Reincarnated and Regressed Villain - Make heroines beg for forgiveness

28  Chapter 28- Dealing with Maria and securing a Villainess

" I can help you in leaving this place "

Ryuk's words made the little girl pause for a moment, looking blankly at him before she clenched her jaws, glaring at him in rage.

Having seen enough of human reality, she roared, "Shut up!" Her grip tightened on Ryuk's wrist, small veins on her frail hand showing the strength she exerted.

"You all are the same!" Twisting her legs forward, she wrapped them around Ryuk's hands using her body mass, she tried to throw him to the ground.

BANG!

"Kuugh!" Her eyes widened as she felt the force of the ground hitting her back.

Her whole body was smashed onto the ground while Ryuk's hands wrapped around her neck, his amber eyes mirroring her pain.

The moment she wrapped her legs around his hand, he bent his knees, using his Amethyst mana to enforce them before directly smashing her body onto the ground, his hand gripping her neck.

"Don't try that again," he warned her with a cold tone, loosening his grip, while slowly retreating back before standing.

"Cough…Haa….Haa," she gasped for breath, her eyes turning towards his amber ones looking down at her, making her feel humiliated.

Gritting her teeth, she exclaimed, "You Bastard!"

SWISH

Swiftly moving her claws, she tried to scratch his face while half-rising, but Ryuk easily avoided her by taking a step back.

Finding this as an opportunity, she backflipped to create some distance between them.

Ryuk kept looking at her.

He understood why she acted that way; anyone would if they had to live in a place like this.

Seeing this little girl, he felt it was much more reasonable to make him deal with her calmly

Otherwise, the moment he smashed her on the ground, everything would have ended with her life.

He observed her as her pupils contracted, resembling those of a predator, glimmering with a cold glow.

She seemed to realize this was her last chance to escape this place, dead or alive, forcing her to use her last resort.

12:18

"Come on!" Her posture transformed into a feline's, her hand gripping the ground.

Her furry ears perked up, while her broken tail revealed the desperate state she was in—completely cornered.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, an unknown force started to exude from her body.

Her amethyst eyes shone with burning flame, giving birth to a larger beast form.

It looked ethereal, a black aura surrounding it with sharp amethyst eyes just like the little girl's, it was a Soul Beast.

CRUMBLE!

"ROOAAARRR!!"

With a roar that made the whole place tremble, the Soul Beast's translucent figure covered the girl inside.

Both looked towards Ryuk with amethyst eyes, slowly submerging the ethereal body back into her, causing a rush of energy to course through her.

BANG!

The force exerted by her body shattered the ground beneath her, small particles elevating into the air before turning into dust due to the sheer aura surrounding her.

BOOOM! Her figure disappeared, the launching speed causing her whole figure to become invisible, closing the distance in an instant.

Standing there, Ryuk's amber eyes captured a claw that suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, meeting two amethyst ones, glaring back a him.

The intensity in them caused him to narrow his eyes, a small voice leaving him, "I told you not to try this."

FLICK!

BOOM!

'!?!'

In that mere moment, her amethyst eyes captured the image of Ryuk's hands, first shrouded in amber aura reaching her face and suddenly engulfed in amethyst ones before a force on her forehead propelled her body with the same force she used to launch herself, Causing her to smash on the wall.

"Kughhh!"

However, it was directed at a small area, causing her consciousness to fade before the pain could envelop her mind.

THUD

As her frail body fell to the floor, her eyes finally succumbed to slumber, everything fading with her now closed eyes.

'It should be enough,' he calmly moved towards the little girl.

His main motive was not to directly subdue her but to wait, just to witness the Soul Beast.

In his life, there were only a few instances that made his blood boil and heart race in anticipation of future outcomes.

One of them was the battle with Belial.

Standing his ground against someone using an unknown form of energy and techniques accelerated his mind to know about it.

His curiosity in learning about that energy remained unfulfilled with Belial's death.

Now that he had a chance to have this girl, who was the source of that energy, he would learn everything there was to know.

{ Present Illustration of Bella in comments}

Slowly, he moved to lift the girl in a princess carry.

Lifting her, he slowly moved from the place before commanding the system, 'Neutralize the remaining demonic energy here for twenty minutes.'

Already calculating and predicting things, he prepared a gift for someone special.

The stench of blood and foul smells lingering in the air slowly dissipated as he emerged from the basement.

"You...You know what you did, Ryuk," a trembling voice attracted his attention.

Turning his head, his amber eyes reflected the figure of a girl with purple hair and eyes.

{ Maria's present illustration in comment }

Ignoring her, he kept walking, causing her to try to make sense of the scene before her – a broken statue of her Goddess Fela.

"Stop it! You hereti—" Her sentence got interrupted due to a sharp, sudden force on her shoulder.

SCHLKT

"Huh... W-what?" Not understanding what had just happened, she slowly looked towards her side. A small crystalline piece of mana pierced her skin, embedded in her shoulder.

"Ugghh... Y-You attacked me?!" Her purple eyes widened, looking at him in bewilderment, still trying to process the sudden assault.

Without deeming it necessary to respond, he continued to move while holding the little girl with dark auburn hair in his hand.

Suddenly, remembering something, he turned towards her, making her slightly tremble as she looked at his amber eyes. He spoke, "Congratulations for becoming a Saintess."

"Huh?" Maria stood there, feeling bewildered about the reason for him to know about her Awakening.

Her purple eyes widened, and with trembling lips, her voice barely audible, she said, "D-don't tell me, you already have memories?"

"What memory?" Despite his reluctance to engage in conversation with her, some interaction was necessary for his upcoming plan to succeed.

"H-how do you know about my Awakening?" Maria looked at his narrowed eyes and turning body, her gaze slowly moving towards the girl in his hands.

'!'

"D-demon!" Shocked by the ominous energy shrouding the girl, Maria turned towards Ryuk, who was blankly looking towards her. "What are you doing with it?"

'What can you expect from a heroine,' Ryuk felt satisfied after seeing how Maria has detected the subtle amount of demonic energy and also directly fell into his trap.

The reason for him to delay his departure was to let her calmly notice the girl in his hand, who had already been experimented on with demonic energy, leading to her genes being involved in a demon—calling her half-demon and half-catkin wouldn't be wrong.

"Heal her." Out of nowhere, he proposed to heal Bella—the girl in his hand.

"Sorry?" Due to Ryuk's earlier attack, Maria remained in a trance state.

Although her wounds had already healed some time ago, the shock had left her mind to process things slowly.

"I said, heal this girl." He moved towards her, calmly observing things that were unfolding according to his expectations.

The attack he had done was to throw her mind into a trance, keeping her preoccupied while processing things, subduing her haughty and irritating personality until he made her heal Bella and also awaken her demon seed.

His aim from the start was to awaken that 1% of the seed while ensuring his future steps wouldn't be hindered by the demonic energy inside this little girl's body.

In his assessment, it was feasible that this Cat-kin belonged to a place inhabited by her race.

However, what if he encountered a Theocracy on his way?

A place where any religion reigned supreme and ruled the area.

Having a demon companion in a place filled with paladins would not be favorable for him in the least.

Already contemplating the far future, he made his decisions, moving towards Maria, who looked at him with widened eyes.

"W-why would I?" Clenching her dress, her eyes relaxed before glaring at him, but he paid no attention.

"Do it, or I will kill everyone in this place." A glint passed through Ryuk's amber eyes as he stared coldly at her.

'!?'

"Y-You Mons—" She stopped mid-sentence, biting her lip, her mind urging her to halt after recalling the previous warning.

Her hands slowly lifted towards the little girl.

Maria's body started to be shrouded in a soothing aura, a small hollow appearing on her head, shining brightly.

WHOOSH

The aura rushed towards Bella's body, causing a dark energy to retaliate against Maria's divine energy.

"Uh...Ugh," Maria's eyes furrowed as she felt greater resistance from the demonic energy, causing her to increase her own energy and forcefully open her veins to help the innocent girl.

Slowly, the energy started to dissipate, beads of sweat falling from Maria's forehead due to exerting too much energy.

A smile formed on Ryuk's face as he had already expected this girl to do her best when it came to saving others.

However, there was a distinction between sympathy and empathy.

From Ryuk's perspective, Maria might have cared for people and desired to help them, but her actions were ultimately foolish.

She only saw what her mind wanted to see, rendering her unable to judge the authenticity of the person in front of her.

After Saintess Marianne emerged, the entire Heindal Continent embraced the Goddess Fela's religion as their state religion.

Subsequently, kidnappings and mass sacrifices proliferated rapidly.

Blinded by the allure before her, she accepted everything without questioning, often neglecting reality.

Ryuk had no intention to teach her about how the world worked; he simply needed to fulfill his task: heal Bella and then activate the demon seed within her the moment she entered the basement.

Maria, already weakened by the struggle with the demonic energy emanating from the girl, would inevitably lose consciousness the moment she exposed herself to the energy inside the basement, which Ryuk had already prepared as a gift for her healing of Bella.

[ 𝙵𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝙽𝚎𝚞𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚏𝚏 ]

Hearing the System's warning, Ryuk turned towards the gate and left the place.

"W-wait." Exhausted, Maria's voice was hardly audible, but Ryuk ignored her and departed.

Maria attempted to run after him, but her eyes caught sight of the broken statue of her Goddess.

With her eyes welling up, she muttered, 'Heretic, what have you done.'

Tearfully, she moved towards the broken statue, feeling heartbroken as her beliefs and trust in her Goddess had always propelled her forward.

Now, seeing her deity's figure shattered, she reached out, using her small hand to lift a broken piece of the statue's head.

'What is that?' Her eyes fell upon the basement's entrance, prompting her to move forward and enter it.

"Ew!....What is this foul smell?" Startled by the sudden stench, she covered her nose with her fingers.

The intense odor assaulted her senses, causing her to frown.

Slowly advancing into the dimly lit place, she noticed marks of struggle and nail scratches that initially confused her. Gradually turning her attention to the cages...

"Blerghhh!!" Suddenly clutching her stomach, she collapsed to the ground, feeling the intensifying stench churn her intestines, inducing nausea.

"Haa...haaa..."

After calming herself, she turned towards the cage, trying to comprehend the source of the foul smell. 'Are there animals here?'

Her focus shifted to the metal cages meant for animals, disregarding the discarded clothing strewn across the ground, assuming everything differently.

She moved forward.

Stopping at a particular spot, her gaze fell upon the crimson-stained floor with a black magic circle inscribed on it.

'Demons,' Her immediate thought upon seeing the markings beside the circle was demons.

Having purified many places before, she could identify these signs clearly.

'!?'

'Wait, is this a sacrificial ritual?' As the pieces—cages and details—started to come together, she widened her eyes, comprehending the meaning behind such a place existing beneath the monastery grounds.

'Demons have infiltrated somehow.'

That was the conclusion she reached, only perceiving what was before her and failing to understand the possibility of someone inside being corrupted.

WHOOSH

Suddenly the demonic energy surged out due to system's effect wearing off.

DRIP

Suddenly, her vision started to blur, and raising her hand to her nose, she felt dampness. "B-blood."

Her mind grew heavy, and nausea enveloped her.

"Cough!... Thud." A mouthful of blood escaped her, and with her body weakened, she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Ugh...I-t h..u..rts." The sheer pain coupled with paralysis caused her voice to break.

Unable to maintain consciousness, she fell into a slumber with her eyes open—lifeless.

Due to her immortality, her soul remained trapped within her mortal body, subjecting her to the immense pain that death carried.

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As Ryuk observed the System's screen, a smile formed on his face, signifying the successful completion of his dealings with Maria.

Though he could have used the Enslavement Grimoire on her, he chose the demonic seed for a reason.

While there was a chance that triggering a Heroine's Plot might have occurred with another method, using the demonic seed provided him with safety.

The rationale behind this choice was simple: by merely presenting the seed, Maria herself watered it, unlike his Enslavement ability, which solely depended on his actions—a loophole in dealing with those favored by heaven.

Let them pave their own way to ruin.

Upon reaching the gates of the monastery, Ryuk noticed Johan waiting for him, accompanied by Kermit, whose eyes lacked the spark they once held.

"Hope your task has been fulfilled, Your Highness," Johan bowed, lifting his gaze towards Ryuk before focusing on the girl in his hands.

"Yes, and also it's fine." Ryuk, already aware that Johan would offer his assistance, refrained from further delaying his departure from the place after having concluded all his affairs.

"Let's depart." Without any additional formalities, he proceeded toward the carriage.

Ignoring the nobleman's curious gazes directed at him, he aimed to board the carriage.

TACK TACK

The sound of galloping horse reached his ears, prompting Ryuk to turn towards a royal guard swiftly approaching him on it.

Neighh!

The horse came to a halt, and the guard dismounted, immediately kneeling in front of Ryuk.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, trembling as he struggled to relay his message.

"Tell me," Ryuk's firm voice cut through the man's nervousness, and with quivering lips, the guard managed to speak.

"P-Princess has attempted to kill Miss Adanyl in her Palace."