EnroItzal

This is actually the first time I'm writing a villain MC where he's going to commit a lot of atrocities for his own selfish ambitions. I really want to see how far I can stretch the "evilness" of this MC without alienating the readers from supporting the MC. Constructive feedbacks are welcome.

“If it’s work you’re offering, I am already taken. Piss off, you two,” said the bald man with the bronze ring on his thumb as soon as Augrun and Sera came up to him. Though his companions were a bunch of scrawny and blemish men, he himself was stout with only a few scars and calluses on his hands and face.

“You are mistaken, mister,” Sera said, pulling down her hood. “We’re not here to offer you a job. We’re here to ask you for some directions.” 

“Oh? Are you now?”

“My name is Sera. This gentleman here is my master, Pr— Young Lord Augrun. He would like to request entry and the directions to the tomb.”

“The tomb, eh?” the bald man scoffed, gawping at the two. His eyes went up and down on their figures and his eyes moved slowly when he was looking at Sera. “The graveyard's quite near but I don’t think you want to go there, missy. Best you turn around now.”

The scruffy men laughed but their hands were furtively crawling behind their backs.

Augrun was surprised that Sera was calm on both the surface and inside. She smiled amicably at the man. “It would seem I have been misunderstood. I’m looking for 'the' tomb and perhaps this can make it even clearer for you,” she said and tossed a pouch of coins to the man.

Augrun raised an eyebrow and tapped his pockets. The guard’s pouch was no longer in the pocket.

Sera flashed him a brief grin and turned back to the man. “Can I have a proper answer now?”

“Hmm, I wonder…” the bald man mused, peering into the pouch. “All silver but no gold but there’s five gold worth of money here. Isn’t this a bit much just for asking some directions?”

“I have more if that’s not enough.”

“Really? You have more? I hope you don’t mind me checking if that’s true,” the man said and gestured for his cronies to move. The scruffy men slowly walked around the two and surrounded them.

“If you want more, you could just ask, mister.”

“Ask?” the bald man snorted. “Do you have any idea where you are and who I am?”

More men in scruffy states appeared from the alleys and places where only shadows reigned.

“Is this always like this?” Augrun asked without an ounce of worry on his face. He had expected this kind of development. The bald man knew precisely what they were asking for but unfortunately, he was drunk on the power he had and instead of doing his job, he was exploiting anyone who looked like an easy target. Augrun had gotten involved in this kind of farce for more times than he could count in his past life and it was always very satisfying to deal with this kind of person, especially now that he didn’t need to worry so much about consequences.

“No,” Sera said. “The others were very polite with me. They know me but this one doesn’t. He must be new.”

“Save your lover whispers for later, o’ foolish nobles,” the bald man snarked. “You come here in all fancy clothes, with all that money, and with just a maid and without any guards? You must be new to high society or… both of you are frauds. You know what the court will do to people who pretended to be nobles? They skin you and throw you into the dungeons. They let you rot in the darkness while rats and bugs slowly gnawed your flesh away. So, how about we make a deal, mister noble? You leave all your money here and the girl, and we’ll let you go, how’s that sound?”

“How would you know that we are new,” Augrun asked, pulling down his hood, “when you haven’t done this job for long?”

The bald man snorted again. “You got me there. I am new to this but… you two neither act nor speak like those noble pricks. You speak just like us, the common folks, the scrappers. So please, stop this farce. You are not fooling anyone.”

Augrun looked at Sera. “Do I not act or speak like a noble?”

“You don’t, young master,” she said.

You act and speak like a prince, Augrun could tell that was what she wanted to say. He smiled and pecked Sera on her forehead. “Sera, if this bald man squeals, would his colleagues come and inspect what’s going on?”

“Definitely, young master. They have a very strict reputation to maintain and their security is very strict, in human's perspective that is.”

Augrun beamed into a wide smile. “Good to know, Sera.”

“What are you two blabbering about?” the bald man yawped.

Augrun retorted with a thrust out arm. No one saw what he threw but in the next moment, the bald man was bawling in pain while clutching his left eye.

The stooges looked at each other in confusion. 

“What are you standing around for!?” the bald man screamed, still clutching his left eye. “Break his limbs and fuck that maid to death right in front of him!”

The scruffy men swallowed the unease and confusion down their throats and charged at Augrun with a battle cry and their weapons raised. They weren’t wearing any armour and their weapons were just crude objects fashioned from discarded objects and worn-out tools.

They weren’t even within arm’s range of Augrun and one of the men had already lost his head. Everyone stopped their charge and looked at their headless companion, stunned. When they looked back at Augrun, they saw a strange-looking blade in his hand, dripping with blood from the edge. Not a single one of them saw where he drew that blade from.

“Soul Armament, young master?” Sera gasped in amazement.

Augrun nodded.

“You could barely open the portal this morning.”

“The portal was difficult but this… this is easy. Very easy,” Augrun said, looking over the war knife he conjured using magic and a piece of his soul. Compared to the foreign concept of a portal, creating a blade out of magic and his soul was simple. He was already accustomed to wielding tools of death. He only needed to imagine it and these weapons just formed so naturally into his hands. “But it's a shame that I can't create a gun with this. Maybe it's too complicated?”

“Quit gawking, all of you! Kill him already!” the bald man shouted.

“Now wait just a minute, the lot of you,” Augrun said, holding up his hand. “If you value your life, you’ll be smart to not listen to someone who just had his eye gouged out by something of some means that no one is even aware of. Take your headless friend here as another good example. No one saw how I cut his head off. Did any of you? No, right? Now, imagine this happening to you.”

“Stop listening to his nonsense and fuck him up already! Kill him! This is an order! A hundred gold for anyone who can bring me his limbs!”

The mere mention of a hundred gold seemed to fill the men with courage and spirits. They gripped their weapons tighter than before and began approaching Augrun carefully.

“I guess you all need another demonstration,” Augrun said and twirled. Blood sprayed forth and a head went rolling. There were shrieks and squeals but Augrun ignored their shocking cries and took a few more heads. The fourth and fifth heads that went rolling across the ground was the final straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. The men dropped their weapons and ran away screaming for their lives.

“Come back! Come back and fight, you cowards! I order you! I—!” 

Augrun silenced him with a kick to his face that sent him slamming against a wall. The streets had become empty before he knew it. Augrun half-expected a crowd to be formed but he assumed too much from using the logic of the twenty-first century. These uninvolved people didn’t have any reason to stay and watch. They valued their lives more than their curiosity.

“You’re dead, boy! You hear me!? Do you have any idea who I am!?”

Augrun grinned and took a step forward, looking down at the bald man who looked hesitant to stand up. “Some dead man, I suppose?” he shrugged.

The bald man scoffed. “You will regret this, you fraud. Don’t think about running now. It’s too late. They have people watching and they know what you have done. They will come for you and you will regret this.”

Suddenly, Augrun turned his gaze in a certain direction with an intrigued expression. “I sense someone is approaching us. Is it just me?”

The bald man burst into laughter. “You’re dead… you’re dead… you’re dead…” he kept mumbling until Augrun kicked him in the jaws, dislocating it.

“It’s them, young master,” Sera said. “They’re coming. An agent of ours is among them, people who made a contract with us. That is who you sensed.”

“I also feel three individuals approaching us rapidly. They’re strong.”

As if right on cue, three individuals dressed in all black, almost like ninjas in metal armour, surrounded them.

The bald man started laughing and taunting them again but his words were all jumbled up due to his dislocated jaws.

“Shadow Fangs,” Sera explained. “Secret enforcers of the underworld.”

Augrun eyed them curiously. “Who’s their master?”

“Masters,” Sera answered. “They answer to the Elders, the ruling body of the underworld.”

Kill them! Tear them to pieces! That was what the bald man seemed to be saying with his broken jaws but the Shadow Fangs were just standing silently without moving a single muscle.

“Are these Shadow Fangs going to attack us?” Augrun asked.

“Not if I order them to,” a voice said. 

Augrun and Sera both turned their gazes to that voice. A young man in his mid-twenties emerged from an alley along with four of his escorts who were all heavily armoured individuals from head to toes, with swords and axes that were as large as their bodies. The escorts were humans but barely. Augrun could not feel any sense of self from these individuals. The young man was blonde and dressed in a white three-piece suit complete with a top hat and a cane, and he had too much sense of self.

“Those are Brutes,” Sera told Augrun upon noticing his inquisitive gaze at the escorts. “Enforcers of the underworld, like the Shadow Fangs, just without the furtiveness.”

“Miss Sera, a lovely afternoon to you,” the man greeted with an amicable smile. Augrun didn’t miss the slight twitch the man had in his smile. He was afraid.

“Likewise, Mister Alvon” Sera greeted back with a fading smile. “Wasn’t expecting to see you… above ground, Mister Alvon.”

The expectant expression on the bald man’s face slowly lost its vigour and despair gradually took over.

“I caught wind of your troubles, Miss Sera, and I have responded as fast as I could. My utmost apology to you, by the way. I have asked the Shadow Fangs to interfere should you be in a plight but as it turns out, that was not needed. You have a very capable man at your side, Miss Sera.”

“Mister Alvon.” Sera’s voice turned grim and cold. “For the sake of all the good work you have done, I will allow this misconception of yours slip.”

“Forgive me, Miss Sera… I don’t understand. Who is this gentleman, if I may be so bold to ask?”

Sera splayed her hand at the bald man, red energy amassing around her palm.

“Oh god… Oh god…” the bald man gasped in horror and realisation. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Please have—” His pleas were cut short as a red bolt of magic ruptured his head.

That was rash of you, Augrun wanted to say but he remembered who he was now and knew Sera had done that to display her dominance over them. 

“Mister Alvon, you are in the presence of His Highness, Prince Augrun.”

“T-the Prince?” Alvon stammered and quickly got to his knees. “I am so sorry, Your Highness. I did not know. Forgive this humble servant of yours for being remiss.” 

The Brutes and the Shadow Fangs did the same. Even though they barely had any sense of self, Augrun could smell the fear drifting off of them. They were still bound by their primal emotions. 

“No harm done, Mister Alvon,” Augrun said. “At ease and rise.” He fought down a squeal of delight. It felt good to utter those banal lines while having all the authority behind it. He could now understand why people would lose themselves to such power. How could they not when it felt so good having it? This was truly addicting. He knew he would have to draw a line somewhere if he didn’t wish to overdose on it.

“T-thank you, Your Highness.” Even after getting to his knees, staining his perfectly white three-piece suit, he was bowing his head.

Augrun waved his hand at Alvon, gesturing for him to get up. “Alright. Alright. Enough with that. Now stand up.” And this was the downside to all that power and authority. He didn’t think he could ever get used to the over-exaggerating apologies that didn’t fit the degree of the fault. 

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Alvon repeated his gratitude once more when he was on his feet. “How may I be of assistance, Your Highness?”

“I wish to enter the underground market. The tomb, was it?”

“Yes, it is, Your Highness.”

“Bring me there, at once. And it’s ‘young master’, not ‘Your Highness’. At least not out in the open.”

“Understood, young master. Please, follow me.”

****

The trip to the underground market was a relatively short one. They had only just gone down an alley, went through a door of a random building, went down a series of stairs, and there they were, the underground market. Augrun could immediately tell why the trip was short. The underground market was huge and way larger than the open market above. The ceilings were high, so as to not give a claustrophobic feel. At a single glance, he could see the multiple entrances and exits it had. It was more than a hundred total at a guess. But that didn’t mean this market had more booths and stalls. It just meant the booths and stalls were larger individually and had more space to conduct their business. 

“Welcome to the tomb, Your Highness,” Alvon said. “Will you be needing a guide?”

“That won’t be necessary, Mister Alvon,” Sera cut in. “I can handle the rest from here.”

“Of course, Miss Sera. As a token of good faith, I will have the Shadow Fangs constantly watching over you in case anyone… tries to be a bother to you, Your Highness. You won’t have to lift a finger. But rest assured, they will not stand in your way regardless of anything you do.”

His intentions were so painfully obvious but Augrun decided to humour him just to see how bold he would be. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Mister Alvon. I’ll be taking up your offer.”

“Do enjoy perusing the fine goods and products here, Your Highness. I’m sure you’ll find something to your liking. And there is one thing I hope to tell you, Your Highness. It’s a request of sorts.”

“Speak.”

“There will be an auction in two days’ time. If there’s nothing to your liking here, I’m sure you’ll find one in the auction. Of course, you will be on the platinum list, Your Highness.”

“Platinum list?”

“A list of our most distinguished guests and clients. As long as your name is on the list, you will be given the utmost treatment. I’ll be looking forward to your presence at the auction, Your Highness.” Alvon bowed.

“Hmm,” Augrun murmured and walked ahead after he judged Alvon to have finished talking, leaving the man in stupefaction when he lifted his head.

“That was very… spectacular of you, Your Highness,” Sera remarked as they entered the maze of a market.

“Is it?” Augrun responded dryly. His eyes were fixed on nearly everything of the market. The stalls, the vendors, and also the customers. Though there were no words or texts appearing beside the many things he was appraising, the surface of these things themselves were already telling intricate stories. There was much to see in the faces of the merchants and the buyers. He didn’t see any trepidation or apprehension in the merchants’ face, only traces of urgency. So to say, no merchants here were selling fakes or forgeries. The hint of urgency came only from the heat of the competition with the other merchants. The customers and buyers were more mellow too. They haggled with the merchants but not too forcefully or too desperately. They kept their temper in check and were moderate with their insults. 

“Ironic,” Augrun found himself muttering.

“What is, Your Highness?” Sera asked.

“The merchants here have more integrity than the ones up top and the customers are more reasonable and intelligent. And this here all is supposed to be illegal. Isn’t that just ironic?”

“It is, Your Highness, but this is the humans we’re talking about. They have always been illogical and primitive.”

“That they have,” Augrun affirmed with a nod.

“So, anything catches your eye, Your Highness?”

“We’re not at the slaves’ section yet.”

“Are slaves all that you are interested in, Your Highness? What about weapons or jewelleries?”

Augrun took another quick look around. Though everything looked novel at first glance, he was starting to recognise most of these queer trinkets and objects. According to his memories, the treasury vault in the tower had similar items within and they were more reliable and effective. The same could be said for the weapons that were sold here. Everything was subpar to what he essentially had. “The weapons and tools in our vault are better than these ones.” 

“What about the jewelleries, Your Highness? Surely a few must have caught your eyes?”

“I’m not exactly fond of jewelleries. Are you fond of jewelleries, Sera?”

“If Your Highness isn’t, then I’m not fond of them either.”

“I’m not fond of jewelleries because I don’t wear them. But what about you, Sera? Do you wear them? Have you ever worn them before?”

“I have, Your Highness,” she admitted with a blush.

“But you’re not wearing any now.”

“T-they don’t look good on me, Your Highness. And I find it a hassle to have them on my face or neck. They are unnecessary burdens.”

“In that case,” Augrun said and approached a stall selling a variety of jewelleries. He simply picked a ring with a small sapphire jewel and paid twice the amount to the merchant, before returning to Sera. “Here.” He presented the ring to Sera.

“Your Highness, that’s too much for me.”

“Nonsense, Sera.” He grabbed her right hand and held her fingers up, slipping the ring onto her ring finger. “Remember who you are, Sera. You’re no longer just my maid. And if you so wish, you can even stop being my maid.”

“You jest, my prince… Serving you is my greatest pleasure. Even if I’m now your consort, I will never stop being your maid, Your Highness.”

Augrun looked at her in disbelief before sighing with a smile. “As long as you're happy, Sera.”

“I am, my prince,” she muttered softly, clutching the ring on her finger close to her heart with a lovely smile touching her lips.