Chapter 6: If I’m the Villain, I Might as Well Be Overpowered

Chapter 6. If I’m the Villain, I Might as Well Be Overpowered

I rolled my shoulders.

My body still felt weaker than I would’ve liked.

I raised my right hand.

Forbidden Energy answered.

That was the first difference.

Normal mana felt familiar. Warm. Fluid. Something that moved through the body naturally, responding to intent and structured thought.

Forbidden Energy felt...

Heavier.

Almost alive.

It carried pressure. Density. The sensation of holding something that wanted to break the rules and was simply waiting for me to point at which rule specifically.

I liked it already. "Corruption Bolt."

Black-violet energy gathered above my palm.

The energy condensed rapidly until an orb about the size of my fist hovered there, dark mist curling around its surface.

I aimed toward the nearest stone target. "Go."

-BOOM!

The bolt crossed the chamber almost instantly.

It struck the dummy’s chest.

The impact punched straight through.

I blinked.

There was now a smoking hole where the target’s torso had previously enjoyed being solid.

"Oh."

Fragments crashed against the wall behind it.

"Okay... I thought it was just a low-level skill."

I stared at the smoking hole punched clean through the reinforced stone. That was clearly at least a mid-level offensive spell. And I’d thrown it like I was testing whether a flashlight had batteries.

I slowly looked back at my hand. "Good to know."

I created another.

This time I didn’t fire immediately.

I adjusted the structure.

Compression.

Rotation.

Narrower output.

The orb shrank.

Its surface became darker. "Interesting."

I flicked my finger.

-THOOM!

The bolt tore through the first target.

Then continued.

Second target.

-CRACK!

Third.

-BOOM!

It finally exploded against the reinforced wall.

The barrier inscriptions flashed violently.

[Forbidden Energy: 98%]

I stared at the destruction.

Three targets.

One attack.

Not bad for something the system had created.

More importantly...

I waited.

One second.

Two.

Five.

Nothing.

No stabbing pain, black veins or feeling that my internal organs had started a civil war.

I checked.

[Curse Stability: 97%]

Still exactly where it had been after Teleport. "So it’s quite stable."

That was important.

Forbidden Energy wasn’t agitating the curse.

Of course, theoretically that made sense. The energy was produced from the corruption itself. Using it actually relieved pressure rather than generating more.

Still. Theory and practical results were different things.

Science required testing.

I turned toward another target and lifted my hand. Normal mana flowed. "Fire Manipulation."

A simple magical structure formed. Orange flames spun above my palm.

A basic fireball.

Honestly, calling it basic was generous.

In my era, a modern newbie magus would probably be embarrassed if this was the strongest thing they could cast.

I launched it.

-FWOOSH!

The fireball struck a stone target.

Flames scattered.

Moderate damage.

Nothing special. Weaker than before.

Then the curse responded.

Pain pierced my chest. "Ghk—!"

I grabbed my shirt.

Black veins flickered beneath my wrist. Not severe. Nothing compared to earlier.

But unmistakable.

The system appeared.

[Curse activity detected.]

[Normal Mana contaminated.]

[Curse Stability: 96%]

I stared at the number. "You’re kidding."

One fireball.

A tiny one.

One percent.

I waited for the pain to fade.

It did after several seconds.

I clicked my tongue. "Okay... even a simple spell like this makes my body suffer."

That explained why Rey’s condition had deteriorated so badly.

He was a Royal Magus.

Magic was his weapon, his profession, his identity.

Every time he fought, the curse punished him.

Every time he protected someone, it punished him.

Every time he used the thing he was best at... It ate him.

And the stronger the spell, presumably, the worse the damage.

No wonder his SSS Rank had collapsed.

He’d been burning himself alive every time he cast.

I stared at the remaining flame dancing weakly around my fingers. Then smiled.

"Well."

That was yesterday’s problem.

Technically several thousand years ago’s problem.

"Time to change this." I lifted my hand again. "System."

[Listening.]

"Arcana Injection."

Forbidden Energy surged.

[Arcana Injection activated.]

"Fire Manipulation."

Black-violet energy slammed directly into the orange flame.

-WHUMP!

The fire changed.

Orange vanished.

The flame darkened from its core outward, becoming deep crimson-black with violet edges. It didn’t radiate heat normally either.

Instead, I felt pressure.

The flame consumed the mana around it.

My eyebrows climbed. "Oh, you’re interesting."

The system flared.

[Arcana Injection successful.]

[Fire Manipulation temporarily corrupted.]

[Forbidden Skill created.]

[Blackflame Manipulation]

[Element: Forbidden Fire]

[Allows Host to freely shape Blackflame into various forms. Available forms are limited only by mana structure, Forbidden Energy supply, and Host control.]

I curled my fingers. The black flame compressed.

A dark fireball formed above my palm.

Same size as before.

Same basic structure.

But the difference was obvious.

The normal fireball had flickered.

This one rotated slowly, black-red flames folding inward like they were consuming themselves.

I launched it.

The projectile screamed across the chamber.

Not metaphorically.

The air actually shrieked around it. It struck the target.

-BOOOOOOM!

Black fire erupted.

The stone dummy disappeared inside the explosion.

I raised an arm as the pressure wave hit me.

When the flames contracted... The target was gone.

Not broken.

Gone.

A blackened crater remained beneath it.

I slowly lowered my arm.

My eyes widened. Then my lips curled upward.

"Heh..." A laugh slipped out. Low at first. Then another. "Hehehe..." Then I couldn’t hold it anymore. "Hahahahaha!"

My laughter echoed through the training chamber.

Smoke rolled across the cracked floor. Pieces of the target were scattered everywhere, and violet-black energy still crawled over my fingers like something alive.

If someone walked through, they would probably turn around, find the nearest light temple, and report that Rey Valen had finally lost his fucking mind.

And honestly?

I couldn’t blame them.

Because this felt amazing.

I stared at my hand.

Forbidden Energy wasn’t merely a substitute for mana.

It was superior.

Denser.

More violent.

More destructive.

A simple spell became something that hit like a spell several levels above it.

Normal mana obeyed the laws of magic.

Forbidden Energy looked at those laws and apparently decided they were suggestions.

My grin widened. ’Oh, this is dangerous.’

Not the energy.

Me.

Because someone had just handed a magic researcher an entirely new energy system and demonstrated that it could produce stronger spells than conventional mana.

Researchers had started wars over less interesting discoveries.

I raised my hand, watching black fire coil affectionately between my fingers. "So this is forbidden magic..."

I understood why people feared it. I also understood something considerably more important.

They weren’t afraid enough.

Then I waited.

One second.

Two.

Three.

Nothing.

No pain.

No stabbing sensation through my mana core.

No curse tearing through my body.

I checked my wrist.

Clean.

No dark veins.

My chest felt perfectly fine.

[Curse Stability: 96%]

Unchanged.

Silence settled over the chamber.

Then my smile returned.

Slower this time.

Colder.

The kind of smile Rey Valen’s enemies would eventually learn meant that something unfortunate was about to happen to them. "There you are."

Black flames climbed higher around my hand.

History wanted Rey Valen to become a villain?

Fine.

I wasn’t particularly interested in correcting them. I was much more interested in finding out just how terrifying their villain could become.