Villain: Ultimate Mutation System in the Alternate World

Chapter 196: Dark Thoughts Part 2

"Master, are you okay?" Aiku inquired as Reign exited the room. She was unaware of what transpired inside since the domain only extended to the dressing room.

She sensed he was in a bad mood and decided not to intrude further, respecting his space.

"Just follow me," he ordered. He didn't have the time nor the patience to talk right now.

Aiku nodded, and followed him from behind.

They moved through the corridors, their footsteps echoing off the walls.

As they walked, Reign's mind raced with thoughts of his next move.

He was well aware that he had to be careful with Angela, but he also knew that her power and her own ambitions were a dangerous combination. He had to stay one step ahead if he wanted to kill her.

There was even a fleeting thought of him wanting to escape from her, but he had already poured too much effort and time into his plan to just abandon it now.

'She's not yet at the Demon King level, so I can still defeat her' he reassured himself.

Even though she was already a peak Demon Lord, he refused to believed that she was unbeatable as long as he also reached the status of a Demon Lord.

With all his groundwork at a legendary level, he was confident that he could put up a fight against her once he made his breakthrough. And even if he were to be killed, he still had another life to spare.

'I need to get stronger and find a way to kill her,' Reign's eyes flickered with determination.

<3 Hours Later>

Reign wasted no time after returning to the mansion.

He was now seated in a private room, facing six corpses laid out before him. They were all headless except for one, whose head had been blown open by a gunshot.

With Aiku's status, she could easily bribe the police officer for the bodies of her assassins with the right amount of money.

As he consumed them, he hoped for a mutation organ that could at least help him a bit, but unfortunately, they relied too much on external sources to power up.

They did grant him a lot of EXP compared to normal humans, but that was it; they were still useless overall.

In fact, even if he turned them into puppets, they wouldn't be much use anyway without their powersuits.

This was the problem with people who relied too much on external equipment.

While it was true that they gained a massive boost from such gear, without proper discipline, their real power and techniques would remain stagnant, and maybe even deteriorate .

Now, Reign finally had some inkling as to why hunters usually did not use powersuits.

Perhaps they also believed that relying too much on external equipment could only provide short-term enhancements but would be detrimental in the long run.

The next item on his agenda was to absorb the Divine Equipment—the golden ball he held in his hand. He observed it carefully.

She said that it has the ability to hurt a Demon King , but it could really mean a lot of things. It could mean that it could hurt them a lot or just superficial damages.

It also occurred to him that her assurances might be nothing more than empty promises.

After all, there was no way to validate her words without putting her claims to the test using the item in question.

Moreover, the thought of having something from someone as dangerous and cunning as an angel unsettled him. Reign knew that it had to go.

[Ding]

[System: Do you want to sacrifice it?]

[Yes]/[No]

"Yes," Reign commanded firmly, and the golden ball began to dim as his hands greedily absorbed all the energy it contained.

He could feel the immense power within just from the pressure it emitted, as if it was struggling to break free.

The dimming persisted until the once radiant crystal ball lost all its color, cracks spider-webbing across its surface before crumbling into fine dust, dissolving into the air just like that.

[System: You gained 150 Skill Points]

'Not enough,' he sighed.

With 150 skill points at his disposal, he should have been jumping for joy, but the presence of Angela cast a shadow over this gain. It felt like there was nothing to celebrate in her presence

He needed more power before his plan could even come to fruition in a couple of days, just in case she decided to change her mind and attack him.

There were no absolutes in this world.

So, he reasoned it was better to always expect the worst-case scenario.

This mindset would ensure he was prepared for whatever threat Angela might bring his way.

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

The sudden interruption caught his attention, breaking his train of thought.

"Come in,"

The door slowly swung open, revealing Aiku standing there.

"Master, this is the letter of recommendation. With this, you can leave the barrier for a scouting mission," she said, handing him the letter.

"Got it, you can leave now," Reign said as he took the letter from her hand, signaling her dismissal.

Hunting down corrupteds outside the barrier was not his preferred method, but he knew he had no choice. He needed every advantage he could get in order to protect himself.

Plus, there was another driving force behind his decision: the urgent need for more Dark Dust.

<Outside the City Barrier>

The dark mist enveloped the area, making it desolate and eerie.

Normally, Reign would have struggled to locate a horde of Corrupteds due to the large area he had to search.

Fortunately, Aiku had provided him with the exact coordinates of a confirmed Corrupted Nest and even arranged for access to a pickup truck equipped to block the Black Mist.

The truck looked like something straight out of a subpar, under-budget futuristic movie, with its sharp-angled design.

Even Reign felt it was too ugly for his taste. They called it a cyber truck, but in his opinion, it was better to call it a pile of shit.

The only reason he used it was because, unlike other trucks that ran on gas, this thing ran on battery.

It was purely electric, meaning it didn't even have an exhaust.

Additionally, it had its own air filtering system for long travels, a feature essential for navigating through the hazardous environment of the dark mist.

Another perk of this ugly-looking truck was also the fact that it did not generate any loud noise.

As he continued to ride through the black desert-like dry sands for a few more hours, he felt the terrain elevation getting steeper, indicating that he was now climbing a hill.

The truck's electric motor hummed quietly as it navigated the rough terrain, its tires gripping the sand with ease.

Reign tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his senses on high alert for any signs of danger.

With each passing moment, the tension in the air grew thicker, and he knew he was getting closer to his destination.

SCREECH!

He hit the brakes and stopped a kilometer away from the nest. He could feel the vibrations on the ground, indicating that in front of him was a horde of corrupted.

'Time to hunt,'