Struggling as a Villain

His breathing was slightly unsteady as Richard stood across the leader of the pack, with all the other wolves now sent to the other side. He has received a notification from the System that he has completed the quest, but right now, Richard's attention is solely converged on his remaining prey.

*Grr*

The leader seemed to have understood the difference between itself and the human as it had attempted to escape thrice by now, only to be interrupted by Lilia's telekinesis.

She wouldn't let her master's hunt run away.

Holding the bo staff in his right hand, Richard stared at the final one with a thin smirk adorning his lips. This was fun. Bashing and thrashing away all the beasts like before was just too satisfying.

Twirling the staff on his hand, he planted the butt on the ground, creating a loud reverberation as he asked, "Now what are you gonna do? Fight or run?"

The wolf responded instantly by lunging in his direction while being on all fours.

Richard swayed his head from left to right, enjoying the courageous decision of his foe before he waited for it to advance toward him. A few meters apart, Richard finally released the hold of the staff, and while using Body Enhancement, he reduced his weight.

Jumping in the air just before the wolf could bite his head off, gave a very astonishing reaction from the inhumane. Richard was above the beast in one instance, and in the next, he clenched his fist, amplified his weight, and, while coating his hand with flames, directed an attack on the wolf's crown.

**BOOOOOOM**

The head didn't shatter as Richard expected, but the Bate fell to the ground, with its limbs sprawled lifelessly.

Richard repositioned himself in front of the wolf and took hold of his beloved weapon.

'Hmm...since it's not dead....' Richard backed away a little before some inaudible words began to seep through his lips.

Three magic circles formed before his left palm, each one of them varying in size and pattern. One was for the spell design, one for intensity, and one for aim.

"—tremorris ky'al venumh kalithrax!" The spell was voiced, and the effect took an instant effect. A small finger-sized flame appeared before the magic circles before it darted in the wolf's direction and pierced through its head.

Richard moved his finger up, and the small flame tore through the Bate's back. On Richard's command, it re-entered the Bate's body through its hind leg.

At a decent pace, Richard manipulated the ember shot to travel in each section of the Wolf and slowly slaughtered it completely from within.

'Hmm...this looks easy when I am solely focusing on the spell...' Richard finally clenched his fist, and the small ember disintegrated.

*Dhak*

Hearing the two ladies landing beside him, Richard couldn't help but ask Lilia, "Why did they seem so weak? I was easily able to overpower them with my speed even though they are known for their agility." Richard sounded genuinely confused.

Lilia answered him truthfully, "Master, your control over Enhancement has grown so considerably that you never found it challenging to keep up with them. Your learning speed is probably on the stage of a Grand Master."

Richard was taken aback as he stared at Lilia with widened eyes, "You sure know how to exaggerate things. Grand Masters are prodigies among prodigies."

"And you are also a prodigy, Sir Richard." This time Amelia commented.

Richard scratched his head, still couldn't believe that he so easily slaughtered a whole pack with mainly the body enhancement.

"Young Master, let's return for now. It's already too late." Richard nodded to that, and along with the two ladies, he returned to the mansion.

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While sitting inside the bathroom, submerged in the bathing pool, he checked the system panel.

[Ding!]

[Quest achieved!]

[Quest Points: 55/100— +4]

[Reward: Perceptive Burst]

Richard went to look at the details,

[Perceptive Burst: A skill that allows the host to increase his five senses to an extreme level for a short duration. As the host climbs up in levels, the duration of the burst would increase.]

[Current duration: 30 seconds]

[Limitation: Can only be used twice after seven hours worth of rest.]

'Hmm....might be useful.' Richard shrugged. His senses were already sharp so he didn't find it too appealing.

But just to satiate his curiosity, he closed his eyes and activated the perceptive burst.

'Ugh....' Suddenly, golden sparkles erupted from him, and Richard began to hear strange voices. Opening his eyes, he found he could see through the obstructions and peek at a great distance. His nose caught the scent of the food being eaten by the servants far away and also could hear their conversation.

Suddenly, Richard heard his name from one of them, stating,

'I genuinely wanted to touch his hand...but feared I might get pregnant. Kyah! But I would love to bear his babies!'

Richard ignored them for now and focused on Lilia, who was currently with Amelia.

And for god's sake...the things he heard from their conversation in the last bit of time he had...

-------------**------------

The next day, early morning, Bellarine returned—surprising Richard.

However, the way she hugged him and chatted clearly told him that there was something wrong. That something happened back in the Capital.

He had a bad feeling.

He didn't press her for an answer immediately. Once Bellarine had breakfast and some hours of rest to recover from the fatigue, he went to her room.

"Ah, baby." She was writing something which she immediately covered when she sensed him entering the room.

Richard was now a little suspicious. This was the first time Bellarine had to hide something from him.

Drawing near her from behind, he asked in a probing tone, "Mom...what happened back there? Did you meet the Emperor?"

His question didn't gain any reaction from her since Bellarine expected him to ask about it.

She gestured for him to sit beside her, which Richard did before she slowly began to narrate, "The warning about the clones and possible spies was disregarded. More so, I am being sent to a faraway land, so I no longer meddle with this situation."

Richard's eyes widened hearing that, "They are sending you away?! And you accepted the proposal?"

Bellarine sighed, "It was a command Richie...and going against it means an internal war."

Her eyes turned solemn saying that. The relationship between Bellarine and the Emperor no longer matters. This situation regarding cloning was the root of a very massive project. And Bellarine must seem like an obstacle to them.

Richard understood the whole thing. The bloodline cloning was a project that Eldoria also supports, and to make it possible, they are planning to remove Bellarine from authority.

Richard doesn't know the whole story since, canonically, Ethan never paid attention to what was happening between the Empires. His focus always remained on destroying the Bates and the King of Death.

However, now that Richard was living as a real person in this world and was a very prominent part of this system, he had to do something.

"Mom, I think I know what you should do for now," Richard began, "First of all, become isolated and completely silent on this matter. Don't contact the Empire for the time being for anything related to the cloning matter."

Bellarine's brows drew closer, "But baby, the Emperor has already formed the decision to send me away."

Richard smirked, "Then give them a reason to stop you."

Bellarine blinked in confusion, which urged Richard to finish what he intended to say,

"The Endless Pit."

Those words gained a profound reaction from Bellarine. She stared at Richard with wide eyes before asking, "H-How do you know about it?"

The Endless Pit is a relic in Bellarine's possession in which she can store the souls of Bates. She gained that relic during the Great War. The mastermind behind the attack had an endless supply of Bates since it carried all those souls within the relics and brought them into the battle.

Bellarine hasn't informed anyone about it considering it is a tool that no human should be possessing. However, someone who has read the novel, Richard was naturally aware of it.

Richard took a deep breath before telling her, "I secretly read about it in your diary."

She gasped, "YOU LOOKED AT MY DIARY?!"

Her reaction made him startled but he didn't press on it anymore and told her, "Now use that Pit and launch an attack on the Capital, Mom. Bye, love you."

Planting a kiss on her cheek he ran away.

However, while he was walking out he suddenly had a thought,

'Exactly what is written in her diary that made her so excited?'

-------------**------------

A/N:- The endless love she carries for you.

The secret behind Bella and Bellarine would soon be sorted. Just wait a little longer since once Bella comes into this world, it will get messy real soon.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Comment down your thoughts.