The Villain Bought the Female Lead - Ch. 33
The day had grown quite dark.
The chilly night air awakened his loosened skin.
In the distance, he saw Erica walking. Wednesday afternoons were when she had her major classes. Normally, after class, she would head back to her dorm or the student council room, but today she was going in a different direction.
Seeing this, [ ] thought.
She must be on her way to meet Vargan because of the promise they made. She seemed a bit nervous. Her steps were not fast at all.
Where did her usual confident stride go?
Finally arriving at the meeting place, Erica met with Vargan. As soon as they met, they started bickering and moved along while having a short conversation.
Vargan led and she followed.
And something trailed behind them.
Just like at the freshman welcome party, an unpleasant sensation slowly accumulated inside [ ].
This feeling had been slowly filling up since he got to know her, every time he saw her with Vargan. But…
Something was strange.
It was definitely Erica.
Her skin.
Her hair.
Her voice.
Even her faint scent.
It was definitely all hers, yet.
There was a sense of incongruity.
Something felt off.
But [ ] had no time to continue these thoughts as the two started moving quickly, forcing [ ] to follow.
They headed towards the bustling area of the Academia. A place to buy clothes, books, various goods, or have a meal.
It seemed Vargan planned to take a shortcut. Instead of a wide-open sidewalk, he led her through a narrow alley barely wide enough for three people to stand side by side.
The sun set and darkness crept in.
The lights of the Academia started to turn on one by one. In contrast, the path they walked was dark and deserted.
Erica and Vargan were close.
Their swaying hands were almost touching.
Though they weren’t talking, [ ] felt the same unpleasant semi-solid substance trickling down his throat.
[ ] was suffering.
He wanted to relieve it.
He wanted to expel this impurity passing through his esophagus.
To do that, he needed a sculpture.
[ ] hurriedly started searching his pockets.
It was okay to rummage through his pockets. There was no risk of being discovered. No sound, no smell, no appearance would be seen.
The blessing he received was not magic but a power from Him.
Holding the small sculpture taken from his pocket, [ ] felt a sense of calmness. The satisfaction of knowing He was with him dissolved the impurity. Even without prayer, the feeling of being surrounded by holiness.
The great and omnipotent One.
The only and beautiful One.
The small sculpture resembling Him.
And then…
Suddenly, Vargan stopped walking.
Erica stopped with him.
Vargan looked back. He stared into the empty darkness, as if watching floating dust.
As if there really was something there.
In his cold eyes, there was.
Laughter.
He raised one corner of his mouth and started laughing. There was nothing funny. They weren’t having a conversation.
… what?
He couldn’t move.
[ ] noticed the change. His feet wouldn’t move. His hands wouldn’t move. He could barely breathe, and even that was labored. If he didn’t force the air in, it felt like it would stop.
Vargan’s gaze was unwavering.
He stared at one spot.
There should only be floating magic and air in his view. He couldn’t even see that. As if someone was there.
As if.
As if he recognized the presence of [Borg].
“Hahahaha! Master, it seems that thing has finally noticed! Its expression is distorted!”
Borg screamed.
No.
She didn’t laugh so vulgarly. She didn’t make such crude expressions or use such grotesque language.
Erica. Erica.
Erica who resembled Him!
“It’s the first time we meet face to face since the entrance ceremony. Pig of the Lampit house. But there’s no need to squirm. It will be futile anyway.”
Vargan dismissed.
He noticed Borg gathering magic. Borg was flustered. Even with the blessing received, the surrounding magic flow couldn’t be concealed. Vargan sensed it.
“Look at your feet.”
With Vargan’s words, Borg’s actions were permitted.
Borg looked down at his feet. He could move his toes slightly. There was a sticky substance adhering to the soles of his shoes.
It was black as coal and strange.
It moved a little. Actually, it appeared to move. It was still, but its appearance constantly changed.
Mouths, eyes, ears.
Forms that seemed to drift like water.
“That cute creature is one of my familiars. It’s shy and rarely shows itself, but today is special.”
Vargan spoke lightly, as if playing a prank. He enjoyed the current situation.
“Isn’t it cute, in its slime form? I want to play with it so much that I could accidentally eat it.”
Sticky.
The familiar started to crawl up Borg’s body.
Slowly, slowly.
The creature climbed up, reaching his neck.
And the one who looked like Erica approached. She clearly saw Borg.
“Sorry~ but it’s an order. I’ve never fed a familiar to a human before, so I’m really curious! It won’t hurt. Now, open wide. Ah~”
She grabbed Borg’s mouth and pried it open. Borg wanted to refuse even if it meant cutting off his fingers, but his body wouldn’t obey.
“Keep it open! It’ll be quick!”
The madness in the eyes of a child playing with a new toy. The terrifying sight made Borg’s breathing more labored.
The familiar reached his mouth. His neck and chest were covered with the sticky creature. He had lost control of his body, but the sensation remained.
Sticky.
It entered his open mouth.
Cells inside his mouth conveyed horrific information about the creature. The texture, taste, smell he didn’t want to know.
It touched his uvula. He gagged but couldn’t spit it out.
Shuuuu!
Passing the uvula, it pushed itself down his esophagus, suddenly quickening it movement and coming in forcefully.
“Wow, it really goes in completely?!”
The persom imitating Erica spoke with sparkling eyes.
⎯Ugh! Ugh!
The moment he felt the creature completely enter his body, the blessing was undone, revealing Borg’s appearance, and he regained control of his body.
He collapsed to the floor. He tried to expel the familiar that had entered his body, but there was no response.
He felt his face smeared with tears and mucus, all sorts of fluids.
From Borg’s perspective, he could see Vargan’s feet.
Vargan bent down to pick up something. It was the sculpture he dropped when he fell. Examining it closely, he spoke.
“You’re quite skilled. You’re very similar to Erica. You’d be better off as a sculptor than a warrior.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
The image of what he swallowed resurfaced, bringing back the nausea. But when Vargan touched his shoulder, it subsided.
He was using healing magic.
“You must have many questions. However, I’m not kind enough to answer them all. I’ll tell you just two things.”
Vargan, leaning closer, extended one finger from his clenched fist.
“One. What you just swallowed can be controlled by me whenever and wherever I want. It can transform and absorb mana.”
‘If that thing rampages inside you, you’ll die soon,’ Vargan added, finding it horrible just thinking about it.
He extended a second finger.
“Two. From today, you must follow my orders. You will act as I instruct and think as I command. …You seem to be in a very bad mood. I can feel your anger clearly.”
Vargan fully opened his hand. In his palm was a shard of the familiar Borg had swallowed.
“I didn’t mention it, but emotions can also be transmitted. From today, every sadness, joy, pleasure, and despair you feel will be shared with me whenever I wish. They say sharing joy doubles it, don’t they?”
Vargan laughed.
He brought the sculpture closer and continued his unfinished sentence.
“But coveting another’s fiancée? You are truly an immoral creature.”
He continued.
“Like a <pig> that moves only according to its desires.”
“Again, you… you bastard…! Aaaargh!!”
Borg screamed.
He opened his mouth, feeling as if his heart would explode.
It felt like someone was gripping his heart tightly, causing it to shatter into pieces.
But his heart was still alive. The fact that it was beating so fiercely was proof. It throbbed as if wanting to escape his body.
“Ugh, argh…!”
When Borg looked up at Vargan, he saw a smile on his lips.
“… grr!!”
Thick veins rose on Borg’s face, and the capillaries around his eyes burst, turning them red.
Vargan mocked him with a disdainful laugh.
“Such intense anger. Very deep and sharp. But it’s a wasted emotion for you. After all, it’s your actions that caused this mess. Blaming me isn’t right.”
A sound escaped from Borg’s mouth.
He wanted to say something, but the remnants of the recent pain were still there, and he couldn’t speak. Only a sound like ripping wind came out.
“You made your presence too known. That’s the cause of all this. Maybe, if you had acted more inconspicuously, I wouldn’t have noticed you. From now on, you will be my puppet, the object of my hatred. Pathetically.”
“Grr, aaah…!!”
Borg was overwhelmed with the desire to kill Vargan.
Originally, he should have captured Vargan and interrogated him to find out what information he had, but his rage had consumed him too much to think about that.
Unless Borg killed him, the fierce flames of his anger wouldn’t subside.
As his emotions surged, his adrenaline increased, dulling the pain, and a voice finally emerged from Borg’s mouth, though faintly.
It was hoarse, but he managed to utter a single sentence.
“I’d… rather die than… listen to you… bastard.”
If news of his suspicious death spread, the Goddess Church wouldn’t stand still.
He thought his death would inevitably lead to harm for Vargan.
“… hmm. Indeed, that might be better.”
Vargan, who had been watching the turmoil, moved.
“Have you heard of repentance?”
“… what?”
“It means to completely repent and become a new person.”
Suddenly, Vargan roughly grabbed Borg’s face and lifted him.
Unlike Borg, who was full of hatred, Vargan seemed somewhat joyful.
“Usually, one realizes and changes by themselves, but can’t it also happen through an outsider? In the end, it’s just a change in thinking.”
Vargan faced Borg’s hatred. His black pupils seemed to flicker.
“I’ll tell you something special. Among the magic I deal with, I specialize in curses and familiars. And under curses, there is <brainwashing>.”
He wanted to experiment.
How much repetition would it take for a person to change?
You would have the honor of being the first subject.
Those were the words he added.
The sentences that spread through Borg’s mind like ripples were the last moments he remembered.
⎯Ocel Lampit Borg. Poor pig. You will become the bridge between me and the Goddess Church.
***
“Is he dead?”
Naias, imitating Erica, asked. She was poking the fallen guy on the floor with her finger, playing with him.
The guy who stood up to me at the entrance ceremony, flaunting his Lampit family, was now lying in such a pathetic state.
I called him a pig wrapped in luxurious Lampit cloth, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. A mad, perverted stalker. Just looking at him makes me shiver with disgust.
Well, even so.
“Of course, I didn’t kill him. He’s a valuable pawn in my game.”
“He’s a student at Academia and a noble, won’t it be a problem?”
Naias’s tone was light, as if it didn’t really concern her but she was asking just in case. She was simply curious.
“Erasing him completely is easy but tailoring him exactly to my liking is practically impossible. We have to keep his basic personality. However, I can erase the distinction between his existing knowledge and newly introduced knowledge or add substances that are secreted during certain thoughts.”
“That’s pretty much tailoring him to your liking, isn’t it?”
“If everyone were as simple as this guy, yes, you could say that.”
“Scary, scary. I should be careful too. But it’s really amazing. In many ways, few spirits would believe you’re just a new student.”
Naias giggled.
Bored of teasing the fallen guy, she stretched and stood up.
“I’ve met many people and humans in my life, but it’s the first time I’ve seen someone like you, Master.”
Naias began to circle around me, like an excited child.
“I’m really thrilled right now. It’s so fun! Our Master, whom I’ve contracted with, feels like he lacks affection for humans, despite being human himself! Just like me, a spirit!”
“So. What’s your point?”
Naias stopped. Her eyes, still in Erica’s form, were fixated on me.
The eyes were clean and pure like a child, but they weren’t human.
“Master, are you really human?”