A low chuckle escaped through Razeal's lips quiet, humorless, the kind that rises out of someone who already knows the answer but still wants to hear it spoken just to confirm how ridiculous everything truly is. "Let me ask you some questions, Villey…" he said inside his mind, leaning his head back slightly, crimson eyes half-lidded with a mixture of exhaustion and cold amusement. "Tell me… would it be acceptable if I killed children.. innocent children who have nothing to do with me?"

He wasn't expecting surprise. He already knew exactly what the system would say.

[It is acceptable. As I said, I am a villain system. You have full freedom to do as you want, host. System does not possess morals or boundaries, whatever you believe those are.]

Razeal's face remained blank. His expression didn't flicker even a hair. He wasn't shocked. Not even disappointed. This was expected. Predictable. Almost boring. "How about…" he continued calmly, his tone still steady but something dead underlined it, "can I rape innocent girls?"

[You can.]

Not even a pause. Not even hesitation. No hint of shame or moral restraint. Just a flat confirmation.

Razeal's eyes narrowed a little, not because he felt something, but because everything was becoming too clear now. Too obvious. "How about if I want to spread a plague? Or torture people for fun? Put people through poverty, sickness, suffering just because I feel like it? What about killing for fun? Will you help me with that, Villey?"

[You can. And system will definitely help you find the perfect villain to learn from, to master those skills.]

"Even if I get consumed by darkness? By evil? By madness?" His voice was soft now. Quiet. "Would you help me… or stop me? If I turned into a complete psychopath?"

[There is no such parameter as 'evil,' 'darkness,' or 'madness' for system to judge. If you ask system to help you improve those traits, system will. If not, system will not interfere. Your perception of morality does not apply to me. For me, all of that is acceptable.]

"Hm." That was all Razeal said at first. Just a simple sound, his face remaining emotionless. "Well, that's fine. Not like I had any expectations from you in the first place."

He didn't sound angry. He didn't sound betrayed. He sounded… done. Empty. As if he already understood this truth long before he spoke it, but now that he finally voiced the questions out loud, the reality settled deeper and heavier inside him.

"But since you're being so honest…" He tilted his head slightly, crimson eyes narrowing. "…let me ask you some important questions too."

The air inside his consciousness felt heavier. Not literally just emotionally, mentally. Like the weight of truths he was about to dig up had been buried under dust for too long.

"Tell me, Villey… When Selena accused me, when she destroyed everything with one sentence..And i was standing inside court..? you fully understood the situation? Could you have recommended better solutions?" His voice wasn't sharp; it wasn't demanding. It was calm, dangerously calm. "Could you have helped me get out of all that without any problem?"

Of course he knew the answer. Only a fool wouldn't. A system powerful enough to fight EX-rank beings, a system with infinite calculation power, a system with knowledge of countless worlds unable to solve a petty court accusation? Impossible.

System paused. A long pause. A telling pause. Then finally answered.

[Yes. I could. I had billions of ways. I could have proven their guilt even. I could have created arguments, fixed the situation, turned everything around. Even fabricated evidence. I possess omnipotent-level intelligence, host. But system cannot interfere. It is for you to grow. To make choices. To learn. That is it.]

Razeal's fingers twitched. He didn't clench his fist or grit his teeth. But internally, something shifted. Something clicked.

He continued, voice steady:

"How about when I was in that church? When they tortured me? Did you have a solution for that too?"

System answered immediately.

[I had millions.]

Razeal nodded again slowly.. not surprised at all.

"How about the best ways to get stronger? How about healing me? When I was injured thousands of times?" His voice was low, quiet, but every word hit with precision. "Could you have made that easier?"

[Yes. Easily.]

Razeal exhaled, almost amused by the simplicity.

"How about helping me find a place to live peacefully? Happily? Safely? Could you have done that too?"

System didn't even hesitate.

[I could have made you the world's wealthiest, healthiest, most satisfied individual using words alone, host.]

Razeal blinked slowly, sarcasm curling at the corner of his lips. He already expected this. He already knew. But hearing it said so casually, so indifferently, made something inside him twist.

"…And you didn't."

[Because it is your choice, host. It is you who must walk your path. You must learn. You must struggle. You must experience. That is how you become better.]

"Villey… you just admitted you could have fixed everything. Everything."

His mind replayed flashes being dragged, beaten, mocked, rejected, tortured, hated, accused, crushed.

And system did nothing.

"You had the power to give me happiness… peace… even safety." A small smile touched his lips, dead and empty. "And you didn't."

The system stayed silent, allowing him to continue.

"You talk about growth. About learning. About becoming stronger." He lifted his head, eyes glowing faintly. "But tell me since when does a child need to be tortured to learn? Since when does suffering automatically create growth? Why do you believe pain is the only teaching method?"

A pause.

"If you could have helped me… but chose not to… what exactly does that make you, Villey?"

The system didn't respond.

Razeal continued anyway.

"You always say I have freedom." He laughed bitterly. "But you never gave me the chance to live freely. You shaped me. Pressed me. Molded me."

His fingers dragged back through his hair, frustration flickering across his eyes genuine emotion finally surfacing.

"You say the world wants me to be a villain. Raven wants me to be a villain. Fate wants me to be a villain. And you.. my system want me to be a villain." His breath trembled once, then steadied. "So tell me… when so many forces push me into one direction… how exactly is that freedom?"

System finally answered, softly:

[Host… you are misunderstanding. I only want what is best for you..]

"No." Razeal cut it off immediately, voice cold, sharp, hollow.

"You only want what is best for your purpose."

He leaned back again, head tilting as his gaze turned emotionless, expression flat.

"And that's exactly what makes you no different from Raven… or world anyone else who decided things for me without asking."

The atmosphere inside the mental space shifted. The system remained silent.. And after finally some time

[So.. are you satisfied now? I answered all your questions? To prove me I was wrong?] the system finally asked, its voice sounding strangely flat, as if it already knew Razeal wouldn't like any of its answers but still forced itself to speak them anyway. It didn't sound guilty or ashamed systems don't have that but there was something like a very slight hesitation beneath the surface, like even it knew this conversation was dangerous… like it was stepping on something it didn't fully understand.

Razeal leaned back, exhaling a quiet laugh through his nose. A low chuckle dry, empty, and tired. "I am. Very much. At least you didn't lie," he said, his lips curling into a humorless smile.

The system paused, then asked, [So… when did you realize that you don't want to be a villain?]

"When I was on the ship," he finally said closing hus eges. "Loneliness always makes you realize where you're actually standing, Villey…"

He opened his eyes again, staring into nothing.

"Sitting there alone, seeing nothing… I realized how empty everything is. I had nothing. No one behind me. Nothing to even look forward to. I only had you. And all you did was tell me what you think is best for me."

A smile shaped on his face arrogant, sarcastic.

"And it's not like you ever hid your irritation. Why do you think I brought Levy onto the ship with me? I didn't bring him because I needed him. I brought him because I was suspicious of you."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered.

"You always questioned why he was there. Always asked what use he had. Always called him useless. Always pushing me to cut him off. Why do you think you did that?"

The system didn't speak.

Razeal continued anyway. "You wanted me to be alone. A lonely person is easier to manipulate. A lonely person is easier to shape. A lonely person is easier to fill with darkness. Because if I linked myself with people, I might grow soft. I might get a purpose. I might care. And that goes against what you want from me, right?"

"At first, it was only suspicion. But after we got separated in that sea whirmpool… I had the chance to go get him back. I could've gone after Levy. But instead, I didn't. And you didn't say anything. Not one single recommendation. Not even a 'host, think about it again.' Nothing."

His smile sharpened. "So unusual of you, Villey. Silence? From you?"

The system stayed completely muted.

"And then…" Razeal's eyes darkened. "That recommendation to kiss Maria to heal her. Why do you think you gave that?"

Still no response.

I'm sure you had many other ways better ways you could've helped me realise something, or helped me heal her, or fix whatever was happening… rather than kiss her. You knew she was getting close to me… asking questions… getting involved. And maybe that could be a "bad probability" for you in the future.

You knew she obviously hates me always thinking of me like some rapist. So if I acted like that… if I did something that disgusting… then it would help you, right? She would keep her distance from me realising i am just she thought i was.

And I would stay alone, isolated… easier for you to manipulate.

Silence.

But this time it wasn't a cold silence. It was… cornered.

"Darkness grows best when someone lives alone, Villey," Razeal whispered. "And you knew that." He leaned his head back, staring at the cosmic ceiling of Tongue's strange space.

[So what now? You think I betrayed you?] System suddenly asked silently.

Razeal heard that and chuckled quietly. "Betrayal? No. I never trusted you in the first place… my friend."

He smirked. "You think I'm an idiot?"

Razeal continued speaking to the system.

"System functions open only inside the Gate of worth? Only inside the academy? Right where everyone loathes and hate me.. And that too when i desperately wanting to grow stronger? And that's supposed to be coincidence?"

He scoffed."You ran me through hardships, torture, pain, loss, loneliness… all so I could become a villain without you ever directly saying that's what you want from me. You wanted to shape me without making it obvious."

The system of course had nothing to say at that moment. It finally managed, [Are you not afraid that I will stop giving you powers? Or take back the ones you already have? Lock all system functions?]

"I'm not afraid," Razeal answered instantly. His voice without hesitation. "Because I know you can't do that."

He tilted his head slightly, smirk widening. "If you could, you would've done it already instead of trying to manipulate me like this.'

He tapped his fingers against the armrest of the galactic couch, slow and rhythmically. "And not to mention... If I die, you die. Our lives are tied. You won't risk that. And you'll always obey the commands I give you. Because in the end..."

His crimson eyes glowed faintly. "You are my system. Not the other way around."

[Hmm… maybe I can't lock the main system function… But I definitely can lock the others I gave you.]

[I will be locking the system training function and the system function: Automatic Blacksmith. That one, I gave you personally. Not the system generated one. You can't do anything about that. And also… the memory collection you gained from absorbing the Vampire essence.. those trillions of memories and skills they are under me. I was the one who placed them, arranged them, prepared them for you as rewards. They were never inherently yours. I put them in you personally… preparing you to be better.]

Razeal blinked slowly, his face going blank for a moment. Then he narrowed his eyes, irritation flickering across his expression.

"But the Automatic Blacksmith function," he said. "you gave me after I got that item from that SSS-ranked blacksmith. You literally told me it was too big and annoying to carry around, so you'd help me integrate it. And the vampire memories those are mine. I got them from the villain. You can't rob me, right? They're a reward from the kill. How does that make them yours?"

He wasn't yelling. He wasn't even annoyed anymore. He just sounded tired, like someone forcing his brain to process nonsense because he had no other option.

The system didn't hesitate. [I got your permission to integrate everything, host. Permission is permission. Once granted, it becomes my decision whether to return or withhold it. Whether you get those memories back or not it's my choice. Those gifts aren't to be thrown around carelessly just because you suddenly decided to act ungrateful.]

There was a coldness there. A strange coldness like a parent disappointed in a child, but without emotion. Mechanical disappointment.

Razeal leaned back slowly. A cold chuckle escaped him.. Definitely not amused.

"I can appreciate the kindness," he said, voice steady, "the 'powers,' the gifts, the treatment… but I don't want that identity.. Have it whatever I do care."

He lifted his head, eyes narrowing as he stared into the empty air as if where the system could be.

"You're trying to make me better? Or look after me?" He shook his head lightly, almost mocking. "You're just selfish for your own interests, Villey. You pretend it's for my sake. 'Purpose,' 'growth,' 'path,' all this bullshit. You tell me to find my purpose, but you already gave me one."

His voice sharpened. "Be. A. Villain."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Do you think I'm an idiot? That I'm too blind to understand this much?"

His crimson eyes glowed faintly under the cosmic lights of Tongue's strange space, but there was something else in them something colder than before, something that wasn't anger… but clarity.

"So do what you're doing," Razeal said. "I'll do what I want."

His voice turned almost emotionless now. "Don't call me bad for it. Don't call me stupid. Don't call me ungrateful. Don't call me confused. I am simply doing what I want for my own interests. Just like you. So don't act like you're any different."

"I don't want your label. And I don't want your purpose. I'll be what i want to be."

----

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.