Chapter 1: Hero or Villain

Justice. Fairness. Equality. No more than pretty words, but he believed in such lovely words. He always stood up for them. They called him a savior in middle school because he always stood up for those weaker than himself. He never let the big kids bully the small ones. Of course, he couldn't win every fight. There were times when he was outnumbered or sabotaged, but he never let such incidents sink into his heart.

He tried his best. Even in high school, he stood up for others with a smile on his face. He was not particularly big. He was tall but not bulky. His eyes were black like most of them, and so was his hair. There was nothing exceptional about him, yet he stood out with his big bright smile and cheerful personality. But those things can only take you so far. He was killed when a bunch of jealous high school students ganged up on him, and one of them pushed him off the roof.

At the age of 16, his life ended on Earth, and at that exact age, he was reincarnated in the Reoblela Continent. But before he reincarnated, he had met an Usher Angel, and she had asked him three questions, "Why do you stand up for others?" "What makes you believe in Justice?" "What's the purpose of your life?"

He remained silent. "Could I choose to remain silent?" He had asked. The Angel respected his wish and guided him to his next life without prying further.

In his 2^nd life, he was truly the Hero. He was born in a world bristled with supernatural phenomena, such as magic, other intelligent races, and alchemy. This time it didn't matter the number of his opponents or their underhanded tricks. He stood above them all. He persevered, endured, and in the end, established peace within the 7 continents. Thus, he was given the title of "The Hero of Reoblela." By the Emperor himself.

But of course, every coin has two sides. So, did he, and so did his story.

"You bastard…" Blood dripped down the king's white hair. His royal gown was torn, and his right leg was sliced, leaving him bleeding on the ground. "You fucking..bast.." His voice died down as he gazed up and met his eyes.

There stood the Hero, his sword drenched in the blood of the Royal family, their kids, and even the citizens. Even now, he smiled like always. In the king's eyes, the image of the Hero's bright smile when he first saw him flashed, but then he returned to reality and saw the Hero's mischievous smile.

The helpless old man could do nothing but kneel his head. The Hero raised his arm and took the crown from the king's head. After that, he slashed the king's head into two with the sword in his other arm.

After killing the king, he strolled toward the throne. His golden armor looked like it had just bathe in blood, and his eyes looked dead and cold like a silent night.

He crowned himself, rested on the throne, and looked at the corpses he had piled up in his room.

After a while, the gate of the throne room opened.

Clap! Clap!

Clapping his arms, another being entered.

"Haha!" The being laughed, "You actually did it." As he got closer to the throne, his figure became more apparent. His head had two black horns, and his skin was reddish grey. Covered in black cloaks and with eyes red as the blood, he gave off an ominous aura. He had a humanoid figure, but he certainly wasn't human. He was the king of Demons, Elgedar. However, the one who emitted an aura more ominous than the Demon King himself was none other than the Hero seated on the throne, who had just slaughtered his own kingdom.

The fact that even terrified Elgedar was that even though the Hero could have killed them all using a wide range spell or any sort of high tier spell, he didn't. The Hero trapped the people inside the kingdom with a spell that prevented anyone from leaving, then slaughtered them one by one with his own blade.

After arriving a ten-foot far from the throne, Elgedar stopped.

"I neither care why you did it nor care for your reasoning." Elgedar's eyes started to shine brighter. "But we had a deal, and you fulfilled your end."

[The Demon King Elgedar Has Acknowledged Your Endeavor.]

[You Have Met The Required Conditions.]

[Please Declare The Date:]

The Hero looked at Elgedar's eyes for the last time before uttering, "June 15, 2025."

[You Have Selected The Date. Preparing For Regression.]

Elgedar walked a few steps closer. "Ah. How I wish that I find more humans like you."

The Hero's body had started to fade, and before he dissipated, he left his final words, "The next crown that I strip off would be yours."

"Ha," Hearing such a provocation, Elgedar burst into laughter.

---

The moon shone brightly on this night. The city looked lively even at night with its traffic and bright lights. Even the weather was cool and breezy, perfect for a night out, but individuals' interpretations of a night out are varied. It would be hanging out with friends, drinking, and going to the club for some. For others, it would be inviting an individual to a roof by saying it's for a party, then ganging up on him and beating him.

"ugh! He isn't dead, is he?" one of the kids asked.

"Someone check!"

"Why did you have to hit him with a metal rod?"

"What choice did I have? He would not go down. The fucker just kept on standing!"

"Let-lets throw him off the roof."

"What and be framed for murder?"

Everyone's face had turned pale. They were all injured to a degree and were all breathing harshly. That's when a drop of water fell from the sky.

"Huh…"

"It's raining."

But they all failed to notice that a red array of light had just fallen over the corpse, and now, the corpse let out a puff of air from its mouth.

"Wait! Look, that guy just flinched!"

"Few! He's not dead."

"Let's just break his legs as planned."

But their legs froze as an intense bloodlust spread throughout the roof. The Hero's eyes opened.

[Regression Successful]

[You've Returned To June 15, 2025.]

He stood up, and in front of him was the view of the brimming city.

[…. Foreign Dimension Detected.]

Turning his head, he saw the other kids.

"The fuck you looking at." One of the kids yelled. They still outnumbered him. Hence no one felt any fear. Since the bloodlust was gone, the kids returned to their normal state.

"I liked it when you were on the ground." One of them marched forwards while swinging a baseball bat.

Thump!

He caught it with his right hand. "One." The Hero uttered.

"Huh." Before the kid could even take in that his bat was caught, the Hero threw a straight kick and knocked the kid backward. He also seized the bat from the kid's arms. The Hero then rotated the bat in the air and grabbed the bat's handle.

"Motherfu." The rest gritted their teeth, and three of them charged. The Hero dashed to the side and struck the one in the upper left. "Two." And then the one after him. "Three."

Seeing two kids on the ground with their heads ruthlessly smashed, the rest felt their hearts beat faster. Seeing the kids on the floor start to bleed made them all tremble.

The Hero gazed at the rest of them and spotted one holding the metal rod. "So." He grinned. "You're the one who killed me." The one holding the metal rod felt his heart skip a beat.

"Fuck this shit."

"I don't want to die."

The rest of the 8 kids ran towards the exit. They had realized that even if they managed to overpower him, at least two or three more would risk receiving such severe injury as the two on the ground. No one was prepared for that. Now, the only one who remained was the one holding the metal rod. He couldn't run as his legs felt numb.

The Hero took one step toward him. "No, wait.." the guy fell back on his buttocks.

"They planned to break my legs, yet ran when they realized even they could receive such injuries." He took another step forward. "I wonder who's more pathetic, those who ran or you, who couldn't even gather the courage to run."

"No..wait.." The guy attempted to crawl away. "My father's a lawyer. You injured those two. If you leave me alone, I'll help you against the charges they pursue." His voice shivered, "But do anything to me, and you'll get sued. Who'll pay the bills for your attorney? You understand right. You understand right."

"That would be a problem." He kneeled and picked up the metal rod that the guy had left behind.

"Right. Right. You understand. Right." His whole body trembled.

"But you see, I plan on destroying this world so I could care less about its laws." He said with a malevolent smile.

"Wha.."

….

The night was about to end. The moonlight had started to dim down. On the rooftop of one of the 24-story buildings stood an individual who had just returned to life. He flexed his fingers and muscles and felt that he had successfully brought back his abilities to this world even though they were dormant right now.

 Looking toward the city, he could tell that a new chapter of his life was about to begin.