Fated to Be Loved by Villains

“—Haaa…”

I struggled to catch my ragged breath.

Fighting in an emotionally unstable state like this took a heavier toll on me than expected.

While thinking that, I crushed the head of the empress’ replica that was engulfed in Brown Aura.

A sweet scent mixed in my breath. Maybe blood too.

My muscles screamed and my head throbbed.

Even though the adrenaline coursing through me slowed my perception of time, it couldn’t mask the searing agony coursing through my entire body—it felt like someone had driven electrodes through my brain.

[…Are you really okay?]

Even if I’m not, what else am I supposed to do?

I couldn’t even recall the last time I’d felt this worn out in a fight.

Maybe it was during the training sessions I participated in before I ‘arrived’ here.

But, there was still a silver lining.

This is the last one.

Judging by the setup, there was only one opponent left.

“You truly are a formidable opponent, Dowd Campbell.”

Mobius’ words confirmed my conjecture.

“You fought well to get this far.”

As I listened to those words that were broadcasted over the stage, I spat the thick phlegm building in my throat onto the ground.

The only Automaton left should be Eleanor’s. So far, I hadn’t seen anything that mimicked the Gray Devil’s abilities yet..

With that thought, I stepped toward the next stage.

In any case, that bastard had to honor our agreement. If I won, he’d release Astrid. There were ways to make sure he kept his word.

So, as long as I could win—

“—”

Before I could finish my thought, I froze in place, my body locking up at the sight before me.

The sight that was burned into my memory.

“…That son of a bitch.”

A curse slipped from my mouth as I scanned my surroundings.

[…What’s this place? I’ve never seen it before.]

Caliban’s voice trickled through the Soul Linker.

It was a building.

Or rather, an abandoned factory.

Just as Caliban said, no one in ‘this’ world would recognize it.

But for me, this was an unbearably familiar place.

A place that was burned into the very bottom of my soul. It stuck behind my eyes like an indelible stain. A place that would keep haunting me even if I were to keep my eyes closed.

It was…

…the exact replica of the place where my ‘first love’ had died.

“…”

My hands trembled uncontrollably.

I didn’t know how he had found out about this place and its significance to me.

But it was clear that he intended to exploit it to fuck me over.

I knew that.

I fucking knew that, but…

“…”

I grabbed my trembling left wrist with my other hand to steady it.

In that brief moment, Mobius’ voice rang out again, as if mocking me.

“The final test is simple.”

As his words fell, particles of light scattered across the stage, constructing the obstacles I’d need to overcome.

It was identical.

The layout, the number of enemies—everything was an exact replica of the situation where I had ‘failed’ before.

The only difference now was that the opponents I had to face were replaced with state-of-the-art Automatons infused with the Magic Tower’s latest technology.

In terms of conditions, it was actually worse than back then. I was far more exhausted now, and the combat power of the enemies was overwhelmingly stronger that it would be disrespectful to compare them to the enemies from back then.

“Break through—“

Mobius’ voice continued.

At the far end of the stage, standing where I had failed to reach last time, was Mobius himself.

And standing beside him—

“…”

Long black hair. Bright yellow eyes.

Her body was heavily modified with mechanical parts, and her eyes were completely vacant.

Although her appearance was one I’ve never seen before, I could immediately recognize her identity without anyone spelling it out to me.

Astrid.

To be exact, her corpse that should’ve been discarded after having its organs removed…

“—”

As my brain thought of the things that the inhuman motherfucker must’ve done to her…

Fury surged through my entire body, so intense that it painted my vision red.

Ignoring my state, Mobius continued speaking.

“—and reach this place.”

He finished his sentence with an expression that seemed to mock me.

A smug expression that seemed to say, ‘Do you really think you can make it here in your current state?’.

And then, he placed something that looked like a keycard on Astrid’s shoulder.

“This is the control key to the device housing Professor Astrid’s ‘body’. If you make it here and defeat me, I’ll hand it over.”

“…”

My head felt like it was boiling.

“Save the person you want to save, Dowd Campbell. Isn’t this the ‘family’ you’re so obsessed with?”

At the voice of that fucker spouting nonsense.

I instinctively stepped forward.

Yes, I knew I was at my limit. Even with every skills and buffs stacked on me, fighting in this condition was suicidal.

But even so—

[…Oi.]

It’ll be fine.

I cut off Caliban’s worried voice before he could continue.

No, I wasn’t fine. I knew that, but I had already come too far to back out now.

[Hell no, you can still back down now. You’re pushing yourself too hard right now.]

“…”

[Look, I get it. I get why you’re angry, but you’re already at your limit. You can’t even stand properly right now.]

“…”

His words flowed through my spinning head.

As I heard those words with my consciousness that was starting to lose its sense of reality—almost like an anchorless ship—I took a rough breath.

He wasn’t wrong. After the continuous battles, my stamina was completely drained. Even with all the tricks I’d prepared, fighting someone as calculating as Mobius in this state was borderline suicidal.

I knew that.

I really did.

[So why the hell—]

I have to prove…

Before Caliban could say anything, those words escaped my lips.

…that I’m not the same as before.

Caliban fell silent at my response.

If I run away now, I feel like I won’t be able to get rid of this. Forever.

Despite everything that had happened…

…my driving force had always been the same: I didn’t want to lose anyone else.

That was why…

I fucking refused to run from someone who had so persistently exploited that fact

If I couldn’t accomplish anything here…

I felt like I’d be chained to that fear for the rest of my life.

While thinking that, I stepped forward.

“Just one thing.”

At that moment, a voice rang out beside me.

My head snapped back violently.

“…”

Then, I was met with a ‘flick’—a finger flicking against my forehead with enough force to almost dislocate my neck.

There were only a handful of people who could pull off something like this to me.

Wait…

Didn’t something like this happen before…?

It was during the incident with the Red Devil—that was sleeping within Faenol.

The person who did it back then was—

“Have I not told you before? Stop trying to handle everything on your own. At this point, it’s more of a disease than a bad habit.”

—her.

Thinking that, I blinked and turned to see Eleanor, who was standing beside me with a grin.

Rubbing my now-swollen forehead, I asked dazedly.

“…Eleanor?”

“Seriously. Asking for someone’s help won’t kill you. You really need to fix that habit as soon as possible.”

“…”

When did she get here, how did she get here, why was she here?

Such questions filled my head, but before I could voice them, Eleanor continued.

“Well, I suppose I can make an exception this time.”

Tucking her hair behind her ear, she glanced at the stage before us.

“…Because this place seems to be a place with a lot of meaning for you.”

“…”

“Facing your past and overcoming it… How romantic. It’s perfect for your own personal growth too. I understand why you’d want to do it alone.”

“…Eleanor.”

“Ah, don’t worry. I have no intention of interfering with that. As they say, a good wife should support her husband from the sidelines. Am I right?”

“…”

With those words, her crimson eyes turned icy.

That gaze flew and pierced Professor Mobius, who’s glaring this way with a frown.

“But…”

And then…

Just like her eyes, her voice turned cold as well.

“When dealing with someone as despicable as him, shouldn’t we at least even the odds?”

With those words.

Eleanor placed her hand on her chest.

“Oh, I just remembered—you’ve never seen this before, have you?”

“What?”

“Remember what happened just after the School Festival? …When I locked myself in the training room for weeks?”

Come to think of it.

Back then, she did suddenly say she was going to train by herself and locked herself away—cutting off contact for several weeks.

At the time, I hadn’t understood why she forgave me even though she had plenty of reasons to be angry with me.

While I was thinking about that…

“During that time, I discovered that I could do something quite interesting.”

She clenched the hand resting over her heart.

“For example, something like this.”

And then—

‘Something’ beneath her hand began to pulse.

“—By working together with my ‘roommate’, I can do this.”

The colors of the world began to drain /genesisforsaken