I Have Become The Heroes’ Rival

I succeeded in secretly getting Larry into the carriage. Unlike Felix, who constantly pushed me away, the devil was obedient to my words and followed me.

‘You follow me even though I said that I’ll kill you.’

I could probably take advantage of this.

Looking back, it might have been favorable that the devil’s personality abruptly appeared at that time.

If it were Felix, I couldn’t have even attempted to take him to the mansion.

Everything went smoother than I expected. Now, if I discovered how to completely annihilate the devil it would be perfect.

Above all, as I observed how the devil was acting now, I concluded that if I knew the method to kill him, it might be easier if I did it myself.

Since the opponent was not human, I could be exceedingly cruel.

Moreover, since they were assimilated, that devil only felt Felix’s feelings of cherishing me, and it wasn’t actually his own.

After all, devils didn’t have emotions.

If I were to accurately describe Larry right now, it would be correct to call him an ‘emotions thief’. Those feelings were entirely Felix’s from the beginning.

As we rode the carriage and were seated opposite each other, I grabbed Larry’s large hand. I then questioned him while I gently stroked his rough palms covered with calluses.

“How can I kill you so that Felix doesn’t get hurt?”

His hand stiffened, neither opening nor closing as I touched it, and his eyebrows twitched before he retorted.

“No matter what you do, I won’t say it.”

“That’s a pity.”

As expected, the limit of his obedience was up to this point. Filled with deep disappointment, I sighed and let go of his hand as if I was throwing it away.

He clasped his hand, which was tossed away by me, with the other and muttered in a hoarse voice as if he was strangled.

“…You’ve become a wicked person.”

I didn’t want to hear such words from the devil who ate half of Felix’s soul.

‘What should I do now?’

I had no idea how to tell Claudia that Felix – who had previously disappeared – had now returned as Walter.

What about Hugo? What about Olivia?

There was a saying that human emotions were immeasurable. But no matter how desperate the sadness and longing I felt, could I really compare it to his family?

‘I caught him because I was afraid he’d run away again.’

What on earth could I do to help Felix regain his smile again?

I was reminded of the moment at the party when Felix and I accidentally made eye contact.

The abyss-like blue eyes were empty and did not seem to be filled with anything.

“You said you stole his emotions.”

Was it possibly because he took away Felix’s feelings that the devil became filled with those emotions?

Without emotions, it was impossible to imagine how Felix would react when he reunited with his family.

It would definitely be shocking to hear that the son, who had previously disappeared, returned as a war hero that killed countless people. If he showed harsh behavior without self-awareness since he lost his emotions, just imagining it…

That was why I couldn’t think about it anymore.

“I’ll stop talking about death. Can’t you return some of his emotions?”

Larry seemed somewhat perplexed. It was as if he was unfamiliar with the words asking him to return what he had stolen.

“How can I when it’s already merged?”

Perhaps that was why he responded with a question. Judging from what I had deduced, it appeared that there was no precedent of returning what was stolen until now.

“You said that you’ve never done this before. Is this your first time stealing human emotions?”

“It’s the first time I’ve settled in a human body.”

It was the first time he had entirely escaped from the bow, which was the main body, and the first time he had fully settled in a human body.

Even if he did get a chance to enter a human body a couple of times, he would only settle in it for a while to eat the soul.

Most ordinary humans had no resistance, so they would either be instantly devoured, have their vitality sucked out till they died if they lacked mana, or would offer their soul in exchange for what they desired.

Larry said that assimilation of emotions never occurred unless he was directly attached to the human body.

And even when he entered the human body, this situation was rare and a unique case.

It was because Felix’s soul was so clean, clear, and pure.

“If I use an analogy, it’s not pure white paper but clear water. In order to stain and corrupt it with evil, it is only possible to make it turbid if both that guy and I mix it.”

Pure white paper could be dirtied unilaterally from one side. It could be painted in any color or trampled on.

However, in order to contaminate clean water, it had to be mixed directly into the water.

Whether it was with mud or filthy water.

“So far, everyone has desired victory or pleasure. And in return, I would take their soul, and that would be the end of it.”

It was said that four thousand years had passed since the devil came down to the human world. I could only imagine how many people it had incessantly slaughtered without any emotion or guilt.

But now, he stole Felix’s emotions and was carrying them.

“What about guilt? Didn’t you experience the duties and beliefs of each human? Didn’t you consider the emotions of the countless humans who you readily ravaged and killed so far?”

“It’s not quite the fairy tale where the nature of a devil would change. I’m sure it’s the same for this guy named Felix.”

They wouldn’t assimilate enough to alter the essence of each other’s existence. I was relieved the moment I heard that. No matter how corrupted Felix became, there would be a final boundary.

Regardless, I doubt I would ever be able to think favorably of this devil even for the sake of sympathy.

“The reason I reacted so fiercely to the feelings of love is because I’m the devil of love and pleasure.”

“…”

“…Didn’t you know that?”

I didn’t know that.

I indifferently replied to his remark.

“Since Felix said it, I believed his words without any doubt. I firmly believed that your realm was struggle and victory.”

Had I known from the beginning, my attitude would have been slightly different back then. It was useless to regret it now.

“Regardless, because of you, my clear and pure Felix has become contaminated water, so try diluting it a little. You’re can’t absorb or handle it all anyway.”

I spat out my words without filtering them at all. Whether it felt hurt or not, I wasn’t compassionate enough to consider the emotions he stole from Felix.

“I don’t know how to do it.”

“Then try your best.”

I sarcastically uttered the words that bothered me the most when I was Kim Hee Soo. At that moment, a vein protruded on Larry’s forehead. He appeared to be very angry.

He didn’t seem to know how to do it anyway, but he crossed his legs and arms and raised his chin arrogantly.

“I don’t take action without a price.”

What kind of zeal was this?

“Do you want me to kiss you?”

“…What?”

He instantly looked bewildered. I snorted at the sight of him.

“I can’t do that for you.”

Even though I was aware that I was venting my anger, I just said those words to make him uncomfortable. Whenever I saw the devil’s fragment, I became so twisted.

My eyes lingered on Larry’s red-hot ears for a moment.

Felix didn’t seem that clumsy and naive even when he liked me. No matter how assimilated they were and how they shared emotions, their differences in personalities also appeared to exist.

“I don’t know what the hell you’re thinking. You said you wanted to live, but you could have stayed alive without touching his soul.”

Maybe he just wanted to imitate humans. Did he even have the confidence to handle it?

“I wonder if you will be able to endure it even if I hated you to death.”

When I questioned his intentions, Larry remained silent.

I didn’t pry into it any further because the reason was not very important.

I belatedly recalled that I left without telling Liam where I was going. I even locked the latch from the inside and jumped off the terrace.

By now, Liam must be frantically pounding on the door of the locked terrace. I unintentionally caused a nuisance while quickly whisking the devil away.

I should sincerely apologize later, but for the time being, I pushed Larry into the tent in my playroom, where dolls were piled up like a mountain.

“If you’re randomly buried with these dolls, no one will know you’re here.”

“Do you think a devil doesn’t have any dignity?”

Larry raised his eyebrows as he picked up a stuffed cat doll in front of him. However, not long after, the fiercely distorted expression strangely loosened.

“…It smells like you.”

That sounded really creepy. He only said that because his physical abilities were enhanced, so he had an acute sense of smell.

“I sleep here most of the time, so that’s why it smells like me.”

“You sleep with these things?”

After blurting out those words, Larry glanced around at all the dolls, covered his mouth, and murmured something softly.

What the hell was he thinking?

His pale cheeks were faintly blushing.

“What? If you get caught wandering around as you please, you will pay with your life.”

“The price is too harsh.”

“Hah. Don’t even breathe.”

So, I earnestly instructed the devil to become a corpse and then headed straight to Claudia’s room.

Along the way, the servants informed me that Claudia had gone out to train in the forest while I was away.

In fact, I expected that to some extent. Whenever Claudia was bored since I wasn’t by her side, she would hone her spiritual powers.

And in case of any unexpected dangers, Ilypia’s main body was left here, and I could summon an alter form by embodying some mana.

I opened the door to Claudia’s room. The spirit, who was standing quietly near the window and impatiently waiting for her to return, glanced back at me.

“What?”

Noticing that it wasn’t Claudia, the spirit asked aggressively.

“Lend me your skills.”

“No.”

“You didn’t even think about it for a second.”

Heartbroken by the sharp rejection, I pulled out what I was hiding behind my back. A box containing a heart in one hand and a magical dagger that could penetrate anything in the other.

“I’m earnestly asking you for a favor.”

Ilypia alternately glanced between me and the box I was holding.

“Why do you have that again?”

“Chloe gave it to me herself so that I could make you more useful.”

“I’m sorry, but what should I do? That threat doesn’t work anymore.”

After my life was threatened by Ilypia, and Felix left because of him, there were a couple of times where I threatened Ilypia that I would stab his heart for no reason.

Even Ilypia, who had been shaken the first few times, reacted so lukewarmly after recognizing that I never meant it.

Tsk, I knew this wouldn’t work.

Honestly, it was Claudia who specialized in these kinds of threats.

I approached Ilypia with a deep sigh and gently placed the box and dagger in his arms.

He gave me a puzzled look as if I was throwing away the treasures that I had cherished so far.

“108 lines that capture Chloe’s heart, guaranteed by Irene Amber.”

“…”

The spirit followed me without any resistance.