Fated to Be Loved by Villains
chapter-172

In Savior Rising;s main story, Yuria’s past was only mentioned in a line or two.

‘She is an artificial life form cultivated by the Holy Land.’ That was all.

However, I knew all too well about the incident when she first held the Severer, went berserk and turned this mansion into a wasteland.

And I knew how she was still drowning in her guilt because of that.

According to Lucia, she still had nightmares about it.

But…what the fuck was this all about?

“...What do you mean by that?”

I managed to get those words out without getting my expression to crumble.

Despite the irritation and wrath bubbling inside, I still needed to keep as low profile as possible for now.

Because I couldn’t afford to break my character.

“Every servant here is all aware of it. Those cursed beings will eventually be used as ‘sacrifices’. Both the older and the younger sister.”

“...”

“They are necessary sacrifices for the utopia that His Holiness promised us.”

“...”

“Well, since you’ve come all the way here, you must’ve known about it too, right? The ‘Paradise Plan’.”

The Paradise Plan was essentially the ultimate goal of the doctrine preached within the Holy Land.

A utopia where there was no conflict or strife, where everyone could pursue eternal happiness in peace.

To bring that to the world was the goal of both the Holy Land and the Pope.

And I already knew which direction the scenario would take because of this goal.

‘...The quest in Chapter 6.’

The Holy Land’s Sanctuary Conquest.

It featured the False God Subjugation as the final highlight.

The section was infamous for its fucked up difficulty even among the Sera users. 80% of the playerbase got wiped out here.

If one hadn’t built up a steady series of connections with the Homunculi Sisters, the Final Chapter’s difficulty would increase significantly.

Also, if their Favorability Levels weren’t high enough, the player’s would be forced to watch the event where those two would be ‘sacrificed’ to the Pope.

“...”

The problem here was…

Why did they refer to them as disgusting or monsters when they were the very beings who’d later be sacrificed for the ‘great cause’?

Normally they’d sympathize with those two a little, no?

“...Judging by your expression, my words must be hard to accept.”

“...”

“You might think otherwise, but in the first place, those Homunculi—”

“...”

It was getting harder and harder to contain my annoyance.

Despite knowing that these people would eventually die the moment Yuria held Severer, they still pissed me off.

I knew how wicked the Holy Land could be contrary to their holy appearance, but this was a little too much, wasn’t it?

“...Hey you.”

Just as I was about to spit out a flood of retorts, a young voice interrupted me.

“I-I kept you w-waiting. I apologize!”

It was Yuria, rushing over from across the hallway.

At that moment…

“Oh dear, My Lady. Please be careful, you don’t want to fall, do you?”

“...”

The servant immediately changed his expression and started letting out a bright smile as soon as she appeared. This sight made me stare at him in disbelief.

‘...Are those fuckers even human?’

‘There’s a limit on being immoral, you know?’

‘This motherfucker acting like this toward a child they created and planned to sacrifice later…’

‘To think that Yuria would be grieving by herself in the future for killing these bastards…’

“...Unfortunately, it seems I still can’t enter His Holiness’ office.”

Just as I barely managed to hold back the surge of anger that was about to explode, Yuria said so with a look of regret.

“But they said they’ll let me know about the contents inside soon, so you can come in with me by then, Mr. Servant.”

“Of course, My Lady. You will find out soon enough, I’m sure.”

“...”

Though I wasn’t sure what exactly it was…

Considering this bastard’s real thoughts, there was no way that opening this door would be any good to Yuria.

Right as I was thinking this, a window suddenly popped up in front of me.

System Message

[ The progress of the ongoing event ‘Sweet Play’ has been updated. ]

[ Prevent the tragedy that will befall target ‘Yuria’! ]

“...”

Of fucking course.

My shitty premonition would never be wrong.

“...So, they’ll continue everything in the end? It’ll be soon too, huh?”

As she scanned the document handed to her, Iliya let out a grimace.

The Second Ordeal of the Hero Selection was about to proceed, so they sent her documents about it with detailed explanations about the location and method of progress.

She had wondered why Atalante suddenly summoned her to her office alone, but this was way worse news than she could have imagined.

“I have been filibustering as much as possible, but this is the limit.”

Atalante let out a sigh as she responded.

The Holy Land, the Tribal Alliance, and even the Empire had pushed for the selection to continue.

No matter how much the leaders of each nation agreed to delay its progress, seeing as it was an event jointly undertaken by all the Superpowers, there was a necessity to proceed for appearances' sake.

And, above all…

There was only one ‘real reason’ why they even delayed the event.

“...After confirming that Dowd had regained consciousness, both the Tribal Alliance and the Holy Land agreed to continue the selection.”

“...”

“There are only a very few people who know that he still hasn’t regained his memories, so from their perspective, there is no more reason to delay it any longer.”

He was able to exercise control over the ‘Devil Vessels’ merely by breathing. That was how much influence the man held. So, there was no need to disclose the fact that he was in a vulnerable state where he could be manipulated left and right.

From their perspective, they only knew that he had regained consciousness, and they didn’t know that he lost his memories. That was why they believed it was okay to proceed with the selection.

Iliya rubbed her forehead with a sigh, feeling an incoming headache.

‘...Okay, I understand that far, but…’

‘Why would the schedule change depending on Teach’s condition?’

“...Their focus is supposed to be on the Hero Selection, right? But why does it seem like they are more interested in Teach, who is only an attendant, than the actual Hero Candidates?”

“That’s just how it is. The Empress of the Empire, the Chieftain of the Tribal Alliance, and even the Pope of the Holy Land, all of them are keeping a really close eye on that man’s movements.”

“...”

Iliya furrowed her brows and rubbed her chin.

She could understand the situation regarding the Chieftain of the Tribal Alliance, as it was the most obvious type of interest. Her granddaughter, Riru, harbored an intuitive fondness for Dowd.

But, the Empress and the Pope was a different story.

“By the way, how is Dowd’s condition now?”

Hearing Atalante asking that question cautiously, Iliya unconsciously swallowed hard.

‘That…um…’

Given his memory loss, it was obvious that the reason why she asked that question was out of concern, whether he could participate in the Second Ordeal or not.

But, she couldn’t just disclose the fact that a chaotic free-for-all buffet to take a bite of him while he was still in his defenseless state was unfolding.

Recently, she heard that Riru and some woman named Seras had a big fight over Dowd, which ended with Eleanor tearing a new one in them.

Even herself had told him a mountain of nonsensical lies, which deterred her from disclosing the situation even further.

“...He doesn't seem to be doing all that bad.”

Iliya managed to force a smile as she spoke, making Atalante’s eyes narrow slightly.

“Really?”

“...”

From her gaze, it was clear that she already knew something despite her question.

As Iliya kept up her strained smile, all while breaking out in a cold sweat inwardly, Atalante kept her eyes narrowed as she spoke.

“I heard there was a huge fight at the dormitory where that man stays. Between students Seras and Riru.”

“...”

“...Given their nature, it is understandable they would flip at the sight of Dowd, but they have to consider the man’s current state.”

Atalante sighed and continued.

“He is not the shameless Dowd Campbell who’d boldly tug at their heartstrings anymore. Instead, he has an artificial soul with a completely clean slate. Nobody knows if he’d suddenly become twisted due to shock, or if he’d suddenly take an abrupt action.”

“...Y-Yes…”

“From what I can see, his mental state is still quite precarious at the moment. If he receives any more shock than he already has…it could lead to severe problems.”

At Atalante’s words, actual beads of sweat formed on Iliya’s forehead.

She tried to muster up an excuse. Something. Anything.

“C-Come on, what could possibly happen? There’s no way anything would go wrong. They already got scolded severely once, they won’t cross the line, I’m sure!”

“...”

“I-I really mean it! After the Student Council President chewed them out last time, I heard that Riru and that Seras person have calmed down!”

Iliya was about to say something more to convince Atalante when she suddenly clamped her mouth shut.

“...Huh?”

A surge of vitality suddenly coursed through her body, prompting her to let out that puzzled sound.

Yes, she could always manage her peak physical condition through her daily training, but…

‘This is…’

‘The same sensation that always comes whenever Teach’s ‘life is threatened’?!’

“...!”

“What’s wrong?”

Atalante inquired, confused after seeing Iliya’s stiff expression. Meanwhile the latter just urgently yelled out, as even herself found it difficult to explain what exactly happened.

“...T-Teach might be in danger right now!”

“...Excuse me? What do you—”

“It’s hard to explain, but we need to go see Teach right away!”

“...”

Fortunately, Atalane was also someone who was significantly vested in Dowd’s well-being.

Even though the other person’s explanation was messy, instead of probing further, she immediately grabbed her by the nape and hastily prepared a spell.

“...He should be in the dormitory right now.”

Teleportation. The coordinates were right in front of Dowd’s quarters.

As the light enveloping her body faded, Iliya quickly scanned the vicinity of Dowd’s room door.

Nothing seemed amiss, except for the fact that there was a woman standing there with her chin in her hand, staring at Dowd’s quarters.

Recognizing who she was, Iliya called out to her in a dazed voice.

“...Lana?”

Lana Rei Delvium.

An Immortal who was previously tied up by Dowd and used as ‘bait’.

For some reason, she was here.

“Mmmm, Miss Iliya? Long time no see!”

“...Yeah, uh, it’s been a while, but forget that. What brings you here, Lana?”

“Eh, it’s nothing much. I came to say hi to Mr. Dowd, but it’s quite noisy over here. There were so many women here, they said that they wanted to spend time with him.”

“...”

“Mr. Dowd seemed to be in agony, asking whether he actually laid his hands on this many people.”

Iliya tried her hardest to avoid Atalante’s piercing gaze coming from the side.

She could practically hear a shout in her ear, saying ‘Everything will be fine? EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE?!’

“But in the midst of that, Mr. Dowd kind of…asked me? Uh, he looked like he was grasping at straws. Anyway, he asked me whether he had ever laid his hands on me or not.”

“...”

A sense of foreboding surged through both Iliya and Atalante simultaneously.

“...So, what did you tell him?”

“I mean, all I did was remind him of the things he did to me during the last ordeal, recounting those pleasant memories one by one.”

“...”

“To think he could do such cruel, brutal, and immoral things so nonchalantly. I have never met such a manly man before! You think so too, don’t you?”

“...”

Iliya and Atalante’s faces turned ashen.

-Nobody knows if he’d suddenly become twisted due to shock, or if he’d suddenly take an abrupt action.

Yes.

That was literally the thing that they had just discussed.

And the things Dowd did to Lana were unimaginably shitty by any standard.

“...Did I do something that I shouldn’t have?”

While Lana absentminded words echoed in the hallway, Atalante had already pushed open Dowd’s door, rushing in.

No one was inside.

And the room was terrifyingly tidy.

Almost as if he was resolving himself in order to prepare for some significant event.

“...”

With a pale face, Atalante quickly scanned the room.

She was looking for a clue, whatever it may be, that might indicate the man’s current state. And she did indeed find one.

It was a small note on Dowd’s personal desk.

“...What does it say?”

Ignoring Iliya’s anxious-ridden question, Atalante glared at the sentence that was written there without saying anything.

Minutes ticked by.

And then a few more passed as well.

Only then did Atalane place the note back on the desk with trembling hands.

Iliya, who was standing still while watching this scene, quickly ran over to check the note.

[I believe it is better if something like me does not exist. Goodbye, everyone.]

“...”

“...”

Silence swept over everyone.

How much time had passed?

Atalante, with a shaky voice, finally spoke.

“...Drag out and gather every single woman who had clung to that man. We have no time to spare.”

And then…

“...Tell them, unless they all wish to die by my hands, to FIND THIS MAN IMMEDIATELY–!!”

Such a scream fell from Atalante’s lips like a thunderclap.