizabeth immediately answered with a bitter smile.

“It’s normal to think that way. But that’s because I’m already a separate existence completely banished from the real world.”

“…Banished? What the hell happened?”

“Well, to put it simply, I wasn’t as lucky as you were.”

First-round Elizabeth calmly explained what had happened in her past and future.

Unlike the present Elizabeth, it could be said that she had experienced a rather unfortunate life.

The decisive turning point for such a difference was the meeting with Noah.

Having not met him, she had to face the constant terrible nightmares.

Her uncle Rastus eventually carried out his ambition as planned, and she was reduced to just a tool for slaughter and the reproduction of the elves.

A worn-out life both mentally and physically.

In that environment, she began to obsess over greater and greater power, and the monster born at the end was an SS-Rank villain, the ‘Black Witch’ Elizabeth.

“…And the surest way for me to grow stronger was to glimpse into the truth through the astral world. Haven’t you also experienced this?”

“D-don’t tell me…?”

Elizabeth recalled her fight against the dragon in Hong Kong.

She had experienced a deep and vast flow of knowledge the moment she looked into the astral world and went beyond her limits.

It had allowed her to temporarily exert power past her means as if she had enabled a cheat in a game.

However, the side-effects were absolutely not light.

Her eyesight deteriorated to the point where the world appeared blurry, and wasn’t she in the current predicament because of it?

It was just once…

If first-round Elizabeth had done something similar over and over again…

“Yes. I kept pursuing power even though I knew it was dangerous, and eventually I had learned a secret that mortals shouldn’t know.”

“Ah…”

“As a result, I was completely banished from the real world. So you better be careful from now on too.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Haa, if I hadn’t been banished like this, I would have been saved by darling…”

First-round Elizabeth sighed and grumbled softly.

Certainly, listening to her, the current situation was somewhat understandable. However, there was still one unresolved question.

The most fundamental question that encompassed this whole situation.

“Then, why did the regression occur?”

“Huhu, well? I can’t tell you that part. You might end up like me if you learn too much. But I can tell you one thing.”

With a serious expression, she continued.

“If it hadn’t been for that regression, the real world wouldn’t have existed right now.”

“You mean Earth would have been destroyed?”

“Destroyed? Ahah. Well, you can think of it that way. But even if it wasn’t destroyed and it was a peaceful era, the result would have been the same.”

“Hmm?”

“Every story must have an ending. Regardless of whether it’s a happy ending or a bad ending. So you can think of it as being this world’s fate to come to an end someday.”

What first-round Elizabeth had said was hard to understand. Happy ending? Bad ending? This wasn’t a novel or a movie, so what the hell was she saying?

“Ummm…I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Elizabeth’s expression became distorted as if she couldn’t understand. First-round Elizabeth continued.

“You don’t have to try to understand it. In the first place, it’s not even knowledge you’re allowed to know. Anyway, there’s something else I want to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about Choi Noah, who you love so much.”

“?!”

Why had Noah’s name come up?

As soon as Elizabeth wondered, a shining sphere was created in the hand of first-round Elizabeth.

“One day, when the time comes, he’ll decide the fate of this world.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

The pitch black sphere first-round Elizabeth held in her hand began to circulate like a star, repeating its creation and destruction.

At first glance, Elizabeth could see that there was an unusual power contained within it.

“Choi Noah is the only one who can change the fate of this world. The story will be rewritten according to his choices. And to be next to him like that, you’ll need power.”

While looking at the sphere in her hand, she continued.

“This is the power that my future self will have anyway. So even if I do this, there won’t be a big problem with the law of causality.”

“H-hold on! What the hell are you trying to do now…”

Elizabeth tried to step back, but somehow her feet wouldn’t budge.

Meanwhile, the swirling dark energy approached her eyes and blocked her view.

“So I’ll give you my strength. You need to be a little stronger.”

Puuk–

First-round Elizabeth’s hand pierced Elizabeth’s eyes and the sphere was placed inside.

“Kyaaak!!”

It felt tens or hundreds of times more painful than when she was regulated by her uncle a long time ago.

Soon, there came a voice in her ears that seemed to be very tired.

“Huu…that should be everything I can do for you. All that’s left is to wait for the results.”

Snap–!

First-round Elizabeth flicked her finger and the world completely changed.

The space covered in shadow disappeared, and a passage to the real world was created in the void.

“Let’s meet again at the end of this story someday.”

Saying so, she pushed Elizabeth into the passage.

Along with the end of Elizabeth’s struggle and disappearance, a sense of loneliness came again in the vast universe.

Looking at the empty space, she murmured softly.

“Well, it should be fine to see those scenes ‘by chance’ on the way back.”

A soft smile bloomed on her lips.

*

In a dazed state, various scenes pass by in front of Elizabeth’s eyes.

The first thing that caught her eyes were strange-looking figures talking in a dark space.

They felt similar to the monster she had met in Hong Kong.

An ominous feeling as if they were made with all the evil intentions of the world. The sound of their conversation was barely audible.

“The next destination is Japan…”

“His resurrection…”

Japan? Resurrection?

It was difficult to hear, so it was hard to understand what they had meant.

Who the hell are they?

Wondering so, the scene changed.

The ominous space disappeared, and what caught her eyes was a large training ground and a crowded sight.

Here…?

It was the Hero Training Center Noah had attended. In such a place, people’s cries could be heard.

“Noah…”

“Heuk…Noah can’t die like this!”

In the distance was an unkempt man with a determined expression and a woman with a large build.

There were also trainees paying respect in memory of Noah.

For her, who had observed Noah’s every move, she could say there were some rather familiar faces.

Uh? Aren’t they…?

As soon as she recognized them, the scene changed again.

This time, a dirty underground bar.

There, she saw a man dressed as a bartender.

It was also someone she recognized.

Devil!

He spoke to those indoors.

“The hope of mankind…”

“You’ll be the hero who opposes the demons from now on…”

A conversation between an executive of the demon army and unidentified humans. However, this time too, the voices were too small to be heard properly.

Since then, various scenes continued to pass by quickly.

The face of Jane, who she had met in Hong Kong, and the face of a child named Shirahui, who she knew was close to Noah.

Still half conscious, she accepted all such information.

Then finally, the scenes that swirled like a torrent ended, and her soul stopped at a point.

Th-this is…?

She looked around in an astral state. It was a strange place she had never seen before.

 

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

 

Countless tanks were placed all around, and in them were floating ‘brains’ of different sizes.

Where the hell am I…?

At that moment, two figures came into her sight.

It was a man with orange colorful hair wearing rimless glasses, and Shin Cheonho, the most famous hero in Korea.

The two were talking about something with serious expressions.

An atmosphere that was certainly dangerous.

She thought it would be better to get out of here quickly and return to her original body.

But at that moment,

Beeep–!

Suddenly, an alarm went off inside. The water in the tanks began to boil, and the two quickly began to panic.

“L-look away!”

The man with orange hair shouted.

Look away?

She inadvertently turned her head towards the direction. Incomprehensible information was constantly being printed on a screen.

[xxxxxxxxxx…]

[xxxxxxxxxx…]

Kueeeuk!

Information that made your brain melt just by staring. It was like the incomprehensible landscapes that she had seen in the depths of the astral world.

When she was in so much pain,

Shiiik–

Dark energy from her eyes, flowing down like tears, wrapped around her body.

It was the same power first-round Elizabeth had put into her body earlier.

As a result, she was able to come to her senses. At the same time, letters that couldn’t be understood began to be deciphered one by one.

At that moment, a clear and refreshing sound came from the indoor speakers.

Riing–

Fragmented information floating on the screen was finally printed with proper content.

— — — — —

[$Event.Chapter_Release (“Japan Submerged”):Active=True]

 

[$Event.Chapter_Release (“A False Hero”):Active=True]

 

[$Event.Chapter_Release (“Prelude to Rebellion”):Active=True]

 

[$Event.Chapter_Release (“Ancients”):Active=True]

.

.

.

— — — — —

 

Wh-what the hell is this?

Just as she was taken aback, the screen suddenly went black.

The two people inside had turned off the machine.

It seemed they couldn’t see the words that were on the screen just now.

What the hell did I just see…?

While thinking about it, as if she had seen everything she had to see, her body was sucked into another place.

What greeted her was Lady Fortune’s familiar antique castle.

After finally returning to her body, she opened her eyes.

“Heuk…heuk…”

Her whole body was covered in cold sweat. Breathing heavily, she looked around.

“I-I can see…?”

Her murky eyesight as a result of the last incident had returned to normal.

In addition, she could feel that there was a tremendous but difficult to control power in her body.

However…

Rather than her own changes, only the sceneries she had seen earlier were hovering on her mind.

“Wh-what the hell was that…?”

She recalled the last scene she had seen.

 

— — — — —

Fython 99.9.0 (v99.9.0:145123123124123)

 

def ():

>>> Print (“Main scenario has changed.”)

Main scenario has changed.

 

>>> Print (“New content has been released.”)

New content has been released.

.

.

.

— — — — —

 

Messages that looked like it had come from a system in a game. But aside from games, she already knew what else it resembled.

A special connection ability called the ‘power of friendship’ that was passed on by Noah a long time ago.

Her eyes naturally moved to the corner of her vision. And there, it was a hologram-like icon of Noah.

“What the hell…”

For a while, she stared blankly at Noah’s icon that was blinking brightly.

*

Riing–

Main scenario has changed.

New content has been released.

“Oh!”

I exclaimed as I looked at the messages that had appeared after a long time.

In the past during the first round, such sentences would appear whenever a big episode began.

This appearing now meant a new matter would begin in earnest, right?

It seemed it was the right choice to go into hiding.

“Anyway, the plan worked out well.”

Looking at my arm that had regrown without problem, I recalled what had happened with Samaria not long ago.

[So to disguise my death, you need some blood?]

[Y-yeah… I-is that possible? If you really can’t, it might not be as effective, but it could just be your clothes…]

She had suggested that I disguise my death.

In fact, the initial plan was to use my blood, but I chose to cut off my arm myself to make it more certain.

She was very surprised by that, but in fact, I could recover with my regenerative skill if given enough time.

Having deceived the eyes of the World Government, I needed a place to hide and develop my strength for a while.

[They owe me something a long time ago, so if you have this token, it won’t be too much trouble to stay.]

She recommended a place while giving me a finely carved token.

As a result, I had to go through all sorts of hardships over the past few days. I crossed the sea on a stowaway ship and crossed several strange rocky mountains out of the city.

But finally…

“Is it here…?”

I looked up at the huge signboard in front of me.

On it were letters in magnificent handwriting.

Cheonma Order.

The only existence on Earth that could escape the World Government’s interference, and the world’s strongest independent group.

In fact, even in the first round, I had never fought these guys properly.

I came here after hearing the rumors, but most of them had already left for other dimensions before I had arrived.

“I can’t believe I’m here like this.”

Here, I could also prepare the elixir for my metamorphosis.

Since I have been working hard on Challenges, it wouldn’t be bad to focus on my growth for the time being.

“Ah, come to think of it, he said he lives here, right?”

I recalled the face of the new friend I had made in the second round.

My best friend who always generously gave me items.

“Hehe…your friend came to play from afar. You’re going to treat me right?”

While thinking about the items I could take this time, I stepped through the giant gate.