A Regressed Villain: Heroines, Villainesses and Me?

"Y-you bastard!"

Raj felt a jolt at the sound of those words, the weight of them shaking his already blurred and numb mind.

The only memories that flickered in his consciousness were of the first time he laid eyes on Len.

In that moment, he was utterly convinced that this man harbored ill intentions toward his sister.

What had started as a mere peer-to-peer rivalry had escalated to a point where today, he found himself contemplating taking this man's life to protect her.

Boom!

"Kugh—drip."

Before he could gather his thoughts, a heavy kick landed directly on his face.

The impact sent his mind reeling, and as blood poured from him, darkness encroached on his vision.

The combination of blood loss and the blow to his head caused him to slip into unconsciousness, plunging him into oblivion.

"Should I toss him in the water?" Rivia mused, lifting her foot from Raj's unconscious body.

She directed her gaze toward Evangelion, who had just produced a blade that was both oddly amusing and yet exuded a sinister aura.

His eyes glinted in the moonlight as he cast a sharp look at Raj's bloodied form, then disregarded Rivia and turned his attention to the camerawoman.

"You're adapting well, aren't you?" Avendial remarked, his eyes reflecting the presence of the woman behind the camera.

She had black hair and red eyes, visibly trembling yet maintaining an unsettling calmness in the face of such a gruesome scene.

"W-why is he… I mean…" Aria stammered, her voice betraying her internal turmoil.

She recognized Raj as Amrita's brother, and despite a rivalry that had existed between her and Amrita, she had resolved to put the past behind her.

Yet witnessing Amrita's brother in such a dire state, treated with such brutality, was unraveling her composure.

Nevertheless, she fought to hold it together, reminded that she needed to be strong and not appear inferior to the woman who had so easily subdued Raj, treating him like a ragdoll before casting him aside.

Rivia—she was like a machine, a machine built for battle.

"I won't kill him, rest assured," Avendial said, aware that Aria might react with distress upon seeing such violence.

He wouldn't have brought her here if he hadn't considered the importance of preparing her for what lay ahead, especially when he planned to show her the bloodied body of Lin in the near future.

He needed Aria to mature and to stand by his side rather than crumble in pain.

This was just the initial phase of her training, an essential step for her to acclimate to this darker side of him.

He knew that more gruesome realities awaited them in the future.

Of course, he would ensure her safety for now, but he also understood that he couldn't carry her through every challenge.

She needed to grow strong enough to face what was to come.

"Huh? N-no, I don't mean it like that."

Hearing his words, Aria was slightly taken aback, considering how she thought that maybe her words had caused a misunderstanding, making it seem like she did not want him to harm Raj or something.

As she tried to clarify, she was interrupted.

"I am not forgiving him because of you; I just wanted to do it, so rest assured."

Avendial lifted his hand, shaking it in affirmation to clarify that his motivation was definitely not borne from her words.

From the beginning, he had thought not to kill Raj, which was half true, to be honest, considering how he had changed his plan midway after seeing Raj's body and reading the reports he received from the Sertsul family.

"...I see..."

Aria, hearing his words, felt a hint of relief.

She nodded before looking back toward the bloodied body and then toward Rivia, who seemed unfazed by anything, her eyes only fixed on Avendial.

Given women's instincts, it wasn't hard for Aria to understand that this woman was in love with him.

But until now, she had not been able to see any hint of such feelings emanating from Avendial.

This made her think that maybe this was just one-sided love, but at the same time, it wasn't impossible for this one-sided love to become mutual if she lacked in anything.

Unbeknownst to Aria, a sense of rivalry was slowly taking root in her mind.

Without her noticing, she was starting to see Rivia as a competitor, slowly honing herself to be prepared and strong enough not to let her appear superior in his eyes.

'....pity you...'

Avendial turned his eyes back toward Raj, specifically to his shoulder, where his body could be considered that of a teen, not very muscular, with a slight bit of bones visible due to a skinny physique.

He noticed a small tattoo there; it was not difficult to go unnoticed, but that small tattoo was enough to make him remember a memory from his past life when he had met an organization consisting of people who were running the information guild inside the tower, who possessed that particular tattoo.

Of course, there were several factions inside the tower, with each floor having different groups and guilds.

Among them, there was one supported by the Ravan family, with its leader possessing the same tattoo, making it clear that this guy was involved all along.

What prompted Avendial not to kill this guy was the fact that he possessed an awakened ability, which indeed made Avendial curious for a moment.

It was given that, in battle, information was crucial, so Avendial had purchased information about the information guild supporting the Ravan family and its leader, learning that he possessed the awakened ability of regeneration.

To be specific, regeneration could not be considered overpowered in a battle where, within a millisecond, someone could turn you into pieces at the atomic level, like Rivia.

But still, there were benefits to this ability, like an infinite supply of blood.

Amusingly, it felt as though luck was on his side; he just coincidentally found out that this guy possessed the same blood type as him.

So it made Avendial think for a moment: what would happen if he were to have an infinite amount of blood transfused into his body while creating potions?

After all, whenever he gave his blood to someone else, it was evident that his own blood level decreased, and he couldn't just keep giving his own blood to make people awaken.

So, what if he had an infinite blood bank possessing AB+ blood?

Of course, to have a blood bank, he did not need that blood bank to have limbs or eyes, but still, to maintain the quality of the blood, he needed to keep it at least fresh and alive, prompting him to decide to send this particular newly acquired blood bank to Croceaus Territory for preservation.

"Call someone to send him to Croceaus territory to heal him and keep him locked," Avendial gave his order to Rivia as denoted before two people in suits came forward.

It appeared that they had already been called here, arriving as denoted before taking Raj's body and putting it in the car.

Most probably using the helicopters, they would be able to secure his life, which was at the edge of teetering away; not that it had already done so, saving him was possible even if he went into a coma, with now the place clearly empty, leaving behind Rivia, Aria, and Avendial standing there.

"Master, some people are arriving here," Rivia informed as she heard a sharp noise of car engines from a mile away approaching this place.

Avendial, who instead of being surprised, just smiled, pulling away his beard and all the clothes away from him, revealing a suit within.

He looked towards Aria.

"If you want to leave, then I will not stop you," he had already told her about the coming thing which she wanted to do, and for that to happen, she needed to prepare to see Lin suffer a bit.

Of course, he wasn't going to kill Lin just right now; after all, he was going to be used against the Ravan family to the fullest.

But at least Aria needed to become habitual of seeing Lin suffer so that in the future she would become numb to his suffering and not even think of betraying Avendial, even in her dreams.

"Indeed, Master is right, you can leave," Rivia just gave a look towards Aria. Stay tuned with empire

So initially, she had tried to keep herself silent in her matter.

But after what her master had told about her actions being proactive towards Aria when they left the academy, Rivia decided to follow his orders and verbally push her.

Indeed, in the car, Avendial had instructed how Rivia now had to make sure that it appeared as if she wanted Aria to leave his side.

Though not using force or physical approach, but verbally do so.

Rivia at first was confused but just took it as his orders, and given it was favorable for her if Aria left, she wasn't even hesitating with her words, evident from what she said next: "You are weak and may create hassle for Master if you stay here."

'.... What?' Aria, who was until now just getting pressured by those auras and killing intent emitting from the woman, felt visibly taken aback for the first time, clenching her fist as she understood that this woman really wanted her to leave Avendial's side.

She just saved the recording on the phone and with a firm voice declared, "No...I will stay; at least a real woman has to stay here."

"....what?" Rivia raised an eyebrow, tilting her head, not getting what Aria exactly meant.

"Pfft, haha, nice one, Aria," Avendial, understanding the sarcasm behind Aria's words where she wanted to refer to how Rivia herself, due to her brute strength, appeared more manly instead of a woman, of course, not physically, but given its sarcastic remark, he just laughed to lighten the mood.

Definitely not on the level of the sarcasm, but seeing how things were going in the right direction and the rivalry had been established.