Chapter 329
Born to Be Evil
Tears streamed continuously from Wilhelmina’s eyes.
Her younger brother was her family, her everything.
For that reason, she couldn’t accept his death.
She wanted to bring him back to life.
She wanted to see her precious brother again.
Thus began her resurrection research.
However, there wasn’t a single sane person willing to fund her absurd research on resurrection.
Only one person stepped up.
Messiah was the only exception.
Thus, she collaborated with him.
Messiah didn’t just provide funding; he also assisted with her research.
Wilhelmina didn’t completely trust Messiah, but she believed in him to some extent.
She didn’t agree with the ridiculous ideals of the New World, but she thought there had to be some minimal level of credit.
But that he was the monster who killed her brother!
That was truly a world-shattering shock for her.
“Ugh, hick, whaaah…”
Tears poured down her cheeks.
Wilhelmina, sitting on the ground like a child, wiped her tears away with her hand.
She had been deceived.
Betrayal filled her heart.
According to Kim Deok-Sung, Messiah had planned, after killing her brother, to approach her and use her for his own purposes all this time.
“…Hic…”
Wilhelmina trembled.
That wasn’t all.
Grand Elder of the Cult, Soul Reaper Diego Morales.
The League and the Cult had a cooperative relationship, so as a high-ranking official in the League, Wilhelmina had met with the Grand Elder several times.
But who would have thought he was the enemy of Damian?
The person she thought was an ally was her worst enemy and a betrayer, and she had missed another enemy as well.
Yet, she couldn’t turn her blade toward Messiah right now.
As Kim Deok-Sung said, resurrection took precedence over revenge, and more than anything, her precious brother’s soul was in the Grand Elder’s grasp.
“…”
Wilhelmina covered her eyes with her hands.
Tears flowed between her fingers.
She was caught in a situation where she could do neither this nor that.
A sense of suffocation overwhelmed her as if the walls were closing in; the helplessness of not being able to do anything dominated her entire body.
‘Damian… What… am I going to do…?’
As she commonly did, she called out her deceased brother’s name while crying.
“Calm down.”
Kim Deok-Sung’s voice drifted to her ear.
*
Seriously, crying like a child in this serious atmosphere?
This isn’t a light novel world for nothing; it’s bewildering.
In a webnovel, we’d never have a scene like this.
I’m stuck in the fate of being reincarnated in an isekai novel.
The heroines’ gazes are fixated on me.
The Undertaker, who looks like a girl but is actually over seventy, sobbing is quite a sight for me, yet the heroines seem to feel sympathy.
Well, it’s got to be typical for a light novel.
“Junior. At times like this, I think it’s best for a man to take responsibility for making a woman cry. You may be a born villain, but you know how to take responsibility for a woman,” came Kasumi-senpai’s voice from behind.
What does it even mean to be a born villain?
Is that just a natural trait?
The other heroines quietly nod along to Kasumi-senpai’s words.
[Hoshino’s right. Partner. You made her cry. Quickly comfort her like a gentleman.]
The Black Prince’s voice echoes in my head.
Did I make her cry? She was crying all by herself, wasn’t she?
I’m not sure if it’s my fault, but at this rate, we can’t have a proper conversation.
For my own future, I had to calm the Undertaker down.
With a sigh, I approached her and said,
“Calm down.”
The Undertaker looked up at me with tears glistening in her eyes.
She spoke,
“….”
A brief silence hung in the air.
Our gazes intertwined.
“Black Beast….”
The Undertaker murmured towards me.
“…What… should I do now?”
She slowly addressed me.
Out of nowhere, asking what she should do.
There’s no need to question the intent behind that.
This is a kind-hearted light novel world.
Aside from a few rare exceptions, most people here were straightforward and didn’t mince their words.
So her asking what to do was genuinely a question of what I thought she should do.
That meant I had to respond.
“I will grant you your revenge and your resurrection.”
The Undertaker is a valuable asset.
I need to keep her alive and bring her back after my return.
To do that, I needed to recruit her starting now.
I noticed the curiosity spark in Wilhelmina’s eyes.
Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
“So, from now on, cooperate with me instead of the Messiah. I’m already enemies with him, and I won’t deceive or betray you. I promise.”
Wilhelmina’s cheeks twitched at my words.
Her hands trembled with nervous energy.
She’d just realized that the Messiah is a traitor.
But there was no reason for her to easily accept someone else’s cooperation.
At least under normal circumstances.
But I had a cheat card.
[The trust of my partner is guaranteed by this Black Prince, so you can rest easy, sis.]
The Black Prince, now a translucent spirit hovering next to me, gave a thumbs up while vouching for me.
That’s right.
With the Black Prince, a member of Five Crowns and a personal acquaintance of hers, vouching for me, she could easily be led to trust me.
I could do it.
Because this is a light novel world.
As expected, upon hearing the Black Prince’s words, Wilhelmina’s eyes widened even more.
A flustered situation.
“······.”
Wilhelmina’s silence continues.
“Really······. Revenge······. Resurrection······. The Black Beast······. Can do it?”
Wilhelmina asks with a trembling voice.
To cut to the chase, the resurrection of Damian Heisenberg that she desired in the original story never happened.
After the protagonist defeated the Grand Elder of the Cult and handed Damian’s Soul Gem to the Undertaker in volume 17, she attempted resurrection but failed.
And it was said that resurrecting a soul goes against the laws of the world and disturbs the peace of the soul—some cliché lines she used to persuade her. After shedding tears, the Undertaker gave up on the resurrection, and Damian’s soul was ascended.
That’s the kind of sweet potato story typical of light novels that ended the Undertaker’s arc.
However, the setting book wrote resurrection methods as an IF story.
The essential item needed for resurrection is the Philosopher’s Stone, a universal catalyst.
But in the original story, the Philosopher’s Stone was destroyed and annihilated after the final battle.
The method of manufacturing it vanished along with the death of the Messiah.
But now, it’s different.
With the Black Stone inside me, I just need to use it to create the Philosopher’s Stone.
Reanimation doesn’t fit the laws of the world, you say?
The laws of the world and the peace of souls can shove it.
That kind of sweet potato development belongs in the trash.
I’m a petty person and a cider pass.
I can’t just watch that kind of sweet potato nonsense.
Resurrection? If you want to do it, just go ahead.
So, I have no intention of following that damned original story.
“Yeah. Absolutely.”
“······Promise······. Do······. Then······. I’ll believe······.”
With that, the Undertaker holds out her pinky finger.
Can we skip this damn pinky promise?
I don’t want to, but I have no choice.
The Undertaker is an essential talent.
With a sigh, I linked my pinky with hers.
“If you break the promise······. You’ll swallow a thousand needles······.”
The Undertaker mutters in a low voice as she presses her thumb seal.
The setting book has her nationality set as American.
But why would an American use a Japanese-style pinky promise?
Just when I was baffled by this bizarre method of promising.
“Hehe······.”
The Undertaker laughs with teary eyes.
“The Black Beast······. Must keep the promise······. If you betray me······. A thousand needles······.”
Wilhelmina looks at me with empty eyes and speaks.
She no longer cried.
Honestly, I’m just glad I don’t have to hear that annoying child’s crying anymore.
“Ah, don’t worry, I’ll keep it.”
“Uh······. I’ll believe you······.”
Wilhelmina nods her head.
Finally free from that.
Anyway, I successfully recruited the Undertaker.
“Now, go back to the League. Pretend to cooperate with the Messiah like before. Keep the communication lines open.”
Nodding her head, Wilhelmina responded to my words.
Helmina nodded.
Although I had succeeded in recruiting Wilhelmina, I couldn’t immediately pull her out of the League.
The time wasn’t right yet.
Transforming her to our side would have to wait until the Messiah revealed his true nature.
For now, it was far more efficient to plant her as a spy and gather insider information from the League.
“……”
Nod.
The Undertaker silently nodded.
Good.
It’s time to give her a little carrot.
Thinking this, I spoke to Wilhelmina.
“I’ll retrieve your sister’s soul from the Cult. If I succeed, they’ll respond, so just wait.”
The Soul Gem storage room is a secret vault accessible only to high-ranking officials of the Cult.
But I have a trump card that can access all of the Cult’s storages: the Saint.
Of course, if I extract Damian’s Soul Gem, an internal war between the Archbishop and the Saint will break out immediately, just like in Volume 17 of the original.
But that’s exactly what I wished for.
One of the Four Horsemen is dead, one is imprisoned, and one is now under my control.
That leaves only the EX rank villains: the Messiah, Dokta Shinahel, and the Archbishop.
It’s time to tidy up Dokta Shinahel and the Archbishop through an internal conflict in the Cult.
Until now, I had been at the mercy of that Messiah guy, but from now on, I’m going to take charge.
Like the protagonist of a web novel, I’m ready to blow things up.
“!!”
Wilhelmina’s eyes widen.
“I-I really…”
“It’s true, so hurry back to the League. Han Seo-Jin, after your date today, establish a secret communication line with Wilhelmina.”
“Understood, Kim Deok-Sung.”
Han Seo-Jin nods with a serious expression after hearing my words.
“……Yeah. Black Beast… I’ll listen to what you say…”
The Undertaker also nods.
She stands up and turns to us, speaking as she positions herself in front of the lobby entrance.
Wobble.
The Undertaker waves her tiny hand, faintly smiling.
Swoosh.
The lobby door opens.
It seems the rock that blocked the door is now just debris, likely crushed by the heroines entering.
I hope they don’t sue us for property damage in Death Land over that!
“I’m… going now… goodbye… Raul… Black Beast…”
Tap.
The Undertaker leaves a faint farewell as the lobby door closes.
Watching that scene, I inwardly sighed in relief.
Phew.
I finally passed a major hurdle.
Now all that’s left is to instigate an internal war in the Cult to lead the remaining villains to self-destruction, and prepare for the Messiah’s academy demolition.
Just as I was mentally plotting my future plans.
“Hey, you!”
Olivia’s voice rang out.
She wasn’t alone.
All the Heroines’ gazes turned this way.
One step.
Olivia approached me.
She looked at me and asked.
“What organization have you been fighting against all this time?”
My head was spinning.
Is it time for Round Two to begin?
