I Woke Up as the Villain

Demonic mana, the power that symbolized a demon, surged forth from Do-Jin like rampaging tentacles. It relentlessly attempted to ensnare Yu-Seong's body.

'...?!' 

Yu-Seong let out a hollow laugh as he felt his limbs being tied by the abruptly encroaching demonic mana.

'Did Kim Do-Jin fuse with a demon?' 

Having previously seen Noah in the United States, there was no room for doubt. With towering, sharp, and thick horns, as well as a red glow emitting from his eyes and tiger-like stripes all over his body, Do-Jin looked no different from a demon to anyone who saw him.

"What on earth happened in the meantime?" Yu-Seong asked with a short sigh.

"Kraaaah-!"

Do-Jin, roaring like a beast, charged at him. Infusing strength into his arms and legs, Yu-Seong effortlessly broke free from the mana tentacles that had bound his body with his left hand.

Once he seized hold of Do-Jin's sword, Yu-Seong said, "You should wake up with a jolt.”

"Kraaaah-!"

Yu-seong’s unhesitatingly swung fist collided with Do-Jin's face, creating an explosive sound like a cannon firing, and sent the man hurtling toward the Pacific Ocean. Then, quickly chasing after him, Yu-Seong felt a slight remorse at the burning sensation in his fist.

'Darn... Despite his bad personality, his only redeeming feature is his face. Did I hit him too hard?' 

Do-Jin’s handsome face might have been quite damaged, but it was alright.

"Well first, a punch or two to help you regain your senses."

In fact, the messed-up face could easily be fixed with a few treatments from Green Wind Spirit Cat.

'...Maybe it's not even necessary since he's a demon now?' 

As expected, Do-Jin's face quickly returned to normal before he charged at Yu-Seong again.

"With such a brute method..."

Just as Yu-Seong was about to say the method was useless, Do-Jin, who had been in front of his eyes, disappeared. He instantly felt a burning heat from behind.

"Oh...?"

The moment Yu-Seong turned his head with a short exclamation, a blazing black flame swiftly obscured his vision. As the hot flame seared his skin, he frowned slightly and unfolded his magic, Frost Shield, and stepped forward. As he cut through the flames, Do-Jin's sword followed from behind.

‘Are you trying to blind me and seize an opportunity?'

Unfortunately, Yu-Seong could easily discern all of Do-Jin's intentions. With a snort, he dodged the sword and naturally threw another punch.

“...?!”

The dark silhouette, which seemed to be charging with a sword, disappeared before his eyes as if it were a mirage.

'A clone?' 

Of course, it wasn't a simple clone. If it were a clone of a commonly seen level, there was no way Yu-Seong would have missed the hint.

'I definitely felt his presence until the moment I hit it...' 

Seeing through a high-level clone like this was difficult unless he opened his Third Eye.

‘Kim Do-Jin, dude, you're quite impressive, huh?’

Then, Yu-Seong felt a cold touch at the back of his head. Swiftly ducking and swinging his arm in a large arc, his eyes dramatically widened in the next moment.

Bang-! 

With a loud explosion, Do-Jin's face, which took a strong hit from Yu-Seong’s elbow, contorted significantly. However, Do-Jin did not evade to lessen the impact, nor did he get pushed back. On the contrary, he leaned even further forward and opened his mouth wide to fiercely bite into Yu-Seong's arm.

"Uh…?!"

Surprised, Yu-Seong quickly pulled his arm back, resulting in a chunk of his flesh being ripped off and causing Do-Jin to be thrown further back.

Munch, munch.

A cold smile tugged on Do-Jin's lips as he continued to regenerate his facial skin while chewing on Yu-Seong's flesh.

"What on earth are you…?"

Before Yu-Seong's question could be finished, a small change occurred to Do-Jin's physique.

'His face...' 

Despite wearing a mask, long white hairs sprouted out from his cheeks. They were not human-like but resembling that of a tiger.

"Grrrrrrr...."

The subsequent low growling left Yu-Seong with no choice but to harden his expression further.

'There’s a possibility he won’t be able to turn back.' 

Finally, Yu-Seong could comprehend the reason why Do-Jin had grown stronger within a mere three-year period.

'So, the Demon King who fused with Do-Jin is Gula, the Demon King of Gluttony.' 

If Acedia, the Demon King of Sloth, had the ability to restrict the opponent’s movement, and Avaritia, the Demon King of Greed, had the ability to take away all the mana in the vicinity, the power wielded by Gula, the Demon King of Gluttony, was none other than that of the Food God's Devouring.

'The power to steal the memories or abilities of the opponent by eating them.' 

It differed from the residual abilities of Acedia or Avaritia. The moment he bit, even once, Gula, the Demon King of Gluttony, would obtain something from the opponent's abilities and grow. Naturally, the stronger the opponent, the more dangerous this power was.

'This is troublesome.' 

If it were any other opponent, Yu-Seong would have chosen to obliterate them with a single strike to counteract this power of Gluttony. However, his opponent was Do-Jin and the option to kill was excluded. As a result, the problem was now unfolding right before his eyes.

Do-Jin, who jumped through the void in one breath, charged forward. Following this, a demonic mana seemingly enveloped Yu-Seong's whole body like the wind and disrupted his balance.

‘Wind Control?' 

As Yu-Seong swung his arm in surprise, Do-Jin fell away again and chewed on another part of his arm as he grinned.

Munch, munch.

With the eerie sound of chewing, this time, Do-Jin's movements were incomparably faster than before.

'Beast King's Instinct.' 

Indeed, this was dangerous. If they continued in this state, there was a possibility that Yu-Seong would not be able to stop Do-Jin's rampage.

As if he knew what Yu-Seong was thinking, Do-Jin's mouth twisted menacingly and released a beast-like roar. He declared coldly, "If you...want to stop me... Kill me.”

"What?"

"If you don't kill me... I'll kill you."

At the same time, Do-Jin charged at Yu-Seong as if he were running on all fours. If Yu-Seong resisted this incoming attack, he would be robbed of something again.

'Kill him?' 

Yu-Seong furrowed his brows deeply. Come to think of it, that sounded right. In the past, he had felt that Do-Jin's power was necessary to protect this world. That was why Yu-Seong had spared Do-Jin despite feeling threatened by Do-Jin's existence. However, was it still the case now?

Watching Do-Jin approaching, Yu-Seong opened his Third Eye and shook his head inwardly.

'No.' 

Do-Jin was undoubtedly the original novel’s protagonist and was destined to be responsible for the future of this world. However, history had already changed. In the original novel, there was no overpowering presence like Yu-Seong overshadowing Do-Jin. It was a statement that had to be repeated over and over, a point that needed to be firmly remembered.

'This world is no longer a novel.' 

And Yu-Seong was confident enough to believe that he had become strong enough to protect such a world. In other words, even if Do-Jin were not in this world, there might not be any problem at all. Therefore, Yu-Seong considered the possibility of killing him. Would there be any significant consequences if he did?

'Of course, there would be.' 

The blue light emanating from the Third Eye spread in all directions, slowing down the world’s flow of time. Do-Jin, who was darting at a speed beyond sound, appeared peculiar within this slow-motion timeline.

Yu-Seong walked slowly forward. Then, using his right hand, he gently pushed away Do-Jin's face as the man attempted to bite while his left hand delivered light strikes to various parts of Do-Jin’s body. Finally, with his right hand once again, he lightly grasped Do-Jin's collar in a swift motion.

"Guh-!" Do-Jin groaned.

The blue light flowing from the Third Eye disappeared soon after, and the timeline of the world returned to its original state.

Thud, thud, thuuud!

Shockwaves, akin to a billowing windbag, erupted incessantly from behind Do-Jin—momentarily subsiding before surging forth once more. He was severely battered. This assault was of such magnitude that even the mighty Demon King would struggle to regenerate swiftly.

'After all, I stopped the flow of time itself.' 

Considering the number of continuous attacks within that span, it would inevitably take Do-Jin time to recover.

While Do-Jin, who could do nothing but be suppressed, laid beneath him, spitting blood and slumped down, Yu-Seong held onto Do-Jin’s collar tightly and said calmly, "You won't be able to move a finger for at least a minute.”

"..."

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"You are conscious, right? Listen well, Do-Jin. I'm not going to kill you."

It was no longer a matter of whether Do-Jin's existence was needed or not in this world.

"What I desire is happiness, and, to be honest, I, as an individual, place a great value on human connections," Yu-Seong continued.

Yu-Seong didn't mind being labeled as an odd or flawed individual.

"Didn’t I mention it to you? I'm a novel reader who heard the story of this world from another world and learned about the future... In that world, there was nobody around me, Choi Yu-Seong."

He had lived a reasonably routine life. He had lived thinking that he might eventually establish a harmonious family in a stable future, but he had never been able to get that close to anyone.

"The truth is, I was scared. The idea of others discovering my true self was quite a challenging task for me."

Indeed, Yu-Seong had a harsh life. In his initial world, he had been an orphan without a single friend. The way he lived, constantly striving to avoid being looked down upon by others, had not been conducive to receiving love from others. With that thought in mind, he had led his life in a certain way.

"So, in the end, I had to meet someone with a false appearance. With that, can we truly respect and love each other as human beings? Not just as simple members of a corporate society, but as family or friends?" Yu-Seong chuckled bitterly and shook his head.

He concluded, "In the end, I don't want to reach a conclusion where we’d both be unhappy. I am scared of being alone again.”

"Grrrrr..." Do-Jin moaned in a low voice as he began to recover.

Watching him, Yu-Seong continued to speak. "So, let me reiterate, I won't kill you. And I won't lose anyone around me. This place, which I thought was a world inside a novel, is where I am living. It is a reality where people precious to me already exist."

"Choi… Yu-Seong…"

"One of those precious people is you, Kim Do-Jin."

Yu-Seong had phrased it simply, but he held Do-Jin in a different regard. The man was a presence that could not help but be special to Yu-Seong.

In fact, the reason was simple. When reading a novel, the protagonist and the reader often blended together to achieve full immersion in the story. If an existence that was another 'me', providing an escape from the complex and frustrating reality, appeared before the reader’s eyes in reality, how could it not be regarded as special?

'You can call me a foolish novel addict if you like.' 

For Yu-Seong, who had no one to share his true feelings with, the novel [Modern Master Returns] was a joyful adventure, and its protagonist 'Kim Do-Jin' was a one-of-a-kind friend in life.

"So… How could I possibly kill you?"

"I, I am… I am...!"

Yu-Seong continued speaking toward Do-Jin, who was beginning to tremble and slowly move his body.

"You want to take revenge on my father, right? Isn't the resentment toward the world that shattered your once blissful home still lingering in your heart?”

Yu-Seong chuckled and threw Do-Jin into the air. As Do-Jin flew aimlessly toward the ground like a string that had come loose, it suddenly stopped in mid-air. It indicated that the paused time had come to an end.