Reincarnated and Regressed Villain - Make heroines beg for forgiveness

Chapter 223: Chapter 223- Xiang Zhen

In the marketplace, which was once crowded with several people gathered to watch a fight, now had fewer individuals making their way towards a spot where two figures sat. One was a man in a black robe and matching mask, seated at a table outside a stall, eating barbecued chicken. The other was a woman in a pink floral dress, holding a plain noodle soup.

'How cruel, Senior,' Bone Breaker muttered, looking at the man with amber eyes sitting beside the young woman, enjoying chicken while she had been given a simple bowl of soup.

They had never witnessed such cruelty before. Death and torture were commonplace, but to deprive a blind woman and feed her something so bland...

"So, Liu Wei is your childhood friend," Ryuk confirmed, taking a piece of chicken and glancing at the woman. He had intentionally chosen non-spicy food for her, considering her weak taste buds.

He had already noticed the subdued tone in her voice, a result of her personality and a seal around her neck that blocked her veins.

However, he couldn't gather much information; it seemed to be some kind of special technique that gradually numbed her senses, starting with blindness and affecting her vocal cords.

Introducing stimulating substances like spice would only worsen her condition.

"Don't listen to him, Zhen'er! Even if I perish today, don't give in for my sake!" Liu Wei felt his eyes tremble, his jaws clenched in frustration as he hung upside down, his hand stuck behind him, a colorless energy suppressing his body and preventing any action.

Energy doesn't have a particular color; it depends on the medium of its source, which determines its hue. The ether energy shrouding Liu Wei had a colorless aura due to adjustments in wavelength made by Ryuk.

[Host, why is this idiot crying? Cut off his tongue =?_?=]

'Shut up and tell me what I asked,' Ryuk firmly commanded the system to provide valid information about the reasons for these unexpected events and the birth of a new 'Son of Heaven' while Edward was still alive.

[Host, do you remember activating your Villain Aura after regressing back?]

'...and?' Ryuk remembered waking up in his present life at the age of five and activating his Villain Aura, a formal acceptance of terms the system had asked him about in his previous life too.

Naturally, his presence was an eyesore to the Son of Heaven, inevitably making them hate Ryuk, even though Ryuk hadn't chosen anything; it was written in his destiny.

To accumulate Killing Points and Leveling Points, Ryuk needed to formally accept being a villain by activating his Villain Aura, which gave him perks based on the evil deeds he committed.

But the question remains, what evil from him caused such phenomenon?

Ryuk couldn't think of many crimes he had committed since regressing here. He always tried to resolve things as peacefully as possible.

If it was about evil, shouldn't there be more evil people than him?

[ Host, had you turned off those Leveling points bubbles, didn't you? ]

'...That's?' Ryuk was reminded of how he had muted those bubbles which used to show negative numbers based on pain inflicted on others directly or indirectly by him.

Naturally, he muted them because there wasn't any need for the system to gain any levels, and those popping up always were distracting.

[ Do you want to see how many Leveling points and Kill points you have presently? ]

'Show.' Ryuk had definitely killed people, but not nearly as many as he had in his previous life. Knowing how kill points were based on individual strength too, he estimated he had around a few hundred.

DING!

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'Huh?' Ryuk kept looking at the screen that had appeared, not quite understanding why his leveling points were this high.

Firstly, kill points could be high due to the battles he had fought in Ardoros, causing the deaths of stronger individuals whose life value was taken based on their strength.

The issue was the leveling points, which were in the sextillions.

No matter how much he thought about it, even in his past life where he had killed millions, he hadn't received more than a billion hate points.

Hate points, which contributed to leveling points, were counted based on the intensity of pain he had inflicted on others.

This meant it wasn't the exact number of people he had hurt, but the intensity of that pain.

For example, if he made Valhale writhe using the grimoire, which was the highest level of pain he could inflict, he would not receive more than 400 leveling points.

So why the hell is that value so astronomical?

Practically, a sextillion was the weight of the Ardoros Continent, which had land infused with Ether and also represented the strength stats of Drishti, who could lift the entire continent with her strength for a second.

Indeed, the strength stats mentioned were based on the standards of this world's level, leading them to have astronomical values. However, several other factors played a role in judging who was stronger between two individuals.

Let's put that aside but seriously?

[ Host, you have indirectly inflicted too much pain during the whole five years you were in a coma. ]

'What? I...' Ryuk could understand that using the grimoire and many other means to torture others played a crucial role.

He was even sure that he had collected more than 10,000 points from Edward alone by now.

After all, who wouldn't harbor hatred after losing a hand and being crippled by the same person?

But still, he couldn't have hurt that many people, even indirectly, can he?

'So, what happened afterwards?' Ryuk inquired again, moving past the confusing values that appeared but still believing in them, seeking further explanations.

[ So, it turns out that I coincidentally took on the System ID of a Villain system, and you, my Host, also turned out to be a villain. Summing all this up, I had kept those points building up and stored in your body until now, before it reached its limit and released a burst of energy. ]

'and created an opposite charged particle due to induction?'

[ Yes, pretty much similar. ]

'So, you're saying that I became so evil that my own presence induced a counterpart of me who is this—no, a particular son of heaven with seven lives?'

[ Yes. ]

'What nonsens—'

"S-sir, will you please let Liu Wei go?"

Suddenly, drawing his attention was a soft voice from beside him, as he glanced towards the woman trembling while drinking the soup, her eyes static due to their lack of light.

"What is your name?" Ryuk glanced at her, his voice firm, causing a flinch to go through her.

"I-it's Xiang Zhen," the woman whispered, her voice barely audible but enough for Ryuk to hear.

"Don't bully her, you fiend! If you have power, then face me and see if your hands remain—"

SLAP

Liu Wei tried to speak, but Bone Breaker delivered a tight slap to his cheek, scoffing and declaring firmly, "Hey, only the strong have the right to speak."

"Urgh..." Liu Wei glanced at the black-robed man, whose black mask and straw hat cast a shadow over his face, revealing only his amber eyes. Clenching his jaw and tightening his fist, Liu Wei inwardly vowed, 'I will kill you one day. Once I claim the heritage of Jade Pavilion, I will make sure to destroy you, demon!'

"Zhen'er, do you want me to let Liu live?" Ryuk glanced at her with narrowed eyes, already set on a decision, prompting the woman to clutch the bowl tightly, though she hadn't even started eating.

"Y-yes, please. Zhen'er would appreciate it if Young Master let him go," she replied, turning her head towards Ryuk's voice, her eyes pleading for her friend's release even though looking only darkness.

After all, she blamed herself for attracting the young master's attention like that. 'I should have worn more dark makeup,' she thought, regretting that her usual disguise to hide her true beauty hadn't been applied well enough.

Zhen'er had learned one thing from her life so far: Beauty is a curse that turns even flowers into mere decorations, cut off from their life-giving roots, simply because they lack the strength to protect themselves.

'!'

Suddenly, Zhen'er felt her hand gripped by the young master beside her.

"Don't you dare touch her, you bastard!" Liu Wei's whole body burned with rage upon seeing the robed man holding Zhen'er's hand, attempting to retaliate but futile due to their vastly different levels of strength—like heaven and earth.

"Very well, accompany me to the auction today, and I will safely return you to your home," Ryuk said as he stood up, noticing her lack of interest in eating due to anxiety.

"Stop it! Don't believe him!" Liu Wei, already aware of the young master's true intentions, burst with his qi, willing to sacrifice his life to free Zhen'er from this situation.

"Let's go, Young Master," Zhen'er softly said, her hands trembling as they rested on the man's hand, knowing that this was a turning point in her life.

Today, she would lose the thing her mother died trying to protect—her respect and sanity.

But at least this time, she wouldn't let anyone die for her, placing the bowl aside before standing up.

[ Host, are you really going too... ]

'...' Ryuk couldn't believe that even the system doubted him, finding some humor in the situation.

'Didn't you say if one dies, he shares memories with others?' Ryuk recalled the system's words about these seven sons of heaven.

[ Yes. ]

'I will kill Liu Wei today,' Ryuk firmly declared.

[ Host, wouldn't it backfire if a stronger variant came looking for you? Considering his status as a Son of Heaven, even though weaker than Edward, it's highly probable. ]

'That's exactly why,' Ryuk narrowed his eyes, looking towards Liu, who glared back at him with anger clearly written on his face. Ryuk smiled, his expression determined. 'If they are Sons of Heaven and there are no new heroines, then if my guess is correct, it's likely that one of them would already have approached one of the present heroines.'

Indeed, the system has mentioned how a Villainess needed to awaken new heroines as counterparts, with Villainess having same values of crimes and evil done as Ryuk himself.

[ But why go as far as to kill? ]

'First, to let other six be aware of my existence, and second, to get rid of Liu Wei, who sealed her own friend so that she slowly loses all senses because he wanted to monopolize her beauty." Ryuk gripped the woman's hand before moving forward, not having any such intentions, but feeling somewhat akin to how a cat gets from a mouse with Liu—wanting nothing but to play before killing him.

Because everything come to one point: If he didn't become a villain here, then he would be the one to become prey.

[What? How did you know, Host? I scanned but didn't find anything on that guy or think he have such inten... Ah...I see, kekeke.]

[You are more evil than I thought, Host.]