Struggling as a Villain

"Clone?" Carl couldn't believe that the being in front of him wasn't the same person he saw with the gang leader back on Earth.

Richard slowly nodded, "Yes, the clone I am talking about was created by Ethan's DNA and magic essence. That's why he looks like him and contains magic which even surpasses ether in comparison."

"Brother?" This time Bella was surprised to hear that, "Better than Ether?"

Her eyes darted toward Ethan, making the latter a little awkward as he shifted in his seat. He glanced at Richard and thankfully, the silver head was saved from explaining to her.

Richard heaved a sigh and told them, "Ether is the force which we received from the Goddesses, through no source. An ether user produces their ether through their ether core and channels them through ether routes."

"Aembr, on the other hand, is present everywhere and an Aembr user can absorb it through nature directly to fuel their body."

Richard frowned before turning toward Carl, "What about you? Can you absorb mana from the surroundings?"

"To an extent, yes; however, once my mana pool is filled, I need to stop," Carl explained.

"And does this mana pool extend or develop any further?" Bella asked curiously. When she was back on earth her conversation with others remained limited, so she never got to know things about mana and everything around it.

"No, sister. The size of the mana pool gets decided at the time when we awaken. No development there."

Richard hummed, "That's why the earthlings are weaker than the residents of Clion." Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e|m-p| y r

Carl raised his brows, "I don't get it."

This time Ethan added, "We can develop our storage. And it's mutual in both, ether and Aembr users."

Carl was surprised and so were the men around them who were listening to them.

The bear masked being who was among those who went to kidnap Bella, asked, "So...every being here has limitless potential?"

Richard narrowed his eye at the masked man, making the latter flinch, before the redhead asked, "Were you the one who carried Bella?"

The bear-masked instantly shook his head, "Sero…it was him. He was guarding the island. You already killed him."

Richard nodded before he answered the previous query, "Yes, every being here has limitless potential, but naturally, given the difficult criteria to level up, not many desire to climb the table."

That was something that created a huge gap between the two worlds. However, it was understandable, given that Clion was the first world where the gift of magic was bestowed and also the land where several Godly beings once resided. Of course, the magical energy of this world would be more potent.

"Returning to the topic, the magical energy Ethan possesses is different from others."

Glancing at Ruby, Richard wordlessly urged her to speak.

Every eye turned towards the raven-haired teenager before Ruby explained, "Unlike Ether and Aembr that derive from two sources, Divine Essence is bestowed upon an individual directly from the Deities who have blessed this world with life. In short, Sir Ethan possesses divinity within him."

Carl's eyes widened as he asked, "A demi-god?"

Richard nodded, "In a way, yes. It's just he wasn't a demi-god by birth but by his blessings."

Ruby added, "After all, Sir Ethan was blessed by every deity, and he is the apostle of the strongest one: the Goddess of Life."

Now every eye was on Ethan, making the boy shy as he looked away, and then back to Richard, begging for help.

Richard smiled in amusement as he said, "So yes, having such an essence allowed some freak scientist to run a few experiments, and create that anomaly called Clone. I have fought it before, but every time, it slipped away because of its body-cloning abilities."

Richard stated, his smile fading and a scowl taking its place.

Time after time, that damn thing has made things difficult for him, and nearly caused Violet's life. He could never forgive that being even if Zulcriz asks him to.

"It explains how, despite being in this world at that time, the clone appeared back on Earth," Bella muttered, given at the time she came to this world, the Clone was here and on Earth as well.

It was already a known fact that the timezones of Clion and Earth run differently.

Ruby was not completely aware of what they were talking about; however, from what she could discern, these masked beings came from a different world, about which Richard was aware somehow. And there, the clone of Ethan has been running havoc for some time now.

"Ethan," Richard called out, "You can pry inside their heads right?"

Richard remembered that Ethan could share the perception of those beings who were created by his cells.

Their minds were connected to a hive, and Ethan was someone who could peek inside that hive.

Ethan nodded, "I can...but I am not sure if it will work across realms."

"And it has risks. What if the clone peeks back?" Ruby adds.

Richard heaved a sigh, "There is no risk in trying, and as about retaliation," Richard got up and tore his sleeve before wrapping it around Ethan's head and blinding him,

"Now, go for it."

Ruby was still unconvinced, however, Ethan didn't pay attention to her apprehension and went for it.

Tightly shutting off his eyes, he tried to connect with the clones. Although he could sense that there were numerous of them spread around the world, he reached out for the farthest one.

His head was drumming violently, showing clear signs of how he still couldn't do this fluently, as he finally reached that clone about which they were talking.

"Ah..." A soft exclaim left his lips, as Ethan saw...a woman hanging by the chains.

"S-Short brown...hair...a mole...under her lower lip...."Ethan slowly muttered, and Carl immediately said,

"That's my sister!" Richard stopped him before Carl could approach Ethan and possibly break the connection.

Richard stepped toward Ethan and very quietly asked, "What can you see?"

"...she is suffering....barely alive ....dead eyes....torn skin...no will to resist....her...her..." Ethan sobbed, "Her eyes are getting...agh!"

Suddenly, Ethan felt bile welling up his throat as he removed the blindfold and vomited on the ground.

There were tears in his eyes and the boy looked pale seeing that treatment through which the girl was going through.

Carl paled in fear as he saw his reaction as he slumped back in his seat

Richard looked worried, as he patted Ethan's back and allowed him to calm down.

Ruby offered him some water, which Ethan rejected and looked at Richard,

"....she is suffering...being treated far worse than any criminal. I have seen her organs being taken out while keeping her conscious...and the girl...s-she didn't even flinch..."

Tears welled up in his eyes again, as Ethan began to cry aloud. He has never seen such a gruesome sight before. It was utterly brutal.

Richard patted his shoulder, and calmly said, "You did well, Ethan. Thank you."

Richard then got up and turned around.

Silence engulfed the closed space as Richard continued to move back and forth, no readable emotion on his face.

Bella, who was quite shaken up, couldn't help but feel guilty that she couldn't help Rena when she was back on Earth.

Carl was looking completely listless, staring at a particular point with no emotion left in his eyes.

If he had done a better job in hiding her or had been strong enough to protect her…she wouldn't have to go through such a hideous experience.

The silence was growing heavy, which ushered Ruby to ask, "What are you going to do?"

Richard didn't respond to her; rather, he turned toward Bella and asked, "You have your connection back on Earth, right?"

Bella nodded, "Yeah..." Her voice was hoarse, as she added, "I know a few people."

Turning toward the bear-masked one, he asked, "You can guide us, right?"

The masked being nodded, "I know everything about them since once I used to work for those sick bastards."

Richard slowly nodded as he made a decision, " Bella, we are returning home."

Bella's eyes widened as she realized what he was saying, as she said, "Mom won't agree to this."

" I am not going to tell her. If things go as I plan, then in two days, we will be back."

Ethan was about to say something when suddenly Carl rose from his seat and under everyone's gaze he walked toward Richard.

His eyes regained vitality as tears blurred them. Large droplet of tears flowed down as the boy fell to his knees.

Holding Richard's pants, the boy sobbed,

"P-Please…save…her…save her…please.."

Richard rested his hand on the younger one's head as he said,

"I will."

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A/N:- God, I had to make so many changes in this chapter to save you from the gore. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the progression.

Thanks for reading. Drop a comment.