Humble the Hero

[Armed Palace, Royal Guest House]

The Asura Family had their own building within the remarkably spacious palace grounds. It was a private yet prestigious area with all the amenities and security they needed.

Normally, King Felmus would place guests in the royal wing, but this time he decided to house the Asura Family separately from the Deva Family.

Both families were powerful and staying at the Armed Palace, so keeping them apart was a wise move to avoid any potential conflicts.

However, what he didn't plan for, was God Vritra's awakening.

Prince Lumis was heading back to the guest house with a neutral look on his face.

Sometimes, he would smile when the palace maids, who were passing by, giggled and greeted him. His smile and the flash of his white teeth had a strong effect on them; they had never seen such a handsome man before.

EEEEEEEEK~!

Just looking at him made them blush with excitement and squeal even more.

Feeling a bit proud of how highly they regarded him, Prince Lumis elegantly adjusted his golden hair and walked with his shoulders raised.

Each maid he passed boosted his confidence even more.

It reminded him that he was desired by many women, though not by the one he wanted.

『Sigh~ Princess Luciana…』

Thinking of her name made his face turn sad.

『I blame everything on that bastard, Vritra. Not only has he ruined my relationship with the king, but Princess Luciana won't even acknowledge me… she even slapped me.』

Lumis touched his cheek, remembering how it stung when she first slapped him. Now that she wasn't paying much attention to him, just thinking about the slap and replaying it in his head made him feel aroused.

『I've never seen a more beautiful woman than her. It's not lust; I just feel like there's a special connection between us. If only she could see that and give me another chance.』

Clearly, he was in a tough spot.

Old Ymnes had said he'd work on mending their relationship with the king while Lumis focused on getting Princess Luciana to speak to him again. If both of them succeeded, it was likely King Felmus would favor them once more.

The young Deva was afraid of failing Ymnes and his people, but strangely, he was even more frightened that the princess might never talk to him again.

『Hrmm, I should rest…』

Prince Lumis pushed open the doors to his chambers and walked into the dimly lit room. The first person he saw was a man in black robes with silver accents, staring out of a large window and taking in the view of the palace.

"I'm envious this wasn't my room. The view is particularly stunning from here."

The individual spoke in the loud silence.

Prince Lumis's face twisted with unrestrained anger as he recognized the voice.

"Vritra! You bastard!"

He quickly adopted a defensive stance, ready to strike if he sensed any threat from this dark-haired figure.

Vritra glanced over at Prince Lumis's bed, taking in the sight. It was clear from just a look that no woman had been on it since Lumis had been staying here.

『There's no post-sex smell, the bedsheets are cleaner than mine, and I can't find any trace of a woman having been here. Man, this hero is such a normie. Knowing the king of Duranzia, he probably offered him the chance to sleep with some women, but he turned it down because of his righteous Deva beliefs. It really pisses me off… so annoyingly righteous.』

With a face full of discontent, Vritra shot Lumis a side-eye and frowned deeply.

"If I were you, I'd be careful with my words. I could end your life in a heartbeat."

It seemed that Prince Lumis had gained some confidence from their clash a few days ago, but the young Asura was intent on correcting that now.

Lumis created a sword of light and held it out towards Vritra.

"Vritra…"

He had a frustrated expression on his face.

"Leave, I have no interest in hurting you again!"

All the young Deva wanted was a bit of time alone, but it looked like that wouldn't be happening with God Vritra around.

"You? Hurt me? Hahaha!"

Prince Vritra threw his head back and laughed out loud at the very idea.

This frustrated Prince Lumis so much that he squeezed the hilt of his burning lightsword and gritted his teeth, as if he wanted to grind them to dust.

"You act like I didn't nearly kill you a few days ago."

Not only was his confidence obvious in his appearance, but it also showed in the way he spoke, and that alone irritated Vritra to his core.

He hated everything about this pale-skinned prince.

His righteousness, his looks, even the privileges he enjoyed.

It was all simply revolting.

In this world, Fate Value was everything. If you didn't have the right amount to be chosen by the higher powers, you were just a side character.

The more Vritra thought about this, the angrier he became.

He hadn't chosen to come to this world; he was brought here against his will. He wasn't made a hero but was instead cast as a villain. If he had to be a villain, he decided he'd make sure every chosen hero suffered and knew the bitter taste of defeat.

For him, death was the only kind of character development these heroes, who were favored by fate, truly deserved.

[Ding! You've been assigned a side-quest.]

… Hm?

[Mission: Humble the Hero.]

[Description: You've run into the "hero" Lumis Nela Deva again. This is your chance to show him just how much more powerful you are and make him fear you like a true villain. In simpler words, crush the hero's ego.]

[Time Limit: 10 minutes]

[Reward: 40 Fate Value, 1/6 of Imperial Black Dragon Arsenal, Crystal Lotus Ring]

[Penalty: -500 Affection Points from the "heroine" and -30 from your Fate Value.]

"Excellent…"

A wide, almost demonic grin spread across Vritra's face.

When Lumis saw this smile, he instinctively took a step back and tightened his grip on his lightsword.

Vritra noticed and gave a smug hmph before adjusting his smooth, black hair and placing his hands behind his back.

"Lumis, why do you step back as if I couldn't reach you…"

The next thing the young Deva saw was Vritra disappearing at a speed that was almost impossible to follow. Before he could even process this, he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"…in a second."

Standing just at the edge of Prince Lumis's eyes was Vritra.

"Wh-, When did you…?"

Before Prince Lumis could fully react, God Vritra's eyes began to glow a bright red.

"Kneel..."

His deep gave the command, and suddenly, a sphere of darkness appeared above Lumis.

… CRAAAAASH!

A powerful gravitational force slammed him to the ground, flattening him like a pancake.

"Ahh──Ngghk!"

The harder Lumis struggled to resist, the more the dense sphere pressed down on him, squeezing him into the cracking floor as if he were about to be crushed like a grape.

"Wh-, What are you doing to me?!"

Prince Lumis's voice trembled with pain. He could feel his bones breaking bit by bit, and the ground beneath him was shattering like glass.

God Vritra crouched down comfortably to Lumis's level and stared into the Deva's eyes with a malicious grin.

"I'm putting you in your place. Are you really so weak that you can be easily restrained by a type-5 phenomenon? How disappointing…"

Vritra let out a sigh of genuine pity.

"Oh well, it's to be expected from righteous trash…"

He shrugged comfortably.

The smug look on Vritra's face infuriated Prince Lumis, making him want to strangle the Asura with his bare hands.

"YOU BASTARD!"

He yelled, but that was all he could do.

"I'LL MAKE SURE YOU PAY FOR THIS!"

Lumis continued to scream, his voice strained to the point where it felt like his throat might give out.

… Sigh~

God Vritra paid no attention to the outburst and stood up straight again.

BAM──CRRRK!

Without warning, he brutally stomped on Lumis's face, crushing his nose in an instant. Blood splattered across Lumis's face, and his eyes widened in agony.

AarrGgh──!!

Before he could even cry out, Vritra delivered another crushing kick to his face, smashing it further.

"Who gave you permission to speak?"

The young Asura spoke coldly.

"You really should know your place."

He kicked again, and then kicked again, and kept kicking.

The only sound in the empty room was the sickening thud of his foot smashing into the Deva's skull.

It was like a rock repeatedly hammering a broken head.

Prince Vritra didn't stop until Lumis's pale face was hardly recognizable, smeared with blood. A few of his teeth had fallen out, leaving his gums a bloody mess.

"Y-, You bastard..."

That was all the battered prince could manage to say.

Some of his wounds were healing, but it wouldn't matter if another kick was coming to crush his face.

Vritra noticed this and sighed.

"I forgot that your insufferable race has godly regeneration. Honestly, I wouldn't have treated you so badly if you'd just kept quiet. If I wanted someone to bark at me, I'd get a dog, you fucking retarded."

Vritra's calm expression shifted to a wide, sinister smile as he crouched down again and roughly grabbed Lumis by the hair.

"Oho? Or maybe I should get Princess Luciana to strip naked, get on all fours, and bark like a dog for me. That sounds fair."

He dragged Lumis's head closer.

"It'll only take a few seconds of her riding my meat to realize who her daddy is."