Villain's Odyssey: Enslaving heroines, Conquering Villainesses Chapter 31: Emotions

[Ten months later (from the Legacy world perspective)]

"Sit." In a certain cave, a young man drained of color and looking more corpse than living patted his lap.

"You are going to die if I do that," replied the pink-haired girl, staring at him apprehensively, fearing for his life. If this sa girl’s past self—about five to six months ago—were to see her now, she would definitely spit blood in disbelief.

"Anna, sit," he said. She gritted her teeth, unable to refute his orders, and eventually sat down.

The young man began combing her pink, unkempt hair with what remained of his hand. Yes, he only had his right hand now—sothing that had happened two months ago when he’d protected Anna. Sothing that, till this mont, she still couldn’t believe.

But who could bla her? Her master, who was her worst nightmare, the man who had as much emotion as a blank sheet of paper, who tortured her until she was literally running mad—one day risking his life to save her? That was sothing she hadn’t expected. She suspected this change ca from his realization that there was no escaping this Legacy world, and with ti he’d given up on his revenge, perhaps even letting go of the grudge he held against her.

She’d been suspicious when he started acting nicely all of a sudden. It wasn’t a complete 180-degree change overnight—no, it was more like a slowly progressive shift in character. The way he spoke to her, the way he smiled. Smiled! She’d been afraid at first, but as ti passed, she began to accept these changes. After all, aside from Vivian, who had died four months back, he was the only one she could talk to, the only reason she hadn’t fallen into depression from loneliness.

With ti, she beca afraid of losing him, of being alone in this Legacy world which seed to have no escape. They were trapped here, completely trapped. But like the wretched bitch fate was, she brought Anna’s biggest fears to fruition. On a day just like any other, a monster had taken her by surprise and almost killed her. Almost—because in that mont, her master had sacrificed himself. And now, now he was nearing the end of his life.

"Don’t die, please." She was genuinely afraid at this point, afraid he would leave her here alone and she would wander this cursed island alone for the rest of her life until she too t her end.

"Wouldn’t you want that? You would be out of my control if I die. Free," he said.

She bit her lips. If it were six months ago, she would have wanted that. But at this point, where she had co to study and accept who he was, it was painful to watch him die.

"THIS ISN’T THE TI TO JOKE! I AM SERIOUS!" She pulled him by the collar, but he never stopped patting her. He just stared at her as tears trailed down her cheeks. Now that she looked closely at him, she could feel it—he had little ti left. Very little ti. Perhaps he wouldn’t make it to the next day.

"My dear Anna..." he said as his eyes slowly began to close. "I... am sorry, but this is the end of my journey."

"No... Master," she trembled, feeling his hand which was combing her head slowly stop. "I will do anything you ask, ANYTHING! I will give you everything! Please, don’t leave here. I beg you."

She cried. Damn, she cried.

He smiled gently—sothing that broke her heart.

"This is not truly the end, Anna. If you are able to conquer this world, we will et again..."

"Please..." she muttered, her head hung low.

But then...

His head fell on her lap, and in that very mont, sothing inside her broke.

...

...

[Was all this needed?] a voice asked as a young man found himself in a white world.

"Where am I now?" he asked. All that could be sensed from him was... indifference.

[A dinsion between the Legacy world and the real world.]

"Hmm," he humd. "So the rest is up to her." The young man fell quiet.

[I asked a question. Was all this needed? You could have conquered the Legacy world at any mont. Why did you let it get to this point?]

That was the truth. The young man knew exactly what conditions were required to conquer this world, courtesy of the voice within him. But he didn’t do it. Instead, he focused on his plan to manipulate Anna into getting him into Vermillion Academy.

"If my calculations are correct, so people should be waiting just outside this world. So conquering it would be stupid. I need Anna herself to find a way to get out of there and into the academy by herself."

[I have already warned you—ssing with emotions is a dangerous ga.]

"I know," he thought.

[I am sure you do now. You must have felt sothing at that final mont. Manipulation of emotions is a two-way street. I will warn you once... emotions are the bane of those who seek revenge.]

To this, the young man remained silent. He didn’t expect that outco. He never expected to feel anything. But he did... it was so faint, barely there, but he felt a sudden tightness in his chest when he saw her cry for him not to die. And that was bad. Very bad.

He shouldn’t feel anything. He shouldn’t be able to.

"What happened? I thought you sealed all my emotions..." he spoke, though still looking indifferent.

[Emotions are a part of the soul, the strongest driving force of any being, living or dead. Your emotions were suppressed, as they cannot be completely sealed...]

"Hmm. What emotion did you take from to enslave Vivian?" he asked—the sa question he kept asking the voice, but it stubbornly remained silent.

[...]

Sigh.

He closed his eyes and waited for everything to play out. Anna would remain there for a long ti but would eventually pick up on the hints he’d left. When she found and fulfilled the condition—finding a certain jewel that rested at the bottom of the sea, just a little past the shore—everything would fall into place.

[And Vivian? What do you plan to do with her?]

"For now... nothing. If everything goes according to plan... we will et again, at the Arcane Legacy."