Rogue Villain

"No shit." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Wilma hurriedly clasped her hands over her mouth after realizing her sarcasm had slipped out. That wasn’t appropriate whether she looked at the conversation or her relationship with Ackster.

But Ackster’s soft chuckle eased Wilma’s hands down to her lap again, and she smiled uneasily. She wasn’t sure what to say. She would have apologized if Ackster hadn’t chuckled. Now that he had, she didn’t know what to do.

Fortunately, she didn’t need to say anything. Ackster continued talking.

"You noticed how The Hero changed, right?"

Wilma nodded.

"That something was the Voice of the world. Basically, it was the skill all heroes have, the Blessing of the World, after it gained consciousness. It got tired of endlessly watching Millmeria when it was stuck to Heroes or in between Cycles. It wanted to do something about it, and its plan was to take control of The Hero after he defeated The Calamity and use The Hero’s body as its host body when destroying the world and freeing itself."

Wilma’s eyes widened in shock.

She knew something had been going on in the background, but neither she nor anyone else knew the details. They also hadn’t heard anything of Ackster’s conversation with the Observer other than what Anatol told them. And she only talked with Mio now and then. The demon hadn’t been very talkative despite being sealed in the sword for an eternity.

"I was scared that the Voice would not only perceive my existence but also my goals in eradicating it if I spoke about it aloud. In retrospect, it might have been fine since the Voice had no idea who I was. But that could very well have been because I didn’t speak and barely thought about it in the decade leading up to the final battle."

Wilma nodded.

If the Voice had realized Ackster existed and that he planned to get rid of the Voice before it could destroy the world, it could have implemented preventative measures or sicced The Hero on him.

If that had happened, the biggest worry on Wilma’s mind wouldn’t have been how to repair her relationship with Ackster or how to stop the war with the Celestial Realm. She wouldn’t have had anything to worry about at all. Everything to worry about and Wilma would have ceased to exist.

Ackster looked around while Wilma sank into her own thoughts.

’That reminds me...Wasn’t the world supposed to end?’

Even without the Observer’s interference, Millmeria would have returned to the state it had in its original timeline, meaning complete destruction. However, when Ackster looked around, all he saw was a world still recovering from the wake of a battle between beings who were greater than the entire world on their own.

Things looked a little different from the absolute annihilation Ackster expected.

"I see...."

But since the world didn’t look like it was about to end, Ackster set that matter aside and focused on Wilma, who looked up after thinking over what he had said.

"If we can’t go back to how we were before, do you think we can move forward to something better?"

Ackster raised an eyebrow.

"Are you speaking as Wilma, the Guild worker, or Wilma, my friend?"

Wilma hesitated for a moment.

"...Your friend. But I can’t betray Granny."

"That’s a given. I wouldn’t ask you to, either. I’m sure that she means a lot. I also doubt she would ask anything of you that would pit us against each other. She’s smarter than that."

"Thank you...—Do you have a name or something I can call you?"

Ackster shook his head.

"I don’t. Right. You were curious about how I knew the things I knew, right? It’s related to that."

Ackster paused for a moment.

"At first, as crazy as it sounds, I thought I was an ordinary young man from another world called Earth and that this world, or rather, The Hero’s journey, was all a story. For some reason, I had transmigrated here to prevent the end of the world. But that’s not what actually happened."

Ackster glanced at Wilma after looking at the sky.

"You noticed the other guy that showed up, right?"

"I was knocked out the rest of the fight. But Mio and the others told me about it."

"That guy made me after Millmeria exploded in the original timeline. He—It turned back time and stuffed me inside this body with some fake memories. He wanted to watch some kind of story unfold. That’s why all of this happened. After I defeated the Voice, he came by to watch the ending in person and to clean up the mess he made."

Ackster paused for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah. That about sums it up. I’m sure you can figure out the details on your own. The Observer, my creator, didn’t give me a name when he made me. But I’ve been trying to think of one myself. It’s not easy, though."

Wilma was silent.

Ackster’s words weren’t that difficult to understand. He didn’t use complex and niche language. But the meaning of the words he used was too grand. She was shocked at what he had told her.

All she could do was look at Ackster while showing off the insides of her mouth due to her jaw hanging slack.

Eventually, her jaw snapped back in place.

"...I’m sorry I wasn’t more supportive. I wish I could have been there for you."

"Don’t worry about it. You didn’t know. And if you were more supportive, I would have pushed you away. You know, raging paranoia and whatnot."

The corner of Ackster’s lip rose in a self-deprecating smile as he comforted Wilma.

Without hesitation, Wilma leaned in and hugged Ackster.

"Thank you."

She realized what kind of burden he had carried for a decade. It hadn’t been easy on him.

"Thank you for saving this world. Thank you for saving me."

Ackster returned Wilma’s hug with one arm.

"Mm."

There wasn’t much more any of them could say at that point, so they hugged it out in silence.