Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

El recognized him immediately as their eyes met.

"Well, well."

Satan said, smiling brightly at El.

"If it isn't the heaven's traitor."

El didn't smile back.

The air in the white void twisted at the name Satan… as if creation itself remembered the wounds he'd left behind.

"You're not supposed to be here," El said, voice colder than the space around them.

"And yet," Satan said with a lazy shrug, "here I am."

El tilted his head as he observed him.

The man had long burning purple hair that cascaded behind him like waves of rivers.

His eyes of the same colour had a deep ancient power in them.

El sighed. "Why were you inside that abomination?"

Satan didn't reply for a while, instead he slowly sat down in the air like he owned the place.

"Tell me, Ismael." He said, looking at him. "Why do you think I would let go of the chance to become a god?"

That was all that El needed to know.

"So, you were going to take over the body after he became a god?" El said, tilting his head.

"Was that the reason why it was Legus' soul and not the Dead God's soul?"

Satan grinned, resting his elbow on an invisible knee and propping up his chin with a hand.

"Smart as ever, Ismael. Always a few steps ahead—always the good student."

He leaned back leisurely, his eyes gleaming with mischievous.

"Yes," he admitted. "Legus was the key. A man's desperation to accept anything as salvation. And the moment he turned into something greater, I slid in through the cracks."

"Your habit of stealing things hasn't changed, huh?" El murmured. "Did you hijack the ritual?"

Satan chuckled, a deep, resonant sound that even echoed in the place.

"Hijacked is such an ugly word," he said, spreading his arms as though giving a lecture.

"I prefer… repurposed. The Dark Trinity opened a door they didn't understand, I gave it a purpose."

His body moved closer to El until he was in front of him, staring into his eyes.

"They thought they were summoning a god to serve them." He smirked, eyes on him. "I simply walked in and claimed the seat at the head of the table."

"I see."

El mumbled, nodding in understanding.

"You always had the talent to make people your puppet."

Satan just smiled, not trying to argue about it, his purple eyes moving around.

"So, are we in your kingdom?" He asked, tilting his head.

"I will ask this once." El replied, staring dead into his eyes. "Kill this piece of soul and return to where you came from."

Satan's smile didn't falter, but the void around them trembled—as if reacting to El's words.

"I will listen to your words." Satan replied, looking dead into his eyes. "Just tell me where Azrael—."

His words halted as a perfect hook from El hit square on his face.

The punch that moved at the speed of light sent him flying to the end of infinity.

"You are just a small piece of soul." El said, stretching his body. "If you die, the real you will never know what happened here."

"I wouldn't be so sure." A voice came from behind El.

He turned around, finding an unfazed Satan standing with a bright smile on his face.

He tilted his head. "And why are you so confident that I can't walk out of this place?"

"The body you possessed is not even a demigod and you are in my kingdom." El replied calmly. "As long as I am here, you won't leave this place."

"We will see about that."

Before his voice could reach him, Satan arrived in front of him.

A sword made of an ominous reddish hell energy formed in his hand as he slashed it towards El.

El shifted and his body blurred out of Satan's reach.

In an instant he was at the other edge of the place but—.

"Stop running away."

Satan was onto him the next instant.

El didn't answer.

The space itself responded in his stead—expanding, reshaping, folding around Satan's blade before it could reach him.

Time stilled for a heartbeat.

And the next instant the blade shattered into pieces, the force sending him flying.

Satan skidded back, feet dragging across the white plane.

"Still so dramatic," he muttered, flicking his wrist to summon another blade, longer this time.

"It's always me." El said, looking at him coldly. "Always me who cleans up after you three brothers' mess."

Satan clicked his tongue, his smile twitching into something less playful.

"Cleaning up? Is that what you call killing children of hell? Or locking angels in cages?"

El didn't flinch. "Don't mistake justice for cruelty."

Satan's smile vanished.

"Then don't mistake ambition for evil."

He surged forward again, faster this time as his blade moved towards him.

El raised one hand and caught the blade between his fingers, holding it in place like it was weightless.

"Give up." El said, looking at him. "I might not be able to beat the real you but I can definitely take care of a piece of your soul."

Satan smiled, he let go of one side of his sword and pointed at El's neck.

"Hmm?"

El felt something on his neck as Satan moved away from him.

Moving his hand, El touched his neck, finding something viscous.

It was his blood.

"You see, when I was in hell."

Satan said, raising his hand as the endless white space trembled.

"I learned a thing or two from the remnants of Tiamat."

In the next second El's kingdom shuddered.

From the end of the space a reddish black substance began to take over the place.

El's eyes widened as he noticed it. "No way."

"You guessed it, El!"

Satan yelled, his laughter echoing in the place.

"I can! Now I can hijack anyone's kingdom and make it my own!"

The reddish-black corruption surged toward El, the white of his kingdom rapidly collapsing into a sickening gradient of decay and ruin.

"What do you think?"

Satan asked with a smile as he spread his arms, basking in his own glory.

"Can I beat your dad, now?"

El didn't hesitate to move.

His body burst and at the same instant he stopped the time around the place.

Satan's corruption stopped and before he could move El stood in front of him.

With one swift movement, he beheaded Satan.

With a thud, Satan's head fell on the white space as the time resumed.

His head rolled till it came to a halt with his eyes on El.

He could see it.

The small dose of discomfort and fear in El's eyes.

His smile turned into a grin. "The next time we see each other… will be the last of your life."

The head turned into dust and the remaining body returned to the pasty mass of flesh.

El looked at where Satan's head had vanished.

He looked there for a long time.

Slowly his head turned towards the unmoving mass of flesh as he noticed a distinctive head in it.

The head of the Dead God's vessel.

Legus' head.

****

Himmel placed Arianell down as he looked around the place.

Most of the civilians had already been moved away, and the fog that the rain created had already obstructed his view.

"Core."

Himmel mumbled as he picked up unconscious Arianell in a princess carry.

"I need to find the Dead God's core."

He took a deep breath and pushed forward, unfolding his wings. He flapped to reach the sky.

Arianell stirred slightly in his arms, but didn't wake.

"Just a bit more," Himmel whispered, tightening his hold on her. "Hang in there."

'I need to find a safe place for her to stay.'

Himmel thought as he began to fly to the end of the city.

Yet he couldn't even move more than a few hundred meters before he found someone.

"Helena!"

Himmel yelled as he dived down from the sky towards the veiled girl.

Helena quickly looked up in his direction as he floated and landed in front of her.

"What are you doing here!?"

He asked as he pushed Arianell towards her.

Startled, Helena grabbed the unconscious girl as she looked at him.

"I was always here," she replied. "What happened to the Dead God?"

"Take her to a safe place," Himmel said, unfolding his wings behind him. "I need to go."

"Wait!" Helena quickly grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"

"To find the core of the Dead God," Himmel replied, floating in the air. "If I find it—"

"I found it already," Helena said, interrupting his words.

Himmel froze mid-air.

"What…?"

Helena's grip on Arianell tightened as her veiled face looked at him.

"I was following the energy trail long before you even arrived. The core—" she nodded toward the southern ruins, "—was down there."

Himmel's wings flexed. "Wait was?"

"Was it important?" Helena asked, her voice low. "Like really important?"

"Yeah," Himmel replied before he stopped moving. "Wait, what did you do?"

Helena let out an awkward chuckle. "Uh, I destroyed it."

Himmel just blankly looked at her.

"Why did you—?"

His words came to a halt as he noticed the world turning grey once again.

"Am I interrupting?"

El's voice echoed from behind, making him turn around.

"You are back," Himmel said, eyeing his body for any type of injury. "Guess it was an easy win."

El didn't reply; instead, he tossed the severed head of Legus in his direction.

"I believe this will be important to you," he said, looking at him. "By the way, did you find the core?"

"Uh, about that," Himmel mumbled, keeping the head away. "She said she destroyed it."

El looked at the frozen Helena in place, his eyes lingering on her for a moment.

"….I see," he mumbled as his body began to turn back to a cluster of white. "Shall we talk when you are free?"

"…Yeah."

Himmel mumbled as the world returned to normal.

"Hm?" Helena's curious voice echoed. "What's that?"

Himmel looked at the head in his hand.

He sighed. "Our enemy."

Before she could question anything, he flew up in the sky.

[<Let me help you.>]

Inna's voice echoed in his head and the next instant his body glowed.

A burst of her divinity escaped into the atmosphere, clearing the sky instantly.

Everyone halted in their place at the sudden phenomena.

As the storm faded, Himmel was visible to everyone in the city, floating in the sky.

He raised the head of Legus above him.

"The vessel and the Dead God….."

His voice boomed within the entire city.

"….Are now dead."

A silence lingered in the place for a long time until someone knelt in front of him.

Like a contagious disease, everyone began to kneel in front of Himmel.

After countless years….

….A Fallen was being worshipped once again.