I was the Celestial Empire’s greatest villain.
“The Celestial Empire wouldn’t be in this pathetic state if it weren’t for you.”
Those were the last words my fiancée spoke to me. A once-in-a-generation genius, the Imperial Regent of the Celestial Empire, she said them before marching to the final battle against the Army of the Demon Sovereign.
She died defending the imperial castle to the very end.
“Fuck off and die, retard!”
Those were the last words from the Grand Magus, the one who scoured battlefields and hunted the Demon Sovereign’s executives.
She managed to inflict a fatal wound on the Demon Sovereign before her own limbs were torn apart.
“You’ve made me realize even Absolute has forsaken us. For that, I’m truly grateful.”
Those were the parting words of the Holy Maiden, a holy woman said to be born only once in a thousand years.
She died at the hands of the Demon Sovereign’s forces as she fought to evacuate one last imperial citizen.
Then there were the Shadowmancer’s dying actions. She had been my attendant since childhood.
She rebuked my hideous nature before taking her own life right before my eyes.
“…Out of everyone I’ve ever known, you are the most repulsive.”
That was how the Imperial Scion, the hope of the Celestial Empire, said her last goodbye on the day of the decisive battle.
She resisted the Demon Sovereign until the very end, before being used as a sacrifice in the spell that turned the continent into Abyss.
“Even the worst demons condemned to Abyss are less vile than you, you foolish man.”
The Demon Sovereign said this with a mocking laugh as I willingly surrendered, clutching the Hero's Regalia passed down through my family for generations.
That laughter, however, twisted into a strangled gasp of shock when I let the artifact in my arms explode.
“…Boy, why the hell?”
To the Demon Sovereign’s bewildered question, I gave a simple answer with a smile.
“…To gain the Providence.”
After saying those words, I glanced at the system window that flickered into view with a faint chime, just as the Demon Sovereign and I were consumed by light.
Providence unlocked [ Way of the Scapegoat ]
And when I opened my eyes, I was lying in my dormitory bed, in the room I had stayed in the day before I first entered the academy.
“Ha… I really am back…”
I muttered quietly, the date on my desk calendar confirming I had returned to the past.
Way of the Scapegoat
An unavoidable fate is given to you, who once destroyed the world. Save the world by tainting your name with sin.
[Accumulated Scapegoat Karma: 0]
I stared at the system window with a grim sense of satisfaction. It was a prize earned with great difficulty, by forcing myself to do things that went against my very nature. A pang of hunger finally prompted me to get out of bed.
But as I swung my legs over the side of the mattress, another window flashed into existence, and my blood ran cold.
Penalty
5 Pillars of Destiny have awakened the memories of the previous timeline!
“…What is this bullshit….?”