The Novel’s Villain

8.Luck (4)

Wouldn’t it go back to where it came from if he persuaded it well? Jin-woo decided to try that first.

“The Devil mentioned Lord Calverto’s name and said that you were a major part of the great plan. They also said that it was good for you to return to where you came from and take some rest. Uh, um…maybe you need to rest for a couple of thousand years.”

[I see. So, its great words are to return to the darkness of the beginning and become a part of its glory.]

“Yes, wherever you go…cough, I’ll take care of this place, so you can just go back. To the darkness or wherever it is.”

[You are right. Darkness is everywhere. Wherever it is, there must be darkness…may glory be with the Devil.]

There was no turning back now. It was best to go out boldly. Jin-woo frowned slightly, and his expression stiffened. Calverto was rather startled when Jin-woo grimaced.

He looked eviler than anyone else now.

“Glory always with the Devil.”

[I made a mistake! That’s right. Glory is always with him, keahaha! I am glad to be taught by the incarnation of evil.]

Calverto lifted its head and cried out. A cold sweat started pouring down his back, but Jin-woo managed his facial expression. He breathed a sigh of relief only inwardly.

The reaction wasn’t bad. Rather, it felt good. It seemed like it would go home like this, into the darkness or wherever it was. Anywhere was fine if it wasn’t Earth. It had been only sealed here. Why would it come to the harsh Earth and act like a scumbag?

The setting couldn’t be crappier. If not for two thousand years, wouldn’t it somehow be possible for hundreds of years? Jin-woo wanted to curse, but he swallowed it hard and forced himself to maintain a calm expression as he moved slowly toward the entrance.

[What an honor to entrust it to the incarnation of evil. Become a great evil and bring down the Devil to dye the entire dimension with darkness!]

“Yes! I understand.”

[It has been a long time indeed. I can finally be a part of the darkness! The Devil has finally allowed me to become the darkness, and there is no greater joy than this!]

Calverto took a deep breath. It had no idea how much time had passed since it was sealed there. At the command of the Devil, it devoured everything and declared the end of entire dimensions, but now it was no different from an inferior being given it was wounded and dying.

The Emperor of Greed, who cursed others just by its name, was dying in a shabby way. Calverto endured that disgrace for the resurrection of the Devil. If the Devil were resurrected, this world would be forever colored with darkness and disappear.

‘Finally…’

Calverto glanced at Jin-woo, who was standing there with a calm look. Its body trembled. Those golden eyes shone lightly with the truth they contained as if they could see through the whole world. Although he looked clumsy, it was a disguise to hide his evil. Simply looking at the body itself, he was just a human with quite a lot of mana.

Calverto could read the source of everything. His eyes that read the source of existence could see through all the truths of the world.

‘That overwhelming wickedness…’

Even Calverto would have been deceived without that ability. Everyone would be deceived by that clever disguise! It was a high-level camouflage that could cover the existence of light!

‘How can he be so evil? Just looking at his source seems to have blinded me! This incarnation of evil is indeed the child of the Devil.’

What was reflected in its own eyes was an evil that looked like the Devil. It was as if the existence itself was created for evil and nothing else. His name was also unusual. It possessed such a source as if the Creator, who existed initially, had brought all darkness together.

Everyone was meant to have a pure source unless it was the Devil who was born from the darkness of the beginning. Everything the incarnation of evil said was a prophecy, revelations brought from the Devil.

‘The heir of darkness, the incarnation of evil….’

Calverto was delighted. There was the darkness that might rise to the new throne. That source of evil would corrupt the world and dye it dark. It couldn’t be expressed in words without the guidance of the Devil. How many people in the world could fully enter this place? It couldn’t forget the thrill of smashing that horrible door and facing them.

The ultimate evil that would resurrect the First Devil had descended here. Everything must be a part of the dark plan predestined from the beginning. As the incarnation of evil said, Calverto itself would be merely a tool of planning. It was finally able to realize the meaning of its existence that was shrouded for so long.

‘But he must have just sprouted.’

That body filled with great evil seemed very weak. Calverto would become the fertilizer for that evil to grow enormously, and it would return to the darkness to watch everything in the arms of the Devil!

Resurrecting the Devil was a tough job. Calverto realized it was time to use the last powers it had saved for going on a rampage. It was obvious that this was also the arrangement made by the Devil. How far was he looking? The dragon couldn’t hide its desire to worship.

Calverto used all its powers to help the incarnation of evil grow. After those fleeting thoughts, Calverto glanced at Jin-woo standing at the entrance. The way he tried to move already impressed the dragon. The dragon felt pathetic that it had spent countless years trapped in such a place.

How dare it be said to be the best of the Twelve Emperors when it didn’t even have the decency to see the great Devil.

[Since the Devil has regained his ego, he will accept me as I return to darkness. I hope that you will gain my power and let the Devil descend on this world to dye the whole world in darkness.]

Calverto raised its heavy body without hearing Jin-woo’s answer. It spread its huge wings and let out a roar. If Jin-woo’s physical specs hadn’t gone up, he might have been blown away and thrown into a corner.

[O, Devil! I’m coming! I will be a part of you and serve you forever!]

As it shouted like that, a bright light emanated from its body. Cracks formed through his scales, and they began to crumble and shatter. Within was a mass of dark energy similar to that described in the original. The black energy capable of wiping out an entire city spread widely and permeated the surrounding space. Then, it was pulled into Jin-woo’s body.

‘Hmm?’

The black airflow absorbed by Jin-woo was a little different from experience points. There was no pain, but his body felt fundamentally different and began to change rapidly. There were no dramatic changes, such as cracking skin and twisting flesh, but it was similar to a metamorphosis in martial arts.

“Ah…”

He felt a lot lighter.

“…”

[I can see the darkness. The Devil is waiting for me…]

“…”

[You must have been waiting…]

“…”

[I’m sure, right? O, Devil? Lord Devil? …Huh? Huuugh!? Keaaarrrgh! H-hold me!]

The black air current rattled desperately. Feeling a strong gaze, Jin-woo looked around and then slowly turned away.

[Keaaaarrrghh! Keaaargh! Kugh!]

The Emperor of Greed disappeared, leaving behind a terrible scream.

“…”

It was such a futile death. However, it seemed to have completely disappeared with that last scream. He just wanted it to go back to its home and not come back, but Jin-woo never thought that it would return to the home of its soul. Since the Devil was sealed, there was no place for it to return.

There was only death.

When Jin-woo blinked away his daze, various bits of information began to appear in the Magic Eye of information.

[Job changed to the Incarnation of Evil.]

[Calverto has been completely extinguished, and all possessions have been transferred.]

[Change Job] Incarnation of Evil

The worst thing in name and reality. He had an eviler origin than the Devil himself. After receiving acknowledgment from the Dark Dragon Calverto, the Emperor of Greed, he accepted his power and changed his job. There was no sense of incongruity even if he was called the incarnation of evil. The Magic Eye of information reinterpreted and awakened his body and techniques accordingly.

Awakening Skills

[A] The Emperor of Gold

He usurped the seat of Calverto, the Emperor of Greed.

* The Emperor doesn’t use trivial things. Techniques lower than Rank B will be changed to techniques suitable only for the Emperor of the Gold by the Magic Eye of Information upon acquisition.

* Demons are not hostile but are considered as fellows.

* Fully acquired Calverto’s legacy.

* You can find out where other Emperors are and when the seals are released.

Calverto relinquished his inheritance to Jin-woo, leaving behind a will and a desperate scream to revive the Devil.

‘It’s a good thing, but…’

It seemed that Calverto had read Lee Jin-woo’s setting. Although it wasn’t revealed in the novel, the author officially said that Lee Jin-woo was set as the worst in the original story, so maybe he was influenced by it? Anyway, he was very happy that Calverto disappeared, and he managed to prevent the city from exploding, but it was a bit of a letdown.

Jin-woo stood there blankly for a while. It took him a while to realize it.

‘…It turned out differently than I expected.’

Jin-woo flopped on the floor and sat down. It was best to just keep the seal, but it still wasn’t a bad result overall. He was able to identify where the other Emperors were located by his new title. He knew some of them because they were mentioned in the original book, but he didn’t know all of them.

Not all Twelve Emperors appeared in the original story.

‘The place where the seal is released the fastest…’

It was a Gate located in China that was leased from the International Association of Competent People due to excellent results in international competitions. Gates that appeared on the high seas could be obtained in the form of rentals through international agreements. It was the international competition of the competent people, called the Modern War, that decided that.

Anwas agreement established on the simple theory that only countries with excellent, competent people could manage the Gates well. There were a lot of holes in the setting, but now he was thinking about it.

‘Um…’

In the original story, the main character became a Knight and went directly to that Gate to deal with it. Perhaps due to the early encounter with the Emperor of Greed, it felt a little earlier than the original timeline, but there was room. Now he didn’t have to act like he was being chased.

‘I’ll have to meet the main character soon.’

Come to think of it. He thought it would be better to ask the main character to handle it. If Jin-woo gave him a lot of support, he would grow even more than in the original story.

Jin-woo was now able to smile softly as he read the rest of the information.

[S] Dimensional Center Golden Gate

The place where the Emperor of Greed is sealed is the dimension called the center of the world. At the center of the world lies the power to go anywhere. You can move freely through the portal in the Sanctuary of Gold if you acquire the source stone of the targeted Gate.

The owner of the Central Gate can make overall settings for the Gate in the Golden Sanctuary.

*Ruler: Lee Jin-woo

The Sanctuary of Greed was renamed the Sanctuary of Gold. Here, he could Gate like in a game. It was possible to release the poison that had permeated the creatures and plant life in the Gate, and even decomposition of other dimensions of matter could also be prevented. Furthermore, it seemed possible to move to another Gate by obtaining the source stone of that gate.

‘Awesome!’

JW Gate was fully owned by him, and all of its functions were available. It was the best outcome.

[S] Tower of Trials

Calverto, the Emperor of Greed, completed a tower by using up its last power for the incarnation of evil. Calverto’s legacy lies dormant. Use the Tower of Trials to grow into a decent incarnation of evil.

“I feel a little bad about it.”

He had taken on all sorts of curses since becoming Lee Jin-woo, but he felt sorry because the dragon was so kind and giving. Hearing the scream, it seemed that it had died quite painfully. They talked for a while, but it didn’t seem like it was that bad.

‘Can this be considered a villain’s correction?’

Jin-woo laughed and shook his head. For now, he went inside the tower to see what the Tower of Trials looked like. The inside was neat, and the floor and walls were made of a bright, marble-like material. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed a woman with horns jutting from her head was standing behind something like a counter.

The woman turned to look at Jin-woo.

Lv. 80

[A] High-Level Demon Arina

Owner: Calverto-> Lee Jin-woo

Age: 439

Favorability: 6%

Loyalty: 0.3%

Possessed Techniques: [A+] Heritage Management, [B] Black Magic, [D] Dark Song, [C] Elemental Absorption, [A] Tough Vitality

Special skill

[B] Devastating poverty

She can survive a week on a slice of bread and a sip of water. Even moldy food can be overcome through her imagination. She can last for a month with a small amount of salt.

*Strong digestive ability

*Make a profit somehow.

A high-level demon was summoned from the Demon Realm at Calverto’s call.

She has a license to manage the legacy of the high-ranking entity. She is a talented person who can manage the Sanctuary of Gold. Calverto granted her wish and took possession of her soul. She is now owned by Lee Jin-woo, the incarnation of evil and the Emperor of Gold.