‘I read countless books, not caring much about what they were about, just to pass my time. And I had more time than anyone else.’

‘More often than not, I would stumble upon historical accounts, tales, and stories…about the heroes who received blessings from gods that allowed them to overcome unimaginable hardships.’

‘The common theme seems to be that gods favor the heroes and arrange it so that they will ultimately succeed no matter what.’

‘One hero, Ser Sleepsalot gained power to destroy mountains with a single slash of his sword, another hero Ser Marek was so loved by gods that after his death he was converted into a deity and allowed to join the celestial ranks, not to mention the countless heroes who had some kind of divine intervention that allowed them to emerge victorious over their foes.’

‘A goddess that offered hero the Holy Lance, a god that bestowed hero with wings, a goddess that restored the body of a wounded hero….Oh, c’mon! Not a single villain or should I say, an enemy of humanity had managed to emerge victorious. Gods have always ensured that the heroes would have the smoothest sail possible.’

‘If I had to say it, every hero in history seems to have some kind of cheat, weapon, or power given by gods.’

‘Sometimes, I wish my life was as easy as the lives of those heroes in those stories. At least that way I wouldn’t have so much headache.’

‘But no. Instead of a blessing I have a curse, and instead of being on the side of gods, I am doing everything possible to take down their beloved heroes.’

‘Maybe my life is so difficult is because I don’t have the divine support like all those heroes did. Oh well. I am not a hero anyways’

‘Had I been a hero…My life would have been so much easier. Had I done that, killing Arin and all of the demons would have been a simple matter.’

‘But instead, I chose to side against the humanity, the winning side, which is why everything is so difficult.’

‘Not that I am complaining. I am having a blast. The harder the hurdle, the greater the satisfaction in overcoming it.’

‘Perhaps I wanted entertainment, more than anything else. And if you think of it that way, I am having the fun of my life.’

Swallowed up by the darkness, twisted into something unrecognizable, lost within the sea of madness…

Not even sure where he was heading, only knowing the vague direction by his instinctual desire to keep going…

Unlike many enemies of heroes he heard and read about, Dark Lord knew perfectly well that he was the villain of his own story, but he did not care. He was not arrogant enough to call himself a hero of his own story. Villain hated by the world.

Embodiment of darkness, a natural enemy of those on the side of light. Was there any wonder why he chose ‘Dark Lord’ as his true name? Not the ‘Nur’, the ray of light, but the Lord of Darkness.

So what if the entire world is against him?

So many foes to defeat, so many hurdles to overcome…

That only meant he would have more fun than anyone else! What is there not to love about that?

Do the heroes, gods, and the world think they can hold him down?

Their arrogance is most laughable.

‘I hate to break it to you, but that is not gonna happen.’

One by one, he shall take them down.

It will take time and herculean effort, but if anyone could do it, it would be Dark Lord.

A man who was the true embodiment of rebellion…. Against the order imposed by gods, humanity, and this world…

‘I will twist the reality into a knot and cut it open’

‘Crush the might of humanity while leading its enemies to victory. Become a symbol of fear that will be remembered for all the ages to come…’

For centuries, with the aids of gods, human heroes have always emerged victorious over the monsters, demons, and villains.

Well, it was time to even out the score.

Dark Lord saw it as his personal duty to ensure that the side that has always lost, the enemies of humanity, would finally win.

Even if he was weaker than every one of his enemies, so what?

If anything, Dark Lord’s only ‘natural’ abilities were his twisted mind and eidetic memory. But when used just right, they were by far more dangerous than the Demon King herself.

That is why, Dark Lord never considered Arin a threat. If she was an enemy, he could always find a way to erase her from existence. But for his plans to work, he needed the leader of demon-kind to be alive and active.

Even if he is at a hundred to one disadvantage, why should he care? He had no reason to give up. With no way to go back, the only way to move was forward.

As long as it brought excitement to his existence, isn’t that just fine?

So what if his curse will eventually rob him of what is left of his sanity? Even now, he was not sure if he was sane anymore. He was so lost within the darkness…no, he was the darkness.

Heroes in legends have always resisted the allure of darkness within, but why not give in completely?

Let it swallow you whole, become greater than what you were before, obtain the power to change.

Villains are not suddenly given power from deities or some supernatural patrons, no; the villains have to take the power by force.

That is what makes villains different from heroes.

Heroes are given everything while the villain must overcome countless hardships just to get the scraps.

But so what?

The world had never been just.

In fact, justice is a lie preached by the gods and winners.

From the first moment he met a Primary Goddess of Time, his existence became an experience not too different from hell.

But the flames can only burn for so long, eventually the victim will become either numb to pain or the pain will become the fuel that will permanently transform him.

This happiness…this sadness…this madness…the music of this world that seems to only lead to cacophony…

It was so ghastly, yet so beautiful. So painful yet so entertaining…

Chronos cursed him so that he would suffer, but why does he feel that by becoming a true villain, he had finally found his true purpose in life?

To deceive, manipulate, and destroy all of his enemies.

To step over the corpses of his fallen foes.

And to become a force that will overthrow the natural order of this world.

Essentially he wanted to accomplish what not a single villain or Demon King managed to accomplish before him. To become a villain that wins, truly and completely.

Unlike many, Dark Lord took pride in his identity as a villain; he was never ashamed of becoming one.

After all, only a villain could lead such a revolution.

‘The world shall tremble underneath my feet.’

‘All the while, you, my foolish friend, are completely clueless’

Runfar couldn’t help but smile at Knight of Light.

“Runfar, are you ok?”

“Couldn’t be better, Leona, couldn’t be better”