I Woke Up as the Villain

Chapter 245

Yu-Seong received a message from Mi-Na, followed by a phone call. The call was from Ji-Ho, who mentioned that he had seen a future where all of their family members had died.

After this revelation, Ji-Ho made a request. He knew that, interestingly, Yu-Seong had already altered the future once before. After acknowledging that it might seem audacious, he asked Yu-Seong to assist once again.

‘Of course.’

In fact, this was not a request that needed to be made in the first place. After all, this situation was not someone else’s matter but his own family’s. Moreover, Yu-Seong could no longer consider them as strangers.

Above all, as Ji-Ho said, Yu-Seong had the power to change the future. What was the evidence? The entire world, which had already deviated significantly from the original novel, served as proof. Ji-Ho's continued existence, Woo-Jae's gradual return to humanity, and Do-Jin's transformation into a friend of Yu-Seong, who was no longer a rascal, were all indications of this change. What more was there to say?

‘Regardless of the reason, if I can change the future and bring about happiness…’

Indeed, he was ready to twist fate time and time again. With that thought, Yu-Seong, leaving the Philosopher's Stone next to the sleeping Helen, attempted to teleport multiple times and quickly arrived in Seoul. Then, he had an immediate realization.

‘...An explosive rage.’

He was quick to notice the anger, hotter than the pouring rain, that was engulfing the entire city. Quickly rushing out, he confirmed the black sun which validated his understanding of the rage.

Then, he appeared in front of his family and saw the man in the red mask. All of the thoughts in his head vanished in an instant.

‘That guy…’

Although the man’s face was covered, it was impossible for Yu-Seong not to recognize him.

"Kim Do-Jin-!"

With a loud yell, Yu-Seong reached out his hand, and the spear that had pierced the black sun returned to his grip. Checking the condition of his family and the surroundings, he breathed a sigh of relief.

‘No one is dead yet.’

He had once again twisted the future that Ji-Ho had foreseen. With that realization, a sigh of relief escaped him and his lips curved into a wry smile.

‘Thank goodness… It's as if I'm the protagonist, showing up just in time.’

Under the age-old rule that the protagonist must appear at the last moment, the family was all showing expressions of surprise and joy at Yu-Seong's timely appearance during a critical moment.

The feeling of carrying everyone's expectations on his shoulders would have been burdensome in the past, but the situation was different now. Holding his spear, Yu-Seong glared at Do-Jin as he hovered in the sky.

Also hovering in the sky, Do-Jin trembled alone after Yu-Seong's sudden appearance.

Yu-Seong looked at Do-Jin, whose appearance was noticeably different from what he remembered.

‘That guy…’

Do-Jin’s mumbling penetrated the rhythm of the pouring rain, hitting Yu-Seong's ears precisely. "Choi Yu-Seong, why now…? Choi Yu-Seong... What should I do... Kill? Spare? But..."

Looking at the man’s bizarre appearance, Yu-Seong slightly narrowed his eyes and said, "That guy seems to be in an odd state, doesn't he?"

"It's not just odd, it's weird. Do you want me to support you?" Mi-Na confirmed, standing next to Yu-Seong.

"No. He's more likely to target Father, so noo-nim, it would be best if you watch over there."

Stealing a glance at Woo-Jae, Mi-Na said with a perplexed expression, "...Who's your sister?"

“You can stop pretending, I already know everything," Woo-Jae said.

Perhaps it was because Yu-Seong's appearance had brought clear hope, the family was having a somewhat leisurely conversation.

Just then, Do-Jin suddenly let out a strange cry. He jumped to the ground and was swinging his sword. "Ahhhhhhhh-!"

'The target is...'?

It wasn't Woo-Jae, but rather the figure ahead. Yu-Seong, who had parried Do-Jin's sword with his spear, couldn't help but be surprised by the tingling sensation in his wrist.

'This guy's power...'?

It wasn't inferior even to Yu-Seong, who had trained for as long as 250 years. On the contrary, there was even an inclination to push him down.

'Even if he's the original protagonist, isn't this a little ridiculous for just three years?'?

Along with his doubts, silver flashes cutting through the rain flickered dozens of times in an instant and ripped apart the surroundings. Bushes split apart, accompanied by a cloud of dust. The droplets of rain bouncing up danced like fairies amidst the sparks.

"What the…?" Jin-Woo, unable to follow the fast-paced exchange with his eyes, shivered in fear.

He was not the only one. Mi-Na and Ji-Ho also let out hollow laughter.

"That guy...was truly taking it easy on us, wasn't he?"

If Do-Jin had fought them in the same manner as he was swinging his sword toward Yu-Seong now, would anyone here have survived up until this moment? Woo-Jae firmly shook his head. Therefore, he felt another doubt.

‘You're supposed to desire my demise, considering me your sworn enemy.’

So why did Do-Jin go easy on him?

‘Or is this not the form of revenge you desired?’

As Woo-Jae's thoughts deepened, he narrowed his eyes and watched as Yu-Seong's spear struck Do-Jin's shoulder hard. At the same time, Do-Jin's sword stabbed at Yu-Seong's head.

Bang!

With a loud noise, Yu-Seong, who was forced to step back, touched his hot forehead while letting out a hollow laugh. He commented, "Hey, dude. I almost died there.”

If it weren't for the protective shield created by the aura at the last moment, his head would have been pierced by the sword.

'Doesn't even compare to the Demon King-transformed Noah, huh?'?

Furthermore, Do-Jin's current state wasn't stable. Continually muttering unintelligible soliloquies, he seemed to be forcibly controlling something.

‘If all of that were to explode... I can't even imagine the magnitude of it.’

Yu-Seong felt cold sweat trickling down his back. With the chilly wind, he felt particularly cool.

'It would be dangerous to keep fighting here.’

It wouldn't matter where the battlefield was if he could overpower his opponent in one go. However, amazingly, Yu-Seong did not have the confidence that he could completely suppress Do-Jin's power at once.

'If that power explodes inappropriately and envelops the people around, it would be dangerous.'?

Perhaps the name of the catastrophe that appeared in the center of Seoul could become Kim Do-Jin.

‘The original protagonist turning into a catastrophe…’

Thinking about how ridiculous the situation was, Yu-Seong blinked just as Do-Jin's figure vanished before his very eyes. Immediately after, a hot and cold touch of metal rose from his shoulder.

Shkew-!?

"Ah..."

Yu-Seong grimaced in pain, letting out a short groan, and tightly grasped Do-Jin's sword with his left hand. Do-Jin, who was about to pull out the sword for the next attack, stopped as he was about to let go of the hilt.

"Who said I'll allow you to escape?"

With a smirk, Yu-Seong, still with the sword lodged in his shoulder, lunged forward. The burning sensation heated his entire body, and his brain throbbed with pain, but Yu-Seong’s senses became clearer than before. In that moment, he grabbed Do-Jin's shoulder without hesitation and, extending his other hand, swallowed Do-Jin with a green magic circle.

.

"...?!"

Do-Jin, with a shocked expression, tried to jump out of the magic circle, but he was hovering too close to avoid it.

"Well, I'll see you in a little while."

And with that, Do-Jin was swallowed by the portal and disappeared.

Right after that, Yu-Seong, pulling out the sword lodged in his shoulder with his own hand, grimaced in pain. "Guh... It hurts.”

Although he had experienced quite a few injuries before, he never seemed to be able to get used to the pain.

Cursing inwardly, Yu-Seong summoned the Green Wind Spirit Cat. The kitten, once small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, had now grown into a fully-grown cat. It swiftly leaped onto his shoulder, pressing its front paw against him and initiating the healing process.

‘It hurts, but with my high regeneration and the aid of the Green Wind Spirit Cat, this level of injury is laughable.’

In fact, it wouldn't be surprising for him to be called a troll or zombie man in any setting. Thanks to that, Yu-Seong, who had quickly recovered from his injury, was about to jump into another portal he had created when he was interrupted.

"Wait a moment," Woo-Jae, who had been watching the rapidly changing situation, called out to Yu-Seong urgently.

"Yes?"

"Can I make one request?" Woo-Jae asked.

Yu-Seong's eyes naturally widened. Had Woo-Jae ever used the word 'request' before? Rather, his father had mostly given him tests or commands.

While staring at the bewildered Yu-Seong, Woo-Jae, whose composure remained unshaken even in this crisis, said, "Don’t die. And, if possible, do not kill Kim Do-Jin.”

"Ah...." Letting out a brief sigh, Yu-Seong stared at Woo-Jae as he was momentarily lost for words.

'Don't kill him?'?

Without a doubt, Yu-Seong had assumed that Woo-Jae would insist on killing Do-Jin if he posed a future obstacle. He was taken aback by this unexpected request.

"Can you do it? There are things I need to tell that boy," Woo-Jae continued.

At the continued question, Yu-Seong's mind snapped back into focus.

'Things that need to be told.'?

There could be clues among the many gaps in the original novel's plot that were not fully explained.

"Of course," Yu-Seong answered.

In fact, Yu-Seong had no intention of killing Do-Jin from the start. He nodded with his eyes shining.

'I hope that everyone can live in peace.'?

And, hopefully, they could all reach a happy ending.

'I will make it happen.'?

With this determination, Yu-Seong crossed over through space.

***

Yu-Seong emerged in the middle of the vast East Sea through a portal in space.

"Huh?"

The sight of Do-Jin, who should have been before him, was nowhere to be seen. This led to a wave of confusion.

'I clearly threw him into the sea, so he should have surfaced by now...'?

Was he slightly late? Yu-Seong’s question went away instantly as Do-Jin, resembling a drenched puppy, emerged from the water's surface.

"Phew, I thought I made a mistake. How is it? It feels good here, doesn’t it? No need to hold back at all," Yu-Seong said, attempting to initiate a conversation.

'There must be some kind of problem since he seems to have lost his mind halfway.'?

And if Do-Jin still had any sense left in him, he could potentially be reasoned with through dialogue. This was the method Yu-Seong chose because he didn't want to reach a violent conclusion, even if they were fighting due to feelings of revenge.

"Grrr…"

However, the answer Yu-Seong received was a low growl, much like a beast's.

"...Are you really a dog now?" Yu-Seong clicked his tongue, transforming Pharaoh’s Caprice back into a spear.

'If he won’t talk...'?

Yu-Seong decided to make Do-Jin regain his senses, even if it required him to use force. After all, Do-Jin was not the only one who didn't need to restrain his powers due to a change in location.

"Let me land a few hits on you first," Yu-Seong said.

As he made this decision and was about to charge at Do-Jin, he heard a voice filled with willpower and not just an animalistic growl.

"Don’t... interfere... with me."

Yu-Seong paused with his spear in mid-air. With eyes wide open, he asked in surprise, "Kim Do-Jin. Can you hear my voice?"

"Choi... Yu-Seong..."

"Ah... That's right. It's me," Yu-Seong answered. Relieved, he grabbed Do-Jin’s shoulder and said, "Snap out of it, Kim Do-Jin. Regardless of what outcome you want, this isn't it, right?"

As if in agreement with Yu-Seong's words, Do-Jin's head drooped low. Then, he said, "If you... interfere... I will have to kill you too.”

"What?"

Along with his whisper, two thick horns sprouted from Do-Jin's head and quickly pierced through Yu-Seong's shoulder.

"Guh...!" Yu-Seong groaned.

Do-Jin then threw Yu-Seong into the air as he began to darken. A shadowy energy was seeping into his body.

'That is…?!'?

In fact, the dark energy flowing from Do-Jin was now quite familiar to Yu-Seong.