Chapter Five: Novel's Great Villain

Kai sat cross-legged in front of the void while holding a large thick book in his hands. Black, round glasses emphasized his prominent jawline. His bright green eyes seem to shine with excitement as he reads the book in silence and peace.

He was an avid reader.

He learns the best from books and loves to read words. The genre doesn't matter, what kind of book it was also didn't matter to him. Every time he learned something, Kai's eyes sparkled with excitement that could be hardly kept to himself. As long as he is able to collect more knowledge from the books, he couldn't be happier. Truly, the words and the formation of sentences from this world are magical.

Although the words were similar to English from his world, it was still hard to understand. But Kai could still feel the powerful words from these books. It was as if Kai was possessed, he was immersed in his own world of reading. So much that his eyes were pretty much stuck like glue to the pages he reads. But because of it, he was unable to notice the addition of a presence in the room.

Helix leaned on the large door frame, behind him is the void and in front of him is the immersed Kai.

Seeing that he was being ignored, Helix raised an eyebrow and finally spoke up in order to get the attention of the other person. "What are you doing, reading on the floor?"

Kai jolted and was forcibly chased out of his reading world once he heard the familiar voice. He raised his head and met the gaze of the same rude mage he had met last week. He was struck speechless for a moment, clueless about what to do next. But Kai's eyes lit up almost immediately, "It's you! You're finally back!" The book in his hands was closed and Kai stood up happily.

Finally, there's another person with him in this castle!

This reaction was not what Helix expected. His eyes widened a little, and it was not so obvious. "Why are you so excited?" He glanced at the books on the floor and the one in Kai's hands. So, since he couldn't leave with the books, he decided to read everything here.

Well… books are meant to be read inside the library after all.

But it's quite inconvenient so Kai wanted to bring some to his room to read. But the formation didn't allow him to do so. Helix sighed, "Grab your books and let's go."

Kai did as he was told and held the thick books in his hands, but he hesitated. "I can't leave with the books."

"You have permission to do as you please in this castle. The formation only doesn't allow those who don't have my permission to leave with the books. Just ignore the void and you could get out."

"..."

So he was stuck here for nothing?

Kai frowned upon this realization but he walked towards this stranger willingly. "I really wasted my time and even suffered from the retaliation of the formation…" his mumbles reached Helix's ears. So he grabbed Kai's arm since his hands were busy holding the books. Kai soon started to glow with a dark, reddish light, spooking him.

'Isn't this…?!'

This is dark magic! Hell! The first person he met is really the villain!

He had some doubts but to think that his suspicions would be proven now, how could he react to this? 'What kind of magic is this…? Curse? Dark offensive magic?' Kai felt like crying yet again.

This person was the villain all along, but Kai was saved by him and was even casually talking to him until now. He was rude but he didn't harm him. In the few interactions they had, Kai was always being helped by this person. This time, it seems to be the case as well. The dark red light subsided and Kai returned to normal. The pain from earlier and the aching bruise he got from using magic on the formation suddenly disappeared. Helix let Kai's arm go and scoffed, an unreadable frown on his face.

There's no way Helix didn't notice the fear, panic, and anxiety Kai had while he was helping him. He was helping him yet he expressed those kinds of expressions in front of him?

Helix turned around, ignoring Kai's confusion, and left the formation first. The other was dumbstruck. It was healing magic, only, it used dark magic. That person really helped him again! And Kai doesn't even know why the villain is doing all of this. Kai recalled what he wanted to do with this world's villain and quickly swallowed his fear.

Nevertheless, whether that person is the villain or not, the only thing that matters is that he had helped him ever since Kai arrived in this world. He was definitely not someone that would pay back kindness with dirt. Kai immediately followed behind Helix, ignoring the void. It was exactly what he had said, the void was just for show and had no effect whatsoever on him. So the creator of the formation was Helix himself. Kai took note of that.

When Kai finally exited the library, Helix couldn't be seen on both sides of the hallway. Surely, Kai was only delayed for a few seconds. There's no way that he could've gone that far. Yet, the hallway is long and there are no corners, it only went straight. This situation confused Kai but he immediately realized that this might be the work of Helix's teleportation magic. This made Kai disappointed. Why was that person so rude that he just left so suddenly, not even waiting for him? Also, judging from his expression before leaving, he was angry. Kai moved a bit to hold the books in his hands with only his right arm. He used the other hand to take off the glasses from his face as he sighed, looking at the empty hallway.

Seriously, he has yet to express his gratitude but Helix already left.

Three days later, the dark mage finally reappeared before Kai's eyes. Holding the pestle with his hands, Kai stared at the man before his eyes, quite dumbstruck.

His white, loose tunic clothing explicitly exposed quite a portion of his pale chest and shoulders. His long hair was tied with a red ribbon, it was loosely tied so a few strands of hair fell on his face. His purple eyes indifferently stared at the floor, ignoring Kai with deliberation. Such an alluring sight yet the man held such elegance and beauty that nobody could resist admiring and loving. His overall cold appearance showed as if he was already far from otherworldly affairs, like a celestial being.

Kai was speechless once more.

This man's beauty is already paralleled, why would he also wear clothing that could literally kill someone paired with his looks?

Great sir, please have mercy on my eyes, you are too dazzling that I'm going blind!

In the end, Kai dropped the pestle and ran towards the man urgently. This time, he really has to say what he had practiced during these three days to this man. Kai shamelessly held onto Helix's hand and spoke up.

"May I first know your name, sir? You saved me again and again but I don't even know your name." His bright green eyes stared upon Helix's indifferent purple eyes. The other just stared at him back with no reaction. It was so silent that Kai could already hear his own heartbeat. There was no response even after a minute but he didn't feel any awkwardness at all and stayed still, patiently waiting for the other's answer.

Now, since he was so close to him, Kai couldn't help but take a closer look at this man. Now standing by his side, he noticed that they were just about the same height, with Kai being a centimeter or so taller. His eyes also were different up close. It seemed to be dim and was darkish in color from far but now that Kai got a closer look, it looks quite bright. Only, if his eyes weren't so cold it would be so beautiful

Though, his coldness is part of his charm.

Finally, Kai snapped out of his thoughts when his hand was taken off Helix's and he was slightly pushed away. "You are still so courageous that it amazes me." Helix scoffed and turned his head away, only one side of his face was visible to Kai.

Kai calmed down and fixed his posture. He smiled calmly and said, "I can only do what I want if I have the courage. Don't you think so?"

This response made Helix's lips twitch. He shifted his gaze from the door to the man before him and said with an indifferent tone, "Helix Vernon."

The other had already expected this man's identity but hearing him confirm it himself, Kai's eyes lit up a little. 'The villain actually saved the male lead again and again… And this was also before the main story starts, don't tell me they were already acquaintances and the novel didn't mention this?' The story has yet to start but the plot was already messed up. If there was a relationship between the two important characters in this story, it should've been written. But Kai only read the interactions between the male lead and the villain when they were fighting or when they were talking about serious business. Kai could only think that 'Perhaps, this was the same world as the novel but with a different plot?' It is normal for novels to omit some information, if the plot is too detailed like explaining how the characters live every day, there's no doubt that the readers will eventually grow bored of it. But important details must be written in order to avoid writing a plot hole.

Kai now started to feel that he can't rely on the information he had from the novel anymore.

"Zein. I am already aware that you have lost your memories. But first, I have to ask you."

This man actually initiated a conversation? Kai left his train of thought behind and gave all his attention to him. Helix approached him, but even if he was already in front of Kai, he didn't stop walking. So Kai could only walk backward until his back touched the table. Helix also stopped his movements and finally asked the question.

His purple eyes glowed beautifully causing Kai's distraction. Kai didn't notice that there was a magic array that formed behind him as Helix spoke,

"Do you fear me?"