The Villain has Perished



Jae-sung didn't speak for a few good minutes. He kept opening and closing his mouth, struggling to put his thoughts into words.

I couldn't wait anymore and decided to speak first.

"Is there something you need to talk about?"

"Mhm…"

He took a deep breath. His eyes shone with conviction when he opened his mouth.

"Sir Sol, there is something I need to say."

'Then say it, you lunatic! Why are you acting all shy and nervous! It's giving me goosebumps!'

Jokes aside, I was also worried. 

No matter if he was Jae-sung 001, the un-regressed Jae-sung, or Jae-sung 002, the Jae-sung after regression, he still knew about my actions in the forest. 

I was thankful he wasn't coming after me with guns blazing but this kind of behavior was dangerous in another sense.

"I'm sorry for attacking you in the forest!"

Suddenly, Jae-sung bowed.

'...huh?'

"I wasn't aware of the evil god sealed inside you! While you were trying to suppress the evil god and protect everyone, I tried to kill you! Even though… even though.."

What nonsense was this guy spouting?

I would have laughed if it was a joke but it clearly wasn't. Jae-sung was clenching his fists hard enough for them to turn white which was accompanied by a popping sound. 

"Evil God?"

"You don't need to hide it, Sir Sol. Lady Setsuna has told me everything. 

About the evil god that has been sealed inside you since your childhood, that only the highest delegation of the Holy Church and Duke Lionel know about the seal, and that every month on the full moon day the seal weakens temporarily, causing the evil god's influence on you to grow during this time.

I… I never knew you were shouldering such a heavy burden."

Listening to Jae-sung, my expression was frozen stiff.

What was that 8th-grade syndrome edgy story about having an evil god sealed inside me? Why would the seal weaken on a full moon? I don't think I'm a werewolf.

'You never knew I was shouldering a heavy burden? What a coincidence, I didn't know either.'

Suddenly, Jae-sung's expression changed as if he realized something important. Oh no, there was more?

"Ah! No, Lady Setsuna only revealed it to me and she didn't do it willingly!"

Jae-sung spoke like a chatterbox, worried that I would stop him before he could explain everything.

"I'm sorry for this. I thought the two of you were working together. And after knowing what you did in the forest, I couldn't ignore everything. So, I questioned Lady Setsuna until I got answers. 

She explained that this time your seal weakened by a considerable margin. It was an unexpected situation.

When the crown over your head appeared, the Holy Order believed that the evil god took over and sent their elite unit to stop the evil God. 

Of course, after diagnosing Sir Baratos we realized he wasn't poisoned. It must've been hard for you, to stop the evil god from killing Sir Baratos. You even stopped the evil god's from poisoning Sir Baratos and instead fed him a random herb from ro–"

I raised my hand to stop Jae-sung.

"You don't need to explain anymore."

'Any more than this and my brain will rot. What's with that suspiciously convenient excuse of a story? I was overtaken by the evil god inside me, so the things I did in the forest weren't actually done by me?'

I again realized that chicken had no talent in story-making. The excuse she gave Jae-sung was redundant at best. I would be surprised if even 5-year-olds get tricked by it.

'Even if Jae-sung 001 is stupid he won't believe it– ah, he does. Look at that expression saying "Even if there is an evil god inside you, I know that you yourself aren't evil". His eyes are shining as if he has found a quest treasure trove of an SSR grade NPC.'

Jae-sung 002 was edgy and emo. Even after being reincarnated in this world, I still stand by my evaluation.

However, this Jae-sung wasn't any better. He wasn't edgy or emo. But he was stupid!

"Where is Lady Setsuna?"

At my question, Jae-sung's eyes started swimming everywhere. He was trying to evade my gaze.

'I don't have a good feeling about this.'

Under my relentless gaze, Jae-sung answered eventually.

"...Lady Setsuna went to prepare for that." 

" 'That' ?"

"The Drago–"

Bam—!

Suddenly the door was flung open with strong momentum.

A man in his late 20s entered the room. He had a feminine face, pink hair that was disheveled badly. His clothes were untidy and he was carrying liquor in both hands. 

From his wobbly steps and half-filled bottles, it seems that he had been drinking heavily before coming here.

"Aha? Diz zhe sleeping prinnnnce wake up? I'm…, noz inzruding, am I?"

Jae-sung's expression turned ugly when the man spilled the contents of the liquor bottles on the carpet. However, he didn't say anything. 

The extravagant clothes and the hair made the man's identity clear. He wasn't someone Jae-sung could treat lightly.

The man giggled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. As he spoke, he tapped the side of my face repeatedly.

"You are noz angry, are you? Zhis is myyyy house. I gez zo decide how zo treaz my gueszzzz."

He was the first imperial prince, Baizamu, and the first major antagonist Jae-sung would've faced before Coalescence. 

The volume before Coalescence had two major antagonists: The Shrewd Prince and the Indomitable Dragon Kings.

The Shrewd Prince Baizamu wasn't a villain if one looked at his actions closely. 

His only faults were his goals that clashed with the heroine's – Charlotte, the 2nd Imperial Princess – goals. This caused Baizamu to be portrayed as a rebel and villain in the novel.

I was not planning to get involved with him. There was no need for me to interfere with the plot concerning Baizamu.

However, not all villains were guilt-free like Baizamu. The Dragon Kings were an example.

They looked down on humans for ruling over the continent despite not having strength. Thinking of humans as bugs, they started a genocide and razed the continent to the ground, calling it purifying the land of insects.

In the novel, the dragon kings awakened four weeks before Coalescence. In that short time, they killed innumerable humans. 

Jae-sung couldn't stop them either. Rather, Jae-sung only survived because the Coalsence arrived and the Dragon Kings didn't have time to deal with him anymore.

In short, although Dragon Kings were a nuisance they had the strength to back their arrogance. 

My mass human awakening plan, and asking Yula, my personal maid, for a map of the continent, using Lumine to get in contact with elves. 

Since the beginning, I have been moving with the goal of finding the locations where the dragon kings were sealed and then strengthening the seal to make sure they don't awaken.

Because I had no doubt. I can't guarantee a victory against the dragon kings.

What I can guarantee is that even if somehow managed to defeat them miraculously, the price for the victory won't be small.

'No need to think about it now, though. There is a lot of time left that I can use to make sure the dragon kings don't awaken.'

Tap—! Tap—! Tap—!

The prince struck my face lightly again.

"Why arenz you…. Zalking?"