Villain Hiring: Help! Author Wants Me Dead-Chapter 108: The Villainous Domain
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"Oh, fantastic. The peanut gallery has arrived." Damien's voice rang in my ears as a number of notifications appeared in front of me.
[God of Shadows has taken interest in you.]
[God of Trickery chuckles at the deviation. He questioned how a mortal with a broken Mana Core could be this strong.]
[God of Chaos offers a gift.]
Accept?
[YES/NO]
I groaned, already feeling a headache forming.
"Great. Just what I needed."
Since the day Gods had appeared through the System, it felt as if the whole world had changed.
People had knelt on the streets when the notifications first popped up, terrified yet fascinated by the overwhelming presence of these divine beings.
Others had immediately adapted, figuring out how to check their System Status and exchange physical assets in return for Credits—the only working currency right now.
Credits ruled everything.
And guess who was smart enough to convert nearly half of the Blackblade Kingdom's land into Credits before anyone else?
That's right.
Me-
I had emptied most of Grandpa's treasury, nearly giving the old man a heart attack.
Almost 46% of the kingdom's land?
Bought and resold.
The gold and platinum coins Venus hoarded like a miser?
Gone.
By the time the System officially descended, I had sold nearly all the deeds back to the System for Credits, following Damien's guidance.
The Romero House had nearly coughed blood when they found out.
But in the end?
"Risk is always a byproduct of profit."
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At least, that's what Damien said—before laughing like a madman about how much destruction I had caused to the economy in just one move.
Since then, I had focused on writing everything I remembered from the Book of Sin I had read when I awakened my Physique.
But, of course…
"Hah! Stupid Noah, you actually thought you could outsmart me?!" Damien snickered, practically vibrating in my head. "I already have the book's original copy! Your little scribbles are useless! Bwahaha!"
I had never wanted to punch a voice before, but Damien had pushed me to that point several times.
"You should be glad that a first-generation System like me is by your side," Damien huffed dramatically. "If I wasn't here, 'Baby Noah' would've died ages ago. Probably eaten by one of those ugly spiders you hate so much."
I cringed at the nickname but begrudgingly accepted that he was right.
The first few days with the System had been a nightmare—me struggling to understand my new reality while Damien practically screamed at me every five minutes about my stupidity.
At least now, I could confidently say I had a grasp on things.
Shaking my head, I lifted my boot and harshly tapped it against the stone floor, scraping off the blood that stained the sole.
Huh?
Now that I actually looked around…
Why was the Hall so empty?
I mean, sure, I had killed a few assassins but...
Wasn't this too much?
Had I already wiped out most of the members here before even setting foot inside its true base?
If so, had my mission to take over the place just been fucked?
"You're a nutcase, you know that, right?" Damien's voice was filled with exhausted disbelief.
I ignored him.
He had been against my idea of slaughtering most of the organisation's members.
Apparently, the quest required me to "join", not massacre it.
"Noah," Damien sighed, exasperated. "You do realize that 'joining' could also mean taking control, right? You were not supposed to butcher them all!"
"Oops."
"'Oops' my ass! Do you even have anyone left to rule over now?!"
He had a point.
Shrugging, I continued forward, stepping past the scattered remnants of old, dried blood on the stone floor.
At the end of the hall, another set of doors appeared in front of me.
With a light push, they creaked open, revealing a narrow passageway that spiralled downward.
I sighed.
"Awww man," Damien groaned dramatically. "I tell you, boy. Villains have become such a stereotype nowadays!"
I raised an eyebrow but kept walking.
"Seriously! Who the fuck decided that villains could only have underground hideouts?! Why are we always hiding beneath the surface like sewer rats?"
"I don't know, Damien. Maybe because we're hunted criminals?"
"Nonsense! Wouldn't it be far better if we had towering fortresses instead? Imagine a skyscraper of pure evil! We'd sit in our grand balconies, sipping expensive tea, looking down on the world like proper overlords!"
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"I can already picture it! A vast, luxurious office, dark leather chairs, a giant map on the wall with little red X's marking our enemies—"
"Damien." I sighed.
"—And of course, a massive fireplace where we sit and plot destruction! Maybe even a cat sitting on my lap for extra evil aesthetic—"
"Damien."
"What?"
"What did we talk about?"
A long pause.
"…That I was gonna keep my mouth shut and talk less garbage."
"Exactly."
Another pause.
"But you're no fun!"
I rolled my eyes as I descended further, the air growing thicker with the scent of blood and piss.
My nose scrunched up.
"Ugh—what the hell is that smell?"
"The scent of your villainous domain, my dear Noah." Damien's voice took on a dramatic, regal tone.
"The very walls drip with the blood of the fallen! The corridors echo with the screams of the damned! And you, the great and mighty villain, march forth, a king in his domain—"
"I swear to god, Damien, if you don't shut up—"
"FINE!"
Despite his whining, I could hear the amusement in his voice.
I sighed again, pressing forward.
The deeper I went, the stronger the oppressive air became.
The silence wasn't natural.
It was too heavy. Too expectant.
Like the walls themselves were watching.
Waiting.
My fingers brushed against the concealed dagger under my robe.
I wasn't alone down here.
Somewhere, hidden in the depths of this underground labyrinth, the remnants of this evil organisation awaited me.
And I was going to find them.
***
A/N: Dear readers, I'd hope y'all could help me in polishing Noah's sword —
With this, I start a new event!!
The sword polishing event for the men's and women's of culture—
For every 1000 coins worth gift = 1 Bonus Chapter.
For every Magic Castle and above = 6-9 Bonus Chapters!!
Hurry up! Offer ends in 3 Days.
