I’m the Main Villain but the Heroines Are Obsessed With Me

46 – 22. The Second Secret

Hweeeng!

The bodies of the transforming Ba’alzepub and Mamon begin to scatter in the mountain’s wind.

Ian continued to observe the pitiful state of the perpetrators who had destroyed his lineage and driven him into a corner by using barbarians.

“aaargh!”

“Are these the souls of the dead? It seems they were the ones Ba’alzepub absorbed.”

Countless souls flew into the void, and it was impossible to tell how many they had absorbed.

“Since they absorbed so many like that, they must have risen to the throne of the Demon King.”

The souls that had not only been killed but also manipulated. There was no need to watch them, but just in case.

“Iiiieee!”

At the moment he was watching the black souls flying into the void with a groan.

“How did I get this far! There’s not much time left to bring down Volcanov, and it ends like this!”

A female soul exuding an ominous aura began to emerge.

Her appearance was etched in Ian’s memory.

“Asmodeus?”

Blinking in disbelief, Ian stared, but there was no doubt that it was Asmodeus.

Since he had killed her countless times during the original game, Ian knew all too well what she looked like.

Was the Demon King herself’s soul coming out after defeating Ba’alzepub?

“It seems there was trouble among the demons. In that case, Baalzebub and Mammon were trying to escape using that.”

Asmodeus, the owner of the mongrels, had fully utilized his ability to enter dreams and used it in a manner similar to teleportation.

Baalzebub’s power had the additional effect of being able to use the absorbed abilities of others, so they must have planned to use it.

“Did they intend to move to the demon realm and inform the demons of Nathalion’s resurrection and collaborate on an attack?”

Of course, this story can never come true now.

They lost their lives before they could set foot in the demon realm. There was no way the remaining demon lords would ever find out about Nathalion’s existence.

Ian, who had taken on the appearance of a demon king, looked at the screaming Asmodeus with a raised eyebrow.

“No! I don’t want to die yet!”

Was it because he had taken on the role of a demon king? Unlike the souls that had flown into the air earlier, he stubbornly maintained his form.

“If it continues like this, it may cause problems…”

It would be better to prevent the threat as the head of the family. It would also be a form of revenge for trying to destroy the family.

From Noble mtl dot com

Crack!

“aaargh! Ugh! Let go! I said, let go!”

“Do you still not understand your place? I’d love to inflict pain on you for a long time, but I don’t really feel like it.”

She didn’t choose to keep her alive.

She was nothing more than a villain who had tried to ruin her life. There was no need to go to such trouble.

Instead, she could do everything in her power to make her suffer.

“Ether.”

“Oh, it hurts! It hurts! It hurts!”

After manifesting celestial numbers, she twisted her body, letting out a scream of agony.

“aaargh! No! Stop! Please, stop!”

As she begged for mercy, her screams became a requiem, and she squeezed even harder.

“aaargh!”

Hwaaargh!

When the soul in her hand eventually turned into smoke and disappeared, there was no more screaming.

At the same time, the status window appeared quickly.

“The owners of the abyss who are targeting you have disappeared.”

“You have completed an urgent quest! Checking some of the hidden secrets as a reward!”

“I wonder if I’ll be able to check it right away this time…”

Might as well check it in a comfortable space if possible, but it couldn’t be helped.

Ian, swept away by the waves, had no choice but to close his eyes.

***

The turbulent view soon calmed, and when Ian opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a cold wooden floor.

“It’s a familiar ceiling.”

At first, he thought he was mistaken and turned his head to look around. Clearly, this place was familiar to Ian.

The chilling sensation that made his body shiver involuntarily and the familiar scent, but, with absolute certainty, the presence of a man lying in bed made it clear.

“He appears to be around 8 years old. His face resembles that of Ian and Panbak. So…”

Was this the room where young Ian had lived?

Considering the size was different from Ian’s room at Cheongwol Pavilion, it seemed likely that this was the room from Ian’s childhood.

Leaving the sleeping young Ian behind, Ian first looked around.

“Nothing seems to have changed.”

A basic set of furniture, that was all. Although the interior of the Cheongwol Pavilion where Ian lived was somewhat similar, the room was much narrower.

After taking a quick look around, Ian sat on the old desk.

“What secret are they trying to confirm here?”

He gazed at young Ian, who was lying with clenched fists, but nothing seemed to change.

The system doesn’t lie, so it’s certain that he will discover the hidden secret in this place. But what could it be?

“Could it be that, unlike before, I have to find out for myself?”

In the end, he had reached the point of formulating a hypothesis that he had to search for hidden hints in this place as if he were escaping from the room.

It was at that moment when he was thinking about these absurd thoughts.

Knock! Knock!

“Oppa… Are you awake by any chance?”

A young girl’s voice could be heard from outside the room.

“Ian is the only one who could be called ‘oppa’… This thought crossed Ian’s mind.

As if confirming Ian’s thought, the young Ian, who had been sleeping until just now, suddenly got up and opened the door. Arielle, who was hugging a tattered deer doll to her chest, appeared.

“You weren’t sleeping… I’m relieved!”

With a joyful smile, she hopped around, as if everything was wonderful. The young Ian approached her with a faint smile.

“Are you planning to sleep together today?”

“Yeah… Is that okay?”

“Even so, you should start sleeping by yourself now. You’re already seven years old.”

“But. I can hear Mom and Dad yelling. It’s scary.”

Ariel, clutching the deer doll tightly, looked up at Ian with a forlorn expression.

“Just for today! Let’s sleep together just for today… I’ll sleep alone from tomorrow.”

Ian, as if unable to refuse her, let her into the room. He gently placed Ariel, nestled in his arms, on his own bed.

“hehehehe.”

Finally relieved, Ariel smiled, and Ian stroked her head, saying, “You like it that way?”

“Yeah! I’m not scared when I sleep with my big brother!”

The atmosphere between the two siblings, relying on a single candle, was warm.

‘But.’

Ian, who was actually looking at their interaction, let out a bitter laugh.

Ariel’s attitude was completely different from her usual self, the one who despised him. It was clear that they were close siblings, but what had happened to make their relationship like this now?

‘No, it was mentioned in the diary that Ian regressed since he learned the secret after defeating Lirilis. So, this moment must be his state before the regression.’

‘I still don’t fully understand.’

No matter how much he racked his brain alone, it wouldn’t unravel the mystery, so he decided to focus on their conversation.

At that moment, Ariel was still talking animatedly.

“Of course. Did you learn how to use a bow from Sister Celia today?”

“Really? I’m curious about how she did it.”

“How she did it?!”

In response to Ian’s question, Ariel, who had sprung up from the bed, spread her arms wide and mimicked swinging a large wooden bow, then laughed playfully.

“I waved a bow like this! Sister praised me for being good at it and said I had talent!”

“That’s amazing, Ariel. Are you going to become a better archer than Celia at this rate?”

“Really? hehehehe, but I want to be good at using a sword like you, big brother!”

“Later… when you grow up, you’ll be better with a sword than me. So don’t worry about it.”

How much time had passed? Ariel, who had been talking for a while, began to blink her eyes.

“Yawn.”

With her small mouth wide open, she yawned, and Ian covered her with a blanket.

“Now that a lot of time has passed, let’s go to sleep.”

“Just a moment. There’s still something I want to say.”

“Oh really? What is it?”

“Well… You know, I had a strange dream while sleeping yesterday.”

“A strange dream?”

“Yeah. I met a woman in a white dress, and she told me I would become a hero! She said that if I defeat the bad guys, she would grant me one wish.”

“… A woman in a white dress.”

In an instant, Ian’s demeanor changed unexpectedly.

“Huh? Why, big brother?”

Ariel sensed the strangeness and raised her head to meet Ian’s gaze. But Ian had already changed his expression.

“It’s nothing. So, what wish did you make?”

“I asked for happiness!”

“Happiness?”

“Yeah! I wished for my mom and dad to stop fighting and to be able to live happily! And then the woman in my dream said she would make me stronger the happier I am, so I have to defeat the bad people! She said that would make me happy!”

“Oh really? So you have to train hard to defeat the bad guys. Should we stop here for today?”

“Yeah! Big brother, you should sleep too…”

With that, the siblings’ conversation came to an end.

It was the moment when Ian gently stroked her head as she fell deeply asleep in his embrace.

“Now you can come out, Elysion.”

Whispering into the air with a completely different atmosphere from earlier.

As Ian finished speaking, mana in the air wavered, and a white-haired woman, Elysion, emerged from within Ariel’s body.

“Um… Where should I start this story from?”

Ian stared intently at Elysion, who couldn’t keep still, unable to make up her mind.

“Just tell me. Did you fail again in the end?”

“Yes… When Ariel, who was injured, left the front lines to receive treatment, the demons targeted our family… I’m sorry. I didn’t expect the demons to infiltrate our household.”

“So that’s what happened. I thought it was strange that the timeline was reversing.”

“I tried to stop it.”

Elysion bowed her head as if to atone for a grievous sin. Ian, however, simply lowered his head.

“As the hero capable of wielding the Holy Sword has fallen, there’s probably nothing you can do. You don’t have to apologize.”

“But… are you okay? You’ve repeated life several times already. You might have lost your mind.”

“I’m okay for now. I can endure.”

Ian, with his hand on his head, furrowed his brows. Just by looking at him, one could feel the intensity of his pain.

After maintaining his breath for a while, he was able to keep his composure.

“So, the plan to attack the demons before they finish their preparations has failed.”

“But we didn’t gain nothing. While you were attacking the demons, someone on their side has agreed to help us.”

“Is it the person you mentioned earlier?”

“Yes. According to that person, there is a way for Ariel to become stronger than she is now. Although it might be difficult, if we use that method, we might be able to end your regression.”

“Then we should prepare as quickly as possible.”

His vague pupils seemed to warn that he wasn’t in a normal state, but Ian clenched his fists and endured.

“Only two more times. I don’t think my sanity can hold up any longer after that.”