Reborn As The Villain-Chapter 347: Volume 5 Intermission 1 Part 1: Abomination Child

A faceless man, skin white as milk, was floating in mid-air, several kilometers aboveground, donning a fancy white suit, dark blue shirt, matching white blazer and leather shoes. No, he was not actually faceless for upon closer inspection, there seemed to be "moving galaxies" on his head.

He looked over the seemingly endless ocean of trees that stretched beyond the horizon of the Wood Elf Country. The World Tree was lacking in its former radiance but it cast a powerful shadow over a quarter of the continent.

"What a peaceful little world Father grew up in." he said to himself, "And there is no lack of strong opponents to fight either." He looked east, "The Archmage and the man that could fight the Dragon God on equal grounds, Justice, is still hard at work recruiting members for their little hero party to fight Demon King Arsnoria." He looked south, "Luke, the possessor of Golden Aura is slowly getting stronger day by day, hoping to impress his big brother with his strength." Then looked west, "It appears the vampire lord is in quite a bit of trouble."

Then finally he looked north, "Oh, what's this? I sense Thalgrimm's soul... in another body. I thought he perished along with Promethius."

The last one intriguing him, he teleported to that person's location.

'Hm, it's just a young boy. My vision depicted him as some towering brute. What a striking contrast to this small boy.'

There, in the backyard of a mansion estate was a boy swinging a wooden sword around. His movements were clumsy and none of his strikes had precision. From an expert's perspective, he was just wasting his stamina instead of having a clear goal.

He looked quite frustrated and yelled with every thrust of his sword.

Looking over to the back door of the large manor, on the top of the steps sat a young girl who looked about 16.

She was watching the boy train with blank eyes, as if she had lost the very meaning to go on living.

'I sense something interesting. [Eye of Omniscience], grant me a clearer view to what my instincts cannot tell me.' After activating "his" gift, "he" could see things clearly. There was a transparent string connecting the boy and the girl.

This was a clear sign that their fates are intertwined. Digging deeper with the skill allowed "him" to see a clearer future.

Thanrion, Keeper of the Last Breath, was the visage "he" foresaw.

"It seems the boy with Thalgrimm Krydrak's soul is going to get involved with the Death God and he promised to save this girl's—Norn—mother. You are clearly out of your mind, boy. Not even I would dare to face that magic caster. But I will not disturb the eventual fate of your demise even if you do have Thalgrimm's soul."

He could simply kill the boy and take the divine soul, saving Arnold the trouble of fighting Suarif but doing so is basically challenging fate, something he of all people knew was a bad idea.

"Ladiath" descended to the ground, landing on a cabin's roof and watched the boy train silently. Well, it wasn't really training as mentioned before.

As Ladiath watched the boy's futile swings, his faceless head tilted slightly. The galaxies swirling within his void-like visage shimmered, as if contemplating something beyond the present moment that only he was aware of. His gaze lingered on the boy for a moment longer, watching him as he becomes a battle-hardened warrior through the years and how he finally achieves his "dream".

"—Who are you, Mister?" a little girl's voice pulled Ladiath's attention at that moment.

"Hn?"

Activating his gift, he saw something bizarre—

The girl's future was uncertain to him.

If he was a human, he would be sweating bullets right now at this revelation. There was a pitch-black darkness over the visions that should've been clear to him. Her glowing big eyes looked quite ominous in that darkness.

He's only seen this once before.

Only an incarnation factor of a god should have their futures blurred out, even to Ladiath's "All-Seeing, All-Knowing" [Omniscient Starry Eye].

When he tried to look up Elizabeth's future, the same happened there as well—a dark mist hiding the visions of her future and past, revealing nothing even to his ability that should be able to see all and know all.

"I'm going to tell Rudy that a creepy old man in a mask is trying to kidnap me if you don't leave, mister!" the girl shouted with a huff, "Rudy is just as strong as my big brother and will kick your butt!"

'What reason would any god have to choose this girl specifically and grant her their blessing? For the Witch of Calamity, Elizabeth, it was simple—she possessed the right body and soul that Aedri needed. But that girl still hasn't unlocked her power yet. If Aedri grew impatient, she may have chosen to bestow her power upon another human instead. Hmm... that seems like the most likely explanation. But even so, I can barely sense any magic from this girl. Unlike Elizabeth, who is a walking reservoir of mana, this one is like a dried-up riverbed after a storm.'

If only Ladiath could penetrate this incarnation factor's protection... He'd be able to pinpoint who blessed her.

"Ah, hello little girl." He decided to greet her since it was useless to pretend he couldn't hear her, "I am not here to snatch children away from their homes. I am only an observer, I swear."

"You're a pervert who spies on kids!?"

"No. I know your big brother—I thought he was here so I watched the estate to see if I can spot him."

"He isn't here, sir." A young man's voice came from beside Ladiath, a blade to his neck, "Intruders are allowed one chance to leave—if not, I end their lives."

Behind Ladiath stood—

"Rudy! Get rid of that old man! He wants to kidnap me!"

'I just told you I'm not...'

"...I shall leave." With an exaggerated sigh, he said.

Thalgrimm's presence drew him here but although he wanted to take the soul for his homunculi army, he knew better than to mess with fate. This was a road he wasn't willing to derail from.

"Schedule an appointment next time—Huh, where did he go?" The moment Rudolph blinked, the mysterious man vanished.

As someone trained by Sebastian, Rudolph could clearly sense that man was beyond his capabilities but since he showed no hostility, Rudolph thought he could act the part of a servant and guard to get rid of the intruder. Fortunately, the man was reasonable and left without causing any trouble.

"I will get back to my duties, Young Miss. Please don't stray too far from the manor. I'll have more knights patrol this part of the estate from now on."

"Okaaay~" Rudolph left after receiving her energetic reply.

Left behind was Melina who stared blankly at the spot Ladiath stood earlier, "That stench of the Dark Forces... You are one of His abomination children... Why is Arnold acquainted with you?"

The voice coming out of her wasn't that of a young girl anymore but a woman writhing in wrath. Her rage was ready to boil over as her whole body was trembling.

◊◊

The Ancient Elven Ruins of Vael'thalas rest deep within the World Tree Forest, their once-grand halls now consumed by time and nature's relentless grasp. Once known as the Tomb of Reverence, it was a sacred vault where the elves safeguarded powerful artifacts, each carrying the legacy of their ancestors. But when plunderers stripped Vael'thalas of its relics, the tomb lost its purpose, and with it, its identity. Now, it is nothing more than a forgotten ruin—an echo of elven history buried beneath moss-covered stone and creeping golden roots.

The ruins are nestled beneath the colossal roots of the World Tree, its vast canopy shrouding the sky in perpetual twilight. Towering white marble spires, cracked and broken, emerge from the earth like the remains of a fallen civilization. Elven glyphs, once glowing with arcane energy, are now faded and cold, their meaning lost to time. The air hums with a lingering presence, as if the ruins remember what was taken from them.

'Why would Ladiath settle down here? It's not exactly the ideal place to keep your army.' Thought Arnold as he and his companions were led inside the ruins by a lone Wood Elf wearing nothing but leaves that barely hid her voluptuous form and private bits.

Arnold of all people knew Elves don't typically dress like this, even if it's mostly hot in the forest. Maybe their leader is the same kind of pervert as the Sky God.

Surrounding the vast halls of this abandoned ruin were even more female elves in the same type of clothing. They didn't dare raise their heads as if the elf in front was a queen of sorts despite wearing the same garb as them.

Arnold sensed a village of elves nearby, wondering to himself if Ladiath conquered the village or they just voluntarily served him.

Also, who is this elf in front of them and why is she the only one with a flower crown on her head?

"—Uhm, do Elves normally let non-elves reside in their forest?" walking next to the village girl, who said her name is "Eru", Kohana asked hesitantly.

"Ah, you mean Lord Ladiath?" as if she was thinking of her loved one, her eyes sparkled, "Normally we do not but Lord Ladiath saved our village from a monster wave a few moons ago. We can't just chase him away."

"A monster wave? The one that came from the north?" asked Ruria.

"Yes, I hear it was quite the tragedy—so many human settlements gone in one night and the human roads became dangerous. Monsters don't normally appear near our villages even if we're so close to the border. In fact, we have wards in place that releases a type of mind control or suggestion that nothing is in our general direction so the monster subconsciously loses interest even when it spots us. But that didn't work this time."

'What kind of drug did Vetis feed those monsters that allowed them to even be resistant to such powerful magic?' Arnold wondered to himself.

"Would you like to rest before you see Lord Ladiath? He did say he was expecting you but didn't specify if you should come right away..." The elf turned to them as they stepped into an open clearing after exiting the first building. The roof had long since crumbled away, leaving only the smooth marble floors beneath their feet. Off to the side, rare flowers thrived in the dappled light filtering through the trees. Just beyond them, the tomb continued, its structure intact once more, the roof standing firm over the passage ahead.

"All of you can lay down and rest but I'll go see him right away." Kohana turned to their group.

This little company consisted of Breuk, Ruria, Kairi, Liwei, Lian, Kohana and Arnold.

"I'll go as well." Said Arnold.

"Understood." The elf signaled to another elf to come up to her, "These are Lord Ladiath's guests. Show them the same respect you show me and our lord. Take them to one of the rooms we furnished recently."

"Y-Yes. Please follow me."

What do these people think of Ladiath for them to be this uncomfortable around humans? Elves are usually very haughty and aware of their superiority over humans. Rafaela used to be like this, always giving Arnold the cold shoulder and looking at him like trash.

He was expecting the same treatment from these Wood Elves even if they're just village folk. He could forgive this behavior since it's cute in his eyes.

After parting ways with the others, Arnold and Kohana followed after the flower-crowned Elf.

"Girl." While walking, Arnold called out to her.

"Yes?"

"I heard rumors that the Hiisi Elder is fusing with the tree that gave birth to it—this means that it's about to die. Can you tell me its condition?"

"Uhm, forgive my asking but why do you... care?"

"I have an... acquaintance who is an Elf that wants to know how much time is left."

"How much... time is left?" Kohana looked at him in confusion.

"...Your friend must've told you that the World Tree is also dying, correct?" the flower-crowned elf's ears drooped.

"Yeah."

"His body is halfway submerged in the tree he was born from. The fairies and all the elves living near that great tree visit him every day. While they cannot stop what is to come, the least they can do is make sure he is not alone."

"And the druids he protects? Aren't they also dying?"

The tree the Hiisi Elder was born from is the same tree that gives them their spiritual energy. While they are mostly humanoids, red blood doesn't run through their veins. It's the spiritual energy that the forest is brimming with. But they can't maintain this flow by themselves so a Hiisi Elder, capable of controlling nature itself, needs to be in the forest to keep them alive. They're like snakes relying on the climate to survive.

"Indeed... Since the Hiisi Elder was the first spirit born from the World Tree's first seedlings, we can link his death to the eventual decline of the tree itself. This isn't the first time the tree has been like this—for during the battle of Heroes and Demons, its lifeforce was almost sucked dry by the Fairy Millenium so that she could defeat a demon lord."

"...But she failed..." Arnold knew what demon lord that was—Malzorath Doom—a demon lord who once had five heads but after being killed once by Promethius and a second time by the Fairy Millenium of that era, he lost two heads.

"Yes."

The demon lord essentially has five lives which had been decreased to three now. With each death, one head is lost, just like a hydra.

Unfortunately, she was killed after her failed attempt to end him.

Maybe her draining the World Tree of most of its spiritual energy caused it to die slowly as the centuries passed by.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

This is one of the reasons why Faldecia never attempted to use more than one Spirit Monarch at a time when fighting. Maintaining one of them in the material world takes a lot of concentration and spiritual energy but with four great spirits, that difficulty and energy demand spikes astronomically. Which is why the great tree's lifeforce was needed.

"Even though it has been so long since the war, many of our people detest the name Fairy Millenium."

"Well, that explains why Faldecia lives in the Eulia Empire now." Arnold said half-jokingly.

Eru merely smiled, "That might be the case. Eh—Lord Ladiath!?" she suddenly stopped. Up ahead was a tall man wearing a fancy white suit. he was clearly looking at the trio as they were about to head towards him.

"I need to speak with him for a bit."

In a blink of an eye, Ladiath appeared beside Arnold and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Take the girl to the throne room." The moment he issued that order to the flowery-crowned elf, the scenery around the two changed. Instead of the marbled halls of the old relic tomb, he was now in a white space with nothing else no matter where he looked.

"...." Arnold turned around and faced a familiar entity dressed in a fancy suit, a galaxy swirling on its featureless face.

"Why bring me to a place where there's no one else? Is there something you want to tell me that only I should know?"

"No, that is not why I brought you here. I simply want to test out your newfound power."

"..."

"I am not mocking you, if that is what you think. I have better things to do than fool around with mortals. However, things have been boring lately with my homunculi creations. There is also a lack of entertainment in the Wood Elf Country." He rolled up his sleeves and loosened his tie, "Let yourself lose here. This dimension can take it."

"I'm not usually one to satisfy someone's boredom but I'm guessing you won't let me out of here until I do what you ask."

"Hoho, you've realized the ring Yormelia gave you does not work?"

How does he know about the ring?

"Come with all your might. Don't worry about your internal energy. This dimension slows down metabolism, nullifies pain, grant infinite stamina and energy—you can unleash the full power you could only use against the Hero's Consort."

He knows about Arnold's fight with Guinevere too...

"Have you been spying on me?" Aether surrounded Arnold's body. More Aether that he's unleashed in all his time in this body since he had to worry about the pill's internal energy all the time.

"Not at all." Ladiath didn't even get into a stance, just let his arms dangle by his sides, "Must I taunt you to attack m—"

Arnold flashed forward, the distance between them vanishing in an instant—

Or at least, it should have.

But as his foot struck the ground, Ladiath remained just as far as before. The distance between them did not shrink.

Arnold lunged again. His body moved. The wind roared past him. The earth cracked under his speed. Yet—Ladiath didn't get any closer.

He wasn't stepping back. He wasn't dodging. He wasn't doing anything.

Arnold's eyes narrowed. He took another step. Another. Another.

Still the same distance.

It was as if space itself had folded in a way that denied him movement. No—not just space.

Cause and effect had been broken.

'Why—Why can't I reach him?'

His instincts screamed that he was still moving—yet Ladiath stood exactly where he had before, utterly untouched, watching.

"You will never reach me." Ladiath's voice was calm but his opponent would obviously see it as haughtiness. "Your intent to strike me has already been predetermined as an impossibility. No feats of strength you force out, or try to, can harm me—" he placed on hand on his chest and the other stretched outward, "—that is what my birthright has gifted me."

Predetermined?

An unseen sensation crept over Arnold. His brain could not process it because what was currently happening was something he isn't able to fathom since it's his first time experiencing it. To put it into words, it was like unseen threads of fate tightening around his limbs, rewriting the course of reality itself.

He runs down the street, sweating and out of breath, proof that he was moving but when he stops running, he notices that his clothes are dry and his heart-rate was fine.

No matter how fast he moved. No matter how strong his attacks were. The result had already been decided.

"...." Subconsciously, Arnold took a step back.

He was trembling, his pupils shaking and heart beating so hard that it was trying to break free from his chest.

"Hm, even the strongest human shows subservience to their human nature when faced with impossibility." Ladiath walked up to Arnold who was trying to process what the hell he was doing.

Ladiath placed a hand on his shoulder but while it was a gentle grip, it belonged to a walking calamity that neither he nor the gods could hope to stand up to.

"I will not harm you."

Hearing those words, the tension suddenly vanished and the trembling stopped.

"...Huh?"

"Come, we must go back to the guest you brought." Ladiath opened a portal behind Arnold and walked past him.

"...Wait, what was that...? What... are you?"

Ladiath halted before stepping through the portal. A slow turn of his head. The galaxy on his face swirled, unreadable.

"What am I?" A pause, as if the question itself was misplaced.

"...A consequence," he finally said. "Of something that should never have happened."

He glanced at Arnold, as if debating whether to elaborate. But then, with a light shake of his head, he dismissed the thought.

"It does not matter." He gestured toward the portal. "Come. We have more pressing matters."