The Villain's Second Time

Chapter 9

'Disgusting.'

It's been a while.

Feeling repulsed at the sight of humans.

It's been over a hundred days since I entered Tartarus. In that time, the only humans I've met are the Saint, Kelth, and the Holy King.

So, I had momentarily forgotten.

'The stench is downright vile. But I love humans like this.'

Humans are so horrifically hypocritical, disgustingly pretentious, and hideously malicious.

That's why I like humans. Noble Elves, arrogant Dragons, and greedy Dwarves all have their flaws, but none quite measure up to humans.

"Kuh...!"

The Cowardly Hero, Frey de Siegfried.

The most "human-like" Hero in history.

She fears those stronger than herself, envies and resents comrades more capable than her, and feels a petty sense of superiority over those less competent. Truly, she is "human."

It's fundamentally different from the Demons, who take pride in their wickedness. Because she refuses to admit she's evil.

"Is it hard to make a hasty decision?"

"F*ck."

"Ha, you're not even pretending with that annoying voice anymore? So, you don't care if you're exposed now?"

"Shut up. Even my patience has its limits."

The Hero lowered Excalibur and muttered her words in a low, biting tone. The raw emotions in her voice—anger, resentment, and more—were not impulsive. They were the culmination of deep-seated grudges accumulated over years.

"Hoo... Maria."

"Yes, Hero."

"Do you know why you're fated to be executed in the Empire's Square in front of everyone?"

"Because I committed a crime."

"No, it's because of me. I asked the Demon King for it."

Huh?

"Even my visit today was for that day."

"Is that so?"

"I wanted to see your face when you realized that the friend you trusted most, the one who even came to apologize, betrayed you twice. To witness your expression filled with despair, hatred, contempt, and disillusionment before your head is futilely severed at the guillotine... I wanted to see that Maria."

Wow, this Hero... She's even more insane than I thought.

No wonder the continent is doomed with someone like her as its hope. I genuinely wonder what's inside the Sun God's brain for appointing someone like her as the Hero.

"Did I do something wrong to you during our journey?"

"No, you were perfect. Kinder and brighter than anyone."

"Then why do you harbor such deep hatred toward me?"

"Do you know, Maria?"

The Hero's golden eyes became sorrowfully damp. The golden-haired girl's gaze flickered with unresolved bitterness.

"When the light is too blindingly bright, the shadows around it become painfully vivid."

"...."

"We first met at Eden Academy. Though we came from different nations, as the Sun's Saint and the Sun's Hero, we grew closer than anyone else."

"Indeed."

"In every field we studied there... You never missed first place. Every semester, every year, even when we graduated, you always stood at the top. As if God had ordained it."

"I was merely doing my best."

"Maria, do you know how it feels to always come second, unable to surpass the one at the top?"

Before I knew it, Excalibur had returned quietly to its sheath. The Hero continued her words piece by piece.

"Do you know what it feels like to sit at a desk until your eyes bleed, studying endlessly, only to face an insurmountable wall? To confront someone who memorizes everything—math, literature, alchemy—with just a glance?"

"I do not."

"Of course you wouldn't. It's only natural. Because Maria was always first."

The Hero, completely disregarding my presence by now, continued her conversation with the Saint. The sweet, vile inferiority complex oozing from her words was delectable, so I simply listened.

"But you know what's even more ridiculous?"

"What is it?"

"When you realize that a genius, endowed with impossible talent, works harder than anyone else."

"...."

"When you see an unattainable talent building an unapproachable wall of effort. At that moment, I was dumbfounded."

The Hero's tone became slightly more intense. The waves of emotion, previously held back, began to surge forward as a tidal wave.

"It's unfair... If a genius among geniuses like you puts in an unimaginable amount of effort, what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

The tidal wave approached faster than expected. Suddenly, without warning, it crashed with a bang.

"What am I supposed to do to catch up to you?! What am I supposed to do?!"

Once the dam breaks, it can never be restored. The torrent, long pent up, won't stop until it runs its course.

"I even cheated!! I copied answers!! I bribed professors to get test papers in advance!!"

For a moment, I felt a deep sense of crisis emanating from the Hero. Even though Excalibur and all weapons had left her hands, the madness and murderous intent pouring from her words were far more intense than before.

"For the first time, I got a perfect score... For a brief moment, I even outranked Maria. But then Maria pointed out flaws in the answers that even the professor didn't know...! In the end, the answers I paid that bastard professor for turned out to be wrong! And you were first again!!"

"...."

"Maria, Maria, Maria! What do you want from me?! What do I have to do to surpass you?! Even when we formed a party and fought against the Demon Army! You were the only one who pretended to be noble and righteous! When the military's tank division was isolated in the middle of the Demon Army! You were the only one who couldn't let it go! Everyone else opposed it!!"

"I was taught that there is no such thing as an acceptable sacrifice."

"There is! That's how everyone lives! They abandon what needs to be abandoned! They save what can be saved! Every Hero Party in history has done so! But... Do you know what's truly heartbreaking?"

"What is it?"

"That you, who went into the Demon Army alone, ended up creating an unbelievable legend and saved the military's tank division. When you succeed like that, what does that make me, who argued to abandon them? I made the rational decision, but everyone vilified me as trash and pointed fingers at me!"

I've heard the stories.

Hero Frey is the weakest Hero in history, while Saint Maria is the strongest Saint in history.

A Hero who should rightfully stand at the top, living a life of despair blocked by the wall of a genius Saint.

The Hero has endured that for years.

"To be honest... I'm so happy right now."

"Are you happy?"

"Yes, because you failed. For the first time. You were defeated by the Demon Army and faced a destiny of standing on the guillotine. Even knowing that the continent will soon be swallowed by darkness, the fact that you finally failed makes me so, so happy. I know it's wrong for a Hero to feel this way, but so what? I've already cast off the title of Hero a long time ago anyway."

Although she bore the grandiose title of Hero of the Sun, the truth was that her heart as a Hero had long since decayed and crumbled away.

What's even more tragic is the fact that the Saint was always by her side.

Blindingly radiant, the Saint unintentionally exposed every sin around her. Unless one was a being who embraced evil like me, those near the Saint were forced to confront their own inner selves.

And they became aware of their own hideous flaws. Flaws that wouldn't have mattered when surrounded by ordinary people, as everyone is somewhat wicked. But living alongside the Saint, a being of pure, untainted goodness, they must have felt those flaws keenly.

What followed was a grim despair. Not to mention the cold gazes and cruel judgments of those around her, who constantly compared her to the Saint.

And so, the Hero walked the path of corruption.

"...This feels so good."

"Mr. Demon?"

"Joker?"

"Ah, no, keep talking. That was just me mumbling to myself."

My thoughts had escaped my lips without me realizing it. Fortunately, neither of them seemed particularly interested in me.

The Hero was too busy pouring out her grievances and emotions to the Saint.

Turning people toward corruption by being virtuous—what a truly novel idea.

If there’s a next life for me, I’d like to try it at least once. Of course, it’s a fanciful delusion, but just imagining it is quite amusing.

Temptations of the devil, the kind likely featured in Demon Realm textbooks? Lives dragged into the abyss of corruption?

Wouldn't this be far more entertaining than such stale, outdated methods?

Watching someone wallow in despair as they confront their own ugliness, eventually accepting corruption and transcending self-loathing to unite with demons.

"Ah, I can’t take it anymore. Being in the same space as you for even one second makes it hard to breathe."

"Hero."

"Don’t speak. Your… no matter how soft and clear your voice is, to my ears, it’s nothing but the wailing of a devil."

"...."

"Maria, you’ll never understand me. But that’s what you are. You’re the kind of existence that turns the ordinary into something grotesque and vulgar. I wish you’d disappear from this world forever."

"You seem troubled."

"Damn it, I’m starting to hate the Sun God. Why did he have to create a Saint like Maria while I’m the Hero? Without you, I would’ve fought the Demon King to the end and died a glorious death."

Ah, I didn’t particularly like that last statement.

If you’ve gone to the trouble of corrupting yourself, you should fully embrace it. Why cling to goodness even now?

"Hero? It’s one thing to blame the Saint, but don’t use it as an excuse for self-justification."

So, I interjected. The Hero wouldn’t get too riled up now that he’d somewhat calmed down.

"Joker, what do you mean by that?"

The Hero responded curtly. To her, I replied with a sly grin.

"You submitted to the Demon King purely because you’re a coward. You didn’t have enough righteousness to risk your life resisting the Demon King. So don’t pull this nonsense about how things would’ve been fine without the Saint."

"...! What do you know about it?"

"The feelings of a second-place loser overshadowed by number one? That’s my specialty."

"Hah, is this you rambling because your life’s about to end?"

"No, no, I’m serious. I’m just like you. The only difference is that your rival is the Saint, and mine is the Demon King."

"What...?"

The Hero’s expression changed instantly. My words reminded him of who I was.

Joker, the second-in-command of the Demon Army. In other words, someone who had spent his whole life overshadowed by the number one—by the Demon King.

"Earlier, you complained to the Saint, saying, ‘What can you do if a genius puts in effort?’ right?"

"...Yes, I did."

"Do you know what it feels like to hit a wall built by a genius who doesn’t even try?"

"...!"

From birth, an overwhelmingly powerful being for whom effort was a luxury. The world designated him as the overlord of demons and called him the Demon King.

"Heh, but there’s a fundamental difference between you and me."

"What is it?"

"You envied the Saint, while I revered the Demon King."

"Ugh...! Th-that’s...!"

"Do you know why? Why some celebrate when their comrades grow stronger, while others feel jealousy and inferiority?"

His golden eyes, shining brilliantly even in the darkness, wavered like crashing waves. They were dazzling on the outside but held a wretchedly corrupted interior.

"It’s because your very essence is vile."

"W-what?"

"When your comrade succeeds, you should celebrate. Even for a demon like me, that’s common sense. But our great Hero here has a more corrupt essence than even a demon like me?"

"W-w-what are you saying...!"

"If you were truly a Hero, you wouldn’t have cared how well the Saint did. You would’ve resisted the Demon King to the bitter end.

That’s what a Hero does, right? Or did the meaning of the word ‘Hero’ change without me realizing it?

Someone who never falls into corruption and only protects righteous justice—that’s what a Hero is, isn’t it?"

"...!"

Every word I hurled at the Hero was a fallacy.

Fundamentally, the Hero and I had different goals. For me, the Demon King was merely a means to an end.

A tool to bring chaos to the world. Thus, the Demon King’s strength was nothing but a boon to me.

But for the Hero, the Saint was a rival. Who wouldn’t feel envious if their rival surged far ahead of them? Aside from the Saint Maria standing over there, that is.

Even this simple truth would easily expose the flaws in my argument. But, unfortunately, our dear Hero didn’t have the composure to analyze it.

Someone who had just confessed in tears while drowning in self-loathing—what mental strength could they possibly have left?

All I did was suppress the Hero’s attempt to create a defense mechanism to avert their eyes from self-loathing. To ensure they would fully embrace corruption.

The rest was up to the Hero. Whether they would dive into the abyss of despair or resort to petty blame to continue their current existence.

"Stop it. Joker."

"Heh."

"Hero, don’t take his words to heart. Everyone makes mistakes. What matters is the future."

"Oh my, Saint. What's the matter? I'm avenging you with my words right now."

"I forgive you, Hero. So, even now, humbly accept the faults of your past and move toward the light. That is true atonement and judgment."

Or, as the Saint says now, reflect and repent. Though, that's the kind I hate the most.

"...I'm leaving. Maria, have a good death."

With those words, the Hero turned away weakly. Her silhouette, which somehow seemed relieved, flickered faintly in the pitch darkness.

"Hero."

The Saint softly called out, stopping the Hero.

"What."

The Hero answered briefly without turning back, as if she had no desire to continue the conversation.

"Everyone makes mistakes. Just don't forget that."

"...."

With those final words from the Saint, the Hero trudged away and exited Tartarus, carrying the now-silent Excalibur at her waist.

The creaking sound of the iron door marked the Hero's departure.

Watching her disappearing figure in silence, I turned to the Saint and casually made a suggestion.

"Hey, Saint. How about we make a bet?"

"A bet, you say?"

"Yeah. Let's bet on whether that pathetic Hero chooses evil or good."

"...I believe in the Hero."

"Heh."

I let out a sneering chuckle. Perhaps hearing that, the Saint approached me and spoke as if scolding.

"What were you thinking earlier?"

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

"What if the Hero had gone berserk? It's fortunate she didn't cross the line, but it could have been disastrous."

At first glance, she seemed angry, but the emotion in her words was none other than 'concern.'

"I've stepped in twice, so which time are you talking about?"

"The first time. Did you think I wouldn't notice that the Hero was pretending?"

"Oh, what? You knew everything? Then, could it be that the Saint was wearing a mask too?"

"...If it had been just me, I would have reminded the Hero of her mistakes. But you were beside us, so it could have gotten dangerous."

"Pfft! You knew everything! I didn’t expect that!"

"Sigh... You truly lack any sense of caution."

Ah, so was the 'peculiar emotion' the Saint had been hiding that?

It seems it wasn't resentment toward the Hero's betrayal. Instead, it was because she chose to feign ignorance of the truth to protect me.

Well, it's all in the past now.

"Still."

Lowering her head slightly, the Saint moved her lips. She wore her usual gentle smile on her dainty lips, as if she had never been upset in the first place.

"The courage you showed when stepping in was truly admirable."

"Ahem."

What’s this? It's not even that big of a compliment, yet I can't stop the corners of my mouth from twitching upward.

"I never thought I'd live to be praised by the Saint."

Since the Saint can't even see my face, I might as well smile as much as I want while she's not looking.