The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 220 - Identity

—

No matter how much Will tried to deceive himself, telling himself that Shuna, the long-time pen pal he had been communicating with, wasn’t necessarily “Shuu” in a gender-swapped form...

The truth seemed to stare him in the face.

Not only did they share similar experiences, hair color, and eye color, but even their identities and the placement of their marks were identical.

“Hah...”

Will took a deep breath.

“Hmm... so that’s why you’ve been staring at me. What’s the matter, Will? Do you prefer something half-revealed rather than fully exposed?” Shuna teased as she tugged her inner shirt back down, effortlessly covering the mark again. She then feigned shyness, lightly covering her chest with her hands.

“Oh, come to think of it, we’ve been living together for so long, and I’ve never undressed in front of you. What do you think? Should I make an exception just this once?”

“I-I didn’t see anything! Nothing at all! Let’s just sleep!” Will blurted out, avoiding her gaze and quickly brushing past her.

“Really? I thought I heard your breathing change...”

“I said I didn’t!” Will insisted, desperate to suppress the connection he had just made between Shuna and “Shuu.” He didn’t even stop to think about her teasing words before denying them outright.

“Alright, alright. Goodnight then,” Shuna said with a smirk.

“Goodnight,” Will replied hastily.

But as he lay down, sleep evaded him even more.

If he had known he’d see something this unsettling tonight—something that would keep him awake—he would’ve taken the chance to thoroughly inspect her clothing when they were traveling together in better spirits a few days ago.

Now...

Aside from the mysterious origins of the “Green Wraith Stone,” there was finally a plausible explanation for the so-called “change in fate.”

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

The original protagonist had, for some unknown reason, turned into a “woman.”

And now she was lying right next to him.

Even up to this point, the overall direction of events hadn’t deviated much from the original story—including how she ended up in his party and how he couldn’t kick her out at the wrong time.

And...

Her strength was undeniably that of a “protagonist.” She was incredibly powerful.

Judging by the current strength of the “defeated ones” Will had been training, they could only barely match her—if she were unarmed and fighting with no enhancements.

The only reason she hadn’t showcased her full potential was that she always saw herself as “support” and hadn’t equipped herself with proper weapons or developed a specialized fighting style.

—

To realize that someone he had thought of as an “outside expert” was actually the protagonist of the story...

To realize that his hard-earned “fate” had looped back to follow the original storyline...

To realize that Shuna, who he had come to see as a close friend, might one day leave his party because of “fate”...

How was he supposed to feel?

It felt like some cruel joke from “fate.”

Will had thought he had escaped its grasp, only to find himself back where he started.

Just like every other time he thought he could change “fate.”

But...

He glanced at Shuna’s sleeping face. Unlike himself, who had turned away on the couch to avoid facing her, Shuna slept on her side without any guard up. Her hand dangled off the edge of the couch, and her blanket had slipped slightly, revealing a view that made Will’s heart skip a beat—a view of a certain alluring curve that he couldn’t help but admire.

Even so...

He still wanted to see “Shuna” as just “Shuna.”

More than being tied to the identity of the original protagonist, she was still the person who had exchanged letters with him for years. She was someone who shared his interests and had crossed the distance between them to stand by his side after all this time.

But...

Thinking about it this way...

What happened to the original “Morning Star” party that was wiped out? And what about that unforgettable friend from Entark’s Second Academy who had left such a deep impression on Shuu?

Where did they go?

—

“Welcome!”

“This way, please!”

“The boss already told us—feel free to challenge however you like! Whatever makes you happy!”

“That’s right!”

Even though Will had already experienced this once before, he still wasn’t used to being surrounded by a swarm of little demons as soon as he entered.

Especially since these little demons were so... enthusiastic.

And...

Strangely enough, despite being called “demons,” Will saw an unusual sincerity in them.

It was as if they genuinely hoped Will and Shuna would stay here forever. Standing on the first floor, they formed a circle around them with expressions akin to overly enthusiastic waitstaff at a hotpot restaurant.

“If you’d like to eat and drink first, the boss has already instructed us not to make things difficult for you on the first ten floors. You can enjoy yourselves however you like!”

“But... but starting from the eleventh floor, things will get more serious. Uh... even though our colleagues don’t have much real combat experience, we’ll do our best!”

Honestly...

Hearing these words made Will feel guilty about fighting them.

Tenth Demon Castle—it sounded so grand and imposing, like the name of a bustling city.

It was filled with bright and lively little demons who brought energy to the dungeon.

But...

Beneath this vibrant exterior lay a dungeon that belonged solely to Lucifa—a “lonely” dungeon abandoned due to its unfortunate location and timing.

—

The eleventh floor.

They hadn’t reached it before now, but...

As soon as they stepped inside, all the lights went out. The entire floor was illuminated only by faint ghostly flames.

Thwack!

As they walked, they were startled by sudden cold arrows being shot their way.

Upon closer inspection, these arrows were blunt-tipped and lacked any real power to harm them.

The demons shooting these arrows darted around in the darkness, seemingly trying to play a game where Will and Shuna had to locate and defeat them based on sound and arrow trajectories.

Bang!

Clang!

Thwack!

Shuna seemed to be having a great time playing along with them.

“Alright, that’s number eleven—symbolizing the eleventh floor?” she said cheerfully as she grabbed a red little demon by its collar and effortlessly lifted it at the doorway leading to the twelfth floor.

“I surrender! You’re too fast at finding us!” the demon squeaked.

“The boss told us this was supposed to be an amazing arrow formation for real combat scenarios,” another demon added. “But... we’ve never had a chance to use it in actual combat.”

Hearing this made Will feel a pang of sympathy for them.

“Not bad at all,” Shuna said with her hands on her hips. “This is better designed than many other dungeons I’ve seen!”

“Shuna,” Will interjected with a sigh. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t get involved?”

“I said I wouldn’t get involved when it comes to Lucifa. I never said anything about not playing around on the earlier floors. This dungeon is too fun not to enjoy!” she replied with a stretch, looking completely relaxed.

Taking advantage of her relaxed state, Will decided it was time to steer the conversation toward something he wanted answers for.

“Shuna,” he began casually. “Back when you were in school... did you ever have this much fun?”

“School? Nah, it was all about studying. Of course not,” she replied easily.

“And...”

Will hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Did you have any particularly close... friends at school?”