Fated to Be Loved by Villains

Professor Mobius let out a deep frown as he kept his gaze straight ahead.

Gray Devil’s Vessel…

Eleanor Elinalise La Tristan.

Seeing her appearing out of nowhere made him feel a headache coming in.

He let out a sigh before sending a glare at the visibly exhausted Dowd beside her.

After I had him perfectly cornered…

He had meticulously prepared this elaborate stage and cornered such a magnificent prey, only for this interference to appear at the last moment.

It was enough to make his blood boil.

Mobius sighed again and rose from his seat.

The scenery remained untouched, only the colors slowly drained away, as if someone was erasing the world with a giant eraser.

“…This was supposed to be a mutually agreed-upon ‘conditional trade’.”

“If you’ve never intended to honor your side of the bargain, calling it a ‘trade’ is a bit far-fetched, don’t you think? A ‘swindle’ would be more appropriate.”

“Perhaps.”

Mobius let out a crooked smile while looking at the control key he had just pulled out.

Of course, it was all a facade. The real control over Astrid’s life was through countless other means he had prepared.

Win or lose, he had no intention of releasing her so easily.

“However—”

Mobius crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand, exuding the aura of someone who knew they had the upper hand.

His follow-up sentence…

“What can you do about it?”

Made it even more apparent.

He could end Astrid’s life with a mere thought.

But, he wouldn’t do that. His plan to research Demonic Aura required her and Dowd Campbell, especially the latter, a precious specimen, to ascend from ‘human’ to ‘another ‘race’.

It was better for him to have such ‘means of control’ and make them follow his will than killing them.

To him, this entire ordeal was simply a form of ‘educational process’ to make the two of them more compliant. Astrid’s life was a far too valuable card to waste on such a trivial matter.

Hence why…

“I’ve set it up so that the moment the usage of Demonic Aura beyond a certain level is detected, Professor Astrid’s life support system will shut down automatically. So, I’d appreciate it if you don’t interfere.”

He had anticipated potential interference.

And this was his countermeasure for that.

At Mobius’ triumphant speech, Eleanor simply turned her head slightly.

“Well, I expected nothing less from someone as dirty as you. I figured you’d pull something like this.”

“I appreciate your understanding. Then, if you would kindly cooperate—”

“However.”

Eleanor continued calmly.

“There’s one thing my ‘roommate’ and I always agree on.”

At the same time…

The ‘color spreading’ phenomenon that had been steadily going on suddenly halted.

As if someone had seized control over it.

—This…? Complete control over Demonic Aura?

Such a phenomenon held research value on an entirely different level.

Controlling Demonic Aura completely was something only Devils themselves could do. No matter how powerful the Vessel was, it was ‘structurally’ impossible for them to achieve such a thing.

“Whoever lays a hand on Dowd will be dealt with, even if we had to chase them to the ends of hell.”

As Mobius digested that sentence, Eleanor’s sharp voice fell in front of him.

“So, for now…”

Then.

“Let’s change things…a little.”

The next instant…

𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇𝄇

Professor Mobius let out a deep frown as he kept his gaze straight ahead.

Gray Devil’s Vessel…

Eleanor Elinalise La Tristan.

Seeing her appearing out of nowhere made him feel a headache coming in.

He let out a sigh before sending a glare at the visibly exhausted Dowd beside her.

After I had him perfectly cornered…

He had meticulously prepared this elaborate stage and cornered such a magnificent prey, only for this interference to appear at the last moment.

It was enough to make his blood boil.

Mobius sighed again and rose from his seat.

Meanwhile, the ‘colors’ of the surrounding world were fading, centered around Eleanor’s heart.

The scenery remained untouched, only the colors slowly drained away, as if someone was erasing the world with a giant eraser.

“…This was supposed to be a mutually agreed-upon ‘conditional trade’.”

“If you’ve never intended to honor your side of the bargain, calling it a ‘trade’ is a bit far-fetched, don’t you think? A ‘swindle’ would be more appropriate.”

“How harsh. My offer is truly sincere, though?”

He said while lazily running his hand through his hair.

“If you can defeat me one-on-one, you’re welcome to take this.”

This control key was the only means to control Professor Astrid. To be accused of deceit after he brought out something so precious that he himself designed for this very purpose, he couldn’t help but feel wronged—

“…”

At that moment, Mobius flinched, a sudden wave of disorientation washed over him.

No.

Something isn’t right.

This isn’t the plan I had ‘originally’ envisioned.

“—What… What did you do?”

He managed to utter those words while clutching his throbbing head.

Something…something’s off!

He ran a quick diagnostic.

His body, his mind, his emotional responses—nothing felt strange. It was highly unlikely that she had tampered with ‘him’ directly.

But…

Something had changed.

A drastic fundamental change had happened.

“I see.”

And before his eyes…

Was Eleanor, drenched in sweat as she peeled away the strands of hair that were stuck to her forehead.

He was gripped by a headache, but his opponent’s condition didn’t look much better either.

She was clearly exhausted, as if all her ‘energy’ had been drained.

“It’s still not perfect. Indeed, just as she said, there are limits to what a human body can do.”

“—Pardon?”

“A miraculous ‘alteration’ is still beyond me. If it takes this much just to change one small fact, attempting to alter something related to life and death would probably cost me my life.”

“…”

“Besides, you noticed quickly that something was off, didn’t you? Perhaps it’s because this is a place where you can observe other world lines.”

A series of incomprehensible sentences came out of her mouth.

But upon hearing those words, Mobius’ brain sank heavily, and he started to analyze every possibility.

Such was the brain of someone who sat at the top of the Mage Tower—a hub of those called super-intellects.

Even through those seemingly useless words, he pieced the puzzle together and found the ‘correct answer’ almost instantly.

Causality manipulation?

As that thought came to mind, he let out a groan inwardly.

He had already known from the gathered intelligence that the Gray Devil’s authority was related to ‘time’.

From that…

Using all sorts of philosophical, scientific principles, and abstract concepts, he drew a theory that the ability to control time could be extended to something that could even interfere with the chain of causality of a series of events.

But, that was purely theoretical.

Because it was truly possible…

Then…

She’d truly be…

An existence that could be called ‘God’…

“You—”

But despite such a being standing on the opposite spectrum to him.

Mobius’ lips curved into a smile full of ecstasy.

A perfect research subject!

The key that could unlock all the mysteries I’ve been pursuing for all this time!

“I’d love to have you as a long-term research specimen. I will not let you go no matter what.”

“I already have a loving husband. I’ll have to decline.”

“Even if you decline, you won’t be able to escape from me. Thank you for foolishly admitting that you’ve exhausted yourself—“

“Are you an idiot?”

“…”

As someone who could be hailed as one of humanity’s greatest intellects, such an insult was probably unfamiliar to his ears.

However, Eleanor continued speaking with complete sincerity.

There was a mix of contempt and pity in her eyes as she did.

“Didn’t it occur to you that I might have revealed all this information because it doesn’t matter if you know about it or not?”

“But clearly you’re too drained of Demonic Aura to do anything—“

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”

She dropped those words with a smirk.

“After all, I’m not the one who’ll deliver your retribution.

“I’ve told you, haven’t I? I’m just trying to ‘balance’ things out’.”

Before Mobius could properly comprehend those words…

——

———!!!!!!!!!!!

A blazing fist strike smashed straight into his face.

If it weren’t for the defensive barrier that automatically activated in response, that blow would definitely make his head explode.

“An automatic defensive barrier? Perfect equipment for a coward.”

“—I don’t want to hear that from someone who hides behind a woman’s skirts.”

Mobius answered with a deeply furrowed brow, steadying himself after being pushed back.

He couldn’t even tell when Dowd had gotten so close.

Meanwhile, Dowd was wiping his nose bridge after spitting out a glob of phlegm with a ‘ptui’.

“Aren’t you ashamed? Receiving help from others for everything?”

“Nope.”

“…”

“What? Are you jealous? If so, find a good woman yourself. As they said, supporting one’s husband is a virtue of a good wife.”

Mobius let out a deep sigh.

Irritation was filling his head.

He had been played. He wasn’t sure exactly how, but he had definitely been played.

In any case…

It was clear that nothing would go right unless he took the matter to his own hand properly.

“…Birds of the same feather really do flock together.”

Finally, he tightly gripped the mechanical staff he always carried.

Even if the battle came down to a one-on-one battle, he had no intention of backing down.

The Magic Tower represented humanity’s technological pinnacle.

And his ‘body’ was the culmination of said technology.

Combat was definitely one of his areas of expertise.

“Since you two are such a loving couple, I’ll do the honor of burying you together.”

And so, the battle against /genesisforsaken