Rise Of The Villain : In a World Ruled By Anomalies

Chapter 195: Chapter 194 : The Demon lord is one of those (1)

Inside a giant mansion, silence reigned.

No servants walked the halls. No footsteps echoed across the polished floors. Chandeliers hung above empty corridors, their crystals catching faint light that had no one left to impress. The entire estate felt like the preserved corpse of wealth—beautiful, yet devoid of life.

In one of the inner rooms, death and something even stranger sat side by side.

A woman with black horns curling back from her temples like a crown of obsidian sat in a chair beside a bed. Her hair was a deep, rich purple, flowing down her back in smooth waves that contrasted sharply with her pale, flawless skin. Her eyes were pure black—no whites at all—just two bottomless abysses that seemed to swallow everything they looked upon.

Astarte.

On the bed beside her lay a black-haired boy.

Arthur.

He lay on his back, his chest exposed. A grotesque, gaping hole marked the place where his heart should have been. The wound had been carved cleanly, its edges darkened, yet no fresh blood flowed. It was as though someone had pressed pause on his death at the very moment of impact.

Astarte simply... watched him.

It had been days since she had moved from that chair.

Days since she had even blinked.

The reason was complicated—and there wasn’t just one.

First, if she had truly wanted him dead, he would already be gone. The power she commanded could obliterate a soul and erase a body without the slightest effort. She had intended to kill him. The moment she crushed his heart, her intention had been simple.

End him.

But then, just before she finished him off, he had spoken a name.

"Aiden Nexaris."

That single name had stopped her hand.

It was familiar.

Too familiar.

Because the boy who bore that name was the closest thing she could call family in this world.

For a demon, that should have been impossible.

They did not have families.

They did not have siblings.

They did not form bonds unless they were forged through contracts and carnage.

And yet...

She did.

Aiden was the boy whose sister she had pretended to be.

Years spent inside a mortal household, living within a borrowed body, watching him grow.

If the boy lying on the bed was truly someone precious to Aiden...

Then Aiden would be sad if he died.

That alone had been enough to make her hesitate.

The only reason she had punched a hole through his chest in the first place was because, at the beginning, she believed Arthur had been using Aiden’s name to threaten her—to use him as leverage.

She had not taken kindly to that.

The second reason she remained there was pure, demonic fascination.

A creature that refused to die even after having its heart destroyed.

His body was resisting death itself, clinging to life through instinct alone.

Even though she could heal him whenever she wished, she deliberately chose not to.

Instead...

She watched.

She wanted to see how long the boy could survive.

To her...

That was entertainment.

One thing she understood was simple.

If this boy had truly killed Astaroth, then he was no ordinary human... or vampire... or anything else.

It had been ages since something had intrigued her this much.

The boy carried monsters inside his body.

One of them was a darkness unlike anything even a Demon Lord had ever witnessed—a being that had stunned both her and Astaroth when it erupted from Arthur’s dying body.

Of course she found him interesting.

"I wonder how my little brother is doing..." Astarte thought, her eyes never leaving Arthur’s motionless face.

’He must’ve grown quite a bit by now... right?’

In her mind, Aiden was still the little boy whose hair she loved ruffling, whose sulking she always found amusing.

’He was always handsome,’ she thought.

’Various girls must be hitting on him by now.’

Various girls.

Her mood soured instantly.

"Those bitches..." Astarte muttered.

"Who do they think they are?"

She clicked her tongue, irritation mixing with amusement at her own pettiness.

Then—

Her attention snapped elsewhere.

Her eyes widened.

The gaping hole in Arthur’s chest suddenly flared with golden light.

Radiance burst outward, completely covering the wound.

The regeneration process had begun.

Inside the cavity, something started to form.

It was visible even as flesh rapidly knitted itself back together.

A new heart.

It glowed faintly with a golden hue.

Astarte leaned forward.

Her pitch-black eyes narrowed.

What she saw wasn’t an ordinary heart.

It was a mana heart.

A dense, crystalline cluster of mana wrapped in living flesh—a core that pulsed with magic rather than blood.

"A mana heart..." Astarte whispered.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

Her gaze sharpened with genuine excitement.

"That can only be obtained after killing an Azure Dragon."

"So how—"

Before she could finish, Arthur’s eyes snapped open.

His crimson irises focused instantly, as though he had just been dragged back from the edge of an endless abyss.

Inside his mind, familiar notifications appeared.

[ The Mana Heart of an Azure Dragon has been successfully transplanted. ]

[ Mana affinity has increased drastically. ]

[ Complete revival has been successful. ]

[ The sacrifice of the Ultimate Foresight System has been accepted in exchange for complete revival and the Azure Dragon’s Mana Heart. ]

[ Sacrifice Rewards Calculated:

► Attribute Points +2000

► Vitality +20000 ]

[ Your natural lifespan has surpassed its former limit of 150 years. ]

[ Calculating new limit... ]

[ New Lifespan Limit: 250 years. ]

[ Host, thank goodness you survived, even though the chances of success were only 20%! (≧▽≦) ]

Arthur sucked in a deep breath.

His lungs burned.

His chest felt both heavy and strangely light.

He ignored the flood of notifications.

"Fuck..." Arthur muttered.

"I almost died for real this time."

He placed a hand over his chest.

The hole was gone.

Beneath his ribs, he could feel something solid.

Steady.

Powerful.

The mana heart pulsed, sending a cool wave of energy throughout his body.

The lingering pain resembled the ache left behind after being punched by a mountain.

’The cost was bigger than I expected...’

’But I’m glad it worked.’

He was still alive.

Barely escaped death.

A cold voice sliced through his thoughts.

"You really revived," Astarte said.

"How fascinating."

Her voice remained calm, but excitement shimmered within her eyes.

"And you replaced your heart with an Azure Dragon’s."

"How is that possible?"

A chill crawled down Arthur’s spine.

He swallowed slowly before turning his head toward her.

Astarte still sat in the exact same chair.

The exact same posture.

One elbow resting on the armrest.

Her chin supported by her hand.

Only now...

Her pitch-black eyes were staring directly at him, amusement dancing within their depths.

Arthur forced himself to remain calm.

He met that abyssal gaze.

"Why am I here?" Arthur asked quietly.

"You had the perfect opportunity to finish me off."

Astarte’s lips curled slightly.

"What right do you have to question me, boy?" she asked.

"Keep your mouth shut before I tear another hole through that body of yours."

Arthur’s instincts screamed.

He immediately swung his legs off the bed, nearly stumbling before catching himself.

He straightened instantly and bowed his head, standing like a knight before his sovereign.

"Ma’am. Yes, ma’am."

Inside his head...

’I really... really don’t want another hole in my chest...’

Astarte observed him for a moment before leaning back.

"Now," she said, her voice calm yet commanding.

"Answer my questions truthfully."

She raised one hand slightly.

"And don’t think, even for a second, that I won’t be able to tell if you’re lying."

Arthur clasped his hands behind his back like a disciplined soldier.

"Of course," Arthur replied.

"Whatever you wish."

"Your wish is my command."

Astarte’s expression remained unchanged, though her gaze sharpened.

"What’s your relationship with my brother?"

Arthur answered without hesitation.

"We’re very close friends."

"We’ve even risked our lives for each other."

Inside his mind, he quietly added,

’Well... He was mostly the one risking it for me. But she doesn’t need to know that.’

Astarte watched him carefully.

She listened not only to his words, but to the rhythm of his heartbeat, the flow of mana within his body, and the subtle fluctuations in his aura.

She sensed no deception.

’I suppose it was a good thing I didn’t kill him,’ she thought.

She gave a small nod.

"Next question."

"Does my brother have a girlfriend?"

Arthur blinked.

For a brief moment, he genuinely wondered whether he had misheard.

"...Could you repeat that?" he asked.

Astarte’s eyes narrowed.

Her arm moved.

Something invisible tore through the air.

Arthur’s instincts exploded into action.

He jerked sideways.

A razor-thin, invisible force sliced past the spot where his head had been a fraction of a second earlier, carving a deep line into the wall behind him.

Arthur stared at the mark.

’What the hell... This bitch... Is she Superman or something...?’

Sweat rolled down his temple.

Astarte’s cold voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Answer me."

Her black eyes locked onto his.

In that moment, Arthur understood one thing with absolute clarity.

Astarte was one of those people if you understand what i mean.