I Became a Dark Fantasy Villain

"... Oh, my goodness." Elia blinked, then finally let out a sigh. "Godfather, could it be... is it really true...?"

"Yes. I do indeed bear the chaos within me, Elie." Ian calmly cut her off.

For a moment, Elia held her breath, her expression shifting to one of utter despair, as though she had just lost her entire world.

"How... How did this happen...? When? Since when...?"

"However, I haven’t let chaos consume me or fallen into madness. At least, not yet," Ian added gently, thinking she might break into tears.

Even in her dazed state, Elia’s head tilted slightly.

"So, you’ve embraced chaos... but it has not corrupted you?"

"I know how that must sound. But it’s the truth. Of course, the Order and the gods might have a different opinion."

Ian shrugged as he added. "That might even be part of the reason the Great One entrusted you to me."

Elia’s eyes widened in shock. Ian smiled down at her, looking into her mismatched eyes that were now wide with surprise.

"Not many people understand the dangers of madness and chaos as well as I do."

"Are you saying the Great One also knows that you harbor chaos within you?"

"Yes." Elia’s eyes and mouth were both wide open in shock. She struggled to find her words. "And yet, still chose you to be the agent...?"

"Yes. Though it worries that one day the chaos might consume me."

"Oh, my goodness...." A deep sigh finally escaped Elia’s lips as she turned her gaze away, seemingly lost in thought.

She muttered, as if recalling something. "So, this was one of the many secrets the Great One mentioned about you, Godfather. Now I see why it only hinted that you could handle various colors of magic. It was the smallest of your secrets... the most trivial...."

Eventually, Elia’s gaze returned to Ian. "... But how? How can you bear the chaos and still be so unaffected by it? You even have the blessings and favor of the gods."

Ian shrugged slightly. "I’m just built differently."

He couldn’t exactly tell her he was a game character blessed by a stat screen more powerful than any god. Even if he did, she wouldn’t understand it, anyway.

Elia’s expression became even more bewildered.

"Built... differently?"

"Yeah. From what I’ve heard, I have a bit more of the ancient blood in me than most."

"...! So, it’s because the ancient bloodline gene has manifested in you...?" Elia’s eyes widened again, almost as if they might pop out of her head.

While Ian was considering how comical her reaction looked, Elia kept her gaze fixed on him and muttered, "Oh my goodness... Then maybe the prince wasn’t entirely wrong... Every human supposedly has a trace of the ancient blood in them... and the royal bloodline is said to have unlocked that potential thanks to divine favor. However, if you inherited those bloodline traits with no blessing... then, in some ways, you might be even more... than the royalty themselves...."

"Stop."

This could go on forever.

Ian cut her off, looking down at Elia, who blinked in surprise.

"It’s all just speculation. There’s no need to overthink it."

"No need to overthink it? This is something that deserves a great deal of thought! Godfather, you’re carrying divine power, chaos, and magic all within yourself! Your existence is nothing short of a miracle!" Elia’s voice grew louder as she spoke, her excitement almost trembling.

Eventually, she swallowed hard and her lips quivered.

"... And that means you’re in more danger than anyone else. As you said, the Order will never acknowledge this...." Elia’s voice trailed off, and her expression shifted to one of dread.

She turned her eyes back to Ian with a face pale with realization. "... Sir Philip. What about Sir Philip? If he were to learn about this—"

Worry followed right on the heels of fear and shock.

Ian couldn’t help but let out a small, bitter laugh internally as he interrupted her.

"He already knows."

"He knows? And despite that, he remains by your side?"

"Yes. Just as long as the Great One has."

"... And even so, he still swore his loyalty to you, just as the Great One made you its agent."

"Yes, that’s about right." Ian nodded.

Now that he thought about it, Philip was indeed a remarkable person. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he had treated Ian as a potentially corrupted being, yet he never did. He firmly believed that Ian could control the chaos—or at least, he wanted to believe that.

Elia stared at Ian for a moment before finally closing her eyes tightly in relief, whispering, "Thank goodness."

She then spoke in a voice that sounded drained of energy. "Godfather, the world must never know your secret. The Order would hunt you down, the Magic Tower would try to dissect you, and the royal family... wouldn’t be much different. So please...."

Elia opened her eyes again, looking up at Ian as she added, "You have to be careful, Godfather. Never, ever let yourself be consumed by the chaos. I don’t want to see you fall into corruption—not even in my nightmares."

She’s echoing my own words right back at me.

Ian gave a wry smile and extended his hand to her. "Of course. If I ever became the target of the Order’s crusade, the Great One would be heartbroken."

Elia took his hand without hesitation and added, "What does it feel like to harbor chaos within you?"

"... Not very pleasant. It’s something you’d be better off never experiencing if you can avoid it."

As Ian helped her to her feet, he couldn’t help but let out another small, internal laugh. Her adaptability was truly fitting for a scholar; she had already moved past shock and was now showing curiosity about the situation.

"Right now, it might be better to focus on your studies, Elia."

Of course, changing the subject wasn’t difficult at all.

As Elia tilted her head in confusion, Ian raised his right hand in front of her face.

"Because this is still intact."

Ian opened his palm, revealing the unbroken orb. Elia’s eyes widened as she saw it. While the orb itself remained intact, the fragment inside had turned into a pile of gray ash, settling at the bottom like burnt remains.

Whoosh—

When Ian gave his palm a slight shake, the powdery ash inside swirled up like dust, making the orb appear cloudy. Among the haze, faint glimmers of light sparkled like grains of sand.

Elia finally let out a soft gasp of wonder as she watched the spectacle.

"This... could be called the remnants of the Black Wall," Elia said.

"Does it still have research value?" Ian asked.

Elia nodded without hesitation. "Of course. In fact, this might be even more valuable. It’s in a state where the chaos has been removed. We might be able to uncover entirely new findings from this. Though, of course, we’ll only know for sure once we begin our research. Actually, I..."

Her gaze returned to Ian. "... I never knew it was even possible to extract only the chaos from a fragment of the Black Wall. Today was the first time I’ve seen it happen. Maybe the scholars at the academy don’t know either."

"Really?"

Don’t they know too little about this then?

Well, it made sense. Extracting chaos was something only a being from the void or a corrupted one harboring chaos fragments could do. Even among those few, almost none would absorb chaos while leaving the remnants behind for others to study.

"Well, in any case, that’s good news. At least it’s useful," Ian said, shrugging as he turned around. He placed the orb back into the wooden box and handed it to Elia.

"Now, take this. Submit it to the academy as research material under your name. Use my name if you need to."

"You’re... giving this to me?" Elia’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Ian nodded. "It’s of no use to me anymore. I would’ve preferred to give it to you in its original state, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible. Still, at least it’s no longer dangerous."

"Godfather...." Elia accepted the wooden box with both hands and looked up at Ian. Her eyes were a mixture of surprise and gratitude, realizing that he had planned to give this to her from the beginning.

She looks happier than when I bought her that fancy protective gear...

Ian thought as he added, "As you just experienced, don’t go out of your way to obtain more fragments of the Black Wall. They’re too dangerous."

"... Yes, I understand. This alone will provide us with research material for a very long time." Elia nodded agreeably.

Ian turned on his heels. "Let’s head up. I’m getting tired, and I still need to check the rest of the spoils."

As she alternated her gaze between the wooden box in her hands and Ian’s retreating figure, a smile gradually spread across Elia’s face.

"I’ll help you, Godfather."

... So she’s freely calling me Godfather now when it’s just the two of us.

Ian thought with a slight smile, though he said nothing as he headed up the stairs.

***

Ian’s eyes snapped open. He stared up at the dim ceiling for a moment before turning his gaze to the closed glass window on the wall. The sky, thick with clouds, was lightening. Dawn was breaking, marking the boundary between night and morning.

"... Godfather?"

When he stepped out of bed and moved, Elia, who was lying in the bed across from him, immediately spoke up. She, too, seemed to have reached the point where she woke at even the slightest sound.

"Go back to sleep. It’s nothing," Ian whispered in a raspy voice as he approached the window.

His eyes scanned the small yard in front of the mansion. Besides his own carriage, there were two more carriages parked there.

One of the carriages was the one Felix had arrived in the previous day, and the last one was a large, unfamiliar vehicle that had just arrived. It was massive, pulled by six horses in pairs. The Imperial emblem on its pitch-black surface suggested it was a military transport carriage.

"... Soldiers from the capital," Elia said, standing on tiptoe as she peered out the window. "They must have sent them as soon as they received Her Highness’s message."

Ian murmured in response, "You should go back to bed."

"... I’m already wide awake," Elia replied, her gaze fixed on the heavily armored soldiers unloading bound prisoners from the carriage. The soldiers moved in silence, quick and efficient.

Phaden was leading them alongside another knight whom Ian didn’t recognize, both of them equally silent. Some of the soldiers were even wrapping corpses in shrouds and tossing them into the carriage. It seemed they intended to transport both the living and the dead, though the prisoners might soon join the ranks of the dead.

"Where do you think they’re taking them?" Elia asked.

"No idea. And it’s none of our business," Ian replied with a shrug as he turned away from the window.

"Well, at least this means we won’t experience any delay," he said.

"True," Elia agreed. "But where are you headed?"

She asked as she watched Ian heading toward the door.

Ian grabbed the doorknob and answered, "Downstairs. I want to get something to eat."

"May I join you? I barely touched my meal yesterday, and I’m a bit hungry," Elia said.

"Sure, come along," Ian replied.

He opened the door, and Elia quickly followed him out into the hallway, whispering, "Let me make you something simple. Just give me fifteen—no, twenty minutes."

"Take your time," Ian said casually. "With a bottle of beer, I can wait an hour if I have to."

Just then, Philip’s voice echoed from behind them.

"Why are you up already, my lord?"

Ian stopped and turned to see Philip approaching.

Philip continued, "You should rest a little longer. It’ll take quite some time to finish all the clean-up."

"Don’t worry. I’m not planning on lifting a finger," Ian replied, his eyes shifting to the figure Philip was dragging behind him. It was Felix, his limbs bound behind his back, with a black hood covering his head. His muffled and pained breathing suggested that his mouth was gagged.

"Have you blinded him properly?" Ian asked.

"Of course. I used his cloak to make the blindfold and tied it so tightly that he won’t even be able to open his eyes."

"Make sure the handoff is clear. They must not remove the blindfold under any circumstances."

"Rest assured. I’ll make it very clear that this man can render others unable to breathe just by looking at them." Philip nodded and led the way forward.

Even Elia didn’t show any sympathy toward Felix as they dragged him away. Ian’s gaze followed them down the corridor, where he noticed Seras and Asme emerging from their room.

Seras spotted Ian and offered a slight bow.

"You’re up early, Sir," she said.

"I could say the same to you. Are you alright? You don’t look so well," Ian replied, tilting his head slightly.

Indeed, Seras’s face was even paler than usual. She forced a slightly awkward smile.

"... I’m fine. There are just a few matters I need to check and take care of."

"Then could you tell the soldiers to take the items piled up next to my room as well? They’re useless to me."

"You mean the spoils of war? Should I convert them into gold for you?"

"I’d appreciate that."

The spoils Seras had gathered looked impressive at first, but there wasn’t much Ian could use. The plate armor engraved with golden patterns was a valuable item, with several resistance options attached. However, its defense was low compared to its weight, and its durability was lacking. More importantly, wearing it would draw too much attention.

The longsword with a gilded hilt and scabbard was no different. In terms of performance, Philip’s sword, selected by Fael, was far superior. So, Ian handed the less conspicuous gloves and shoulder guards to Philip and left the rest by the door.

The only item Ian deemed worth keeping was the frost gem the servant had used. It was in excellent condition, with a nearly new mid-level essence bead embedded in it, and its blue magic amplification properties were quite good.

"Understood. I’ll pass along the message," Seras replied, stopping at the foot of the stairs. There was a hint of hesitation in her eyes as she looked at Ian.

"... Where are you headed, if I may ask?" she finally asked as Philip dragged Felix up the stairs.

Ian shrugged. "Just hungry. I’m heading to the dining hall."

"Ah, I see..." Seras nodded, briefly moistening her lips with her tongue.

"... Sir Ian." She lowered her voice and called for him as Ian turned toward the stairs.

Ian paused and turned to face her.

Seras spoke cautiously. "Would it be possible for you to spare a little time later? There’s something I’d like your advice on...."

So that’s why she’s been acting like a puppy with an urgent need to go.

Ian’s lips finally curled into a faint smile as he looked at her.

"Seems like you’ve had a bad dream."