A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

****

"She seems to be a half-succubus..."

The voice came from a tall woman with skin that glowed faintly gray, smooth and unyielding like polished stone.

Her elongated limbs moved with unsettling precision, each step deliberate.

Six glowing eyes were arranged unevenly across her angular face, their dim light casting faint patterns over her jagged crown of backward-curving spines.

Her hands, ending in sharp claws, gestured toward the creature huddled in the rubble.

Behind them, several succubi were on their knees, seated on the ground.

Their crimson skin was torn, marked with gashes that exposed darker, bruised flesh underneath.

Black wings, shredded and lifeless, hung limply over their shoulders.

They all sat with their arms wrapped around their knees, trembling, their once-glowing aura dimmed to nothing more than a flicker.

'...A half-succubus?'

The man being addressed sat on a piece of broken masonry, his silver hair hanging loose and streaked with blood.

His blue eyes, cold and distant, stared ahead, focused on nothing in particular.

Though downcast, he momentarily paid attention to the words of a subordinate, but the flicker of thoughts vanished with the same speed that they arrived.

He didn't react to the succubus or the woman's words.

His hands were being wrapped in bandages by another woman kneeling beside him.

The one attending to him had skin like molten metal, smooth and reflective.

Her eyes were amber and sharp, her gaze fixed on her task.

Jagged crystalline growths jutted from her shoulders and arms, catching faint glimmers of light as she worked.

She didn't speak, her clawed fingers deftly securing the cloth around his hands, which bore signs of deep cuts and burns.

"What do you want done with it?" the gray-skinned woman asked again, her voice flat but with an edge of impatience.

The man finally stirred, flexing his freshly bandaged hands.

"Let them stay in the refuge," he said without looking up.

"Provide them with food and don't take work from that half one."

The man made his decision, fully aware that half-blood succubi often faced discrimination due to their lineage—not being born as succubi to begin with.

Their status was largely determined by the purity of their blood, clearly holding an inferior position compared to those of pure blood.

The reason he ordered them not to take work from her in exchange for food was simply that those born as succubi would not hesitate to work—sex—given that it is part of their life.

However, those who were half-succubi were most likely still not adapted due to being from other races and having a dormant bloodline that awakens once they go through a certain awakening condition, clearly making them vigilant.

Therefore, forcing them was pointless, as it could lead to cases of suicide.

"...That's," the gray-skinned woman hesitated for a moment, her claws twitching slightly.

Then she nodded once and turned away.

Unnoticed by the man, it appeared as if that half-succubus had her eyes filled with chill while clearly holding three small knifes in her hand, seemingly observing everyone, waiting for them to take any step further.

But she halted, having recognized that silver-haired man as a familiar figure, prompting her to act weak and helpless but not hesitating enough to kill all of them if anyone dared to lay a hand on her.

But it appeared that the man not once glanced in her direction as he stood, his movements slow but steady.

His bloodstained cloak fell around him, brushing against the debris at his feet.

He didn't glance at the succubus or at the soldiers standing in silent rows around him.

'Marqu—'

Unnoticed by the man who left the place in an injured state, clearly exhausted and trying to survive just after arriving on the 10th floor of the tower, a flicker of gratitude shone in the eyes of the succubus, who heard his order while looking toward that familiar figure.

The same as the man she remembered—always holding integrity and discipline even in this world that had turned into chaos and mess.

This was the world that had taken everything from her yet also showed the faces of those who once appeared kind and tolerant, revealing their monstrous side.

Yet it was the first time she saw a man from her old world clearly, appearing just as he had back then.

While in the background stood several individuals who started to slowly follow behind them.

Some began to give food and water to those saved from the dungeon.

One after another, their forms varied—scaled limbs, sharp spines, translucent bodies, or skin textured like bark—each one alien and imposing.

Yet his presence commanded them all.

Without a word, he walked toward the edge of the ruins, leaving the battlefield and those within it behind.

****

'Haah....Really?'

Avendial seated on the sofa with his head down supported by both knucles clearly seemed deep in thought due to the memory of the day when he first encountered that half-succubus named Ariana.

It was the 10th floor.

The meeting wasn't much longer given he was trying to survive and was being chased by the Ravan family; he just kept moving forward.

The second time he met that succubus was on the 25th floor, not as the weak refugee he had saved, but as the new heir and the ruler of the Lustre—the strongest succubus group ruling over most of the initial floors up to the 30th floor.

"This? How do you know that name?" Aecilia narrowed her gaze, clearly confused regarding that name, considering how it was given by her father, who was not to be considered a loyal husband, given he was one of the people arranged by the royal family to keep an eye on the Sertsul family.

Then her mother needed to kill him.

So definitely it was a name which Aecilia never appreciated having.

"I—" Aria wanted to inform about her ability considering how she came to know about Aecilia being a countess, a noblewoman, given how in this room there were only two people present, and naturally, it appeared that Avendial also hadn't any problem with her revealing the information, but she was interrupted in the middle.

"What are her abilities? Tell me."

Avendial halted Aria considering initially he wanted to tell Aecilia about her abilities and what was needed from Sertsul family, but now after getting this information about the succubus, his mind was rather in chaos due to several questions.

"Huh? Abilities, yes, she has two types of abilities, one is passive and the other active, though I don't know if they are awakened...."

Aria slightly taken aback, adjusting herself considering how the values she saw in the status window of this woman were clearly different from Avendial.

The reason her voice was slightly hesitant was that she didn't understand a single thing mentioned on the window, given that it was completely foreign to her.

The ability Aecilia possessed was clearly something she had never seen, prompting her to adjust herself and start explaining about what two types of abilities Aecilia possessed.

One after another, Aria started to tell about the abilities: Soul Partner Bound, Sovereign Luck, Personality Reset, and Awakening of Bloodline, adding their details one after another.

While clarifying how their descriptions were mentioned, she knew that it would be better if she just read what was written instead of explaining it, given she wasn't understanding a thing written here considering it was the first time for her to see something like this.

'!?'

'Are they talking about me?'

Aecilia, seated there with folded hands and eyes closed, hearing keenly about the words Aria was saying, clearly felt that they were talking about her.

But also the abilities Aria was depicting were clearly making her feel slightly unacceptable given it was something which she herself wasn't aware of.

Abilities exist, she knows that, given she had already seen many Empyreals, but her possessing those kinds of abilities—mentioned by Aria—was clearly something unbelievable.

"Is this all?" Avendial seated himself with a clearly evident meditation, his eyes closed while his mind focused on compiling the information he had just received from Aria regarding the ability possessed by Aecilia.

His feet tapped on the floor one after the other, leaving behind a single sound reverberating in the room, as both other women remained silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"Yes," Aria nodded slowly, gaining a grip on the situation.

Her mind, which had been filled with a clear hint of memories, now remained calm and was returning to focus.

She was calming herself as she tried to make sense of the situation.

Indeed, she had lagged behind, but still, after all that had happened around her, she now reflected on how she was currently in the presence of Marquess Croceaus and the next head of the Sertsul family.

Just a few days ago, she was engaged in her usual routine, feeling trapped in a world where it seemed she was unique, possessing the strange ability to see people's titles.

She harbored no expectations of being freed from that never-ending cycle, understanding that she would soon meet her end, especially considering how everything regarding Lin and Amrita was in disarray.

Now, just a few days ago—less than five full days—she had met a man who came from the future.

His presence was like a small stone thrown into a lake, creating a ripple that made her fall deeper into the unknown.

What was her only mistake?

It was the moment she decided to look back down that narrow path, averting her gaze toward the other world.

She had seen this man with the same silver hair and blue eyes, shimmering on that night breeze, and she dared to cross into that world out of curiosity.

She dared to approach him without being aware of the consequences.

Now, she found herself completely trapped, knowing well that she could not return or even see what she had left behind.

Not that she cared, as there was already a separation between her world and the one where Lin and Amrita belonged.

'....but...' As she glanced toward Avendial, memories of the previous night assaulted her mind, causing her to clasp her hands between her thighs and cast her eyes down.

She clearly remembered some embarrassing moments while also thinking, 'Maybe being trapped in this world will not be that bad.'

She finally accepted that being trapped in this world—surrounded by this strange man and these people with uncanny abilities, amidst the mystery of this world's destruction—was far better than being trapped outside a glass window, where she could merely tap and watch the distant figures of those once close to her growing farther and farther away.