NOVEL WEB Chapter 116: My Lord
I turned my gaze back to the little system, feeling his unease.
Good.
He should be uneasy.
"You know," I mused, tilting my head at Noah's oblivious form, "this boy is more interesting than I thought."
I could feel Damien's panic.
"I don't like where this is going," the system muttered.
"I was already considering blessing him," I continued, watching the way he stiffened. "But now?"
I chuckled, low and deep.
"Now I simply must see what he becomes."
Oh, how Damien internally screamed.
"Uh, actually," he interjected, words rushing out, "Noah's really boring, I swear. He's, uh… super normal! Average! You should totally find someone else!"
This idiot–
How fun.
I smiled.
"Don't worry, little system," I purred, finally deciding. "I won't rat you out to the God of this little world."
Ah, and there it was.
That frantic panic.
Damien turned back to me, his little form bubbling.
"Stay away from him," he hissed.
I only laughed.
Then, with a flicker of thought, I was gone.
Out of Noah's soul space, I returned back to my original body, keeping an intense eye on the boy's figure as I eavesdropped on the conversations between the two.
As Noah kneeled on the bloodied floor, exhausted but unaware, he muttered,
"Hey, Damien?"
"Yeah?"
"…Thanks for watching my back."
And there it was.
The hesitation.
The system—the very thing meant to guide him into villainy—had spent this entire encounter protecting him.
He had lied. He had manipulated.
Not to break him.
But to keep him safe.
Fascinating.
I was so very interested now.
Damien muttered something dismissive.
Noah yawned again, leaning back, eyes drifting shut.
And as he did, I felt it—
Oh, little system.
Guess I'll play with your facade a while
Longer—
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"Look here, Damien. Tell me the truth, what the fuck actually happened?" Even though I asked seriously, this system did not seem to be in any mood to answer me urgently.
The eerie silence that followed was… unsettling.
I blinked, still sitting on the stone floor, trying to process the absolute nonsense that had just happened.
The only good thing perhaps was the fact that except the burning smell, there was no blood around me…just pristine white skeletons and perfectly fine armours scattered across the floor.
Where were the screams? The chaos? The desperate struggle for life?
Oh, right.
That was already done.
Atleast, that's what Damien told me.
I hadn't even moved, and somehow, the entire evil organisation had been subdued.
The secret organization's leader—a guy who looked like he'd spent the last decade drinking his problems away…was kneeling before me, sweat dripping down his face?
"I—I surrender," he stammered. "Our evil sect formally acknowledges your supremacy, Lord Heartless. From this day forth, we shall merge into your faction."
Wait, what?
Damien let out a long whistle, as if trying to distract me. "Damn, kid. You didn't even have to try. That's next-level villain efficiency."
I ignored him, still trying to wrap my head around how I'd gone from 'fighting for my life' to 'accidentally conquering an underground organization.'
[System Quest: Join Hands with the Organization – Completed!]
[Reward: How about sucking your balls for the author? Lol, dream on.]
…Well. That was convenient, I thought.
Not like I expected any proper reward from this biased, mechanical system.
It were times like these that I was happy I did not recieve a mechanical system like the whole wide world and received Damien, the sentient villain making system instead.
'Did Azazel, the hero of this story also recieve a mechanical system or could it be he got some cracked up sentient system like I did?' Knowing that it was no use wondering much about it right now, I rubbed my temples, sighing. "Alright, whatever. Just… get everything sorted."
The assassins all flinched.
Oh. Right. The whole… 'berserk' moment.
They thought I was some untouchable, bloodthirsty monster who could wipe them out without lifting a finger. I mean, they weren't wrong, but still.
Awkward.
"Yes, sir!" the leader barked, bowing so low his forehead nearly smacked the floor.
The remaining assassins scrambled to follow, nodding so fast I thought they'd snap their necks.
I dusted off my robe and, without another word, turned to leave.
The moment I stepped out of the eerie gates, I was met with the sight of—oh god.
David laydes. The all purpose servant who'd been following me like a leech.
I'd met him 5 months back when I was still splurging grand-dad's money, buying lands and properties left and right.
Of anything, this man was one of the few people I trusted, he also knew about my second identity as 'heartless' in this world of politics.
Still standing there, it seemed he was doing an honest job guarding the entrance.
His eyes lit up the second he saw me, and before I could react—
He dropped to his knees, punching the ground with his fists.
"OH, GREAT LORD HEARTLESS!"
I physically recoiled. "DAVI—"
"MY MASTER, MY SAVIOR, THE LIVING EMBODIMENT OF DEATH ITSELF!"
I took a step back. "Alright, let's not—"
"ALL IT TOOK WAS YOUR MERE PRESENCE TO BRING AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION TO ITS KNEES!"
Behind me, the assassins shifted uncomfortably.
I coughed. "You're… overreacting."
He gasped. "SUCH HUMILITY! SUCH NOBILITY! TRULY, A KING AMONG MEN!"
I turned to Damien. "Can you please shut him up?"
Damien was laughing too hard to answer.
At this point, the remaining assassins—who had just recently been prepared to murder me, were standing awkwardly behind me, looking anywhere but at my face, as if making eye contact would trigger some unseen wrath.
Even their leader looked like he wanted to disappear.
"I WILL FOLLOW YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, MY LORD!"
I groaned, rubbing my face. "Yeah, yeah, just… take care of them, will you?" I gestured vaguely to the assassins. "They're under your care now."
He sucked in a sharp breath. "YOU ENTRUST ME WITH SUCH A TASK?"
"Yes, now shut up and do it."
"I AM NOT WORTHY—"
I walked away.
The last thing I heard was his joyous wailing as I made my way back to the Romero estate, wondering how the hell my life had come to this.
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