A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

"Haa... Haa... Wh-what is the meaning of this!?"

A man, gasping for air, sprinted through the streets of Sector 15 in City A.

Sweat dripped from his face as his legs barely held him up while he pushed forward.

He was a loan shark, notorious for trapping desperate people in debt.

Just a few minutes ago, his hideout had been attacked by a woman with purple hair and piercing purple eyes.

She had barged in with a sword, cutting down his men one by one.

He had barely managed to escape the bloodbath, and now she was chasing him relentlessly.

"Damn it! Help!" The man's desperate run led him to a valley.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Thud! He stumbled over the uneven ground, panting heavily, his ears straining for any sound of pursuit.

He thought, for a brief moment, that he had lost her.

Suddenly, his legs gave out.

No, not just gave out—he felt a sharp, unbearable pain.

"AaaaRrrrGghhh!!!" His scream tore through the air as he fell, his body crashing onto the rocky terrain.

Blood poured from his legs, now severed cleanly at the knees.

He stared at the stumps in disbelief, trembling.

There was no one nearby, no sign of an attack, yet his legs were gone.

As his scream echoed in the silence, a voice cut through like ice.

"Bad luck," it said calmly, "I found you roaming around here."

'!?'

"Wh-who are you! Damn it!" the man yelled as he felt his whole body losing blood at an enormous pace.

His vision swayed as he lifted his head to focus on a figure in a suit, their tailored pants conspicuously signaling their wealth. Each step that person took was accompanied by a pained groan from man, highlighting his discomfort.

"You don't know who I am, but I know you," Avendial remarked, closing the distance between himself and the man he had just recognized while wandering the streets of Sector 15.

For the past few weeks, Avendial had been actively seeking out awakened individuals alongside Rivia, while dispatching Dr. Etrinia and Margaret back to the Kingdom of Thaloris.

Specifically, Etrinia was sent back to the Croceaus territory, while Margaret returned to her own fief to prepare for her visit to Croceaus territory, scheduled for the following day as per Avendial's instructions.

Of course, the Royal family needed to be notified whenever two noblemen from different houses planned to enter each other's territories, even under the guise of an invitation—primarily for security reasons.

In reality, it was all a means to keep a close watch on anyone who might be plotting a revolt.

That day, after managing his business with those people and ensuring that information from Aria got through to Margaret, he had sent Margaret on her way to make the essential preparations.

She would temporarily hand over her business affairs to her assistant while she traveled to Croceaus.

He also forwarded Etrinia to the territory, aiming for her to meet with the researchers, doctors and become acclimated to the environment, as she was destined for permanent transfer there once he succeeded in awakening her abilities.

Amidst all this, he seized the opportunity to explore the entire city A.

For the entire week, with Rivia's boundless stamina, they had been traversing City A around the clock—thanks to the assistance of the Sertsul family, his efforts had been far more efficient and fruitful than anticipated.

Thus far, he had identified 9,673 awakened individuals, committing 764 of their unique abilities to memory, including 235 known criminals.

It was important to note that while he had been tirelessly scouting for potential recruits, Rivia had been deprived of sleep, while he managed to take brief power naps in the car, all the while searching for individuals one by one.

He was cataloging their faces, discerning who might one day become a nuisance that needed to be eliminated.

This man before him was one such individual who, had events unfolded differently, would likely have evolved into a gang member, instigating mass murder and engaging in criminal enterprises to gather resources in the upcoming future at the first floor of the tower—even if it required eliminating others in his path.

Determined to intervene before that potential could manifest into reality, Avendial felt compelled to take decisive action.

Stay tuned to empire

His philosophy was clear: anyone who crossed his path and caught his attention—if only for a fleeting moment—would ultimately meet their fate at his hands, as he made judgments of their death based on their projected futures.

"Aarrghhh—what does this mean?" the man yelled, feeling his consciousness fading, as it seemed his last words would be these.

He seemed to lose consciousness, even with his muscular physique, as the blood loss and horror overwhelmed his mind, causing him to collapse and ultimately succumb to death.

"Master, you should get some sleep; it is not good for your health," Rivia said as she arrived from behind.

"...." Avendial looked at her without glancing at the tattered body in the blood pool.

She mentioned the need for him to take a proper nap instead of those short ones, as it could definitely impact his health, which was evident from the slight dark circles under his eyes.

"It's fine, Rivia. Tell me about the situation with the royal family. Any actions regarding our query?" Avendial asked, shifting the focus to other matters.

He needed her input on the inquiry he sent to the royal family regarding the murder of one of the mayors in his territory by using techniques only allowed to the royal family.

To be exact, he had instructed Rivia to kill that mayor using the Arinphiam Empire's royal sword technique.

Considering how only swordmasters, soldiers, and Empyreal of the royal family were aware of this technique.

To put it more clearly, if, suppose, such techniques were used in a murder, the first ones to be doubted would be the soldiers, followed by Empyreals.

Finally, the last ones to be questioned would be the swordmasters—simply because the royal family had so much trust in their brainwashing.

"They replied that they have already caught the soldiers who did this and revealed that it was Patric Vrandin who had ordered them to do so," Rivia provided the same information she received from Croceaus Territory, as the official statement was given by the royal family regarding the murder of the mayor in the northeast province of Croceaus Territory.

"As expected," Avendial said, leaning down before taking out the phone from the dead body.

He scrolled through the contact list and sent all of it to the Sertsul family, knowing that this man would undoubtedly have connections with some individuals who would become a hassle in the future.

It was better to eliminate them now.

Of course, getting rid of these people didn't clearly eliminate all the evils of an approaching future; as always, if one kills a criminal, another would always arrive to replace them.

But the reason he was eliminating them was simply that he knew they would be the evils and obstacles in his path.

Regarding Rivia's information, it was not that he hadn't expected the royal family to try to clearly ignore the situation while blaming anyone randomly, most probably those who were showing signs of retaliation; they would just execute them and blame the others, even going so far as to use Patric Vrandin, who was already dead, to close the case.

And amazingly, Avendial was going to keep doing this until finally, Royal family starts to blame their own Empyreals for murders.

"Master, where next?" Rivia inquired to him, as she didn't care about the many murders she had committed in this week, even though she had already surpassed the number she had done in the past few years.

Not caring about the massacre inside Croceus territory and now killing people here like animals, her worries were less than the health of her master, as he seemed clearly to be pushing himself over the limit.

"Rivia, we are returning back to the territory tomorrow," Avendial stated, throwing the phone on the ground, putting his hands in his pockets as he glanced towards Rivia, who tilted her head in confusion, not understanding the meaning of his words as they had planned to reach the territory today as per schedule and even a private jet was waiting at the airport.

"Let's leave," Avendial stated as he directly brushed past her, making his way out of the alleyway as soon enough two cars, one after another, arrived with the members from the Sertsul family, leaving to handle the matters as they gave him a bow while Rivia tagged along, following him with her hand clearly holding the sheath of the sword.

It may seem exaggerated, but if one had to put it simply, the sword could soon begin to corrode from being drenched in crimson fluid for continuous days.

"By the way, Master, should I shift the flight to tomorrow?" Rivia, following his trail, inquired, as she needed to reach out to the pilot and the other members who were currently waiting at the airport to delay the flight until tomorrow.

"Of course you can, only if you want a reward for all your hard work," Avendial, without glancing back, waved his hand in a teasing manner as he spoke to her, leaving her momentarily stunned, pausing as she tried to comprehend his words.

'Huh? Huh?' Rivia started to slowly follow him with her steps, making enough pace to catch up to him behind while still processing the meaning of his words as her mind seemed to freeze, realizing that what he meant as she just mumbled, "M-master, I will go with a reward."