I'll Be Villain to Everyone! Except for my Cat...-Chapter 62: Darkness

"...Make them."

The paralyzing screams of terror gave way to a muffled whisper. It drifted through the darkness like a faint breeze.

’Who’s there?!’

The cry escaped him, but it was hard to tell if it had actually sounded.

He kept running as fast as he could.

"Make them..."

Despite his best efforts, the whisper seemed to catch up with him and grow louder.

Breathing became heavier, and fear made even his legs tremble.

’Run, run, run...’

Suddenly, a flash lit up the darkness, as if composed of hundreds of different colors.

He ran without looking back. Without stopping... but the flash was still right in front of him.

It was as if he were running in place.

’What the...’

The colors shifted, as if smeared across a palette.

Then they coalesced into a strange shape, revealing a specific scene.

A man in a black cloak and a strange mask stands on one of the floors of a massive tower.

Directly above him, a huge image of his face and figure is projected.

’Is that... Me?’

The thought terrified him, but before fear could take hold, something else happened.

The scene shifted slightly, showing the man in the cloak and mask pointing at something with his finger.

And then a scream pierced the dark space.

A furious scream.

A scream of hatred.

A scream calling for action.

"Point out the enemy!!!"

’No, no, no...’

It was horrible. He didn’t want to hear anything, but the furious howl reached him anyway.

He tried to cover his ears and eyes with his hands and run away, but...

"Make them see... Nobody."

The original voice began to sound as if someone were whispering directly into his ear.

It merged with the furious howl and grew louder and louder.

"They! Want! You!!!"

"Go..."

"Blow it all up, kitty!!!"

"Destroy everything in your path..."

"VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!!"

He ran as fast as he could in the pitch-black darkness. Because of the screams, it felt as though the moment he opened his eyes, he would find himself surrounded by people... whose emotions were overflowing with pain, hatred, and rage.

Finally, the screaming subsided. All that remained was darkness and the original whisper in his ear.

Only now did it become clear that it was a child’s whisper.

’Someone, help...’

"Make them fear... Nobody."

’Please, I don’t want to hear this...’

The once-quiet whisper turned into a desperate, tearful cry.

He could have sworn he felt the child’s hot breath on his ear.

"Make them hate... Nobody!"

The child was screaming right into his ear, tearing at its own throat.

"Make them regret!!!"

’PLEASE, I DON’T WANT TO KNOW THIS!!!’

The child’s scream died down, leaving a barely discernible phrase at the end.

"Because you were never Nobody... You were always our ******."

It grew quiet.

He stopped running and timidly took his hands away from his face.

In the darkness, he saw that a flash of colors had formed yet another scene.

It was the same man in the black cloak, but now without a mask.

From head to toe, he was covered in thick, dark red blood, and rain poured down on his gray hair in torrents.

He stared at the floor, as if someone were at his feet...

Then he clenched his teeth and turned his face upward. Straight toward the sky.

"I will kill you all."

It was his voice. The man with his face said it.

It was definitely him.

"NOOOO!!!" his real voice finally broke through, and then...

"Whoa, whoa, hold on!"

Someone grabbed his forearm and pulled him back.

Finally, the impenetrable darkness gave way to the nighttime silhouettes of the slums in the Como district.

His heart was pounding so hard it felt as if it were about to burst right out of his chest.

His eyes darted around in fear, searching for proof that everything he had seen was real...

But nothing. As if those screams, that whisper, those... words.

As if none of it had ever happened.

"Hey, brother, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I’m... I’m fine."

Looking back, he saw that with every passing moment, the darkness left behind was fading away.

A couple of seconds later, it was hard to tell that it had ever existed at all.

"Man, you’re something else... That was Ghost, right? You slipped right past her!"

"Haa... Looks like it."

Using that ability really did help him escape. It felt like he’d run across the entire outskirts of Como and ended up on the other side.

There were no signs of Ghost pursuing him.

"But what was that even about? You suddenly shouted, ’For I am a faceless star!’ And then darkness poured out of you... I mean, that was cool! For real. But what the hell?"

"Like hell I know..."

Similar to his first ability, Guiding Star, using this one began with a gesture.

In this case, he mimicked a constellation with his hand, touching his fingers to different points on his face. It was just easier to use his face than his chest.

But otherwise, the abilities were completely different.

He himself could barely describe the side effects or how this power actually worked, but he understood that the cause of the darkness lay within him. After all, the light of real stars looks bright.

As he understood it, he was imitating the glow of a star, and to unleash this power, he had to name that star.

Darkness, not light—proof that this power depended specifically on him. And since he is who he is... to unleash the power, the star’s name must be appropriate. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"...But at least I didn’t go crazy and managed to escape."

"Haha, that’s true... But, brother, it looks like that stunt really took a toll on you. It looks like you can’t even stand on your own two feet."

"Shit..."

Trying to move, he realized his legs barely obeyed him.

His limbs were cold, and his body felt hollow, as if he’d drained all his reserves.

Perhaps this was the true price for using that power, rather than the mad screams and visions he’d encountered in the darkness.

He was barely on his feet, held up only by the other man.

"Wait a minute... You’re that guy from the roof."

"Yeah. Surprised you remembered me, bro."

"Considering your outfit, it wasn’t too hard... But why are you calling me that, and why... No, who the fuck are you anyway?"

"Me?"

"...Yeah."

"Well, I’m just... I’m just the one who’s going to kill you."