I Really Am A Villain

This was a world nearly consumed by demonic flames.

Vast and endless, the entire land was shrouded in overwhelming demonic energy.

There was nothing here, nothing but that energy, and a single mountain ahead.

At the base of the mountain, fierce demonic flames burned, dyeing the sky red.

The mountain was steep and jagged.

At its peak stood a man.

His back was turned, a black robe dancing wildly in the flames like some kind of monster or ghost.

As Xu Zimo arrived, the man slowly turned around.

“I’ve been waiting for someone.”

His face was covered in demonic marks, and his eyes burned with flame. Inside them seemed to lie unimaginable terror.

His body wasn’t large, yet he gave off an immense presence.

He looked like someone who stood above the heavens and stepped through the stars.

“Is it you?” the man on the mountain looked at Xu Zimo and spoke dreamily. “My Lord, how long has it been… I don’t even know how long I’ve waited. This ruined body has been burning in flames… And you’ve finally come.”

“Demon Slave?” Paimon appeared from the void and asked calmly.

“So it’s Lord Seventh Infernal Archon,” the man on the mountain greeted.

“Who is he?” Xu Zimo asked, confused.

“Your former servant,” Paimon replied respectfully.

Xu Zimo looked at the man. “Why have you been waiting for me?”

“My Lord, there is something here the former you left for your present self. I’ve been waiting for you to come take it,” the Demon Slave replied.

“What is it?” Xu Zimo asked.

The servant glanced at Paimon, then bowed his head respectfully.

“Lord Seventh Infernal Archon, let’s step outside for now. Let the Infernal Lord retrieve it himself.”

Paimon nodded and gave Xu Zimo a look. Then he and the Demon Slave rose into the sky and left the realm.

…

Once they were gone, Xu Zimo began observing the world around him.

The demonic energy here felt familiar, like a fish returning to water.

He stepped onto the mountain and raced upward.

Demonic energy swirled around his feet.

Chunks of stone rolled down behind him.

When Xu Zimo reached the peak, he saw many murals laid out.

They looked ancient, as if they had been here for countless years.

All the murals connected, seemingly telling an old story.

As Xu Zimo focused his mind on them, he suddenly felt his consciousness pulled into the world of the murals.

His vision changed.

The sky was blood-red. War raged across the land.

A man in a battle robe stood atop a mountain peak. He held the sun and moon in his hands, stepped on the stars. His whole body was soaked in blood.

If one looked closely, they’d see that the mountain beneath him was made of corpses.

A mountain of bodies.

Wails and sorrow blanketed the sky.

Death and slaughter resounded like the drums of war.

Surrounding the corpse-mountain were people glaring at him, veins bulging with rage.

“Demon, you never thought this day would come!”

Someone laughed loudly.

“Come down and die, stop your useless resistance. We can still let you die with dignity.”

“You defied the Heavenly Dao, this is your punishment!”

“You outcasts were meant to live in despair. Yet you dare to rebel? To change fate? What a joke.”

Hearing the jeers, the man on the mountain slowly looked up.

His face was clearly visible, yet Xu Zimo still couldn’t make it out.

It was like a mist constantly covered it.

Xu Zimo floated in the air above, able to see everything clearly, but unable to move.

He could only watch, like a bystander.

At that moment, the man on the mountain slowly stood. No one could imagine how injured he was beneath that battle robe.

As he stood, the crowd instinctively stepped back.

The man raised his head, and for the first time, Xu Zimo saw his face clearly.

“What…” Xu Zimo’s expression changed drastically.

He stood frozen, shaking his head in disbelief.

That man looked exactly like him.

Identical, as if they were carved from the same mold.

“You’ve arrived.”

In that moment, the entire scene seemed to freeze.

The drifting blood, the wails from the mountain of corpses, the wind in the sky, the distant morning fog, the voices shouting nearby…

Everything, space and time included, came to a halt.

Only the man at the mountain peak slowly raised his head and calmly looked at Xu Zimo.

That gaze spanned millennia, as if it pierced through ages of time.

Through layers of space and endless cycles of existence.

He looked at Xu Zimo with an unmatched, commanding presence.

A feeling that was hard to describe.

Xu Zimo couldn’t find words for what he was feeling.

It felt like looking into a mirror, someone both familiar and unfamiliar stared back.

He opened his mouth to ask his burning questions.

But the man seemed to know them already, and interrupted him with a shake of the head.

“I know what you want to ask. Don’t rush. Keep walking this path. One day, you’ll have your answer.”

“What do you want?” Xu Zimo steadied his emotions and asked.

“To give you what was always yours,” the man replied.

“What is it?” Xu Zimo asked.

The man raised his head and looked toward the sky.

At that moment, a majestic force burst from him.

The frozen space returned to motion.

The crowd resumed shouting. The battle robe behind him billowed wildly in the wind.

He gripped an ancient halberd and began walking down the mountain of corpses.

…

“I’ve lived through countless eras. Witnessed the rise and fall of countless heroes. What is a ‘demon’? The word has long been stamped with evil. But there were no demons at the beginning, no such race. It was the so-called pure ones who gave that name to the outcasts. After walking through many eras, I took everything I’d seen, heard, and learned, and created a battle technique. I named it: Demon. To show those who think they’re righteous what true demons are!”

As he spoke, the man continued descending the mountain.

Every word echoed with power.

With each step, his aura grew stronger.

The overwhelming force, infused with ancient demonic energy, tore a hole through the heavens.