The villainess shall be mine

Why do humans choose to commit wrongdoings and sins?

No one is born evil, however, evil was always part of human nature. If humans were purely made of good nature, things might have been different, or so Barned resumed.

Barned was born into a relatively wealthy family. His father was a virtuous man, and his mother was kind. In other words, it could be said that he was lucky to be born in an environment where he could grow up into a proper individual. He was aware of this, and so he always acted for the sake of not bringing disappointment his family.

Still, it was not rare for children like him around every corner of the universe. It didn't take him long to find people who shared the same point of view as him. Barned believed that he was standing above those who were not lucky as him. However, that didn't mean that he was looking down at them. On the contrary, he felt that he had the responsibility to lead these people as his father did.

Then again, that also was just a typical way of thinking of nobility. Barned didn't find anything wrong with this. He believed that society, or at least what he perceived as a society, could function because each gear worked in unison. This too was something that his father taught him and he understood.

Nonetheless, Barned had room enough to realize that not every noble thought like him. Some choose to do bad things voluntarily.

Barned didn't understand why these people found enjoyment in their actions. However, he also realized how powerless he truly was.

In the end, his way of thinking was alone, and even though he imposed this way of thinking on other people, they wouldn't understand, like how he couldn't understand them.

As such Barned chose to limit his contact with other people. He decided to work hard for what he believed in, and obtain the strength to protect what was important. That was all.

Alexander, Felicia, Benjamin, and Yoru shared the same point of view as him. Most of them were also born into noble families who were not corrupted. This was most likely because they lived on faraway planets, far from the influence of corrupted nobles. At least, that should have been the case.

All it took was a few words. Barned couldn't believe his ears when he heard the Emperor's order. 'Why did it have to end up like this?' he thought.

He couldn't describe what he felt as he looked at the face of the young man that was said to be the cause of all of his problems. Adam Von Kepalta.

Why couldn't he just mind his business? Why did he have to drag everyone into this? If he wanted to revolt, that was his problem… Why? Why?

Unfortunately, there was nothing to do, and he couldn't help but continue to be frustrated. What was even the point of his life?

*****

"No! Stay away!" Azalea used her power to throw a nearby statute that was used for decoration at the half-naked soldier.

"I like that face! It's more exciting like this!" However, most of the soldiers were all level 7 gift holders or stronger. Azalea's struggle was in vain.

Rose was already near her breaking point. Her face showed an expression of despair mixed with resignation. She appeared to have tried to strengthen her mind for what was about to happen.

"Aren't you guys going to join? They could take us all," the half-naked said with an amused tone.

"Hey, calm down. Don't kill them too fast. We don't know when we get a chance like this again."

The soldiers appeared like they were trying hard to convince themselves that what they were doing was probably not as bad as it appeared. They were trying to sound like this was just some sort of game. They were probably feeling guilty deep down, but they couldn't stop. These humans had chosen to perpetuate an evil deed.

The question was, would Barned and his friend try to stop them?

Barned erased his presence and begin to observe the soldiers' behavior. The soldiers appeared to be distracted so they would have time to escape, so they abandoned the two helpless girls.

However, something prevented Barned from leaving. He was a good person. As such, he also thought that even if they escaped from there, it wouldn't necessarily mean that their situation would improve. In other words, he tried to convince himself that it wouldn't change anything much if they helped the girl or not.

However, he was also worried about his friends. The soldiers were certainly distracted for the time being, but they were by no means weak. Barned and his friends didn't stand a chance.

If they tried to intervene, they were like throwing themselves to the sharks. Barned didn't what to do. He was far too weak to have multiple options available to him. Still, he made up his mind.

He made his way back to the room where his other friends were.

"The soldiers would certainly notice us if we all escape at the same time," he whispered. "I will hold them, you need to get out of her and find Adam."

"What?!" Alexander was surprised by Barned's words.

As for why Barned reached this conclusion, it was simple. He had observed Adam. It was true that Adam was arrogant, but what he said made Barned wonder. Adam stood proudly as someone who would not bring shame to his people as their Lords.

It might have been a bluff, but Barned's intuition told him, at that moment that Adam was telling the truth. In addition to this, Adam was strong. If there was someone who could save them from this situation, then it would be him. Their chance of survival was almost close to zero after all.

Another fact that made Barned think about this was what Adam did when he saw Azalea and Rose. He was still acting arrogantly, but at least the look in his eyes when he looked at the two girls could be described as kind. Evil people couldn't replicate such expressions most of the time.

Again, this was just speculation but it was also their last hope. The chance that Adam might have been framed, and accused to be the culprit was high, or Barned told himself. In the end, it was just a deduction based on his simple intuition.

"This is the only way we can survive," said Barned with determination. "You have to trust me!"

"But what about you?" Felicia asked with a worried look on her face.

"I will catch up later. I won't fight them, I will just distract their attention," Barmed explained. That was, of course, a lie. He knew what was going to happen to him, but he couldn't try.

"Barned, you…" Felicia was about to say something but Barned looked at her with affectionate eyes. Barnes knew that Felicia was more formidable than she appeared to be.

Barned also realized that maybe he was more of a coward than he thought. His feelings for Felicia would be buried forever inside his heart.

"We have a way to contact him," Barned said, looking at Amelia. "She should know how to contact him."

Nonetheless, it was just wishful thinking on his part. He just needed to make sure that he at least survive a little longer. He realized that he was probably being selfish.

"A—"

"No, Alexander. Don't say anything," Barned interrupted before Alexander could say anything. "I leave everything to you, Felicia, I need to go. No matter what happens, no matter what happens… Don't turn back!"

After that Barned turned his back to his friend and begin to thought about he would deal with the soldiers.

The key was the effect of surprise. After that, he needed to use his gift to grab the two girls and run toward the door at full speed.

He was a level 4 gift holder, and his elemental gift was fire. As such, he planned to create a smokescreen and use it as a diversion.

Barned never looked back, because he knew that he would hesitate. He realized that he couldn't even give proper instructions. However, he knew that he could count on Felicia.

"Let's do this!"

After stealing his resolve, Banred launched fireballs rapidly all around the round to create an explosion and make a smokescreen.

Boom! Boom!

"What?!" The soldiers were taken by surprise and panicked.

Barned used this opportunity to jump down rapidly in front of Azalea and Rose.

However, he was underestimating the soldiers.

"Hey!" One of the soldiers sensed Barned's presence and pinpointed his location. Then, he immediately retaliated by using his gift to freeze the ground and the area around Barned and the two sisters.

Compared to level 4 gift holders, the magnitude of the power of level 7 gift holders was on another level.

Barned lower body was completely frozen before he could even react. Even though he had the advantage due to the effect of surprise, the fact that he didn't know anything about the soldiers' gifts made his failure a certainty.